by A. A. Davies
Contents
Rivalry
A. A. Davies
Kenji
Yolanda Olson
Coterie
Ally Vance
Take A Chance
JM Walker
Harley’s Aero
C.L. Matthews
Buried Truths
Faith Ryan
Deciet
Charity. B
A Final Family Affair
Forbidden: A RomanceAnthology
Copyright © 2020
Abigail Davies, Yolanda Olson,
C.L. Matthews, Ally Vance,
Charity B., JM Walker,
Faith Ryan.
All rights reserved.
No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form without written consent from the author. Except in the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a piece of fiction. Any names, characters, businesses, places or events are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons living or dead, events or locations is purely coincidental.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you are reading this book and have not purchased it for your use only, then you should return it to your favorite book retailer and purchase your own copy.
Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Cover Design: Pink Elephant Designs
Formatting: Pink Elephant Designs
Rivalry
A. A. Davies
Blurb
One look.
One touch.
One decision that would change everything.
Two worlds collided the moment I laid eyes on her. I’d never known that all consuming feeling until the moment Sage came into my life.
We came from opposite worlds, but I didn’t care. The bridge that separated the two sides of our town was just a roadblock I could speed through.
She was my new obsession and I was her perfect Storm.
I refused to give up.
Until buried secrets were exposed.
I was always meant to love her, I just wasn’t sure in what way.
Mansion Paradise
Sage
“I’m not sure about this, Thalia.” I bit down on my bottom lip as we drove past houses that became bigger and bigger, each one grander than the one before it. I’d never been to this side of town—never wanted to—but when Thalia had a bee in her bonnet, there was no stopping her. And tonight, that bee was her attending the prep school party.
“It’ll be fun, Sage.” She flicked her gaze at me where I was sitting in the passenger seat of her beat up Corolla, then looked back at the road ahead. “You only live once, right?” I grumbled under my breath, but it didn’t deter her from continuing, “You can’t live inside the pages of your textbooks all the time, Sage. You need to get out and have some damn fun!”
She wasn’t wrong, but this didn’t seem like fun, at least, not to me anyway. I was nervous. My palms were sweaty, my legs shaking and causing the car to move along with them. These houses were so much different to the two-bedroom apartment me and my mom lived in on the other side of town—the poor side.
“Here though?” I asked, staring out the window, my gut churning as I saw all of the parked cars. They weren’t like the cars that sat in the small lot at the public school I’d gone to since freshman year. No. These were shinier, newer, and a hell of a lot more expensive. “How do you even know about this party?”
Thalia flipped her long auburn hair over her shoulder as she squealed to a stop and parked between two sports cars. “They always have a party after the game.” The game. The game that they’d won tonight, just like they had every time they played our school. Sports were a big deal where I lived, football, track, baseball, but nothing compared to the basketball team. And our biggest rivals, Lakemere Prep. It may have been in the same town as Lakemere Public school, but that was where the similarities stopped.
“And you just happened to overhear where the party was going to be?” I raised a brow at her as I undid my belt. Thalia had been my best friend since grade school and we were polar opposites. Where I liked to stay safe in my bubble, she liked to jump out of it and try anything and everything she could. She was the yin to my yang, the Thelma to my Louise.
“Yep.” She slicked some gloss onto her lips, smacked them together, then pushed out of the car. I followed, not wanting to be left alone in a neighborhood I didn’t know.
“Wait up,” I whisper shouted, rushing to catch up with her. She laughed, the sound echoing around us, but it was soon erased by the beat of the music coming from the other side of the vast gates surrounding what could only be described as a mansion. “Holy shit.”
“Agreed,” Thalia said, halting at the bottom of the driveway as we both stared in awe. Neither of us moved for several minutes as we took it all in. The large lawns sat in the middle of the huge circling driveway and came to a stop in front of the biggest water feature fountain I’d ever seen. People were milling about around it, but not one person stood on the perfectly cut grass. They were respectful of the property, a complete contrast to how people behaved at public school parties.
Lights from the mansion illuminated the outside area, and as we finally took steps toward it, I felt more and more exposed. These kids were wearing what was sure to be designer clothes, and here I was in a tank top and denim shorts with my beat-up combat boots. I was out of place; not dressed at all for a party like this.
I was the odd one out, especially as Thalia was dressed to the nines, her dress gripping every inch of her body as the heels she wore clicked on the paved driveway.
“I’m not dressed right,” I murmured, keeping my gaze on anything but the students gathered outside of the mansion.
“Psssh.” Thalia pulled me closer. “Head up high, Sage. Show no fear.”
“What?” My eyes widened. “Why are you acting as if we’re about to go into the lion’s den?”
“Because we are,” she whispered, then pulled me through the open door that was as big as a wall in my small bedroom.
