Wet: Part 2 by S. Jackson Rivera Read Free Book Online Page A

believing it, it’ll be because they know you’re too good to wind up with me.”
    “So, I know tonight’s the night, but you haven’t filled me in on how we’re going to let everyone know we’re . . . supposedly, together. I hope you’re not planning to bushwhack me again, like you did with my roommates.”
    “Bushwhack?” He chuckled. “I was thinking more along the lines of just doing what comes naturally.”
    “Not instilling a lot of confidence in me—your natural or mine?” She cocked her head to the side and bugged her eyes at him. “Because my natural means we’re staying home and eating quesadillas. Your natural means we have an appointment with Frock?” She shuddered at the idea.
    “No Frock,” he grimaced. He wanted her— really wanted her—and he wasn’t used to not getting what— who —he wanted. The irony of the whole thing would have made him laugh if it wasn’t so damned frustrating. His ability to win anyone else was the very reason he couldn’t have her. So he’d taken a page from her book and set his own goal to get his life under control, if possible . . . so far, so good.
    “You’re right. Sorry.” His face twisted up in thought. “First off, I should drink. People expect it.” He hadn’t been drinking his usual amount since the night he kissed her in her bedroom. He wanted to be careful, to ensure nothing like that happened again. He needed to stay clear to keep on track with his new goal.
    “Then, when the sharks start to circle—” It embarrassed him to admit aloud how he knew the girls would compete for his attention, but they would. “—I’ll look your way and pay no attention to any of them, at all. I’ll only have eyes for you.”
    Rhees made a skeptical face, probably not meant for him to see, but he did.
    She doesn’t believe that’s possible, he thought. He’d let the way he’d said he’d only have eyes for her, sound like a joke, but—Shelli knew it was true, several other girls too. They’d said as much. They wished he would just have Rhees so he could finally move on. In the back of his mind, he never allowed himself to dwell on the thought too long. He’d begun to enjoy not moving on .
    “And at some point in the night, I just need to do what I usually do, make my move. We’re talking blatant, over-the-top, gross, non-disputable PDA—typical Paul style, and then I’ll drag you off with me, leaving everyone to gossip about what they’re sure will happen when I get you home.” He watched her eyes, waiting for her reaction, suspecting she’d be uncomfortable.
    Right on cue, she grew anxious, wringing her hands, practically trembling, on the verge of hyperventilating. She jumped up and walked to the far corner of the room. He stood too and grabbed her, putting a stop to her pacing. 
    “Rhees.” He kept his voice low and comforting, the tone he used during the night to calm her down when she woke crying and thrashing in the bed. “Tell me what’s wrong. Please?”
    “Paul.” She scrunched her eyes closed and made a pained face. “There’s something wrong with me. I get nervous . . . uptight—scared even—with intimacy . . . I freak out!”
    “ No shit!” He chuckled. He’d hoped for an explanation as to why, not an admission of what he already knew.
    She just stared, shamefaced, not saying a word.
    “Yeah! It’s kind of hard to miss . . .” He watched her for a second then glanced down, bashfully. “But it’s nice to hear it isn’t just me.”
    “If you already know the way I am, what makes you think we can pull off what you’ve planned? It’s not going to convinceanyone if I panic and start screaming at you to get away from me.” The volume of her voice steadily increased.
    He pulled her chin up with his finger and tilted his head, studying her.
    “Then don’t.”
    “I can’t. Help. It.”
    He stepped closer, reached for her hands and held them. “I know. But you’re letting me touch you now.”
    “You can’t