Love to Hate You

by Jennifer Sucevic

  Thankfully Aunt Marnie doesn’t say anything more on the subject. The last thing I need is to get my butt chewed out in front of Carter. He’d probably pull up a chair, munch on a bag of popcorn, and enjoy the show.

  The loud, happy voices emanating from the backyard make all four of us turn toward the French doors. It’s still early, but there are already about forty people on the patio and enjoying themselves in the pool. I smile while watching Uncle Craig flip burgers and hot dogs. He’s broken out his blue Superman apron and is laughing with one of the neighbors as he takes a swig from his beer bottle. If the entire football team turns out like they did last year, he’ll have to man the grill for the entire afternoon.

  Catching sight of a few teammates, Noah and Carter exit through the glass doors.

  “Slather on some sunscreen!” Aunt Marnie calls after them. When they glance back at her, she points to a couple of yellow bottles on a table near the door. “Safety first.”

  Not following the guys outside, I linger behind in the kitchen, giving my aunt a kiss on the cheek. I love spending time with her. Sometimes I feel guilty for thinking it, but she’s the mother I wish I’d been born with.

  I gesture at the spread in front of us. “Is there anything I can help with?”

  With a critical eye, she surveys the bowls of salads and pastas on the granite island. Instead of hiring a caterer like most working women, she always opts to make food for parties herself. By the looks of it, she’s going to feed a small army. Or the BU football team. They may not be an army, but they certainly eat like one. “Sure. You can help carry these to the table set up out back in about fifteen minutes.”

  I nod. “Sounds like a plan.”

  Now that the food has been taken care of, my aunt washes her hands and dries them with a towel. As she does, her gaze lingers on my face. “How’s everything going?” Her eyes narrow as she studies me. “Are you doing all right?”

  Instead of firing off a response, I force myself to inhale a breath and calmly let it out. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  Now that Carter has joined the party, the agitation buzzing through my system gradually dissipates. Yes, I’m irritated with him for his antics the other night, but there’s more to my unease than just that alone. Carter has the uncanny ability of setting me on edge. It’s constant. Which is exhausting.

  If her penetrating gaze is anything to go by, Aunt Marnie doesn’t believe me. “Classes are going okay?”

  “So far, so good.” I’m a graphic art major. Now that all my general education requirements are out of the way, I was able to fill my schedule with art classes. I tacked on a sociology class—which I love—because I’m interested in the subject.

  Too bad Carter ended up in the same section. We’ve never had one class together until now. I don’t even know what he’s majoring in, and yet, we somehow got stuck in Soc 210—Current Social Problems.

  Still eyeing me, she hangs up the towel, and tries to suss out the truth. “And living with Noah and Carter is working out?”

  I wouldn’t go that far.

  But I can’t tell her that.

  Stalling for time, I grab a carrot stick from the humongous veggie platter and munch on it while shrugging. “It’s fine.”

  Again, my mind tumbles back to the stunt Carter pulled Friday night. He’s lucky he made himself scarce for the rest of that evening or I don’t think I could have been held responsible for my actions.

  Any future dates with Logan can be kissed goodbye. I texted the blond frat boy yesterday to see if we could meet up and discuss my living situation in more depth to straighten out any misconceptions he might have.

  I never heard back from him, which I’m pretty sure means that my initial assumptions were spot on.

  And do you know who I can blame for that?

  Carter freaking Prescott.

  Aunt Marnie leans against the counter and crosses her arms over her chest. “How are you and Carter getting along?”

  “Just as well as we always do,” I say with forced brightness.

  It’s not exactly a lie.

  She sighs and gently asks, “Have you ever considered cutting Carter some slack?”

  My brows slam together, and I straighten to my full height.

  Cut him some slack?

  The guy is a total asshole. And I’m not one to throw that word around lightly.

  “Why would I do that?” If she knew even a tenth of what Carter has said or done to me, she wouldn’t be so quick to make that suggestion.

  Aunt Marnie shrugs her slender shoulders and a strange look flickers in her eyes. “Have you ever considered the possibility that if you got to know Carter better, maybe gave him more of a chance, you might find some common ground?”