I opened my mouth, about to tell her we should leave. We shouldn’t have come here in the first place. We weren’t like these people; we never would be like these people. They may entertain us for a short while, but we didn’t belong here.
Thalia pulled me through the vast rooms in the house, acting as if she knew exactly where she was going. The kitchen was full of people, but more than that, jampacked with alcohol. Beers sat in the porcelain sink on a bed of ice, and a refrigerated wine cellar was filled to the rafters with spirits. One thing they had in common with the Public parties were the red solo cups. Seemed like even they didn’t discount the benefits of being able to throw them in the trash once they were finished with.
Thalia poured us both a drink and handed me one of the red cups, but I shook my head at her. I wasn’t good with alcohol. I was a lightweight, and I knew it. So, drinking at a party where the only person we knew was each other, didn’t seem like such a good idea.
“Come on, Sage. Loosen up a little.” She wiggled her shoulders for effect, a giant grin on her face.
“Nope.” I shook my head and took a couple of steps back, only stopping when my back hit the island in the middle of the kitchen. The cold marble cooled my palms, relaxing me a little.
“Take it,” she ground out, pushing the solo cup into my chest then letting go. I had
no choice but to catch it. She raised her brow at me as she swayed her hips left and right to the music blasting throughout the house. “You don’t have to drink it,” she continued. “Just hold onto it and make it look like you are.”
I brought the red cup up to my nose, sniffed it, then nearly gagged. Whatever it was smelled disgusting, and just the thought of drinking it made me want to throw up. Thalia on the other hand downed hers and was already making herself a second drink.
I wanted nothing more than to tell her to slow down, but I stopped myself, biting down on my bottom lip. It wasn’t my place to tell her what she could and couldn’t do. We were seventeen-year-old high school students. We were meant to be out having fun and going to parties. This was what I should have been doing.
It was Friday night and I was out with my best friend. I didn’t get to do this often, so as I watched Thalia make a beeline for the makeshift dancefloor, I decided to do exactly what she’d said—to let loose and have a little fun. It was only one night, right? How bad could it really get?
Sleeping Beauty
Storm
I only had one rule when I had a party after a game: No sleeping over. But apparently whoever was snoring away in my childhood bed didn’t get the memo. Her blond hair covered half of her face, her mouth parted slightly, showing her plump, soft looking lips. She was beautiful, but in that raw, natural kind of way.
Frowning, I tried to place her face. I felt like I recognized her, but I wasn’t sure where from. She definitely wasn’t one of the students from school.
The sun had come up several hours ago, and I’d already been for my usual workout in the gym attached to the guesthouse, which was also where my actual bedroom was. I hadn’t slept in this room since I was thirteen years old, not since Dad had given me the guest house and let the housekeeper do all of his parenting. He was always too busy either in the office, jet setting to his latest business deal on his private plane, or entertaining his latest conquest twenty years his junior. He didn’t have the time or energy to be my actual father, not unless it came to my basketball career.
I tilted my head to the side, not taking my attention off the girl as I glanced down her body. Her tank top had ridden up, showing a strip of her stomach, but it was the denim shorts showcasing her legs that had my nostrils flaring. Girls I hung out with would never have worn an outfit like that, and especially not with scuffed up combat boots.
I liked it.
She wasn’t from around here, that much was clear, but I was intrigued. Curiosity waved over me, so I sat on the edge of the bed. The house was silent, the only sounds her soft snores. Everyone else had left by five am, but she hadn’t. She’d stayed, and I couldn’t help but wonder why she’d ended up here. Everyone knew I lived in the guesthouse next to the pool, so why would she have come up here?
I whipped my head around to face the en suite door, suddenly realizing she may not have been alone, but when all I saw was the empty bathroom, my shoulders drooped. I had no idea why the thought of her being here with someone else had me on edge, but I wasn’t going to overthink it, not yet anyway.
I was captain of the basketball team, the king of my high school. I didn’t want for attention from girls, but I also never really cared to give them any either. I fucked liked I shot hoops: fast and furious. I lived each day like it was the last one I was going to have on this earth, but as I stared down at Sleeping Beauty, I wondered what it would be like to live in the moment. To not worry about what everyone else thought of me. To not have to live up to expectations.
Her eyes slowly blinked open, but I didn’t move my attention off her face. I needed to see if she recognized me—I needed to know who she was.
For several seconds she didn’t focus on anything, just groaned and smacked her lips together, no doubt feeling the morning-after effects from the alcohol she must have drank last night. “Oh god,” her raspy voice whispered. “I knew I shouldn’t have—” She paused, her gaze finally landing on mine and registering. “What the fuck?” She jumped off the bed so fast she stumbled, her hip connecting with the bedside table and knocking over the nightlight I used every single night until I was nine. “Who…what…I…” She blinked over and over, but all I did was lift one side of my lips in a smirk.
