Kinda Hate You: An Enemies to Lovers College Romance

by Allie Everhart

  "This is taking forever," she says, leaning her head against the window.

  I drive a few feet and stop. "We're almost at the light. Once we're past that, the traffic will clear."

  Twenty minutes later we're finally out of the parking lot. I get on the freeway and head to my apartment, going faster than I should. When we get there, I take her hand as we walk up to my floor. I unlock my apartment door and follow her inside.

  I drop my keys on the table.

  She's standing in front of me.

  I look at her. She looks at me.

  She's out of breath.

  So am I. My heart's beating out of my damn chest.

  The room is silent except for the sound of our breathing. And then, like our minds decided it at the same time, our bodies collide and we kiss. It's an all-in, hot and heavy kiss while our hands frantically work to undress each other. She breaks from my mouth as I yank her t-shirt off, then pulls me back in for a kiss while she works on my belt. I undo her bra and she shakes it off, then finishes up with my belt, tossing it on the floor.

  "These are fucking amazing," I say, cupping her breasts.

  "I know," she says with a smile.

  I scoop her up and carry her to the bedroom.

  "Cal!" she says, laughing. "What are you doing?"

  "It was taking too long."

  "I was thinking the same thing."

  I drop her on the bed and undo her jeans, peeling them down her legs, my eyes on her black lace panties.

  "Wait," she says when I go to remove them. "You first."

  "Why? I've already seen you naked."

  "That's right. Okay, go ahead."

  I slide her panties off and look at her, completely naked on my bed. The most beautiful girl I've ever seen.

  "Cal, c'mon, hurry up." She reaches for me.

  "Let me look at you."

  "Not like this. At least turn the lights off."

  "Why? I love your body. I want to look at it."

  "Not now." She flips onto her stomach.

  "That's nice too," I say, admiring her round ass.

  I take my shirt off, then my boxers.

  "Cal, would you hurry up?" She flips to her back again, her eyes dropping to my cock. "Wow."

  "Thanks." I smile. "I get that a lot."

  She keeps her eyes on me as I go to the dresser to get a condom. I roll it on as she watches, then lean down to get on the bed. She reaches up and grabs me, pulling me on top of her.

  "You were taking too long," she says, breathing hard.

  I'm in her with one thrust, loving the feel of her body, her soft skin, her lips as we kiss. She always makes comments about her weight but to me she's perfect. I love her narrow waist, the curve of her hips, her breasts that overflow from my hands.

  "Faster," she says, gasping for breath, her eyes closed, head tipped back.

  When I imagined being with her, I knew she'd be this way. Demanding. Telling me what to do.

  I love it. I love that she's not embarrassed to tell me. I love not having to guess what she wants. It turns me on.

  "Yes!" She arches back. "Just like that! Keep going!"

  She's almost there, which is good because I'm about ready to burst. I grab her hips and rock back and forth, hard and fast.

  "Yes! More!" she yells.

  I keep hold of her hips and pound into her, over and over.

  "Yes! Don't stop!" Her hands dig into my back as she comes, then drop to her side. "Holy crap," she says, trying to catch her breath.

  I keep going, pumping hard and fast.

  "Shit," I groan as I come. I fall back on the bed, a big smile on my face. I knew it'd be good with her but not that good.

  "You passed the test," she says, laying her head on my shoulder. "I'll agree to be your girlfriend."

  "I knew you would. Monster truck show followed by mind-blowing sex? Pretty good first date."

  "Best one I've ever had."

  "Me too." I kiss her forehead. "So what are we going to tell the families?"

  "Maybe we shouldn't tell them."

  "Why?"

  "Because they'll make too big a deal out of it, especially Taylor. She's wanted us to be together for months."

  "She has? She never said anything to me about it."

  "She hasn't actually told me to date you. She just drops hints about it."

  "I say we tell them tomorrow. I'll call Luke. You call Taylor. Then we'll tell our parents."

  She sits up. "What time is it?"

  "Just after 11. Why?"

  "I told my mom I'd be home by now. I have to go."

  "Why don't you stay? Tell your mom we're going out to eat and by the time we get back it'll be too late for you to go home. You'll wake up Max."

