The Perks of Hating You ( Perks Book 2)

by Stephanie Street

  With Marshall’s lips plastered to my neck and his hand halfway up my thigh under my skirt, I began to wonder if I should be worried that we spent ninety-nine percent of our time together making out. It wasn’t that I didn’t like making out with him. In fact, it was dang hot, and I enjoyed it- a lot. But it was beginning to feel more like booty call and less like a relationship.

  Whenever I brought it up or tried to nail down some kind of commitment, Marshall distracted me and by the time I was able to think straight again, he was gone. I’d even brought up the fact that we hadn’t been on a read date and he asked me what I thought JJ’s party was. Well, I didn’t think it was a date. A date was him picking me up at my house and meeting my parents. Dinner. A movie. A walk at dusk. It wasn’t grinding at a party while he was drunk out of his mind. But I was willing to wait a bit. See how things progressed. I still felt like Marshall was my best candidate for a boyfriend and I could be patient. Wait for him to catch up.

  Until then, I guess I’d keep enjoying his kisses.

  “You’re coming to the game? And the party after, right,” he asked later as he shouldered his duffel bag and I fixed my skirt.

  “Yes.” I’d worked it out again with my parents, telling them I was going to Allie’s and that her mom would bring me home late again, so I could sleep in while Allie went to Saturday morning practice. They usually just watched film, but Allie liked to go so she could help with any injuries from the game the night before.

  “Awesome.” He kissed me again, quickly before jogging off to the locker room. I waited, watching again to see if he would look back. He didn’t, not until the last possible moment before he entered the locker room and it was more like he caught sight of me out of the corner of his eye. He shot me a quick smile and then he was gone. And I was left wondering what in the world I was doing.

  The game that night was packed. Connor was the best quarterback our school had seen in a long time. We’d already won our first two games and were up by twenty-one at half-time tonight. I sat in the bleachers in the student section with some people I knew but wasn’t great friends with. More like I sat by them not so much with them.

  “Ohmigosh! There’s Dylan!” The breathless exclamation drew my attention. Of course. A few rows in front of me was Jessilyn Spears, the girl who’d cornered me at JJ’s party and then danced with Dylan later.

  “He is so fine!” Jessilyn continued, fake swooning into the girl next to her.

  Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I searched the grassy area by the stands for Dylan. Dang. I had to agree with Jessilyn. It was cooler tonight than it had been, and Dylan was wearing a pair of well-worn jeans that fit him to perfection paired with his black combat boots. A white t-shirt peeked out from under a gunmetal grey hoodie. His dark hair was styled with messy perfection. I loved that he could look like he just walked off a photo shoot in something as casual as jeans and a sweatshirt.

  “I’m going to go ask him if he’s going to the party tonight.” Jessilyn elbowed her way down the bleachers as the team made their way back onto the field to start the third quarter. Studiously keeping my eyes focused on Marshall as he ran up the sideline, I tried not to let it bother me that Jessilyn was so blatantly going after Dylan. Just because we’d shared a few moments recently and spent more time together than I’d been spending with Marshall didn’t mean I had some kind of claim on the boy. I didn’t.

  So why did it suck so bad seeing Jessilyn throw herself at Dylan? He was my brother’s best friend. That was it.

  Well, and he was a nice guy.

  And gorgeous.

  But he stole my food.

  That was kind of funny, though.

  And he made my pulse race when we danced.

  It didn’t mean anything.

  At all.

  I dragged my eyes away from Dylan and focused on Marshall, waiting for him to look up into the stands and give me some small indication that I meant something to him.

  He never did.

  Dylan

  What was I doing here again? I promised myself I’d stop worrying about Eden. I knew she was still seeing Marshall. I’d even gone so far as to ask Allie about it when I saw her walking off the field at the beginning of half-time. She didn’t have much to say, just that they walked to class and she’d seen them kissing outside the locker room after school.

