The Hazards of Skinny Dipping (Hazards #1)(48)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

The officer grinned when he realized what we were doing. “Do you realize this is city owned property?”

I wanted to pull the blanket over my head. I was beyond mortified.

“Yes, sir. We were just leaving.”

“Somehow, I doubt that.”

“It’s all my girlfriend’s fault. She couldn’t wait to get home.”

I opened my mouth to argue but shut it. There was no reason to make things worse.

The young officer chuckled. “And I’m sure you weren’t a willing participant. Next time, get a room.”

He walked away.

“Wait, we’re not getting busted?” I sat up, pulling the blanket with me.

“No, but we probably should get dressed and head home.” Reed turned on his flashlight and found our clothes.

“That’s probably a good idea, but way to throw me under the bus. I couldn’t wait to get home?”

“This was your idea…”

“And you enjoyed it.”

“Of course, and I plan to pick up where we stopped off when we get home.”

“That sounds good to me.” He kept his word. I went to sleep that night wishing I could fall asleep in his arms every night.

Chapter Twenty-Four

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: re: Wow

Dear Juliet,

Love? That’s a pretty heavy word. I can’t wait to meet him. I haven’t liked any of your past boyfriends. Maybe this one will be the exception.

Your Excited Cousin,

Amy

The new semester started off fine. I liked my classes, and I loved spending as much time as possible with Reed. Being an active member of Delta Mu meant I was done with pledging, so my commitments there were less. Instead of all the late night meetings, it was more about events and hanging out with the girls. I tried to spend time with my friends, but between class, work, and Reed, there wasn’t much time.

The only way I could balance it all was to actually use my work time for school work, something that was getting increasingly harder to do now that Reed and I were dating. He was way too good of a distraction. Still, I usually got an hour or two of reading done before the crowds started.

“Can I help you?” I looked up, ready for my next customer.

“I hope so.”

“Hi, Dylan.” I tried to keep my voice even, but it felt so uncomfortable to see him, especially since I knew Reed was so close by.

“Hi. I was hoping you could talk for a few minutes.” He actually looked nervous. Seeing him nervous made me nervous.

“I’m working.” I didn’t want to be rude, but I still wasn’t comfortable talking to him. Being near Dylan reminded me of how badly he’d treated me, and how willing I’d been to go along with it.

“Just for a minute. You haven’t returned my calls, and I need to talk to you.”

“Is there a problem here?” Reed wrapped his arm around my waist. He was usually all about giving me my independence, but I think Dylan brought out the protective side in him.

Dylan paled. “So it’s true then? You’re dating him?”

“Yes. We’ve been together for a few months now.”

“Tell me the truth. Were you guys f**king when we were together?” Anger replaced any evidence of nerves.

Reed didn’t waste a second. He was over the counter and had Dylan by his collar. “Apologize to Juliet. Now.”

“It’s a fair question. I was pretty sure something was going on. Now I know the real reason she broke things off.”

“She broke things off—”

I interrupted Reed, and he let go of Dylan. “I broke things off because you didn’t treat me the way I deserved to be treated. I should have ended things months before I did, but I was too blinded by my feelings for you to let go. Reed had nothing to do with it.” I turned around, not surprised to see everyone in the restaurant staring at the three of us.

“I thought you wanted space. I thought if I gave you time, you’d come around.” Dylan put his head in his hands.

“I never gave you any reason to think that. Look, we’ve known each other a long time. Maybe we’ll be friends one day.”

“Yeah, friends. Great.” He didn’t even say goodbye.

“You okay?” Reed looked at me worriedly.

“Yeah, I’m fine. You don’t need to freak out like that, though.”

“I can’t help it. No one is allowed to talk to you that way.”

I smiled. “You’re sweet, even when you go into crazy mode.”

“I’m always going to go into that mode when I think someone’s threatening you. I can’t help it.”

Thankfully, Dylan never came back in. I passed him on campus a few times, but he always looked away. It was better that way. Hopefully, the weirdness would eventually disappear.

Things were also strange with Tally. We tolerated each other, but any semblance of friendship had disappeared when she realized Dylan and I weren’t getting back together. I didn’t get it until I found out that Ryan broke up with her a few weeks later. I had no idea if they were related, but I had a feeling she thought they were.

***

“Are you still working on that American Lit paper?” Reed sat down on a stool next to me at the counter. It was after eight, and I was running out of time to finish my assignment before we actually had to work.

“Yes. I don’t like my last paragraph. It just doesn’t feel right.”

“I love you, but you’re absolutely crazy sometimes.”

“What?”

“You hardly ever care about school, but then you pick these little assignments to obsess over.”

“Oh, because you are the paramount example of normalcy?” I rolled my eyes.

“What are you implying?”

“I’m just saying, who are you to point fingers? You act so big and tough but get all emotional over coffee commercials.”

“It was once, and I had a very good reason for finding it emotional.” He crossed his arms.

“Yes, because a guy proposing to a girl over a cup of cheap coffee makes everyone weepy.”

“Shut up.”

“Did you just tell me to shut up?” I saved my document. The paper wasn’t getting done that night.

“Maybe.” His grin challenged me. “You’re crazy.”

I closed my laptop. “Take it back.”