Page 8 of The Boy I Hate

“The dock,” he replied, jetting his chin out to the lake before glancing back up at her. “You okaywiththat?”

“Sure,” she said, adjusting the towel at her chest before walking down thesteps.

The dock sounded safe enough. Out in the open, visible from almost every cabin. She followed him down the path to the beach, closely watching her step as they made it down to the sand. Then his footsteps slowed, and he began walking right beside her. She knew it was intentional, because he was almost a full foot taller than her. But his strides matched her short ones perfectly—step after step—and she realized he was trying to do what he said he would. To be a perfect gentleman. And he was actuallysucceeding.

Their walk continued, neither saying a word as they headed in the direction of the dock. Which gave Samantha plenty of time to reprimand herself for being so nervous. She wasn’t quite sure the reason, because she knew nothing would ever eventuate between her and Tristan. He could have any girl he wanted, literally, and she had no interest in him whatsoever. But Tristan Montgomery had this way about him. A presence so big the whole world would miss it the moment it was gone…and she was feeling it right now. All around her, over every inch ofherskin.

They made it halfway to the dock before either spoke again, but then he turned to her, as if he’d been repressing the words for so long they exploded from his lips. “I leave for Austin next week,” he said, standing in frontofher.

It wasn’t a question, but a statement. She wasn’t sure what to do with it. Congratulate him, or give him a high-five. Instead, she looked at him, wondering where all this was coming from. “Are youexcited?”

He raised his shoulders, but said nothing as he began walkingbackward.

Nervous energy shot through her heart and she looked down to her feet again. “Well you should be,” she said with a nod. “An acceptance to UT is anhonor.”

He remained quiet, and she continued. “They have one of the best football teams in the US. It’ll be a great opportunityforyou—”

He spun around, cutting off her last word as he picked up the pace again. She paused for a second, wondering if what she’d said offended him. Personally, she’d always thought of college as some big, exciting experience. The beginning of the future, the first step toward adulthood. And she knew from Renee that Tristan had a full scholarship—and like always, a whole plethora of new women were out there waiting for him to charm their panties off… But for some reason, he didn’t seem excited. Or happy about it at all,actually.

“I can’t wait to go to college,” she said, to fill the awkward space. “Though I probably won’t move away like you. Not that I don’t want to. But CalArts is my top choice, and it would be foolish to spend money on room and board when I could live at home for free.” She could hear Steven’s voice when she said it, but he was the smartest person in her life, and she was sure itwastrue.

He looked her over, his brows furrowing, and his feet slowing. “Don’t you ever do anythingfoolish?”

She lifted her chin. “Not really. Not likeyoudo.”

He laughed. “You think I’mfoolish?”

She shrugged. “You do foolishthings.”

“Like?”

“Like jumping off your parents’ roof into theneighbor’spool.”

He grinned. “That wasonetime.”

“And taking Suzy Baker to senior prom even though you knew her boyfriend was out togetyou.”

His grin widened. “I never thought you paid that much attention, SammieSmiles.”

She cleared her throat. “Well, you’re kinda hard to miss—I mean, the stuff you do. It always causes so much drama, and everyone can never stop talking about it. You’re like our localcelebrity.”

They came to a full stop and he turned to face her. “Will you miss me?” he asked. But it wasn’t in that flirtatious way he used with other girls. He wasn’t even smiling when he looked up to meet her eyes; he was dead serious. His eyes held hers, his lips formed in a straight line as though he was holding hisbreath.

She looked into his clear blue eyes, her breaths becoming shallow and uneven. She shook her head. She didn’t know what was happening to her, but she didn’t like it. “No,” she finally said. “How could I? I hardlyknowyou.”

He laughed, but it didn’t seem a happy one. Then, before she could recover from the whiplash conversation, he pulled his shirt overhead and began running toward the dock. “Maybe I can changeyourmind.”

Without waiting for her reply, he jumped off the dock and landed with a large splash in the water. He spun around, the light of the moon reflecting off his wet hair, glistening down his bronzed skin and bare chest. “Come on, Sam. Are you gonna swim with meorwhat?”

* * *

Presentday

Samantha staredat the bright computer screen, her eyes glassy and aching, as she focused on the cursor in the middle of the page. Tristan terrified her. Not because of who he was, but because of how he affected her. He set the wild heart of hers free, and he did it in a way that was so subtle she didn’t even notice it happening until itwasover.

But Renee was right. It would be silly for her to drive alone. Foolish to drive three thousand miles just to avoid the boy she hated. But it was also selfish. Because she knew Renee would worry if she tried to make the trip alone, and Renee already had enough to worry about. A whole wedding’s worth ofworry.

Samantha held her finger on the delete key and erased the whole email before grabbing her phone from the mattress and opening up hertexts.

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