Love to Hate You

by Liliana Rhodes

  He smiled and pulled me against him.

  “Mind if I join you?” he asked, his voice husky.

  My heart pounded in my chest. It had been so long since I was with anyone, I was afraid I’d explode on first contact. I bit my lip and swallowed nervously as he turned the shower on.

  Brent undressed me slowly. Peeling each layer of clothing off as he gently caressed my body. I entered the shower and let the warm water run over my skin as I watched him take his clothes off.

  His shoulders rippled as he removed his shirt, exposing his perfect abs. I could have stared at his stomach muscles all day, but once he was completely naked my eyes moved to his stiff manhood.

  Brent entered the shower and his hands immediately cupped my face, pulling me up to his lips. His tongue slipped against mine before he pulled away and grinned.

  “You wanted a shower first,” he said as a smile tugged at his lips.

  He reached for the soap and lathered it up in his hands. His strong hands moved over my body as he bathed me. As the water rinsed the soap from my skin, his mouth claimed the spot. I was getting dizzy between the combination of his smooth hands with the hunger of his lips.

  I wondered if he was secretly torturing me and getting back at me for hating him so much. But if this was my punishment, I would keep doing the crime.

  Once he was done with the soap, he kissed me hungrily. I held onto his slick skin as the jets of the shower burst against us.

  “This is one,” he said as our eyes met.

  “One?”

  “I told you I would keep count.”

  His lips slipped over my neck and down my collar bone as his hands grasped my ass firmly. He lowered himself, kissing me as he went, until he was kneeling in front of me.

  Gingerly he lifted my leg, as his fingers moved over my sex. His smiled slyly as I leaned against the shower wall.

  He kissed my inner thigh and then sucked where it met the rest of my body. I giggled and his eyes darted up before his lips moved closer to my sex.

  His tongue slipped over my clit and I moaned. I knew it would be fast for me since it had been so long. I reached for the wall, afraid I was going to fall as my core throbbed.

  “Please, Brent, I’m so close,” I said.

  He stood up, holding my thigh in his hand. Drops of water sliding down his face.

  “This is still one,” he said.

  His cock pressed against my entrance, teasing me at first. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pressing my breasts against him as he entered me.

  I was so close before that feeling him inside me, pushed me over. Chills shot through my body as my orgasm crashed over me. Brent held me tight as my body writhed against him.

  I threw my head back as I caught my breath and Brent kissed my throat before our mouths met. I wanted more.

  “Ready for two?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  Chapter Nine

  Jackie

  The sun streaming through the windows woke me. I didn’t know what to think about what happened between us. Last night had been the most amazing sex I ever had. It was even better than what Brent had hinted things between us could be like. But now that morning was here, things had to go back to the way they were.

  Brent’s arms were still around me as we spooned. I didn’t want to wake him so I carefully rolled onto my back, but he was already awake.

  “Still hate me?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I said, fighting back a smile.

  “Oh well, I tried.”

  He kissed my lips tenderly.

  “Did you sleep alright?” he asked.

  He kissed my forehead softly, then smiled.

  “Yes,” I said. “Did you?”

  “I didn’t sleep,” he said. “I was watching you. You’re beautiful when you’re asleep.”

  “Only when I’m asleep?”

  “You’re beautiful all the time, but there’s something about when you’re sleeping that makes you look angelic.” He brushed my hair off my cheek. “It’s probably the lack of that line etched between your brows.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  I rubbed the spot between my brows, trying to feel what he was talking about.

  “It’s your angry look,” he said. “Whenever you’re angry or upset, you get that line. It’s a nice reminder of how you feel about me.”

  “Oh, well, I’m sorry about that,” I said.

  “No, you’re entitled to your feelings.”

  I sat up and pulled the sheets around me to cover my naked body. I wanted to explain to him why I treated him the way I did, but I couldn’t figure out what had changed. Why didn’t I hate him anymore? Was I making another bad choice?

  Pulling the sheet with me, I got out of bed and started picking up my clothes.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “You said this was done when morning came.”

  “Right,” he said.

  He got out of bed and I could tell something had changed in him from just before. He was quiet and cold again like he was in the kitchen. I didn’t understand what was going on. Did I do something wrong? I was only following his rules.

  “I need you to drive me back to the Arc so I can get my car,” I said.

  He nodded, then disappeared through a door. The shower started and I peeked in to watch the water roll down his golden skin. I stayed in the doorway, watching his reflection in the mirror until the steam clouded my view.

  When he was dressed, he walked past me almost like I wasn’t there.

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  We drove in silence. I kept thinking about everything that happened the night before and I wondered what I did wrong.

  He parked next to my car and I hesitated a moment wondering if I should say something, but I didn’t know what. As I opened the car door, he reached for my hand.

  “Can I see you again?” he asked.

  His eyes glowed with affection which confused me more.

  “I thought it was just for one night,” I said.

  Please tell me I’m wrong, I thought. Say something, Brent, anything, I silently begged.

