The Hazards of Skinny Dipping

Chapter Twenty-Four

To: juliethegreat14@mail.com

From: amy_monroe@mail.com

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 fucking 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."