The Hazards of Skinny Dipping (Hazards #1)(33)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

I collapsed back on her bed. “What am I going to do about this?” I touched my neck.

“I don’t know…we could try makeup.” She looked deep in thought. “And it’s kind of cold out. I have some fun scarves.”

“Do you have any that will go with my Halloween costume for tomorrow night?”

“Oh yeah…we’ll figure it out.”

“I hope so.”

“Here, try this one.” She tossed a black and red striped scarf at me.

“Won’t I look funny wearing it inside?” I tied the scarf around my neck.

“It’s better than looking like a girl with a hickey, right?”

“You have a point.”

I dragged myself to class, hoping no one would ask about the scarf. No one did. At least I didn’t have history with Reed. I wasn’t ready to talk to him about it yet. I came back at lunchtime and got into bed. I’d already texted Reed telling him I wasn’t feeling well enough to work. It wasn’t a lie—I felt awful. Tally was sitting at her desk and turned to me. “What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing.” I didn’t feel like discussing it with Tally. She was still dating Ryan, and I’m pretty sure she thought both Ryan and Dylan walked on water.

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“Are you going to the house tonight? They’re getting a keg.”

I pulled my blanket up to my chin. “No. I broke up with Dylan.”

“What?” Tally came to sit on the edge of my bed. “Why?”

I took off my scarf and threw it on the bed, lowering the blanket to show her my neck. I might as well get the confrontation over with.

“A hickey? You dumped him for a hickey?”

“It was just the icing on the cake.” It was. A physical and gross kind of icing.

“Don’t you think you’re overreacting? You and Dylan are perfect together.”

I laughed dryly. “Perfect? Hardly.”

“You’ll realize you made a mistake. Hopefully, you’ll come to your senses before he moves on.”

“Is there a reason you’re being a bitch?”

“A bitch? I’m only being realistic.” She grabbed her keys and phone as she stormed out of the room. She was probably going to vent to Ryan about me.

“Whatever,” I said even though she was already gone.

***

My phone rang around eleven-thirty. I groaned, rolling over to glance at the screen. I didn’t pick up—it was Dylan.

He called again, and I decided to just do it. “Hello.”

“Baby, I did something stupid. Really stupid.”

“And that’s my problem because…?”

“You don’t get it. I was pissed that you never came back. I got trashed. I slept with someone.”

“We broke up. I don’t care.” Of course, it stung to know he’d moved on so fast.

“I’m so stupid. It meant nothing.”

“I have to go.”

“Babe, I’m sorry.”

I sighed. “You’ve said it.” Then my curiosity got the better of me. I had to know. “Who was it?”

“Amanda.”

My chest clenched. “Go to hell, and never speak to me again.” I knew I was the one who’d dumped him, but to sleep with my brat of a pledge mom was low. I knew Amanda was a bitch, but this went beyond anything I’d have thought her capable of. They didn’t even wait twenty-four hours.

He called back, but I didn’t pick up. Instead, I threw my phone across the room, and it hit the wall. Thankfully, it didn’t break.

“What the hell is going on?” Tally finally woke up. I swore that girl could sleep through almost anything.

“Nothing.”

I couldn’t sleep. I thought about going to wake up Cara, but that wasn’t going to help. There was only one person I wanted to talk to. I threw on jeans, my worn out hoodie sweatshirt, and the scarf just in case. I needed fresh air.

I knew walking across campus at night alone was dumb, but I couldn’t stay in my room any longer. With Tally there, I didn’t even have the privacy to mope alone.

The stragglers were just leaving Al’s when I got there. I slipped inside, knowing Reed would be in the back. He turned when he heard me enter. “Juliet? What are you doing here?”

“I dumped Dylan.”

“It’s about time, but what made you finally do it?” He put down his clipboard.

Something about telling Reed made me finally break down. And I mean break down. The tears I must have been holding back the whole time fell down my face.

His arms came around me. “It’s okay. Take your time.” He held me tighter. “I’ll kill him for you.”

I picked my head up from his chest and noticed Reed’s wry smile. “You don’t have to kill him. I just never want to see him again.”

“Are you ready to tell me why? What suddenly changed your mind?”

I glanced around. While I was crying, everyone else had left. I untied my scarf.

“Is that a hickey?”

“Yes.”

“And that has to do with why you dumped him?”

“He did it on purpose, to leave a mark so people knew I wasn’t single. It was the last straw.”

“Oh.” He tensed. Reed always had such physical reactions to things. Either that, or I was getting really good at reading him. Maybe both.

“It made me so mad. With everything else he already does, I can’t take him anymore.”

“I know it sucks now, but it was the right decision. The guy’s a controlling jackass.”

“For once, I’ll agree.”

He laughed. “You’re going to be fine.”

“I hope so.”

He took my face in his hands. “I know so.” He stared into my eyes with such intensity that I couldn’t help believing him.

“You know what sucks?”

“What?”

“I have to walk around with this dumb hickey on my neck for the next few days. I’m going to have to alter my Halloween costume to include a scarf.”

“Aren’t you going as a 1940s night club singer?”

“Yes.”

“Then do something with the mark to make it look like a vampire bite. You’ll be all dressed up, so say you’re going as a vampire’s victim.”

“Oh my god. That’s actually a good idea. Cara could help me with it. She’s all about stage makeup.”