#Hater (Hashtag #2) Read online

  I smiled. “I know. But I do.”

  She made a face at me and I kissed her nose. Pulling back wasn’t something I wanted to do, but her body needed a break. At least for an hour. “I got you a present.”

  Her eyes widened. “You did?”

  “Did you really think I wouldn’t get you a Christmas present?”

  She shrugged beneath me. “I didn’t expect you to. Besides, we spent Christmas apart.”

  “What kind of boyfriend doesn’t get a present for his girl?” I asked and slipped out of bed.

  She pulled the covers up over her, guarding against the air. I picked up my long-sleeved Henley from where I threw it on the floor and tossed it to her.

  I went and turned up the heat and hit the switch for the gas fireplace on the wall opposite the bed. Flames roared to life and filled the dim room with dancing orange.

  “This sure beats my dorm room,” she half sighed.

  I laughed and turned. The breath I was taking in froze halfway to my lungs.

  She was sitting in the center of my bed, the blankets rumpled and piled around her. My shirt was way too large and the neck slipped down low over one of her slim shoulders, exposing a wide patch of creamy skin. Her cheeks were pink and her lips were swollen. The long thick mass of her hair was tangled and messy, falling around her face and down her back.

  I’d missed her.

  I’d missed her even more than I’d let myself realize. But seeing her sitting there taking up so little space in my bed but so much room in my chest was sorta something I couldn’t deny.

  She tilted her head and looked at me, wrinkling her nose. “Do I look a mess?” she asked.

  I shook my head, unable to speak. I never thought this would happen to me. I never thought I would love someone so much. So fast.

  I turned and picked up the wrapped box near the door and brought it back to the bed. It was nothing fancy, since I’d wrapped it myself. It was covered in plain red paper and had a gold bow on top.

  I held out the box and she took it, placing it in her lap on top of the blankets. Her eyes roamed my naked body, heat and appreciation in them. I grinned and reached for a pair of boxers and slid them on. If she kept looking at me like that, I wasn’t going to last the next five minutes, let alone a couple hours.

  I slipped into the bed beside her and lay on my side, propping myself up on my elbow. “You gonna open that?”

  She bit her lip and glanced down at it. Murphy jumped up on the end of the bed and sat down, watching us with his tail swishing back and forth. Rimmel picked up the box and shook it.

  When that gave away nothing, she smiled and ripped open the paper. I put the gift in a plain white box, so she set it in her lap and pulled the top off to look inside.

  She glanced at me and grinned.

  “Thought my Florida girl could use something to keep her warm when I’m not around.”

  “I love them,” she said and pulled out a pair of white fur slipper boots. They had red ribbons at the top to tie them in place.

  She slid her fingers over the soft white faux fur and sighed in appreciation. With one in each hand, she flung herself at me and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Thank you, Romeo,” she said and kissed my cheek. “I love them.”

  “Try them on,” I said.

  Rimmel pushed the covers back and pulled her bare legs out to pull on the boots. She got one on and tied and then pushed her foot down in the other.

  Her forehead wrinkled. “There’s something in there,” she said and quickly pulled it back off.

  “What is it?”

  “I’m not putting my hand in there!” she squealed. “It might be a bug.”

  “A bug?” I was amused. “How would a bug get in there?”

  She screwed up her face and stuck out her tongue. “Who knows? Bugs are creepy like that.”

  I chuckled and shoved my hand down into the boot. She watched like she was expecting something to eat my hand off. I pulled out the square white box and held it out. “I think it might be for you,” I said and winked.

  Her eyes bounced between me and the box I held. “The slippers are more than enough.”

  “I know,” I replied and held it out.

  She took it and lifted the lid. I heard the rustling of tissue paper and then she stared down at it for a few seconds. “I need my glasses,” she said, her voice whisper soft.

  I reached behind me and pulled them off the table and handed them to her. She slid them on and glanced back down. “It’s so beautiful.”