“Hey,” I greeted. “Have a nice sleep?”
“I…” She backed away several steps, glancing around the room in panic. “I’m sorry, I must have—”
“Fallen asleep?” I interrupted, slowly standing. I towered over her, like I did with most people. “Name?”
“Sage,” she immediately replied, not missing a beat. She was responsive, something I wanted in every girl I met. The problem was, most of the girls at school faked it, they never truly wanted what I had to offer, and if I was honest, I never really wanted to give it to them. But there was something about this girl—about Sage—that had me intrigued. Who was she? Where did she come from? And how fast could I undo the button on her denim shorts and shove my hand down there?
“Why are you here?”
“I erm…” She bit down on her bottom lip and I clenched my fists to stop myself from reaching out to her. “I came with my friend, Thalia, to the party. And I was dancing and had a couple of drinks, then…” She glanced around the room again, taking in the dinosaur wallpaper and the basketball posters—like I said, this was my childhood bedroom. “I’m not sure how I got in here.”
Her face paled, her green eyes glistening with unshed tears. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the lost look on her face on bit. “Where’s your friend now?” I asked, trying to soften my tone, but it was harder than I’d thought.
“I don’t know.” She audibly swallowed as she reached into the front pocket of her shorts and pulled out her cell. “I don’t have any messages from her.” She shot her attention to me then back to her cell as her thumb flew across the screen. She held the cell to her ear, but after several seconds, she let it drop. “She’s not answering. Maybe she’s still here?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Party rules, no one stays over. It’s just you and me here, sugar.”
She nodded, her body trying to react to what I’d said, but I could tell she wasn’t concentrating on me. “I don’t understand. I can’t remember anything after the second drink and…” She frowned and rubbed her fingers on her temples. “This is exactly why I don’t drink.” Her voice became firmer. “I knew I shouldn’t have taken that goddamn drink.” She slammed her hands onto her hips, her gaze meeting mine again. “I hate parties.”
I chuckled. “Then why did you come?”
“Thalia.” She acted like the one-word name should be enough to answer, and maybe it was, but I still had no idea who this girl even was. She stared down at her cell again, bringing it to her ear a second time, but all she did was huff when there was no answer. “She’s still not answering.”
I didn’t move my attention off her, deciding whether I should help her or not. If this would have happened with anyone else, I would have kicked them out of my house by now and not cared one bit how they got home or why they came in the first place, but there was something about the way Sage looked that had me wanting to…I didn’t know…protect her?
Shaking my head at myself, I pulled my cell out of my gym shorts. “What does she look like?” I asked, not looking up at Sage.
“Long auburn hair—”
“Auburn?” I raised a brow. “What the fuck is auburn?”
“It’s a color between brown and red,” she answered, her voice lower now. “This is her.” She handed her cell to me, showing me the image of her and her friend. I was meant to be focusing on her friend in the picture, but I couldn’t help staring at Sage. The baggy T-shirt paired with skinny jeans was casual, effortless, but I couldn’t help but wonder what was underneath all of that. She was trying to hide behind the clothes, but what she failed to realize was the vulnerability in her eyes. Something I saw as clear as day.
I clicked a few buttons and sent the picture to my cell then sho
t it off to the group text, asking if anyone had seen Thalia or knew where she went and when she left. One of my teammates was sure to know.
“I’ll find out where she is. Shouldn’t be long until I get an answer.” I pocketed my cell. “You need a ride home?”
“Thalia’s car should still be…ah shit, she’s got the keys.” Sage huffed out a breath, her cheeks reddening. “It’s okay. I can walk.” She pushed her shoulders back and licked her lips. “I’m sorry for crashing here.” She glanced at the bed then back to me. “Thanks for erm…yeah…thanks.”
She rushed toward the open bedroom door, but I wasn’t done with her yet. “You live around here?” I asked following her down the hallway and to the grand staircase that led into the foyer. Under the stairs sat a pond with the most expensive fish my dad could have bought. Just another way for him to throw his money around as if it made an inch of difference to the man he really was.
“In Lakemere?” she asked, not turning back to look at me as she practically ran down the stairs. “Yeah. I live in Lakemere.”
“Not this side, though, right?” My words had her halting at the bottom of the stairs, but I didn’t let up. “You think I don’t recognize someone from the other side of town?” I grinned at the back of her head. “It’ll take you at least two hours to make it across the bridge.” I paused, waiting to see how she would react. When she didn’t turn to face me, I moved ahead of her, blocking the doorway. “I’ll give you a ride.”
“No, I’m good.”
“Wasn’t asking you, sugar.” I winked. “Just telling you what was about to happen.”