The Eastwood Series

by M. E. Clayton

  “We always are,” Steele automatically replied. My dad and mom gave me and Steele quick hugs and kisses, and then went about their business.

  I glanced around at the guys again and another thought occurred to me. “Why are you guys still dirty and in your uniforms?”

  Raiden folded his massive arms over his chest. “We wanted to wait until the stands were completely empty of Ridgeview before we walked off,” he laughed.

  I shook my head. “You guys are horrible.”

  Steele threw his arm around my shoulders. “That we are,” he agreed. “And those assholes better never forget it again.”

  The real story behind the added animosity between Ridgeview and Eastwood was that Mackenzie’s ex-boyfriend, Brayden Mahoney, used to beat Mackenzie when they were dating. Only a few of us knew this and it was the reason she had moved to Eastwood. He had wanted her back, and he thought in kidnapping Charlie, Mackenzie would trade herself for Charlie.

  It hadn’t worked out that way.

  Things had gotten violent and when a live streaming of Brayden and his friends getting their asses kicked by Samson and his friends had gone viral, Eastwood High had believed the rivalry had just escalated and that’s why everyone had shown up tonight for the game. The only reason I knew the truth was because Charlie was my friend and Alistair had ended up in the hospital as a result of trying to protect Charlie from being taken. However, Alistair was a bit of a novelty now. Not knowing the truth behind Charlie’s kidnapping, girls were romanticizing how they believed Alistair had just stood up to Ridgeview, and they’ve been throwing themselves at him since then.

  “Okay, we need to shower and get ready for the after party,” Raiden said, and I noticed Charlie bristled a bit. Something was going on between those two, but no one knew what. Raiden had been riding her hard in the beginning of the year, but since the kidnapping, they barely spoke to one another. He barely even looked at her now.

  “Everyone’s going, right?” Duke asked. Even though Duke was only a junior, he ran with the big boys. The kid was tall, and you’d never take him for being younger than the rest of us, especially since he was always with our crowd.

  I looked between Mackenzie and Charlie. “Are we?”

  Charlie’s smile almost made me wince. “Absolutely.”

  Good times.

  Chapter 2

  Ford~

  I was going to have to talk to Steele Prescott about his sister, and soon.

  And then, hope he didn’t fucking kill me.

  Granted, I wasn’t small by any means and I could swing ‘em with the best of them, but I liked Steele. He was a good guy, and he absolutely adored his sister. But I was tired of pretending that Amelia Prescott hadn’t rocked my fucking world at Sloan Jackson’s party all those months ago.

  When she had walked into that party that night, I had noticed her right away. But Amelia always had a way of commanding a room. She was only five-foot-four, or so, and that was nothing compared to my six-four build, but she sure as fuck packed a punch. Amelia had dark brown hair that shined with her natural curl. It hung just above her shoulders and was always fucking bouncing when she walked. Her eyes were the color of dark whiskey, the exact same shade as her brother’s. Being twins, that was the only feature they had in common. Where Amelia was all estrogen, Steele was all testosterone.

  Amelia was slim, but curvy. But maybe she was just slim to me. I was a big guy, and I always felt like a giant standing next to her. I was the tallest of our group by two inches, and that was three inches taller than her brother. She also had the creamiest, smoothest, dark milk chocolate-colored skin that always shimmered slightly with whatever lotion she used.

  In short, Amelia Prescott was a fucking knockout.

  She also didn’t want to have anything to do with me.

  The night she had been on a mission to fuck all her worries away and she had approached me, I knew it hadn’t been because she had a thing for me. Amelia Prescott had always had a boyfriend, and never once, had she looked my way. So, when she had turned to go seek out someone else to aid her in her mission, I knew she had been serious, and she would pick just any random guy.

  There was no way I would have allowed that to happen.

  Never mind that she was Prescott’s sister, but Amelia was good people. Whatever she had been going through that night, I wasn’t about to let some asshole take advantage of that. However, I was still a guy and I had always thought Amelia was beautiful, so I had laid down my own condition, and she had agreed.

