Hate to Love You - Chapter 28: Chapter 28

Tristan
"One more," Tate said as he stood above me, hands hovering under the steel bar.
I grunted, using all of my strength to push the weight away from my chest, holding my breath from the effort. My arms shook as I finished my rep and Taite relieved me of the barbell, putting it back onto the rack. Sitting up, I grabbed a towel with my quivering arms and wiped the sweat from my brows and neck, taking a few seconds to rest and catch my breath.
"Wanna swap?" I asked.
Tate scoffed. "Not a chance. I bench more than you and those noodle arms aren't catching anything right now."
"Got me there." I chuckled. "Get Matthew to spot you."
Tate called him over and the two defensemen got to work, adding more weight and getting into position. I drank from my water bottle as Tate began to steadily pump the barbell.
Wanting to be a good captain and make conversation, I asked Matthew, "What have you been up to? Still with that redhead? What was her name — June? Janet?"
"Jennifer, but she goes by Jenny. And yeah, we've been good. I'm thinking of asking her to be my girlfriend."
My brows shot up. "What? No way. Good for you, man. I didn't realize you guys were that serious."
"We're getting there. We agreed not to make it serious, but it kind of just happened. I like her and I'm pretty sure she feels the same way." He shrugged and watched Tate carefully. "She's throwing a small party tonight, so I'll be asking her to officially be my girlfriend then."
I froze, my brain locking onto that last bit of info.
"A party? At her house?" I asked, casually taking another gulp of electrolyte-infused water, my eyes looking ahead.
"Yeah." Matthew nodded.
Tate paused, the bar hovering an inch over his chest. "Doesn't Hoodie-Girl live there too?"
I coughed, wiping my mouth with the bottom of my shirt. "Hannah, and yeah — she does."
Matthew glanced at me. "I didn't think to invite you because I thought you were already going. You were pretty comfortable with Hannah on Saturday night. And everyone knows you've been following her around like a stray puppy for the last two months."
I sighed, brushing my fingers through my damp hair. "I know what it looks like, but we're just friends. It's... complicated."
Tate laughed, resuming his pumps. "She friend-zoned you, huh? How's that working out for you?"
Squeezing my eyes, I admitted, "It's hell. I've got permanent blue balls around her because everything she does turns me on. I haven't been laid in two months, and if I keep going on like this, I'm gonna get my shower pregnant."
They laughed at my misery, and Matthew said, "You don't sound like a very good friend."
I groaned. He was right — I felt so fucking guilty for feeling the way I did. But I couldn't help that the thought of her followed me everywhere I went, driving me to distraction. "I'm trying. I genuinely like her so I'm trying to respect her boundaries. I've been successful so far." Kinda.
Today was weird though. It kept bothering me when I thought about what happened. I mean, who leaves that quickly when they had other roommates to take care of a plumbing problem at home?
Tate's lips curled up into a small smile. "You'll do just fine. She's let you stick around until now — there has to be something she likes about you."
I let out a huff of amusement and wiped the back of my neck with the towel. He had a point.
He finished his reps while I stretched, and when they were done, Matthew turned to me. "Wanna tag along to tonight's gig? A couple of the guys are already going, so it would make sense for you to be there too."
I interlocked my hands behind my head, internally wrestling with myself. Was this a good idea? Probably not. Was I gonna do it?
"Yeah. Fuck it. I'll come."
°•°•°•°
The house was still ugly as shit, only now I didn't give a fuck. However, I was still cautious as I walked over the squeaky porch. I noticed some of the guys were just as weary.
Inside, the place buzzed with activity. Groups of people were scattered around, drinking and chatting, while someone's Spotify playlist played in the background, drowning out most of the conversations. Jamie — or was it Janice? Whatever, Matthew's soon-to-be girlfriend — darted over the moment she spotted him, her eyes alight with excitement. She offered him a shy smile before tiptoeing to plant a brief kiss on his lips. After their quick exchange, her attention shifted, sweeping across our group until her eyes settled on me.
"Oh, hi, Tristan. I didn't realize you were coming," she said as her smile grew into a pleased grin.
I shrugged, tucking my hands into my pockets. "Last minute decision. Sorry about your shower — heard it was bad."
She blinked, appearing to be confused. "Our shower? What's wrong with our shower?"
"Uh, the pipes burst?"
She shook her head, giggling like what I'd said was absurd. "Our shower's pipes didn't burst — they're perfectly fine. Where'd you hear that?"
I tilted my head slightly before shaking it. "I must have heard wrong. Don't mind me."
So Hannah had lied to me. Interesting.
My hands clenched in my pockets as I tried to figure out why. She was perfectly fine when I left my seat to give a presentation on our project. And her eyes had remained glued to me throughout the whole thing. I know this because I kept sneaking glances at her too.
