“We just got to the beach.”
“We’ll come back tomorrow. I need you.”
I had no desire to leave so quickly, but it didn’t feel worth arguing about. Not after he finally opened up about being stressed. Dylan usually kept so much to himself.
***
After a shower and dinner, I was completely content to curl up on the couch with Dylan. My room at school was all right, but I missed being in a house and having a couch to lounge on. The ones in the dorm common room didn’t quite cut it.
“I have a surprise for you.” The excited look on Dylan’s face scared me. I hoped this wasn’t going to be another surprise like the thong.
“Another surprise?”
“Uh huh. I can’t wait to see your reaction.” He stood up and took my hand to pull me with him. I let him lead me into his bedroom.
“Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
“Just close your eyes. I want to surprise you.”
“Okay.” I closed my eyes, hoping that the surprise wouldn’t be too awful.
“Open them.”
“Oh hell no.” I took a step back. From his right hand dangled a pair of handcuffs.
“Ryan told me everything.”
“What? What does Ryan have to do with the fact that you have handcuffs?”
“I know all about the BDSM stuff. I just wish you’d been comfortable enough to tell me yourself.”
“BDSM stuff? What did Ryan tell you exactly?” I grabbed onto the bedpost for support. I felt ready to pass out.
“Everything. How you really want to try it and think I’d be the perfect dominant for you. At first, I wasn’t sure, but the more I looked into it, the more I realized that it fit us. I definitely don’t mind the idea of having you as my submissive. I figured it would be fun to start here—that way we don’t have to worry about interruptions.”
“What? And why would I tell Ryan about this uh, interest?” I was going to kill him. Ryan was dead.
“He said you were too embarrassed to tell me and wanted to see if I’d be interested.”
“Oh my god.”
“It’s not a bad thing, Juliet. I really want to try it too.” He took a step toward me.
I backed up. “Dylan.”
“Yes?”
“Put those things away. Now.”
“What? You don’t want handcuffs? I also picked up some other bindings. I tried not to go too crazy on stuff, but I wanted some options.”
“Stuff? What other stuff?” I looked over at his suitcase. One compartment overflowed with a variety of items I’d hoped to never see in my life.
“Where did you get this stuff?”
“A store downtown. I didn’t have time to order.”
“You went into a sex shop?” I laughed. I couldn’t help it. It was too much to picture preppy Dylan walking into a place like that.
“I paid in cash. No one will ever know.”
“I hope you can get a refund.”
“What? Did I not get the right stuff?”
“I’m not into BDSM. Ryan was messing with you. Or me.”
Dylan looked confused for a second before a smile spread across his face. “Oh, I get it.”
“What?” Oh dear god, what was making him smile?
“This is all part of the role play. You want me to be the one to push you. I get it. I really think this is going to be good for us. It’s going to help you get over your body issues. You can’t completely be yourself without being properly dominated.”
“Properly dominated? Where are you getting this bullshit?”
“I did my research, Juliet.” He took a step toward me. “Take off your clothes.”
I held my hands up in front of me. “Dylan, I’m not role playing. I have absolutely no interest in being dominated. Like I said, Ryan was messing with you.”
“Really?” His face fell. “I was looking forward to intensifying our sex life. Why don’t we try it anyway?”
“Try it? Not a chance.”
“Fine.” The look of disappointment that crossed his face bordered on comical. Did he really know me so little that he’d believe I was into bondage?
“Good. Now I’m going to get ready for bed.” I headed toward the bathroom but then turned around as a horrible thought came to me. “Oh, and you don’t have any weird plans of handcuffing me while I sleep, do you?”
A guilty look crossed his face.
“Damn it, Dylan. You were going to.”
“I admit, it crossed my mind…I think you want to try it as bad as me.”
“I’m going to sleep in Kyle’s room if you keep this up. Or better yet, go next door.”
He zipped up his bag. “Okay, but—”
“But what?” I prepared myself.
“If you don’t want to try the bondage, could we at least try the spanking? I think I’d like that.”
“Dylan!”
“Okay, okay. I had to ask.”
“No, you didn’t. You definitely didn’t have to ask. Now the thong makes sense, you sicko.”
“Sicko? I only bought the stuff because Ryan told me it was your thing.”
“If you mention his name again, I’m going to lose it.” I still couldn’t believe Ryan had stooped so low. I wasn’t sure if it was a joke or his way of getting back at me for being rude to him.
“So no bondage, and no spanking?”
“None. I’m going to brush my teeth.” My life would have made a good reality TV show.
Chapter Sixteen
I survived the weekend. Dylan took out the handcuffs one more time, but when I refused to have sex with him the rest of the night, he got the point.
On Sunday morning, he made us waffles. Hands down, the best part of the whole weekend was the food. It was nice having access to a kitchen and a grill again. Dylan tried to convince me to stay an extra night, but I wouldn’t budge. I was definitely ready to get back to campus. After a quiet drive home, he dropped me off in front of my dorm. I lugged my suitcase up the stairs, ready to be in my own bed.
“How was the romantic weekend?” Tally spun around in her desk chair when I walked in.
“Ryan’s so dead.”
“Hey, that’s my boyfriend you’re talking about.”
“Boyfriend? Since when?”
“Last night.” She smiled coyly. Wow, she’d moved on from Gregg quickly. I guess a lot can change in forty-eight hours.