Page 5 of Further To Fall

Thank fuck. I needed distance from this girl, and I needed it now.

Liam studied Carter carefully, and she began to squirm under his gaze. Finally, he shrugged, and Carter seemed to relax. “All right. I’ll text you later, and we’ll figure out a day for you to come out to the house.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Carter stood on her tiptoes and planted a smacking kiss on Liam’s cheek. My stomach churned.

“I want a kiss. Where’s my kiss?” Ford reached out his arms to Taylor, who swatted him away with a laugh.

“See you later, boys!” Taylor called.

“Bye,” Carter echoed, avoiding my eyes.

I watched her perky little ass until she was halfway to the parking lot when a hand smacked me upside the head. “What the hell is wrong with you, man?” Liam was glaring at me.

“What?”

“I know you’ve got this whole brooding thing down to a science at this point, but you’re being a real dick.”

“I’m not being a dick, I’m just not real eager to play buddy-buddy with your childhood bestie. So, sue me,” I said, cracking my neck, trying to alleviate the growing pressure.

“You don’t have to be her best friend, but you do need to be cordial. Grow up already. Not every girl is Hailey.”

My jaw hardened. “This has nothing to do with Hailey.”

Liam slung his bag over his shoulder. “If you really think that, you’re more delusional than I thought.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that Hailey was a manipulative, cheating bitch, but not every single girl has a heart of pure evil. You need to move on.”

My back molars ground together. “I have.” It was true, I had moved on to dozens of women of all shapes, sizes, colors, and creeds. “I’m just not looking for a girlfriend. I need to focus on training and my fights. I don’t have time or energy for more than a quick fuck.”

“Whatever you say, man.” And with that, Liam turned and took off for the parking lot.

3

Carter

The sun beat down on my back, and as I listened to the crashing of the waves below, I could feel the stress of the last few days melting away. Rolling over, I grabbed the sunscreen to slather on another layer. I did not need to start the school year as a lobster. “This is a pretty nice setup you’ve got.”

Liam sent me a devilish grin. “Not too bad for a country boy from Georgia, is it?”

I snorted. He made it sound as if he’d grown up without running water and was forced to use an outhouse when, really, Liam’s dad was a lawyer and his mom a librarian. But they didn’t have Malibu beach houses, that was for sure. Liam’s current home sat on a private street that required a security guard lifting a gate for anyone to access it. Every house in the row sat right above the waves, and Liam said that during high tide, the waves actually crashed under the house. It was heaven.

“So, when does school start?” Liam asked after taking a pull on his beer.

“Next Monday.”

“You ready?”

“Almost. I just have to decorate my classroom.” I twirled the bottle of sunscreen in my hands, twisting and untwisting the cap. “I’m nervous,” I admitted.

Liam’s face gentled. “You’re going to be great. You were born to do this.”

“I’m glad you think so.” His support really did mean the world to me. “I can’t believe we’re both doing what we always dreamed of.” I let out a small chuckle. “Although your rise to glory is a bit more impressive than mine.”

“Don’t belittle all you’ve accomplished. Getting accepted into Teach For Our Youth is no joke.”

“All right, brother bear.”

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