  “Just for sex,” he said as he looked away. “I promise you can keep hating me.

  Chapter Ten

  Brent

  Jackie left my car in a huff with that line between her brows screaming at me. She had no place to be mad. I wasn’t the one in a relationship. If she wanted something more, I needed to know that guy she was living with was history.

  As she drove away, I checked my phone and saw a text from Gunnar.

  Gunnar: Did you take her home?

  Brent: Yes, but she’s already gone.

  Gunnar’s name flitted across the screen as my phone rang.

  “What are you doing up so early?” I asked.

  “I’m always up this early,” he said. “I’ve got to do my strut of pride on my way home. I guess that’s what Jackie is doing too.”

  “It’s complicated,” I said.

  “Complicated sometimes makes the sex even better,” he said.

  “I’m not talking to you about that. I just need to figure out how to win her over.”

  “Did you ever find out why she hates you?” Gunnar asked. “What did you do?”

  “I didn’t do anything,” I said.

  “Come on, be a man and own that shit. If a woman hates you, you damn well know you did something wrong.”

  “That’s the thing, I really don’t know. We had a great time at my brother’s wedding and then when I called her, her boyfriend answered the phone.”

  “Boyfriend? You sure? Shit, that sucks. She doesn’t seem the type though, man.”

  “I know, that’s what’s confusing as hell. I don’t get it and part of me wonders if that douche was lying to me when he said that,” I said.

  “And what about last night? She say anything about the boyfriend?” he asked.

  “I didn’t ask, she didn’t tell,” I said. “As much as this sucks,
I’ll take whatever I can get as long as I get some time with her.”

  “Just fucking ask her, man. Ask her if she has a boyfriend.”

  I shook my head. There was no way Gunnar would ever understand how I felt about her. If I knew for a fact that she had a boyfriend, it would kill me.

  “I don’t want to hear her say she does,” I said.

  “You really are a pussy. You know that, right?” Gunnar said.

  “Fuck you, man,” I said with a laugh.

  “Not in a million years,” he said.

  * * *

  A week had passed since I had last seen Jackie, but all I did was think about her. Her sweet vanilla scent still hung in the air of my bedroom, and when I closed my eyes I could imagine the warmth of her body against mine.

  I was worse than a lovesick puppy.

  I spent the past week trying to drown myself in work. I was in the middle of looking over some ideas Gunnar had for ads when my secretary, Marcia, knocked on the office door and set a piece of paper on my desk.

  “There’s the list for this week,” Marcia said as she left. “Also, it’s almost one o’clock.”

  “Thank you, Marcia,” I said.

  With my eyes still on the computer, I slid the paper over and then looked at the list. For months now my secretary had been giving me a list of the events Jackie was working at. Between Marcia and Samantha I knew what Jackie was up to almost every day of the week.

  I wasn’t proud of it, but I couldn’t sit around and wait for Samantha’s dinners to see Jackie. I needed to see her as often as possible.

  I packed up my laptop and left my office. I had less than twenty minutes to make it to the Canyon Cove University campus for the end of class. After not seeing Jackie in so long, I looked forward to the walk and accidentally running into her.

  Students were filing out of the angular building as I arrived. I leaned against the stone wall across from the entry and waited for her. As she walked out of the building, the sun made her hair glossy and luminous. Even with her worn yoga pants and oversized sweatshirt, I still thought she was breathtaking.

  She smiled as she approached, and the line between her eyebrows was gone.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Waiting for you,” I said. “How about dinner tonight?”

  “Dinner? You mean like a date? What about the rules? You know, our arrangement.”

  Her phone started ringing before I could respond. She answered the phone, and while I should have stepped away to give her privacy, as soon as I heard her answer it, I knew I was staying.

  “What is it, Dennis?” she said as she answered the phone.

  Her face grew pale as her mouth slacked open. As she looked at me, her eyes welled up with tears. I was ready to grab the phone from her and tear Dennis a new one for making her so upset.

  “Totaled?” she said into the phone, her voice rising. “Why didn’t you stop?”

  “Is that all you care about? That fucking piece of shit car? It was old and only worked half the time anyway. You didn’t even ask if I was okay,” he yelled loud enough that I could hear him through the phone.

  “I...I’m sorry,” she stammered, her brow furrowed. “You didn’t say you were in the hospital. I didn’t think...I’m sorry.”

  “I’m fine,” he yelled. “Luckily your goddamn car was so fucking huge that it protected me. Now I have to figure out how to get back home. Why does this shit always happen to me?”

  I grabbed the phone from her hand, hung up on Dennis, then tossed it aside. As Jackie fought back tears, I put my arm around her shoulders and brought her closer to me. She cried against my chest as I held her.

  Who the hell did this guy think he was? That wasn’t how a real man talked to a woman. Why did Jackie put up with it?

  I had so many questions for her, the biggest being why she was still with him, but asking her about him now would be like kicking her while she was down. My questions could wait. What was important was her.

