The Hating Game

The sex scene continues, and both Josh and Lucy are extremely satisfied. The following morning, they have sex again in the shower. Lucy tells the reader: “He makes words like intimacy seem inadequate” (326), expressing how extraordinary their connection is. Afterward, Josh gets upset. Out of fear and a lack of courage, Lucy makes it seem like this is a one-time thing. They check out of the hotel and join Josh’s family for breakfast. 

Anthony piles insults on Josh and expresses his disappointment. Lucy defends Josh and stands up to Anthony. She fiercely describes Josh’s talents and intelligence. Lucy thanks everyone, and invites them, even Anthony if he’s willing to get to know his son, to visit the city. Lucy and Josh leave and happily drive back home. Lucy realizes “the new knowledge of something irreversible, permanent” (344). She loves Joshua Templeman.

Josh makes Lucy tea and a sandwich, gets her a blanket, and rubs her feet. She admits she’s freaking out about her feelings for him. She thinks: “Every game you’ve ever played has been to engage with him. Talk to him. Feel his eyes on you. To try to make him notice you” (346). The games were never about hate after all. She asks him again what the marks in his planner mean, and he admits they’ve been all about her. S or D is whether she wore a skirt or dress. He marks when they argue, when she smiles at someone else, and when he wants to kiss her. He also admits the regular cycle of shirt colors were to see if she noticed, and when she did, he kept it going.

Lucy feels how much she loves him. It’s too scary to acknowledge. She thinks: “The color of love is surely this robin’s-egg blue” (354). He tells her he loved her from the moment he saw her. She says she loves him too, but she’s scared he’ll hurt her because he also hates her. He makes it clear he’s only ever loved her, and she challenges him to prove it. He shows her that his favorite color blue, the blue paint in his bedroom, is the color of her eyes. The goal of the games she’d been playing were to make him smile, whereas his goal had been to make her love him. She asks how they’ll recover from all the times they were horrible to one another. He suggests they play the Starting Over Game.

Josh lets Lucy know he’s resigned from Bexley & Gamin; he’s now the new divisional finance head of Sanderson Print, B&G’s rival. He took the job so he wouldn’t lose Lucy, and so they wouldn’t have to compete for the position of COO. Sanderson Print made him sign a non-disclosure agreement, as he told them he was in love with the soon-to-be COO of B&G. That was why he told Bexley he didn’t need help beating her. They will be together now, and Josh will join Lucy when she visits her parents for the long weekend. The Hating Game is over now—for good.