Graduation and Gifts (Untouchable Book 8) Read online

  Frankie tilted her head back to stare up at me and she grinned. "What are you thinking about?"

  I opened my mouth to answer her and the principal announced over the PA system that we should be gathering to line up for our respective buses. Archie was already heading in our direction, as was Bubba. Jake stole Frankie away with an arm around her and pressed his lips to her temple.

  "He's being philosophical," he warned, and Frankie laughed as she rubbed Jake's hand before looking at me again.

  "Because this is the end?"

  "In a way," I admitted. "It struck me, this really was the end of an era for us. Yes, we're still going to be together, but... no more coffee in the cafeteria or heading off campus for lunch or waiting by your car for you in the morning."

  "Oh, fuck me," Archie groaned. "Who let him get started?"

  Bubba chuckled. "Leave him alone. We all have to process in our own ways."

  I flipped both of them off, but Frankie let out a whimsical little breath. "But the important part is we will be together. I mean, it hasn't been ‘whose house do we hang out at’ in months, and it won't be everyone crashing at my apartment, we're gonna find our own place. You know, if we can pull that off."

  It was Bubba's turn to tug her away from Jake and he nuzzled a kiss to the corner of her mouth. "You're encouraging him."

  Laughter swelled up, she didn't have to encourage me. We were doing this. Rachel made a gagging sound as they called us to the buses again and I snaked out an arm to grab her and tucked her close.

  "All together means you're with us too, Queen Cactus."

  She grunted, but didn't yank away, then Frankie glanced over her shoulder at Jake. "Road trip later, we need to go beat up a Freshman at UNT."

  "Done," Jake said bringing up the rear. "Just tell me how much damage you want him to feel."

  "A lot," Frankie said decisively. "He's a real dick."

  "I'll take care of him, Baby Girl."

  When Frankie flashed a triumphant smile at Rachel, she huffed out a laugh. I glanced at the brunette who gave me an impudent look. "I'll help," I decided aloud and Frankie beamed at me. Whoever this fuck was it had to do with Rachel. I had zero trouble beating the shit out of some asshole who hurt her, and Frankie wouldn't be asking if Rachel wasn't hurt.

  "We all will," Archie agreed as Bubba shot a look back at me and Rachel.

  "Yep." Then Jake fell in next to Rachel while Archie and Bubba kept Frankie between them.

  "The musk of testosterone in the air is choking me," Rachel commented.

  "Deal with it," I told her. "You're one of us."

  Ian

  The line for the buses took us out into the heat. Thankfully, all six of us were on the same bus because we were in the top one hundred, which meant instead of sitting alphabetically, we'd be sitting by class rank. I'd rather have just sat together, but even alphabetically, that wouldn't happen, so this was the next best thing.

  Archie grunted when I slid into the seat next to Frankie and he snagged the one behind us with Jake while Coop and Rachel took the one ahead. The air outside was already sticky, but they had the air conditioning running full blast. Maybe that was why Frankie gave a little shiver, or it could have been my fingers on her nape.

  Maybe both.

  She flashed a look up at me, those green eyes of hers sparkling. I loved seeing her happy like this. I wanted her to always be happy. "Attorney called," I said in a low breath, and she raised her eyebrows. So far, the only questions she'd had in the negotiations had been did I like it and did I trust it. If either answer had been no, then she'd voted no.

  Was it any wonder I adored her?

  "Still not happy with what the producers are pushing for and they want a full rights grab." I shook my head. After a couple of long discussions with Archie and the attorney, I had to agree with them. The more rights we retained the better for our future. If the producers had their way, we'd make ten to twenty percent at best off our work and our creations while they could then sell and resell it anywhere they wanted.

  Granted, maybe it was arrogance on my part. Just because we got a recording contract didn't mean we'd make it anywhere. The contract didn't even mean they'd release it. Honestly, I just wanted to make music with her. I wanted to write with her, sing with her, and just share it with her.

  If all we ever did was record for ourselves, then fine.

