I Hate You, Marry Me

by Jamie Knight

  Nicole turns to Robert.

  “I can take yours up, too, if you want.”

  He looks up at her and then down at his test before handing it over. It’s more of a super quick skim and then he lets it go.

  “Thanks,” he tells her.

  I don’t think he and Nicole are friends, but he is generally nicer to her than he is to me, whenever they interact.

  Nicole leaves with our exams to give to the professor. Still feeling quite pleased with myself about my test performance, I turn back to look at Robert some more.

  He really is quite handsome. Hiss dark hair and dark eyes make him look mysterious. Maybe he has some deep, dark secrets he’s trying to hide. I want to know more about him, and I don’t know why. Maybe because he’s not so forthcoming with me. He’s like a bit of a puzzle, and I like solving puzzles.

  I’ve seen Robert running with his friend around campus in the mornings. I think his friend’s name is Brent and that he’s also in this class.

  All that running seems to have paid off because Robert looks rather fit. He also looks really good when he’s all sweaty.

  Maybe once or twice, my driver has passed by his route. I actually saw him this morning, but it looked like he was headed back home. He probably takes long showers afterwards, the water running down his muscled back. I could just feel him up, run my hands up and down his chest.

  I’m sure he’d make for a good fuck. A one-night stand with him would probably be amazing. It’s been some time since I’ve had sex with anyone and I’m sure Robert could scratch that itch and do a few other things if I asked.

  Maybe we’d be able to work through whatever negative feelings he has towards me. It might even make the sex hotter and I’d finally get to know him better. He’d probably be a bit bossy— he seems the type. Maybe I’d be the type who likes being told what to do.

  I’d definitely want to suck him off. I love the look in a man’s eyes when I’ve got him in the palm of my hand like that. It’s a weird dynamic of control I like to play off of.

  God, I want to make this man come. I hadn’t realized how much until now.

  I thought he was just another hot guy that I maybe liked starring at and also that I’m crazy horny due to my extended dry spell, but there’s something about Robert that makes me want him.

  Maybe if I ever get the chance, I’ll be able to push past this fixation. Maybe find someone who actually likes me.

  I see Robert make an unpleasant face and then he slowly twists his head towards me. His mouth is in a hard line as he glares at me. I must have made him uncomfortable. I didn’t want to do that— I just got a little carried away with my fantasies and whatnot— but now I’m getting an eyeful.

  Even with that distasteful look on his face, he still looks sexy.

  I know I should probably be embarrassed because I was just having a vivid sexual fantasy about him while unabashedly staring at him, but I’m feeling rather bold today. I keep telling myself to look away, but I don’t want to. And Robert’s holding his own. It’s like his eyes are on fire.

  To ease some of the tension, I stick my tongue out at him like we’re five. His eyes go wide, as if he can’t believe I’d do something so childish. I almost can’t believe I did it, either.

  Unfortunately, that does not create any ease. Instead, I think it adds to the discomfort.

  Well, great.

  I want to fuck him but instead I just made him look at me as if I have three heads.

  That was so not the effect I was going for.

  And it’s the reason I never try to interact with most people— I know I’ll just inevitably find some way to mess it up.

  Chapter Five

  Robert

  Savannah keeps staring at me.

  After I gave my test to Nicole, I noticed she was looking at me like I was some exhibit in a museum. She makes me so uncomfortable. It can’t all be chalked up to the fact that I had a sex dream about her just this morning, although that sure isn’t fucking helping.

  No, there are other things adding to my discomfort. She’s so fucking beautiful and— if I’m going to be honest— this morning’s dream wasn’t the first time I’d had sexual thoughts about her. I feel like shit every time afterwards, because then I always remember how stuck-up she is.

  Savannah’s so full of herself. She thinks she’s something special because her dad has money and the two of them look down on those of us who don’t. She doesn’t even remember that the two of us met when we were kids! And it wasn’t some quick two-minute meeting— we spent a significant amount of time together, but I guess someone like me isn’t worth remembering, for someone like her.

  I hate to admit that I’m bitter about it, but I am— just a little. I try not to be, but it’s not that easy.

  And, now, I don’t know how to get out of this extended staring contest we seem to have one another locked in. She just had to start this nonsense and then go and make that dumb face. Who sticks their tongue out at people? We’re literal adults, not a couple of toddlers on the playground.

  She aggravates me so much and I hate it. I can’t tell if she’s trying to challenge me or something. I don’t know what she wants.

  Why she won’t just leave me alone?

  If she left me alone, I’d leave her alone.

  I feel someone come up next to me, but I refuse to look away.

  “Hey, man.”

  It sounds like Brent. He probably saw Savannah and me doing whatever it is we’re doing, and he knows how stubborn I can get.

  “Are you ready to go?”

  “Yeah, let me just grab my stuff.”

  I keep glaring at Savannah as I pick up my bag. I feel like I look super confused right now, which is unfortunate, because I don’t want to appear as if my demeanor is slipping.

  Her expression is unchanged, but clearly amused. I don’t know what to do with her. I finally look away, leaving the classroom with Brent.

