Hating Him Wanting Him : A Contemporary Romance Collection

by Summer Brooks

  I knew Mia was inexperienced. And specifically that she was a virgin. So for her to carry herself with this much intensity was exactly what I wanted to feel.

  She wanted this. She wanted me. She showed me just how much she wanted all these things by the way she bounced up and down on me, her cute little ass pressing down against my lap, her petite breasts getting in my face every time she rose, right before dropping down again.

  I was so turned on by her, I was struggling to breathe.

  If this was my reward for winning the big game against Kentucky, I was ready to repeat my success every single time. I would be the D1 MVP, just because nothing felt so good after playing a football game and then immediately getting into bed with Mia.

  With my hands guiding her hips, setting the motion so we collided into each other when she kept riding me, I fantasized about this being a prolonged thing — about her always coming to every game, and after we won, I’d skip the celebration, skip the club, skip the afterparty and the girls I didn’t care about who all wanted my attention… and I’d just go back to Mia.

  And we’d do exactly this.

  “Oh my God,” Mia moaned, holding onto me tight. “I’m really close, I can feel it.”

  “Fuck yeah, baby,” I whispered, grinning. I wanted her to have the climax of her life. I wanted her to really enjoy this moment. “Come on. You can do it. Please. You can do that for me.”

  I could feel her body clench in anticipation. She really wanted me… and I really wanted her to come.

  “I’m coming!” she cried, her nails digging into my back. I loved the spike of pleasure that came with the pain from her scratching and digging into me. Just the fact that she enjoyed it this much left me reeling from the overdose of pleasure I was experiencing too, and I couldn’t help myself, I came with her.

  “Fuck,” I said, gritting my teeth, slamming my back down to her new bed. My body tensed as I came, and she moaned again, propping herself over me. We were sweating all over each other, and this made it even hotter to me.

  My eyes closed, and I felt the fatigue from my whole day catch up to me. “Fuck,” I said again, “I can’t let myself fall asleep.”

  “Yeah,” Mia laughed in a low voice. “You’d take up all the space in my bed.”

  We relaxed for a moment, then I sat up, scooting to give her more space. It was her bed, after all.

  There wasn’t really much to the room right now, so she would need to decorate it. There was a simple Ikea writing desk with an uncomfortable-looking plastic chair. Those had to go. Mia wanted to study, after all.

  With my head clearing up after my desire for sex was fulfilled, I felt some anxiety bubble to the surface. If Allie knew all about Mia, this meant the whole school would know. They were going to peg us as a couple, and I didn’t even know if that was what we really were meant for.

  I mean, the rules we had set for ourselves were pretty clear. Neither one of us wanted drama.

  So I said that. “Neither one of us want drama.”

  “That’s right,” Mia nodded. “I have to fix things with Sam. Eventually, you’re going to have to, too.”

  “I don’t see a window for me to do that anytime soon, honestly,” I confessed. “But yeah, you’re right.”

  Mia looked at me carefully, her hands folded in front of her to cover her breasts. It was cute how she was shy, now that we had finished hooking up. “So… what now?”

  “Good question,” I smirked. “Yeah. I was thinking just that.”

  “That was amazing, Bryant. And… I don’t know if you knew this, but that was my first time.”

  I bit my lip. “Yeah, I knew.”

  “Also, I’m not on birth control, so… I’m going to need some Plan B. Just letting you know,” Mia said. “It’s cool, though. I mean, actually, it’s hot.”

  I laughed. “Yeah. It is.”

  “What are you thinking about?”

  “Well… if you still think what you thought after the kiss we had at the Italian place… how about you don’t take this dorm room, and move into my place instead? Separate rooms. No more hookups. Clear boundaries. We could make it work.”

  Mia laughed. “There’s no way I’m going to say yes to that.” But while she laughed before, now she started to look a little more serious. She looked annoyed, even.

  “What do you mean?”