  My mouth tumbles open. “I can say with total honesty that I have never considered that possibility.”

  I’d much rather wallop him upside the head. I’m only sorry that his reflexes are good and that he caught the remote control I threw at him the other night before it could smack him in the forehead.

  How satisfying would that have been?

  Maybe Marnie and my mother have more in common than I’d originally suspected. She must be legitimately crazy to offer up that idea. I’ve learned enough about Carter Prescott to know that I’m not interested in discovering anything else.

  Give him more of a chance?

  Never!

  Friday night wasn’t the first time he’s ruined one of my dates. The guy enjoys messing with me. It’s his favorite pastime. On top of that, he’s an arrogant, womanizing, football-playing jerk who likes to get into fights. I haven’t personally witnessed him getting into a physical altercation, but I’ve seen the aftermath on his face the next morning.

  My eyes fasten on Carter through the window just in time to see him strip off his graphic tee and toss it onto one of the loungers scattered around the concrete patio. All his sun-kissed muscles ripple as he dives headfirst into the crystal-clear pool.

  My mouth dries, and my heart picks up its tempo.

  “Daisy?” Aunt Marnie’s voice sounds like it’s traveling through a tunnel from a million miles away as she waves a hand in front of my face. “Earth to Daisy.”

  My face heats in embarrassment as I yank my gaze from the spot where Carter last stood. Under no circumstances do I want to watch him surface from the water. I’m liable to have a mini-orgasm right here in the kitchen.

  I bite back a groan and try to pull myself together.

  I don’t even like this guy!

  No, seriously. I don’t!

  My body obviously hasn’t received the memo. I really need to work on that.

  “Yeah?” I say, trying to remain calm even though it feels like I’m experiencing a hot flash and my legs have grown shaky. I’d like to slap myself silly for the unwanted attraction zipping through me.

  “Maybe,” Aunt Marnie says, picking up the thread of our previous conversation, “you should give it a try and see what happens.”

  Ummm…no, thank you. I’ll take a hard pass on that proposal.

  By the way she arches a brow, I have a feeling that my disgruntled expression conveys my thoughts perfectly.

  “You know,” she pauses, her eyes fixed on something or someone beyond the kitchen window. She bites her lip in an unusual show of hesitation, which is odd for her.

  I tilt my head and wait for her to continue.

  Her gaze shifts back to me. “I know Carter seems—”

  “Cocky? Arrogant? Conceited?” And those are just off the top of my head. Give me a few moments, and I could come up with an endless supply of unflattering descriptors.

  “No.” Her lips quirk and her eyes soften. “That’s not what I was going to say.”

  “Huh.” I give her a puzzled expression. “I thought it was.”

  “What I was going to say,” she repeats, ignoring me, “is that Carter comes across as a guy who’s self-assured, but—”

  “You know that’s just another word for cocky, rig
ht?”

  This time, she gives me a flat look. One that tells me I’ve pushed her far enough. I promptly button my lip and allow her to continue without further interruption.

  “Sometimes people feel the need to put up a front to cover what’s really going on inside.”

  I frown at her vague explanation of the situation. Is she suggesting that Carter has reasons for acting the way he does? Reasons that have nothing to do with being an asshole?

  “Have you ever considered that the Carter you’ve gotten to know isn’t really who he is?”

  “Not even for a moment.” I huff and shake my head. “Carter is exactly the annoying guy I’ve always pegged him to be. In the years that I’ve known him, he hasn’t proved me wrong once.”

  She slides around the counter, looking over the bowls and platters and adding a few finishing touches along the way. “You know, Daze, sometimes we only see what we want to. We don’t take the time to scratch beneath the surface or dig deeper. Sometimes you just need to be patient and give people time to reveal who they really are.” She gives me another penetrating look, one that makes me wilt under its intensity. “Can you honestly say you’ve done that?”

  Instead of answering, I shrug. I’ve given Carter enough chances to prove that he’s not a jerk and he hasn’t.

