The Eastwood Series

by M. E. Clayton

  The only problem with finally pushing this unstoppable boulder down the hill was that I didn’t know the girl. After graduation, I was destined for either, Ohio State, Notre Dame, University of Alabama, or USC. They were the top football colleges in the nation, and I had plans to go pro. I wanted a degree in sports therapy as a backup plan, but for all intents and purposes, I had plans to get drafted after college.

  The problem, now, was that I had no idea what Mackenzie’s plans were after we graduated high school. I knew nothing about her other than she was the only person in the world with the ability to drive me crazy.

  I also wrestled with how I knew I was going to have to give her time. I was operating with the advantage that I’ve been in love with this girl for over a year; I was already all in. This was all new to her. She was just coming off a relationship with a guy she dated for a year, and here I was, forcing her into a relationship with a guy she didn’t know. I knew our beginning was going to be…tumultuous, but this was happening.

  But I also had to find a way to watch over Duke once I went to college. He’ll be a senior next year, but it didn’t take much to ruin your future. Duke was popular and had a lot of people looking out for him, but our parents were gone from home a lot. It was enough to make a kid think he could get away with anything. Duke had a bright future in baseball if he stayed focused. However, he was a healthy teenage guy, unlike my brooding ass, and he like to party and hang out, along with playing sports. He also like to get his dick wet a lot and that was worrisome.

  I was stepping out of the shower, a towel around my waist, as I made my way to my gym locker to change. I was just pulling the door to my locker open when Ford’s big ass leaned up against the locker next to mine. His arms were crossed over his chest and he had the biggest grin draped across his face.

  I huffed. “What?”

  “Did you know Charlie Harden is a rabid little spitfire and is immune to Raiden’s charms?”

  I shook my head and began dressing. “No. No, I didn’t.”

  “Seems your girl and her cousin didn’t welcome their protection detail,” he quipped, amused.

  I pulled my shirt over my head. “It wasn’t protection detail,” I remarked dryly.

  He uncrossed his arm and stood up straight. “Sure, it wasn’t,” he muttered. “Raiden missed practice just to watch her.”

  Okay.

  So, maybe, I went a little overboard.

  “What’s your point?” I asked as I sat down to put my shoes on.

  “My point is, nothing’s official until it’s internet official. And if you’re really serious about staking your claim, you better put something out there on one of your social media accounts.”

  God, I hated that shit. I glanced up at him. “Do I look like a fucking teenage girl?” I shook my head and finished slipping on my shoes. “I hardly ever update my shit unless it’s for football.”

  I stood up and Ford just shrugged a shoulder. “I’m just telling you, man. If you don’t change your relationship status on your social media accounts, guys are still going to go after her. Do you really want to spend your entire senior year getting suspended because you’re fighting guys off left and right?” He gave me a long, hard look. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Samson, but that girl is fucking beautiful. She’s got eyes that can make you lose your train of thought and a body that can drive you to distraction. You need to stake a serious claim on her if you want guys to back off. And, even then, you may still have to swing them thangs a couple of times for the guys who don’t care.”

  I grabbed my phone and shut my locker. Entering the code to my phone, I unlocked it, and pulled up the last social media app I was on and changed my relationship status.

  I also looked to tag Mackenzie on it, but nothing was coming up. “Mackenzie doesn’t have any social media accounts,” I remarked absently.

  “I know,” Ford said. “I tried looking them up during fourth period to get the info on her, but I couldn’t find anything. Even Charlie doesn’t have her tagged on anything.” That was odd to say the least. Almost every human on the planet had, at least, one social media account.

  My mind went back to our conversation earlier. I knew she wasn’t being completely honest when I had questioned her, but I just didn’t know what exactly she was holding back. Did the mystery lie with her mother, or with her? Did they move because something happened with her mother, or did something happen with her and that fuckface? And did Charlie know what was really going on? And that reminded me…

  As Ford and I made our way out of the locker room, I said, “No fucking around with Charlie.”

