Lads & Lattes (High School Clowns & Coffee Grounds Book 1)

by A. J. Macey

  “How did you feel when we talked about all taking you to the dance?” Scrunching my brows, I didn’t understand where that question came from or why he was bringing it up. “We do everything together”—he shrugged—“why can’t we see where we go together?”

  “Like, date all of you?” My brain must have fizzled out of commission because that could not have been what he was suggesting. He nodded, his thumb brushing against my cheek.

  “Think about it for a while, and we can talk about it at lunch or some other time if you’re not ready. All right, Cali girl?” I felt my heart crack at his handsome smile; it was one of the rare times Reid was serious, yet his smile was still warm as he looked at me before turning to the front of the class.

  I couldn’t focus on what Mr. Fergusen was talking about despite liking his teaching methods and class in general. Could it really be that easy? Date all of them? I liked them all, but I couldn’t just date three people. Would they date other girls? Heck no, I couldn’t handle that. My jealousy surged within my chest at just the thought. Did Jesse even like me like that? He bought you jewelry, I reminded myself.

  The questions swirled in my mind so loud I didn’t even notice the bell had rung and students were shuffling to go to lunch. Reid’s fingers brushed my arm pulling my attention back to around me instead of getting lost in all the worries and fears. What would people think about us? How would my mom take this? I shoved the stupid questions down, realizing there was no point in worrying if they wouldn’t even go for it.

  “You all right, babe?” Reid questioned, his arm dropping around my shoulders same as usual. “I didn’t mean to upset you with everything.”

  “You didn’t,” I said with conviction. As scared as I was, I was glad we were finally going to address everything we’d been tip-toeing around. “I’m just lost in my own head.” We didn’t talk as we grabbed food and headed to the table; Jesse and Kingston were already seated when we arrived.

  “So,” Reid started as soon as he sat down. “I talked to Emma about everything.” My brows shot up my forehead. They had talked about this without me?

  Rude.

  “When did you talk about this?” I asked, irritation building that I had spent all class worrying when they had already talked about it.

  “After Lyla brought up taking you to the dance.” Kingston was unfazed by my attitude. “We didn’t bring it up because we weren’t sure how you would react.” I took a deep breath trying to calm myself.

  They had a point.

  “Even you?” I turned to Jesse who was staring at his tray until I questioned him. He looked at me and shrugged.

  “I didn’t know you liked me until a little while ago,” he said defensively. I rolled my eyes.

  What a cop-out.

  “You’re the one who barely talked to me for the last two months,” I hissed. It wasn’t my fault he didn’t try until the last couple weeks. “You guys had this conversation over a month ago, and I’ve been over here worrying. Were you guys even planning on talking to me?”

  “Hey,” Reid tried to redirect our attention, but I was too emotional. I dropped my food on my tray and moved to standing. “Emma, wait.” I shook off his hand when he tried to rest it on my arm, knowing it’d be that much harder to leave if I let him make that contact.

  “I can’t talk about this right now,” I ground out. “I’m too upset. Maybe later.” With that, I walked off. Dumping my tray, I went straight to the library hoping diving into school work would calm my turbulent emotions.

  Stupid drama.

  I found myself standing in the lobby of the counselor’s office waiting for Ms. Rogers to come get me. The upholstered chairs against the wall were stiff and uncomfortable, and my phone buzzed lightly in my pocket for what seemed like the hundredth time. As I reached to grab it, Ms. Rogers appeared, not allowing me time to check it. Her familiar cat’s eye glasses and friendly smile shined in the drab office. I sank into my usual seat already ready for this meeting to be over. Now that I had calmed down, I wanted to talk with the boys.

  “Any progress or updates since our last meeting, Emma?” She grabbed my file off the stack and turned to the notes page, her pen poised over the lined paper.

  “Jesse and I had our first study session this morning, and I got visits scheduled for UNL and UNO set for next month. Jesse, Reid, and Kingston are all going to go with me.” I felt proud because of Ms. Rogers’ brightening expression.