  Her voice was hushed like she somehow might disturb the contents of the box, and she stared down at it like it might disappear. It made me worry that maybe she didn’t like it. Maybe she was trying to think of something to say.

  “If you don’t like it…” I started, and she gasped.

  “Of course I like it.” She glanced up. “I love it. I’ve never had anything like it.”

  Her eyes were sort of misty and it got to me. It was such a simple gift. I’d spent more money on my parents and, hell, even Braeden. But I knew Rimmel wouldn’t like anything flashy. She wouldn’t want anything that appeared like I was trying to impress her. I loved that about her. I loved the fact that she hadn’t expected anything at all.

  “Try it on,” I said and reached into the box. There wasn’t much to the bracelet. The saleslady called it a bangle. It was basically like a thick gold wire that would wrap around her wrist. In the center was a golden heart with two small loops on each side where the bracelet hooked together. I unclasped it and Rimmel slid her hand through. Once it was around her wrist, I rehooked it and adjusted it so the heart lay flat against the top of her wrist.

  In the center of the heart, I had R&R engraved in the center. It looked like it had been carved by hand.

  “It’s so beautiful. It has our initials,” she said, running her fingertip over the engraving.

  “You know me,” I half joked. “Any way I can get my name on you.”

  She looked up. I felt her hazel eyes on my face. “I love you.”

  She didn’t say those three words very often. I think they scared her. I think they made her feel vulnerable, like putting out there just how much she cared about me would somehow jinx it, like I would somehow be taken away.

  It didn’t matter that I knew how she felt. Hearing her say it speared me deep down.

  I grabbed her face and pulled it to mine. “I love you too, baby.”

  I kissed her slow and deep, penetrating her mouth the way her words penetrated my soul.

  When she pulled back, she glanced down at the gold encircling her wrist and smiled.

  “I got gold because it matches your mom’s necklace.”

  “It’s perfect.”

  Before I could pull her back, she bounded out of bed and into the other room.

  “Hey!” I called after her.

  She laughed and I heard a zipper being pulled. A second later, she reappeared, my shirt almost hanging to her knees, one furry boot on and the other missing.

  I laughed and held out the other slipper. She came over and slid her foot in. When I was done tying the ribbon at the top, she pushed a small box under my nose. “I got you something too.”

  I snatched her around the waist and tossed her down on the bed, coming over her.

  She laughed. “Open it!”

  Still straddling her hips, I sat up and took the gift from her hand. It was a small rectangular box with a dark-green ribbon tied around the center. I undid the bow and lifted the lid.

  Inside was a dog tag necklace on a silver chain. The dog tag itself wasn’t silver, but a deep navy color.

  I lifted it out of the box and held the tag in my palm. The front side had my name and jersey number on it.

  ROMEO

  #24

  “Turn it over,” she said, so I did.

  The back was also engraved. It read: Anything is possible. And beneath the words was a four-leaf clover.

  “Do you know how hard it is to shop for guys
?” she said, partly amused.

  I ran my finger over the clover.

  “I know you gave up an easy path into the NFL when you told Omega to shove it. I know you wouldn’t have done that if it weren’t for me,” Rimmel said, and I looked up from her gift. “I wanted you to know I believe in you. I know you’re going to get there. I thought maybe the clover would bring you luck. Not that you need—”

  I cut off her words with a kiss. A hot, searing kiss. She groaned as her fingers delved into my hair and her legs wrapped around my waist. Thoughts of giving her body a break were completely forgotten as I pushed my hand beneath the hem of my shirt and massaged her breast.

  Her head fell to the side and I took advantage of the opportunity to kiss her bare shoulder. My cock was throbbing for her. I wanted in her so bad I could think of nothing else. The dog tag was still clutched in my hand as I shoved my boxers down, just enough so I was able to spring free.

  Her entrance was already slick and hot. With one swift movement, I slid into her body in one long stroke.

