The Boy I Once Hated: Love & Hate Duet

Seventeen years old

I‘m lying bored in a pool chair, aimlessly scrolling through my phone, when Daisy’s loud voice reaches my ears.

“POOL PARTY!” she shouts, before jumping into the pool, making everyone cheer her on.

“That girl has too much energy for her own good.” I smirk, watching her put on a show.

“God, your sisters are so weird,” Stacy mumbles in irritation beside me.

“They’re not my sisters,” I retort evenly.

“Your dad married their mom, didn’t he? Then they are your sisters,” she snarls, nostrils flaring. “I have no idea why Derrick even invited her. She’s so…so…extra.”

He invited Daisy because, like the rest of the guys at our school, he wants to get into her panties, but I keep that remark to myself or risk pissing Stacy off more than she already is. As much as my girlfriend hates it, not only is Daisy a total knockout but she’s also cool as fuck. Is it any wonder that all of Bayshore High fell head over heels in love with her the minute she stepped foot into its halls? I think not. Stacy has to get over it already and just deal.

‘Oh God, she brought the reject with her,” Stacy groans. “I’m going to kill my brother. Argh!”

While Stacy is having a total meltdown, my gaze discreetly falls to the jittery figure standing by the pool watching her big sister be the life of the party. Sky looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

“That’s it. I have to get something to drink if I have to put up with those two being in my house. You want anything, babe?”

I shake my head.

She pecks my cheek with a kiss and then sashays her way back into her house. But my eyes aren’t on my girlfriend as they should be. They’re on Sky. Daisy splashes in the water, urging her sister to join her.

“Don’t do it, Sky,” I order her in my head, and I let out a sigh of relief when she makes no move to take off her dress to join her sister.

Instead, she hurries to pick up Daisy’s discarded clothes for safe keeping. My forehead creases, wondering why she looks petrified as she slowly lowers herself onto the pool’s edge to sit down. But just as my curiosity is piqued by the look of fear in her eyes, it vanishes completely when she starts pulling her dress up over her thighs in order to prevent it from getting wet. She dips her long legs into the pool, coaxing my mouth to run dry as she runs her hands up those tanned thighs. When she dunks her hand into the pool and then sprinkles droplets of water over them, making her thighs glisten, my chest tightens. Sky closes her eyes, her head falling back as she enjoys how the water cools her down. Which is fucking ironic since suddenly my skin feels like it’s too hot to bear.

Fuck.

Stacy was right.

Sky had no business coming to this party.

But just as the thought crosses my mind, I see my girlfriend go to her haunches just behind Sky. I’m not sure what she whispers in her ear, but what she does next has me standing up from my seat in an instant. Stacy pushes Sky into the water, the look of terror back in her silver eyes before the water takes her under. I look around and curse when no one even registers what Stacy just did, too preoccupied in getting drunk and hooking up. I start counting down my heartbeats, waiting for Sky to swim to the surface, my hands balling into fists beside me.

“Come on, Skylar,” I whisper through gritted teeth, while everyone continues to have a grand old time.

Unable to take it any longer, I step closer to the pool, trying to see if I can catch a glimpse of her. Each second that passes where she doesn’t come up feels like a fucking eternity. And then finally, I see her, struggling under the water, trying to pull herself up and failing miserably at it.

I don’t think.

I just act.

Flinging myself into the pool, I dive in, the loud burst of cheers from my idiot friends the last thing I hear before I hit the water. My calves and hamstrings begin to burn as I kick and swim toward the other side of the pool, panic setting in as I find Sky at the very bottom. The deathly fear in her eyes when she sees me approaching will haunt me for all my days.

Fuck.

Instead of believing I came to her rescue, it’s clear as day she thinks I’m here to end her for good. My suspicion is confirmed when she starts shaking her head, water filling her mouth as she screams for help. She slaps my hands away when I try to grab her waist, but luckily, I’m faster and stronger, wrapping my arm around her and pulling us up to the surface. Sky gasps for air, coughing up the water that made it into her lungs, as she holds onto my shoulders with all the strength she has. I swim us to the pool’s ladder, hoisting her up with brutish force.

“Get out,” I bark at her.