  The second she agreed, I had grabbed her hand and taken her upstairs. It hadn’t been romantic, but she hadn’t been looking for romantic that night. She had been looking to escape whatever had been tormenting her, and I had spent hours delivering.

  It had been the best sexual experience of my life.

  It had been the best night of my life.

  When we had finally had enough, we had gotten dressed, I had walked her to her car, and she’s been looking right though me ever since.

  And now we were headed to another party where I had to pretend someone else was more interesting to me than Amelia.

  “You’re quiet,” Raiden remarked. Raiden drove a black 2010 Chevy Camaro SS Coupe, while Duke had gotten a 2019 white Range Rover this summer, and Samson drove a blue 2020 Audi TT. Raiden had bought his car working part-time every summer for years. And Samson and Duke’s parents were loaded, so that’s how they got their cars. I was the only one without a car in the group, so I mostly rode with Raiden.

  My mom and stepfather could probably swing a car for me, but they didn’t need that kind of financial burden. My mom, Heather, was a book editor and my stepdad, Roy, was a contractor for an oil company that dealt mainly with gas station territories. They made more than enough money between them; however, they also had my seven-year-old little sisters to support, and Rachel and Tally having what they needed meant more to me than a car or the latest iPhone. I mean, I had an iPhone, but it was never the newest model. Spending that kind of money on a phone was nuts unless you had a business to run from it. I was a goddamn senior in high school.

  I glanced over at Raiden from the passenger seat. “Yeah? So are you, these days,” I returned. “More so than usual.”

  He shrugged a shoulder. “Nah,” he replied casually. “Just…figuring some shit out.”

  I shook my head and looked back out the window. “You’re fucking it up, Raiden,” I told him. “I’m not sure what the fuck is going on, but you are fucking it up, my man.”

  Raiden scoffed. “There was never anything to fuck up, Ford,” he replied.

  I turned back to face him, my brows high on my head. “Oh, really?”

  “Don’t ever let anyone say that Raiden Cruz can’t take a hint,” he drawled out sardonically.

  The rest of the ride to Tyler Rafferty’s house was made in silence. Tyler was our second-string quarterback, and he had been so damn happy to be able to play in this game, he had announced he was hosting the victory party. He lived on the edge of town, so that was even better. But with our cops being die-hard football fans, it would take some hardcore vandalism, rape, or murder for them to come out and bust our victory party. And since none of us were assholes-well, most of us-I couldn’t see the party ending before the sun came up tomorrow.

  Since we had been one of the last people to leave the stadium, Raiden had to park damn near a block away. As we walked down the road and came up to Tyler’s house, we could already see kids drinking and have a grand time.

  “This party’s going to ruin half the people here,” I remarked.

  “No shit,” Raiden agreed. “I think the entire school might be here.”

  My mind automatically went to the girls. Samson never let Mackenzie out of his sight unless he had to, so I wasn’t overly concerned with her safety. I mean, Samson would kill for the girl and everyone fucking knew it. And knowing Steele was in attendance, no one would dare fuck with Amelia. Now Charlie, on the other hand, was a different story. The
girl was as sweet as she was unpredictable. She was also a raving lunatic when she got riled. I’ve seen her at parties over the years, but nothing hardcore. I’ve never seen her drunk and I wondered if she was the one we were going to have to keep an eye on.

  We walked in and the place was jam packed. You could barely get through the sea of people that were crowded everywhere. I looked around and people were dancing and drinking and laughing and carrying on like we’d all just turned twenty-one or something.

  “Holy fuck,” I muttered.

  Raiden must have been able to hear me because he said, “No shit.”

  We muscled our way through the living room and past the kitchen. The only way we were able to get drinks was because someone had noticed us and just handed some over. We were somewhat celebrities tonight and everyone wanted a piece of the win.

  Once we cleared the house and found our way into the backyard, I realized shit was going to get beyond stupid tonight. There were girls already in the pool, their spirit t-shirts soaked through and letting every boy in the vicinity know what color bra they were wearing, if they were even wearing one.

