by Jamie Knight
Kendall plopped down in the seat next to me. He was a skinny guy with a mop of curly blond hair. His tray was overloaded with food.
“Kendall, are you starving to death?” asked Dave, eyeing the overloaded tray.
“No,” said Kendall. “I’m making the maximum use of my meal plan. I like to stay up late. Sometimes I get hungry. The cafeteria closes way too early.”
The cafeteria closed at nine. There were a few places to get food in the small town that surrounded Kensington State College but, like myself, Kendall was very low on money and had yet to find a part-time job.
With so many students around, jobs went quickly. I’d been looking for one with no luck. And I hadn’t had a lot of time to search, due to all my schoolwork. It felt like I could never get through the mountain of homework I constantly had.
Kendall pulled a few Ziploc bags out of his backpack. He started stuffing the sandwiches he had made into them, sealing them up and putting them into his backpack. At one point, he started scooping coleslaw into a bag.
“Seriously?” I said. “You’re taking coleslaw back to your room? That doesn’t seem like a good idea. Won’t it go bad?”
My dad had insisted on going all out and getting me a fridge for my dorm room. But a lot of students didn’t have one. And Kendall didn’t have a lot of money.
“Nah,” dismissed Kendall. “I bought a mini-fridge.”
“They cost like eighty bucks,” laughed Dave. “Where did you come up with the money for that?”
“My grandmother gave it to me,” Kendall admitted sheepishly.
He pulled out a thermos and started pouring out the glasses of milk he had brought to the table and filled it up. He had some left over for lunch, but not much.
“He’s fascinating, isn’t he?” noted Dave, with a snarky grin. “The male Kendall gathers food and stores it away for the winter. The male Kendall knows there could be tough times ahead and he needs to fill his cheeks with nutrients.”
“Nice David Attenborough impression. This is totally Blue Planet ‘College Edition’,” I quipped, sitting back in my seat and crossing my arms in front of my chest. “Kendall is truth-telling, though. I get hungry at night, too.”
I looked down at my own tray, deciding to follow Kendall’s lead and take some of it with me. Wrapping up a grilled cheese sandwich in a napkin, I prepared to put it in my backpack. Kendall tossed me a Ziploc.
“Here you go,” he said. “You owe me seventeen cents.”
“You mean I can’t put this bag on lay-away?” I joked. “I don’t know where I’m going to get that kind of money.”
“You laugh, but shit adds up,” said Kendall. “We have to save money now, so we have it in the future.”
“According to my economics professor, at the rate the dollar’s depreciating, the purchasing power will be next to nothing comparatively over the next twenty years. And that’s assuming we don’t spiral down into a depression,” said Dave.
Kendall and I turned to stare at him. Sometimes Dave could be incredibly intelligent, but most of the time he was a goofball.
“Really?” I asked. “That’s pretty depressing, in and of itself. As is the fact that I have to take that Austrian Economics class next semester.”
“Oh, it’s tight, dude,” said Dave. “The professor is so fucking fire and brimstone about the economy. Way less boring than Macro.”
“Nice,” I said, running a hand over the side of my head. Short black hairs tickled my palm. I had shaved the sides of my hair short when I started college. “That’s good to know, at least.”
I was still a little self-conscious, honestly, about making such a change to my appearance. When my dad saw it, he asked me if I was trying to reinvent myself or something.
Was I trying to look like I didn’t come from the shitty apartment complex by the lake? I told him and myself that that kind of stuff didn’t matter to me. That I was here to learn, so I could have a better life. I just thought the new cut would be a nice change.
He came around quickly, even said that he liked it. But a part of me now mused over his questions every time my hand ran across the new texture of the haircut.
I had to face facts. Being a business major was pretty boring. It all boiled down to marketing and being able to read your customer base. Still, it was something I could use when I got out of school. I could build up a nest egg and buy a house. Or at least a condo.
All my hard work studying would pay off one day. My father had struggled all his life. I wanted to do better, maybe start my own business, anything to keep from living paycheck to paycheck.
“Well, I’m going to head back to my room to study,” I said, after we’d all eaten and caught up on the day’s goings-on.
I had started feeling a little depressed. And it wasn’t because of the fact that the economy could spiral into a depression. But I couldn’t quite place what was causing it. Maybe it was just freshmen blues.
“That chick next door still partying all day and night?” asked Dave, with one brown eyebrow raised.
“Yeah,” I reported, rolling my eyes. I stood and started packing my books back into my bag. “Religious chicks. You know how they get when they’re finally away from Mom and Dad.”
“Whoa, wait, is she hot?” asked Kendall, sliding forward in his chair. “I haven’t seen her yet.”
“Eh, she’s kind of a weirdo, man,” I said with a grimace.
I had known Tina for most of my life. She was a bratty kid and that hadn’t seemed to change during her early adulthood so far. It was just my luck that my enemy neighbor from back home would now be my enemy neighbor in the dorms.
“I wouldn’t set you guys up with her. I mean, sure, she’s pretty hot, I guess, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that she and I have always hated each other.”
Saying she was pretty hot was an understatement. Tina was smoking hot. But I couldn’t let myself think about her that way. She was my enemy.
“Well, this is college,” said Dave, slapping his hand on the table. “If she’s hot, or even at all attractive, then bang her.”
I dropped my hands on the table, horrified with the thought. I liked to date as much as the next guy, but the thought of being with Tina… cruel Tina? Never. All she was… was an annoyance. Besides, there were other complications.
“I’m living down the hall from her. What the fuck do I do if I have to break up with her?” I asked.
“Dude, that’s a problem for Older Seth,” assured Dave. “Let Current Seth get some. And then let Future Seth deal with it, down the road. I’m sure he’ll figure something out.”
I rolled my eyes, grabbed my backpack, and headed back to my room.
Click here to continue reading Hate Me Like You Mean It
One little hate hook-up can lead to a whole lot of heat.
It all started as college rebellion.
I wanted to piss off my parents.
So I kissed the guy they'd always hated the most.
Even though I had always despised him, too.
I'd grown up with Seth living right next door.
He was the cocky jock with the big... ego.
Handsome as sin, but he knew it.
Plus, his family wreaked havoc on mine for years.
So, when they wouldn't let me fly the nest,
I jumped out and knew where to turn for a hard landing.
To get out of my parents' strict grasp,
I willingly took Seth's hand.
But I didn't know it would feel so good encircling my waist.
Traveling down my hips.
Then tracing its way along my thigh.
Now here I am hate-kissing my sworn enemy.
And loving every minute of it.
Hate Me Like You Mean It is a huge collection of enemies to lovers romance books by Jamie Knight, featuring curvy virgins who can't help but fall for the bad boys they thought they couldn't stand.
The 13 standalone bo
oks included are: I Hate You, Move In, I Hate You, Remember, Me, I Hate You, Propose, I Hate You, Marry Me, Super Over You, Super Not Into You, I Super Don't, Super Big Game, Super Secret Santa, Secret Pet, Rival Pet, Bad Neighbor and Handling His Talent.
Jamie Knight promises to always bring you a happily ever after filled with plenty of heat. And never any cheating or cliffhangers!
Click here to continue reading Hate Me Like You Mean It
Click here to see all the collections in the Bad Boys and Billionaires Romance Collection series!
Click here to see all my books in my entire catalogue!
Jamie Knight –
Your Dirty Little Secret Romance Author
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