The Hazards of Skinny Dipping (Hazards #1)(2)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

Amy hadn’t specified how long I needed to skinny dip, but I figured I needed to at least swim around a little. The more I did it, the less weird it seemed. It felt liberating. The water was warm enough, and with only a few lights illuminating the pool, I didn’t feel overly exposed.

That excitement lasted maybe another five minutes until I saw headlights pull into the neighbor’s driveway. Unfortunately, they had one of those windy driveways that curved around to a garage in back. If the driver happened to look through the trees and shrubs, I’d be spotted. Before I panicked, I reassured myself that it was too dark for anyone to actually see anything.

I didn’t have much time to worry. The car stopped, and a tall figure stepped out.

“Hey, is that you, Juliet?” It may have been dark, but I’d know that voice anywhere. It was deep and incredibly sexy.

I wanted to slip under the water and never come back up. Dylan Bradley was talking to me while I was naked. “Uh, yeah. Hi, Dylan.” To this day, I blame it on the music. If Katy Perry hadn’t been blaring, he might never have looked.

“Isn’t it a little late for a swim?”

“Not really. I like staying up late.” Could I sound lamer?

He disappeared, but I knew it wasn’t over. He reappeared a moment later through a patch of trees.

I treaded water in the deepest part of the pool, hoping the dim lighting hid how completely naked I was.

“Mind if I turn that down?” He pointed up at the speakers.

“Sure. The controls are—”

“Behind the bar. I know.” Dylan had spent plenty of nights swimming at our house. Even though his house was far bigger, his dad had refused to put in a pool. Mr. Bradley claimed that if you were at the beach, you didn’t need a manmade concrete hole to swim in.

Dylan turned off the music. So much for turning it down. “I heard you’re going to Harrison this year.”

“Yeah. I’m actually starting college.” I continued treading water, praying he wouldn’t move any closer.

“Cool. I’ll probably see you around then.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot you were still up there.” Total lie. I was well aware Dylan was a senior at Harrison University. I hated to admit it, but I Facebook stalked him. I’d probably have real life stalked him if we didn’t live five hours away from each other. To say I had a crush on Dylan would be the understatement of the century.

His expression let me know how little he believed me. “Yeah. It’s my last year, but Kyle’s going to be a freshman.”

“Yeah?” I, of course, knew that too, but not from internet stalking. I couldn’t care less about his brother, Kyle. It was Dylan who always had my attention. I’d found out about Kyle’s plans from my mother.

Dylan looked even better than I remembered. Despite the dim lighting, I could see his slight tan—normally it was a lot deeper. I guess his summer internship had kept him from spending as much time at the beach as usual. His brown hair still had just a little bit of a curl to it. He wore it shorter than I’d ever remembered seeing it.

“You look kind of cold. Where’s your towel?” He glanced around.

“Oh, I’m okay.”

“Come on, you can’t stay in the pool all night.”

I would stay as long as I had to.

“Wait a second.” A small smile spread across his face. He walked toward the chairs, and my heart sunk. When he turned back toward me, he had my bikini top wrapped around his hand. “Are you skinny dipping?”

“Umm, maybe.”

“By yourself?”

What was that supposed to mean? “Isn’t that part obvious?”

He grinned. “Wow, I never took you for an exhibitionist.”

“This is a private pool.”

“Now you really need to get out.”

“Shut up. Not until you leave.”

“You’re too cold. You won’t make it that long.”

“You’re wrong.” I sure hoped he was.

“All right. If you’re not getting out anytime soon, I’m going to join you.” He pulled off his t-shirt.

Oh my god. Was Dylan Bradley about to get naked in front of me? I had to be dreaming. This was not the kind of thing that ever happened to me—at least not when I was awake.

I was so busy freaking out that I didn’t even try to stop him. The next thing I knew, he stood buck naked in front of me. I admired the view in shock for a second before he jumped in. He swam over to me, but held back. “You’re eighteen, right?”

“Yeah. Why does that matter?”

He smiled. “Because I’m not getting busted for swimming naked with a minor.”

“It’s stupid, isn’t it? I mean it’s not like I magically changed from a kid to an adult on my last birthday.” I stupidly used hand motions and unwittingly gave Dylan a front row view of my br**sts.

His eyes widened. “You haven’t been a kid for a while.”

“Yeah, you either.” I cringed. I really needed to filter.

He laughed. “No, no I haven’t.”

The way he stared unnerved me, and I needed to keep us talking. “What are you doing here? School starts in like two weeks. Isn’t this a weird time to come to the beach?”

“I’ve been working all summer. It’s the only break I’ve had.”

I really looked at him. To be honest, he did look tired, although it was hard to look at his face when I knew he wasn’t wearing anything.

He suddenly grinned. “You’re going to be such trouble.”

“Excuse me?”

“I figured you’d spend all of your time in the library, but now that I know about this side of you, I have a feeling you’re going to make things interesting.”

“You make it sound like we’re going to be hanging out.”

“We’re not?” He moved into the shallow water.

“Do you usually hang out with freshman girls?”

“Sometimes.” He leaned back against the wall. I didn’t need the show he was giving me. He definitely felt comfortable in his own skin.

“I’m not going to bite, Juliet. You can come over here. You can’t tread water all night.”

“Not all night, but for a while. I was on the swim team, and I’m a lifeguard.”

“Come on, don’t be a baby.”

I shouldn’t have let his words get to me, but they did. I let out a breath and swam over. “Who are you calling a baby?” Of course, I was on my knees to keep myself under the water.