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

by A. J. Macey

  “You guys get lost? Oh…” Reid’s voice filtered into the garage. My head whipped to him, worried about how he’d react. His brows shot up when he saw us entangled in each other’s arms but instead of appearing upset, his lips curled into a smirk. “My bad”—he started to turn away from us—“continue your make-out session.”

  “Shut up, dude, and come help us.” Kingston laughed, his lips brushing my forehead in a quick peck. My skin tingled under his lips, my face flushing as Reid made his way over, wrapping me under his arm.

  “Didn’t mean to interrupt your kissing time, Cali girl,” he teased, playfully punching Kingston in the arm. “You should have shut the door, King.”

  “Emma didn’t seem to mind, did you, baby doll?” I melted under his gaze, the heat in his coffee brown eyes stoking the embers growing between my thighs. I tried to keep my face calm as I smiled, but based on their chuckles and pink cheeks, I didn’t hide squeezing my legs together as well as I thought. Reid pulled back as Kingston opened the fridge and we loaded up our arms and headed inside. There were cupcakes, brownies, ice cream, as well as a bunch of candy that Stella had set out while we were in the garage.

  Once everyone was filled on food and sugar, people hung out and relaxed, filtering out one group at a time until it was just us and Kingston’s immediate family. When I attempted to help Stella and Kaleb clean, they waved me off with the demand that we go relax since it was the beginning of our weekend. Killian plopped down in front of the TV and started playing a video game which we watched and played for a while with him, but after about thirty minutes there was a knock on the door.

  “Can I help you, officers?” Kaleb answered, his voice cool and polite as he addressed the two police officers on the other side of the threshold.

  “Is Jesse Parker here, Mr. Bell?” the younger officer asked in a stern voice. My heart started to pound painfully in my chest as I sat forward. Jesse’s eyes narrowed; his hands clenched into fists when the officers looked around Kaleb into the house.

  “Can I ask what this is about?” Kaleb addressed the older of the two officers, the one who had an expression of empathy etched into his middle-aged face.

  “We have a warrant for Mr. Parker’s arrest,” the younger officer demanded roughly, practically pushing past Kaleb as his steps thudded across the distance between him and his target.

  Jesse didn’t fight or argue as he stood. Turning around he held his hands behind his back. My eyes blurred with unshed tears as the officer read him his rights. My mind fuzzed over. This can’t be happening. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

  “I’m sorry about this, Kaleb,” the older officer murmured as Jesse was taken out to the cruiser. “They just sprung this warrant on us, or I would have warned you ahead of time.”

  “What’s it for?” Kaleb held out his hand, taking the folded piece of paper. His eyes scanned while the other officer, whose badge read Mulligan, summarized the warrant.

  “Assault against that kid, Brad Warland.” Officer Mulligan’s tone was harsh when he brought up Brad. His clenched jaw and hard eyes made it clear as day that he didn’t like him. “Jesse’ll be up for bail once they finish processing him, if you want to meet us at the station.”

  Kaleb nodded his head looking over to us. Officer Mulligan dipped his head politely toward the rest of us, a pitying grimace passing over his face when he spotted me. Turning, he exited quickly leaving us in a stunned silence. I hadn’t realized I was squeezing the living daylights out of Reid’s and Kingston’s hands until that moment. I loosened my grip and took a shuddering breath, thankful that my tears hadn’t poured yet.

  “Their warrant is solid,” Kaleb told us, his tone low. “I’m going to go get him; it might be a while depending on how long they take to process him. The Warlands are fairly influential, so it might be several hours. Kingston already told me what happened, but Emma”—his eyes centered on me—“if this is how the Warland’s want to play, I’ll need to sit down with you to go over everything. Your recount of what happened might be the only thing keeping Jesse from doing jail time.” Dread crushed my chest, but I nodded knowing I would do whatever it took to keep Jesse from that. Kaleb left quickly after a kiss to Stella who had watched on with worried eyes.