  I knew Eden was going to have to figure out for herself what kind of guy Marshall was but that didn’t keep me from wanting to protect her from getting hurt. I thought about threatening Marshall within an inch of his life, but I was worried about that getting back to Eden and had a feeling I’d accomplish was pushing her further into his arms.

  Ugh. I just needed to get out of here. I couldn’t wait for basic. All this waiting was making me crazy. My mom couldn’t lay off the guilt trip. She couldn’t understand why I’d want to follow in my dad’s footsteps when he’d been killed in action. I couldn’t explain it. I only knew it was what I had to do. What I was meant to do. And then there was Derrick. I knew he loved me in his way. He was generous with his praise of my work at the construction sites. He worked hard to teach me everything he knew about the business end of things as well as the skills for building. If I ever changed my mind about being career military, construction would be my fallback.

  But I had to try. I had to get out of here and spread my wings. I hated this damn limbo I was in.

  “Hey, Dylan.”

  “Hey, Jess. What’s up?” Jeez, this girl. She couldn’t take a hint. I thought I’d been upfront last weekend after JJ’s party. We’d danced once, and she acted like it was a marriage proposal. After gently explaining about not wanting to get into a relationship, I wished her a goodnight and headed for my truck. She’d shocked the hell out of me by running after me and attacking me with her lips. Floored as I was, I didn’t stop her as quickly as I should have and might have encouraged when I’d meant to discourage.

  “You going to the party at Jason’s,” she asked, her eyes full of invitations.

  Crap.

  “I wasn’t planning on it.” But now I wondered if Eden was going. With Marshall. For what seemed the millionth time, I wished Josh was here to get after his sister. I’d seen her sitting in the bleachers earlier but forced my attention away from her. There had been a couple of close calls the last couple of weeks, times when I’d come so close to doing something I knew deep down I’d regret.

  Jessilyn pressed closer to my side, her hand coming to rest on my forearm. Shifting my weight, I stood up from leaning on the fence and her hand fell away. I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. This girl needed to know where I stood.

  “Good to see you, Jess,” I said as politely and dismissively as I could and then turned away under the pretense of heading toward the concession stand. Maybe a popcorn and a Coke sounded good after all.

  Chapter 10

  Eden

  The party at Jason’s was almost an exact repeat of JJ’s. Marshall and I danced. He drank too much. I didn’t drink at all. And we kissed- a lot.

  “So, next week is my birthday,” I plugged shamelessly between kisses. Marshall’s usual response when I started talking was to divert his lips to another part of my body, usually my neck. And as much as I hated to admit it, I typically lost my train of thought when he did that, and I stopped talking.

  But not tonight. For some reason, Marshall’s kisses weren’t having the same effect on me that they usually did. Pushing down my irritation, I caught Marshall’s face in my hands. His eyes were heavy from the effect of our kisses and the alcohol he’d consumed. He leaned forward to kiss me again.

  “Hey.” I leaned back. “Did you hear anything I just said?”

  He looked momentarily confused. “Um, something about a birthday.”

  “Yeah, mine. It’s next weekend.” Pausing, I waited to see what he would do with that information.

  “Cool.” His head dipped down to the hollow of my throat.

  I grabbed his head again and brought his
face up to meet mine.

  “I thought maybe we could go out. You know like a date.”

  His eyebrows scrunched together. “Sure, we can go to the party next weekend. A bonfire at Jared’s after the game.”

  “What about Saturday?” I was pushing but come on! It was my birthday. Couldn’t a girl expect to go on a date for her birthday?

  “I can’t on Saturday. I have stuff going on.” Marshall evaded my eyes and leaned in for a kiss.

  I stopped him with a finger on his lips.

  “Stuff. What stuff?” What could be more important than my sixteenth birthday? Didn’t he care at all.

  He must have picked up on the irritation in my voice because he sat back fully on the oversized chair we shared with a huff. He raked his hand through his hair, the hair that always fell in his eyes. For the first time, I wondered if he ever got a kink in his neck from holding his head to the side all the time.