  This fondness Aunt Marnie has for Carter is seriously messed up. He may have her hoodwinked, but he’s not fooling me. I love my aunt and am usually quick to follow her advice. But on this particular subject?

  Uh-uh.

  “Just give him another chance,” she urges, her hazel eyes on me. “It can’t hurt, can it?”

  Actually, it can. But I’m not going to argue. “I don’t know,” I mutter, glancing out the window. My eyes arrow to him like a heat-seeking missile.

  Electricity slices through me when I realize he’s staring right back at me.

  Chapter Four

  Daisy

  The party has been underway for two hours, and everyone’s having a great time. There’s plenty of delicious food, and the weather is perfect. While watching a group playing chicken in the pool, I catch a flash of caramel-colored hair from the corner of my eye. Olivia waves as she maneuvers through the crowd.

  I return the greeting, happy to see her.

  Olivia is the first real friend I made at BU. Before Noah bamboozled me into my current living situation, Olivia and I had planned to get a place together.

  Obviously, that’s a decision I regret.

  She settles on the lounger next to mine and stretches out. Olivia has legs for days. “Sorry, I’m late. I was hoping to get here a little earlier, but I had to stay and cover a shift when one of the girls didn’t show up.”

  Olivia waitresses at a diner two blocks away from campus. She’s worked there for a few weeks, and the tips seem to be good. I’ve only met Olivia’s parents a handful of times, but from everything she tells me, they’re controlling. This part-time job is Olivia’s way of trying to gain a little financial freedom.

  “Hey, it’s your loss.” I shrug and wave my hand toward the pool. “You’ve been missing out on a pretty good show.”

  She grins and cranes her neck to get a better view. “Looks like a hot athlete photo shoot over there.”

  This is Olivia’s fourth annual Walker Family Labor Day Barbecue. It was our shared love of hot, half-naked football players that originally brought us together, and we’ve been best friends ever since. I suspect it was at the first party during freshman year where she fell head over heels in love with Noah.

  Aviators cover Olivia’s eyes as she takes a moment to appreciate the man candy in various stages of undress.

  Today’s a suns-out-guns-out kind of day.

  Sometimes it’s good to be us.

  “Are you finally settled in?” I ask.

  Olivia was lucky enough to land an internship in California this summer. We’ve spoken and gotten together a handful of times since she’s been back, but it’s been too busy to really talk in detail.

  Ignoring the guys, she twists her head my way. “Almost. There’s been so much to unpack and not a ton of time with working at the diner.” I know she doesn’t mind the job, but it’s a lot to juggle with her course load. “I wish you could have visited me in California during the break. It was so amazing. You would have loved it, Daze.” She shakes her head as a small smile lifts her lips. “They have beaches with seals on them.”

  There’s nothing I would have loved more than hanging out with Olivia in California, but I couldn’t. I spent most of the summer with my mother. It was the compromise we struck before Mom agreed to let me live with my aunt and uncle after the divorce. It’s the only time she and I get to spend together. As flighty as she can be, I do love her.

  Olivia’s attention gets snagged by something, or more likely, someone. I don’t have to turn my head to know who she’s staring at. Part of me had hoped that Olivia would find a guy in California to dull the crush she’s been harboring for my cousin.

  I’d be the happiest person in the world if they got together, but Noah is oblivious to Olivia. He treats her the same way he treats me, which is like a little sister who needs shepherding and protecting. Even though I keep prodding her into making a move, Olivia refuses to put her feelings out there.

  My guess is that Noah’s girlfriend has something to do with it. As we speak, Ashley prances around in front of the football team in a teeny-tiny bikini that leaves very little to the imagination. Ashley is a would-be model and stick-skinny.

  Shape-wise, I’m the complete opposite. I’ve got boobs, hips, and junk in the trunk. I’ve made my peace with the ever-present possibility that my breasts could make an unannounced appearance at any point when I wear a bathing suit.

  So, I’ll roll the dice and take my chances.