  “What was that about?” Brent asks, as we walk out the door.

  “What?”

  “That whole thing with Savannah. Why were you guys staring at each another?”

  “I don’t know. She was just looking at me and it kind of just happened. She wouldn’t look away, so I felt like I couldn’t look away, either.”

  “She really gets under your skin, huh?”

  Brent is obviously very highly amused. He smiles at me.

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  I wish I could just let this go, but I’m having trouble with it.

  “Have you ever thought about dating her?” Brent asks. “It seems like she wants you to like her.”

  I stop walking and stand frozen in place.

  Date her?

  I could never.

  She’s just too… annoying.

  We’re just too… different.

  I shake my head.

  “She doesn’t care about what I think of her. Why would she?”

  We’ve barely spoken. There were a few times when she said hi, but after I realized she didn’t remember me, coupled with what her dad did to my family, I knew that she wasn’t someone I wanted to be associated with.

  “I don’t know.” Brent laughs and pulls me forward. “Maybe she likes you, maybe she thinks she you’re cute, maybe she wants to get some notes from class. Who knows? I don’t know. You would know, though, if you asked her. The two of you clearly have… something going on, so I think it’d be a good idea to pursue whatever that is. You’re single, she’s single, you’ve got similar lifestyles in terms of schedules because you’re both in med school. So, why not?”

  Brent’s layout sounds logical, but he’s taken away all the nuance. I look at him and frown.

  “First off, she’s in a whole other universe, totally removed from me. Sure, we’re both trying to be doctors, but Savannah’s a rich snob who only cares about herself. She’s probably just doing this to please her dad, and doesn’t even want to be here. Plus, we have nothing in common. How could we?”


  Brent stops walking. “What about us?”

  I look at my friend and sigh because I don’t know why he’s pushing this so much. He’s usually not so talkative when it comes to my romantic life or lack thereof.

  “What about us, Brent?”

  “Well, I’m at the same level as Savannah in terms of how much money we have and we’re friends, you and me. I’m married to your sister; I feel pretty accepted into your family. How come you treat Savannah so differently?”

  I shrug and look away.

  “It’s because she is different. You’re actually a good person, whereas she’s… just not. Or something. I don’t know how else to explain it.”

  I hate having to explain myself about something that even I don’t completely understand. And I never even fucking realized how little I understand about it until now.

  No one has ever tried to have me break down why I don’t like Savannah before. It’s not something I want to keep doing.

  “Maybe you’re just old fashioned and don’t like the idea of your girlfriend making more money than you do,” Brent suggests.

  I make a noise that emanates from my throat and sounds unpleasant. It’s like a scoff, but a little more distasteful. I’d like to know why Brent is being so adamant about this, but I’d also like to drop this entire conversation.

  “I just don’t like her. It’s simple and I will never date her. It just wouldn’t work.”

  Brent shrugs and finally drops the whole thing, thankfully. I don’t know how much longer I could go on about this. I don’t want to get mad at my friend, because I know he’s well-meaning, but he’s barking up the wrong tree.

  After a few more minutes of walking, we reach the outside of the campus. Pacific Day is in the middle of a small town that shares the same name. It’s an easy walk from our classes to the downtown area where there are a lot of small restaurants to eat at.

  A man walking towards us catches my eye and I realize he has a familiar face. It’s Seth, a childhood friend from back home. We grew up together in the small town of Greenlake, about half a day’s drive from here.

  I’m shocked to see him. He doesn’t go to school here, so seeing him in town is odd.

  I wave my hands and get his attention. He breaks into a smile and walks up to us.

  “Seth! It’s good to see you,” I tell him. “What are you doing here?”

  I give him a quick handshake and Brent does the same. They have met quite a few times in the past, when Brent went with me to visit my family. Also, Seth’s wife Tina is one of my little sister Lindsay’s best friends.

  “Tina and I moved here after I switched schools,” Seth explains. “I’m in the business school at Pacific Day now. Plus, I got a new job offer in town here, so it kind of all just fell into place.”

  “Where are you working? And how is it going?”

  “I’m working for a local businessman, Landon Price,” Seth responds. “I heard he’s a bit of a big name, but you probably wouldn’t know him. You never seemed to like the business world.”

  Seth knows a little bit about what happened with the auto parts plant back when we were kids. His dad had also worked there. It was a bit of a clusterfuck for the town, since a lot of people were employed there.

  Luckily, another plant moved into town a few years later and both our dads got hired there, so their involuntary unemployment didn’t last forever. But Savannah’s dad did a lot more damage than he possibly could have known.

  Thankfully, a lot of us bounced back, though. It just took some time.

  “Actually,” Brent jumps in, “I somewhat know Landon. We’re not friends or anything, but the two of us grew up in similar circles.”

  I’m guessing that by that, Brent means richer circles. Brent also grew up around Savannah, so maybe that’s why he was trying to get me to ask her out. He has a different view of her, maybe because they grew up in each other’s peripheries.

  I don’t know exactly what his motives are. Maybe I’ll ask him later.

