Leah

The Catfish Creek High School had never looked so glam. The decorations that had looked like a bunch of mishmash Tuesday had come together into an elegant whole. There were gold chairs around circular tables, black and red decorations hanging from the walls, twinkle lights on the ceiling, and masks hanging down instead of balloons or streamers. The whole elegant effect was the last thing Leah expected—well, second to last. The absolute last thing she'd expected was to be teetering on the edge of forever with the man whose palm rested on the bare skin of her lower back as they stood just inside the gym doors.

"Don't tell me you're thinking of running now," Drew whispered in her ear, sending a shiver of desire down her spine.

"Not a chance."

"Good because that dance floor may be the only decent excuse I've got to hold you as close as I need to right now. That dress is killing me."

She smoothed her hands down the clingy black dress with its conservative front and deep V cutout in the back that ended at the base of her spine. If he had any clue how small her pink panties had to be to not be seen above the cutout, they never would have made it out of his house. Add a pair of killer heels in her favorite shade of ebony and she was all legs, ass, and back—it was almost as if she'd packed it in her suitcase with Drew in mind.

"This old thing?" She tossed her hair back over one shoulder so it teased the bare skin between her shoulder blades and would have winked at him if it wasn't for the stupid masks they'd both been required to put on for entrance. "I only wear it when I don't care what I look like."

Linking her hand in his, she led Drew out onto the dance floor where couples in fancy outfits and detailed masks were swaying to a slow song. Despite the disguises, she recognized a few people in the gym. Gray and Tessa were there, both dancing with other people though. So was Jessica, with whom Drew shared a knowing look and a smile. He'd sworn last night that his sister wasn't the same person she had been. God knew leaving Catfish Creek behind had changed her, maybe it was time to give another Jackson a second chance. They'd been friends once, there wasn't any law that said because of a shitty high school experience they couldn't be again.

Before that thought could spiral into another though, Drew pulled her close and everyone else in the room disappeared. All she could see was him. It felt so right to be in his arms, but Leah couldn't quite settle the nerves making her stomach do the weird flip-flop thing it always did when she wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen next. This was usually when she ran or, at the very least, put on her bitchy bad girl attitude—but she refused to let herself do that tonight. Drew wasn't the only one breaking bad habits it seemed.

The song ended way before she was ready and they walked hand in hand to one of the tables.

"What can I get you from the bar?" he asked.

"Dr. Pepper, gotta get the good stuff while I'm still in Texas." It never tasted as good anywhere else.

"You got it." He dipped his head lower so his mouth was only inches from hers. "I just need a little something before I go." He closed the distance between them, pulling her body close at the same time that his tongue slid between her lips in a demanding kiss she was more than willing to surrender to.

Hot didn't begin to describe it, but face of the sun times two might come close as her body responded automatically to his touch. Warm, wet desire had her clenching her thighs together as she gave back as good as she got. Nothing else mattered at that moment but Drew. If he'd whispered in her ear for her to get on her knees she would have, her mouth open and wanting before she hit the gym floor. Luckily—or unluckily—he ended the kiss without anything more scandalous than making her nipples so hard she could get a second job etching glass. With a wink for her and a nod for the people sitting at the table, he turned and left for the bar while she tried to remember her name and why in the hell she was back home in Catfish Creek.

One look at the people sitting at her table, though, cleared the fog of lust in her brain in a hurry. Karly sat at her table, soaking up every tidbit, no doubt. Unlike the others, Karly had taken off her mask.

Leah reached up and took off her mask, dropping it to the table and then sat down. "I thought they were required," she said, determined to brazen the whole awkward situation out.

"Oh, they are, but we can't expect bad girl Leah Camacho to pay attention to that," Karly said with an indulgent smile as if they were old friends. "So I was right, you and Drew are more than just fuck buddies! Does this mean you're moving to Fort Worth with him when he takes the new job?"

"Fort Worth?" she asked, her voice sounding strained even to her own ears.