But then it hit me — her eyes hadn't just been on me. They'd been on Skylar as well.
Ah. I think I knew what was up.
"Oh my God — Tristan Beckett, you're back! It's so good to see you!" A hand curled around my bicep, and a vaguely familiar brunette stepped into my line of sight.
She was dressed in a tight black dress that left little to the imagination, emphasizing her generous cleavage. At some low point in my life, I might have found her appealing. However, at this moment, I didn't even feel a hint of interest.
Remembering my promise to Hannah, I kept my gaze on Julia, peeling the intruding fingers from my arms. "Is Hannah here?"
She opened her mouth to reply, but the brunette interrupted her, stepping closer to me.
"Hannah? Why would you want to see Hannah? I'm telling you — that girl is a major bitch. She has a serious attitude problem."
I tensed, shoulders going stiff at the girl's words.
"Amanda!" Jordan or Jade hissed.
"What? I'm telling the truth and you know it. That bitch doesn't belong here — she doesn't fit in."
Before I could say anything, Jane glared at the girl, hands on her hips. "You're the one that keeps antagonizing her. If you would stop with the rude comments, and sarcastic quips — maybe she'd loosen up a little. It's hard to relax when some girl and her little posse constantly has it out for you."
The brunette glared back at her. "She started it first. None of it's my fault."
Jaw clenched, I said, "Maybe look inwards before you go around calling other people names." I looked back at Jessica. "I'm heading up to Hannah's room — I'm assuming she's here?"
"She is, but she doesn't really like to be disturbed. She's probably doing homework or something," she warned.
"Noted."
I nodded goodbye to Matthew, taking a large step away from the gaping brunette, and turned toward the stairs. I retraced the route from my last visit. The challenge now was navigating through the crowd without being stopped every few steps. The trick was to look like you had somewhere to be without making eye contact. It worked because people stepped out of my way, and then I was climbing the stairs two at a time.
My eyes found the door at the end of the hallway and I hurried to it, lifting my hand to knock. A couple of seconds went by with no answer, so I tried again. Still no answer.
Was she asleep? It was pretty late. But knowing how much of a night owl Hannah was, it seemed highly unlikely she'd choose to go to sleep this early. What if she wasn't even here? I decided to take a chance and open her door to check. Sure, if she happened to be naked and I walked in, she'd probably kill me, but I figured it would be worth it.
I slowly opened the door and looked inside. The room was dark except for the lamp perched on the desk. And seated at her desk, with a pair of headphones on, was Hannah. Her hair was loose and tumbled to her mid back in messy waves as she lounged in a loose grey T-shirt and tiny white shorts. She sat with one knee bent, her heel resting on the chair's seat, while her other foot tapped out an unknown rhythm into the floor. Her chin was perched on her knee as she absentmindedly rubbed the end of a pen against her lips, her gaze fixed on the paperwork before her.
The stupid heart in my chest did something weird as I looked at her. I might have to get that checked out — but it was probably just attraction. God knows how badly I wanted to fuck her. Even right at this moment, I was developing a semi just from looking at her and her bare legs. Did I mention how small those shorts were?
What happened to trying, Beckett?
I stood in her doorway, quietly observing her, feeling like a bit of a creep, but unable to look away. It was impossible not to admire how incredibly beautiful she was. I swear she was prettier than she yesterday. She just kept getting hotter, and I wasn't certain if my dick and I could handle it. Especially with the friends label slapped onto us.
A decent guy would have turned around and left. A decent guy wouldn't have invaded her privacy like this. But I'm not a decent man, never had been, and it seemed I never would be.
And I wanted her. And God fucking dammit, she wanted me too. Her whole jealousy stint with Skylar proved it. Yeah, I'd figured out what that whole thing was about.
Normally, I couldn't stand it when girls played the jealousy card, but with Hannah, her jealousy had a strangely intoxicating effect on me. It told me that I wasn't alone in this wanting. It made me wanna tease her and then kiss her senseless.
She must have finally felt my eyes on her because she turned to look in my direction.
Her scream surprised both of us, jerking me out of the trance I'd been in from watching her. She slammed the manilla folder shut and shoved her headphones off. In her haste to stand up, she almost tripped over her own feet. A venomous glare replaced the look of surprise as she regarded me.
"What the fuck is wrong with you!" She yelled, storming over to her bed and grabbing a pillow. "Asshole! You scared the shit out of me! I thought you were some drunk pervert from the party."
Yeah, I definitely should have been prepared for this reaction. My bad.
Pushing the door closed behind me, I greeted her with a charming smile. "Not drunk, just a pervert."
