Make Me Hate You(44)

I took a left once the elevator came to a halt, and then I groaned, because Tyler’s name was written in neat script across the paper taped to the first door. I blew out a breath, marching purposefully past it until I found mine, which was the next one over.

The universe hates me.

When I pushed through the door, a small smile broke through my sourpuss attitude at the sight of the breathtaking view. There were floor-to-ceiling windows on the left, with a sliding glass door out onto my own private balcony straight ahead, a gorgeous, plush queen bed, and striking photographs of the beach everywhere, along with fishing net and seashells, and all the colors of the sunrise in every little detail of the room.

And right in the middle of the long, white dresser near the window was a gorgeous bouquet of flowers.

Setting my suitcase by the door, I made my way to the dresser, fingering the soft petals of the coral roses and crisp, white lilies before I reached for the card beside them.

I wish it could be me greeting you at the beach house instead of these flowers, but I can’t wait to join you and make new memories in a new place together. I love you, sunshine. XO — Jacob

Guilt and longing soared through me like two giant birds, their wings sweeping every corner of my chest as I stumbled backward until the back of my knees hit the edge of the bed. I sat, sinking into the plush comforter, staring at the words on the note with an ache in my chest.

Jacob was my person.

He was my everything, and had been for months.

How could I have lost sight of that? How could I have so easily let him slip from my mind, filling that space with the one boy I’d sworn I would forget?

I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw myself out the window just to save everyone in my life from the disaster I’d become.

Instead, I held the note to my chest, closing my eyes and breathing in a promise to Jacob and to myself that I would get myself back on track.

I’d slipped. I’d made a mistake. I’d gone prying into a past possibility that would never, ever be, and I had to find a way to let it go.

To let Tyler go.

When my eyes fluttered open, I spotted a figure down the beach, a white t-shirt and mess of brown hair fading in the distance.

And I knew without a second thought that this would be the hardest thing I would ever do.





Later that night, or early the next morning — I couldn’t be sure which — I woke from a dream so vivid it felt more real than the bed I woke up in.

It took a moment for me to adjust to the unfamiliar surroundings of the beach house, to the sound of the waves washing over the shore outside, the soft hum of the fan above me, the scent of the salt and sand.

My heart was racing, sweat covering me in a thin film as I kicked the covers off of me and let out a groan, covering my face with both hands.

In my dream, Tyler had snuck into my room, into my bed, and I’d woken with his hand inside my panties.

The dream that had felt so real was blurred now, cementing the fact that that was all it was — a dream. But when I’d first woke, I’d almost expected for him to still be there beside me, his fingers still wet from my climax, lips still sinking into my neck with soft, pressing kisses.

I shook my head, dragging my hands down over my face until they flopped onto the mattress at my sides. I needed to go back to sleep. It’d be a long day tomorrow, and I needed rest.

But the ache between my legs was so strong and insistent that I writhed against it, biting my lip and trying not to think about the fact that Tyler was right next door.

His bed could be against the same wall as mine was, our headboards separated by only a thin layer of drywall.

He could be sleeping just a few feet away from me right now, curled onto one side, softly snoring, dreaming.

Or maybe he was awake, too… his hands in his boxers, back arching off the bed as he moaned, touching himself to the thought of me.

No.

I shook my head, mentally slapping myself. If I needed to rub one out to go back to bed, it would be to the thoughts of my handsome, amazing, perfect boyfriend who I’d spent the evening with on video chat.

I closed my eyes, picturing his face — his deep green eyes that had stolen my breath away the first time we met, his bulging biceps and sculpted abs, the way he seductively bit his lip before pulling me into him…

I rolled onto my stomach, tucking a pillow between my leg with the movement, and even the softest brush of the fabric against my clit had me sucking in a breath and stifling a moan.

It wouldn’t take me long.

My hips flexed, knees spreading wide over the mattress as I closed my eyes and succumbed to the sensation rushing through me like a flood. I was suspended somewhere between being asleep and being awake, my body moving in dreamlike waves and rolls, soft fleets of breath leaving my lips with every pulse of my racing heart.

I knew exactly how to move, how to rub my clit against the firm edge of the pillow just right. The orgasm was already building before even a full minute had passed, and I picked up the pace, desperate to reach my climax.

Tingles shot like sparks in my chest, firing through my nervous system to every part of my body. Just a few more flexes and I knew I’d come.

And as soon as the recognition hit me, my dream assaulted me like a whip, cracking against my back, my inner thighs, my heavy and swollen breasts. The pillow between my legs was suddenly Tyler, and a soft moan broke through me at the vividness of it, at how I could imagine his hands on me, his body under mine, his eyes staring up at me as I rode his thick and throbbing cock.