Trembling, she does as she’s told, shock making her moves so uncoordinated, it takes her a minute to grab onto the rail. When she finally has a good grip on the ladder, she begins to pull herself up, her golden body glistening under the white soaked fabric of her dress. The material clings to her body in a way that I can see every nook and cranny, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. The guttural sound that rips through my chest must have been loud enough to catch her attention, because she suddenly stops mid-step, throwing her head over her shoulder to look at me. The furious expression on my face must chill her to the bone because she finds her footing again and quickly picks up the pace. When her feet are back on solid ground, I hold on to the bars and lift myself up behind her.

Sky is still gasping for breath, her body and hair dripping wet on the floor. The growl I let out when we’re toe to toe facing each other sends a cold shiver down her spine.

Or maybe it’s not you at all, dipshit.

Maybe she’s trembling because she thought you were about to make sure she drowned.

Fuck.

Infuriated, I grab her by the elbow and march her into the house, looking for the closest free bathroom I can find.

“Where are we going?” she stammers, her voice coming out throaty from all the coughing she did a few seconds ago.

I don’t answer her, too angry to say one goddamn word.

“Noah, stop. You’re hurting me,” she croaks, staring at where my fingers are digging into her flesh.

I ease my grip on her immediately, cursing myself for not knowing my own strength. But that’s what Sky does to me. She gets under my skin and makes me lose all composure. When I can’t find a single unlocked bathroom, I walk up the stairs to the second floor toward Derrick’s room, hoping I’ll find Daisy in there with him and let her handle this fucking mess. To my bitter disappointment, when we step inside his room, it’s completely empty.

Goddamn it!

Can’t I catch one break?

Just one, for fuck’s sake!

I release my grip on her to pull open one of Derrick’s drawers and grab something for us both to wear, since my clothes are also soaked. I toss the first thing I see at her, a Bayshore High sweatshirt, and then rush to his bathroom to grab us some towels.

When I return back into the room, Sky remains completely still, glued to the spot I left her, leaving a pool of water on the carpet.

“Dry up and get dressed!” I yell at her, unable to keep my temper under control as I throw her a towel.

She picks the towel and the sweatshirt from the floor, heading toward the bathroom, but before she’s able to bypass me, she stops, throwing me daggers with her fucking gorgeous eyes.

“Why are you being such an asshole?”

“Why? Why?! Take a fucking guess, sweetheart!”

She stares at me perplexed for a full ten seconds, and then she sneers at me.

“As if I could ever know what goes on in that psychotic mind of yours.”

“Oh, I’m the psycho? Is that why you thought I dove into the pool not to save your sorry ass but to make sure you’d never reach the surface?”

When her face falls, my heart drops to the pit of my stomach.

The fuck.

She really thought I could be that ruthless. That fucking cruel. That…psychotic.

But before I’m able to curse her out, she beats me to the punch.

“You never cease to amaze me. Your girlfriend almost drowned me and yet somehow you make this all about you. Conceited much?” she yells in my face before she nudges my shoulder with hers and struts to the bathroom behind me.

Before she has a chance of slamming the door in my face, I place my hand on it and walk right in with her.

“How was Stacy supposed to know you couldn’t swim?” I bark out, pulling my wet t-shirt off me and hurling it to the floor.

She lets out a high-pitched laugh, before pulling her own wet dress off and throwing it to my bare chest.

“That’s your excuse for her behavior? That it was totally okay for her to shove me in the deep end as long as I knew how to swim?”

My jaw tics and my back molars grind when I see her in a white bra and panty set that showcases her perfect round pink nipples and just a dust of hair on top of her mound. Sky is so furious at me that she doesn’t even realize that she’s as good as naked before me.

“I couldn’t give a fuck why Stacy does the shit she does. All I care about is that if you have this incessant need to embarrass yourself, then do it where I don’t have to watch,” I rebuke, kicking off my sneakers and socks before unzipping my jeans and pulling them off.

The blood in my veins turns to liquid lava when Sky’s eyes fall from my face, trailing slowly down my chest, abs, and taut muscles, only to stop when they reach the bulge in my wet boxers. Unable to help myself, I pull them down and kick them toward her feet, before grabbing a towel to dry myself off.

