Fallen Crest Campout by Tijan

9

Samantha

This was happening.

I didn’t want it to happen, but it was happening.

Taylor groaned, shrinking into my side as much as she could, but we were here. Heather was wading in, and we were backing her up—even though in this situation Heather was really just lighting the bomb and tossing it into the group. The bomb wasn’t even hers to throw, but she was doing it, and if I hadn’t acknowledged it before, I definitely had a girl crush on Heather.

She stepped up to where the guys had formed a semicircle around the fire pit. Her legs set wide, her hand went to her hip. The other held her whiskey bottle, because we’d taken to just passing the bottle around.

“Heather!” Taylor hissed.

She ignored her. “Matteo.” She found him, frozen mid-sip of his own bourbon.

He looked at each of us before returning to Heather.

“What’s the deal?” she asked. “Sam hasn’t said anything, but I can tell. You’re being awkward. You’re setting off awkward vibes. What gives?”

He made a startled choking sound.

I’d never seen Matteo shocked before. I was seeing it now, and I almost wished I could take a picture of it. I didn’t think I’d ever see it again.

Could I?

I was trying to remember… Where was my phone?

I patted my pockets. It wasn’t in there.

Mason suddenly half-snorted a laugh, his head looking down. His shoulders shook.

I frowned.

Wait. Did he have my phone?

Then Heather clued in, frowning at Mason and then me, and her eyebrows pinched together. She wasn’t cluing in all the way. “I don’t want to ask, but I’ll ask you instead. What’s up Matteo’s ass?”

“Heather.” Channing stood.

She shot a hand out in his direction. “No. In some ways, this is my crew. You have your crew, Chan, and you’re all up in their business and taking care of them. This is me doing that for my group. I know something’s going on and I don’t like it. I’ve never felt this weird shit before and I’ve been around these guys. We’ve gone through some dark moments before. This, though. This has my skin crawling.”

I shot Logan a look. He and Nate.

Both were looking away, and both had their jaws clenched.

Interesting.

Then, as if knowing he was cornered, Matteo let out an audible sigh.

He was empty chairing. I think? I still wasn’t sure what that meant, and I feel like I should know. Like, I feel like it’s something that I should know and I was feeling like a dumbass for not knowing.

Another thing I could use my phone for. I could google that and then be in the know.

“Sam.” Mason’s voice was coming out strangled. “Honey.”

Oh no.

I recognized that one, and I was having déjà vu. Not a good déjà vu too.

I looked at Heather. “I’m talking out loud, aren’t I?”

She hid a grin, biting down on her lip. “You do tend to be hilarious when you drink so you’re not saying a word. You keep on thinking whatever you’re thinking.”

Someone else started snorting/laughing, but I scanned the group.

I didn’t think it was coming from any of them. That was weird.

“Matteo.” Heather coughed in a not subtle way at all. “You’re up.”

He was doing the empty chair thing now.

His eyes flashed at Heather and his mouth tightened. “I don't know what you want me to say, Jax.”

She retorted, “Whatever’s going on.”

“Whatever’s going on?” His mouth flattened and his jaw clenched. He was in that club. His shoulders got all rigid as well. “Fine. Fuck it. What’s going on is that I got released from my team, which I get. It happens, but they reached out to Mason’s team and offered to trade me. They didn’t take me. Mason had an opportunity to vouch for me, since we’re friends and all, but he didn’t.”

“That’s not how it works.”

Matteo glared at him. “That’s exactly how it works.”

“They didn’t ask me.”

“Bullshit.”

“It’s not, man. And that team doesn’t run like that.”

Matteo was quiet.

I saw Logan and Nate sharing a look, but both remained quiet.

“You know that team doesn’t work like that. Some guys have sway, but not me. I’m too new. No way in hell would they ask. If they had asked me, I would’ve vouched for you. I didn’t even know about it until it was done and you were released. You’re the one who told me about it. I got that text from you and it was fucked up.”

I also needed to note this.

This was the most not-heated argument Mason had ever been in, that I’d witnessed.

He’d been in plenty. Fisticuffs. Fighting words. Cops showed. All that happened and it had gotten bad at other times, but this time, he wasn’t that angry. He was hurt, but that was surprising me too. He was letting it be heard that he was hurt. He wasn’t standing or throwing out threats or trying to shut someone up like that. All past Mason fights.

This Mason fight, I didn’t even want popcorn to watch it.

It was very anticlimactic.

“Samantha.” A hand clasped on my arm.

I looked. Taylor was there, biting the inside of her cheek. She drew me closer and whispered, “Maybe we can try to not share everything?”

“Oh.” I clamped a hand over my mouth, then said, “Ididntknowiwasdoingit.”

Crap.

Double crap.

