I had a beer in my hand, and I was straddling the line between buzzed and drunk, but I couldn’t give a shit right now. I was happy for everyone, and nothing was going to kill my good-time vibe.
I knew Samson worried about leaving me behind, but he didn’t need to worry. Even though our parents were home more, Samson had raised me well. And while I knew I was going to feel his absence to the bone, there was going to be nothing to distract me from my goal of college and then the MLB.
We were all at Michael Bellows’ graduation party and everyone was hyped up and having the time of their lives. Even Alistair had a skirt on his lap, and he wasn’t big on making his business known. But he deserved to have a perfect night, too.
As I took in everyone, everything just felt right. Samson was loved up with Mackenzie. Ford was wrapped around Amelia. And Raiden hasn’t let Charlie out of his sight since we got here. My heart was full of love and happiness for these people who meant the world to me. I was about to take another swig of my beer in a silent toast to them and their futures when I was hit from behind.
“Oh, God!” came a horrified female voice. “I’m so sorry.” I turned around and Willow Davis was pawing at me, trying to right me, even though I wasn’t teetering. “Sorry, sorry, sorry.”
“Willow, it’s okay,” I said, grabbing her shoulders to stop her.
The second she lifted her head and saw who she’d bumped into, her pretty face blushed and her bright blue eyes began to shift behind her blue-framed glasses. “Uh…um, sorry,” she mumbled and hurried to scurry off.
I grabbed her arm and hauled her back. “Hold on a sec,” I told her. I was surprised to see her here, but then, it was a graduation party; the entire school was here. But Willow was the studious type. She spent most of her time being smarter than the entire school combined, so the only time I was ever around her was if I had her in a class. “Where are you going?”
Her eyes darted around like a cornered animal. “Uh…to go…find…someone…” she mumbled.
“Your boyfriend?” I was fishing, but I was too buzzed to care how it looked.
She shook her head so fast, her blonde hair was whipping all around her face. “No,” she kept mumbling. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
I’ve always though Willow was good people, and I’d never heard anyone say anything bad about her. But something in the way her blue eyes refused to meet my hazel ones kept my hands fastened to her arms.
“Willow, look at me,” I instructed. She let out a soft sigh but did as I asked. Once her eyes met mine, I asked, “Have you been drinking? Are you drunk?”
She shook her head. “No. I mean…I’ve been drinking, but I’m not drunk.”
“Okay, I’m curious about something, and I was hoping you could help me out here,” I told her, already anticipating what her lips were going to taste like.
“Uh…okay,” she agreed. “What are you curious about?”
I set my beer down, and cradling her face in my hands, my lips found hers and I took advantage of her surprised gasp. I slipped my tongue inside her mouth, and she tasted like I was going to be kissing her all night long.
Yeah.
Willow Davis was mine.
The End.
Duke
Copyright 2020 Monica Clayton
Published by M.E. Clayton
All Rights Reserved
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction. The entire content is a product of the author’s imagination and all names, places, businesses and incidences are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), places or occurrences, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any manner whatsoever without the express written consent from the author, except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Formatting: Smashwords
Cover: Adobe Stock
Warning: This book contains sexual situations and other adult themes. Recommended for 18 years of age and over.
Table of Contents
∞∞∞
Author's Note
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Prologue
1. Willow
2. Duke
3. Willow
4. Duke
5. Willow
6. Duke
7. Willow
8. Duke
9. Willow
10. Duke
Epilogue
Playlist
About the Author
Other Books
Contact Me
Author’s Note
∞∞∞
Just a couple of things before I let you go and get your read on. While I am doing my best to work with better editing and proofreading software, all my books are solo, independent works. I write my books, proofread my books, edit my books, create the covers, etc. I have one beta who gives me feedback on my stories, but other than that, all my books are independent projects.
That being said, I apologize, in advance, for the typos, grammar inconsistencies, or any other mistakes I may make. Since writing is strictly a hobby for me, I haven’t looked for commitments in regard to publishers, editors, etc. My hope is that my stories are enjoyable enough that a few mistakes, here and there, can be overlooked. If not, my books are probably not for you.
Also, I am an avid reader-I mean an AVID reader. I love to read above any other hobby. One of the things about reading that hurts my heart, though, is when I fall in love with a book, but I have to wait for the additional books in the series to be released. Because I feel that disappointment down to my soul, I vowed that if I ever write a series, all books will be published at once. Nope-no waiting over here…LOL. So, if you are reading one of my books, but can’t find any other books on the secondary characters of that book, that means the book is a standalone project.
That being said, standalones aren’t really working out for me because I have readers (and my beta) constantly asking for the stories of the supporting characters. If there is enough interest for the supporting characters, I will do my best to give them their stories, but I will make sure to have the remaining books that were requested out at the same time.
