Dirty Rush (11 page)

Olivia 4:51PM
and I'm a really good singer but it was just weird that he knew that, right?

Taylor 4:52PM
I don't know. It doesn't sound that weird to me.

Olivia 4:52PM
Really?

Taylor 4:53PM
Yeah, maybe someone mentioned it to him or something. And you're always humming

Olivia 4:53PM
I am?

Taylor 4:53PM
Yeah. But it's nice

Olivia 4:53PM
So you don't think he was trying to embarrass me by making me sing in front of the whole class?

Taylor 4:54PM
Why did he ask you to sing?

Olivia 4:54PM
Because the book we're reading in his lit class is about a French singer, and I knew the song we were talking about from high school. We sang it in chamber choir

Taylor 4:54PM
Did you tell him that you knew the song?

Olivia 4:54PM
Yeah

Taylor 4:54PM
Then that's probably how he knew you sang

Olivia 4:56PM
Oh you're probably right

Olivia 4:56PM
So it's not weird? You don't feel like he was embarrassing me because I'm a girl?

Taylor 4:57PM
Doesn't sound like it to me

Olivia 4:57PM
Okay

Olivia 4:59PM
Thanks. I'm glad I asked you

Taylor 4:59PM
No prob

Olivia and I never spoke of this issue again, she never brought it up and neither did I. I don't really know why she chose me to come to for advice. Her question didn't really have anything to do with women's studies, liberation, or feminism. But it made me smile. In her own Olivia way, she was confiding in me.

B
y the time the leaves on campus started falling off the trees, Jack and I were hanging out pretty much on a regular basis. We went on a few movie dates and a couple of dinners, but between schoolwork, chapter stuff, and sleep, neither of us had a ton of extra time. But when we did, we chose to spend it together. And of course, we saw each other at parties. Meg and the girls were constantly asking if Jack and I were “a thing,” and despite my pretending not to know, we were definitely becoming one.

Jack 11:40PM
You want to sleep over? I'm done with my shit and we could just watch a movie or whatever.

Taylor 11:40PM
I want to so bad, but I still have 50 pages left to note for psych. Maybe tomorrow night?

Jack 11:40PM
All good. You free Friday? I was gonna drive down to the marina where my dad keeps his boat. We could take a ride. Supposed to be nice weather.

Taylor 11:41PM
Omg yeah! For sure. That sounds amazing.

Jack 11:41PM
Great. Should we invite others? Could do a little private booze cruise

Taylor 11:42PM
Yes, I'll ask around. Cute!

Jack 11:43PM
Sounds good, I'll see if Dave is free. PS you're starting to sound like “them”

Taylor 11:43PM
Oh god, do I really?

Jack 11:45PM
It's cute

Taylor 11:45PM
LOL ok good. See you soon, handsome

Jack 11:46PM
xx

Friday couldn't have rolled around any sooner. The thought of doing anything sorority- or school-related was killing me. I needed a break, and the day trip on Jack's boat was gonna be just that. Jack invited one of his best friends and fraternity brothers, David, and told me to invite some friends. So Meg and Jonah also came along. I hadn't seen Jonah in a couple of weeks because his swim season had taken over his life. I missed him a lot and I felt like I had a lot to tell him. It was sweet that Jack wanted to hang out with my friends.

“I can't believe you grew up here. It's so beautiful.”

“Looks pretty boring to me,” joked Meg from the backseat.

“Definitely
a little boring, but it was fun when I was a kid.”

“Well, I'm happy to be here. This makes me happy.”

Once we all parked at the marina, Jack took me down to the boat to get it all set up and uncovered, while the rest of the group went to a liquor store to take care of the booze part of our cruise. Jack's family boat wasn't crazy huge or fancy, but it was beautiful. And it was nice to have a few minutes alone with him.

“A perfect Delaware fall day. Sixty and sunny,” he said, helping me down the dock ladder and into the boat.

“I love this time of year. Not too cold, the light is so romantic.” I snuggled up against him.

“Me too.”

I helped him untie the ropes and lay out all of the cushions.

“So you, like, really know what you're doing here, don't you?”

“My dad and I had a tradition of going fishing pretty much every weekend. It's kind of the only way we know how to relate to each other. So I've spent a lot of time on this boat.”

“That's super cute.”

“WHO WANTS A BEER?” David (cute, short, muscular jock type) screamed from the far end of the dock.

Once we were all aboard, Jack led us out of the harbor and into the Delaware River. Jonah and David handed out cans of Natty Boh. It was weird to be out in the real world with these people. I mean, almost everything social I'd been doing over the past few months was at school. You get stuck inside the bubble at school. It's
insular. But here we weren't kids anymore, we were kind of adults.

“So, Jonah. You're a swimmer. You wanna take a dip?” David said as he picked Jonah up and pretended to throw him overboard.

I guess adult wasn't exactly the right description.

“Ha! Very funny,” Jonah replied, shooting me a dirty look that screamed
Why did you make me come to this?

“Ignore him, Jonah. We all must remember that David's brain hasn't really healed since colliding with a lacrosse ball in the ninth grade.”

“Thanks, Jack, but that's pretty obvious,” Jonah smirked at David.

“Okay, okay. I was just horsing around. I didn't realize this was such a refined group of young adults,” David chimed in. “You're right, you're right. We should just all sit here leisurely enjoying these brews . . . or, anyone wanna do SOME COKE??”

“Sure,” Jonah answered immediately.