  "Okay." She gets her phone out. "Wait. She doesn't know I'm with you. She thinks I went alone."

  "She knows. I might've told her I was taking you."

  "You did? Why?"

  "Because your mom worries about everything and I didn't want her talking you into not going when you got the package in the mail. I knew she'd think it was suspicious so I had to tell her I was the one who sent it."

  "That explains why she wasn't worried. I couldn't figure that out."

  "But if you tell her you're staying with me tonight, she might figure out we're together."

  "She'll figure it out soon enough anyway." She calls her mom. "Hey, Mom. Cal and I are going to get some food. We'll probably be out late so I'm just going to stay here tonight." She listens. "No, we're just—" She nods, then sighs. "Okay, yes, we're dating." She nods some more. "Yeah. Bye, Mom."

  "What'd she say?"

  Birdie rolls her eyes. "She welcomed you to the family."

  "Already planning the wedding?"

  "What can I say? My mom's crazy."

  "It's not that crazy," I say, pulling her down beside me.

  "You and me? Getting married? That's crazy."

  "Will you still think that a few years from now?"

  "Probably. I can't marry you. I wasn't even supposed to date you."

  "And yet it happened."

  "I'm still not sure how."

  "Me either but I'm glad it happened." I kiss her. "I love you."

  "I love you too."

  The next day we're still in bed when my phone rings. It's my mom.

  "Hey, Mom. What's going on?"

  "Could you come over for lunch? Your dad and I were going to have friends over but they cancelled and now I have too much food."

  I look over at Birdie, who's still asleep. "I can't. I have to catch up on studying."

  "Please, Cal. It won't take long. You can leave right after lunch. I'm inviting Birdie, too. I made strawberry shortcake for dessert, which you know is her favorite."

  "You invited Birdie? When?"

  "I haven't called her yet. I'll call her when we're done."

  "I'll do it. I have to call her about stats anyway."

  "So you'll be here for lunch?"

  "Yeah. I'm sure Birdie will too but I'll text you to let you know."

  "Lunch is at 11. See you soon!"

  I check my phone. It's already ten.

  "Hey." I lean down to Birdie and kiss her cheek. "We have to get up."

  "Why?" She yawns. "Where are we going?"

  "To my parents' house. My mom wants us there for lunch. She made strawberry shortcake for dessert."

  "My favorite." Birdie turns to me, smiling. "But I'd rather just stay here."

  "Me too but we might as well go. We can tell them about us and then both of our parents will know."

  "Mine don't."

  "Your mom does, and I'm sure she told your dad."

  "What about Taylor and Luke? We should tell them before your parents."

  "We don't have time. It's already ten and we have to be there at eleven. If we call those two we'll be on the phone forever."

  "True." She sits up. "You shower first. I'll wait here."

  "Or we could shower together." I smile. "Save time." />
  "Good idea." She races to the bathroom.

  After our shower, which involved more than just showering, we get dressed and head to the house.

  "I feel like they'll know when they see us," Birdie says as I park in the driveway.

  "They won't know. Let's go in."

  We go to the door and it swings open.

  "Surprise!" Luke and Taylor say at the same time.

  "Taylor!" Birdie hugs her.

  "Hey, man." I give Luke a hug. "Good to see you."

  "What are you guys doing here?" Birdie asks Taylor.

  "Luke has a meeting in Scottsdale tomorrow with a company that wants him to do a commercial so I decided to tag along. I only have one class on Monday. I can miss it."

  "Get over here," I say to Taylor.

  She hugs me. "I've missed you guys. I hate being so far away."

  "You have to come back and visit more," Birdie says.

  "Is that Cal and Birdie?" my mom yells from inside the house.

  "Yes," Taylor yells back. "We'll be there in a minute." She turns back to us. "We should get in there. She has lunch ready."

  As we're walking in, my dad comes out from the kitchen.

  "What do you think of the surprise?" he says, beaming from having both his kids home.

  "I can't believe you didn't tell me when we talked yesterday," Birdie says to Taylor.

