The Hazards of Skinny Dipping

Chapter Nine

To: juliethegreat14@mail.com

From: amy_monroe@mail.com

Subject: Re: Hey Hey Hey

Dear Juliet,

Kyle's hot, huh? Well he can't be as big a jerk as Dylan, but I'd stay away from both of them. There have to be some other guys to choose from. Have you met the Kappas yet? Things are going well here, but it's busy. Thanks for asking.

Your Sleep-Deprived Cousin,

Amy

"Hello?" I answered as the unfamiliar number lit up my phone.

"Hey, it's Kyle."

"Hey. Do you realize it's eight a.m.?" I said groggily.

"Yeah, I know it's early. A bunch of us are going floating, and I thought you might want to come."

"Floating? Like in water?"

"What else would I mean?"

"When you asked if I wanted to hang out, I thought you meant around campus."

"Are you in? It's going to be fun. We have room for you and one friend."

"Just one?" How could I invite Cara and not Mallory? But then again, they were probably both sleeping. "Okay."

"Cool. We'll be by in twenty."

"Who's the early bird?" Tally sat up in bed.

"My friend Kyle. He invited me to go floating. Do you want to go?"

"What's floating exactly?"

"You float down a river in an inner-tube."

"Oh... I suppose—in theory—that could be fun."

"It is, depending on who you're with."

"Who would we be with?" She crawled out of her blankets.

"I don't know, actually. I'm guessing some Phi Omegas but hopefully not too many." I'd seen enough of those boys last night. I was still embarrassed.

"I'm in."

"Cool." Tally and I had gotten along so far, but we hadn't hung out. I figured a day together might be good for our roommate relationship.

I decided on the red bikini again and threw on a white sundress over it. I picked out my oldest flip flops in case I lost them. Twenty minutes later, Tally and I were waiting out in front of the dorm.

A yellow Jeep wrangler pulled up. It was the kind that actually had a backseat, but there wasn't much space back there—it was meant for two and not three—especially when two of the occupants were tall guys.

Kyle hopped out and turned to Tally. "You can sit up front."

"Thanks." Tally smiled and took the seat Kyle had vacated.

"After you." Kyle gestured for me to slide into the sorry excuse for a middle seat and got in after me.

The pledge who'd been checking me out the night before sat on my left. Fantastic. The car lurched forward, and I grabbed onto Kyle to avoid flying out of my seat. I searched around for a seatbelt and couldn't find one.

"I've got you." Kyle put an arm around my waist. I contemplated shrugging him off, but it seemed better than nothing.

I leaned over to get a better look at the driver. Yup, another Phi Omega. "Kyle, does this happen to be a fraternity floating trip?"