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Thank you, for making this dream of mine come true!
Acknowledgements
∞∞∞
The first acknowledgement will always be my husband (unless we ever divorce, then probably not so much after that), but seeing as how I can’t imagine that day ever coming, I can’t ever put myself out there without thanking him for all his love, support and belief in me.
Second, there’s my family; my daughter, my son, my grandchildren, my sister, and my mother. They are the people who love me the most, know me the best, and love me dearly, despite all they know…LOL!
And, of course, there’s Kamala. She insists that I don’t have to thank her in every book, but my love for her and gratitude for all her support and enthusiasm, claims otherwise. She’s the first person (outside my family) that I shared this dream with, and she’s been by my side every step of the way. Kam, you really are the best kind of friend!
And, finally, I’d like to thank everyone who’s purchased, read, reviewed, shared, and supported me and my writing. Thank you so much for helping make this dream a reality and a happy, fun one at that! There are not enough ‘Thank You’s in the world.
Dedication
∞∞∞
For –
Anyone who’s ever been confused about what
the right thing
to do is.
Prologue
I was pretty sure I was going to throw up everywhere.
As the first day of my senior year at Eastwood neared, anxiety has been a constant companion. Even my best friend, Sally, has been wondering what the hell was wrong with me, but it’s not like I could tell her after I’ve been lying to her all summer long. She’d attack me with more questions that I wasn’t sure I had answers to.
I stood in front of my full-length mirror and studied the girl before me. She didn’t look like anything special, but my claim to fame was my brain. I was smart, and all my life, I’ve done my best to not take that fact for granted. There were a million petite girls with blonde hair and blue eyes who wore glasses; my looks were nothing special. But my mind…yeah, I took pride in that.
Now, being a nerd didn’t mean I didn’t go to parties or have friends. It just meant I didn’t have a lot of time for parties or hanging out with friends. For instance, the Eastwood graduation party at Michael Bellows’ house in June; I had made time for that. But to be fair, the entire school had made time for that party. The graduating class had boasted of Samson Maddox, Ford Abrams, and Raiden Cruz. They had been Eastwood football royalty, and everyone had wanted to be a part of their big sendoff. Not to mention, their equally badass girlfriends had graduated, too. Hell, Samson’s girlfriend, Mackenzie Harden, had purple eyes, for Christ’s sake. What’s more badass than that?
But with that group also came Duke Maddox, Samson Maddox’s younger brother and baseball star for the Eastwood Tigers.
Duke Maddox.
The guy who had the world at his fingertips and was probably going on to do great things with his life. He was now the reigning Maddox at Eastwood, and if there wasn’t a shortage of girls and parties before, there wasn’t going to be a shortage now.
Duke was gorgeous with his dark brown hair and penetrating hazel eyes. He was over six-foot tall, and his body was a work of art. How did I know the last part?
He was also the guy who took my virginity the night of Michael Bellows’ party.
Staring into the mirror, anxiety and flat-out fear churned in my stomach at the thought of seeing him again today. The second I had hightailed it out of that spare bedroom at Michael’s, I had blocked Duke from every social media account I had when I had made it home. I worked hard as hell to avoid him all summer, and I didn’t relish bumping into him later today, on the first day of school.
Embarrassment had robbed me of all intelligent rationale, knowing that I had used the guy to get rid of my v-card. He’d been drinking and I knew he had to have been drunk because why else would he have kissed me if he hadn’t been? He’d been celebrating and drinking, and I had let him believe he was the one in charge and that going into that bedroom had been his idea.
At first, I had been surprised that he had been willing. I mean…I wasn’t exactly popular or a stunning sexpot, but then, that’s what alcohol does, though, right? It makes you do things you wouldn’t normally do. Or more to the point, makes you do people you wouldn’t normally do.
I wasn’t even sure if Duke knew he had taken my virginity, but it wasn’t a discussion I wanted to have with him. Hell, I didn’t want to have any discussions with the boy. There were a couple of times Sally told me Duke had tried to friend her social media accounts, but I had convinced her to block him, too. I had felt horrible about it, but I didn’t need it getting around that I had slept with Duke Maddox. I had taken advantage of a drunk guy and I had felt absolutely wrecked over it the next day. Even if he learned the truth and didn’t care, there was no getting around the fact that I had orchestrated the loss of my virginity by taking advantage of him. It hadn’t happened as a result of natural attraction or an expected courtship.
I had been partying and having a good time when I had bumped into Duke. And when he had turned around and focused those hazel beams on me, I had gone all stupid at having Duke Maddox talking to me. He’s given me head nods or has said hello before when he’d pass me in the hall or whatever, but that night was the first time Duke Maddox’s attention was on me and only me.
