Schooled

Chapter 20

By Wednesday I was starting to wonder if Dylan had fallen off the face of the earth. Maybe he'd been completely unaffected and had me out of his system. Maybe our marathon sex had killed him.

I should've gone easier on the guy. He was practically a virgin. Though in my defense it was easy to forget when he was thrusting roughly into me with his teeth buried in my shoulder.

My first time had been with Chris, the guy I'd dated before Jake. The whole experience had been mediocre, though jacked-up expectations probably factored in. Clumsy hands and mouths, a quick ending for him and none for me. Even with Jake, it'd taken a while for us to hit our stride. Until all of a sudden he knew what to do without me asking. By our second year together it had gotten almost routine. Though part of me craved more, by that point it seemed too late to ask for it even if I'd been able to put into words what I wanted.

I'd never understood the kind of passion that drove people out of their minds. The kind they wrote poems and made movies about. The kind that made your blood run hot.

Until now.

Dylan texted me that night.

Want to come over and watch a movie tomorrow?

What movie?

Something equal parts irony to social commentary

So ... Van Wilder?

Anything but that

Going cold turkey on Ryan Reynolds

I laughed despite myself. I'd missed Dylan. All the obsessing over our recent ... interactions had glossed over the fact that I'd gotten used to seeing him. Going more than a few days without his brand of earnest sarcasm was hard. Despite whatever had happened between us, we were friends.

Maybe we can be friends who have sex. The unoriginal thought had occurred to me. The best of both worlds. But I didn't think we'd be able to pull it off. Even if there weren't real feelings to start with, they often surfaced. Not to mention I was pretty sure Ava would lose it if she found out.

I was about to text back yes to the movie, still arguing with myself about the merits of friends with benefits, when a warning light went off in my head. Instead I asked,

You mean like a date?

Maybe

Uh-oh. Yellow alert. This was not part of the plan. The master plan whereby you have mind-numbing sex with your best friend's brother? Yeah, that well-conceived wonder. This was exactly why you didn't go and sleep with people on impulse.

Dylan ...

Lex ...

I can't

Can't do Thursday or can't go on a date with me?

Can't date you

The dots appeared for a while.

Did I tell you I play rugby?

Cute. But I wasn't buying what he was selling. The price was bound to be way more than I could afford.

I thought about how to tackle this and decided direct was best.

We talked about this

I'm not looking to date

And if I were, it wouldn't be you. Couldn't be.