I Swear I Still Hate Him (Atlas Lawson) novel Chapter 101

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18:18 Wed, Jan 14

Chapter 101

Chapter 101

Emery’s POV

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The moment I touched the soft sunflower print, I knew. This was it. The dress. The one I’d wear on my first real date with Atlas Lawson.

First date, huh?

Yeah. More like first heartbreak

prep.

I applied my lip gloss, giving one last glance at the yellow sunflower dress. My fingers gently traced the fabric, the way it hugged my waist in that fake modest way I loved, just enough to make me look like I had my life together. My boobs sat nicely. The neckline was flirty. My thighs were out. It was giving effortlessly hot girl summer… even if I’d eaten two sad little protein bars instead of dinner because I was terrified of looking bloated.

Okay, yeah, maybe I did suck in my stomach a little and hope the dress worked overtime on the waist. So what?

Right on cue, that obnoxious inner voice chimed in.

As if that’ll make a difference.

B

How dare I try to shame me?

I straightened my back, lifted my chin. “I’m very proud of my big tummy, thank you very much. Not every petite girl is blessed with the gift of a flat stomach, and that’s fine… If anything, he should be honored to be in the presence of this tummy,” I muttered at my reflection, giving myself a sassy wink. “Not every girl is blessed with this much main character energy and a little pouch of joy.”

A knock sounded on the door, saving me from continuing a full-blown argument with myself like a lunatic.

I opened it… And damn, I forgot how to breathe.

Atlas stood there looking… dangerous. And stupid hot.

He was wearing black pants that fit way too well and a black short-sleeve shirt that I was positive was new. Underneath, a white crewneck tee peeked through-simple, clean…perfect. It wasn’t like he’d done too much, but I could tell he’d made the effort. His hair was tousled, slightly more curled than usual, like he’d actually tried to style it. I’d never seen him wear it like that, and I loved that I got to see it… I loved it…loved everything about him, yet you wanna play matchmaker. Before I could respond to the voice in my head, he said.

“Too much?”

“What?” I blinked up at him, yep, I’d been staring way too long. His hand went to the back of his neck for a nervous rub, and I swear, his ears turned red.

Adorable.

“I could change” he added glancing down at himself

18:18 Wed, Jan 14

Chapter 101

“No! God, no. You look… good. So good. Like, I’m actively trying not to pull you inside and strip you.”

His eyes widened slightly, then he laughed, and blushed harder. Atlas Lawson, Mr. Cool, Calm, Hockey Captain, blushing because of me. Yeah, that did unholy things to my insides.

“Tempting,” he said, stepping closer, his hands sliding around my waist like they belonged there. His touch was so familiar now, it made my stomach do that stupid flippy thing I pretended didn’t happen.

“Really tempting. But I’ve kinda been looking forward to this ever since you mentioned it.”

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I raised a brow, trying to keep it playful, even though his words were already starting to mess with my heart. “It’s just the movies, Atlas. You make it sound like I’m about to reveal the world’s biggest secret.”

He smiled, and not his cocky, smug smile. This one was soft. Sincere. The kind that made it really hard not to lean in and just… stay there.

“This moment is more important than anything,” he said quietly, eyes locked on mine. “Because for once, we’re not sneaking around or pretending… we’re just two people doing something that feels right.”

My chest tightened. Hard.

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