  “Killian, go on and head to your room for a bit. I need to talk with them privately.” When Killian started to protest, Stella gave him her ‘mom glare.’ He quieted and left without further argument. “Reid, Emma, you’re more than welcome to stay tonight. I know it’ll help to be around each other.” Her eyes turned to me, and she pulled me gently into a tight hug before whispering, “It’s going to be a long night. If you need anything, let me know, all right?”

  I felt the burn of a fresh wave of tears fill my eyes, my arms squeezing her back. The love radiating within her arms only added to the ache in my chest, not just from the Jesse situation but from the fact that my mom had barely spoken to me in over two months. Pushing those problems away, I focused on what was most important.

  Jesse.

  Nodding, I silently let her know I would do just that. Kingston and Reid didn’t talk as they led me to Kingston’s room on the second floor. It was large, with a king-size bed and plush tan carpeting. The walls were painted a light blue, his comforter a gray and black plaid with matching blue sheets. A guitar sat in the corner along with black and white photography canvases that covered the walls. Normally, I might have been intrigued, or even remotely interested, but given the circumstances I was numb and going through the motions like a zombie.

  “Emma.” Reid’s words were soft, his baritone soothing the jagged emotions warring in my chest: fear, anger, anxiety. “Cali girl”—his more forceful tone held my focus—“do you need to ask your mom if you’re all right to stay?” I shook my head.

  “She was going to be gone for the weekend on a work trip,” I whispered. Kingston reappeared from behind a door with a handful of comfy clothes.

  I hadn’t even realized he’d walked out of the room.

  “These will be big on you, but they should be comfortable enough for sleep.” He held out a t-shirt and a pair of sweats. When I took them, Kingston went back into what I assumed was the closet and shut the door, and Reid exited with the mumble that he was going to the bathroom. I changed quickly, but the sweats were too big even with the tie, so I decided to just forgo them. My underwear was no smaller than my swimsuit bottoms and Kingston’s shirt covered everything anyway.

  “Baby doll?” Kingston’s smooth voice radiated out of the cracked closet door. “All done?”

  “Yeah.” I had just finished folding my clothes, when he loosed a sharp exhale.

  “I thought you said you were done,” he murmured, unable to pull his eyes off my exposed legs. I flushed, fiddling with the ends of his borrowed shirt.

  “The pants were too big,” I explained quietly, shrugging slightly. “Are we all sleeping in the bed?” Reid’s curly head had just poked around the door when I finished my question. Exhaustion beat down on me despite the worry and fear coursing through my body, and my eyes barely stayed open as Kingston who was wearing a pair of sweats, and Reid who was in his boxers, led me over to the bed. Crawling into the middle of the large, plushy mattress, I was sandwiched between the two. My head and arm draped over Reid as Kingston curled around my back. It wasn’t long before my body and mind gave up and slipped into blissful sleep, all worries silenced.

  For now.

  November 17th

  Screw Brad.

  #StressFreeSaturday #YeahRight #NotTodaySatan

  I sat, bleary-eyed and fidgety, at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. The sun had just peeked over the horizon, my eyes unfocused on the wash of vibrant colors welcoming the day. I lost track of how long I had been awake, at least for an hour, if my numb legs from sitting on this uncushioned stool were any indication. A shuffling sounded from the hall, but I was too zoned out to pay attention or particularly care.

  Stella was in a pair of pajama pants, a plain t-shirt, and a
fuzzy robe that went down to her knees. She went about her morning routine of making coffee and emptying the dishwasher, then she started pulling ingredients out of the double door stainless steel fridge. Silence reigned through the space, both of us caught up in our own thoughts. Before I knew it, the smell of bacon, eggs, and pancakes filled my senses. A steaming cup of coffee appeared in front of me, Stella’s concerned eyes focused on my face.

  “Emma, honey, you need to eat and drink something”—she nudged the cup of black liquid closer to me—“do you need creamer or sugar or anything?” I shook my head. The numbness had continued through night, and my heart felt like a solid chunk of granite.