  I finally noticed Samson, Duke, and the girls over by the picnic-style table Tyler had in his backyard near a swing set and I elbowed Raiden. “Over there,” I said loud enough for him to hear me.

  On our way towards our friends, we were accosted by two girls we were both awfully familiar with. “Raiden! Ford!” they cried out in unison.

  I had to unwrap Wendy Allen’s arms from around my neck before I could keep walking. “Wendy,” I politely returned. I had a horrible reputation where free pussy was concerned; Raiden and me both. But little did anyone know that I haven’t slept with a girl since the night I was with Amelia. I’ve messed around some, but no one’s gotten me excited enough to see it to the end. I was fairly certain Amelia Prescott had ruined me that night.

  I looked over and I saw Sandy Maciel wrapped around Raiden. I gave him a what-the-fuck look when I noticed he wasn’t unwrapping her. He just shrugged.

  “You boys want to celebrate?” Sandy asked, her meaning clear as fucking imported Crystal.

  “Yeah,” Wendy chimed in. “We can make it worth your while.”

  Did you see that?

  No?

  Well, that’s probably because it had only taken a millisecond to happen, so that’s why you missed it.

  The millisecond when I knew I was fucked because, instead of taking this girl up on her offer-one that I knew she was capable of seeing through-my first thought was that Amelia was going to kill me if she saw Wendy hanging all over me.

  Newsflash: Amelia and I weren’t a couple.

  Second newsflash: We were barely even friends.

  “Uh…thanks, but I’m going to have to pass,” I told her, taking a significant step away.

  Wendy smirked. “Then that just means Raiden’s going to have to double his efforts tonight.”

  Ah, fuck.

  Chapter 3

  Amelia~

  I couldn’t ignore it.

  I wanted to

  Oh, how I wanted to so, so badly.

  But I couldn’t.

  When Ford and Raiden had first started making their way to our table, my heart did that little skip, hop, jump thing it did when Ford was around. But then, my stomach dipped when I saw Wendy Allen throw her arms around him like she knew she could. Like most of the girls at Eastwood High could.

  The night I had spent with Ford Abrams, after I caught Ernest cheating on me, was the hottest, most explosive night of sex I had ever had. Ernest had been my first and only, and sex with him hadn’t come to pass until after we had been dating almost a year.

  We had begun dating the summer before I was to become a junior and him a senior. We had hooked up at an early summer barbecue party and had dated until he took off for college. I had cared for him deeply, but I hadn’t been heartbroken when we had agreed to open our relationship up to other possibilities when he had left for college, and that had told me a lot.

  I hadn’t blamed him for sleeping with that other girl because we had only been sleeping together for a few months before that. Everything had still been kind of new for me, so we hadn’t really gotten adventurous. I think I knew, deep down, that he was going to want to explore once he headed off to college. I had really meant everything I had told him though, and it had really broken my heart when I had caught him in lies that had never needed to be told.

  When I had dragged Ford into my nefarious plot for revenge, I hadn’t expected he would give me a night I would never forget. Ford had done things to my body that I never thought to ask for. And the boy had not disappointed in the package department. At six-foot-four-inches, everything had been compatible with his huge frame.

  We’d had sex four times that night and, each time, Ford had delivered something new and addicting and dangerous. I’d never had so many orgasms and I had woken up sore as hell the next morning.

  So many times I had wanted to ask for a repeat, but it was widely known that Ford Abrams didn’t do many repeats. It’s why he’s slept with so many girls. He very rarely went back for seconds because he didn’t want to mislead anyone. Or so, that’s the story he gives the girls he sleeps with.

  Wendy Allen was one of the few girls Ford’s been seen with more than once.

  I looked away because I wasn’t a masochist. Ford had made me no promises and I hadn’t been stupid enough to ask for any. Besides, I was the one who had told him it was only for one night. I was the one who had made the rules, so I wasn’t about to become that girl.