  “There’s clearly strong physical attraction here. And I’m not a hookup girl, Bryant. So while you might think we’ll keep hooking up — I’m not so sure. But I do know that if you put me in your apartment, like your little toy whenever you want some attention, there’s no way we wouldn’t hook up. We’re definitely hooking up.”

  She said these things, but I couldn’t really see how it was a negative. “But it’d be easier.”

  “I don’t want that.”

  She started to stand up, gathering her clothes and mine.

  I didn’t get why she was so annoyed by all this. “What did I say?” I asked, confused.

  She shook her head. “Nothing.”

  “Come on,” I said, not willing to take that as an answer. “I’m just trying to help you.”

  “If only it was that easy, Bryant. Just be real about things for once. You’re trying to make me live some kind of life that isn’t really what I want for myself.”

  “What, to help you have a place where you can truly be yourself? I’m only looking out for you. I don’t get it. Okay, I guess this is complicated,” I said, frowning. I was annoyed now too, and Mia was the source of all this.

  She got dressed quickly, and I knew it was time for me to make an exit. Part of me had hoped we would stay the night together, or that we’d have round two. Hooking up was amazing, but I wanted more.

  And now she was just confusing me like this.

  “Okay, I’ll go,” I declared, getting dressed again. I was sweating all over from the intense sex we had just had, so putting football clothes I had worn through a whole game made me feel distinctly aware of my discomfort.

  I needed a fucking shower.

  I needed to wash all this negativity off me.

  She didn’t really say anything, just grimly nodding at me when I turned around to see her.

  “Okay, then,” I said.

  I drove around for a while, realizing it was still early — not even midnight. I could still head for the club, because Marvin, Tyrone and Russel had all been blowing my phone up with texts asking me to come to the club where the celebration was, saying everyone wanted a piece of the star quarterback who won the day.

  I was feeling pretty fucking exhausted, but I figured this could at least get my mind off of things. At least at the celebration I wouldn’t be this confused. I’d know exactly who I was: a football player, a quarterback, a Florida University hero, the guy everyone looked up to.

  Unlike back in Mia’s room, where one minute she desperately wanted me, and the other she acted like she couldn’t stand me anymore.

  But before I could go to the club I would need to get out of my football jersey, slip into more stylish clothes.

  That shower would be perfect.

  “Damn, I’m jealous of the guys who got to have an ice bath right after the game,” I thought aloud, driving home. The roads were quiet, but even so, I made sure I drove slow, followed every stop sign and traffic light.

  Bullshit drama getting in my head like this was exactly how someone ended up making some sort of life-altering mistake that ruins their career. I got a starting spot in the lineup because of someone else’s life-altering mistake.

  I couldn’t afford to make one of my own.

  When I got home, I took a minute for myself to think. I was the only one at home, which made sense, since the rest of the team would be at the club, celebrating.

  We were a rowdy bunch at the house, and I started to realize just how nice it was to be alone here for a second.

  Was that what Mia really wanted? Just to be alone? I was a super-extrovert, I hated the idea of too much quiet.
Mia probably was the opposite of me like that. She liked to study and read, she always kept a small set of friends.

  Like Sam.

  Ugh, the last thing I needed to do was think about that psycho ex of mine. Especially since Sam’s own best friend was full of complications.

  I didn’t want that to be the case, but maybe Mia was too much trouble for me. Too much drama for my life. I was glad I was no longer in her room, even if my cock twinged, wanting more female attention.

  “Well, buddy, that’s what going to the club is for,” I said.

  I knew women would be throwing themselves all over me there, but the thought didn’t really leave me too excited. As I entered the shower, consciously choosing an ice-cold rinse instead of a hot one, trying to calm down the heat my body radiated, I was aware of the dangers of just going with the flow, jumping from one hook-up to another.

  “Fuck,” I murmured again, still thinking about Mia. Why did she have to ruin a night that was going so well? I just wanted to take care of her.

  It felt nice, nicer than any hook-up, when you could just take responsibility and help someone out when they needed it. Mia seemed to freak out at me doing that for her.