  “Very good!” she praised, jotting down the information. “I figured we could set another practice ACT for mid-December and see how you’re doing, that way we can schedule the actual ACT for January. Then the scores will come back before deadlines for the universities.” I nodded as she talked, making a mental note to remember this. She opened her mouth to continue speaking, when a knock sounded on the door. Brows furrowing, she stood and opened it. Someone I didn’t recognize was standing on the other side, but based on his outfit I thought he probably worked at the school.

  “Ms. Rogers,” the man greeted. His tone was polite, but his voice was grating and set my teeth on edge. He was a burly man with a buzz cut, his brunette hair fading to gray on the temples. He was wearing black slacks and a gray dress shirt, and his shined boots thudded on the floor as he walked into the office. “Miss Clark, do you know who I am?”

  I shook my head. “I’m afraid I don’t, I’m bad with faces and names.” The thinning of his lips told me he wasn’t happy with my answer, and his intense gaze burned my face as he stared down his nose at me.

  “I’m the Assistant Principal Mr. Derosa.” He cocked a brow as if that was supposed to make me remember. I nodded respectfully and waited for him to continue. Ms. Rogers stood by her seat eyeing the man with disdain, her normal smile traded out for thinned lips and crossed arms.

  “Mr. Derosa,” she reprimanded, “I was in the middle of a meeting with Miss Clark. If you need to discuss something with me, you can do so after we are finished here.”

  “I’m here to have a talk with Miss Clark, not you,” he snapped. His broad shoulders seem to have expanded, puffing up as she chided him. I tried not to cower, but he was intimidating, and based on his hard set jaw and pulled back shoulders, he was on a warpath. His shrewd light brown eyes centered on me. “Now, Miss Clark, I was wondering what a sweet girl like you would be doing to tarnish your reputation.”

  “What?” I felt my blood turn cold at his statement. Whatever he was talking about confused me, but I didn’t miss the hint of judgment in his words.

  “I have been made aware about an incident with another student, Brad Warland.” He raised a brow in question. “About the lies going around at what happened.” I couldn’t tell if he was saying the rumors were lies or what I had experienced was a lie.

  “Mr. Derosa,” Ms. Rogers started, but a glare from the Assistant Principal silenced her.

  “We here at Arbor Ridge don’t want unsubstantiated claims against another student to go around.” I ground my teeth knowing he was taking Brad’s side. “A sweet girl like you could damage a student like Brad’s future beyond repair with these types of rumors.”

  “They aren’t lies. He forced me into the bathroom at that party with bad intentions,” I bit out, practically shouting at him. “I didn’t ‘seduce’ him. I didn’t lead him on, and we certainly didn’t do anything.”

  “Well,” he started, “it doesn’t look good for you to be dating someone like Jesse Parker especially after what he did to Brad.” I was panting with anger, the fury building within my chest burned my veins.

  “Mr. Parker is the senior class valedictorian, Mr. Derosa. It is unbecoming to reference him in such an inferior manner,” Ms. Rogers snapped, her cheeks reddened with anger. I felt my brows raise at the fact that Jesse was valedictorian.

  “Just because he can fake his way through classes doesn’t make him a good student or person,” he snapped back. “He’s a hellion bent on causing trouble, skipping school, and fighting. As I was saying”—his attention tur
ned back to me—“I suggest you keep your inaccurate accounts of what happened to yourself, Miss Clark, otherwise Brad will most likely have the police charge Mr. Parker with assault and you with being an accessory.” With that, he stormed out of the open office door. I saw several of the other counselors staring wide-eyed at us from the hall and lobby. Ms. Rogers firmly shut the door to her office with a huff.

  “I would like to apologize for his…” She struggled with the proper word, her voice filled with rage as she stared at the closed door. “...inappropriate behavior. He should not be demanding such things from you, slandering a student’s reputation, or silencing your experiences.”

  “Thank you,” I whispered, my limbs trembling after the confrontation.

  “Do you want to share what happened?” she asked softly. I shook my head violently.

  I would some day, but not right now.

  Too soon.

