Undeniable: Haven Falls (Book 5)

by Sheridan Anne

  Noah cuts the engine and forces me to stay seated so he can race around to my side and get the door. I laugh but do as I’m told. He offers me his hand and helps me out of the car and that’s about as far as his gentlemanly skills will take him. The second the door closes behind me, he slams me up against it, pressing his hips into mine and running his lips along my neck.

  Noah’s hand drops down between us and instantly finds the high split in my dress before letting his fingers slip between my legs. His lips press against that sensitive skin just below my ear. “When I get you home tonight, I want you only in these heels.”

  My hand slides up his wide chest as my head tilts back, giving him more room to play with. “When you see what I’ve got under this, you’re going to want me to take my time getting down to just my heels.”

  “Fuck me,” he groans.

  “Hey, there you two are,” Tully’s loud voice says, piercing through the night. “Would you mind saving your spontaneous screw session for later? We have a prom to get to.”

  Noah blinks and then blinks again.

  “You can’t wish your twin sister away,” I remind him.

  “I can damn well try. Hearing her voice right now is about as effective as taking a cold shower.”

  “Good,” Tully says. “Now haul ass. I want to remind all these bitches who the hottest girl in school is.”

  Noah steps back from me and I finally get a look at his beautiful sister in her full length golden prom dress that has her looking as radiant as an angel; just as she does the same with me. “Damn, girl. Looking fine,” Tully applauds. “Maybe I should have let him play around with you for a while.”

  “Shut up,” I laugh. “But like you’re one to talk. Spencer isn’t going to keep his hands off you all night in that dress.”

  Tully grins. “I know.”

  “Like hell,” Noah snaps. “I’ll be keeping a close eye on you.”

  “No, you won’t,” Tully teases with a knowing smirk that comes off way too devilish. “Someone showed up earlier and I have a feeling it’s going to make our already awesome night that much better.”

  “Who?” Noah questions, reaching into the back of his Camaro and grabbing his suit jacket.

  "I’m not about to ruin the surprise,” Tully tells him, looping her arm through mine and pulling me along as Noah follows behind. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

  We make our way into the massive function room and meet Spencer and Aiden by the door. Spencer instantly takes Tully’s arm and she drops mine, allowing me to fall back into Noah’s hold.

  Within seconds, there’s someone with a camera right in our faces asking for a photo and on any other day, I’d tell him to fuck off, but it’s senior prom and I should be soaking up every tiny moment of it. After all, I’m only going to get one of these. Why not live it up?

  We make it past the photographers after Aiden forces both me and Tully to take a picture with him so he doesn’t feel so left out. Then before I know it, we’re diving right in.

  The place looks incredible.

  I guess after the school spent all the tuition fees on the teachers' lounge, they spent whatever was left on this. It’s massive. Very Broken Hill Highish if you ask me, but I’m not complaining. There’s a stage with two massive, red thrones fit for a prom King and Queen, there’s a DJ who doesn’t actually suck, over the top decorations and even place settings at the tables. Though from the looks of it, students have already been racing around, switching the names up.

  The dance floor is packed with bodies and the overhead flashing lights finish off the look. We didn’t do that tacky bullshit that all the hoity-toity schools do like a Casino theme or Under the Sea, but I think it’s so much better this way. It’s uniquely us and I really love it.

  Noah scans the room before grabbing Tully’s elbow and pulling her into him so he doesn’t have to yell over the noise. “Who am I looking for?”

  Tully grins and I watch as she scans the room in the same way Noah had just done. Unlike him, she knows what she’s looking for and spots the person a second later. “Over there,” she tells him.

  Every eye in our group follows Tully’s gaze until it falls upon Alyssa standing by a table in a purple, frilly dress next to her date. I don’t think much of it until my eyes scan over the guy. Rocko Stevenson. That fucking bastard.

