Pride and Hate with Benefits [COMPLETED]

Chapter 4 - More than meets the eye

D

The feeling of her standing close enough for me to inhale her is haunting me. When she tripped, my heart skipped a beat, and I reached out to steady her, not realizing how deeply that insignificant point in time would etch into my mind.

For a moment, I looked down at her and could barely breathe. In my imagination, she inhaled me back and melted a bit at my scent. But I was soon brought out of that dream.

I shake my head. Nightmare, not dream. Maybe I need to get laid. Because something was happening to me, and it was unsettling.

"What's wrong?" Mia grabs my arm and move in closer. She smells of expensive perfume. It tickles my nose.

"Nothing," I say and step away from her. I hurry to Julian, breaking the contact with his sister. He gives me an apologetic smile. He knows Mia has been after me since the first time she saw me.

I had hoped her crush would die down as we grew up, but somehow it's just morphed into her being certain we'll get married one day.

Not that marrying her would be the worst thing in the world. Our parents would be thrilled with the match. I shudder at the thought. No, it would be bad. I've never seen her as anything but an annoying younger sister of my friend.

Julian knows all of this. And he has tried to talk to her time and time again. But the idea has rooted itself so deeply with her that she refuses to give it up. I keep hoping she'll meet someone and fall in love. Once or twice I thought she had and I was free. But then they broke up, and we were right back where it started.

"So is Cameron coming?" Mia asks the fourth member of our little group as we walk down the street to the coffee shop someone thought it would be appropriate to name Dirty.

"No," Elsa sighs. "He needs to fine tune his robot for the competition."

Elsa was Julian's other sister. She was a year older than him, whereas Mia was a year younger. Elsa liked to tease her siblings that she was the only one planned. The other two just happened along, before their parents were ready.

It was still a point of gossip how Julian's mother had screamed and thrown things at his father when she found out she was pregnant and already had two kids under the age of three.

That day lived in infamy at the club where it all had taken place. His mother, a calm, timid woman, had threatened to cut off his dick if he didn't get a vasectomy at once.

A week later, it was done.

Elsa and Mia go to River University, which means they're UNI's rivals in most sports and plenty of non-sport activities. Elsa followed her boyfriend-now-fiance there and Mia couldn't imagine spending her university years away from her sister.

Cameron, Elsa's fiance, is an engineer with what everyone claims is a bright future.

We arrive at Dirty and Julian hurries inside. I can tell the second he spots Jenna. His back straightens, and he comes alive. Jenna's sitting in a booth with someone. I don't need her to turn around to recognize her.

The coffee shop is mostly empty, so I step towards a table far away from Jenna and Ellie. But Julian is already making his way to their booth. I sigh and stay back a bit. Maybe he's only saying hello.

Instead of joining them, I go to the counter and order a coffee, hoping to avoid any encounter with the dark-haired woman.

But to my dismay, Jenna moves further into the booth so Julian can sit next to her. Mia and Elsa greet the two women and gesture to the counter.

I drag my feet as I pass several empty tables. Ellie has moved to give room to the sisters and unless I want to awkwardly push myself next to Julian, I have no choice but to sit next to her.