I broke the kiss reluctantly, moving my hand from where it had woven its way under Reed’s white t-shirt. “Good night.”
“Sweet dreams.”
I got up before I could change my mind.
Chapter Twenty-Three
From: [email protected]
Subject: Wow
Dear Amy,
Did you hear about my new boyfriend? Brandon and Nick didn’t eat him alive. I might be in love.
Your Giddy Cousin,
Juliet
“Finally!” Reed walked into the Delta Mu house like it was something he did every day.
I jumped into his arms, enjoying the feel of them around me. The house was completely empty. I was grateful that my dad bought the whole “no men in the house” story I’d thrown him. I hated lying to him, but I needed to see Reed.
“I said I’d be here at seven.”
“I know. You’re on time. I just hoped you’d be here early.”
“No such luck. My dad had to make, like, five stops before we left town. I’m lucky we got here when we did.”
“You ready to go?”
“Eager to get me back to your place, huh?”
“Very.” He picked up my bags and walked back to the door. I made sure the door actually locked behind us.
We walked the few blocks to the Kappa house. I’d never seen the place so deserted. “Are you the only one here?”
“Nope. Now you’re here too.”
“Very funny.”
“I have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?” My thoughts immediately went back to the last surprise a guy gave me. I hoped this one had nothing to do with handcuffs. Somehow, I didn’t think that was Reed’s style.
He started up the stairs, and I followed, excited to see what he’d gotten me.
“Wow. Is this the right room?” I looked around—I barely recognized the place without the dirty clothes, books, and papers spewed all over.
“I figured that if you were staying a few days, I might as well clean-up for you.”
I reached up and pulled his head down to mine so I could kiss him. “Great surprise.”
“What should we do for dinner?”
“Can we order in? I’d love to find a really bad movie to watch.”
He sat down on the edge of his bed. “A bad movie? Why not a good one?”
“Because I don’t want to worry about missing any good parts if I’d rather make out with you.”
He laughed that really deep laugh of his. “In that case, let’s find a horrible movie.”
***
We spent most of the next few days in bed. I know how that sounds, but it just sort of happened. Campus was empty, and other than work, we had nothing else going on. It’s not like we had sex constantly, it was more that we’d have sex and then spend three hours naked in his bed talking. I never worried about being naked with Reed. It always felt natural.
I couldn’t get enough of his touch. I didn’t care where it was, but I loved having his hands on me. I’m pretty sure he felt the same way about having my hands on him. Maybe it came from months of repressed feelings, but we were constantly coming up with new ways to explore each other. I’d never imagined I had such a creative side.
On New Year’s Eve, we had plans to go over to Al’s for dinner. His parents were in town, and Reed decided he was ready to see them as long as I came along.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go without me first? I can take a cab and meet you. Or if you’d trust me with your truck, I could drop you off and—”
“No way. You said you’d do this with me.”
“I just wanted to give you time.”
“I’ll have time—with you.”
“Okay.” I smoothed out my dress, trying not to get too nervous. Reed’s parents hadn’t seen him for more than a few minutes in years. Surely, they wouldn’t be too concerned with what I was wearing.
“You look great.” He always seemed to know the right thing to say to put me at ease.
“Thanks.”
We headed out front to his car. He let out a deep breath before turning on the engine. His whole body was tense. I wanted to help, but I didn’t know what to do. I settled my hand on his leg. I couldn’t imagine how hard it was for him. He pulled away from the curb, and we made the drive over to West Ashley where Al lived.
Reed didn’t move to get out of the car when we pulled into the driveway of a blue, two-story house.
I placed my hand where his still gripped the wheel. “You can do this.”
“I know.” He slowly opened his door.
I got out and met him as he reached the front of the car. He walked as slow as humanly possible.
He didn’t have to ring the bell. The door was pulled open by a woman with shoulder-length, dark brown hair. “Reed!” She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. For all of his talk, he hugged her back. He didn’t let go for at least twenty seconds.
When he finally did, the woman turned to me. “And this must be Juliet.”
“Yeah, Mom. This is Juliet. Juliet, this is my mom.”
“Andie.” She gave me a light hug. We followed her inside.
“Hello, Reed.” A tall man with graying hair stepped into the hallway.
“Dad.” Reed greeted him with a handshake, but his dad pulled him into a hug. It was the kind of hug with a lot of back patting. I wasn’t surprised to see tears on his father’s face afterward.
“Is this your girlfriend?”
“Yeah, this is Juliet.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Dave.”
“Nice to meet you, too.”
“Come on, come on. Let the kids come in,” Al shouted down the hallway. The few times I’d seen Al, he’d always called us kids. It was funny because he wasn’t that much older.
I sat down next to Reed at the beautifully set table. Al poured everyone a glass of champagne and made a toast. “To family and friends, new and old.”
Reed squeezed my hand under the table. I smiled and took a sip. Reed looked more relaxed. I knew he was glad he’d finally agreed to see his parents.
Dinner was amazing. I had no idea Al could cook so well. Reed was decent, but he wasn’t like Al. I’d never had duck that good, not even in a restaurant. The risotto was equally wonderful, and the strawberry cheesecake was to die for. It made me wonder why he served such horrible pizza. I decided that was a story for another time.