  I got dressed in a simple black slim-fit shirt and a pair of designer jeans Marvin had bought me for my birthday, a surprisingly good gift for a guy who I always thought was clueless at everything.

  And I was ready to get wasted at the club, so I didn’t even bother driving. I just called a car from an app on my phone, and then waited.

  “Mia,” I said, still unable to shake her from my thoughts. I was still repeating her name like some kind of chant before a big game, when the car arrived.

  As soon as I got to the club, I realized this was a mistake. I didn’t want to be here.

  Some blonde immediately turned and saw me. “Bryant…” she whispered. “Come party with us!”

  There was a ripple of excitement from everyone at the club as they recognized that I was there. The bouncer said everything was fine, I didn’t even need to get carded, and across the room, I could see Marvin and Russel knock back shots.

  “My name’s Renee,” the blonde said, walking flirtatiously around me. “Do you want a drink?”

  I shook my head. “I think I made a mistake coming here,” I confessed out loud, and I immediately started walking away.

  So something was going on with me. My body felt unfulfilled, like I wanted more… but it wasn’t sex, because if it was, I could have easily had the opportunity to pick out any one of those girls in the club. I was the star, they would have fought each other just to spend the night with me.

  It wasn’t bragging. It was the simple truth. I knew how these things worked.

  So if it wasn’t sex, what was it? Was it Mia, specifically her? She was beautiful, yes, but this couldn’t have been just about looks.

  I realized that it had to be in the way she made me feel amazing. That I couldn’t wait to see her again.

  I wasn’t used to feeling that way. Even with Sam seeing her seemed like routine, that of course I would come hit her up every night, because that’s what I did when I had a girl.

  With Mia…

  I had an idea. I saw a drugstore across the road, so I went in, bought myself a Red Bull to boost my energy levels, and then sheepishly asked for a morning-after pill. I paid with my card and put the box in my pocket, drinking my energy drink.

  “Can you meet me outside your dorm room?” I asked Mia, frantically texting her.

  I admitted that it was possible she wouldn’t even respond to my text. If that was the case, well, too bad for me. “Ten minutes,” I typed again.

  She didn’t reply, but I walked there anyway.

  And when I got there, exactly ten minutes later, dressed for the club, I saw Mia waiting for me, sitting on the steps leading inside.

  She was wearing a grey top and sweatpants. Basic, cozy, unsexy… but to me, she looked like a million bucks.

  “I got you your Plan B,” I said, bursting into a grin.

  Mia didn’t even say anything.

  She just kissed me.

  “Move in to the house with me. I promise it’ll work,” I said.

  I watched her lip tremble. She opened her mouth, as if she had something to say. But she didn’t.

  This time, she just smiled.

  13

  Mia

  Was I crazy for accepting Bryant’s offer?

  Things seemed like they were going to move for the better now. My main fear was that Bryant was just stumbling into something with me out of some weird sense of obligation, not because he actually liked me.

  But him coming over with a morning-after pill and an offer to move in with him was just… too sweet for me to ignore.

  He told me not to worry, he’d sort everything out with his friend Allie, the RA — I couldn’t imagine that was going to be a fun conversation, after he pulled strings for her to let me move, and then the one night I actually move in, we, uh… ruined the sheets with our passionate enjoyment of each others’ bodies.

  I was blushing just thinking about it. Of course, Bryant could pull strings, I got that.

  The next morning, having bought Allie what he called an extravagantly expensive brunch, he came to see me at my dorm room. I was in my PJs, going through lecture notes from my previous class.

  “Hey,” I murmured, watching him enter my room. I smiled and stood up from my spot at the bare desk.

  The quarterback walked over to me and gave me a quick peck of a kiss, and I started to blush again.

  He was treating me real special, and I still didn’t understand why — but I was willing to stop worrying about his motives now.

  Maybe it was time to allow this attraction to feel real.