  Both of us gasped on contact. It was the first time I’d forgotten to put on a condom. Holy shit, she felt so tight and hot. Everything was magnified, the way her walls squeezed around my bare skin, the way her juices coated my throbbing manhood.

  “Jesus,” I groaned, fighting the urge to pound in her over and over again.

  “Romeo,” she whispered, her nails digging into my back.

  “I know, baby. I forgot. I’m sorry. I’ll fix it.”

  I started to pull out and she moaned, her fingers tightening against me. I swallowed thickly. This was the first time I’d been in a woman unwrapped. I had no idea it would feel like this. It was so, so much… more.

  “Just one more,” I murmured, pushing myself deep.

  My entire body shuddered and Rimmel’s knees began to shake.

  In one fluid, fast motion, I pulled out. If I allowed myself just another second inside her like that, I wouldn’t be able to pull out. Immediately, I missed her warmth. I reached for a condom as the need to bury myself bareback again roared within me.

  I pulled on the condom as fast as I could and then surged back inside. I went at her hard, overcome with emotion and need. It didn’t take long for both of us to strain against the other as release rocked through her and into me.

  When it was over, I rolled to the side and blew out a shaky breath.

  “Does that mean you like it?” she asked, rolling on her side to look at me.

  I turned my head and grinned. “What do you think?”

  “That felt really good,” she whispered.

  I groaned and scrubbed a hand over my face. It felt so good that I knew it was all I was going to be able to think about. I twisted to face her. “I’ve never been in anyone like that before.”

  Behind her glasses, her eyes widened. “Really?”

  I nodded. “Do you trust me, Rimmel?” I asked.

  “Of course,” she replied without a second of hesitation.

  “I want to get tested. Just to be sure of what I already know. I’m clean, but I want to prove it to you.”

  “I believe you,” she said.

  I knew she did. But I wanted to prove it. “Would you consider going on the pill?”

  It was a lot to ask of her. We’d only been together a few months.

  “Already taken care of,” she said, taking me off guard.

  “What? I thought you weren’t on it.”

  “I wasn’t. When I went home over the break, I made an appointment with my doctor and got some. I got tested while I was there. I’m clean.”

  I knew she would be. Hell, I wasn’t even going to ask her to get tested. But she did it anyway; she did it for me.

  “I don’t want anything between us,” I told her. “I want to be as close to you as I can get.”

  “I want that too,” she whispered, cupping my jaw with her palm.

  “You’re sure?” I asked.

  She nodded.

  “As soon as I get tested and the results come back, I’m throwing out the condoms,” I told her.

  “I like that plan.”

  I groaned and pulled her against me. “Me too.”

  “Are you going to wear it?” she asked, her voice muffled against my chest.

  I remembered the necklace clutched in my hand. I pulled back and held it between us. “Of course.”

  She looked shy as she pulled it out of my hand and held it out for me to slip my head through. The cool metal lay against my chest.

  “I’m your biggest fan, you know,” she whispered, and then her stomach growled loudly.

  I laughed and kissed her swiftly. “My biggest fan is hungry.”

  She grimaced. “I didn’t eat before my flight. I was afraid I’d get sick.”

  “Pizza. Movie. You in that shirt and nothing else,” I said.

  “Apple cider?” she asked.

  She was obsessed with the stuff since she started coming to my games. “You know I have some in the kitchen,” I told her.

  “Deal,” she said.

  I ordered the pizza while she was in the kitchen making her cider.

  When I came out, Murphy was sitting on the counter next to a cold can of soda she set out for me.

  Most of the time waiting for the pizza was spent making out, and when the doorbell rang, I was partially irritated by the interruption. Rimmel padded along behind me in her slippers (which looked sexy as hell) and my shirt.

  I kept my body angled in front of her so the delivery guy couldn’t see how hot she looked.

  When he walked away, I juggled the pizza boxes and moved to shut the door. But Rimmel didn’t move back. She was standing stock still, staring past me out the door.

