Fallen Crest High (Fallen Crest High 1)

My stomach clenched again and something burst in my body. I shifted, uncomfortable, on the seat. I shouldn't be there. I shouldn't be hearing this, talking to him. It wasn't right. When a full blown alarm started to sound in my head, he shoved back his chair and stood.

He took my now-empty plate and glass to the sink. As he passed, he tapped my shoulder lightly. "You should come down. I think Nate got some jet skis. " Then he was up the stairs and gone.

It was like he'd never been there. I still sat at the kitchen table.

I never went down to the beach. I didn't want to chance a run-in with Jessica, Lydia, or Jeff. I didn't care about the others, but a headache had started. It grew as the day progressed. When the evening came around, it had lessened dramatically. I felt a bit more human and checked my phone.

There was a text from Becky. 'Adam likes you. You should go out with him. '

'You like him. '

I waited a minute. 'He doesn't like me and I'd rather he were with you than someone else. No one's good enough for him. '

Oh Becky. I groaned, but replied, 'Maybe. '

'Good. I gave him your number. '

And sure enough, I saw an unknown number had texted me. 'This is Adam. Dinner?'

I stared at it. What the hell was I doing?

He sent another. 'Please? I'm being a loser here. '

I smacked my forehead with my palm. 'I'll meet you at Mastoni's, 830. '

It wasn't even thirty seconds before I got back, 'See you then!'

Again, what the hell was I doing?

Mastoni's was a nice restaurant. I'd been there once with my parents, or my mom and my fake father. Analise wanted to dress up so we did. I wore a simple dress while hers was blaring red. David wore a dress shirt and khakis. It'd been good enough for me, not for her. As I walked inside the cool interior, heard the fountain gurgling, and saw all the foliage around, I remembered the fight that had happened that night.

It'd been my first two-hour run.

This time I wore jeans and a black top, nothing special. This wasn't going to be special. When I spotted Adam at the bar, he waved, and I saw he must've felt the same. He had on khaki cargo shorts and a blue polo. He looked good, but not the dressy that my mom had wanted so long ago.

I preferred this night already.

He held out a drink for me as he drew near. "Hey, I got this for you. "

"You're twenty one?"

Perfect white teeth flashed me. "The manager's a friend of the family, plus, I used to work here awhile ago. "

Oh. I took the drink from him. Great.

"I already got a booth for us, it's kinda in the back if that's okay?"

It was. Privacy was always good, but it wasn't long before a group of girls took the booth beside ours. When we waited for our food to come, they sent flirty looks and smiles Adam's way. I was sure they talked louder for his benefit too.

When the food came, I heard one of the girls exclaim, "I didn't know Nate was in town. "

"Oh yeah!" Another shrieked in laughter. "You didn't know? He's been here for a week. "

"Whatever, Natalie. "

A third offered up, "I heard they're going down the beach to Roussou tonight. "

The girls grew quiet for a moment.

"What are they going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"They always do something. When Nate and Mason team up, they always do something. Last year they stole some police cars and then they went on a bender. "

"I heard that too. Mason's dad paid off the cops. They vandalized some of the bars. He must've paid the owners off too. "

Then the first girl spoke up with authority in her voice, "Well, they're doing something tonight. They disappeared from the beach an hour ago. "

"How do you know?"

"Duh. Summer texted me. She's still there. "

"Hey. " Adam's hand jolted me back to our booth. He gave me a gentle grin. "You okay?"

"Actually…" I looked down at my plate of pasta. "I'm not hungry. "

His smile stretched a bit. "You're not bailing, are you?"

I gave him a weak one in return. "I think I am. I'm sorry. I…I have to do something. "

When I got to the house, Mason's Escalade was just starting to leave. I raced towards it and waved my arms in the air. He braked and rolled down his window. "Yeah?"

Nate grinned at me from the passenger seat, but I felt he was laughing at me.

I was breathless from my hurry and panted, "You're going to Roussou? I know where the coach lives. "

Mason frowned. "What are you doing?"

"I want to go with you?"

Logan howled from the back seat and a fourth guy started to laugh with him.

"No. "

"Yes. " I grabbed his window when he started to let the vehicle roll forward. "Let me come. "

Nate elbowed him. "Let her come. "

"What?" Logan popped his head forward. "No way. No way in hell, Mase. "

Mason jerked a thumb towards the back. "Get in. " He popped open the back trunk area and I crawled in. My heart was pounding. I knew my face was red, but as soon as I heaved the door shut the Escalade shot forward.

It was an hour drive down the beach. Logan grumbled and sent me a glare every now and then. The fourth friend ignored him and after awhile, started to give me a few grins. He offered me a soda too. Mason and Nate talked with each other and Logan would lean forward to join in.

Something told me that Logan was trying to persuade them to drop me on the side of the road. When they didn't, I relaxed a little. I figured we were too far for them to do that and then we were in the town of Roussou. It was small, but it was rich. A lot of wealthy men owned stock in internet companies, which helped their football program be competitive against Fallen Crest High and it was the reason why an extra sense of rivalry sparked between the two schools. I remembered hearing a rumor that the Roussou team had heavily recruited Mason and Logan for their team.