  “Kid gloves?” he asked, surprise in his voice.

  “No. I just mean, she’s not a quick lay. Don’t start fucking with her like that. I can’t have anything messing up this shit between me and Mackenzie. Tell Raiden and Duke.”

  Ford let out a low whistle. “Will do. But I think you’re going to have to have this talk with Raiden yourself,” he replied. “I think Ms. Harden made an impression during P.E.”

  Fucking great.

  I looked over at him as we walked down the hallway. “I thought you said she wasn’t impressed with him.”

  He laughed. “She wasn’t. But you know Raiden.”

  I snorted. “I know all three of you horny fucks,” I corrected him.

  Ford slapped me on the back. “We can’t all be in love with purple-eyed perfection.”

  I didn’t deny his claim. If it wasn’t love, then that meant I was insane, and I was quite ready to own that label just yet. It was one thing to have her drive me crazy, it was another to be fucking crazy.

  When we got to the parking lot, Duke and Raiden were waiting for us by our cars. Raiden drove a black 2010 Chevy Camaro SS Coupe, while Duke had gotten a new, white 2019 Range Rover over the summer. And me, I drove a royal blue 2020 Audi TT.

  Walking up, both Duke and Raiden had huge grins on their ugly mugs. I knew I wasn’t going to get out this unscathed. “Alright. Let me have it,” I grumbled like a poor sport.

  Duke’s brows shot up. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, B.B.”

  I ignored him and looked over at Raiden. “Charlie’s not to be fucked with, Raiden,” I told him. “If you want to stamp your name on her ass, I got no problem with that. But she can’t be a plaything, Raiden. I can’t afford any problems that I don’t already have.”

  His blue eyes narrowed, and he cocked his head. This was the first time I’ve ever made comment on where he stuck his dick. But then, this was also the first time I’ve ever made comment on where he stuck his dick. The viewpoint from both sides was valid and important.

  After a few seconds, he said, “First of all, fuck you, because I wouldn’t do that to you. And second, the girl can’t stand me.”

  “It’s true,” Duke chimed in. “The famous Raiden charm was failing big time.”

  “I know you wouldn’t try to fuck me over, Raiden,” I replied. “I just don’t know Charlie Harden well enough to know if she’d fall for your shit or not.”

  Duke chuckled. “No worries there, dude.” He jabbed his thumb in Raiden’s direction. “The girl was not impressed in the least. Raiden’s reputation is preceding him and, this time, not in a favorable light.”

  “Just let me know if…anything changes, okay? Give me a heads up,” I asked.

  Raiden simply nodded. “Will do.”

  “I’m out,” Duke announced, and made his way to his car. “I’ll see you at home.”

  Ford headed towards Raiden’s passenger door and Raiden clicked his key fob to let him in. He slapped me on the shoulder and said, “Relax, Samson. It’ll be fine.”

  “Have you ever had everything you’ve always wanted in the palm of your hand and you knew any little hiccup could take it away?”

  He shook his head. “Nah, man.”

  “Well, that’s how I feel about this girl,” I confessed. “Like I’m one…move away from watching it all fall apart if I don’t do this right.
”

  “Sounds painful,” he winced.

  “It is.”

  Chapter 9

  Mackenzie~

  After we ate dinner, I had spent an hour trying to calm Charlie down and talk her out of slashing all of Raiden Cruz’s tires. She had been channeling her inner Carrie Underwood, and not because he cheated on her, but because I think she had a little crush on the gorgeous football player and didn’t want to.

  We had also scoured every social media account Samson Maddox had and saw that he had changed his relationship status on every single one, publicly naming me as his girlfriend.

  I had been freakin’ floored.

  It seemed as if the entire state had been tagged with this new information, and that’s when Samson’s popularity really sank in. Everyone was interested because Samson Maddox was going to be someone someday. Even if he didn’t make it into the NFL, his family was loaded. He’d be rich no matter where he went in life.