“You’re such a prick, you know that?”

“Stare at my dick any longer and I’ll show you just how big a prick I can be.” I smirk victoriously, but my triumph is short-lived when her hands snake behind her back to unclip her bra.

“You think that shit fazes me? Think again,” she snaps, making me swallow hard when she discards her bra onto our shared pile of clothes, giving me a full view of her breasts. “What? No comeback? No snarky reply?” she asks sarcastically, placing her hands on her hips, taunting me with her luscious curves.

“Nothing I haven’t seen before,” I grumble, turning my sights away from her before I do something stupid—like lick every last droplet of water that’s clinging to her body.

I shouldn’t be turned on right now. I should be fucking livid with her. She really thought I could hurt her. Leave her there to drown. That shit has no excuse. I know I’ve always acted like a jerk to her, but I’d never let real harm come to Sky. Embarrass her, humiliate her, sure. Hurt her though? Just the thought has me blinded with rage. Needing to tap into that fury instead of the building lust inside of me, I give Sky another menacing glower.

“Also, from what I saw downstairs, nothing the rest of the school hasn’t seen either. School hasn’t even started, and already you’ll have everyone talking about you on Monday.”

“Please,” she sneers, unbothered that the only garment left on her body is a piece of flimsy lace fabric covering her pussy that I could rip off with my teeth with one hard pull. “There were girls downstairs with less on than me. Even Daisy went into the pool in her underwear.”

“That’s because Daisy knows no one will fuck with her. You’re not your sister, Sky, so stop trying to be.”

The flash of hurt in her gray eyes pierces my chest like someone just threw a damn ax to it.

“Fuck you, Noah. Fuck you!” she cries, lunging herself at me and punching my bare chest. I grab her wrists, binding them behind her back, as her chest violently heaves up and down.

“What? You’re okay dishing it out but not strong enough to take it?”

“I hate you,” she seethes, her face so close to mine we’re practically breathing the same air.

“I couldn’t give a fuck. Stay in your fucking lane, Sky, if you know what’s good for you.”

“No.”

“No?” I cock a brow, pretending that her hard nipples rubbing up against me isn’t driving me insane.

“You heard me. You can’t bully me around. I can do what I want when I want.”

“You have no idea what you want,” I breathe out, my eyes scanning her gorgeous face, finding a flicker of vulnerability in her gaze. “I’m not wrong, am I?” I add, my voice dropping an octave when I don’t feel her resist my hold on her wrists. “You haven’t a clue what you want and that fucking scares the shit out of you.”

“I know what I want,” she whispers, her eyes turning just as hooded as mine must be.

“Yeah? You sure about that?” I groan, my cock so hard it’s stabbing her stomach.

“Hmm,” she hums with a nod, the melodic sound making my mushroom head leak with approval.

“Prove it,” I goad, licking my parched lips.

When her eyes fall from mine to my mouth, my heart rattles beneath my rib cage.

“Sky, wait—”

But it’s too late.

Before I can do anything about it, her lips crash to mine in the hungriest of kisses, making sure that all my protests are in vain.

Just like the rest of her, Sky’s lips are soft and inviting. Whatever restraint I had left breaks when she tentatively peeks her tongue out to taste the seam of my lips, her body melting to mine. My cock rubs against her pussy, needing the friction, as I give way to our kiss. I release my hold on her, and without missing a beat, Sky wraps her arms around my neck, pleading for more. And against my better judgment, I give it to her. My hands grip her warm hips, her hot flesh singeing mine. My tongue plunges into her mouth, needing to learn every secret she’s been keeping from me. When she starts rocking her hips, the tip of my cock hits her swollen clit, making her moan out in pleasure. With each wail she lets out, I swallow them whole, my fingers leaving their mark on her flawless skin.

Fuck.

I’ve never been more turned on by a kiss, and all I want to do is slide her panties to the side and fuck her right here in my girlfriend’s brother’s bathroom.

Girlfriend.

Stacy.

Jolted, I pull away, shoving her off me. I wipe my lips with my forearm, hating this girl in front of me with every fiber of my being.

