Twisted Hate: An Enemies with Benefits Romance

“I’ll teach you how to ski.” Max’s teeth flashed white against his face.
“Trust me. I won’t let you fall.”

---

My chest knotted. I hated that Max still plagued me in the present when
he should be rotting in the past, where he belonged.
Because of him, I hadn’t gone skiing in seven years. It’d been an
unconscious choice, but I hadn’t realized how deep the scars ran until now.
Everything that reminded me of Max made me want to hurl, but maybe it was
time to replace those bad memories with new ones.
I didn’t want ski lessons from Josh, but I needed them. They would be a
distraction, and when I got like this—when my mind couldn’t stop obsessing
over the past to the point where I drove myself crazy—distractions were the
only lifeline I had.
“Fine.” I rubbed the sleeve of my jacket between my thumb and
forefinger, taking comfort in the sensation of thick, sturdy material against
my skin. “But if I die, I’ll come back as a ghost and haunt you until the day
you die.”
“Noted. I’m surprised you don’t know how to ski,” he said as we walked
toward the bunny slope. “Thought you grew up near Blue Mills.”
Blue Mills was Ohio’s most famous ski resort, and it was located less
than an hour’s drive from Whittlesburg, the Columbus suburb where I grew
up.
“My family wasn’t big on skiing.” I zipped and unzipped the top of my
jacket to release some of the restless energy pouring through my veins. “We
didn’t have the money for it even if we were.”
I wanted to snatch back the accidental admission the second it left my
mouth, but it was too late.
A frown carved itself into Josh’s forehead.
He knew I’d attended Thayer undergrad on a need-based scholarship, but
what he and even my closest friends didn’t know was how bad it’d been in
the early years, before my mother married Alastair. And they sure as hell
didn’t know how much worse it got after she married him, even though
Alastair had been the richest man in town.
“You don’t talk much about your family.” Josh skipped over the part
about us not being able to afford skiing—a tiny kindness I hadn’t expected
but was nonetheless grateful for.
“There’s not much to talk about.” I bit the inside of my cheek until a faint
coppery taste filled my mouth. “Family is family. You know how it is.”
A shadow crossed his face, dimming the light in his eyes and erasing any
trace of his dimple. “I don’t think my family situation is a common one.”

---

I suppressed a wince.
Right. Psycho father who tried to kill Ava twice and who was now
serving life behind bars. Not common indeed.
Michael Chen had seemed so normal, but the biggest monsters always
lurked beneath the most unsuspecting guises.
Josh and I didn’t speak again until we arrived at the bunny slope.
“We’ll run through the basics first before going up the hill,” he said.
“Don’t need you crashing into a poor child and traumatizing them. Lucky for
you, I’m an awesome teacher, so this shouldn’t take too long.”
“Your hilarity is only matched by your modesty,” I deadpanned. “Okay,
awesome teacher, let’s see what you got. And remember.” I pointed at him.
“If I die, I’m haunting your ass for eternity.”
Josh placed a hand over his heart, a scandalized expression spreading
across his face. Any hints of his earlier brooding had disappeared. “JR, I’m
shocked. There are children around. Try to keep your obsession with my ass
under wraps until we return to our room.”
I mimed gagging. “Unless you want my vomit decorating your fancy ski
suit, I suggest you stop talking and start teaching.”
“I can’t teach without talking, genius.”
“Oh, shut up. You know what I mean.”
After another few minutes of bickering, we strapped on our skis and got
down to business. I wasn’t a total novice, so I picked up the basics quickly. In
theory, anyway.
I had the etiquette down pat, but we hit a tiny bump when Josh ran me
through a series of exercises designed to make me more comfortable on skis.
“Shit!” Frustration welled in my stomach when my ass hit the ground for
what must’ve been the dozenth time.
I didn’t remember it being so hard the first time around. I prided myself
on being a fast learner, but we’d been at it for the better part of the morning
and I’d only marginally improved.
“Let’s try again.”
To my surprise, Josh had remained calm during our entire lesson, never
yelling or teasing me for not picking up what eleven-year-olds around us
were accomplishing so spectacularly. Every time I messed up, he repeated the
same three words. Let’s try again.
For the first time, I saw what he must be like in the emergency room:
cool, level-headed, patient. It was strangely comforting, though I’d never

---

admit it.
“I don’t think I’m built for skiing.” I pushed myself off the ground with a
wince. “I propose we ditch the slopes for hot chocolate and people watching.
We can guess who’s here with their mistress and who’ll be the first to hook
up with a staff member.”
The we slipped out without thinking. Since when did I voluntarily include
Josh in my activities? But people watching was no fun without someone to
appreciate my insights, and since Ava was preoccupied, her brother was my
only option.
Josh walked toward me, his steps slow and precise, until he was so close I
could smell the faint, delicious scent of his cologne.
I forced myself not to shift beneath the weight of his scrutiny.
“We could do that,” he said. “But that would be quitting. Are you a
quitter, Jules?”
My pulse kicked up at the sound of my name in that deep, slightly husky
voice. Had he always sounded like that, or was I going crazy? His voice used
to pierce my eardrums like nails dragging across a chalkboard. Now, it was…