Page 8 of Hate To Love You

His lips curl into an arrogant smirk.“Maybe, but never to my face. Words hurt ya know.”

This guy is unbelievable.

My pointer finger taps on the side of my leg repeatedly as I try to calm myself. “I didn’t say it to your face. You were eavesdropping. Now, can you please move out of my way now so I can go home?” I go to step around him, grabbing Damian’s hand to follow, but Ryker follows, blocking us from leaving.

“Just hold on a minute,” he studies my face for a moment, and I can feel my cheeks heat under his assessing gaze. “You don’t like me very much, do you?” he asks, cocking a dark eyebrow. Is he kidding?

“I don’t even know you,” but if I did, I’d definitely hate him more than I already do. I cross my arms over my chest.

Ryker holds his hand out for me to shake. I don’t take it. Instead, I just stand there glaring at him, hoping he’ll get the hint that I want nothing to do with him. His arm falls and he chuckles.

“Okay, fine. I’m Ryker. And you are? Guinevere, was it?”

“Who I am doesn’t concern you. Have a nice day,” I grab Damian’s hand again and begin to pull him with me and away from the asshole in front of me that is Ryker Steele, but I decide to say one more thing before I go. “Actually, no. Have a shit day.”

I continue on my way, Damian in tow, but before we get far, Ryker grabs my forearm, halting my steps. Damian stops at my side, glaring at Ryker.

I stare at the spot on my arm that Ryker is holding, the heat from his hand scorching my skin. My eyes move from his hand to his face. His smug expression has turned into something darker as his gaze moves over my face.

“I think you owe me an apology, Gwen,” the way he says my name sends a tingle down my spine.

An apology? I do feel kind of bad for what I said in class. I’m usually very calm and contained. But then I remembered how he treated me after I ran into him before class. He deserved every word.

“I don’t owe you anything,” I swipe my arm away from him and begin walking again. This time Ryker doesn’t stop me.

Damian throws his arm around my shoulders as we walk down the sidewalk.

“You should really teach that girlfriend of yours some manners,” Ryker calls after us. I flip him off without looking back.

Girlfriend? He thinks Damian and I are dating? Interesting.

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My house off campus is only about a block away so I usually walk home after class. In the winter, I’ll typically drive to campus to avoid freezing to death.

It doesn’t take Damian and I long to arrive at my house, and when we do, I head straight for the couch in the living room while Damian heads to his self-proclaimed spot on the little chair in the corner.

Tossing my bag down on the ground, I slump next to Lainey and our other roommate, Ellie. We have one more roommate, Haley, but I’m pretty sure she’s at class right now.

Letting out a loud groan, I fall forward, cradling my head in my hands. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ellie and Lainey exchange a look of confusion.

“Gwen? You okay?” Lainey asks cautiously.

I peek up at her through my fingers and glare. “No.”

“Okay…” she holds out the ‘ay’. “What’s going on?” she asks. Sitting up straighter, I pull a pillow onto my lap and play with the torn edge.

“She got into it with Ryker Steele in class today,” Damian butts in. I send him a death glare, causing him to slouch down into his chair.

Lainey and Ellie jump out of their seats at the same time.

“The Ryker Steele?” Ellie replies, unimpressed.

“No freaking way. You got into it with an Elite?” Lainey squeals. She shakes her head, clearly in awe.

Lainey has this crazy obsession with the Elite, and I find it incredibly weird. Ellie knows who Ryker is because her twin brother is also an Elite member. I’ve met her brother Holland a few times and he’s nice enough. Lainey and Ellie go to some of their parties once in a while, but I’ve chosen to opt out of those events.

The only thing I know about their group is their names. There’s Holland, of course. Then Mason, who is Holland and Ellie’s cousin and who I know from high school. We never really spoke, but we hung in the same circles, so I knew of him. Finally, Patrick, Logan, and worst of all, Ryker.

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