Hating Him Wanting Him : A Contemporary Romance Collection

by Summer Brooks

  Her brother winced at her retelling the story. “Look, I’m okay now. Thanks for coming. I’m sorry I made you travel all the way here.”

  I shook my head. “Look, buddy, it’s important to your sister. It’s important to me, as a result. Nobody deserves this, so I want to fix things.”

  “Fix things?”

  I looked away, unwilling to say what I had in mind. “I just need their names.”

  Eugene shook his head. “I don’t know about that… I don’t want to snitch on anyone.”

  “It’s okay to tell,” Mia said, hugging her brother. “We care. And we want to make sure they don’t do this again.”

  “They probably won’t,” Eugene said.

  He was defending them. Why? Out of fear of more punishment and humiliation? Of course that was it — I should know. Nobody ever told on me and my friends when we used to bully others.

  “Bullies need to be shown they can’t get away with things like these,” I explained. “What are their names? I want to teach them a lesson.”

  Mia raised an eyebrow. “I don’t like where this is going.”

  “They need to be taught not to fucking hurt other kids just for their own amusement,” I said, firmly this time. I was still looking at Eugene. “It’s up to you, buddy. Your sister and I can fix this for you at once. Or you can hope that staying silent, just keeping a low profile, that’ll save you. But I can tell you that it won’t.”

  “No, it won’t,” Mia agreed. “I’ve been bullied too. You need to stand up for yourself. Or at least, when it’s too scary, let someone stand up for you.”

  Part of me couldn’t help but be amused by that, because Mia did stand up for herself. Nobody was as brave as her when it came to standing up to the person giving her a rough time at school… except I liked that, I thought that was just rough play. And when I started to realize how much she genuinely hated me, I just shrugged and accepted it.

  I was never, ever going to let myself go “too bad” at things like these again.

  No, this was as much an important lesson for me as it was for anyone else.

  “You know,” Eugene said, breaking the silence. “I wish I wasn’t gay. I wish I wasn’t who I was, being this guy who everyone points and laughs at. I thought things were different now.”

  “Don’t ever say that, buddy,” I quickly countered. I scooted over until I was closer to him, sitting in a triangle with Mia and Eugene. “You’re meant to be who you are. You’re great for being who you are. I don’t want you to start thinking that if you were just like everyone else, you wouldn’t get bullied. Because the people who are different aren’t the bullied, it’s the bullies.”

  Mia didn’t say anything, but she nodded along to my words.

  “So what, then? Just let you fix this for me? And what happens if they change their minds, bully me again? Hurt me like this? Maybe next time they’ll break my nose. Or kill me.”

  Glancing over to Mia, I could tell she was horrified by how defeated Eugene sounded. I shook my head firmly, I didn’t want him to keep talking nonsense like this.

  “No way. They’ll know they shouldn’t behave like psycho kids. They’ll learn from this. And the thing they’ll learn is that bullies can try as much as they want to be assholes, but someone’s always bigger than them. And right now, I don’t think you’ll find a bigger threat than… you know, me.”

  “Big hunky college boy,” Mia smiled. “Seriously. Just look at his arms.”

  I flexed my arm playfully, like a bodybuilder showing off. “Wanna touch those guns, Eugene?”

  “Call me Gene,” he said, finally smiling. He seemed pretty exhausted, but at least he was looking a little more optimistic about things.

  “Their names are Kurt Carling and Rick Truman. They’re both in my year, we’re in practically all the same classes. Most of the time they just threaten to beat me up unless I do their homework for them, which… ugh, I do.”

  I winced. “Well, you won’t do that anymore. Kurt Carling, Rick Truman. I’m going to remember those names.”

  “What are you going to do?” Eugene asked.

  “Tomorrow’s Friday, so that’s a school day… why don’t you call in sick, while Mia and I go down to our old school and, uh, do the rounds?”

  “What do you mean, do the rounds?”

  “Just patrol the place. Reconnect with people from the past. And find new enemies.”

