Fallen Fourth Down

I sighed, nodded, and pressed my hands to my temple. It wasn’t long until Logan tore off the field, after her. Unlike Heather, none of his friends were holding him back, so I swung my arm out and caught him around the chest. Logan kept going, but so did I. I used his momentum and let my body follow through. I was lifted up and latched onto his back.

“Sam!” he growled, but stopped walking.

When he glanced up and tried to dislodge me, I waited, holding onto him tight until I saw Heather get into her car. When her headlights turned on, I let go. My body slid down his.

“Stop, Logan.”

He wasn’t moving, but I put my hands on his shoulders and stood in front of him. As I did, he continued to glower at me and crossed his arms over his chest. Then he said, “I’m getting sick of Jax’s problem with Kris. My relationship is none of her business. What’s her problem? I’m not boning her. We joke about it, but, man, I like Channing. I’d never do that to him.”

“Or to Kris.”

“That’s a given.” He rolled his eyes.

It was at that moment when everyone else decided to leave. A few of the drill team said their goodbyes to Logan. A couple touched his arm and gave him seductive grins, but he just jerked his head in a nod to them. I caught their disappointment before they moved forward. The words party and drunk were tossed around before they climbed into their cars and zoomed off. By this time, most of the Fallen Crest Academy crowd had left as well, but I stiffened. Mark and Jackson were still there, so was Cass, draped all over Mark. Some of Logan’s friends lingered as well, and they stopped beside us. Everyone was waiting for what Logan had to say next.

Mark grinned. “Didn’t take you for a sore loser, Kade.” His head lifted and he rolled his shoulders back, a smirk appearing over his mouth. “Not that I’m surprised.” He clasped a hand on Jackson’s shoulder and pulled him forward. “You’ve met our secret weapon. You’re lucky you guys aren’t playing us again this year.”

Adam joined the group. A bag was thrown over his shoulder, and he paused, glancing at me first, before skimming over Logan and Mark. Logan tensed, but his jaw only clenched shut. Adam said to Mark, “Is there a party in the plan for tonight?”

“Logan,” Derek spoke up behind us.

Logan nodded. “Derek’s throwing a party. You guys can come.”

Adam stiffened. His eyes jerked back to mine, and I knew he was thinking about the past. He had steered clear of me for so long, and there was still tension between us; it filled the air. I saw Jackson looking from Adam to me. His eyes fell to the hand Logan had placed on my side. I hadn’t realized he was touching me, but I let it go. There was so much bad blood between Logan and Adam. A thought occurred to me: Was that the real reason Kris wasn’t there? Because Logan had stolen Kris from Adam?

Adam never replied to Logan’s invitation.

Logan laughed. “She won’t be there, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

His hand tightened on my side, and Adam saw that motion too. The problem wasn’t Kris. It was me. Adam had stopped pursuing me, and I had ended our friendship long ago. That history needed to be left alone, but this was Logan. He was protecting me. Still.

“You’re such an ass, Kade.” Adam’s words were quiet, but they were clearly spoken.

“I’m the ass? You think I don’t know about your phone calls and text messages?”

Oh. Not me. This was all about Kris. Relief flooded me, and my shoulder sagged from the sudden release of tension. A small grin appeared on Jackson’s face as he noticed it. A warm feeling went through me, and I remembered why I used to like him so much. He’d been kind when I needed it.

Adam scoffed, distracting me. “Kris and I are still friends. You need to deal with that.”

“Right. Friends. That’s what you said you wanted from Sam too.”

No, no, no. I didn’t want to get pulled into this.

Adam glanced at me, but clenched his jaw again. “Sam and I are no longer friends, thanks to you and your brother.”

Oh shit. I closed my eyes. Logan was going to blast him, and I shot Mark a pointed look. He could step in. Anytime now.

Seeing my look, Mark narrowed his eyes, and I gestured between Logan and Adam. His eyes got big as understanding dawned. He cleared his throat. “Uh, hey guys. The party sounds awesome. We’ll spread the word. Derek, you’re on 54th, right?”

“Yeah. Two blocks from your house.”

“Sounds good.” Mark grabbed Adam and turned him towards the parking lot. He began pushing him forward and waved at us over his shoulder. “We’ll see you guys there.”

Derek said, “Bring beer. I don’t know if I can score a keg tonight.”

“Will do.” Mark kept directing Adam ahead. Cass trailed behind them, but she paused, turned half way back to us, and narrowed her eyes at me.

What’d I do?

Then she glanced at Jackson, and a cold feeling spread through me. She must’ve caught our shared look. Oh hell. I had no doubt that she’d twist that somehow, but I rolled my eyes. She could try. The only person who needed to know about Jackson was Mason. I’d have to tell him as soon as possible.

“Cass doesn’t like you much, huh?”

I bit down on my lip, hearing Jackson’s question.

Logan turned to him. “You’re the new kid?”

“Yeah. We didn’t formally meet.” Jackson held his hand out. “Jackson Sallaway.”