Page 7 of The Boy I Hate

She crossed her arms at her stomach, wondering if she was about tothrowup.

“What? You don’tbelieveme?”

“It’s not that. I’m just surprised the word ‘gentleman’ is a part of yourvocabulary.”

His blue eyes danced with amusement and he started laughing. “Go upstairs and change, Sammie. I’ll meet you outside in five minutes.” He pushed himself off the couch, not waiting for a reply, and headed to his bedroom in thebasement.

She waited for the door to close before taking a much-needed breath. For some reason, he assumed she would meet him, even without an answer. But she knew why. Because requests like that were all it ever took from Tristan Montgomery. He had the body of a God, all six foot something of him, and his wild surfer boy hair was the blond icing on top of the beautifully sculpted cake. She knew she should ignore him and continue reading, but her heart had never pounded so hard in her life. In spite of herself, she was curious about what it would be like to spend an evening with Tristan Montgomery. Curious to see if what everyone said about himwastrue…

She smoothed her hair behind her ears and headed upstairs. Renee was buried under a mound of blankets, and rolled on the mattress toward the door when Samantha enteredtheloft.

“Hey,” Renee said in a hoarse whisper. “Have I beensleepinglong?”

“Hey,” Samantha replied, smiling as she sat softly on the side of the bed. “Just all day. How are youfeeling?”

Renee shrugged. “Eh, could be better.” She frowned. “Sorry I ruined yourweekend.”

“You didn’t ruin anything.” Samantha shook her head. “I finally caught up on all the reading I’ve been wanting to do this summer. For what it’s worth, I’m teamEdward.”

Renee wrinkled her nose and flashed a sleepy grin. “What time is it? Are you comingtobed?”

“No…” She looked away. “Tristan actually asked me to go to the lake with him—for some reason I’m actuallyconsideringit.”

Renee’s eyes narrowed, analyzing her in a way that made Samantha fear she could see her heart. That she knew Tristan had affected her downstairs, and Samantha’s stomach rolled with the thoughtofit.

“You should go,” Renee finallystated.

Samantha looked down to her hands, her heart flipping with discomfort. “Idon’tknow—”

“It’ll make me feel better. I feel bad you’ve been stuck in here all weekend when you could have been homehavingfun.”

“I haven’t beenstuck—”

“Go, Sammie. It’s our last night. I know it’s Tristan, but maybe you’ll meet some other guys. Thereareguys here; I’ve seen them walking around through the window.” She turned back around. “And you need to get out—if only for a littlewhile.”

Samantha looked down at her fingers, thinking it would be so much easier to turn Steven down if she was able to tell him she had met someone else. “Okay.” She looked up at Renee again, then reached out to adjust the blankets around her friend’s shoulders. “I’ll go, but only for a littlewhile.”

4

ChapterFour

Six yearsearlier

It was almosteight thirty when Samantha walked out on the back deck to look for Tristan. The night was warm, but the breeze off the lake offered just enough relief to make the August evening pleasant. Her long blond hair was braided over one shoulder, and she clasped a red-striped beach towel firmly at herchest.

She found him sitting on the steps, looking out to the water. His body was splayed out in gray swim shorts and a white t-shirt, but he didn’t notice her right away. His focus was directed to the lake, as if deep in thought, and the soft glow from the back porch light allowed her to see hisfeatures.

She leaned against the log siding and watched him. She’d known him for as long as she could remember, but this was the first time she’d ever seen him alone. Normally, he was surrounded by groupies, both the male and female variety, and it was odd to see him like this. Like a wolf away from his pack, or a white iris in a field of purple. Out of place, but beautiful nonetheless. Itintriguedher.

“You came,” he said, his voice quiet and contemplative. But he didn’t turn around to face her. He continued to look out to the lake, as if he saw something out there she couldn’t. “I didn’t think youwould.”

She pushed away from the wall, wondering how long he’d noticed her there without saying a word. “Why’sthat?”

He rose to his feet and dusted off his shorts before facing her. “Just a hunch.” A slow smile transformed his features as his gaze swept her up and down. “I’m glad I was wrong, SammieSmiles.”

He walked down the steps, the name from her childhood barely audible on his lips. Low and soft…but incredibly sexy. She didn’t like it, didn’t like it at all. Because for some reason, the way he said it made her stomach flutter. She wasn’t sure if it was the fact they were alone, or something else, but he sounded honest. Like he really was happy toseeher.

She cleared her throat and looked out toward the lake. “Where are wegoing?”

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