  I can’t believe that little bitch brought him to my senior prom. What the hell was she thinking? Though, it’s not like I can blame her. I haven’t exactly made it well known that the guy practically kidnapped me for Anton Mathers, and I can bet every last thing I own that Rocko hasn’t been broadcasting what he did.

  I turn back to Noah who looks oddly pleased with this little surprise. “Finally,” he murmurs low. “I’ve been waiting to get this bastard alone.”

  “Well, looks like tonight is your lucky night,” Tully chuckles. “Just don’t get any blood on your suit. Mom will kill you.”

  “Understatement of the fucking year,” Noah grumbles. “She’d more than kill me. She’d use that massive serrated knife she loves and cut me up into a million pieces, put me back together, only to feed me all the pieces she purposefully left out.”

  I look up at Noah in concern. “That, ah…was disturbingly descriptive.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he grunts. “That’s the threat she likes to use.”

  Aiden grabs both my hand and Tully’s before pushing Noah and Spencer out of the way. “I didn’t get dressed up in a fucking suit to listen to all the ways your mother wants to kill you. Spence and Noah, you’re on drinks duty, and you two bitches are with me.”

  With that, Aiden hauls us down to the dance floor and I laugh at the stumped looks on both Noah and Spencer’s face. The night is still young but I have a feeling that’s going to be one of my favorite moments from prom. It’s not that easy to put that look on Noah’s face, so I give Aiden all my praises.

  Two hours later, I’m pretty sure someone spiked the punch and from the way Tully can’t stop laughing every time someone heads that way, I‘d dare say it was her.

  Principal Evans appears on the stage, standing behind a podium, looking more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him, making me wonder if maybe he’s had a few glasses of punch as well. The music is turned off and a spotlight is aimed at him before he requests that we all find our tables.

  Everyone takes their sweet time until he announces that he’s there to crown the prom King and Queen. All the girls squeal and drag their dates along, hurrying them up while Tully and I roll our eyes.

  The conversation at our table continues on and we all zone out while Principal Evans does his thing, and it’s not until I hear my name coming through the speakers that I finally stop talking.

  Noah bursts out in laughter as I look across to Principal Evans. “Please tell me I’m just getting in trouble and not being crowed prom Queen?” I panic as the room around me hollers and cheers my name.

  Aiden stands beside me before dropping down into an extravagant bow. “No, your highness. May you please allow me the greatest honor of escorting you to your throne?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  Noah stands and helps me out of my seat, but I don’t miss the amusement flashing in his eyes. “Go on, Queeny. Go get your crown.”

  “Shut up,” I scold. “If I’m prom Queen, I dare wonder who these people elected as their King.” His face falls and I grin right back up at him before pressing a kiss to his cheek. “See you up there.”

  I take Aiden’s hand and true to his word, he escorts me right up to my throne and I say a really awkward thank you before allowing Principal Evans to place my crown on my head. He hands me a bunch of flowers and then indicates towards the throne.

  I let out a sigh and take my seat, and not two minutes later, a very embarrassed Noah Cage is sitting right beside me, shaking his head as I smirk right back at him.

  Following our coronation, Noah and I have our first dance as officially the prom King and Queen and we let
out joint sighs of relief when Evans announces that the rest of the seniors can finally join us on the dance floor.

  We scramble away as soon as we can and I stop by the drink table to grab Noah and I another glass of punch. As I pour our drinks, I can’t help but notice Monica standing on the opposite side of the table looking completely deflated.

  Usually, I wouldn’t give a shit but my incredible mood has me desperate for everyone else to be enjoying their night too. “What’s your problem?” I question, trying to make it sound as though I really don’t give a shit.

  Monica’s eyes pop up and as she notices me standing on the opposite side of the table and her eyes bulge out of her head. She takes all of two seconds to pull herself together before gently shaking her head. “Nothing,” she says. “I just thought I’d enjoy this night a shitload more than what I am.”

  “Why?”

  Her eyes narrow. “Why do you care?”

  “I don’t,” I mutter. “Tell me or don’t tell me. Makes no difference to me.”

