Love & Hate (Book One: Hate) (9 page)

It was about eight o’clock before I get to the sorority house, all that makeup took time. When I walk into the foyer it is overcrowding with girls in crazy outfits. The common theme besides black seems to be tightness. I was starting to understand why the frat would agree to such a theme.

“
Alright ladies, we are going to draw a name of a freshman who will become our bride this evening so get excited.” One of the upperclassmen says from atop the giant staircase. I can barely see through the crowd but I can just make out a few girls holding up a giant bowl which obviously holds all the freshman names.
Oh Lord, please don’t let her pull my name!

“
And our bride-to-be is Tenley!” The older girl says amongst whoops and hollers. “Tenley come on up here so these ladies can help you change into your wedding dress.” She says as Tenley struggles to make her way toward the stairs. Tenley is stunningly gorgeous. She is skinny, like size zero skinny. She has a natural tan with beautiful long blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. Just looking at her could make any girl feel self-conscious.

A few minutes later Tenley emerges with the group of older girls who have whisked her away to help her change. She now is wearing an ivory lace gown that has a full cutout in the back that dips all the way to the top of her butt. It is very short and it is extremely tight. Tenley wears the dress like it is custom made just for her.
Whoever her Groom is will totally loose his mind when he sees her in that dress.

The basement of the fraternity is jammed packed. In the front of the basement there is an alter thing setup with two giant chairs that look like thrones. The music is pumping in the basement so hard I can barely think. I am glad I have Millie to hang out with; it makes me feel less awkward. I am nervously looking around for Cutter but haven’t been able to spot him yet.

“
You want to go get drinks? They are serving champagne.” Millie says pointing to the bar.

“
Yeah sure that sounds great.” We start making our way over to the bar.

“
Hey Paige!” I look over and see Tanner serving drinks behind the bar.

“
Oh hey Tanner, I didn’t realize this was your house.” I say to him slightly embarrassed I never made the connection.

“
Yup, this is my house. I don’t get to be here much though, since I work at the bar most weekends.” He tells me. “So what are you ladies drinking tonight?” He asks looking over at Millie.
Oh shoot I should have introduced them already.

“
This is my friend Millie.” I don’t even think he hears me he just keeps staring at Mills.

“
We will have champagne. Thanks Tanner, it was nice to meet you.” Millie says demurely.
Interesting, is there a potential love connection here?

Tanner gets our drinks and we chat for a few more minutes before the music stops and I see the crowd starting to focus on the front of the room. There is a tall older guy with dark features holding a mic. I assume he is the fraternity president.

“
Okay, ladies and gentlemen it is time to present our bride and groom for the evening. May I have our lovely bride, Miss Tenley Connor to the front?” I see the crowd part to allow Tenley to sashay her way to the front. The boys started to howl the minute they see her and her dress.

“
Alright, alright and now can I have our lucky groom for the evening, Mr. Cutter Daniels.” The announcer says as I proceed to spit my champagne out all over myself.
Oh shit!

Millie turns to me looking concerned. She asks if I’m okay. I tell her it’s fine that I was just caught off guard. I know she isn’t buying it but it isn’t her nature to push so she just allows me to lie. I watch as Cutter makes his way to the front. He is dressed in black dress slacks and a crisp white button up dress shirt with the sleeves up. The top four or five buttons of his dress shirt are undone and you can see his tan chest. He has a black bowtie dangling open from the collar of his shirt. He is so handsome it is hard to even look at him. The girls in the crowd all start to howl in appreciation.
This is going to suck!

“
Okay, now that we have our bride and groom up to the front let’s get this ceremony started.” The announcer says excitedly as he pushes Tenley and Cutter together. He starts rambling on about young love and some other stuff I can’t even comprehend right now because I’m totally freaking out. My chest feels tight and I feel like I can’t catch my breath. Everything that is unfolding in front of me is going in agonizing slow motion.

“
I now pronounce you mafia bride and groom. Cutter, man you can totally kiss your hot bride.” Mr. Announcer says and steps out of the way so the crowd can get a full view of the couple. I take in a sharp breath and watch as Cutter takes Tenley’s face in his hands and kisses her lips. He is cradling her face as if they have been lovers for years and they can’t get enough of each other. Tenley seems to really enjoy it deepening the kiss. She throws her leg over his hip letting her already short-ass dress creep up. Her dress goes up so high on her thigh you can now see her underwear. My head feels like it is spinning out of control. I can feel Millie looking at me but I can’t find my words to tell her I need to leave.

