Falling Out of Hate with You (The Hate-Love Duet 1)

I smile. “Abu is a cute name for grandma. Abu Dabu is my spin on it, because Amalia’s like a fortune teller with a crystal ball. Crazy smart, that one.”

Laila pulls an adorable face that practically screams, What the fuck?

I shrug. “Amalia and I bonded last night. The woman just gets me.”

Laila chuckles and then groans with pain. “Don’t make me laugh.”

“Aw, you feel like a shit stain, huh—not even good enough to feel like the actual shit?”

She grimaces. “Exactly.”

I brush my fingertips against her high cheekbone. And then, against her lower lip, reliving our first kiss last night in my mind. Damn, that was an amazing kiss. The best of my life. I didn’t even know a kiss could be that exciting. I’d put a lot of stock into finally kissing those mesmerizing lips of Laila’s, and yet our kiss exceeded my most enthralling fantasy.

She whimpers. “Last night was supposed to be a last hurrah. Not suicide.”

It serves you right for ditching my ass last night and trying to make me jealous, I think. But what I say is, “Poor baby,” while rubbing her back.

“That feels nice. Thank you.”

“Even shit stains deserve a little mercy.”

She sticks out her lower lip. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

Zander appears and places a hideous green smoothie on the table in front of Laila, as Georgina takes the seat on the other side of her.

“Oh my God,” Laila says, beholding the monstrous-looking concoction in front of her.

Zander says, “Drink the whole thing down within five minutes, and I promise you’ll be magically back to normal within an hour.”

Laila makes a face I’d expect to see on a person who’s been dropped into a snake pit. She says, “Is this a prank?”

Zander chuckles. “I know it looks heinous, but, trust me, it works like a charm.”

Georgina encourages Laila to drink it, so Laila finally picks up the glass, takes a tiny sip, and then winces comically, making everyone laugh.

Amalia returns with pills for Laila, and then heads out to work in another part of the house.

Zander leaves after a bit to find his wife, which prompts Georgina to say she’s going to find Reed. And, suddenly, I’m alone at the table with Laila and her nasty-looking smoothie.

“What’s in that thing?” I ask, as Laila takes another recalcitrant gulp.

“I have no idea,” she replies, wiping her mouth. “Whatever it is, it tastes like ass.”

“Well, if it tastes like your delicious ass, then sign me up.”

She flashes me a snarky look. “I knew you’d bring that up, the first chance you got.”

“You want me to pretend last night never happened, like on tour?”

“I do, actually. Thanks.”

“I’m not doing that again, Laila. Especially not when we’re going to be living together for the next three months. Last night happened, baby. Deal with it. Especially since it’s going to happen again and again and again, every night for the next three months.”

“Don’t confuse my desire for a drunken booty call with my desire to jump into some kind of three-month-long arrangement with you.”

“Why wouldn’t we jump into an arrangement while living together? It’s not like we can mess around with anyone else while we’re pretending to be in love. So, let’s have some fun.”

She sniffs. “You smoke when you drink, and I fuck Adrian Savage when I drink.”

I roll my eyes. “So, are you planning to be celibate for the next three months? Because I’m sure as hell not.” I lean forward. “Especially when I already know how good you taste.”

“Has it escaped your notice that both times we’ve fooled around, we’ve both been shitfaced drunk?”

“That’s not why we fooled around, and you know it.”

“I don’t know that. When I’m sober, I’m not stupid enough to find you irresistible.”

“Booze doesn’t make you stupid, Laila. It makes you honest. And booze certainly isn’t what makes me irresistible to you.”

She snorts.

“Why would you even want to resist me, when I’m so damned delicious?”

“Candy is delicious, too, Savage. But too much candy isn’t good for me.”

“But you don’t expect candy to be good for you, so there’s no false advertising. You eat candy for instant gratification. Because it’s delicious and fun.” I smile. “Come, Laila. Let’s have some delicious fun together.”

She twists her mouth like she’s genuinely considering it. But rather than speak, she brings her hideous smoothie to her lips.

I’m a shark smelling blood. A bloodhound on the scent. She’s losing her resolve. I can feel it. “Come on,” I coo. “When you know, going in, you’re bingeing on candy, then nobody can get hurt.” She purses her lips, but doesn’t say no, so I forge ahead. “Whatever made you want to hunt me down for a booty call last night is still there now, even without a drop of alcohol in your system.”

“I didn’t hunt you down for a booty call last night. You hunted me down for a booty call.”