I Swear I Still Hate Him (Atlas Lawson) novel Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Atlas’s POV

Ford: Stick bros assemble!

Omar: For the love of God.

Ford: Hi baby

Omar:

Howard: What now, Ford?

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Ford: So Duncan’s party is tonight, and I just wanna make sure we’re all present and ready to drink our asses off.

Ford: And also maybe make out with some hot babes.

Atlas: Sorry to burst your horny little bubble, but I’m not drinking, and neither are you fuckers. Game prep.

Ford: Cap, c’mon. Just one bottle. I swear on my left nut I won’t get drunk.

Howard: That’s what you said last time. Then you ended up slow dancing with the snack table.

Ford: That hummus was seductive, and you know it.

Ford: Omar, baby, back me up here.

System Message: Omar has left the group.

System Message: Ford added Omar back.

Ford: Rude. I hope your shampoo runs out mid-shower.

Atlas: Still no. Rules are rules, my guy.

Ford: Boomer behavior.

I chuckled, slipping my phone into my pocket as I headed toward Management class. It felt good to smile after the morning I’d had. The team’s banter was the closest thing I had to peace these days. I walked into the lecture hall just as students were filtering in, grabbing seats, and opening laptops. My eyes scanned the rows automatically.

And there she was.

Emery Collins.

Sunshine hair. That same determined set to her jaw. Her head was bent over her notebook, pen between her fingers, but I’d know that silhouette anywhere.

Goldie Locks.

I smirked to myself. I called her that just to piss her off, and because it worked like a charm every single time. Her reactions were my favorite. Full of attitude and eye rolls that somehow sti managed to look hot.

There was an empty seat to her left.

I knew what she said before, don’t talk to me in class, pretend we don’t know each other blah blah blah. But sitting next to someone didn’t count as knowing, right?

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Chapter 14

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I made my way toward her. Her eyes caught mine, green and shap, and instantly widened in warning. She shook her head. small, panicked movements. Her brows shot up like she was flashing neon lights: DO NOT.

Which, of course, only made me walk faster.

But then….bam, just as I was two steps away, she grabbed some random dude from the aisle.

“You can sit here,” she said sweetly, patting the chair. “It’s empty.

Ouch.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

The guy blinked, then grinned like he’d just won the lottery and lid into the seat. Emery gave me the I told you so smirk without even turning her head.

I scoffed under my breath. Cold move. Real cold.

“Atlas!”

I turned.

Kaylee. Oh, right, she was in this class too.

Her smile was bright, teeth perfect, eyes wide and hopeful.

I walked over and dropped into the seat beside her. “Hey.”

“Hi,” she said, voice rising slightly like she was trying to flirt without really trying. “I didn’t know you were in this section.”

“Yeah… I switched late,” I said with a half-smile, already pulling out my notebook just to look busy.

She opened her mouth like she was about to launch into full conversation, but thank God, the lecturer walked in at that

exact moment.

Saved by the bell, or in this case, the balding man in a wrinkled Button-down.

As the professor began mumbling something about leadership theories, I let my gaze drift back to the blonde a few rows ahead.

Emery didn’t look at me.

But I could see her smirk.

Emery-1, Atlas- O

Fresh out of the shower, I threw on a white tee, loose khakis, and my flannel. Sneakers laced, keys in hand, I knocked on Emery’s door before heading out.

The door creaked open, her voice sharp. “What?”

“I’m about to head to Duncan’s party. You want a ride?”

She leaned against the frame, hair damp, arms crossed like I’d in errupted her deep, sacred time. “No thanks. I’m going with my teammates.”

I nodded once, keeping it casual. “Later.”

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And that was it. She shut the door, and I headed downstairs to my jeep.

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The second I turned the key, though, her words from earlier circled back like a bad replay. What’s the hockey team’s relationship status? Single? Taken? Complicated?

Why was she so eager to know? Did she have her eye on someone?

I clenched the steering wheel without realizing it. My jaw flexed. It wasn’t shocking, most of the guys on my team looked like they walked straight out of a GQ shoot. Girls loved them. Always had.

But the idea of Emery making out with one of them? Yeah. That did something ugly in my chest. I shook my head. No. This wasn’t that. I wasn’t jealous. Not even close. I was just… looking out for her. That was it. Her dad trusted me to keep her safe, and the hockey boys were reckless. Wild. Too much for someone like her.

Totally it.