I dodged the first pillow, but the next one hit me square in the face. Laughing, I sidestepped the third soft missile and slowly made my way to her, both hands outstretched in the universal sign for surrender. She just kept grabbing pillows and launching them at me, eventually running out of ammunition and resorting to bundling up strewn about pieces of clothing and tossing those are me.
I ducked as a pair of shorts headed straight for my face. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, okay? Calm down." I chuckled, stepping closer.
Once she noticed how close I'd gotten, she tried to make a break for it, but I shot forward and hooked an arm around her waist, toppling the two of us onto her now empty bed, with only the blankets left. We bounced, every inch of our bodies pressing together. I adjusted my body weight to avoid crushing her while still keeping her pinned down. She squirmed in my hold, rubbing against me, and making me groan as my cock hardened painfully. I couldn't help it — she always smelled so good. And she fit in my arms so perfectly.
I pushed my hips into the bed, for some relief, and so that she wouldn't notice the raging hard-on I had for her. Settling over her, I propped up on my elbows and pressed my hips between the natural cradle of her thighs. If I moved two inches up, I'd be knocking at heaven's doors. As it was, her fantastic tits were pressed against my chest, her nipples drilling holes into me. I wanted to lick and suck and bite those hard little peaks so badly.
Finally, she stopped her half-hearted struggles and scowled up at me. Her facial expression told me she was picturing my death in that pretty little head of hers.
"You want to die a painful death, don't you?"
Grinning, I dipped my head and licked a long trail up her neck, blowing on the wet skin afterward. She gasped, thighs clenching around my hips, pulling me closer to her heat.
Oh, shit. This was getting dangerous.
"You're so weird," she muttered, hands coming up between us to rest on my ribs, but not pushing me away.
I smirked down at her, my hair brushing against her forehead as I leaned forward. "You like it. Just like you like me."
Alarm entered her eyes before she pulled that familiar mask back on. "Did I hit you too hard with a pillow? I think you might be concussed. You're showing all of the symptoms — confusion, hallucinations, delusions..."
I chuckled, bumping her nose with mine. "Is that so? Wanna play doctor with me? In that case, please wear the little outfit, I feel like it'll help me recover a lot quicker."
She shook her head, even as a small smile teased her full lips. "Sometimes you're such a man."
"You weren't certain before?" I pulled back and raised a playful brow, flexing my bicep.
She rolled her eyes, scoffing. Her reaction only made my smile grow and I leaned closer, plastering her chest to mine so that our breathing synced. I could feel her heartbeat through our clothes, and it was racing a mile a minute. Oh yeah, I definitely affected her a lot more than she let on.
"I heard the funniest thing today," I murmured, running my nose along her jaw and inhaling deeply. That familiar addicting scent of strawberries and vanilla washed over me, and I moaned softly.
"What?" she croaked, fingers digging into my abs.
I pressed my face into her hair and grinned my victory.
"Well," I whispered into her ear, "When I asked your roommate about the shower, she seemed confused. That's weird — wouldn't you agree? You think she'd know about her shower exploding."
Hannah blushed, rolling her head to the side to avoid looking me in the eyes. "She must have forgotten," she mumbled.
Gently cupping her chin, I tilted her head until our eyes met. Hers briefly dropped down to my lips, and she swallowed hard. I grinned. She was so full of shit.
I loved it.
"Just admit it — you were jealous and you didn't want me to know. That's why you got the hell out of dodge this afternoon. You realized you couldn't stand seeing me with another woman."
I felt her stop breathing.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Her voice was hoarse as I ducked down to lightly press my lips to her cheek, close to the corner of her mouth.
"Oh yeah?" I rumbled, rubbing my lips against her soft skin. "I think you're lying."
Her legs spread wider to accommodate my size, and I pressed closer. My dick throbbed when she moaned and pushed her hips into me. I had to pause my administrations to get my body's reactions under control, squeezing my eyes and focusing on taking a few deep breaths to clear my head. It did nothing.
"I don't care what you think." She sighed into my ear, making the muscles in my neck tighten.
Fuck. As much as I was enjoying teasing her, I was effectively torturing myself in the process. Just a little longer. Hang in there.
"Liar, liar, panties on fire," I hummed into her skin, reaching down to boldly take hold of her thigh and pulling it around my waist.
Her smooth skin burned my hand and I couldn't resist stroking a hand down her thigh and back up until my fingers grazed the fabric of her shorts. I itched to go higher, but I needed to go slow for her sake.
"So what if I lied a little..." she mumbled, eyes sliding closed as my lips grazed her lids.
"Don't you know?" I pulled back to look at her.
Her eyes pried open slowly, almost as if she was drugged. Pupils fully dilated, face flushed, breathing elevated — oh, yeah. She was into this just as much as I was.
"Hmm?" She moaned.
"Lying's a sin."
Fuck it.
I kissed her.