They'd given them a resounding middle finger.

"Where's the coach's place?" Logan glared at me.

I jerked forward to recite the directions. It wasn't long before we were outside the three-story house I knew where David played poker on Saturday nights. And then I saw his car. My hands curled into small balls and everything inside of me went cold.

My chest started to heave up and down at a rapid pace. But I only saw my father's car, not my father's car. David's car.

"What the hell?" Logan cursed and shot me a look. "There're people here. "

"Does it matter?" I asked idly as I spied some fireworks in the back with me. Then I heard a door open and loud voices came across the yard. I snagged a couple of them and a lighter before I started to get out of the car.

"Are you crazy? He's going to tell. "

He wasn't. I got out, but left the door open. David had started down the sidewalk to where his car was parked, but he stopped when he saw me.

"Samantha?"

I lit the fireworks and strolled to his car.

"Samantha! Don't!"

I keyed in his code, opened his door, and threw them in.

"Oh my god!" He rushed past me, but I locked the door. It'd take him a moment before he could get it open.

The fireworks started to sizzle and they exploded in the next second.

David threw himself away from the car, shaking and cursing.

My face was blank. I didn't feel a thing. My hands didn't shake. My back was straight. My shoulders were square and then I turned back for the Escalade.

"Samantha, what did you just do?" David reached for my elbow.

I whipped away and seethed, "Get away from me. "

"Get in!" Mason cursed and pounded the side of his door.

I whirled and threw myself in the back as he started to pull away from the curb. I heaved the door shut. It was silent in the car for a moment

and then Logan and his friend threw their heads back and howled in laughter. I curled into a ball and stayed there. I didn't care about the smirk on Nate's face or how Mason seemed to look through me in the rear view mirror. He could try, he'd only see emptiness. The guys stopped a few times, left, and returned to do the same thing. I didn't know what they were doing. I didn't care. I'd done what I wanted.

CHAPTER TEN

They dropped off the fourth friend and the rest of us traipsed into the house. Logan picked up a phone and ordered a pizza. Nate snagged a cooler of beer and brought it downstairs to the media room. I followed behind. I didn't know why, I just did. When Mason turned on the news, I curled into a ball in one of the leather recliners and after awhile I tugged a blanket on top.

When the news came on and there was no word of my vandalism or whatever the guys had done, I uncurled my legs and headed to bed.

Mason followed me.

"What?" I went to brush my teeth in my bathroom.

He perched on my bed, studying me with an impenetrable gaze. He barely blinked. "That car thing should've been on the news. Cops would've been called. "

"It wasn't. " I moved back to the room after rinsing my mouth.

"You seemed sure of it. "

"I was. " I pulled off my top, then my bra.

He still didn't blink and he sounded bored. "How'd you know that guy?"

"He's the coach at my school. " I pulled on a tight tank and then shimmied out of my pants. The light hadn't been turned on so the room was dark except for a small amount of light that shone through my windows from behind a clump of clouds.

"That was your dad. "

I hesitated and held my breath. He looked like a statue, a god made of stone with the light's shadow on him. His eyes were intense as he seemed to stare through me, into me.

"Yeah," I spoke in a small voice.

He nodded. "I got it. "

As he moved past, his hand brushed my leg and lingered on the curve of my thigh.

I closed my eyes as a stab of desire flared in me. This wasn't supposed to be. I hadn't expected this.

Then he moved past and out the door. My hands and legs were a bit shaky when I crawled under the sheets.

It was past midnight, but I lay in bed. My mind was reeling from the look on David's face. There was a haunted feel to him, then when he saw the firecrackers in my hand a look of disappointment came next. For a second, I'd been ashamed but then I remembered the lie he had been a part of and everything hardened, it all became clear again.

He deserved it. He deserved more.

'That was your dad…I got it. '

Mason's voice floated in there too. My chest tightened each time I heard it. His face was unreadable, he was always unreadable, but something softened when he spoke those words. Heat flared all over my body and I threw back the sheets. I gasped as the cool air hit my skin, but another need pulsated between my legs. I clamped them together and hoped it would pass. It was an annoyance and not something I needed right now.

The sound of my phone woke me the next morning. When I answered, Becky greeted me with a chirpy voice, "Morning! Whatchadointoday?"

"Huh?"

"Come over. My family's grilling this afternoon and Adam's family is coming too. It'll be fun. "

I grimaced against how sunshiney her voice sounded. My head pounded. "Yeah, maybe. "

"Oh, come on, Sam. What else are you going to do today? Homework? You can do it here. "

"Why do I feel like there's no other option here?"

"Because there's not. Be here in an hour or I'm coming to get you. "

I grinned at that threat. "It'll be more than an hour. I'm going to go for a run first. "

"Okay. Just come. We start grilling after church. "

The clock said it was nine. "When is that?"