“You’re a freak,” he says, head shaking. “I’ve seen my share of trainwreck relationships, but whatever you two have going on is toxic. My advice? Run.”
Yeah, I’m not the runner in this relationship. “Come on, Reyn. I’m pretty sure no one thought you and Vandy could get past your history, but you did it anyway.”
“Fair enough.” He pauses. “I’m just giving you a hard time, anyway. I guess I get it. Sugar seems tough. Those are the best ones. Makes everything sweeter when it works out.”
We’re nearing the fork in the path. He’s going to his car, but I’ve got to go back to the dorms before I can escape to the shop for a few hours. “Yeah, Sugar is definitely tough. No doubt about that.” I rub the back of my head. “I figure you, uh, have some experience with winning over a girl who had every right to tell you to fuck off for good. Any real advice you want to offer a fellow Devil?”
Reyn exhales, a puff of fog streaming from his lips. “Fuck, I don’t know, man. Me and V are different. But I think…” He looks down at his keys pensively. “The main thing is that you’ve got to show her that she can trust you. It took V a long time to get there. We took things slow.” He grimaces. “And when I say slow, I mean two-snails-fucking slow. I let all the physical stuff be on her terms. It was up to her when we kissed or fooled around, when we fucked. I just gave her the reins.”
“So you let her grab you by the balls, huh?”
“Sure did.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and doesn’t look embarrassed to admit it.
“You’re telling me I have to back off, basically,” I grumpily conclude, “and wait for-fucking-ever.”
Reynolds leans back against his Jeep, tilting his head toward where Em and Vandy are hopping into Em’s truck. “You know, when me and V were first messing around, we couldn’t be together yet—not really. We had to keep it a secret and a bunch of other bullshit. I think we were both worried we wouldn’t wait on each other. So we made these promises.”
“That you’d wait,” I guess.
He shakes his head. “I think we both realized this thing we were doing would just be too hard, you know? Sydney was just starting to sniff around, and I guess V was kind of torn up about it. Because Syd would have been easy for me.”
I counter, “Syd’s easy for anyone,” and Reyn just laughs.
“Yeah. So Vandy made me promise.” He holds out a palm, sweeping it across the campus in the distance. “Anyone but Sydney.”
I wince. “Yikes.”
He nods. “Yeah, I was kind of fucked up about it. But I had her make a promise, too.” He gives me a long, meaningful look. “Anyone but you.”
“Hey!” I playfully shove his shoulder. “Fuck you, I would have treated that girl like a queen.”
He snorts, but there’s a smile flirting at his lips. “I know. That’s exactly why I made her promise. But the more I think about it, the more I know you and Vandy wouldn’t have lasted a week.”
I argue, “I don’t want Vandy, dude. She’s like my sister.”
But Reyn ignores it. “Because you wouldn’t have had the patience. Not for her. So I need you to really ask yourself if this girl is different. Is this just about trying to get under her skirt, or is this something you’re actually willing to commit to? Is she worth it to you?”
I don’t even have to pause to think about it. “She is.”
Reyn shrugs. “Then if she’s worth it, yo
u’ve got to be patient—especially if you’ve fucked up already. Let her set the rules here. Let her drive this thing. Stop making it all about your dick, Wilcox. I know you. You never back down from a fight. But you can’t fight something like this into submission.” He ticks off, “Don’t jerk her around. Don’t play games. Don’t bail when shit gets rough. Don’t keep shit from her. Christ, they do not like it when you keep shit from them.”
I nod, thinking. “I can probably do that.” He arches his eyebrow and gives me a look that says he definitely does not think I can do that, but whatever. “Thanks, man,” I say, holding out my fist.
“No problem.” He bumps his knuckles against mine. “Good luck with not thinking about your dick for five minutes.”
I walk backwards, holding out my arms. “Bet I could manage ten.”
“Oh yeah,” he replies. “Get used to cold showers.”
I flip him off, but he just laughs and walks off.
I’m almost back at my dorm when I text Georgia.
S: Is Sugar in your room?
G: Why?