  “Stuff, Eden. Look, I don’t need this right now. Football takes almost all my time. And I’m practically failing Math. I had to get a tutor or coach was gonna bench me. I just want a little down time without a bunch of freaking pressure. Is that too much to ask?”

  Stunned, I just gaped at him. That was probably the most words he’d strung together at once in all the time I’ve spent with him. Compassion filled me. The last thing I wanted was for him to feel like I was an inconvenience.

  “What can I do to help,” I asked, placing my hands on his chest.

  Marshall reached up to cover my hands with his, a sly grin on his lips. “What you’ve been doing, babe. Just what you’ve been doing.” With more tenderness than he’d ever shown me, Marshall kissed me, and I thought maybe, just maybe, we really had something.

  Dylan

  Josh: Dude what’s up?

  Me: Same old work. How’s college life?

  Josh: Par-tay!

  Me: I’ll bet. Just remember, your parents will stop supporting your ass if you fail out of school.

  Josh: Quit dogging me. I got this. You ready for basic, bro?

  Me: One more week and I’m outta here!

  Josh: Bet you can’t wait.

  Me: Feel bad leaving my mom.

  Josh: Don’t, dude. This is your dream. She knows that.

  Me: I know.

  Josh: You still hauling E’s butt around?

  Me: Ha. Yeah, I’m in front of your house right now. It’s alright, tho. Took her to the gym. Taught her how to throw a punch

  Josh: Damn! Why? Girl’s dangerous enough.

  Me: Don’t I know it. She was pretty good.

  Josh: Imma blame you when she hits me next time I’m home.

  Me: Shit. You can still take her.

  Josh: Not without mom yelling at me.

  Me: She’s been hanging around Marshall Simpkins

  Josh: WHAT

  Josh: That guy’s an asswipe

  Me: I know. I tried to tell her.

  Josh: I’ll call her. Thanks for telling me.

  Josh: Gotta go. Class time.

  Me: Better you than me. Later.

  Too bad I wouldn’t be around the next time Josh was home. It would be hilarious to watch Eden try to take him down. I gotta talk her into a membership just so she can spar with Mark and maybe kick Josh’s ass. I didn’t envy him the job of trying to talk some sense into Eden, though. I wasn’t sure if she’d forgiven me for butting in the other day, but she seemed willing to let it go for now.

  “Hey, do you think you could take me downtown to pick up some job applications? Mom said she would, but she has to work late tonight,” Eden asked tentatively as she hopped in my truck, so I could give her a ride to school. A few more days and she’d be getting her license.

  I ran my day through my mind. Derrick needed me to finish some tile work on a bathroom remodel. I’d done most of it yesterday, so today I would finish tiling and then paint the walls and that would be done. I might be able to get it done in time to pick her up from school. Maybe it would be a good thing. Maybe I should apologize for making her upset.

  “So, do you need a ride after school,” I asked as I pulled up to the stop sign at the end of our street.

  “Well… I was gonna bum a ride off someone since I didn’t know when you got done with work. I hate to bug you. I know you’re busy. I just wanted to get these, so I could fill them out and try to get hired by this weekend or next week,” she replied, her fingers fiddled nervously with a beaded tassel dangling from her backpack.

  “I’m finishing up this remodel, but I think I’ll be done in time to get you. Would you be okay if you had to hang out at school for a bit if I’m not done right when school gets out?” I hoped it wouldn’t come to that but just in case.

  She nodded. “That would be awesome, Dylan. Thank you.” Her smile was subdued, and I wondered what was going through her head. Was she still mad at me? I hoped not because I was leaving soon, and I didn’t want to get on that plane with Eden hating me.

  Getting on a plane.

  For the first time that thought seemed unsettling. And it was all because of the girl sitting beside me. I had no right to feel that way. Because of that and my inability to leave the Marshall thing alone, I’ve been avoiding hanging out with her the last couple of days. But I wondered if she needed me. She seemed a little too inside her own head and I wondered if there was something going on with Marshall.

  “You okay,” I asked her after a few minutes of silence in the truck.