“Um, what? Are you serious Jonah?” I asked.

“Yeah. Why not? It's Friday, it's a beautiful fall day, we're on a fucking boat. What else are we supposed to be doing?”

“Yeah, Tay, what else are we supposed to be doing?” David added.

“Dave, did you really bring coke on my dad's boat?”

“Oh, I most certainly brought a lot of coke onto your dad's boat.”

“I'm down,” Meg added.

“The people have spoken, fine sir,” David said, shrugging.

“It's fine, I guess,” Jack replied while piloting.

We hadn't been
on the boat more than twenty minutes, and everyone but Jack and me was high as a kite. I wasn't disappointed, necessarily, but I'd had a different vibe in mind for the boat ride. They were all getting high, drinking, being crazy, and dancing like maniacs to Daft Punk, while Jack and I just sat together in the helm chair and laughed at them. So I guess it kind of worked out for the best.

“I'm so down for a party on a boat, but these guys are too much,” Jack said. Jonah was trying to teach Dave to twerk.

“Dave seems like a real winner.”

“He's usually not this bad. I brought him because he never seems be able to close the deal with girls and I thought we could set him up with Meg.”

“That's really sweet of you, but from the looks of it he seems more interested in Jonah than making a move on Meg.”

“You may be right. Hey, they'd make a cute couple.”

“I don't think Zac Efron in that fraternity movie is really Jonah's type,” I said.

“To be honest, I don't know whose type he is. Why don't we anchor here for a bit and chill? I haven't even shown you the berth yet.”

“Okay. That sounds cute.”

Jack turned off the motor and led me down to the lower cabin. It was cozy, with a little kitchen and a tiny bedroom at the front. Finally, some real privacy.

“This is it.” He sat down on the bed.

“I love it.”

“Good. I love it too. I've spent a lot of time on this boat.”

“Like with your family and stuff?”

“Yeah,
but also alone. This was like my own private hideaway when I was in high school. I would just come here to get away from shit.”

“I'm sure all the ladies in high school wanted to ‘check out' your dad's boat.”

“Well, honestly, no. I wasn't that smooth with the girls back then. I wish I had been. This would have been a killer spot, but it wasn't in the cards. I was a skinny, pimply geek.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“No. I'm being serious. When I got to college freshman year, I was five nine, and a hundred forty-five pounds. Sounds sexy, doesn't it?”

“I have a hard time believing that you weren't cute, even if you were scrawny.”

“I wish I had been, but sadly, all I did here was watch old movies on VHS and read the entire Hunger Games trilogy, over and over. Are you completely turned on right now?” Jack sheepishly smiled.

“I gotta say, you're constantly surprising me. You're not the guy I thought you were . . . like . . . in a good way. A really good way.”

“Did you think I was going to end up being this meathead frat brother or something?”

“Maybe at first?”

“Oh my God! I can't believe you. That's hilarious.”

“Well, I don't know? I met you on, like, my second day here. I think I had a lot of wrong ideas about who everyone was and how they would act.”

“Did
you honestly think that an average meathead would willfully enroll in a women's studies class at eight-thirty a.m. on Mondays?”

“Point taken,” I said as I closed the sliding door to the bedroom and sat next to Jack on the bed.

“Never judge a frat boy by his cover.”

Jack leaned in to kiss me, and as his lips touched mine, we both laid back onto the little mattress. I was so into him I couldn't contain it. It really isn't a myth—college boys actually are better/cuter/hotter than high school guys. As Jack's body rolled on top of me I wanted to scream, but I knew I had to keep it inside. If the cokeheads made their way downstairs we'd never have any alone time for the rest of the day.

“Do you have a condom?” I asked as I pulled him closer into me.

“Really? You're okay doing it in here?”

“Yes. We can just try to be quiet. So, do you have one?”

“I do.”

Jack hopped up, took his wallet out, and took his shirt and pants off as I stripped down to my bra and panties in record time. He placed the condom on a little wood ledge next to the bed and jumped back on top of me. There was something about his demeanor that was so disarming. Like he was confident, but also there was a tenderness about the way his body moved that made me feel completely free with mine.

Jack kissed me all over and worked his way down to my thighs, slowly removing my underwear. I knew what was coming next and my body quivered in anticipation. My moment of ecstasy only lasted about two seconds before I heard someone scream, “MAN OVERBOARD!”

It was Jonah's voice.

“What the fuck?” I said.

We threw our clothes on and raced up to the deck to see what was going on. Meg was basically passed out/sunbathing/not paying attention on the front of the boat, and Jonah sat toward the back. Dave had taken off his clothes and jumped into the river. It was really warm out for the fall, but the water had to be cold.

“Come on, Jonah! It's not that bad in here. I'll race you, swim star. Get in here!” Dave beckoned from the water. A very drunk and high Jonah took off his shirt and pants and jumped in.

“You two are fucking nuts!” Jack yelled. “You need to get out, now. You're gonna get hypothermia.”

The boys were not listening to Jack at all. They were just horsing around, seemingly unaffected by the freezing water.

Meg got up and joined us to see what all the commotion was about.

“Are you fucking serious?” Jonah shouted, looking up at me with a huge smile.

“What?” I called back.

“Dave, are you serious right now? Where are they? Give them back, dude!” Jonah looked pretty sober all of a sudden.

“Chill out, man,” Dave replied.

Jonah looked back up to the boat and explained, “Dave just pulled my boxers off. And now I'm gonna have to repay the favor.”