  “Do you like him?” Brent asks.

  I’d never heard of this guy, which isn’t totally crazy. Like Seth said, I’m not big into the world of business.

  Seth shrugs. “I don’t know. I haven’t spent a lot of time around him, so I can’t say for sure, but, on first impression— he kind of rubs me the wrong way. I’m not sure why. I’m hoping my impression of him improves because the job is really great, so I’m just doing my best.”

  Brent makes a sort of ‘hmm’ noise. It doesn’t sound particularly negative or positive, but just like he’s digesting what Seth told him. I don’t know what all of this means for him, but it doesn’t appear to have anything to do with me, so I decide that I’m not going to dive into it unless he offers up the information.

  “What are you doing now?” I ask Seth.

  “Nothing. I just got off work. I’m on half days until I finish classes.”

  “Do you want to come to lunch with us?”

  Seth checks his watch really quick and then nods.

  “Yeah, I’d like that. Are you guys going somewhere nearby, or do we need to take our cars?”

  “We’re just going to the diner that’s about a block away. We’ll be able to walk back here afterwards.”

  It’s probably the best diner in the area. A lot of people who go to this university eat there, since it’s cheap and delicious food. Lucia’s Diner is the name.

  As the three of us start to walk over, Seth and I start catching up, him letting me know about some of the things that have been happening in his life. It sounds like he’s gotten into the business because he wants to run things a little more ethically, something I can more than appreciate. He also tells us about his wife and personal life.

  We get to the diner and find a booth for ourselves.

  “I’d recommend their sandwiches. I’m partial to the BLT because I’m bacon obsessed, but the tuna melt and the salami are also really good,” Brent recommends.

  We all peruse the menu and when the waitress comes by, we order. Lunch is a good time; Seth is a still a riot. I give him my number at the end of the meal and tell him to call me, so we can have lunch or dinner again.

  Truth be told, I’m grateful for the distraction of running into Seth. It means I was able to stop thinking about how Savannah was staring at me. And about how Brent was telling me that it means she wants me.

  I can’t imagine my childhood enemy wanting me now that we’re in college.

  But what do I know? I’m only the guy having sex dreams about her.

  Chapter Six

  Savannah

  As Robert left class with his friend, he kept looking at me until he was totally out of the room. He was clearly annoyed with how much I was staring at him, but I didn’t want to stop and so I didn’t.

  I was raised to be a lot more polite, but all of that went out the window today. I’d like to say it’s no big deal, but it is. I need to get over this… thing… whatever it is.

  “Hey.”

  Nicole has returned to her desk and is packing up her stuff.

  I look over at her and smile.

  “How do you think you did on the test?” I ask her.

  She finishes putting everything into her bag and stands up straight. I start to pack as she answers.

  “Pretty good. I probably could have studied a little more, but I’m feeling confident.”

  She waits, leaning on her desk, while I put away my things. Then I stand up next to my friend, wave my hand for her to move forward, and we start to head out.

  “That’s good. I feel pretty confident, too,” I tell her. “I’m sure we both did well. We’re both exceptional and smart women.”

  Nicole nods, but doesn’t say anything else. I like to throw out affirmations every now and then. I find it makes getting through the tougher days of school a little easier.

  I’m expecting Nicole to say something— sometimes, we’ll talk about the content of the test and what answers we think we might have missed, kind of
going over what each of us had put and comparing possibilities— but it looks like today she isn’t in the mood.

  So, since I’m still stuck on Robert, I decide to ask Nicole about him.

  “Do you know that guy, Robert Miller? He’s in our class. You actually took up his test.”

  Nicole nods.

  “I don’t know him, know him, but I know who you’re talking about. Why?”

  I shrug.

  “I don’t know. I guess I think he’s…”

  Nicole’s eyes go wide as my voice trails off.

  “You think he’s cute?” she asks suggestively.

  I feel my cheeks heat up. I’m usually not embarrassed while talking about guys with Nicole, but maybe I’m finally feeling the embarrassment I should have felt earlier when I was staring at Robert.

  “I do.”

  “I’d have to agree. He is a good-looking guy.”

  “Right, but I don’t think he likes me. I’ve tried talking to him, but every time I do, he gives me the cold shoulder. I don’t get it. It feels like he has something against me, but I can’t figure out why. I don’t know what I did to make him feel that way towards me.”

  I don’t know if I’ll ever figure it out.

  Nicole nods her head as we walk through the hallway and out into the quad. It’s a nice day out. Spring is just starting to come to Northern California. The trees on campus are getting their leaves back. The grass is turning green again.

  “Some people just don’t like other people and there’s no rhyme or reason.” Nicole shrugs. “Who knows what’s going through his head? Maybe he has some weird crush on you and can’t admit it to himself, so he just takes it out on you. Like they say little kids do, when they like someone.”

  Nicole says that so casually, I’m not sure if she’s serious or not.

  I scrunch my nose and shake my head.

  “I don’t think so. That’s just way too middle school. I’d hope he’s more in touch with his emotions than that.”