  However, in my quest to ignore Ford Abrams, my eyes landed on Charlie’s face and her eyes were glued to where Raiden and Ford had been entertaining Wendy and Sandy Maciel. No one knew what the hell was going on with Charlie and Raiden, but I had a sinking sensation that one of them-or both-might be about to make a decision they weren’t going to be able to take back.

  Before I could ask Charlie if she was okay, a voice I knew as well as my own snuck up from behind me. “Finally,” Alistair drawled out, “my peoples are here.”

  I turned to face him as he sat next to me. The picnic table was large enough to seat us all, but more room was made when Samson had hauled Mackenzie onto his lap. The boy really never gave the girl any peace. And fortunately-or unfortunately, depending on how you saw it-there was just enough room for Raiden and Ford to join us.

  “What’s up, Brown,” Duke greeted him.

  “I’m counting on safety in numbers,” Alistair replied.

  I laughed. “Being popular with the ladies isn’t being all it’s cracked up to be?” I teased.

  Alistair smiled and it was a wonder I’d never been attracted to him. Alistair’s blonde hair was so light, it was almost white. His blue eyes were bright as the ocean in clear waters. He was tall and nicely built, if not muscular like the other guys. Alistair didn’t play sports, but he wasn’t a wimp. He could hold his own, and he proved it when those Ridgeview assholes had jumped him.

  “I may have underestimated how relentless the fairer sex could be,” he teased back.

  Duke chuckled. “Yeah, man, but there’s nothing like that fairer sex.” Duke Maddox wasn’t as bad a manwhore as Ford and Raiden were, but he had a respectable tally, if one was counting.

  I was sitting in between Charlie and Alistair, and Samson, Mackenzie, and Duke were on the other side. The empty space was on their side, and I wasn’t sure if that would work for me. I didn’t want to be staring across the table at Ford Abrams.

  When Ford and Raiden finally made their way over-sans the groupies-the second Ford sat down next to Duke, Charlie jumped up and said, “I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

  Mackenzie’s brows drew down in concern. “Where are you going?”

  Charlie shrugged a shoulder and grinned. “It’s been a while since I’ve been to a party,” she said. “Much less, one like this.” She waved her hand around to include everything and everyone around us. “I’m going to go mingle.” And befor
e anyone of us could say anything, she was off.

  We all sat silently, waiting for our cue, but Raiden just sat back and took a drink from his beer. I looked over at Alistair and he just grimaced.

  It was Duke who finally broke the uncomfortable silence. “Are you fucking kidding me?” he snapped at Raiden.

  His beer in his hand stopped halfway down. “What are you talking about?”

  Duke threw his arm out in the direction that Charlie took off in. “If it wasn’t enough that you let Sandy Maciel hang all over you, you’re going to just let Charlie wander off? Unprotected?”

  Raiden’s beer landed with a thud on the table. “It’s not my job to protect her,” he snapped backed.

  “Raiden-”

  He looked over at Mackenzie. “Don’t, Mack,” he said, interrupting her. “Your cousin has made how she feels about me very clear.” He tried for casual again. “I was just too slow to get it at first. But I get it now.”

  Mackenzie glanced over at Samson. “I…I can’t let her…”

  He gave her a short nod. “Let’s go find her,” he said, and they both stood up to go after Charlie.

  Suddenly, I was pissed.

  I knew I had no right. I wasn’t a part of their circle, and it wasn’t my place. I was Charlie’s friend, and Mackenzie’s friend by default. I wasn’t true friends with Samson, Duke, Raiden, or Ford. But, suddenly, I was pissed.

  I stood up and glanced at each boy sitting at the table. “You guys are a real piece of work,” I spat.

  “Whoa, wait,” Duke replied. “What the fuck are you talking about, you guys? I haven’t done shit.”

  I didn’t care. It was unfair, but I didn’t care. I was also very aware that I was taking out my confusion about Ford on all of them, but-again-

  I. Did. Not. Care.

  “No?” I asked, staring at Duke. “If you four wrote down a list of every girl you’ve fucked, it would probably have every girl who has ever gone to school here on it!”