  Monica studies me for a moment before letting out a sigh. “You’re probably going to think this is really stupid but it’s because of the whole prom queen thing.”

  “What? You’re pissed that I got it?”

  “No, I’m pissed that I didn’t.”

  “Huh?” I grunt, looking at her in confusion. “Look, don’t take this the wrong way, but since the whole fake pregnancy thing and the blackmail everybody you fucking know thing, you sort of took yourself out of the running.”

  “Yeah, thanks for the reminder, but I worked that out a long time ago,” she grumbles. “It’s more because it’s something I’d always dreamed about since I was a little girl. You know, the beautiful, popular girl was always crowned queen and for a while, I thought that was me. I had the hot boyfriend, I was the head cheerleader, I was that girl. But in the blink of an eye, it all disappeared.”

  “Prom Queen really meant that much to you?” I ask. “It’s just some ridiculous title.”

  “Not to me it’s not; at least, it wasn’t. For some of us, high school is all we’ve got. We’re not all going places like you are, but I guess in the end, maybe I was lucky to have someone like you knock me down a few steps.”

  “A few?” I chuckle. “More like a whole flight.”

  Monica huffs but continues. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m thankful for the shit that went down between us because I think I’ve come out the other end a better person. I don’t care about all that material bullshit anymore and I’ve had to learn how to do things for myself. I’m not handed shit anymore and it means when I do get something, I can be proud of it. I guess seeing you being crowned queen beside the guy I always imagined being crowned beside just reminded me of all the things I used to want.”

  “It’s just a ridiculous high school title,” I remind her.

  “Yeah, but it’s also confirmation that you were top of your game. You were it. The popular girl, the one all the others wanted to be friends with. You had it all and you managed to make it to the end without fucking it all up.”

  “You really did fuck it all up, didn’t you?”

  “I wouldn’t of fucked it all up if you never stole Noah’s attention.”

  “Hey,” I argue. “He had already broken up with you. The only reason he talked to me that day was because he was trying to get away from your crazy ass.”

  She lets out a deep sigh and holds out her hand. “Can we just call it a truce and agree to never have anything to do with one another ever again?”

  “Agreed,” I tell her, but instead of taking her hand, I pluck the crown from the top of my head and hand it over. “Here,” I say. “It clearly means a shitload more to you than it does to me. I don’t need this piece of plastic as a reminder that I’ve made it.” I turn and point out my group of friends all laughing and having the best night of their lives. “That right there is all I’ll ever need. So, take it, it’s all yours. It means absolutely nothing to me.”

  Monica hesitates for a short while before taking the gold plastic from my hands. “Thank you,” she murmurs softly before staring down at the crown with a cloud of emotions taking over her.

  I take the opportunity to finish pouring mine and Noah’s drinks before bowing out. I’ve done my good deed for the night, now it’s time to really party.

  I grab the glasses off the table and as I make my way towards my group of friends, I can’t help but watch as Noah walks away, only his eyes are too heavily focused on the guy heading into the male bathrooms in front of him.

  I shake my head to myself and continue until I’m placing our glasses down on our table. Tully questions what the hell just went down with Monica, and for some reason, I’m compelled to keep it to myself. Maybe the idea of sharing someone else’s insecurities isn’t quite sitting well with me, or maybe it’s the fact that Monica is no longer an enemy that she deserves a little respect from me. Either way, it's not my business to share.

  I watch the door of the male bathroom for a few minutes and when Noah doesn’t show, I take matters into my own hands. I mean, Noah can certainly handle himself but, you know, just in case he needs a little backup.

  I make my way across the room and push my way into the male bathroom just in time to see Noah shoving an unconscious Rocko into the stall and letting the door slam shut behind him as he smirks to himself for a job well done.

  My eyes instantly roam over his body, checking that he’s alright when I notice a drop of blood staining his white shirt. Damn, Violet really is going to kill him.

