FTB

"Man, you gotta promise not to freak out. I feel bad enough for doing this. It's totally not me." Zach explained as he paced.

"What, Zach? I won't freak out. Did you get a girl pregnant or something?" Mack joked.

"No, this isn't about me and a girl. This is about your girl." Zach clarified.

Mack's smile fell. "What did you do?" He hissed.

"Hey, woah! I didn't do anything!" Zach defended. "I just remembered you saying you didn't want her hanging out with SB,"

"And you saw her with him?" Mack sighed.

"Yeah, a couple of times now." Zach frowned. "I didn't want to tell you and fuck over Kay and SB like that, but I didn't want to not tell you and fuck over you."

"Zach, it's okay. I won't mention who I heard it from." Mack promised. "I gotta let you go."

Mack needed a breather before he called Kaylynn. He didn't want to yell at her. He wanted to calmly talk with her. That's the thing he needed to work on. His temper. Kaylynn could snap just as quickly as he could. He finally felt calm enough to talk with her. She answered on the second ring.

"Hi baby." She sang.

Mack was pissed again. "So you still hung out with Sam even though I asked you not to?"

"I am fantastic! Thanks for asking! I miss you too, Macky." She mocked. "Yeah, Mack, I did. He's my friend."

"Also your ex." He stated.

"Barely." She scoffed. "We were hardly together for long enough for you to be like this every time he breathes by me."

"What do you fucking mean 'like this'? A little scared? Protective?" He yelled. "I lost my fucking mind when you were with him and you think this isn't how I should be?"

"Mackenzie, listen to me." She said, her tone calm. "Sam and I have talked. He is completely over me, he has a new girlfriend and everything. If there was anything for you to worry about, I would let you know. I'm a smart girl and I wouldn't let him ruin what you and I have, alright?"

"I'm just trying,"

"Babe, believe me, I know what you're doing is out of good intent. I get that you're far away and this is all scaring you but I'm with you for the long haul. I just need you to have some faith in me." She finished.

"I'm sorry. It's just been a lot out here and I don't have you with me to keep me relaxed." He exhaled.

"I'm always here to talk though. And we'll see each other sooner than it seems." She smiled. "Now go take a nap before your conditioning tonight."

He groaned. "I'll text you when I'm up."

"Okay, Mack." She breathed. "One week."

"Just one week?" He grinned.

"Seven days until I'm back in your arms." She teased.

"This is gonna be the longest week of my life." He sighed as he hung up.

That night, Morgan had invited Taylor to a party at his new buddy's place. A college party. Taylor could only convince Holiday to tag along. They got all dolled up and made their way to the party. Morgan met them at the door, kissing Taylor as soon as he saw her.

Holiday lost Taylor to Morgan in no time. She grabbed a red cup and filled it on the refreshment table. She found a spot near the front window and decided to call that her home for the night. Or until she needed another drink. A girl walked over to her, smiling.

"You look about as out of place as me!" The girl laughed.

"I only tagged along with my friend so she could see her boyfriend." Holiday explained.

"I only came because my brother did. No idea where he went." The girl frowned. "I'm Kylee. That's K-y-l-e-e." She spelled it.

"I'm Holiday." She extended her hand. "You're new around here, huh?"

"Yeah, my brother got asked to play for some team here so we moved." Kylee told her.

"Falcons?" Holiday asked. Kylee nodded with furrowed brows. "I go to Fairview. My boyfriend's on the team and my best friend's dad is the coach."

"Your best friend is Dustin Brown's daughter?" Kylee gasped.

"Yeah, she's prettier than he is." Holiday joked. "Who's your brother? I met a few of the new guys already."

"Haydn, Fleury." Kylee said. "His name is spelled weird too."

"I met him!" Holiday exclaimed. Kylee looked confused once again. "My boyfriend, Andre, knows him."

"Oh, I know Andre!" Kylee smiled. "Poor guy can't come up to the cottages without getting mobbed by girls."

Holiday laughed. Kylee had no idea. They continued talking. They were pulled away from their discussion when the music cut out. They looked over and saw someone climbing onto the beer pong table. Holiday let out a sigh when she noticed the person. Griffin.

"How many of you know my little brother Sam?" He slurred. He earned some cheers. "And you know how he has a cute little girlfriend, right?"

"Oh no." Holiday said under her breath.

"Dustin Brown's daughter!"

"Yeah, that one!" Griffin laughed.

"Hey, isn't that your best friend?" Kylee said, completely unaware.

Holiday nodded. "This isn't going to be good."

"Huh?" Kylee frowned.

"Well, my gem of a little bro, just lost it to her on our basement couch!" Griffin announced.

Everyone started to cheer. Griffin cheered and started high-fiving people. Holiday looked around and saw Taylor staring over at her. Holiday shook her head, just as Taylor did. Taylor turned around, pulling Griffin off the table. He hugged her and she rolled her eyes.

"You know Audrey's gonna murder you and Sam, right?" Taylor whispered to him.

Griffin just shushed her while he hugged her. Taylor eventually escaped Griffin and went back to her boyfriend. Holiday stuck with Kylee. They got to know each other and exchanged numbers. Holiday promised to show her around at Fairview.

The next day, Audrey woke up to her group chat exploding. Taylor mentioned Griffin's announcement at the party and then there was a discussion about whether or not Sam should have kept it to himself. The girls came to an agreement that Griffin was in the wrong for announcing it, but nothing was wrong with Sam informing his brother. They were now all on their way to her house. This was all done without Audrey's input.

She got changed and walked downstairs. The girls would be there soon, and Audrey wanted to eat before they came over. Her phone buzzed and she checked. It was a message from Sam. It just said good morning with a bunch of emojis. She rolled her eyes but felt her cheeks burn as she sent him a reply. The doorbell rang and her quiet time was over.

"We're going downstairs because I know what you all want to discuss." She hissed before leading them downstairs.

"Details." Danielle said as she sat, crossing her legs and hands.

Audrey smiled, looking down. "We were playing Chel and then I beat him so I started mocking him about it. I was like standing in front of him doing it, so he pulled me down so I was cradling him and then we started to make out like that, and I guess I just ground into him a little too well and he decided he was ready." She shrugged. "He was so sweet about it. He asked if I was okay on the couch, and okay with him seeing me naked, and God."

"You're blushing. Audrey Brown is blushing." Kaylynn taunted.

"Okay but how was he?" Holiday grinned, leaning forward. Everyone gave her a weird look. "I have this theory that Sam is actually crazy in bed."

Audrey smirked, raising her eyebrows quickly before lowering them. "Definitely my best." She confessed.

"Really?" Candice gasped.

"Wait, how many guys have you slept with?" Taylor furrowed her brows.

"Three. Brendan, Thatcher, and Sam." Audrey explained. "Sam had the least experience and was the best. Hands down."

"Why did you wait so long?" Kaylynn questioned. "Like, I don't mean anything by that, I just assumed you two were like rabbits."

Audrey laughed. "We've done other shit. He just wasn't ready and I wasn't going to rush him." She told them. "It was worth the wait."

"Yeah, well, Griffin told a bunch of college guys about it." Taylor shook her head.

"Nice!" Audrey mocked. "I love it!"

"Don't worry, no one important was there." Holiday tried to comfort her.

Audrey texted Sam about it. She instantly received a giant apology in return. She shook her head with a smile while she replied that she had no control over Griffin's big mouth. Sam promised to kick his ass for her. She laughed.

Notes