Page 20 of Playing Hard to Hate

TATUM

PRESENT

Come to my place, and we can order something.

What had I been thinking inviting Griffin to my condo a second time?

Clearly, I hadn’t been thinking at all. Griffin was the enemy . He’d turned his back on me years ago. Chose his popularity over our friendship and everything we’d shared together. And despite his kindness the other night and at the gym earlier today, he was still a class-A douchebag.

Yet, here I was, inviting him to my place like we were just long-lost friends. I guess, technically, we were, but he’d ditched me years ago. Not to mention the train of women he liked to parade all over Atlanta, and let’s not forget how he kissed me the other night.

Clenching the steering wheel in a death grip, I checked my rearview mirror for the tenth time.

Griffin’s black Escalade was still tailing me, and if I stared long enough, I thought I could make out his cocky grin.

But I had to be crazy, right? Because who could smile at all after the night we’d just had? And why did he need two cars ?

Did I clean the kitchen before I left?

Did I make my bed?

God, were my floors a mess? Did they need to be vacuumed?

I hated this side of me. The side that obsessed over every little thing. The anxiety that riddled my day-to-day life and activities. Why should I care what Griffin thought of my condo? He’d seen it just two days ago, and I hadn’t cared then. I didn’t know why, but I cared a whole lot right now.

Pulling into the small condominium community I lived in, I parked in my designated spot and watched through the back window as Griffin easily found the guest parking.

Drumming my shaking fingers against the wheel, I forced myself to suck in some deep breaths and get my racing heart under control. Once my trembling had eased, I turned the car off and exited the vehicle.

It’s just Griffin Silver, your childhood best friend and a guy who used to bully you in high school.

He’s not that person anymore. He very well could be.

But a bully wouldn’t try to save me, would he?

Twice . He wouldn’t save me twice if he was truly a monster.

Or have my car delivered here the morning after the kiss.

There are a lot of things the old him wouldn’t be doing right now. Having dinner with me on a Sunday night being one of them.

What on earth was I thinking inviting him, of all people, to my tiny condo for pizza? I hated pizza. It was official. There was no longer a question or doubt in my mind. I’d officially lost my mind tonight during that attempted robbery.

Griffin exited his truck with the same confidence he used to waltz around high school with, and my nervous heart fluttered against my breastbone.

I so wasn’t prepared for this. I crossed my shaking arms over my chest, trying to exude a confidence I wasn’t feeling.

I just wanted to go inside, lock the door, put a chair up against it, curl into bed with a tub of ice cream I didn’t have, and cry. But that wouldn’t be happening tonight.

Nope .

I would be entertaining Griffin when I felt like the world was collapsing around me.

I missed my mom so much. She would know what to do, what to say. Her arms would feel safe when the world no longer felt safe. The grocery store wasn’t safe anymore. A place I’d been going my whole life.

Why did he have to be there today?

“You’ve got that look on your face.” His lips tilted in the smallest smirk, and my heart stopped in my chest. Why did he still get to me like this? “The same one from high school. You pinch your brows, bite your bottom lip, and your eyes glow with hatred.”

He stopped at my trunk and waited for me to make my way to him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I grumbled as I slowly made my way closer.

“This is my face. If you don’t like it, then don’t look at it.

” He chuckled and shook his head at me, amusement playing in his eyes.

But I could see the lingering exhaustion there that came with the crash of an adrenaline rush.

“All right. No need to be so defensive, Tate,” he said as I led him toward my building. “Not trying to make fun of you, kitten. Put the claws away.”

I stopped and whirled around, causing him to bump into me.

“I knew it was too good to be true.” I jabbed my finger against his hard, toned chest. “You haven’t changed at all, have you?

” I waited for his cocky response, all while my brain short-circuited from our proximity.

I was waiting for an excuse to pounce on him like he said, to sink my fucking claws into him for hurting me over and fucking over when my dad left, and then my brother and then, worst of all, my mother.

He had only intensified the pain that had been drowning me when he was supposed to be my best friend.

The kind who holds you up, the kind who lends a shoulder to cry on, the one who hugs you and tells you it’s going to be okay even when the world is on fire.

And he had failed me, and I couldn’t let it go.

“Oh, I’ve changed, kitten. Might want to get me inside your condo before I show the whole parking lot. You seemed to really enjoy it the other night.” He wiggled his brows, and I scowled. Men .

“Shut up! Stop that, Griffin. Don’t be a jerk. I told you it was a mistake.” I stormed the rest of the way to my building, up the stairs, and stomped down the hall as fast as my short legs could carry me down the carpeted hallway.