  “What is it?” I asked and turned to see.

  I saw nothing.

  “Is that your mother in the window?” she asked, motioning with her chin.

  I glanced up at the house, at one of the lit-up windows. My mom was looking out at us. When she noticed us looking, she disappeared back into the room.

  Rimmel was quiet when she moved into the living room toward the couch and TV. I knew my mother made Rimmel uncomfortable. Judging from the one time they’d met, I couldn’t say I blamed her.

  “Hey,” I said, setting down the boxes and rubbing my palm over her back.

  She turned somber eyes on me. “She’s never going to like me. Is she?”

  The sadness in her tone caused anger to flare up inside me. “Of course she will,” I murmured and pulled her into my side. “As soon as she gets to know you, she won’t be able to help but love you.”

  I hadn’t realized how much my mother’s rebuff the night they met several weeks ago had bothered Rimmel. But I saw it now in the depths of her eyes. I wanted to take that away. I wanted to make it right.

  But the truth was I wasn’t sure what it was going to take to bring my mother around.

  Chapter Three

  Rimmel

  Snowflakes swirled through the cold air. The gray sky hung low over everything outside, looking slightly ominous with the threat of more than just flurries.

  I gazed out the window of Romeo’s house, doing my best to avoid looking at the giant pool sitting right in my sight line. My hands were cupped around a white ceramic mug and the scent of cinnamon and cloves floated up to my nose, taking away some of my disgruntled feelings about the promise of snow.

  I had to admit standing in here with the heat on full blast, hot cider in my hands and furry boots on my feet, the snow looked beautiful, even playful as is fell toward the ground. My freshman year was really my first experience with the stuff, having never traveled far beyond Florida until then.

  I still remembered the wonder of my first snowfall. It was a short-lived feeling because the moment I had to step outside and trudge to classes, the magic melted like I wished the white stuff would.

  I felt Romeo come up behind me, his large presence impossible to ignore. My body hummed in anticipation of his touch, and I reveled in t
hat feeling because wanting him was something I would never tire of.

  “Are you admiring the snow?” he murmured as both arms wrapped around my middle and he pulled me into the circle of his body. His chin rested on my shoulder and his breath flirted with the hair beside my ear.

  “It’s starting to stick to the ground,” I replied, taking a deep breath and pushing closer against him. He smelled good, like his shampoo. It made me think of the hour we spent in the shower just a little while ago.

  Romeo wrapped his hand around my mug and tugged gently. I released it and he straightened to take a sip of the liquid. I turned slightly to watch his throat work as he swallowed. His sapphire-blue eyes watched me over the rim and the chemistry that always seemed to be between us spiked the air.

  He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just a pair of jeans and the dog tag I gave him rested against his chest between his incredible muscles.

  As he set aside the mug, I reached out to run my fingers across his chest, but he caught my hand and pressed a kiss to the tips of my fingers. “Don’t tempt me,” he half growled.

  I batted my eyelashes innocently.

  He chuckled. “As you pointed out, the snow is starting to stick. We should go before it starts coming down harder.”

  I didn’t want to leave. Since arriving back from Florida, the only place I’d been was here. My dorm room was still there. I was still sharing with Ivy, but she wouldn’t be back on campus until later today.

  It was great seeing my dad and my grandparents, but these last two days here in this house with no one but Romeo had been the highlight of my winter break. I was sorry to see it end even though I knew it had to.

  “I’ll get dressed.” I sighed and turned.

  He laughed and pulled me back around. “We still have tonight.” His eyes darkened with promise.

  Classes didn’t start until the day after tomorrow, and I didn’t plan on staying at my dorm again tonight. But I needed to get my books. I’d never purchased them so late before. I just hoped they had some left.

  My overfull suitcase was flung open on the floor of Romeo’s room. Clothes spilled out the sides and threatened to fall on the floor. I’d had to sit on it to zip it up before flying back. When I left it, had only been half full.