  Mia laughed skeptically. “We’re going to confront these bullies… at school?”

  “Sure, why not?” I asked. “They’re gonna be there. It’s not like beating Gene up is going to make them fly across the country, go into hiding… let’s confront them in school. Expose them for who they are. Little bullies pretending they’re big tough guys.”

  Eugene looked to his big sister, who sat up now, sitting across from me. “What do you think?”

  Mia made a face. “I guess I think this is a good idea. After all, we can’t just stay here forever. I’m missing classes tomorrow, but I’m sure I can catch up. At least this way we get to confront those assholes who did this to you, Gene.”

  I nodded. “Exactly.”

  The youngest Cowell made a big shrug, but at least this time he agreed with my plan. “Alright. I don’t really want to go to school tomorrow anyway. And this way if I miss one day, I’ll get a long weekend. Hopefully I’ll be looking better by Monday.”

  Mia gave him another hug. “I’ll make sure to pretty you up with my makeup if you don’t. I brought lots of foundation.”

  Eugene grinned. “I think I might actually be better at makeup than you. I’m one of the drama kids now, I’ve been working with a lot of different types of stage makeup.”

  I was impressed. “Hey, that’s cool, buddy.”

  “Thanks, Bryant,” he said. “You’re not that bad after all.”

  He opened his arms, gesturing he would take a hug from me. I smiled and gave a big Bryant Howard signature bear hug to the little guy.

  Mia hopped off his bed. “Okay, I’m going to talk to Mom and Dad now, okay?”

  “Okay,” Eugene said, looking a little more tense.

  “It’ll be fine, buddy,” I reassured him.

  I went downstairs with Mia. I didn’t want to get in the way, so I just hovered behind her while she huddled with her parents, explaining what happened to Eugene, while they gasped and looked outraged.

  But they didn’t do anything rash, which was a good thing. It would be too much if the response to Gene getting beaten up was too heavy, with parents and siblings and even strangers getting involved.

  Mia’s mother started to cry, with her dad immediately hugging and consoling her.

  I reached for Mia’s upper arm, hoping to console her too. She turned around and looked at me. “I guess we’re going to go to the school tomorrow. Sort this out.”

  “Yeah,” I said.

  Mia’s mother blinked some tears away. “Are you sure we shouldn’t get involved?”

  I spoke before Mia did. “Mrs. Cowell, what we’re hoping to do is to fix things without making Eugene look even weaker, make him a bigger target to other bullies. Parents getting involved never looks good for kids like him.”

  Mr. Cowell nodded. “I thought so too. I hate to say it, but my first reaction was that he should just man up and try to move past it.”

  “You won’t be saying that when you see him,” Mia cautioned. “He doesn’t look great. I’m actually really pissed off. But okay, I’m going to calm down now. Can I sleep in my own bed?”

  Mrs. Cowell started to look at me, registering my presence here. “Oh, that’s right… how could I forget? It’s really late now.”

  “Sorry about that,” I offered a grin. “Don’t mean to be an uninvited guest.”

  “Well, you should stay the night,” Mia’s mother said. Mrs. Cowell looked around the house, probably mentally checking where she could put me up. “Mia, how about you sleep with Gene, while Bryant sleeps in your room?”

  Mia instantly
started looking a little embarrassed. “We’re only napping a little bit, we mostly slept on the plane… there’s no need for that.”

  I understood. Mia’s room had all her stuff from when she was growing up, she was probably embarrassed about me seeing all those things. For all I knew, she kept diaries talking about how much she hated me. I didn’t want to make her feel self-conscious in her own home, so I shook my head.

  “The couch down here looks fine, Mrs. Cowell. I may look like a big guy, but when I’m all curled up on a couch, I shrink down a lot. You won’t even notice me.”

  Everyone laughed. Mia added, “We’re only going to be napping, really. It’s practically morning now, and I want us to be able to get to the school early.”

  I yawned. “Uh oh. I wasn’t factoring that in.”

  “Yeah. We’re going to the school. Fix this.”