  Her gaze snapped toward me, her nose crinkled up. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. You seem a little...something.”

  Her face relaxed as she smiled. “A little something? What does that even mean?”

  Squirming in my seat, I was thankful for the distraction of having to drive so I didn’t have to meet her gaze. “Just distracted or something.” I breathed deeply before letting the air out in a sigh. “Like sad or,” I glanced at her. She was looking at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was. “Ignore me. I don’t know what I’m saying.”

  “Okay, weirdo,” she rolled her eyes and went back to staring out the window.

  Get it together, man.

  Breathing a sigh of relief as we pulled into the high school lot, I tried to act normal. Whatever that meant. Eden didn’t seem to notice anything, though, and hopped out of the truck as soon as it came to a stop.

  “I’ll be here after school,” I called out her open window.

  “Thanks, Dylan!” And with a cute little wave she was on her way.

  Chapter 11

  Eden

  “Where did you want to go,” Dylan asked as soon as I got into his truck. I was halfway regretting asking him to take me around to get job applications. It needed to happen, but I was exhausted after a test in Algebra and a pop quiz over the first five chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird. Plus, I was starving. Today’s lunch was some kind of rubbery meat disc drenched in a thick paste of something that was supposedly gravy. Just looking at it robbed me of my appetite- I couldn’t even eat my apple.

  “Are you hungry? Let’s drive-thru.” Please be hungry. Please be hungry.

  Dylan smiled, glancing at me with an amused expression. “Lunch didn’t do it for you today?”

  “It was so bad! Please. Can we get shakes at least?” I was desperate!

  “Sure.” He turned toward a section of town that had several fast food restaurants. “Other than the gross lunch, how was your day?”

  “Well, mom, I had a test in Algebra I’m pretty sure I barely passed. And a quiz over a book I have to force myself to read. Lunch was disgusting, and I had to run a mile in gym. It was peachy.” Closing my eyes, I let my head fall back to the headrest.

  “I am so glad I don’t have to worry about that shit anymore,” Dylan said. “Don’t worry, though, we’ll get you a chocolate shake and you’ll be fine.” He reached out to pat my knee, the contact sending tingles up my thigh.

  Ugh. Why couldn’t I convince my body I hated Dylan like I wanted to?r />
  “Chocolate will make it all better,” I agreed.

  Dylan pulled his truck into a burger joint and ordered one large chocolate shake and a large fry.

  “Just one,” I pouted as he drove to the window to pay.

  “You’ll share won’t you,” he asked as he handed the girl at the window his debit card with a wink. She blushed. “The shakes are huge.”

  “I can buy,” I offered feeling like a mooch for asking him to take me and then letting him pay. The girl swiped Dylan’s card and had to wipe the drool from her chin before handing it back to him. Goodness.

  “Don’t be dumb,” he said to me as he smiled at the girl. She looked like she might swoon.

  “You should be illegal,” I said before I could think better of it.

  “What,” Dylan laughed, his whole body shaking with amusement. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Didn’t you see that girl? You’re like some illegal drug. Tempting and highly addictive. You should have a warning label.” Why was I saying any of this to him? Talk about feeding his ego!

  “You think I’m tempting,” he asked, accepting our shake and fries from the guy at the next window. At least it wasn’t another girl.

  “Are you kidding?” He had to be.

  Dylan shrugged. “I know girls like me, Ed. I just didn’t know you did.”

  Oh, dear. “I didn’t say I like you.”

  Dylan glanced at me through his upper eyelashes. “You kinda did. Open the straw.”

  Taking the straw from his hand, I ripped half the wrapper off and then blew the other half off, so it hit Dylan in the face before dropping to the floor.

  He grinned. “Better pick up that trash.”

  I snorted. Dylan’s truck was a disaster. At my feet laid the remains of many a fast food meal. My one half of a straw wrapper would not make a dent in the mess. After pushing the straw through the lid on the shake, I wrapped my lips around it. It took several tries to get the thick substance up through the straw and into my mouth, but once I did it was so worth it.