Page 18 of Hate You Forever

I hear the sounds of paper ruffling, some soft music, and the sound of someone setting down a glass. I raise my hand and knock. I hear the squeaking of a chair before the door is thrown open quickly. Memphis’ face is like stone, obviously annoyed that someone ignored the CLOSED sign, but the second he sees that it’s me, his features smooth out, and a smile spreads across his face.

“Oh, hey Jade. What are you doing here?” he asks, leaning his shoulder against the door frame.

I shrug and cross my arms over my chest. “I was bored and tired of being alone. Can I come in?”

He nods and pushes the door open wider.

I step into the office, blown away byhow everything is the exact same. I laugh. “Wow. Nothing has changed.”

He laughs and shuts the door behind me. “Yeah, you know Dad.” He takes his seat behind the old metal desk, the chair squeaking with his weight.

I sit across from him and look around. “Hey, you remember that time that you were grounded, and your dad decided that he was going to make you work it off.”

His green eyes meet mine. “I do.”

“Remember how after your dad left that night, I snuck in here and we had sex on that maroon couch?” I point to the couch in the corner of the room.

The corners of his mouth lift up slightly, and his eyes glaze over like he’s reliving the memory. “I do remember that. Every time I came in here after that, that’s all I could think about. Dad thought I was a freak ‘cause every time I’d walk into the office, I’d be sporting a boner.” He laughs and runs his hands over his face.

I can’t hold back my own laughter, and I join in. “He still doesn’t know?”

“Nope. I bet he’s taken a hundred naps on that thing. I can’t tell him now. He’d kill me and throw my dead body out on the side of the road with that couch.”

I smile. He probably would. There’s a long, drawn-out silence between us.

“What are you doing here, Jade?” he asks softly.

“Pearl thinks I should give you another chance.”

“And what do you think?”

I shrug, refusing to meet his eyes before standing up to pace back and forth in the small space. “I don’t know. I want to. I just don’t know if I can.”

He pushes his chair back and stands up, moving in front of me but keeping several feet between us. “Only you can decide, you know?”

I nod. “I do. It’s just that seeing you now and knowing that there is still something between us makes it really hard to avoid you. Before, you weren’t here, so it was easy to hate you. But now…” I shake my head as I cross my arms.

I look up in time to see him lick his lips as he walks closer. “If you had to choose right now, what would you choose? Do you want to be with me, or do I need to leave again to make things easier for you?” He’s directly in front of me now, looking down at me with those bright green eyes that cut right through me. “Pick, Jade. Is it me or nothing?” His breath blows across my dry lips as I become prisoner to those eyes.

“I…” The words fall from my lips. I shake my head to clear it.

“No, don’t do that. Don’t think of everything else. Do you want me? Right now, in this moment?”

I look back up at him and bite my lower lip. I know what I want. I want him. But I don’t want all the fears and doubts that will come with him. What do I do? What do I choose? Him and being worried that he’ll up and leave any given day, or do I chose to stay away, to be alone?

TEN

Memphis

She’s full of fear and doubt and worry. I can see it written across her face, but I also see indecision. She wants me, but she isn’t sure she can trust me. But there’s only one way to prove that she can, and that’s by being here every day. I’ll prove myself to her again, even if it’s the last thing that I do.

I reach for her and pull her against me, kissing her passionately without her answer. She doesn’t have to answer. I already know her answer. She wants me. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be kissing me right now. Instead of pushing me away, she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls herself closer.

My hands move up and down her back as I give her everything I am with this kiss. I want her to feel it all: all my regrets about leaving her the way I did, all the love I have for her still to this day, and every promiseI’ll ever give her. We will be together in the end. That’s all that matters. I won’t stop fighting for her. She just needs to see that.

I walk her back and press her against the door while my lips fall down to her neck, moving toward her breast. I push her jacket off her shoulders, and it falls into the floor before I reach for the hem of her shirt and yank it over her head. She doesn’t stop me; she just keeps bringing her mouth back to mine while I work to strip her down to nothing.

When she’s completely bare, I pick her up against me and set her down on the desk as I work my jeans down my hips. I’m already painfully hard and ready to push into her. My hands are on her hips, and I pull her closer to the edge of the desk as I guide her onto my dick. The moment we connect, she lets out a deep, throaty moan that makes me twitch inside her.

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