Page 16 of Hating On Riot

Me: That sounds like a villainous move. Heroes do the heavy lifting and do not leave it to ‘guys that owe me favors.’

TRG: Called out again. You’re on a roll. I’ll do the favor and follow the rules.

Me: So we’ll never meet IRL?

TRG: Nope. I want this connection between us to be deep. Getting deep means spilling our biggest fears and hang-ups. I can do that best if I never meet you POTRG.

Me: So I’m your nameless faceless therapist and you’re mine?

TRG: Great analogy. Sure, why not?

Yes, why not? What’s the harm in telling my deepest desires and secrets to a stranger I’ll never meet after the two-week experiment is done?

Me: Hello, therapist. It’s nice to meet you.

TRG: Have a virtual seat POTRG. I am all ears.

7

Arie

“You’re staying with the guy?”

Cooper shoots me a sideways glare. We’re in his truck, parked at the curb. Riot and his roommates came home just as I hurried out the door and into Cooper’s truck.

“I’m staying in a spare room and not in his if that’s what you’re asking.”

“What about your brothers? Won’t they have a shitfit?” he asks.

“I told them I’m staying with you.” My brothers fawn over Cooper.

“I’m your beard?” His brows tug low. There’s disbelief in his voice. He grumbles.

Amused by his confusion, bewilderment, and unhappiness, I do something that takes away the tension between us.

I grab him by the chin and tug him to me until we’re nose-to-nose. “My beard. My cover. My partner-in-crime. An accessory. Call it what you will. Just do me this favor, okay?”

“This isn’t something to joke about, Arie.”

“It’s just a week.”

He smacks my hand aside. “What can you do crashing at his place that you can’t do staying at yours?” He leans over and slips a chocolate bar inside my bag that’s on the floor. Even when we’re fighting, he still spoils me.

“I can experience firsthand and up close that he hasn’t changed his heartbreaking, cruel ways,” I mutter.

“You being there is a challenge. He’ll push the limits of what you felt for him.”

Riot did nothing but push and taunt me until Cooper showed up in my life in my first year. After Cooper started hanging around more, Riot kept his distance. I dropped a bully and gained a best friend. A win-win.

“Or he and I will bury the hatchet and move on,” I point out. I don’t tell Cooper about the water girl gig. He’ll throw a fit knowing I’ll be spending even more time with Riot outside of our one class together and living in the same house with him.

“That’s not what I mean. You’re naïve when it comes to relationships.”

“With no help from you or my brothers.”

“We have an understanding, Arie.”

Stay far away from the guy and the girl that we’re hung up on since high school. “I messed up,” I confess. “I went back on my word.”