  It would be easy enough to get over my body envy and make nice with Ashley if she wasn’t such a bitch. She’s one of those girls who likes to dole out backhanded compliments. For some reason, I’m always on the receiving end of them.

  Most of the time, I tune her out while praying that Noah will come to his senses and dump her skinny ass. But that has yet to happen.

  I guess what they say about love being blind is true.

  Although no one ever mentioned that it was deaf and stupid as well.

  An hour later, Olivia and I are stretched out on our loungers sipping homemade iced lemonade, compliments of Aunt Marnie. The sun shines brightly with hardly any clouds in the sky, and we’ve shed our shorts and shirts to catch a few rays. We’re slathered to the hilt with SPF 100 sunscreen.

  It’s turned out to be a perfect day.

  Let me rephrase that. It would be a perfectly glorious day if a certain someone wasn’t here, constantly snagging my attention when I least expect it. I can’t glance anywhere without Carter being in my line of sight.

  As painful as it is to admit, his muscular arms and wide chest are distracting.

  “Is it my imagination,” Olivia says, interrupting my thoughts, “or did Carter manage to get even hotter while I was away?”

  Feeling like I’ve been caught ogling, I jerk my gaze from him and shoot Olivia a sour look. “It’s definitely your imagination.”

  She’s right. Carter is hotter than ever, as evidenced by all the female attention he’s garnering this afternoon. His body is even more finely chiseled than it was before. It looks like he spent the entire summer pumping iron.

  Olivia’s eyes are still focused on him. “I know you two rub each other the wrong way—”

  “That’s an understatement of epic proportions,” I mutter crossly. My anger is directed more at myself than him. It pisses me off to feel anything for this guy when he’s such a cocky tool.

  I must be a glutton for punishment. Maybe my parents’ divorce was more psychologically scarring than I want to admit. Otherwise, why would I put myself through so much self-torture by secretly admiring him?

  Her voice drops to a loud whisper. “There’s an awful lot of sexual tens
ion between you two.” She slides her sunglasses down her nose and peers at me over the rims. “Are you sure there’s nothing going on now that you’re living together?”

  I puff out my cheeks and press my fingers to my lips, making a few vomiting noises. “Ewww. I just threw up in my mouth.” I scowl. “How can you even say that to me?”

  “Methinks the lady doth protest too much.” Humor simmers in her voice.

  I make a pfft noise and roll my eyes even though she can’t see me do it behind my tinted lenses.

  “Hello, ladies.” A deep male voice interrupts.

  Both of our heads swivel. I shade my eyes to see who has dared to break away from the pack. Everyone on the BU football team knows that I’m Noah’s cousin and therefore off-limits. Most of the guys treat me like a little sister. Which is fine by me. The last thing I want to do is cause problems between Noah and his friends.

  I rack my brain but don’t recognize this guy, which means he’s probably a freshman or transfer student. Behind my glasses, my eyes are free to wander over his body. And he certainly has a nice one.

  He thrusts out his hand toward me. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced yet. I’m Tanner.”

  I smile and do the same. His fingers close around mine and squeeze. The handshake is firm but not bone crushing. It’s the perfect amount of pressure. That makes me wonder what else he can do with his hands.

  “I’m Daisy.” I nod toward my trusty sidekick. “And this is Olivia.”

  I press my lips together to mask my amusement when Olivia perks up and thrusts out her chest. Since it’s fairly non-existent, it doesn’t make much of a difference, but she gets points for trying.

  “It’s nice to meet both of you.” Tanner smiles, revealing gorgeous white teeth. He’s handsome in a surfer-boy way.

  “Same here,” Olivia says, beating me to the punch.

  I extract my hand from Tanner’s grasp. His eyes are covered by a pair of aviators much like Olivia’s, but I can tell that he’s checking her out.

  How perfect would it be to get these two together?

  Olivia needs to get over Noah since I don’t think he’s planning on dumping Ashley anytime soon. I’ve told her a ton of times that it’s not healthy to pine after someone who doesn’t see you in the same light. I’m not trying to be harsh, just honest. After all, this is our senior year, and I’d hate to see her waste it on my clueless cousin.