  I still had my reservations, though. It wouldn’t be out of place for me to worry if I could handle juggling all my commitments. I had school to prioritize, because of my scholarship. And being with Bryant was undoubtably going to take a toll on any woman — as the hunky, handsome star of the football team, there was no way he wasn’t going to get a lot of attention from other women.

  “So, I just spoke to Allie,” Bryant said. “She’s annoyed about this, but she says since you didn’t formally file the paperwork, she can accept that we made a hasty decision, and she’ll undo everything. I’m going to have to pay for cleaners though. After, you know, last night.”

  Of course, after he came back, he was hungry for me again. Bryant wanted round two… and then round three… and in the end I had to push him off, giggling and telling him that I was too tired for any more.

  He looked adorable, holding his hard-on in his right hand, pouting and telling me he wasn’t done with me yet.

  But some things were still too new to us. He couldn’t bring himself to stay the night. I pretended to sleep, curled up tight, and then kept my eyes closed as he peeled his body away from me, walking getting dressed quickly and then going out.

  At least he texted me. He had to sort things out fast for us.

  “I guess this is good,” I nodded.

  “There’s a big room in the house you can have on the ground floor, or you can just have my bedroom, and I’ll take the one on the ground floor,” Bryant offered. “I’d feel bad if I made the one girl who lived in the house stay in the downstairs bedroom, you know?”

  “It’s fine,” I said, smiling. “Better that way. Keep me away from the overflow of testosterone going on upstairs.”

  “Are you sure?” Bryant asked.

  “A hundred percent positive, believe me.”

  He told me to slap something on, he wanted to go on a drive with me. We could grab something to eat.

  “Didn’t you just have brunch with Allie?”

  “I’m a growing boy who wants to bulk up for professional football, Mia,” Bryant grinned. “I eat like a crazy amount of calories a day.”

  “Yeah, I remember you telling me that when we had Italian,” I nodded. “Okay, let me find something more presentable th
an PJs. Do you, uh, mind going outside for a sec?”

  “What?” Bryant said. Now he had a cocky smile that looked like he was happy to devour me right there and then. “Nothing I haven’t seen before, you know…”

  I sighed. “Fine. It’s just, it’s not very sexy, me trying to pick out clothes so we can go out right now.”

  “You’re sexy in your pajamas, you don’t have to put in an effort to be sexy. It’s not like I’m asking you to dress up for a date.”

  He suddenly went red at his last word, and I watched him rub his hands together anxiously. I guessed that he was worried about pressing on our new dynamic too much too soon — talking about dates was definitely risky.

  And he was right. We weren’t dating.

  I had no idea what it was we were doing, but it sure wasn’t dating.

  I picked a pink crop top and a pair of stretch jeans. Cute, but nothing too exciting. He looked excited all the same, and I smiled at that thought.

  “Okay, so where are we gonna go?”

  “There’s a new fast-food place across town that I’ve heard great things about,” Bryant told me. “I mean, I saw some videos on Instagram and they looked pretty great. Burgers, but fancy. They’ve even got a wagyu one with a truffle butter sauce.”

  “That sounds way too rich for this hour of the day,” I pointed out. It was still only eleven.

  “Yeah, but when we get there it’ll practically be lunchtime. Come on!” Bryant said, taking my hand and yanking me forward, as I yelped and laughed.

  We rushed to his car, parked right outside my dorm.

  “Oh, also, I’m calling movers to come to your old room at the Washington Building. They’ll pack everything and take it to the house. You don’t even have to be there if you don’t want,” he announced.

  I frowned. “It’s my stuff, I should probably be there. I’d feel pretty uncomfortable about that.”

  “Yeah, that’s true,” he accepted. “Do you want me there too? I’ve got a team meeting, but I can skip it.”

  Shaking my head, I looked at him and told him, “I don’t want you to sacrifice team stuff just because you’re trying to help me out. I get that we’re in some sort of thing now, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on your priorities. I can handle movers just fine. In fact, uh, it makes me feel super privileged. I could just gather all my things and call an Uber or something.”