  "Then it wouldn't have been a surprise." Taylor wraps her arm around Luke's as he leans down and kisses her. I'm still not used to seeing my sister with my best friend. I wonder what Taylor will think of me dating her best friend.

  My mom appears. "Everything's ready. Should we head to the dining room?"

  As we're sitting down at the table, I say, "So was that story about having friends cancel on lunch just an excuse to get us over here?"

  "Yes." My mom laughs. "It wasn't a very good one but I couldn't come up with anything else."

  "I thought for sure you wouldn't come over," Taylor says to Birdie.

  "Why not?"

  "Being up on a Sunday before noon? Lunch with Cal? Those are both things you try to avoid." She helps herself to some fruit salad and hands the bowl to Luke, who's beside her. "I thought you'd want to sleep in after getting home late after the truck show. Oh! Who was the guy?"

  "What guy?" my mom says, passing the casserole my way.

  "Birdie has a secret admirer," Taylor says, smiling at Birdie. "The guy sent her a ticket for the monster truck show yesterday."

  "And a t-shirt to wear to it," Birdie says. "He also sent me a dress." She looks at me. "Wait, was that—?" She stops suddenly and reaches across the table for a roll.

  "What just happened?" Luke asks with a laugh. "Why'd you stop?"

  "And why were you looking at Cal?" Taylor asks.

  "The dress was the same one I wore to a party at Cal's frat house," Birdie says. "It got ruined so I thought maybe Cal was the one who sent me a new one."

  "I did," I say. "I felt bad it got ruined."

  "That was nice of you," my mom says to me. "What happened to the original dress?"

  "Someone spilled something on it," Birdie rushes to say, not wanting to tell them the truth. "I couldn't get the stain out."

  "So who was the guy who gave you the ticket?" Taylor eagerly asks. "Did you find out?"

  "Um, yeah," Birdie says, moving her food around her plate with her fork. She's stalling, but why? Is she changing her mind about telling them?

  "And?" Taylor says. "Who was it?"

  "I'd rather not say." She turns to my dad. "Could you pass the butter?"

  He hands it to her. "So Taylor, tell us about your classes."

  "That's boring. I'd rather hear about this secret admirer. C'mon, Birdie, just tell us."

  "Maybe later. I don't want to talk about it now."

  I nudge her foot under the table but don't get a response, not even a glance my way. She's not ready to tell them. I'm not either but I'd rather do it now than wait and try to keep it a secret.

  "At least tell us about the show last night," Taylor says. "Did the guy show up or were you there alone?"

  "He showed up," she says, shoving a strawberry in her mouth. "These are really good strawberries," she says to my mom.

  "Aren't they?" My mom smiles. "I got them at the farmer's market yesterday."

  "So this was a date?" Taylor sets her fork down and looks across the table at Birdie. "You can't just say that and expect me to let it go. Tell me what he looked like."

  Birdie shrugs. "He was cute. Short blond hair. Blue eyes. Athletic."

  "Like Cal?" my dad says with a laugh as he serves himself more of the casserole.

  Birdie pretends she didn't hear him.

  "How was the date?" Taylor asks Birdie.

  "Good. I mean, it was a monster truck show so it couldn't possibly be bad."

  "Where were the seats?"

  "Front row." Birdie smiles. "And he got me a pass to ride in the back of one of the trucks during intermission." Her voice rises with excitement. "It was so amazing!"

  "Birdie, this guy sounds perfect for you!" Taylor says. "And he obviously knows you well enough to know how much you like monster trucks. Who is he? Someone you knew from high school?"

  "Um, yeah, we did go to high school together," she says. "But only for a couple years. He's older than me."

  "Hmm." Taylor looks at me. "Who do we know from high school that could be this mystery man?"

  "Not sure." I reach across Birdie to get a roll, catching her eye, but she doesn't give me any clues about what's going on here. I wish she'd just tell them.

  "Was he in Cal's class?" Taylor asks.

  Birdie nods. "This casserole is really good, Barb."

  "Thank you," my mom says.

  "Did he play any sports?" Taylor asks.

  "Taylor, let it go," I say. "She doesn't want to talk about it."

  "Why? Is it someone I went out with?" she asks.