“
Come on Paige, we need to get you out of here before you pass out.” Millie says as she grabs my arm and pulls me through the crowd. Millie drags me out of the basement and to the front of the house. I hadn’t noticed I was crying until Millie starts telling me to take slow deep breaths.

“
I just want to go home.” I tell her in between sobs.

“
Okay honey, let’s go.” She starts walking me toward my dorms. My thoughts start to run rampant in my head.
Why in the world did he want me to come to this party? Did he purposely set this up? Did he just want to hurt me? Of course he did, he is Cutter Asshole Daniels! I was so stupid to trust him. Never again.

It took me hours to calm down. Once I stopped crying and appeared to be doing okay Millie went home. After she left I went and took a long hot shower to get that horribly thick makeup off. When I was done I put on my silk pajama shorts and matching camisole. I was so happy to crawl in my bed to hopefully pass out and forget everything that had happened.

I don’t know how long I have been sleeping when I am awakened by hard pounding on my door. I flip on my bedside lamp and try to adjust my eyes to the light. The pounding continues. I jump out of my bed with a groan and stumble over to the door and fling it open.

“
What?” I yell as the door flies open. As soon as the door opens just enough a large hand slams against it shoving it all the way open. I am shocked to see Cutter standing in front of me.
What in the hell is he doing here? He needs to leave.

“
Go away Cutter.” I grab the door and try to slam it in his face.

“
Not so fast darling.” Cutter says as he shoves past me and into my room, slamming the door closed behind him.
Who the Hell does he think he is? Doesn’t he need to get back to his new bride?

“
Just leave me alone Cutter. I don’t want to talk to you. Don’t you have a wedding to be at?” I ask looking at the ground feeling defeated.

“
No” is all he says as he closes the distance between us. His large hands grab my shoulders. “Look at me Paige.” He says in low growl. I refuse to look at him so he takes his hand and lifts my chin up so I am forced to look into his eyes. When we lock eyes I can see how angry he is, it sends a deep shiver down my body.
I need to pull it together and get him to leave. Enough was enough this is ending now.

“
What do you want from me Cutter? Do you want to screw with me some more? Do you want to tell me again that we can’t hang out? I think you made that perfectly clear tonight.” I think for sure this will put him on the spot enough to make him leave, but I am wrong.

“
I’m sorry, but we just can’t.” He says still holding onto my shoulders and staring down at me.
No, shit we can’t hang out! I have no desire to be around an asshat like you!

“
Fine with me.” I say turning my face away.

“
Ask me why, Paige.” He says in a low tone.

“
I don’t care.” I tell him defiantly.

“
Yes, you do. Ask me.” He lightly shakes my shoulders at an attempt to get me to look at him again.

“
Fine. Why can’t we hang out?”
If this makes him leave then great I’ll play along.

He reaches up with his hand and cups my face lightly shifting it so I have no choice but to look in his eyes again. “We can’t hang out because I don’t just want to be your friend, Paige.” He says in a husky voice.
What the hell is he talking about?

Just when I am about to ask him what he meant his lips come crashing down onto mine. He tastes so sweet with a hint of whiskey, it is delicious. Liquid heat starts to bloom from the center of my body. It takes me a second to realize I am kissing Cutter but when I do realize it, I fist my hands in his dress shirt and pull him tight against me. Cutter lets out a deep low growl of appreciation and starts walking us backwards toward my bed as we continue to kiss. When I feel my knees hit the side of my bed he pulls his lips from mine and pushes me down on the comforter.

“
Do you realize how absolutely beautiful you are?” He asks me as he hovers above me. I just shake my head no and feel heat come to my cheeks. “You are stunning, Paige.” He crawls up the length of my body pinning me beneath him. “It has been so hard for me to stay away from you.” He kisses me gently but I can feel the hunger he is holding back. I want him to let go, even though he does scare me a bit. It feels amazing kissing him. It’s like I am on one of those crazy high roller coasters and I am plummeting to the bottom.

I don’t know how long we have been kissing when I feel Cutter’s hands grasp the hem of my camisole. He starts to pull it over my head when I freeze. He instantly notices and stops.

“
Umm … I’m sorry this is all just going really fast.” I say shyly trying not to look at him.

“
No darling, I’m sorry I got carried away.” He says as he moves to the side of me giving me some space. I immediately try to get up to separate us but Cutter pushes me back down against his side. “You can’t run from me, Paige.” He growls.
Whoa what the heck am I doing? Have I totally lost my mind? This guy was just kissing another girl the same way a few hours earlier.