  Once she calmed down, I led her to a nearby coffee shop. We sat down at one of the small wooden tables and she let her backpack fall onto the floor.

  “I can’t believe this,” she said as she rubbed her eyes. “He ran through a red light and a truck hit him. My car is totaled.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “And all he’s worried about is himself. He’s fine of course. Wouldn’t surprise me if he was drinking, even this early. He wasn’t on my insurance and even if they do pay something, it won’t be enough for me to get a new car.”

  I tried to control my anger as I listened to her talk about Dennis.

  “What kind of car would you get?” I asked. “If you could buy anything.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, we can play that game. Right now I’d be lucky if I can afford another piece of crap like the one I had.”

  “Don’t think about that,” I said. “Just get all that out of your mind and pretend. If money was no object, what kind of car would you buy?”

  Jackie sighed and let out a small laugh as she shook her head. The waitress brought over two cups of coffee for us and Jackie warmed her hands around the mug.

  “I know it sounds silly, but if I could have any car in the world it would be a Mini,” she said.

  I laughed. “A Mini? You could have any car in the world and you choose a Mini Cooper? Not a baby blue Maserati for example?”

  “No,” she said with a laugh. “That’s not practical at all. I want something I don’t have to worry about leaving in the grocery store parking lot.”

  “Alright, so practical. Two doors, four doors, what color?” I asked, mentally taking notes.

  “Hmm, I think four doors so that when I get a dog he can easily hop into the back.”

  She really is perfect, I thought.

  “I think I’d like it to be red with those cute white stripes,” she said, relaxing. “And a sun roof.”

  “Sounds nice,” I said.

  She took a sip of her coffee then looked at me shyly.

  “Thank you for being here,” she said. “I know I don’t deserve you hanging around and taking my mind off of things.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because I haven’t been very nice to you at times,” she said.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said as I took her hand. “I’ll just add it to the running list of things you owe me for.”

  “You’re terrible,” she said with a laugh.

  “Maybe, but you love it.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Jackie

  The doorbell woke me from a deep sleep. I heard Dennis grumbling as he opened the door. A few moments later, I heard him again.

  “What the fuck,” he said.

  The door slammed and his feet stomped through the small apartment to my bedroom door. Hearing so much anger from him, I pulled the covers up to my chin for protection, despite wearing pajama pants and a tank top.

  “Who the fuck have you been fucking?” he yelled as he threw open my door. “I knew you looked better lately. Did you find yourself one of those billionaires like your friends have? Wait until he finds out you’re really a prude. Or maybe you just spread your legs for money.”

  I stared at him, taking all his jabs and insults. What made him talk to me like that? What was going on?

  My first thought was to keep my mouth shut and just take it. I went with my second thought.

  I jumped out of the bed and walked straight towards him.

  “Get the fuck out,” I yelled. “Who do you think you are for talking to me like that? I don’t have to put up with this. You shouldn’t even be here! You should’ve been gone last week.”

  He rolled his eyes like I was annoying him and turned his back to me. I didn’t know what came over me, but my hands went up and shoved him as hard as I could.

  Dennis stumbled out the bedroom door, tripping on the rug. When he caught his footing, he glared at me angrily then took a step towards me.

  Was
he going to hit me?

  Without thinking, I took a step towards him and narrowed my eyes.

  “Go ahead and try it,” I said. “Watch what happens next.”

  He scowled as he stood his ground. I felt like he was waiting to see if I would turn away first, but I refused to. He looked away and then turned towards the door.

  What happened? How did things get so bad, I wondered.

  “You got a delivery,” he said.

  He opened the door and walked out.

  I quickly grabbed my cardigan from the closet and put it on. In the doorway was an older man dressed in an outfit that reminded me of the bellhops at old hotels. He had on a long coat with matching pants and a hat with gold embroidery around the brim.

  “Miss Jackie Stone?” he said.

  “Yes?”

  “I am Reginald Britton, butler for the Winslow family. Here are your keys.” He held up a set of keys between his fingers.

  “Keys?” I asked.

  He jingled the keys in the air. Unsure what to do, I put my hand out and he dropped them into my palm. I held the plastic key fobs in my hand and marveled at how different they were from the metal car keys of my last car. Flipping a fob over, I recognized the Mini logo.

  “There must be a mistake,” I said holding them out to Reginald. “These aren’t mine.”

  “I never make mistakes, miss. Your car is parked outside.”

  “Wait, what? My car?”

  He started walking down the flight of stairs. I followed him to the parking lot across the street where a shiny, red, four-door Mini Cooper with white bonnet stripes was parked with a giant red bow on top. Even though the bow covered the roof, I knew there was a sun roof and everything else I daydreamed about to Brent.

  I shrieked with excitement. I couldn’t believe it belonged to me. But why? Why would he help me like that?

  “Who’s it from?” Dennis grunted as he flicked a cigarette butt to the ground.

  “If I may, miss,” Reginald said with his eyebrows raised.