  It had been rather sobering.

  I had also spent half the evening returning texts and calling Shonda and Ella to explain. I had been in a battle between telling Shondra and Ella the truth or confirming Samson’s social media claims. But, in the end, I had sided with Samson. I might not know what he was doing with me, but I knew embarrassing him, by denying his claims, would have been a bad move.

  So, I ended up telling Shondra and Ella that we had run into each other over the summer and had immediately connected and made it official at school yesterday. From there, both conversations had gone downhill. They immediately warned me about how Brayden wasn’t going to like it, especially considering who Samson Maddox was. I had done my best to assure them that it would all be okay, but I’d done a poor job of it. However, they had both promised to have my back and I knew they would. Shondra and Ella were the type of friends to have your back when you weren’t around.

  Now, with Charlie pulling up to Eastwood High for the second time, I wondered what the hell I was getting myself into.

  I ignored the feelings of dread and confusion, and when we got out of the car, I looked over at Charlie as she hiked her backpack over her shoulder. “Are we good? Or am I going to have to protect Raiden’s poor, innocent vehicle?” Her lip twitched and I smiled. “Good,” I said. “Me sitting on the top of his hood all day would have been a little bit hard to explain without throwing you under the bus.”

  Charlie rolled her eyes but laughed good-naturedly. “I promise, his precious car is safe,” she grinned.

  We walked towards the entrance of the school and people started to stare again. “Is it weird that I’m nervous?”

  “Hell, I’m nervous. And I’m not even the one in the middle of all this drama,” she grimaced, no help to me at all.

  “Thanks, Charlie,” I deadpanned.

  She grinned again. “Well, it can’t be any worse than yesterday, right?”

  I reared back and stared at her. “Are you crazy? Of course, it can.”

  “Well, then…fuck it. Let’s get this over with,” she said, sounding like she was preparing for a police interrogation. I shook my head but fell in step with her anyway. Charlie and I had never had a lot of time to hang out outside random holidays, but she was turning out to be a spunky little thing.

  Eastwood High had an open campus design, however, you had to go through this reception lobby of sorts before you could get on campus. It was a way to keep people from trespassing on school grounds. You had to walk through the front doors, but then swipe your school I.D. to get through another set of doors. If you forgot or lost your I.D. there was a reception window to the right where you could sort your shit out.

  Once we got through the second set of doors, Amelia and Alistair were there to greet us. “Girl, let me tell you,” Amelia began in lieu of a more traditional greeting, “you are on the lips of every person in this school.”

  I eyed her. “Wasn’t I yesterday, too?”

  “Not like this,” Alistair added. “Samson Maddox only ever updates his social media accounts when it comes to football. All athletes do that as a way to market themselves to colleges or the pros. Maddox taking the time to hit up every social media account he has, to announce that you and he are dating, is big, Mackenzie. Like…finding out Tupac’s-living-on-a-deserted-island-somewhere big.”

  I choked out a laugh. “Seriously, Alistair?” My head tilted to the side. “Come on?”

  “No, he’s telling the truth,” Amelia insisted as we started heading towards my locker. “Since no homework was issued yesterday, every student at Eastwood was online stalking the shit out of you and Samson.” Her brows furrowed. “And, might I add, you must have serious privacy settings on your accounts because no one could find you anywhere.”

  “I…uhm, I deactivated all my accounts when I moved,” I told her, the practiced lie easily falling from my lips. “I…gave myself a little pity party about not being able to…be with my friends. I didn’t want to see all the fun my friends were going to be having without me.”

  All their faces immediately fell with sympathy. “I get that,” Alistair muttered.

  Turning the corner, the entire hallway froze in silence. It didn’t take long for me to wonder why when I spotted Samson Maddox leaning up against my locker.

