Page 28 of Playing Hard to Hate

GRIFFIN

PRESENT

I wasn’t sure if she was doing this on purpose or if she was really told to do this bullshit. I hated and loved this stupid scrap of string they had her wear. I had seen it already, so I didn’t think I’d react the same way, but fuck me. She looked so fucking sexy.

And it somehow only got worse with each piece they had us change into. We hadn’t finished by the time the sunset, so the two other sets they wanted to be part of the shoot would be done at sunrise. The owners of Salt and Sirens had already found a hotel nearby and booked us each a room.

By the time Tatum made it to the car, dressed in her yoga pants and pink jacket, I could tell she was exhausted. It had been a long nine hours in the sun, and she’d been sent back to her tent to redo makeup and hair more times than I cared to count.

“Hungry?” I asked, opening the passenger door for her.

“Just tired.”

“If you change your mind, I have a burned bagel just for you.” I tried to lighten the mood without coming off as too pushy given our last conversation .

“You’re hilarious. When’s the comedy tour?” she joked.

“You gotta eat,” I reminded her, but she sighed and yawned.

“Room service, Fin. Good ole room service.”

I closed the door and rounded the car, checking my phone for the directions. It was then I spotted the flash of a camera and knew our secretive spot had been leaked.

Immediately, I got into the car and called Nick.

“We have a problem.” I turned the car on and put it into gear, easing off the sand onto the asphalt road.

Tatum sat up and looked at me in panic.

“I’ve been dealing with it for an hour already. You must have been followed. I’ve got pictures of you picking her up this morning, and now at the shoot. Most of them are blurry, but it’s obvious it’s her.”

“Shut it down, Nick. Fucking shut it down.”

“Keep your head low, and I’ll do what I do best. And for the love of God, stop being seen with this girl.” He ended the call, and I turned to Tatum, who looked terrified.

“Paps found us, and there’s already shit circling on the web.”

“Oh. Well, that’s not too bad, right?”

“I don’t want them following you around. You’ve got enough shit to deal with. When we get to the hotel, keep your eyes low, and wear this.” I pulled the car over, found one of my black hats in the back seat, and put it on her head.

“This is crazy, Fin. We have the other shoot in a few weeks. This is going to be a nightmare. It’s going to ruin the launch of the line, and then we won’t get paid. We won’t get paid, and I need this money.” Her voice wobbled, and I knew the tears were coming.

“Try not to worry. Any publicity is good publicity as long as we have nothing to hide. After all, we’re only friends, remember.

My agent is doing his best to calm this whole shitstorm down.

You have to trust me on this. Just keep those pretty eyes down on the ground, walk straight into the hotel, and I’ll deal with the rest.”

“Okay.”

“Uh no. You must be fucking kidding me!” Tatum screamed as I walked into the lobby where she was arguing with the male hotel receptionist. “I need my own room!”

“What’s going on? You’re creating a scene,” I grunted under my breath. So much for lying low. This woman didn’t listen to a goddamn word out of my mouth.

“Well, Griffin, not only do they not have two rooms for us apparently—something about losing power in half the building and shutting those rooms down for service—they’re giving me some bullshit about it being a health concern.

Apparently the only other room in the hotel they can put us in is a deluxe suite with one queen bed. ”

Lowering my voice to a barely comprehensible whisper, I said, “And the problem? We’ve shared a bed before.

” I pointed out, not really seeing the problem here because now I’d get even more alone time with her.

I needed to diffuse this situation quickly.

There could be paparazzi hiding all around, all ready to exploit us for a quick buck.

“We were five!” she screamed, turning a few heads.

Knowing Tatum would continue on her tangent if I stayed on the defensive, I knew the only option to keep my cover from being blown was to blindside Tate and go on the offensive.

“We’ll take the room if you cover all the charges for room service,” I told the young guy behind the counter who was freaking out at Tatum’s hysteria.

“Sir, we can’t do that.”

“Do you know who I am? I’m sure you can make an exception and tell everyone I stayed here after I left.”

“Oh, here we go. I’m a celebrity. Bow down to me,” Tate grumbled.

“Sorry, sir. Not sure who you are.”

“Oh, this is funny. Guess it doesn’t work when you’re just a rookie.” Tate giggled. She was annoying the fuck out of me. As per fucking usual.

“Griffin Silver. Look it up and tell your manager what I want. I want an answer in twenty minutes. Give me the keys now.” The kid nodded and handed me the two room cards with shaking hands.