  She bumped my shoulder. "Then we keep negotiating or we tell them to take a leap. If one producer wanted us, then another will too. Remember what KC said."

  Yeah, KC, Kaitlyn, had been fantastic. She'd critiqued our demo and it had been mostly positive, but she'd also made a few suggestions, particularly where we could both feature our voices individually as well as in combo. I hadn't even realized that I'd done more about featuring Frankie's voice than mine.

  Frankie had given me a scolding. It had earned her a lovely spanking, but I wasn't really sure who got chastised more in that situation. Color bloomed in her cheeks as if she, like me, was thinking about that particular conversation. Studio time had become one of my favorite parts of the week. The soundproof walls and privacy gave us a lot of freedom.

  We also had a rope class in a couple of days, I was a little more nervous about that, but she was looking forward to it. Truthfully, so was I.

  Linking our fingers, I gave her hand a squeeze. Seniors packed onto the buses... well I guess we weren't seniors anymore. We were graduates. Fuck. There were a lot of familiar faces that we never had to see again.

  The girls. Some of the football players. Fuck, for every face we liked there were at least four or five I didn't care if we ever saw again. It didn't take long before we were rolling out. The principal was on our bus and began waxing poetic about the future ahead of us, but my future was sitting around me and right next to me.

  There really was no rush for the rest of it. Archie had told us to clear a few weeks right at the beginning of summer for a surprise trip. No details on where we were going, yet. He promised to give me a heads up a couple of days before the blast off. Frankie had to know we were planning something. At least that Archie was, but she didn't ask.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket and I eased it out. We'd been told to keep them turned off for the duration. Yeah, that wasn’t happening.

  Mom and Dad sent me a selfie with the sign they planned to hold up. Kill me.

  "They're adorable," Frankie said as she leaned her head against my shoulder. The purple was really working for her.

  "They're not bad," I admitted. Still, there was no mistaking the wistfulness in her voice.

  "They're the best," Frankie teased me, then gave me a gentle jab. "Who else would have come up with brother boyfriends?"

  Thankfully, she kept her voice pitched low, so it didn't set off Jake or Archie again. I was never living that down, and Coop's laughter? I thought the guy was gonna pull a muscle.

  "Fine," I conceded. "Though if she puts that on a sign, I'm disowning them."

  The drive proved uneventful and while Coop and Frankie had been the anxious ones, they were both calming. I wasn't anxious so much as ready. Ready to be done with high school, the drama, the politics, hell, even the bad decisions. I was ready to make a clean start in a new place.

  New York was going to be so fucking different from here and I couldn't wait.

  We pulled into the event center and Jake made this soothing noise behind us.

  "Hang in there, Arch. You're almost done, and you can add ‘survive the public school bus system’ to your resumé."

  The sound of Archie punching his arm carried, and I grinned.

  Better, Frankie laughed.

  Jake

  Hell yes, I whooped as we descended the steps into the parking lot. The heat smacked at us and there were four other buses dropping off their graduates. A sea of purple. For the first time since the shit the team pulled at Halloween, I was proud of our school colors. A breeze stirred the warm air and Frankie adjusted her cap. Rachel was helping her pin it into p
lace.

  The robes looked fantastic on her. Best extra sixty bucks I ever spent. Mom had tried to reimburse me when she figured it out, but like I told her then, I did it for Frankie, I didn't want to be reimbursed.

  Even better, she'd been on cloud nine since her father showed up at the front door. Hank seemed like a cool dude. He even rolled with it when Frankie said we were all her boyfriends. She flat fucking amazed me every time.

  Hank's reaction had been surprise, but he'd taken the news and just gone with it. The guy reminded me of her so much that I didn't doubt for a second he was her father. There'd been this one little moment in the kitchen when we'd talked about pizza that he'd looked around the apartment and asked if this was where Frankie had grown up.

  The surprise on his face had also been touched by sadness. There were little touches all over the place that were hers. Fuck Maddy Curtis. Frankie should have gotten to know this guy while she was growing up.