When he had kissed me, the horrible plan to use him to break me in had begun to form in my head, and I hadn’t had the sense or decency to stop it once it was set in motion. What’s worse is, I had made it very clear to him that I had been sober, so I couldn’t even blame alcohol or drugs for what I had done.
I stared in the mirror, inspected my being one last time, before I knew I had to face the music, and do my best to avoid Duke Maddox all day.
I meant, all year.
Chapter 1
Willow~
“What in the hell is the matter with you?” Sally whispered as we made our way to our lockers. “You look like someone whose face was plastered on America’s Most Wanted last night.”
Sally Cooper was my best friend and partner in crime. We’ve been friends since middle school and if anyone could give me a run for my money in the brainiac department, it was Sally. She was super smart, and very rarely had to study for a test. Her mind was a steel trap.
She was also the prettiest thing around, in my opinion. We were the same height at around five-foot-three, but where I was petite, Sally was plump. She had golden blonde hair, where I was more of a platinum blonde. And where my eyes were blue, hers were light brown. It was a stunning combination on her heart-shaped face, but there was no doubt about it; Sally Cooper was pretty as all get out.
“I am not,” I lied. “You’re imagining things.”
“Willow, you’ve been acting caging all summer long,” she huffed. “What is going on?”
“It’s just…our senior year,” I replied. “Aren’t you feeling…anxious?”
She adjusted her backpack over her shoulder even though it didn’t weigh much. We were handed our books and locker numbers during senior orientation, so our books were already crammed in our lockers. Our backpacks were just full of pencils, notebooks, and things like that. “I’d say excited more than anxious,” she said. “What’s there to be anxious about?”
We reached her locker first, and she went about opening it and getting her stuff out for first period. “Like…this is it,” I told her. “After this, we have to be grownups. That doesn’t make you anxious?”
Sally grabbed her American History book and looked over at me as she shut her locker. “What are you talking about? We still have college to get through.”
We headed towards my locker, so I could get my Science book. Sally and I had only two classes together this year, American History and P.E., so I wouldn’t see her again until second period. P.E. was our final class for the day and thank God for that. I wasn’t a big fan of showering in front of other people, but I also would have hated having P.E. early in the day, leaving me all sweaty and yucky.
“I know we still have college to get through,” I huffed. “But…I don’t know. I just feel…things are changing.” We reached my locker, and I quickly gathered my Science book.
“That’s the whole point,” Sally said, leaning against the neighboring locker. “We’re supposed to grow and experience stuff and just…be young, Willow.”
I wanted so badly to tell her about Duke Maddox. I felt horrible lying-but-not-lying to her. A part of me was feeling anxious about finishing high school, and then going off to college, but I’d been preparing for that all my life. I had plans on going to a top university and changing the world. So did Sally.
Our lives were pretty much perfect. I had two loving, supportive parents in Brett and Joanna Davis. My father was a biochemist and my mother was a lab clerk in the same research facility my dad worked in. It’s how they had met twenty years ago. Between them both, we lived well, and they were able to afford college for me even if my grades hadn’t been what they were. Right now, my G.P.A. was a four-point-three, and I’d been getting college offers since I had been a sophomore. Sally’s G.P.A .was a four-point-five, and her entire academic resume was impressive as hell. Where I was an introvert, Sally was not.
&n
bsp; I also had two younger sisters. Megan was fifteen, and Sarah was twelve, but the age gaps had never been an issue with us. We all got along fine and there was never the drama that usually accompanied a houseful of females. Sally didn’t have any siblings, so she was always included in our family outings.
So, on top of having a great family, I was almost guaranteed entry into any one of the top law schools in the country. I wanted to go into non-profit law and Yale, Stanford, Harvard, and Columbia were my top choices. I didn’t want to count my chickens before they hatched, but there was no way I’d not get into one of those school if I continued to kick ass this year.
I shut my locker and looked over at my friend and changed the subject. “So…how are things with Dallas?”
Over the summer, Sally and run into Dallas Legend at the sports camp she volunteered at during summer break. Like I said, the girl’s life resume was impressive as hell. They had started hanging out, and within a few weeks, she had announced that they were dating. I had been surprised, but only because Dallas Legend was a jock, specifically baseball. He was good-looking enough and popular enough that even I’ve heard of him. And it wasn’t that he was too good for Sally, I just hadn’t thought they’d have enough in common to date. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and all that jazz.
However, Sally had expressed concerns recently that she wondered if he was still going to date her once school started back up. While Sally was intelligent, driven, and fucking awesome, she wasn’t a size four and that insecurity surfaced from time to time. It wasn’t an issue strong enough to dampen her zest for life, but, like all girls, when we’re in our feelings, our insecurities are depressing as hell.
The Eastwood Series Page 25
