I Swear I Still Hate Him (Atlas Lawson) novel Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Emery’s POV

:

“And then he tied me upside down while he stuck his―”

(69)

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“WOAH. Nope. No. We get it, Sam!” A chorus of “please stop!”, “TMI!”, and “my ears are bleeding!” exploded

from around the table.

Sam just grinned like the chaos gremlin she was, stabbing another piece of fried plantain with zero shame. “What? You asked what the craziest thing I’ve ever done was.”

“Yeah, not the acrobatics of sin,” Jazz muttered, covering her ears dramatically.

It was Friday night, and Coach had decided we deserved a break after a brutal week of training. He handed us his card and said, “Have fun. Don’t do anything that’ll end up on ESPN.”

So here we were, crowded around a big round table at Casa Del Sol, surrounded by empty plates, half- finished drinks, and way too much talk about sex positions for a casual team dinner.

“I can’t believe you’ve actually done all that,” Meg said, blinking like she’d been personally attacked.

Sam shrugged, smug. “What can I say? I’m young and living my best life. You should try it sometime.”

Meg rolled her eyes. “No thanks. I’m very satisfied with my very vanilla sex life.”

“Vanilla is underrated,” Jazz added, raising her glass.

Sam leaned back in her chair, scanning the table like a predator hunting down its next victim. And then, her eyes landed on me.

Oh no.

Here it comes.

“What about you, Emmy Bear?” she asked, grinning wickedly. “What’s your secret bedroom skill? Got any hidden kinks? Are you secretly into candle wax or toe-sucking or…”

“OH MY GOD, Sam,” Meg groaned, half-laughing, half-ready to fling a tortilla at her face.

I felt my cheeks flush as every eye at the table turned to me.

Five girls. All staring,

Waiting.

I cleared my throat, shifting in my seat. My fingers curled around the condensation of my glass.

“Well… I’m actually a virgin.”

15:03 Tue, Dec 30

Chapter 53

Silence.

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Like, total silence. The kind you’d only hear in a library after someone drops a bomb. Forks paused mid-air. Glasses froze mid-sip.

Even Sam stopped chewing.

“Wait…” she said slowly, leaning in. “Are you serious?”

I nodded, lifting my drink and taking the longest sip known to mankind.

“Oh my God.” Jazz whispered.

“Holy shit,” Meg breathed.

Sam blinked. “No shade, babe, but how?! You’re hot. Like, capital-H hot. Guys throw themselves at you.”

“Do they?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Um, yes. You do realize half the male swim team would drown if you even looked their way?”

I snorted. “Thanks for the visual.”

“But seriously,” Sam pressed, setting her drink down. “Is it like… a choice? A religious thing? A vibe?”

I chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear as I felt the heat creep up my cheeks. “I mean, it’s not anything deep. I did want to do it after high school with my jerk-ass ex, but, get this, on the night we were about to do the do, I found out he was cheating on me.”

The whole table gasped like a live studio audience.

“What an asshole. I hope you kicked him in the grunt,” Garbi said, narrowing her eyes like she was ready to go find him and do it herself.

“Oh yeah. He did not go so easy.”

“That’s my girl!” Jazz grinned, raising her glass like I was her personal hero.

Garbi leaned forward, elbows on the table. “Do you want to?”

“Eventually, yeah. Just… with someone I trust. Someone who gets me.”

Sam raised a hand dramatically. “Ugh, why is that somehow more romantic than any sex I’ve ever had?”

We all burst into laughter, and the tension melted into the night air like it was never there.

“Honestly,” Meg said, giving me a small smile, “I think that’s kinda badass. Not a lot of people wait until they actually want it.”

“Respect,” Jazz added, raising her glass again. “To virgins who don’t give a damn.”

15:03 Tue, Dec 30

Chapter 53

:.

“To Emmy Bear,” Sam said, clinking her glass with mine.

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I grinned, feeling my heart swell just a little. Being around them? It felt safe. Like, my weirdness wasn’t weird

at all.

“Okay, change of game,” Garbi declared, slapping her palms on the table like a drumroll. “Fuck, Marry, Kill, hockey guys edition.”

Chaos.

That’s what erupted around our table. Every girl perked up like she’d just chugged two shots of espresso.

“Ouuuuhhh, let’s gooo!” Sam shouted, practically bouncing in her seat.

Jazz leaned forward, eyes gleaming with mischief. “This is going to get someone in trouble, and I’m here for it.”

I just shook my head, trying not to choke on my drink. I already knew where this was going. The room had a giddy hum to it now, the clinking of cutlery, bursts of laughter from other tables, and here we were, in our own little bubble of unfiltered chaos.

Garbi’s grin widened. “We have to start with our best and most beloved captain of Linchester’s swim team.”

All heads whipped to Sophie.

She froze mid-sip of her horchata, eyes going wide like a deer caught in the headlights. Slowly, painfully slowly, she lowered her cup, squinting like she could stare us into silence.

“Can we not?” she asked, voice flat, but her tone? Panic. Pure panic.

“NOOOO,” the whole table yelled in unison.

Meg was already cackling. “C’mon, Cap. You’re not getting out of this.”

Jazz had her hands together like she was praying. “I can already guess what you’re gonna say…”

“We all can,” Sam added with the biggest shit-eating grin I’ve ever seen.

And then it started.

A full-blown chant.

“Aaat-LAAAS! Aaaaat-LAAAAAS!”

I facepalmed. I should’ve known these gremlins would cause a scene.

The couple sitting at the booth next to us turned and gave us a weird look, part curiosity, part what the hell are these college girls on, but none of us cared. We were way too deep now.

Sophie groaned, pulling her hoodie over her head like she could disappear into the fabric. But her cheeks? Oh God. They were practically glowing. Pink to red, all the way to crimson. Even her ears were burning.

15:03 Tue, Dec 30

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