“Ooh, I’m so scared of the big bad Griffin Silver.” Tatum howled with laughter as I ushered her into the fucking elevator, hoping no one had snapped a picture of us.

“What happened to laying low?” I growled in the elevator.

“Thought that was for outside only,” she answered, taking this prime opportunity to check her nails out.

“Well, it meant until you were in the fucking room, locked away from the public eye.”

“Noted. Be more specific next time.”

“For fuck’s sake.” I reached for my hair again, lacing my fingers through and grabbing a clump at the top while my heart rate dropped, and I could finally breathe again.

“Your mother wouldn’t appreciate you swearing in front of a woman.”

“Good thing she isn’t here then.”

“I’m not sharing a bed with you,” she said as soon as we stepped into the luxurious room.

“Couch doesn’t look too comfortable.”

“I don’t care.” She snatched her bag from me and stormed into the bathroom, where she proceeded to take half an hour .

I had gotten confirmation about the room service being covered, so I ordered us some food and waited for her to make an appearance. I considered trying the door handle because I hadn’t heard her lock it but thought better of inviting her wrath.

She sang horribly to some tune while in the shower, and I grinned, remembering when she told me that one day she wanted to be a singer. That was definitely not a career path in her future.

She emerged from the steamy bathroom fresh-faced in a pair of tiny shorts and a tank top, which somehow made me want her more than the stupid tiny bikinis did today.

It was going to be a long fucking night.

After showering and putting on a pair of black boxers and sweatpants, I left the bathroom.

“You forgot a shirt,” she said, flicking through the channels on the TV.

“Didn’t bring one,” I told her honestly, to which she rolled her big green eyes and sighed.

“Plan on sleeping naked too?”

“No.”

“Well, I do.” She didn’t look at me, but from the little smirk curling her lips, I knew she was lying.

“Great. Make sure to leave the lights on so I get a show.”

“Ha. In your dreams, Silver.”

“Yeah,” I said weakly hoping this wasn’t going to be one of those last time seeing each other again moments . “Unfortunately,” I agreed with her. She gulped loudly before settling on some movie and then got comfortable under the covers.

She ate the chicken I ordered tiredly, her eyes slowly closing as she kept falling asleep.

I had to keep nudging her awake, and despite her little nasty threats, I knew she would be hard on herself tomorrow if she didn’t eat all her macros for the day.

We hadn’t had much time to eat, so it was crucial she ate this meal .

Once she finished the food, she fell back against the pillows and promptly fell asleep, soft snores filling the room along with the credits of the movie she put on.

I turned the TV off, put the plates outside our room, and then slid my sweatpants off and slid into bed. She instantly rolled into me and cuddled into my chest.

It wasn’t the night I had envisioned in my head, but it was a close second. Happy to not have had another argument about why we were wrong for each other, I took it as a win, just glad to be next to the girl I never thought would speak to me again.

The next morning, she woke me. We’d both overslept, and she was rushing to throw clothes on and brush her teeth. I made sure to put the hat on her before she left the room and did my best to keep distance between us, but I knew it was futile once we reached the beach.

The drive home was almost silent, except when she scrolled on her phone, reading all the different articles that had emerged about us this weekend.

“The Daily Tea says, ‘ Braves Rookie Griffin Silver Spotted with Fitness Queen Tatum Grace. Is There More Than Friendship? ’ Fitness queen? That just sounds dumb,” she commented as she kept scrolling.

“How about this one, ‘ From Hero to Heartthrob: Griffin Silver’s Grocery Store Rescue Sparks Romance Rumors with Tatum Grace! ’ Eww, I might gag.”

“Stop looking at those,” I said softly, but she did not listen as per usual.

“Oh, this one is good. ‘ Secret Love Affair? Rookie Griffin Silver and Tatum Grace Can’t Keep Their Hands Off Each Other!’ They have a picture of us from the beach when you were grabbing my ass.”

“Tate, this isn’t funny. It’s going to be a problem.

” I gripped the steering wheel, thinking of the robbers who might still have a vendetta against her, then the fans who would definitely hate on her, and worst of all, all the men that would perv over her social media account.

I had to keep her out of the spotlight. The last thing I’d ever want is her to be publicized even more.

“This one wins for sure. ‘ Is Tatum Grace the One for Griffin Silver? Childhood Friends Turned Lovers After Heroic Rescue! ’ They sound so stupid. How do they even know all this crap?