Hate to Love You - Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Hannah
We managed to get all the way downstairs and into the living room without detection. The girls were focused on their morning routines, so they remained easily distracted. Which worked wonders when you were attempting to discreetly sneak out a giant man from the house.
I stood in the doorway, keeping a lookout, while Fuckface searched for his phone. Five minutes in, and each passing moment seemed to stretch longer, making me more fidgety and anxious.
"What is taking you so long!" I whispered-yelled, poking my head into the room.
He was on the floor in a plank position busy looking under the couch. Without looking at me, he answered, "I can't find it anywhere. Maybe my buddies took it with them — or maybe one of your roommates has it and is busy taking nude selfies as we speak."
I rolled my eyes. "Just keep looking, idiot."
"What do you think I'm doing?" he answered, too much sass in his voice for my liking.
"Wasting our time. Have you looked between the couch cushions? If we don't find it in the next few seconds, we're leaving."
"Of course I've looked — Ah ha! Found it." He pulled the black smartphone from between the cushions and presented it to me with a proud look on his gorgeous face.
"Great! Now let's g—"
I stopped when I heard someone coming down the stairs. It was Molly, dressed in her lime pj's, hair curled to perfection, and wearing a green face mask. I ducked into the living room and quickly ran to him. Grabbing him by the shirt, I maneuvered him behind the couch and shoved him down so that he was hidden. I smacked him when he tried to peek over the edge to see who was coming. He rubbed his head and glared at me before softly pinching my calf in retaliation. Drama queen.
Molly walked past the entryway and stopped when she saw me. She gave me a confused look and said, "Ha—"
I cut her off before she could reveal my name. "Molly! Hey! How are you this lovely morning?" My smile was large and forced.
"Uhh..." She gave me a weirded-out look. "I'm okay? What are you doing behind the couch?"
"I lost something and thought this would be a great place to look. Don't mind me, continue what you were doing." I waved a hand at her nonchalantly.
Fuckface shifted, trying to get his huge body into a more comfortable position and using me as an anchor. Which meant I rocked side to side like I was on a boat at sea. When his hand curled around my inner thigh, I squeaked. Fucking squeaked. I tried to discreetly peel his hands off my legs but he wouldn't budge.
"Okayyy." She shook her head and went to leave, but paused. "Hey, you didn't happen to see a guy wandering around the house yesterday? Tall, really muscular, and like, the hottest guy you've ever seen? He was here yesterday night and then just disappeared. Amanda insists he got lost and that he didn't go home."
I could feel Fuckface chuckling silently against my leg. I kicked him.
"Hottest guy I've ever seen? I doubt that. But no, no I didn't see anyone like that. Have you checked the basement?"
"The basement? Why would he be in the basement? That's so weird and creepy."
"Right? But you're the one who said he got lost in our house. Maybe he's a serial killer — you know, like Ted Bundy. Maybe he's planning to come out and murder us all tonight." Fuckface's body shook from silent laughter.
Molly frowned at me, but shot the basement door a worried look. "I think your imagination is running a little too wild. I'm pretty sure he just bailed, but whatever. I'm gonna go — leave you to do whatever you're doing."
"Thanks," I said too cheerfully, waving goodbye.
I waited until she was gone, probably to the kitchen, before looking down at Fuckface. He was sitting in a cross-legged position on the floor with his phone as he typed a message to one of his buddies, hand still curled around my thigh.
"Get your hand off me!" I hissed, smacking said offending hand.
He dropped it and looked up at me. "Tate says he'll be here in five minutes. Should we go back to your room to wait?"
"No. You'll be waiting in the bushes outside. And make sure you stay hidden."
"What?" He sounded incredulous.
"You heard me. Now get up before Molly or anyone else comes back." I strained to listen for any signs of my roommates. "I'll help you sneak past the kitchen, but you're on your own from there."
"I can't have anyone see me hiding in some bushes outside a girls' house. They'll think I'm some pervert!"
I shot him a disdainful look. "You are a pervert. Now get moving."
"This is a joke, right?"
"Look at my face. Do you see any joking happening here?"
°•°•°•°
Tristan
"Hey, man," Tate greeted as I climbed into the passenger seat of his Land Rover.
"'Sup," I groaned, leaning my head back against the headrest.
My mood had soured quickly as I sat hunched down behind an overgrown hedge, trying my best to avoid any detection or weird bugs. I was not a bug guy. Or a spider guy. Would it have really killed that woman to let me wait in her room? Hell, I would have been happy to climb out of her window.
Fuck her. Seriously, fuck her.
