Fallen Crest Forever (Fallen Crest High #7)

“There are other ways!” My patience snapped. “And fine, whatever. Go beat the shit out of them, but stop making Mason feel guilty about it. If you want his help, do it another way. If you don’t, then respect his decision.”


Taylor laughed. “I just got a glimpse into your guys’ future. Logan trying to get shit going, Mason trying to be smart about it, and Samantha finally delivering the last word on it.” She whistled under her breath, giving her boyfriend a wolfish grin. “You guys will never lead boring lives. Ever.”

Logan shot a grin back, moving to the kitchen and scooping an arm around her waist. He pulled her against him, half lifting her in the air. “Only because you’re going to be there right with us.” He wrapped his other arm around her and buried his face in her neck.

She shrieked in laughter, hitting his arm. “You know that tickles. Stop it!”

Logan pulled back, a pleased look on his face, and grinned down at her. “Just wait till we get back to my place. I’ll show you what tickles. I’ll show you real deep how some things can tickle.”

Then he glanced around, a teasing smile on his face. “Are we ready to party?”

We were ready to party.





The music pounded.

Cain University students, football players, and students from the other private college in town filled our house. The booze flowed, and everyone was having a great time.

Mason sat at the bonfire with Nate and some of his football teammates. Logan stood behind them, holding a beer and throwing horseshoes with Matteo as his partner. They were playing against two guys I didn’t know, and there was a lot of shit-talking going back and forth.

I stood behind the outside bar, filling drinks. I saw some of my floormates from freshman year, but our friendships had faded last year. They’d gotten busy with their own lives, and I was with Mason and Logan. That should’ve been enough for me. Right?

I studied Mason as he listened to Nate. The bonfire lit up his face, but also cast such darkness over his chiseled features. My heart lurched, and I felt it start to move up to my throat. I tried pushing down whatever emotion was there, filling me up. It wasn’t a good one; that I knew.

“Do you moonlight as a bartender now?”

Taylor slid onto one of the barstools and flashed me a grin. She was teasing, but our eyes caught and held as a shared memory passed between us. There’d been another party and another bar we’d hidden behind not long ago.

I laughed and pointed toward an empty jar. “Maybe I should put a sign in front of it for tips?”

She snorted, crossing her arms on the counter. “At this rate, you might get some. People are drunk—like, really drunk.”

A girl shrieked, and we followed the sound. A guy chased her around the yard. She was half-naked—her breasts hanging out and her jeans undone. Her hair was messy and her lips smudged, but she followed that shriek with a laugh. She flew past the bar, and I wasn’t the only one who stopped to watch her. Most of the guys took notice.

She shrieked again, the sound ending in a lust-filled groan when the guy caught up to her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed her up against the house. His mouth was on hers, and she was soon clutching at his shoulders. Her legs climbed up to wrap around his waist.

Taylor sighed, watching them. “A part of me thinks she’s an idiot, so maybe she should deal with the consequences.” She pointed to a few guys who’d pulled out their phones to record the live porno. “But the other side of me knows we have to step in, especially if she’s intoxicated.”

A couple of girls came around the corner from the same direction the drunk and half-naked couple had come. Both were my height and slim. One had dark hair, and the other had curly, light-blond hair and a fairer complexion. The first girl seemed to be their leader. Her square jaw held a tight frown, and her hair was pulled back into a fierce braid. The lighter complexioned girl had more of a bounce to her walk, and probably a bit more pep in her personality. She also had a smile tugging at her lips, but when they both paused, seeing the two making out, the smile disappeared behind her hand. Her eyes widened in mortification.

The fierce braid girl turned to her friend. “What the fuck are we going to do? She’s unhinged.”

The second friend’s shoulders shook as she tried to keep in her laugh. She couldn’t. She doubled over, and her laughter rang out. “She’s going to regret that,” she managed with a snort. “So bad. It’s so bad.”

The first rolled her eyes. “Morons. That’s who I’m friends with.”

Taylor and I glanced at each other.

The second girl crumpled to the ground now, still laughing, with tears running down her face.

Fierce Braid just shook her head. Her hands found her hips, and she looked from the making-out friend to the one on the ground. “What the hell am I going to do?”

Taylor was holding back a laugh.

“You want a drink?” I called to the girl.

She looked over and blushed. “Tell me you didn’t hear that.”

I shrugged. “Sorry.”

She glanced around, and I knew why she’d assumed no one could hear her—because no one cared to overhear. The music still blared, and except for the two guys recording the making out, everyone else was absorbed with their own group of friends. Logan and Matteo were still playing horseshoes. I didn’t think Mason and the guys at the bonfire even knew about the half-naked couple, and there were a few other groups of girls, but they were watching the guys.

She shook her head and went back over to tap her still-laughing friend on the shoulder. “Grace, come on.”

The girl staggered to her feet and then half-collapsed onto a stool two over from Taylor’s. “Sorry. I’m—” Snort. “—Grace, and I’m completely—” Another laugh, followed with a hiccup. “—useless right now.” She turned wide eyes to her friend. “Sorry, Court. I suck.”

Court eyed the two guys with the phones. “I have to stop that. All of it. Nettie’s going to be mortified.”

“No, no.” Taylor slid off her stool. “I’ll get someone to deal with it. Trust me, he’ll enjoy it.”

Court and Grace, who was mostly hiccupping now, watched as Taylor headed through the crowd toward Logan. Their eyes widened.

“Is that Logan Kade?” one of them asked.

I looked over, but neither paid me any attention. The hiccups seemed to be gone, and Grace’s mouth hung slightly open.

Taylor touched Logan’s arm, and he bent his head toward her. A loving smile bloomed on his face, but then vanished as Taylor kept talking. His eyes narrowed, and he lifted his head toward us at the bar. I pointed to the couple, and he moved over so he could see them. He said something to Taylor, who started back to us as Logan then said something to Matteo.

Matteo passed along the message to Mason, gesturing to the recording guys. Mason stood, along with Nate, and the rest of the guys at the bonfire turned to watch.

Logan veered toward the bar, stepping behind it next to me.