  My stomached dipped, and all I could think was-this is it. Just like I had to make a decision on the phone with Shondra and Ella, I had to make one now, in front of everyone in the hallway. I kept walking and it didn’t escape my attention that Charlie, Amelia, and Alistair had fallen back to let me meet him alone. I didn’t really blame them. This was between me and Samson after all.

  His bright hazel eyes held mine and it kind of felt like I was walking the plank, not knowing what was there to meet me at the end except a vast ocean with countless possibilities.

  When I stopped in front of him, he straightened and stepped aside, so I could open my locker. “Give me your phone.”

  I paused from turning the combination to my lock, and my eyes swung over to meet his. I knew it wasn’t fair to compare Samson to Brayden; I knew it. But I was hypersensitive to his high-handedness, and I knew I had to set the tone of whatever this was now, rather than expect something different later.

  “Excuse me?” My voice was quiet, but strong. A small thing I was grateful for.

  His eyes bore into mine, and I’m not sure what he saw, but he rephrased his demand. “We need to exchange numbers. Can I see your phone, please?”

  I stood there, staring at this sexy boy, and knew I was way in over my head with him. I knew it, but it didn’t stop me from handing over my phone. I went back to unlocking my locker and I heard my phone chime with an incoming text, and I heard another phone chime too. He got my number while giving me his.

  All our books had been issued during senior orientation, but I didn’t understand why since no homework was issued on the first day of school. But no matter. I grabbed my American History book from my locker, and then turned towards Samson to get my phone back.

  He put the phone in my hand, but before I could stuff it back in my pocket, Samson grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him. I knew phones were out and I knew everyone was eager to hear what we had to say, but Samson’s voice was low and for me only. “You have this morning to get use to this, but that’s all. I’ll meet you here for lunch, and then, after that, I’ll begin walking you to class.” Warmth burst in my chest. It’s been a long time since a guy was considerate of me. “Okay?”

  I nodded, then asked, “Samson, do you know what you’re doing? Because I don’t.”

  His face softened, and he leaned in and placed a kiss at the corner of my mouth. “I know exactly what I’m doing,” he said against my skin. “I’m finally getting the girl.” He kissed me on my forehead before walking past me, down the hallway.

  “Oh. My. God,” Amelia squealed, and I felt her, Charlie, and Alistair rush me. “That was too sweet and not anything like the Samson Maddox everyone knows.”

  “He said he’s giving me the morning to get
used to…us. But then he’s taking over at lunch,” I confessed. “I think he’s serious about me.”

  “Duh,” Charlie drawled out. “Obviously.”

  I rolled my eyes and shook off the weight of doing something like moving on with Samson Maddox. I knew, sooner or later, we were going to have to have a serious talk, but for right now, I was going to wing it.

  I looked at my cousin and my new friends. “Let’s get to class, huh?”

  They took pity on me and we all fanned out to head to our respective classes. I continued to ignore the stares and whispers very much like I had yesterday and walked into American History with my head held high. I wasn’t going to let them get to me. I had overcome a lot these past few months, and if I was going to tackle this new…direction my life was going in, I needed to focus on what was real.

  Gossip and fake people were not real.

  Chapter 10

  Samson~

  The look in her eyes when I had told her to hand over her phone had stuck with me all day. They had been full of pain, but there had been determination in there, too. It had been an odd combination. I imagined it was part of the story she wasn’t telling anyone. Or, at least, wasn’t telling me.

  And Ford had been right about the entire social media thing. Last night, when I was done making Duke dinner and we had eaten, I had pulled up some of my accounts, and they had been going wild with post after post of surprises, congratulations, and some snide shit from random girls. Catty females didn’t bother me, though. I had no problem being rude to a girl if I needed to be. And any girl trying to hit on me, knowing I was officially taken, would be dealt with harshly.

  Duke also hadn’t shut up about what pretty little, purple-eyed babies I was going to have. We had joked and hung out, playing Call of Duty; WII. Our phones had been left on the coffee table as we saved the world, and it had been one of the best nights we’d had alone together in a long time.