I Swear I Still Hate Him (Atlas Lawson) novel Chapter 22

Chapter 22

She blinked at me, confused.

“I called your name like three times,” I said, wiping water from my face. “You didn’t answer. I thought..”

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I didn’t finish. I didn’t need to. She looked down, probably realizing what just happened. And like always, she turned. Ready to leave. To run.

No.

I reached out and grabbed her wrist, gently but firm. The water oshed between us.

She froze, turning back, her eyes locking on mine.

“Stop running away from me,” I said.

The words came out lower than I meant, softer, raw. Her lips pared. Her chest rose and fell. God, I tried so hard not to let my eyes drop. To not notice the way water dripped down her collarbone, or how close we actually were.

She swallowed. Then finally, she nodded.

“…Fine.”

We were both dripping, breathless, and way too close to pretending we were fine. Emery pulled herself out of the pool first, Her hair clung to her shoulders in wet strands, and droplets slid own her skin. I looked away, getting out and grabbing the two towels.

I handed one to her. “Here.”

“Thanks,” she murmured, not quite meeting my eyes as she adjusted the towel around her chest.

I gave her a small smile and sat down beside her at the edge of the pool, legs still dangling in the water. The silence stretched between us, tense but not unbearable. Not yet.

She stared straight ahead, the glow from the pool lights reflecting off her face. Her lips parted like she was chewing on the words before she finally spoke.

“I’m sorry,” she said, barely above a whisper.

I glanced sideways at her. “Don’t apologize. It was my fault too.”

“No,” she said quickly, shaking her head, blonde hair dripping water onto her shoulders. “I don’t even know what the hell got into me. I was so drunk and… honestly, horny as fuck.”

That pulled a chuckle out of me, more shocked than amused.

She smirked but kept going. “Oh, please. Unlike you, who’s probably had your hose serviced by half the girls in Linchester, I’ve been… well…” Her nose scrunched like she was hunting for the least cringey word. “…my lady V hasn’t been hosed.”

I blinked. “Okay, you seriously need to work on your metaphors

That made her laugh, loud and unfiltered.

God. That sound.

My stomach twisted, not in the bad way. In the stupid, I-want-to hear-that-again kind of way.

“Point is,” she said, shoulders rising in a helpless shrug, “I don’t want it to feel like I’m making excuses. If you’re mad… you have every right to be.”

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Chapter 22

“I’m not.” I said, voice low, calm. “You didn’t drug me or tie me and force me to go down on you.”

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Her face went red. Instantly. Her lips opened, then shut, then opened again like she didn’t know what to say. And yeah, I knew that comment was maybe a little too honest, but it was the ruth.

“We were both at fault,” I added, softer.

She finally nodded, giving me a small, awkward smile. “So can w just… move past it? Pretend it never happened?”

The words shouldn’t have stung.

But they did.

I forced a grin anyway, lifting my hand and tapping my temple like I was hitting the delete button. Then I mimed pulling something out of my brain and tossing it into the water.

She raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

“Deleting the moment,” I said, flashing her a crooked smile.

She rolled her eyes but did the same, tapping her head and tossing her invisible memory into the pool. “Delete.”

I echoed her, quieter this time. “Delete.”

She smiled at me, small, almost shy, and for a second, it felt like we were okay again. Like nothing had happened.

Then she looked away and stood up, towel still wrapped tight around her. “Now I can come back to my room.”

I got up too, trailing a few steps behind her, water squishing in my shoes as we walked along the side of the pool.

“So let me get this straight…” I raised a brow. “You were planning to stay here the whole semester?”

“Yep.” She didn’t even hesitate.

I let out a short laugh, rubbing my hand down my wet face. “And what exactly were you going to tell Rory?”

She tossed me a smirk over her shoulder, all sass. “That my room got infected with some crazy bugs. Spiders. Maybe mutant cockroaches. I don’t know, I’d improvise.”

I stared at her, genuinely stunned. “You’re insane. Like actually insane, Emery Collins.”

She didn’t respond, just kept walking with that smug little grin, flipping her damp hair to the side like she hadn’t just admitted to squatting in a hotel to avoid me.

We could do this.

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