  “All right, you don’t have to share anything with me that you don’t want to, but know that you can talk to me whenever you’re ready. I’m going to give you a pass to excuse you for the rest of the day.” She glanced at the clock which read a half hour before school ended. “You shouldn’t have to power through class after his brutish accusations.” She wrote out the slip and took it to the front desk in the main office after walking me out of the counselors’ area. I beelined for the door and straight to my car, my vision filled with watery shapes. Try as I might, the wayward tears slipped down my cheeks as I pulled out of the lot, intent on getting as far away from the school as fast as I can.

  “Cali girl?” Reid’s voice was muffled through the comforter I had pulled up over my head. “Do you want to be alone?” I sniffled again trying to contain the tears, but his soft, caring voice pushed me over that edge, and the tears poured down my cheeks. Shoving the blanket down, I jumped off the bed and barreled into his chest. His arms wrapped around my shoulders as I fisted the back of his t-shirt. “What happened?”

  I spent the next ten minutes alternating between crying and explaining what had gone down in the counselor’s office today. A familiar hand rubbed circles into my lower back letting me know it wasn’t just Reid who had come over. I couldn’t see or hear Jesse, but I knew he was here as well. After a few minutes of their soothing words, I got the crying under control enough for us to move out into the living room. I hadn’t realized how grateful I was until now that my mom’s crazy work schedule allowed us to talk in private.

  “Fuck that asshole,” Jesse ground out, his gaze staring holes out the patio door as he leaned back against the table. “I seriously can’t believe him.”

  “I can’t either and I was sitting right there,” I murmured, curling into the blanket I had snatched off the back of the couch. “I’m sorry about earlier, I was just really overwhelmed, and I took it out on you guys.”

  “It’s all right, Emma,” Kingston soothed, rubbing the knee that I had tucked in front of my chest. “Are you up for talking about it now?” I nodded not trusting myself to talk.

  “Have you thought about what we talked about?” Reid questioned from his position on the coffee table. I nodded again, feeling my heart squeeze within my chest.

  “I’d like to try,” I whispered. “I wouldn’t be able to pick between the three of you.” Reid lit up as Jesse’s head whipped around to face us.

  “Really?” he murmured as if he couldn’t believe my answer. Holding his gaze, I nodded. Kingston’s hand gripped my knee softly pulling my eyes over to him. His tanned face was bright with a broad, happy smile.

  “But we have to talk about what, if anything, is bothering us,” I stipulated. “I can’t handle the keeping things to yourself and letting it fester for days on end.”

  “Deal,” Reid practically shouted, his hands clapping excitedly. I couldn’t help but smile at him and his cheerful disposition. A bubble of happiness bloomed within my chest despite all the crap that had happened today.

  “Not to be a downer,” I started, “but what are we going to do about Mr. Derosa and Brad?”

  “We’re not doing anything wrong. We’re telling the truth, so if he wants to play that route, we’ll fight back,” Reid directed. “He might be able to charge Jesse, but we could just as easily go after him for attempted rape.”

  “Exactly. If it gets to that, I’ll talk to my dad and see what we should do,” Kingston added.

  “We might want to fill him in now anyway.” Jesse’s words were somber. “I have a feeling they aren’t going to back off, and we need to be ready.” I nodded—I didn’t want them to take advantage of the situation and not be prepared. Kingston and Reid also voiced their agreement.

  “So,” I hummed looking between the three of us. “How is this going to work? Like, are you guys going to be seeing other girls?” All three shook their head violently.

  “Just you for us.” Kingston surprised me by being the one to respond. “And us for you.”

  “But”—I tilted my head in confusion—“how is that fair to you? Wouldn’t you three get jealous?” They all looked at each other before Reid shifted forward quickly, his calloused palms cupping my cheeks. His lips were warm and soft on mine in a hesitant kiss. My breath knocked from my chest as he pressed them harder against me. Without thinking, I kissed back. My body moved forward at the feeling of his tongue brushing my bottom lip, but before I could respond, he pulled away. My rattling heart pitter-pattered into my throat at his gaze, his hazel irises blazing and centered on my face. Our breaths were heavy pants as we stared at each other for a brief moment until my mind suddenly reminded me there were two others in the room. Pulling back, I felt blood rush to my face in a bright red flush. I glanced over at the other two in the room to gauge their reactions, pleasantly surprised to find no harsh expressions.