  That somehow shut everyone up, her decisiveness making everyone ready to just go to bed. Mia was ready to go upstairs, but first she waited until her parents left, and then she gave me a long, deep kiss.

  “Thank you, Bryant,” she said. “I’m so happy you’re here.”

  I was happy too. This was what I wanted.

  When she left, she flicked the light in the living room off, leaving me in the dark. I immediately started to curl up on the couch, glad I didn’t need a sheet or a blanket, since the temperature was just nice for an Indianapolis fall.

  Mia woke me up a couple of hours later, telling me it was already nine. School was already in, but at least it was still early in the day.

  “Alright, cool,” I said, yawning and stretching as I woke up. “How about breakfast?”

  “How about I get you brunch — after we confront those kids?” Mia said. “Big brunch for the big guy with the big appetite.”

  My eyes flashed with desire. “Well, my appetite isn’t for food right now.”

  Mia laughed, covering her mouth. “My mom and dad are still here, Bryant!”

  “But when they aren’t…”

  “Nope. No way. Not a chance. Keep it in your pants.” Mia grinned, fleeing from me, like she was afraid if I grabbed her, she wouldn’t be able to resist herself either.

  I didn’t have any clothes to change into so I just kept the ones I had on. Mia slipped into a blue blouse and jeans, looking considerably more professional.

  “You look like you’re ready to see the manager.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m about to do. Except the manager is the principal.”

  My plan was a little more… straightforward, but I didn’t want her to change things by stopping me, so I didn’t tell her that. We left the house, heading for the school.

  When we got there, I was surprised by how little had changed.

  Of course nothing had changed, it had only been a year. Some of the kids who moved around from class to class while we walked in there were kids I probably recognized, maybe even knew their names.

  “What class would Eugene be in right now if he went today?” I asked Mia as I checked the locker area where I used to have mine. She was already moving towards the principal’s office.

  “Uh, U.S. History, I think?”

  I nodded. “You go ahead first. You’re the talker of the two of us, I’ll let you start.”

  She went on without me, and I went straight for the classrooms, poking my head in and out of classes.

  Teachers even recognized me. “Hey, big man! Bryant, I saw your game last week. That was amazing!”

  I grinned. “Hey, Mr. P. Uh, sorry, I gotta go now.”

  The scene repeated as I wandered around the school, looking for Eugene’s class.

  Then I got there.

  No teacher in yet. Most of the kids were just lazing around, doing nothing, hoping they’d just get through the day.

  “Hey!” I called out, using my most booming quarterback voice — I really let it out, as if I was calling plays so loud I wanted the whole stadium to hear. “Carling, Truman. I want to see you both outside!”

  Two boys jolted up. One was a tall, heavy-set kid with a cropped haircut. The other was a weasel-faced scrawny kid.

  “Yeah, you two. Get out here. I want to talk to you.”

  They were surprised to be called out like this, and so they just obeyed, following me out.

  I cornered them both, making sure they couldn’t get past me. I clenched my fists.

  “What the fuck did you do to my buddy Eugene Cowell, huh?”

  First they complained that I had the wrong guy, but then I stamped a foot down and surprised them again. I lifted a hand, ready to slap one of them. I figured I should do it to Carling, the scrawny one.

  “Answer me,” I repeated.

  Those boys shrugged. “He had it coming. We don’t like boys like him. He’s gross.” That was Truman, the tall one.

  Well, I guess I was wrong. I felt like I was taken back all those years, and it became the easiest thing to just slap Truman up, smacking him and telling him to stop behaving like a fucking little shit.

  Then I gave Carling his turn, too. I grabbed him by his collar and slammed him against a locker, releasing him and then lifting my hand so fast he thought I was going to slap him.

  Then I laughed.

  Those boys started to stammer out apologies. “Okay, we’re sorry, we won’t ever do it again.”

  “That’s not good enough,” I said. “I want you to apologize to Eugene.”