  "Taylor, enough," my dad says. "Birdie will tell us when she's ready. Let's talk about something else. Cal, have you researched any more golf courses?"

  "Yeah, there's one in Glendale we should check out."

  "I've been talking to the agent representing the one in Scottsdale and I think we can get a deal. The owner's in a hurry to sell."

  "That's the course I like the most, so if we were able to get a deal I think we should put in an offer."

  "Let's talk more later. We'll need to go back there and take a closer look at what repairs need to be done, but yes, I agree, it's the best course we've seen so far. I think it would be a good investment."

  "Any chance friends will get discounts on green fees?" Luke jokes.

  "You really think I'd charge you?" Cal says. "You get free golf whenever you want. Same for you, Taylor."

  She doesn't respond. Her mind is still on the mystery man. She keeps looking at Birdie like she wants to ask her more about him.

  "Maybe we could go out there later today," Luke says. "Check out the course." He turns to Taylor. "What do you think? You want to play a round?"

  She turns to face him. "Something seems off, don't you think?"

  "What are you talking about?"

  "Those two." She points to Birdie and me. "They're not fighting."

  "You're right," my dad says, putting his fork down and staring at us. "You two haven't had a single fight since you walked in the door. You haven't even made a disparaging comment to each other."

  "It's because I'm tired." Birdie yawns. "We'll fight later when I have more energy."

  "Being tired has never stopped you before," Taylor says.

  "Maybe they fought in the car on the way over here," Luke suggests.

  "That's the other thing," Taylor says. "Why did Birdie ride here with Cal? Why didn't she drive herself?"

  "I'm trying to save gas," Birdie blurts out. "There's an energy crisis. It's all over the news."

  Everyone's staring at her. I need to get us off this topic.

  "You guys serious about wanting
to go golfing today?" I ask. "I could call and see if—"

  "Is that Cal's shirt?" Taylor points to Birdie's t-shirt. She didn't have a clean shirt to wear this morning so she took one from my closet. It's too small on me and one I never wear so I didn't think anyone would notice it's mine.

  Birdie nervously laughs. "I didn't realize my shirt had a stain on it so we stopped at Cal's and he loaned me one of his."

  "Does anyone want more rolls?" my mom asks. "I have some in the kitchen."

  "I'll have another one," my dad says.

  She gets up from the table. "Anyone else need anything while I'm up?"

  "It's Cal!" Taylor yells, pointing at me.

  Luke looks at her. "What are you talking about?"

  "Cal is the mystery guy!"

  My mom laughs. "Taylor, don't be silly. Those two can't even be in the same room together without arguing."

  "They're not arguing today. And Cal knows how much Birdie loves monster trucks."

  "Everyone knows that," Birdie says.

  "But a guy you just met wouldn't buy you front row tickets," she says.

  "Or that pass to ride in the back of the truck," Luke adds. "That's something a guy would only do if he really knew how much it would mean to you. That had to have a cost a small fortune."

  "Wasn't that much," I mutter.

  "I knew it!" Taylor points at me. "He just admitted it."

  "Cal!" Birdie hits my arm.

  "What? This is getting ridiculous. We might as well tell them."

  My mom sits down. "Tell us what?"

  "Cal took me to the show last night," Birdie says. "He bought me the ticket."

  "So this was a date?" my dad asks.

  "Of course it was a date!" Taylor squeals. "Birdie is dating Cal! I knew it! I could tell something was up from the minute they got here!" She gets up and runs around the table to hug Birdie. "I'm so happy for you!"

  "You are?" I ask. "You're okay with me dating your best friend?"

  "I think it's great!" She stands up straight, her hand on her hip. "Unlike you, I don't ban my friends from dating my brother."

  "Hey! I came around eventually."

  "You still don't like it," Luke mutters.

  "When did this happen?" my mom asks. "Last night?"

  "Officially, yeah," I answer. "But we've been hanging out since school started."

  Taylor gasps. "You're wearing his shirt! Does that mean—"

  "Taylor!" Birdie yells, giving her a look to keep quiet. She doesn't want my parents knowing we spent the night together but I think that secret is already out.