  Then again...

  If he'd been in her life, maybe we wouldn't have been, and every cell in my body rejected that idea.

  Fuck that.

  "Jake." The hint of impatience in Frankie's voice tugged me back to the present, and I grinned at her.

  "Someone else you want me to beat up for you, Baby Girl?" Couldn't wait to find the walking dead man whose ass my girl wanted kicked.

  She snorted, but curled her finger. "No, they want us to line up by rank."

  Right. We were ahead of all the losers. I gave them a smirk as I caught her hand, but Rachel was a step ahead and moving with us.

  "Yeah, yeah," Archie grunted. "Fuck off."

  I snickered.

  Honestly, none of us cared where we placed in the ranks beyond being in the top percentage to get the scholarships and admission. We were in at NYU, and that path was decided. Everything else we'd figure out as we went.

  Together.

  I was a couple of spots ahead of Frankie and Rachel was three ahead of me. She was in the top five, her wink and adjustment of her cap with her middle finger made me laugh again.

  It wasn't long before we were heading inside, I kept one eye on Frankie, though I needn't have worried. She handled those heels on the uneven pavement like she'd been walking in them forever.

  The march inside had the cool air conditioning hitting us as we followed in single file toward the stadium. The music had begun to play, the school song followed by Pomp and Circumstance for us to head to our seats. As soon as I cleared the first doorway, I glanced toward the arena seating we'd secured for our families. We'd traded tickets around until we'd gotten a block for all of them together.

  I half-stumbled when I saw Dad there in his uniform, a broad grin on his face, and the girls squealing and cheering next to him. Even Mom looked happy. Klara was sitting with them and she winked when she caught me looking.

  Fuck. Me.

  He came.

  They both did.

  Bubba's dad stood right behind mine and he wore the broadest smile. Somehow, Joe had a hand in this. He and my dad had been friends for too long. There was Coop's mom and dad. We had friends there too. Marsha from the diner had come. I thought that might be Lyssa from the club sitting with them, but would Bubba and Frankie have invited her?

  Archie's grandfather stood clapping with Jeremy and, ugh, Archie's mother was there as well as his father. Poor guy. I mean, I guess it was good they showed up, but still.

  As promised, Frankie's dad was right there with them. He wore the strangest expression though, his smile proud but strained and when my gaze skipped past him, I realized why.

  My dad wasn't the only surprise guest. There was an older couple also seated there and from the photos, I recognized Frankie's grandparents.

  But they weren't who made my blood boil.

  Maddy "fucking" Curtis was there too.

  Goddammit.

  Chapter Four

  Don’t Let me Be Misunderstood

  Frankie

  All through the speeches, the accolades and the calling out of special achievements—even when they called my name—I remained intensely aware of the fact Maddy had shown up.

  She'd shown up here.

  At my graduation.

  Where the guys were.

  Where their families were.

  Where Hank was.

  That was the part that infuriated me the most. Hank had come all this way on the chance he could see me graduate. A child he'd never known about, while Maddy, the woman who had raised me—that whole phrase was fucking laughable— couldn't even be bothered to tell him about me or vice versa. A woman who only wanted what she wanted when she wanted it and fuck everyone else.

  Hating her probably wasn't healthy, but Erin told me I needed to be honest about my feelings. Right now, I really fucking hated her. The only saving grace was all of the guys' families were between Hank and Maddy.

  That was something. I hadn't noticed whether she was sitting with Eddie or not. Fuck, poor Archie. The last people he wanted to see here were his parents. My stomach roiled, and I focused on keeping my head up. The speeches droned on, but I couldn't focus on them. None of the guys were sitting close enough to touch and even Rachel was one row ahead not far from Jake.

  When they started calling out the names, I exhaled a huge sigh of relief. I wanted so badly for this whole thing to be over. It was like all the giddiness from earlier had deflated from my day. The first row rose and lined up so they could cross the stage. We'd rehearsed it, and when they got to the halfway mark, I rose with my whole row and we trundled into place.