Any semblance of affection or desire had quickly disappeared the second she'd shoved me out of the house and slammed the door in my face. What if someone had seen me, taken a picture and put it on social media? That would have been a fucking nightmare to deal with.
"Are those leaves in your hair?"
"Fuck me," I hissed, lifting a hand to my hair.
As he started the engine, I ran my hands through my hair. It came away with a couple of leaves and twigs, which I promptly threw out the window. I repeated the process until I was sure I had no more vegetation in my hair.
"You get lucky?" Tate drawled, raising one dark eyebrow as he focused on the road ahead.
I laughed humorlessly. "No. Hoodie-girl blue-balled me and then kicked me out of her bed. And her house. Literally."
"Hoodie-girl?" he asked, looking at me with surprise. "The girl from the bar? The one who keeps cock-blocking you? That Hoodie-girl?"
"Yeah, same one. Fucking cracked, isn't it?"
"That you keep running into her? Yeah — that is pretty cracked... You sure she isn't following you?" He kept his eyes on the road as he spoke, the concern in his voice obvious.
I knew what he was getting at, and I appreciated him having my back, but the idea of that woman actually stalking me made me want to howl with laughter. "She'd sooner bite my dick off than suck it, so yeah, safe to say she's not interested in me. Honestly, I think she's embarrassed to be seen with me. I've never seen someone look like they might puke just from the sight of me."
He laughed. "Sounds like she's got a good head on her shoulders."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I frowned, insulted.
He shot me a no-nonsense expression. "Come on, man. There's only one reason you'd keep hanging out with a woman you're not sleeping with — and that's because you want to. I've seen how you look at her. You're intrigued."
Did my defenses shoot up because he nailed it? Absolutely. "Since when do you throw around words like 'intrigued'?"
"Find me a better one and I'll use it."
"I'm not intrigued, I'm..." Fuck. I had no response so I changed the subject. "I'd actually rather focus on getting my game on point." But then I groaned at the reminder. "I just realized that's today."
"Still feeling like shit?"
I opened my mouth to say yes, but paused.
Did I?
On the contrary, I felt more rested and energized than I had all week. I wasn't so stuck in my own head anymore.
But there was no way I was admitting that. I shot him a tight smile. "Let's just see how today goes."
°•°•°•°
Hannah
"This isn't working."
I slammed my chemistry textbook shut and threw it on the floor, frustrated at my lack of concentration. It hit my carpet with a muted thud and flipped open to a random page on odor molecules. I groaned and buried my face in one of my pillows, taking in a deep, soothing breath.
Men's shampoo, soap, and deodorant quickly flooded my senses. I jerked my head up, wrinkling my nose, and glared at the offending pillow. Just what I needed — for my pillows to smell like him.
How the fuck had I let that asshole stay the night?
Pissed off, I flipped the pillow over and face-planted again, muttering under my breath. Minutes passed in silence and with a curse, I flipped the pillow back over and buried my face in it, taking a deep guilty sniff. Once again, I was enveloped in a strong, masculine scent that made me take an even deeper sniff. There was also another smell, unique to him alone. It was dark and spicy and gave me goosebumps.
For an ass, he smelled really good.
And he felt good. It felt like I was letting him get one over me by admitting that, but he did and I couldn't deny it any more than I could deny his good looks.
I shivered as I remembered how he felt pressed against my entire body.
I rolled over and tucked the pillow into my arms, curling one leg over it. I wiggled to get more comfortable, adjusting my leg and pulling the pillow closer to my body. And then I shifted my hips, squeezing the pillow between my legs as a heat spread over my body, settling between my thighs.
With my eyes closed, my thoughts drifted to this morning, to the memory of his hard, hot body holding me tightly in his massive arms. They recalled how his large hand had touched me. Even through the material of my shirt, I'd felt how rough and calloused his hands were — a man's hands.
But the worst part was how good his dick had felt pressed against me. He was big. Really big. Hard to miss when it felt like he had a whole third leg pressed against me. Did I mention how big it was?
I squeezed my thighs together as my clit gave an angry pulse of life.
Wait. What?
I sat up with a frown and looked down at the juncture between my thighs. I felt wet. It couldn't be my period because I'd just finished a week ago. But I was soaked. And my whole body felt different... aroused. Could it be? Was my long-lost libido back? After an entire year of nothing?
God, please don't let it be because of him.
No, Hannah, this was only natural. You had a really hot, erect guy plastered to every inch of your body as he dry-humped and touched you. It felt good. Your body reacted. That doesn't mean you like him. Yeah... yeah. I didn't like him. In fact, I still hated him.
Yes. That was it. I was fine. Maybe a little horny, but fine. Everything was fine.