‘Don’t you fucking ever do that again!” I shout, my whole body shaking with fury. “I should have known,” I seethe, disgusted with myself as well as her. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, now does it? I’m with Stacy. I know your mother never taught you this shit, but don’t you ever go after something that isn’t yours to begin with. Ever!”

With each belt I let out in the small room, the confused expression on her face morphs into shame and then ultimately…hurt.

I turn around and leave, not wanting to spend another second in her presence. I slam the bathroom door behind me and hurriedly grab a t-shirt and some sweatpants from Derrick’s dresser. Once I’ve found a pair of clean socks and some sneakers lying around on the floor, I put that shit on too, rushing out the door to seek out some goddamn clarity. But since I doubt I’ll find that anytime soon, looking for Stacy will have to do. It doesn’t take me long to catch sight of her downstairs, sitting in the living room with her crew, laughing away, completely oblivious that I was seconds away from cheating on her.

“Hey, babe. Where…have you…been hiding…all night?” she hiccups, showing she’s spent most of the time I wasn’t with her drinking like a fish.

I don’t let her say anything else, dropping to sit right beside her on the couch, and palm her face in my hands, pulling her to me. I kiss her hard, hoping she can erase the lingering heat Sky’s lips left on mine. But to my bitter dismay, Stacy’s kiss does nothing for me.

Absolutely fucking nothing.

All I can taste is Sky.

All I can see is Sky.

Even my skin aches for her touch.

I break this poor excuse of a kiss, spiders instantly crawling up the nape of my neck when Stacy’s half-mast eyes shine brightly at me.

“What was that for?” she coos, nestling her head on my shoulder.

“Just wanted to check something out.” I fake a grin.

“Well, whenever you want to do that again, you know where to find me.”

I grab the Solo cup of vodka out of her hand and drink the whole thing down in one gulp. Stacy threads her fingers through mine, her attention now back on her friends. My body continues to be stiff as a board, as if it’s on high alert to all the dangers that might come at me. And when I see Sky walk down the flight of stairs, now dressed in Derrick’s hoodie, and with her sister at her side, I realize that the only real danger to me is the one that sleeps right under my own fucking roof. My body only manages to relax when I see the two of them leave.

Skylar needs to keep the hell away from me.

But most importantly, she needs to learn not to mess with me.

And I know just the person who will be up for the task.

‘Hey, babe?’ I ask, pulling my girlfriend’s focus off her friends and back on me. ‘Do you think it’s weird my sister just tried to shove her tongue down my throat?”

‘WHAT?!” she shrieks, turning every shade in the crayon case.

Yep, I found the perfect person to teach Skylar a lesson.

All through Sunday, Sky hardly leaves her room, too embarrassed to come out.

Not that I care.

The only thing that gets me through living with her another fucking second is knowing that when school starts, she’ll never dare provoke me again. When Monday finally arrives, I lean against my locker, counting down the seconds for the showdown to begin.

Like clockwork, Stacy and her army of minions storm through the halls with one sole purpose in mind. As if knowing shit is about to go down, everyone loitering the hall parts like the Red Sea for the queen bee to take center stage.

Completely oblivious to the karma that’s coming to her, Sky doesn’t even register the predator that’s fast approaching behind her. Sky retrieves some book out of her locker and closes it when, without even a hint of warning, Stacy grabs her by her hair and slams her head right on the locker, leaving a nasty cut and bruise on her forehead.

My jaw clenches when I see blood beginning to drip down Sky’s shirt. I shove the guilt down my throat, repeating in my head how she brought this all on herself. She shouldn’t have looked at me the way she did back at the party. She shouldn’t have gotten half naked in front of me. And she sure as shit shouldn’t have kissed me.

You kissed her back.

You liked it.

I push those thoughts down to the darkest confinements of my soul and keep my attention strictly on what Stacy does next. If she tries to hit Sky again, I’ll have no choice but to jump in. I wanted Stacy to cuss Sky out, embarrass and belittle her, not physically harm her. Not make her bleed.

“Bitch!” Stacy shouts at the top of her lungs.

“What the hell is your damage?!” Sky yells back, pushing Stacy away from her.

“Don’t you dare touch me, skank!” Stacy shrieks.