  Thankfully, I didn't trip over my heels and I didn't turn my head or look back. I had my eyes on the stage when they called Rachel's name. Her family let out a huge burst of sound in the center. They were noisy as hell and she made a face at them before she tugged her tassel over to the opposite side and accepted the folder from the superintendent. When it was Jake's turn, there was another burst of sound, and I put two fingers to my lips and let out a shrieking whistle for him.

  Fuck the rules.

  Okay, maybe I should calm down, but my heart hammered and Jake's almost feral grin when he glanced at me as he left the stage pulled a real smile to my lips. I winked at him and his mouth pulled a little wider, and then I was climbing the steps.

  "Francesca Curtis." Fuck me, I hated my name.

  But the cheers came from not only guys, four sets of whistles along with Rachel's "Yes bitch!" carried and some of my fury gave way to warmth. They were here for me. Just like I was here for them, and as I accepted the empty folder, I looked out over the crowd. Coop, Ian and Archie were all in the line behind mine, but Jake held up both thumbs toward me. Then beyond him, I glanced at the stands.

  My grandparents were here, and they were both clapping. Maddy wasn't sitting with them. She wasn't sitting with any of them, really. Not even Eddie. Instead, she sat at the end of the row with a few seats between her and all of them. But Hank was where I forced myself to focus. I didn't want her here.

  I didn't want her to be part of this.

  The moment my gaze snagged on his, he put a hand over his heart and mouthed “Congratulations,” or maybe it was "I'm proud of you," or something. I was too far away to really make it out. What I could see, however, was the pride reflected on his face.

  The pride he'd worn when he talked about his kids back home.

  I dropped my gaze for a moment and blinked back the tears as sound rushed in and I shook the superintendent's hand before I moved my tassel and headed off the stage. I was almost numb by the time I made it back to my seat.

  The girl next to me let out a shuddering breath. For the life of me, I couldn't remember her name. Maybe it was Dawn? "We did it," I murmured to her.

  And she let out a ragged little laugh before she bumped my shoulder and grinned. Then Archie strode across the stage like he owned it and I whistled for him just like I had for Jake. There was a wild burst of applause from our families. The same for Coop and Ian when they had their turns. I locked gazes wi
th each of them as they exited the stage.

  This was it. We'd done it.

  Graduated.

  No more high school.

  No more mornings in the cafeteria. No more pop quizzes. No more library make out sessions.

  No more bullshit notes on my locker or worrying about vandalism to my car.

  Weirdly, no more donuts or coffee runs.

  I mean, we'd have all of that, but it would be different.

  No more watching the guys with other girls. Or worrying about girls trying to make friends with me to get their attention.

  That alleviated some of my melancholy, but we still had another five hundred students to pass through and that took time. There was a moment where the band played. More remarks from some of our teachers, and even Diane was up there giving us a few last encouraging words before the principal congratulated our graduating class and dismissed us for the last time.

  Despite being scolded to not throw our caps, we all hurled them skyward. Some of the kids had decorated theirs and spontaneous hugs were offered. I even got one from Maria, before she grinned and slid away. Ian got to me first and scooped me up for a hug. Coop wrapped his arms around me from behind. Then Jake and Archie were there. They dragged Rachel into our group hug and I let out a noisy breath.

  "Let's make a break for it," Archie said as we pulled apart. "I'll call for a car to come and get us."

  "We can't," I told him. "And more...I don't want to. I want to see Grandpa Ted and Jeremy. I want to see Marsha and the rest of our families." More, I wanted to see Hank.

  "Whatever you want, Angel," Ian promised me. "They would understand."

  I cast a glance over my shoulder. Like the kids, the families were heading outside. One of the announcements indicated we'd be exiting through a different set of doors and meeting them on the other side of the event center.

  Fingers linked together, Jake tugged me toward him. "Then let's go get this over with."