Heather was shaking her head. Taylor was trying not to laugh.

Channing was outright watching me, enjoying everything.

Mason seemed frustrated.

I touched my lips, making sure they weren’t moving. They weren’t. Thank goodness.

I think I’ll just keep my finger right here, just at the corner, and make sure they aren’t moving anymore.

Yes, indeed. I’ll just do that.

And I waited. No weird looks.

I think I had a handle on it now.

Mason was saying, “...and I have to also say that after you texted me, I did ask for a meet. They sent a guy down and got my opinion. I told them you’re a good player and they’d be idiots not to take you. After that, I really can’t do anything.”

Matteo was still watching Mason, but his glaring had faded.

Then he sucked in some air.

His cheeks emptied out and he looked down. His hands clasped each other in his lap and I heard the word, “Fuck,” whispered from him. “Fuck!”

He swung that accusing look to Nate and Logan. “You guys know this?”

Both shook their heads.

Nate said, “You asked us not to say anything. We didn’t.”

Mason’s jaw clenched. Now he was a member too.

Matteo swung his head Mason’s way. “And knowing you, you probably didn’t offer anything?”

“You’re in the family. I was waiting for you to come to me.” A beat. “You never came to me.”

“Shit.” It was low and swift, and Matteo’s hands were in fists beside his legs now. “Goddamn.”

Logan spoke up quietly, “When Mason and I fight, we usually handle it right away. I can’t help it. I can’t keep shit in. And he and Nate, that shit gets hashed out between them too. I mean, yeah, there’s spillage to our group sometimes but not all the time. We’re all older too.” His gaze went to his brother, then returning to Matteo. “Seems a conversation is the way to go now. Don’t you think?”

Matteo flinched.

The message was sent.

In his way, Logan had tried to be Matteo’s friend, but he was also showing that he was on Mason’s side and had been on Mason’s side this whole time.

Matteo lifted his head again. His eyes were almost searing from regret. “What do I do now? How do I make this up? I feel like I hurt you and that was never my intent. I was stupid. Dumb. I should’ve called and I didn’t. Pride, man. You know? It’s a bad fucker.”

I almost let out a sound of annoyance, because this really was a letdown. A few words, a brief moment of tension, and now the apologies were flying? There wasn’t even a swear word—

wait. There had been.

Nevermind.

There’d been swearing, but no raised voices. No beer bottles were thrown or used as a weapon. I’d heard about Channing’s recent showdown. There were no motorcycles roaring through the bonfire.

No guns. (Not that there really ever had been. I didn’t think…)

Wasted Old Sam was just that, wasted and old. My memory was slipping already.

I’d have dementia by the time Maddie was twenty.

Oh God! That couldn’t happen.

I couldn’t forget my baby.

“Sam. Okay.”

My finger had slipped. I already knew when Heather linked her arm through mine. “Maybe we should.” But she paused and looked at Taylor. “Is girls’ night over?”

Taylor was yawning.

I snorted. That was the answer.

Heather seemed to deflate all in one go. “Okay. I’m a little tired. I don’t know if I’ll be able to walk tomorrow.”

And at that moment, Channing had been frowning at Heather’s legs. He spoke up, “Babe, why are your knees all dirty?”

Taylor started laughing.

I started snickering.

Heather shot us both a dirty look before saying to Channing, “Not because of why you’re thinking.”

Taylor offered, “There was leapfrogging.”

Silence. From all the guys.

All eyes turned our way.

“Leapfrogging?” Logan’s eyebrow raised, just one of them. His head inclined forward at a slight angle. “You were leapfrogging, Firecracker?”

She flushed, but a soft smile was on her face. “Yes. And it was fun.”

Channing asked, his tone more guarded, “Heather. Leapfrogging?”

If I didn’t see it, I wouldn’t know it was possible, but Heather was flushing too.

And I didn’t know why leapfrogging was so scandalous, unless they were thinking of—

oh.

Ohhhh.

I didn’t think they were thinking of the actual leaping over part, more of the other part. The position part, and now I was flushing, and eyeing Mason, who was giving me a knowing smirk.

Yeah. Girls’ night was over.

Mason came over, his hand sliding around my waist. He tugged me away from Taylor and into his chest. Bending his head, he asked in my ear, “You wanna try some leapfrogging in the camper tonight?”

“Yes, please.”

I was refraining from a ribbit sound.

But I had to touch my lips to make sure they refrained too.

He stifled a laugh and wrapped his other arm around me. I slid my arms around him, and we took a moment, away from the tension and the disappointing drama. It was Mason and me. Mom and dad. Husband and wife, and even though we were with our family and friends, I needed this.

There was never a time I wouldn’t want Mason to hug me.

He nuzzled into my neck, kissing my throat.

