Read Mutual Hatred - Love Game for Free Online

"I honestly can't think of anything I like about him."
    "I can't think of anything good about her either," snarled Brandon.
    "Then you two can go sit outside the circle until you do find something you like about each other. Tell each other how you really feel about each other. I can guarantee you'll find something you like about each other after that," Mr. Wise said, his eyes twinkling.
    "Yeah right," Brandon muttered under his breath as he ushered Shelley to a part of the field nearby the circle.
    They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Brandon stared at Shelley and Shelley gazed elsewhere.
    "So," he said.
    "What."
    "I don't like you," he said dully.
    Shelley didn't bat an eyelash. "Newsflash! I don't like you either."
    "Do you want to know why I don't like you?"
    "Not particularly," she said dryly, "But I suppose that's not going to stop you."
    "I don't like you because you're a girl," he said as if he hadn't heard her.
    Shelley snorted. "You don't like me because I'm a girl? And yet you date girls as often as you change your clothes."
    "I don't like that you're playing football with us," he said stubbornly.
    "But I'm not playing football with you guys. I'm coaching you," she countered.
    "Either way, girls shouldn't play football. It's a guy sport, aren't you afraid you'll break a nail?
    Shelley smacked him in the back of his head. "There is no such thing as a GUY sport, dumbass."
    "Ow! You prissy girls already invaded soccer and volleyball and golf. Did you know golf stood for 'Gentlemen only, ladies forbidden'?" said Brandon as he rubbed his head.
    "What can I say? Maybe you males just aren't playing the sport correctly."
    "We know how to play; we invented it!"
    "You know what your problem is? You're accustomed to using women and treating them like dirt. But when a girl is your equal, you go crazy because you don't make her swoon like the others. You can't win against her and you know it."
    Brandon scoffed. "And by 'her' you're talking about yourself."
    "You're catching on fast, Miller! You're smarter than I thought you were."
    "You don't know me half as well as you think you do," he said defiantly.
    "I've seen and heard enough to draw my own conclusions," Shelley retorted.
    He narrowed his eyes. "Like what? That I'm a player? I'm a heartbreaker? That stuff isn't true."
    "Well if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck-"
    "-it might not be a duck," he finished firmly.
    "Brandon, you've dated most of my friends. And you know what they say? They say everything's just fine at the beginning but then they notice you losing interest. And for some reason, all of them have tried so hard to keep you interested. Why? Because you tell them you love them. But you dump them seventy-two hours later! And you're telling me you aren't a heartbreaker?"
    "Point taken," he admitted, "Is that why you don't like me?"
    Shelley was taken back by his ability to accept what she had just said. He had taken it quite well, much better than she had expected.
    "One of the many reasons why I dislike you," she said.
    "Why don't you like me?"
    "Do you really want to know?"
    "Yes."
    "You don't think girls should play football. Do you know how ridiculous you sound when you say that?"
    "It's the god-honest truth," he said defensively.
    "But it's not!" she cried angrily, "I don't know what got that idea into your head. This sounds so cliché, but anything boys can do, girls can do better. Much better."
    "And that's why you don't like me?"
    "You treat me like crap. I'm your coach, okay? I punish you because you deserve it, not because I'm out to get you," she said softly.
    "You're a good person, Shelley."
    … What?!?
    "Huh?" she asked dumbly.
    He shrugged. "You're fair. You don't let anyone slide. You're beautiful on the inside and out."
    Shelley looked at him unbelievingly. Did Brandon actually say something nice?
    "So that was my nice thing about you. How about telling me something you like about me?" said Brandon.
    "Is that why you