|| Love to Hate Me ||

{Fifteen}

"You mean, your perfect opportunity to ask me things I wouldn't normally tell you?"

"Well yeah, it goes both ways. I ask you something, then you ask me something."

"And what if I don't wanna answer?" Liana put down her guitar—she was ready to play. There were so many things she wanted to ask Harlan—so many things she had always wanted to know about him. There was only one thing she could think of that she would refuse to discuss if Harlan asked—her brother, Tommy.

"Okay, let's make some rules." Harlan turned in the booth, facing Liana completely with his arm over the back of the seat. "You only get two passes, and you're not allowed to ask the same question twice."

"Okay. Can I go first?" Liana spoke with too much enthusiasm. She was nearly shaking with excitement.

"Of course, ladies first."

"Okay." Liana's chest heaved in and out as she gazed ahead, thinking of what to ask first. "What inspired, 'Love To Hate Me'?"

Right off the bat, Liana had asked Harlan the one question he refused to answer.

His face twisted with a cringe as he scratched his forehead too roughly with his calloused fingers. "I plead to fifth." He rubbed his eyes as if they were irritated, but Liana could see that he was just annoyed by the question.

"Really? So I'll never know why you wrote that song?"

"Never say never babe, haven't you ever heard of the Biebs?"

Liana couldn't help but to laugh. "The Fray... Okay, so does this mean I just ask you another question, or is it your turn to ask me?"

"I'll go... What happened between you and Ryan Pube-Crest? I want details."

Liana snarled, her face twisting in disgust. "You're such a pig."

"No, I'm a man... men are nastier."

She sighed. Harlan had already pleaded to fifth once, which meant he could only do it one more time. She thought about pleading to fifth now—it was definitely something she didn't want Harlan to know about. But looking into his dark eyes, she saw that he probably needed to hear it—it was probably the only icebreaker to get Harlan to truly open up.

"You want details?"

"Yes, yes I want details. From start to finish- I wanna know everything." Harlan scooted closer, his leg tucked beneath his thigh was now pressing into Liana's. She could smell his deodorant he was sitting so close—his arm stretching across the seat behind her.

"When we got to my room, we talked and had a few more drinks-"

Harlan rolled his eyes, sighing loudly in boredom. "Spare me, get to the good stuff."

"We started making out in the bed."

"Was he on top?" Harlan asked—too impatient to let her finish.

"If you want details, you're gonna have to bare with my pace of the story." Liana said, pointing her finger at him. "He was on top. His hand slipped under my shirt... he started touching my breasts... then his hand started to slowly creep down my body-"