Page 28 of Between Hate and Desire

Brandon steps toward me with his hand out. I step back, holding my stance.

“Lennon, you can’t be upset over this. She probably didn’t have anything else to wear.” He continues to move forward until the backs of my knees hit the edge of the bed, and he pulls me to his chest. “Are you jealous?” he asks with a hint of amusement.

“Jealous?” My brows shoot up, and I pull back to look up at him. My heart races with anger. Of course I’m not jealous. “Ofwhat?”

“Jealous of Jenna…the single life…random hookups. You want to bemyweekend fling?” He waggles his brows, taunting me.

“You’re insane,” I say, hesitantly laughing. “I’m not jealous. Especially not of her. Or the single life.”

“You sure?” He palms both of my ass cheeks and squeezes, grinding our bodies together. “You wanna role-play, baby? Be the random girl at the bar where I pick you up, take you home, and have my way with you?” Brandon leans forward and takes my bottom lip between his teeth, and I moan at the aggressive way he handles my body. The same way he handled it all weekend long.

I laugh at his attempt to settle me down with sex. “Pretty sure that already happened. Two years ago, to be exact.” I smile at the memory.

Shit.

Iwas Jenna two years ago. Woke up in Brandon’s arms, gladly wore his baggy T-shirt during breakfast, and then didn’t need it for most of the day while we stayed in his bed.

“Yep, except I decided you were a keeper.” He winks, making me snort. I realize how unfair I’m being toward Jenna because we have more in common than I want to admit. Maybe Hunter will fall madly in love, and they’ll move out together.

Wishful thinking.

That’d mean Hunter would have to stop going through women like torn up socks and form feelings for one of them. Though she is his type—brunette, thin, and pretty—just like all the other girls he’s brought home.

Brandon’s plan to calm me down worked, as usual. There aren’t many instances when I get heated, but it’s usually because of Hunter and his antics.

“I was thinking of calling my sisters to meet up later,” I tell him as I start unpacking my bag.

“Okay, babe. I’m gonna check some work emails. Then maybe we can go for lunch in a bit?”

“Sounds good.” I smile, piling my dirty laundry into the basket. “I should probably do a load of clothes too for the week.”

Walking into the hallway, I hear Jenna giggling in the kitchen, and when I round the corner, I’m nearly blinded by Hunter’s bare torso and messy hair. He runs his fingers through it and grins at Jenna. It’s the first time I’ve seen him show this much interest in a girl, and it has my stomach in knots. Usually, he kicks them out before the sun rises.

“Oh, hey.” Jenna turns and faces me, popping her hip. “Again, I’m sorry about snagging your shirt. I promise to wash it, and it’ll never happen again. Next time, I’ll keep an extra outfit in my bag.” She looks up at Hunter and bites her lip as she waits for a response from him. He shoots her a playful wink and squeezes her hip, which makes her smile widen. “Anyway, we have plenty of food if you’re hungry.”

I blink, unamused by how comfortable she’s making herself in my home. Last I checked, we didn’t even have bacon, which means she either brought it or they went out shopping together. I’m not sure why that thought bothers me so much. Maybe it’s because Hunter’s made my life hell the past nine months and now he’s letting this girl prance around like she owns the place. Hunter wraps his arms around her and pulls her close. I notice how his fingertips gently graze her arm and see the way she reacts to him.

“Oh, no, thanks. We’re going out for lunch in a bit, but…” I turn my gaze to Hunter with my lips in a firm line as he pinches her ass. Jenna squeals and laughs along with him, and I hold in an annoyed groan. “I’m gonna put in a load of laundry and wondered if you have any towels in your room? I’ll probably do a load of those after my clothes.”

“Oh, I can grab them. There are quite a few in his room from this weekend,” Jenna interrupts our stare down, giggling as she walks past me to the hallway. From her devilish expression, they’re probably stiff as a board too from all their wild sex. Ew.

“Never mind. You can do your own nasty laundry.” I groan, rolling my eyes. Just as I’m about to spin around and walk away, Hunter grabs my elbow and pulls me back.

“Too bad you weren’t here this weekend to hear my headboard bang against the wall every night. We could’ve had a competition.” He draws his words out lazily and ends with a slow, shit-eating smirk.

“You’re disgusting,” I hiss.

“Oh, don’t even pretend to be a prude.” Hunter cackles. “We share a wall, remember? I know all your moans by heart, honey buns.”

I inhale sharply, reminding myself he only does this to get a rise out of me, and then force myself to walk out of the kitchen and back to my room without giving him the satisfaction of a response.

After confirming dinner plans with my sisters, we meet up at the Coliseum Bar that doubles as a restaurant. It’s a fun place to hang out because we can sit, eat, and chat in the main room and then play darts or pool in the side room where it normally gets loud and rowdy.

“Oh my God,” Maddie squeals the second she sees us and plops down next to Sophie in the booth. “The Uber driver drove like crazy, and I thought I was gonna die!” She releases a breath, then holds up her purse. I take it since I have room on my side.

“Why didn’t you tell me you needed a ride? I thought you said you’d get a ride from your roommate,” I ask, reaching for a chip and dipping it in the salsa in the middle of the table.

“Because she flaked on me at the last minute, and I didn’t want to bother you on such short notice,” she says, grabbing the menu. Maddie lives on campus, which is the only way she could afford to move out here after she graduated high school.

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