Elton John was blaring from my neighbor’s door, and the heavy stench of marijuana floated into the hallway. Katie’s on-and-off boyfriend must have ended things again. It was a vicious, rough cycle she continued to put herself through when she could just find someone better.

I didn’t glance behind me at Griffin as I stuck my key in the lock and fidgeted with it until the lock turned. I jiggled the doorknob until it opened. “Looks like you need some maintenance,” he mumbled behind me.

At least he didn’t make a stupid joke about how I’d always struggled with locks. He had loved to get on my nerves about my locker when we were in high school.

“Didn’t seem to bother you the other night. It’s fine. I like things that aren’t perfect.”

“Have you always been this feisty, Tate, or is it the new you? I don’t remember you having claws in high school. Lately, all you can seem to do is attack.” He followed me into the small condo, kicking off his sneakers at the door where my runners were neatly tucked into the corner.

He noticed.

He turned to where I was still standing at the door, holding it open like a damn idiot. Clenching my jaw, I quickly closed it so I wouldn’t look stupider than I already felt.

“I learned to stand up for myself. No one was going to do it for me,” I muttered as I kicked off my own shoes.

Double-checking that I threaded the dead bolt, I headed into the kitchen and went straight for the fridge, praying for a cold beer or two.

He stayed behind, inspecting the locks on the front door like he, too, was paranoid that the robbers might just burst through at any second.

I didn’t like to drink every night. It wasn’t healthy, and I always regretted it the next morning, but tonight, I needed something to numb my nerves.

I didn’t want stupid fruit for dessert, with veggies and chicken for dinner.

I didn’t want water. I didn’t want to count calories.

I wanted beer and greasy pizza. I almost died tonight.

The thought struck me, and I froze. In the middle of the kitchen, I just froze.

“You good, Grace?” he said from behind me, pulling the bags from my death grip and dumping them onto the counter. I nodded numbly and went to the fridge.

Finding two beers in the fridge, I offered one to Griffin, who took both from me and popped the caps effortlessly. He handed one of the bottles back to me wordlessly. Bringing the bottle to my lips, I took a long pull, the cold liquid racing down my throat.

Yep. This was exactly what I needed.

I could get through tonight. Griffin and I weren’t in high school anymore. We weren’t enemies. We were just old classmates, friends if you must, who now worked together. Who nearly died in a shooting .

I nearly died tonight.

Taking a shaky step back, I leaned against the counter, letting it take my weight. I suddenly felt weak, the exhaustion really making itself known.

“You’re looking a little pale there, Tate,” Griffin noticed, his gray eyes studying me. Concern washed over his features, and the fingers of his free hand twitched at his side.

“I nearly died tonight,” I muttered, reaching up to rub at my forehead.

“But you didn’t.”

“I had a gun held up to my head,” I whispered, tears blurring my vision. I sniffled. “I just wanted to get some fruit. I didn’t do anything wrong.” The first hot tear rolled down my cheek. “Why did they pick me? Why couldn’t I just move? Why did I have to stand there like an idiot?”

Griffin set his bottle down on the counter with a loud clank and closed the space between us.

Taking my bottle from my shaking hand, he set it down behind me.

His scent crowded me, his gray eyes sweeping over my features, his big body overwhelming.

My lips trembled as I tried to hold back my tears.

I was so tired. I didn’t want to cry again.

“I’m out of my league a little here, Tate.

Tell me if this is okay.” His large, tan hands settled on my waist, his heat sinking through the thin layer of my leggings.

I nodded, swallowing past the lump in my throat.

At that moment, I didn’t care about our past. I didn’t care about all my unanswered questions.

I just needed comfort. To be held. To know that everything would be okay.

“You weren’t picked,” Griffin rasped, his thumbs brushing under my shirt to rub the skin at my waist. I shivered.

“He didn’t know you. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but it’s okay because I was there.

” He ducked his head, forcing our gazes to lock.

“I was there, kitten. And I know we have a rocky past, but I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you, Tatum.

I couldn’t stand back and watch you get hurt. ”

Dropping my forehead to his hard chest, I let the tears fall as the night’s events crashed into me.

His strong, lean arms wrapped around me, one hand holding the back of my head, his other arm banded tightly around me.

Our bodies were flush, and I clung to him, seeking out his heat, his comfort, and his security.

“Why?” I croaked.

Griffin drew in a deep breath, and raggedly, he whispered, “I don’t want to have any more regrets with you.”