  I took my phone out and recorded their apologies, while they cried. “Tell him you’re sorry, tell him you’re just a stupid little shit for trying to act like tough guys. I might have left this school now, but I’m not about to let this homophobic bullshit stand, got it?”

  The two bullies looked right into my phone camera and did as I said, apologizing profusely.

  When I made sure the video was saved, I took a step back, but not before feigning a punch. They both winced and ran away.

  I turned around and saw that there was a crowd of people watching.

  “Uh oh,” I murmured.

  Mia caught my eye, watching the whole scene with a look of satisfaction. “Uh oh is right. We better get out of here, before you get in trouble. Let’s go, Bryant!”

  I didn’t need the hint. We both started running down the familiar corridors of our school, until we were out and free again.

  “Oh shit,” I said. “I can’t believe I did that.”

  “Well… I think the public humiliation will teach those boys a serious lesson. So I guess you’re right.”

  We both caught our breaths, leaning against a tree.

  I waited until Mia was no longer doubled up, laughing and wheezing, and then as she stood straighter, I went in for a kiss.

  “Oh. Wow,” she said, when I pulled back.

  “God I want you.”

  “Yeah… I know that. I want you too,” Mia said, exhaling. “I should get back to Gene, though. Can you send me that video? I’ll make sure everyone gets it.”

  “Yeah, absolutely,” I nodded. “I… I guess I’ll go stay at my mom’s. I’ve been meaning to see my family. It’s been a while.”

  Mia nodded. “Okay, Bryant.”

  “Hey… do you want to come for dinner? Mom’s a pretty great cook.”

  Mia didn’t even need to think about it. “I’d love to.”

  19

  Mia

  I really appreciated that Bryant gave me space for the rest of the morning and afternoon, letting me catch up with Gene and my mom, while Dad went to work. I didn’t know how much longer I was going to stay because when I got home and saw Gene was in a much better mood, I felt like I had done my part.

  But it was really good to be with my family again.

  And it felt even better to think that he wanted me to meet his family. Dinner tonight seemed like a big deal. Of course, we had a whirlwind romance that had gotten super dramatic what with Samantha and the football and the fact that we were both subject to nonstop social media rumor-mongering… but I craved the normalcy of these th
ings like dinner.

  I just wanted to have a nice little moment with him. Really understand what makes Bryant Howard tick.

  He texted me saying his mother was excited to see me. “Oh my God,” I said, surprised by that. It felt so wholesome… formal, even.

  Sure, they were rich, but at least I knew his mother wasn’t the arrogant billionaire like his dad. The father lived in New York, and from what I had been hearing from Bryant this whole time, it sounded like I was at no risk of having to meet him.

  He probably wouldn’t like me one bit, anyway.

  Gene and I just hung out at home, as he did a little bit of homework, as I showed him photos of life in Florida. He was a lot more engaged now, no longer the sad, stiff boy from last night.

  It broke my heart to see him like this.

  When Bryant sent us the apology video, I showed him and he even laughed.

  “Wow. They look so scared.”

  “Of course,” I nodded. “Because they were.”

  “Tell me how you and Bryant ended up… getting together. He’s hot. You’re kinda lucky.”

  “I think he’s the luckier one,” I winked at him. “He’s the one who has me, and got to hang out with you.”

  “Mmm,” my brother said. “So you’re not going to tell me?”

  “Well, essentially… I arrived at my new school, and before I could even make any new friends, I got whisked away to a party at this big house. Of course it was Bryant’s. He lives there with a bunch of his college football teammates. Big party. Kinda wild. Lots of drama.”

  Eugene nodded. “He was with your best friend, wasn’t he?”

  “Ugh, yeah. Sam and I… I don’t know. We’re not talking. I don’t think we’ll ever get back to talking, either. Not if things stay as bad as they have been. It sucks, honestly. I feel like I lost a sister.”

  “Is that why you came running here?” Gene said, his perceptiveness never failing him.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You feel the loss of a close friend, so when you got my call, you had to come back, because you don’t want that repeated so soon.”