Page 41 of Hate You Forever (Hate 1)

No fucking way.This can’t be real. The woman I can’t get out of my head is the same one who’s marrying my best friend?

This has to be some kind of fucked up dream. I pinch my arm, but the nagging pain only reminds me this is real. That the wild girl who’s my fantasy in every way is really Nix’s future wife.

One he doesn’t want, and one I’m sure she doesn’t want to be either.

“Reilly, you good, man?” Nix stares at me with his brows furrowed. Tara, his fucking fiancée, just sprinted out of here like her ass was on fire, and now I’m looking like an idiot in shock. Nix looked less than pleased—pissed actually—at Tara bolting so I’m sure he’ll have some choice words for her when she gets back.

“Uh yeah, just thinking about… uh, a… broken condom.” What a stupid ass thing to say. I need to get my shit together. It was the just first thing to come to mind, and clearly I can’t say, “Yeah I’m good, man. Just thinking about how I’ve fucked your future wife multiple times, and want to keep doing it over and over again. You understand, right?” I don’t think that would go over well at this moment.

“A condom broke? You’ve already hooked up with someone here tonight?” He doesn’t seem shocked, since it would be my typical M.O. Not this time though. Since I’ve had a taste of Tara again, I haven’t had much of an appetite for any other woman. God, even her name turns me on. She’s constantly been running through my mind with those big green eyes, flawless tan skin, and long black hair that I love to wrap around my fist.

“Uh, yeah… Sorry, bro.” Technically, I’m not lying. I have already hooked up with someone who’s here tonight, I just didn’t hook up with her tonight.

“Fuck, Reilly. Are you sure it broke?”

I hate lying to him, but I need to talk to Tara first before I ruin their party. “Yeah, split right open while I was balls deep spilling into her.”

Thank god Nix’s mom is distracted at this very moment. She thinks I’m an angel and I wouldn’t want her to think any less of me. She knows I get around, but she doesn’t need the graphic details.

“Fucking hell, man. We don’t need your little shitheads running around here.”

I personally think I’d be an awesome dad, but that’s not what’s taking over my focus right now. It’s Tara.

“I know,” I grit out through my clenched jaw. “I’m gonna go get a drink.” I run my hand through my blond hair, feeling a hint of nervousness, jealousy, and confusion at this entire situation. This night is huge for Nix. It’s important for everyone—especially that jackass Randall Crowe—to believe Nix and Tara are really in love and want to be married. I can’t fuck that up by confessing the only secret that now lingers between Nix and I.

All I know is Tara’s going to have to act her ass off, which she’s already not doing well.

Is it messed up that I feel a hint of satisfaction knowing she’s not really marrying Nix for love?

Unlike every other girl I’ve fucked, she doesn’t cuddle and isn’t clingy afterward—she just wants to drown in blissful orgasms and then be on her merry way, like we never met. I can’t say I blame her for not wanting to commit. I was typically the same, until I met her. Not that I want to marry the girl, but for the first time, I wanted to stay in that bed next to her all night, soaking up as much time as she’d give me. Damn, I sound whipped.

And now that’ll never happen. She’s not mine; she can’t be mine, no matter how much I want her to be.

Wait, what if it’s more than a business transaction for her?

If she thinks it is, she’s in for a rude awakening. Nix doesn’t give two shits about her. The thought of her having feelings for him rips me right open. He’d break her down so hard, I’m not sure she’d be able to put herself back together.

Turning away from Nix, who’s now chatting with some colleagues while trying to pretend he’s not irritated at the way Tara ran out of here, I head toward the bar. I can see his frustration in his tight jaw and the way his finger impatiently taps against his glass of whiskey.

I order a drink, and turn around, looking at all the people here. Smug, rich assholes who don’t really care about my best friend's future happiness. All they care about is the latest gossip and seeing who they can do business with.

My eyes land on Tara’s friend and the three guys surrounding her. I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself to them officially, but the way she’s shooting daggers into Nix’s skull has me thinking she’s not much of a fan. One of her guys, the tall blond one with sick tattoos, looks pretty familiar. I swear I’ve seen him with Viper before... Zeb? Zack? Zep! Yeah, Zep, that’s his name.

I sip on my drink as I stare at the doorway leading to the hall Tara disappeared down, waiting for her to make an appearance again. She looked fucking stunning in her tight dress, like the goddess she is. The way it dipped low, showing off those perfect breasts, or how the slit hit her perfectly, showing just how toned and tight her legs are—it’s enough to make my dick hard. Even the color was perfect on her.

My blood began humming tonight once this party got started, but I chalked it up to the amount of alcohol coursing through my body. I can’t handle shit like this, but I do it for Nix, so I always pre-game with the heavy shit.

But maybe it was because of her instead, this woman who’s been running through my mind since I met her at Gypsy’s. After that first time, I thought I’d never see her again, but then she called me, and I damn near sprinted to her apartment without even thinking twice. I fucked her so hard, promising her that she’d never forget me. That she’d keep coming back for more.

I got one thing right, she will keep seeing me—just not in the way I’d planned. She hasn’t called me since that night like I’d hoped she would; at least now I know why.

Ditching the empty glass, my feet instinctively take me in the direction of the hall bathroom, knowing very well that I shouldn’t be doing this. I should steer clear of her, avoid her as much as possible, but I don’t want to.

I’m fucking addicted.

For once, I want something real, even though I know it’s the one thing I can’t have. It’s the one thing making me do something fucking stupid in the middle of my best friend’s engagement party. In the middle of her engagement party.

I’m going to hell.

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