  I sipped the drink mindlessly, back to unseeing around me. More steps sounded down the stairs and through the hallways, Kingston’s messy blond hair and Reid’s crazy curls appearing in the corner of my eyesight. They had been passed out when I had woken up from a nightmare. Tangled in their limbs, I thought I was going to wake them as I got out of the warm comfort of their embrace, but they didn’t, both in a deep sleep.

  “Good morning, Cali girl,” Reid mumbled pressing a quick kiss to my temple. Kingston rubbed my back, but with the numbness, I didn’t really feel it. His kiss landed gently on top of my head before he moved over to the coffee pot to pour a cup.

  “All right, kiddos”—Stella turned to us—“everything is done. Come get it.” Reid and Kingston started through the piles of food. I couldn’t bring myself to move; my stomach rolled at the thought of food, my one concern focused on Jesse. Stella plopped a plate down in front of me with her ‘mom glare’ when I didn’t get up to eat. I had just stabbed the first piece of food when the front door opened.

  My head whipped around. Kaleb’s tired face came through the door first with Jesse’s right behind him. I surged forward, everything finally flooding my system. I didn’t slow down as I barrelled into his open arms. Sobs I couldn’t hold back any longer wracked my body and soaked his shirt. Once more, we found ourselves clutching to each other as if our lives depended on it.

  Maybe it did.

  Old Spice, cinnamon, and orange surrounded me, mixing with Jesse’s pine and mint smell. Two bodies pressed into either side of us when they encircled us in one giant bear hug. I finally took in the sounds around me as the numbness receded fully; they had been murmuring and cooing soothing words to me until my cries silenced.

  “I’m so glad you’re home.” My voice cracked under my emotion, palpable relief in my voice. Kingston and Reid stepped back just enough for me to look up at Jesse. His eyes were glassy, and tear tracks coated his dark chocolate skin. He kissed me hard, clutching my shoulders tightly in his fingers before pulling back.

  “I hate to be the bearer of bad news.” Kaleb’s deep voice caught everyone’s attention, all of our eyes drifting to focus on him. “This is far from over. Brad and his dad are in for the long haul. This is going to get ugly before it gets better. I fully believe we’ll be all right, but it’ll be rough on you, Emma. Are you sure you’re up for this?” I felt my blood run cold at his warning, but being surrounded by my boys filled me with hope and strength.

  Jesse needed me.

  “Heck yeah, I am,” I vowed, Jesse’s hand squeezing mine tightly. “He deserves this. I’m not going to let him get away with what he did.”

  I’m not alone in this fight.

  We totally got this.

  Misters & Mochas

  Book 2 of the High School Clowns & Coffee Grounds Series

  Coming November 2019

  Acknowledgments

  Jake, my amazing husband, who supported me and cheered me on even when I doubted myself!

  My PA Katie and closest friend Jare for keeping me sane when things got overwhelming!

  My beta readers-Michelle, Jessica, and Cassie—you guys are awesome and are the best, forever #AJsAlphabets!

  Finally, for all of my readers, this wouldn’t be possible without you.

  Also by A.J. Macey

  Best Wishes Series:

  Book 1: Smoke and Wishes

  Book 2: Smoke and Survival

  Supplemental Point-of-View Stories: Smoke and Wishes: Between the Wishes

  High School Clowns & Coffee Grounds

  Book 1: Lads & Lattes

  The Aces Series:

  Book 1: Rival

  About the Author

  A.J. Macey has a B.S. in Criminology and Criminal Justice, and previous coursework in Forensic Science, Behavioral Psychology, and Cybersecurity. Before becoming an author, A.J. worked as a Correctional Officer in a jail where she met her husband. She has a daughter and two cats named Thor and Loki, and an addiction to coffee and swearing. Sucks at adulting and talking to people, so she’ll frequently be lost in a book or running away with her imagination.

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