  “What took so long?” I question as Noah walks over to the sink and washes the blood from his knuckles.

  He looks at me through the mirror and shrugs. “It’s prom, I’m here to enjoy myself,” he grins. “Besides, he put his hands on my girl and nobody gets away with that.”

  “Except for you, of course,” I smirk.

  “Damn straight, Spitfire. Now let’s get the fuck back out to the party before someone comes in here and realizes what I’ve done.”

  “You know what,” I say, bringing my hand up and slowly trailing my fingers down my chest, teasing him with what’s hidden beneath the black silk. “Why don’t we get out of here? I’ve got something much better in mind.”

  Chapter 18

  I walk out of the Haven Falls auditorium with a wide smile across my face and my high school diploma in my hand.

  I fucking made it. I graduated high school without flunking out of any of my classes. In fact, I wasn’t even at the bottom of those classes anymore. I was right up there, chilling out with the other smarty-pants and high achievers.

  That’s right, I’m a nerd and I kind of love it.

  I start looking around the crowd of bodies. Tully and Noah have got to be around here somewhere. They’d already be together considering the students were put in alphabetical order. I mean, I’m a ‘B’ and they’re a ‘C’ so they couldn’t be too far.

  Giving up on searching out my people, I follow the crowd until it’s not so crazy and packed like sardines. The second I have a little space to move, I turn around and continue looking, but I don’t get far when a small body slams straight into me, rocking me back onto my heels while I fight to remain upright.

  “You did it,” Aria cheers, grinning up at with that massive smile that I love so much.

  I laugh to myself as I wrap my arms around her and take in the chocolate smeared across her face. Dad had to occupy her with something to keep her quiet during the ceremony and I don’t doubt that I now have that same very chocolate smeared all over my graduation gown, most likely across my ass. “I did do it,” I tell her. “And you’re going to do it too. Now, get those grubby hands off me.”

  Aria pokes her tongue out at me as Dad rushes in behind her, terrified that he’d lost her in the crowd. “Oh, thank God,” he sighs before scolding Aria. "What have I told you about running off in crowds like this?”

  “But I saw Henley.”

  “That’s beside the…” he
lets out a sigh, giving up the argument as he shakes his head and looks up at me. “You know what? I give up. I couldn’t win with you so I don’t know why I’d expect anything different with her.”

  All I can do is smile.

  Dad beams right back at me before pulling me in for a tight hug. “I don’t know what to say, Squish. You surprised the everloving crap out of me. I never thought I’d see the day that you graduated.”

  “Ummm…thanks, I think.”

  After what feels like a lifetime, he finally releases me. “Did you hear that Principal Evans’ was raving about you and your scholarship? They’re so proud of you, though they should be because you did it all on your own. It’s not like any of those teachers had a hand in helping you secure that achievement. They could care less, but once that acceptance letter came through, they were more than happy to take the credit.”

  “Alright, alright,” I laugh. “Chill out, already. It doesn’t matter what they think. We know that I was the one who put in the effort and that this particular bunch of teachers is just here for the paycheck and that’s all that matters.”

  “Screw that,” dad grumbles. “Your sister is going to be attending this school one day and I need to make sure that the teachers here will actually give a shit about her education.”

  “You have years before you need to worry about that.”

  “There you are,” Tully’s voice comes cutting through the conversation moments before she crashes into me with a hug of her own.

  I wrap my arms around her. “Where have you been?” I question, looking up over her shoulder to see Noah walking up behind.

  “Here. There. Everywhere,” she tells me. “I’m a very important person, you know.”

  "Uh huh,” I laugh. “I bet you just got stuck behind all the little old grannies who came to watch their grandbabies graduate.” Tully rolls her eyes and while I could be wrong about the grannies, I’m definitely onto something.

  Noah barges in and physically removes his sister from me before taking her place. “Congratulations,” he murmurs in my ear before discreetly pressing a kiss to my cheek as to not piss off my father with an over the top show of affection.