A little unoriginal there, Stace, but it will do.

“Who do you think you’re calling a skank?” I hear a familiar voice call out. The crowd centered around the two girls disperses just wide enough for Daisy to pass through. “You better not be talking about my sister or you best believe that nose job your daddy got you for your sweet sixteen is money down the drain. I’ll rearrange your face so good the best plastic surgeons won’t be able to fix it.”

To her credit, Stacy stands strong, even if a smarter person would back the fuck down facing such wrath.

“She’s more than a skank. Your sister is a total freak show. You disgust me,” Stacy yells, scrunching her face like she just smelled spoilt milk.

“Don’t test me, Monroe. Walk away. You’re getting on my last nerve,” Daisy threatens while Sky continues to remain mute.

“Ah! You don’t know, do you? The freak didn’t have the guts to tell you, did she?” Stacy announces, a gleam of victory in her eye. “Well, let me be the one to tell you why your sister is disgusting. Sky kissed Noah at my party. Yup. Her own brother! Who does that if not a total freak?!”

Everyone bursts into laughter, while Sky’s gaze falls to the floor in utter shame. Like everyone else, I catch the stunned look on Daisy’s face. But if Stacy thought Daisy would join her fan club and debase her own sister, then she doesn’t know Daisy as well as I do.

“You’re done here, Stacy. Now jump back on whatever broomstick you flew in on and leave my sister alone. I’m not asking. I’m telling. Go!”

“Fine. I’ll go. But if the incestuous freak touches my boyfriend ever again, I’ll be back. And next time, I won’t play nice.”

“I swear to bloody God—” Daisy warns through clenched teeth and closed fists.

Stacy lifts her hands up and steps back from both sisters, a cunning smirk to her lips.

She accomplished her mission.

Everyone in the hallway heard her loud and clear. By noon, there won’t be a person at Bayshore High who won’t know what happened here.

The job is done.

Sky will think twice before she fucks with my life again.

That much I’m sure.

When the bell rings, I pull away from my locker and walk past them, head held high and a spring to my step, while Daisy side-eyes me all the way. But as I turn the corner, curiosity takes the best of me. Now hidden, I stand rooted to my spot and eavesdrop on the two girls.

“Is what Stacy said true? Daisy asks, confused. “Is that why we had to leave the party so quickly? Not because someone threw you in the pool but because you kissed Noah?”

“Yes,” Sky answers, tears in her voice.

“Oh, Sky. Why did you go and do that?”

“I…I don’t know. One minute he was yelling at me and the next…the next I wanted to kiss him. It all happened so fast. I’m not sure why I even did it.”

“You’re not sure?” Daisy asks, her tone incredulous. “Could it be,” Daisy pauses, her tone turning gentle. “Could it be because you might like him? Like Noah?”

I hold my breath, my lungs burning with the lack of oxygen waiting for Sky to say something. But when Daisy’s question is answered in silence, I suddenly feel like someone just punched me in the gut.

“Do you agree with her? Do you think I’m a freak?” Sky whispers on a sob, the silent sound of her tears making my skin itch.

“No, Sky,” Daisy comforts. “You did something impulsive in the moment. You acted on instinct. It took courage to put yourself out there. I’ll never reprimand you for being brave, sis. Never.”

“Not even if the whole school thinks I’m a perv now?”

“It will die down. That’s the good thing about high school. By the end of the week, there will be a new fuckup for everyone to gossip about.”

“Do you really think so?” Sky asks, sounding hopeful, coaxing a fist to twist my insides out.

“I do,” Daisy says assuredly. “And even if Stacy and her Barbie bitch crew give you a hard time, I got your back. Always.”

“You can’t fight my battles for me,” Sky mumbles.

“Oh, I know. And I won’t. But that doesn’t mean you have to go at it alone.”

“Thanks.”

“You got it,” Daisy replies lovingly.

The instant I hear their footsteps drawing near, I know that’s my cue to leave. My steps only falter when I hear Daisy’s last remark.

“Sky, just stay away from Noah from now on, okay? He’s not good for you. He’s broken, and broken things are only happy when everything else around them is just as broken as they are.”