The bass from Duncan’s place rattled the street before I even pulled up. Cars lined the block, lights flashing from the windows, and the faint smell of weed already in the air.

Typical.

I parked, shoved my hands in my pockets, and headed inside.

Chaos. Music so loud my chest vibrated. Bodies pressed together on the dance floor, some making out against the wall, others shotgunting beers like it was the Olympics.

“Yo, A!”

I turned and spotted Ford, Omar, and Howard across the room.

I made my way over, dapping them up with quick bro shakes.

“You made it,” Ford grinned, eyes glassy.

I sniffed, narrowing my eyes. “You’ve been drinking.”

Ford raised both hands like he was innocent. “I didn’t drink.”

Then he snorted and grinned wide. “Just took a teeny tiny bite of a brownie.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Please tell me it was chocolate.”

Ford wiggled his brows. “It was… magical.”

I groaned. “Ford, seriously? We’ve got a game this week.”

He waved me off. “Dude, relax. I’m vibing, not dead. It’s like… herbal focus. Zen mode. Unlocking my third eye.”

Omar muttered, “Yeah, your third eye’s about to get you benche.”

Ford ignored his face lit up. He cupped his hands around his mouth like a ref blowing a whistle.

“Hellooo, beautiful!”

And just like that, he was gone, beelining toward a brunette who had been giving him the flirty eyes ever since I walked in.

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“I’ll keep an eye on him before he does something stupid,” Oma muttered, shooting me a look before trailing after him.

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Chapter 14

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“What are we gonna do about him?” I sighed as I watched Ford amatically attempt to moonwalk at the brunette who was laughing.

Howard cracked open a can and handed it to me. “Ford’s always gonna be Ford. Let’s just hope he doesn’t get caught by Coach. Or worse, doesn’t strip down and streak around the neighborhood like last time.”

I groaned, taking the can from him. “Please don’t remind me, I still traumatized.”

Howard chuckled, bumping his shoulder lightly into mine. “He’l be fine, man. Omar’s got him. And Ford might be a crazy fucker, but he’s not stupid enough to get completely wrecked. Especially not with a game coming up.”

I nodded, but the tightness in my chest didn’t go away. “Yeah… I guess.”

We stood in the comer of the room while the music thumped through the walls, people laughing, shouting, someone already doing a keg stand in the living room. Typical college chaps.

“So,” I said, cracking the tab on my drink. “What’s up with you?”

Howard shrugged, taking a sip from his own can. “Nothing much. Just been prepping for the game. Same old.”

Howard was always like this. Chill, polite to a fault, smiled more than anyone I knew. He was the peacekeeper. The glue. Never raised his voice. Always settled fights before they blew up. And yet…

I saw through it.

He pushed himself too hard. Tried too damn hard to live up to his last name, being Coach Ramirez’s son came with expectations none of us could understand. He wasn’t the strongest on the team. Not the fastest. But he worked like hell to prove he belonged.

I looked over at him. His easy smile, the way his shoulders looked a little too stiff for someone “chill.”

“Hey, man…” I said carefully, “Don’t overdo it. You’ve been grinding extra at practice. Just… don’t burn out.”

Howard didn’t even flinch. He turned to me with that same soft mile and said, “Atlas, I’m good. I promise.”

And then, with a little smirk tugging at his lips, he added, “Maybe you should worry more about yourself.”

I blinked. “Wait, wha…?”

“Kay! What’s up!” Howard suddenly called out, his voice pitching louder as he waved over someone behind me.

Shit.

I turned, already mentally bracing for Kaylee, and yep, there it was.

The red hair.

The girl I’d been casually hooking up with since the start of the semester.

The same girl I’d been strategically avoiding ever since Emery wlked in on us mid-clothes-disaster.

The same girl I dodged after management class, like she had a chainsaw behind her back.

And the same girl who, at this point, probably wanted to slice of my head… or my dick..

Whichever was more satisfying.

“Atlas,” she said, all breathy and low.

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I pasted on a smile. “Hey, Kay. What’s up?”

Next to me, Howard fought a grin so hard I could see his jaw twiching.

“I should go check on Dunc,” he said, backing away with his drink.

Wait…no. Don’t leave me with…

“He said he had something to tell me,” he added with a shit-eating grin.

Asshole.

I turned back to Kaylee with my best fake party smile. “Great pay, huh?”

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She crossed her arms under her chest, which, by the way, shoved her cleavage right up like a damn billboard. “Is that all you have to say to me?”

“Shit, Kay…”