I shivered, and he whispered in my ear, “And by the way, because I heard a little bit, you are fine to have one night away. You are a great mom, Sam. You worry about her, and you love her, but you are allowed one night off. And Malinda is allowed one night to bask in being a grandma too.”

Right.

We were doing this for Malinda.

I grinned, tipping my head back. His eyes got all dark and soulful, and then his gaze moved to my mouth. He began to trace around my mouth with his finger, and I felt a whole new slew of shivers.

He felt them too and grinned, his smile turning wolfish. “Fuck, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Heather groaned next to us, “I have to say, I love Channing too. He is my soulmate in this wild and crazy ride we call life, but you two are taking the trophy for being so fucking cheesy right now.” A second later, “And we lost another pair.”

“What?” I pulled out of Mason’s arms.

Taylor and Logan had gone over to stand in front of one of the campers.

The fight was done.

I was assuming Mason and Matteo would be fine now, so he and Nate had moved on to their next mission. They were taping bottles of booze to their hands.

Channing approached and stepped up behind his woman.

He pulled her back to his chest and dipped his mouth to her shoulder. She knew it was him, knew the second he got close, and a whole different look came over her face, one that was molten and wanting. As his lips touched her bare shoulder, her body trembled. She gulped, her hand sliding around his head to cup the back of his neck.

“Hey,” she whispered to him.

“Hey,” he whispered back, dropping another kiss to her shoulder before lifting his head. He frowned, his eyes sweeping around us. “Where’s my sister?”

A sharpness sliced his words. His eyebrows pulled together. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. What are the odds those four got into some fight with someone?”

I noted that he didn’t say those four had gotten into a fight amongst themselves. Nope. It was with someone else.

Heather muttered a curse and stepped free from his hold. Her eyes were alert, and she was scanning both campsites now, or scanning what she could see. “You’re right. There’s no way they wouldn’t find drama somehow.”

She began to stride forward, to the path connecting our campsites.

“Speak for yourself!” a voice hollered, and Channing’s sister materialized from the woods opposite us.

She walked with confidence, her shoulders back, head up, and behind her the three guys followed. The golden model was at her backside, and the other two filtered out, snickering to each other. Each of them held a bottle of alcohol, and not one seemed ashamed of that fact.

Channing grunted, returning to Heather’s back. His hand went to her hip. “You guys been there the whole time?” He was eyeing the alcohol. “You been drinking those the whole time too?”

Cross moved ahead, his arm grazing against Bren’s. “We were wondering if we could join the party or not.”

Again. I noted the lack of acknowledgement about the alcohol.

The other two had noticed what Nate and Matteo were doing. The shorter one hit the taller one, nodding to the guys, and soon they broke off, going over to them. “Are you guys doing fortyhands?”

Nate straightened up. “No, because that’d be dumb and immature, and Matteo and I are both adults. We’re mature…”

The shorter one smirked. “So you’re doing twentyhands?”

“Exactly. I’m going to have to piss in five minutes anyway.”

Cross and Bren watched the exchange before returning to where they’d been hiding.

A second later, they came back carrying a picnic table. Their other two friends went over and helped bring it over to Nate and Matteo, and then the four climbed on and got comfortable.

Two of them sat on the bottom bench part, taking the tape from Matteo to stick their own bottles to their hands. The taller one offered the tape to Cross, who shook his head.

“Not a fucking chance, Jordan.”

“We’re not going to finish this. It’ll make us sick, but for a while. You know?” Jordan grinned. “I was thinking we should have a crew circle tonight.”

A slow grin appeared on Cross’ face. “Yeah, maybe.” He jerked his head up, indicating the rest of us. “But not in front of these people.”

Jordan nodded.

Heather bit her lip, her eyes skating from Bren to Taylor and settling on me. “I thought there’d be fireworks tonight, and I’m not talking about the Fourth of July kind.”

“I did too.”

Channing leaned into her. “I’m thinking the married couples are going to be turning in soon.” His eyes were on Logan, who had pulled Taylor into their camper.

We could hear their raised voices, though we couldn’t make out the words, and then the camper started rocking.

Well. Goodnight, then.

Mason shook his head.

Channing started chuckling.

A moan came from inside the camper, and that was loud enough that everyone else heard it. Conversation stopped on the other side of the campfire, and Jordan pulled his phone out. No word was spoken. No request made or suggestion given, but music filled the air in the next moment. When another moan came over the music, he just turned the volume up.

“Yep. The night’s drama is finito.”

Heather figured right.

We didn’t all leave right away.

Mason sat, and I was tugged into his lap.

Channing and Heather mirrored us.

We talked with Nate and Matteo, and the group of four seemed content to do their own thing, and once in a while joining in with our conversation.

Logan and Taylor never joined us again.