His Sweet Sunflower

9. I will be with a real woman when I find her

James high fived Ryan for being the perfect accomplice to the stunt he just pulled. He watched Nora as she was being pulled away by Sarah. Their eyes met, and he felt his heartbeat go faster.

"I hate you." Nora mouthed the three familiar words he heard from many others before but somehow, hearing from her felt different, and he felt an unfamiliar pressure on his chest.

In the past, he decided not to let anyone hurt his feelings and thought he was immune to everything. Then what the hell was this he was feeling right now?

It's not like James was dumb to think Nora wouldn't eventually start hating him for real. He liked to push her every button. What bothered him is that she never broke down or tried to defend herself. She would always let him and others push her around.

Her only defense was to cry silently and beg or plead. James wanted to see how far he could push her by humiliating her. He knew it was sick and twisted, and he didn't give two shits.

He wasn't angry when she talked back to him and refused his ridiculous request to humiliate herself. He was almost proud of her for that. But It wasn't just about showing his power. He wanted to make sure he let her know she was his.

Seeing her smiling at Mason made him feel angry and jealous. Although he had to admit, he hurt her way more than he intended to. His chest hurt after seeing her crying. He wanted to fix it and say he was sorry, but he was a coward.

He couldn't understand why he felt was so obsessed even though he could have any girl he wanted at this point in his life. Maybe Bruce was right. His unrequited crush on her made him into a monster.

"Hey James, can we talk?"

He snapped back to reality when he heard a familiar voice. It was Lucy.

"What's up, Luce?" James asked casually. He was surprised she was still here. Shouldn't she be following Sarah home and comfort Nora?

"I see what you did to poor Nora, that was really mean," Lucy said, but looked un-bothered.

"What else is new?" James shrugged.

"My point is, I don't get why you are wasting time giving her so much attention while you could be doing something more fun with someone else." Lucy smiled flirtatiously.

"Someone like you?" James chuckled.

"Exactly, I think we would make a great couple James. You and I are both gorgeous, and we will look hot together, don't you think?"

James pretended to look shocked. "Wow, Lucy, You sure think very highly of yourself! Besides, aren't you supposed to be Nora's friend and defend her honor? I'm the bad guy in this story, remember?"

Lucy scoffed. "She is mostly Sarah's friend. I would've never hung out with her if it wasn't because of Sarah. I mean, look at her. She is a total reject. Just because I tolerate her for Sarah's sake doesn't mean I have to like her."

Spoken like a true b***h, James thought. "Tell me how you really feel." James laughed.

"My point is, stop worrying about her mousy self and be with someone who can show you what a real woman is." Lucy winked and trailed her fingers on his chest.

"Don't worry. I will be with a real woman when I find her. Now, if you will excuse me, I gotta game of beer pong to win." James walked away from the fuming Lucy.

It's not like he enjoyed humiliating women on a regular basis. It was quite the opposite. He simply had no patience for narcissists like Jenny and Lucy. Sure they were sexy and hot, and all the things guys wanted, but he needed more than that. He wanted someone sweet and sexy at the same time, someone innocent waiting to be corrupted.

Someone like Nora.

But of course, he went and f****d his chance up by pushing Nora to the edge. She hates him now, and there was no way her feelings would change anytime soon, not after what he did to her just now.

"I feel bad now," Ryan spoke all of a sudden.

"Huh?" James looked at him quizzically.

"I feel bad for tripping her to the ground. I think she hurt herself. I was just joking around. You know, teasing her like usual, but I went way too far, man," Ryan shook his head. Guilt enveloped his face.

"She is fine. The only thing hurt was her pride," James chuckled.

"No dude, seriously. I think she scraped her hand. Fuck...I never hurt a girl like that. I went way too far. I feel like s**t now. Why do we do this to her, anyway? What did she ever do to you?" Ryan asked.

What did she do to me? James wondered. He had been messing with her since they met, and now, he couldn't even come up with a real reason for it.

"I don't know. If you feel so bad, be a big man and apologize to her tomorrow. I don't give a s**t," James said irritably.

"Maybe I will. And so should you," Ryan patted his back, then walked away.

"Apologize, huh," he muttered to himself.