  “I don’t feel jealous,” Kingston answered with a slight shrug. “Especially knowing I get to do it too. Jesse?” We all looked at him. His body was tense, but it had been all day.

  “I feel fine,” he responded, his tone soft. “I don’t feel jealous, but I would if it was someone other than us.” I nodded. A weight I hadn’t realized was crushing my chest lifted leaving me light and excited.

  “We’re really doing this?” I couldn’t stop the anticipation lacing my question or my smile as I looked around us. They all nodded, and three happy smiles faced me.

  Three boyfriends.

  Nebraska definitely wasn’t so bad.

  15

  November 5th

  “We must not allow other people’s limited perceptions to define us.” - Virginia Satir

  #BeBrave #WhoNeedsBlushWithThreeBoyfriends #MotivationMonday

  “Good morning, babe,” Reid greeted me in the parking lot alone, Kingston having driven Jesse and himself. Reid’s arm curled around my shoulders before pulling me into his warm chest that was covered in a Nebraska Cornhusker sweatshirt. I wrapped my arms around his waist as best I could with his backpack on one of his shoulders. Standing on my tiptoes, I gave him a quick kiss.

  “Morning,” I whispered smiling up at him as I dropped back down to the cement. I kept my left arm around his waist while we walked side by side into the building.

  “How’d my girlfriend sleep?” His question was laced with humor, a cocksure smile curling his lips. I rolled my eyes, but felt my heart warm at the reminder.

  “Not bad. These three guys kept me up late last night with an in-depth argument on whether it’s pop or soda,” I playfully reprimanded. His scruff was scratchy against my scalp as he pressed his cheek into my head.

  “Tell me who these three hooligans are and I’ll tell them off.” He chuckled unable to say his statement without laughing. I felt eyes on me when we walked through the front doors. Looking around, I saw several curious gazes as well as a few not-so-friendly ones.

  “So, how is this going to work?” I asked as quietly as I could in the crowded room, the sound of everyone’s conversations a dull roar in the all tile space. “Like the four of us? I didn’t figure Jesse would b
e very open with his affections, but are we going to try and keep it on the down low or… what?”

  “Uh...” He pursed his lips and tilted his head back and forth as he thought. “I hadn’t even considered that. I don’t really care if people know, they don’t matter to me, but we can ask the other two.” I nodded. We stayed silent with me tucked under his arm as we neared the table. Kingston was talking to Jesse while the rest of our friends were deep in a conversation about the upcoming holiday break for Thanksgiving. “Hey.” Reid slipped away from me to greet the other two boys.

  “Morning.” Kingston patted Reid on the back once before wrapping me up in his arms, his thumbs rubbing soft circles on my lower back. “How are you, baby doll?”

  “Better now.” I gave him a cheeky smile before stepping back. Jesse nudged my hand slightly with his knuckles, shuffling closer to me so he could intertwine our fingers.

  “Hey, Em,” he murmured softly giving me a very tiny smile. Reid’s body angled toward our group closing up the circle.

  “So, Cali girl brought up a good point on our way in. Do we want to try and keep us a secret or just do our own thing and say screw everyone else? I’m all for the second option, but it isn’t just about me,” Reid put forth quietly.

  “I’m good with option two,” Kingston agreed, nodding. Jesse nodded his head as well signifying he was good with option two as well. Before I realized it, I had three sets of eyes on me.

  “I’m not ashamed of you guys, so why would I hide it?” I smiled shyly, and their tense body postures melted at my answer before Reid converged and grouped all of us in his arms. The bell rang during our cramped hug, and we all split toward our respective classrooms. Jesse kept ahold of my right hand which Brayden’s brows shot up at. Knowing there was going to be rumors, I decided to give them something to talk about. I leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Jesse’s cheek. It was warm, but soft, the scratchy scruff having been shaved this morning leaving it smooth. Jesse’s dark brown eyes centered on me with a smirk. He knew what I was doing. I could feel Brayden’s eyes dissecting everything Jesse and I did as we curved down our hallway.