Leah froze in her seat. Fort Worth? In all the hours they'd spent talking last night, he'd never mentioned a new job once. In fact, he'd been open to coming up to Denver to see if he'd like it. Wait. Had he said that? Specifically? Fingernails digging into the palms of her hand, she tried to recall his exact words and realized he'd evaded giving a direct answer. She'd just filled in the blanks with what she wanted to believe. Just like she had that summer when he'd left her without a goodbye.

"Oh yeah. From what I hear, this week was just one last hurrah in Catfish Creek before he starts with the Fort Worth Police Department next week. It was totally good luck that you were here to take advantage of the moment," Karly said. "I guess you two will always have Catfish Creek though."

No. They wouldn't. Not anymore. History had repeated itself one too many times.

Without uttering another word to Karly, Leah shoved her chair back from the table and marched away, her only objective being to get the hell out of Catfish Creek. She never should have come back.

"Leah," Drew grabbed her arm as she passed by the bar, jerking her to a stop, "everything okay?"

"Just fine and dandy," she managed to get out between clenched teeth. "Congrats on the job. Good luck in Fort Worth."

Confusion formed a deep V between his eyes. "What are you talking about—“

"Don't bother." She yanked her arm free, missing the warmth of his touch as much as she hated herself for being weak enough to still want it. "Karly told me everything about your new job and how you're starting on Monday. Wow, it really is like deja vu all over again with us, isn't it."

"That's not how it is." He held up his hands, palms forward, the panicked look in his eyes telling her everything she needed to know.

This is what Catfish Creek did to people. It made them do stupid shit over and over and over again until all that was left of them was a half crazy shell. Drew claimed that he'd been stuck in a cycle when really it was her, falling deeper and deeper in love with the same man who only broke her heart every damn time. It was ridiculous and she'd had more than enough.

"Of course it is. But don't worry. You won't be the one to leave without a word this time," she said, furiously blinking back the tears making her vision swim. "I'm already gone."

And she was. She swerved around him and hustled toward the doors so focused on making her escape that she didn't even see anyone else there until she ran smack dab into her and nearly knocked the other woman off her feet. They bobbled for a second before the woman locked one hand around Leah's arm, steadying herself. It took a second but the woman's name clicked into place. Rae. They'd had chemistry together and had been friendly, if not friends—especially when it came to the assholery of male nerds who thought a couple of chicks had invaded their space.

"Oh, my God, Leah, I'm so sorry," Rea wheezed, her free hand clutched to her chest as she regained her footing.

"Don't be sorry. I'm not mad at you." No, all her anger was aimed at only one person—herself. Once again she'd fallen for Drew Jackson.

Fury beating her insides to a pulp, she yanked open the door and strode out of the school, holding her head high even as she dragged her bloodied, mutilated heart in her wake.

* * *

Drew

Brain knocked off-line, he stood like an asshole and watched as she stormed out of the gym. He had no fucking idea what had just happened. How in the hell... Karly sidled up next to him, a fake smile turning her lips and an assessing look in her shit-stirring eyes.

"Oh my gosh," she said with a simper. "I didn't cause any trouble, did I?"

"Trouble?" His brain started to rev back into gear. "You? No. You're annoying, a pest, a gossip with nothing better to do but hiss snide comments about other people's lives. Trouble is that woman who just walked out the door and it's the kind I can't live without."

Leaving an open-mouthed Karly in his rearview, he hustled out of the gym determined not to lose Leah when he'd been lucky enough to get a second chance with her. She was in the parking lot by the time he caught up with her. How she managed to be that fast in heels, he had no damn clue.

"Leah," he called out.

She kept going, only the slight falter in her step gave him any sense that she'd heard him. Heart hammering against his chest like it was gonna crack right through his ribs, he sprinted to her. The urge to reach out and physically tie her to him so she couldn't run almost brought him to his knees. He couldn't though. He made one move toward her and like a cornered coyote, she'd charge and aim right for his balls.

"Dammit, Leah." He shoved his hands in his pockets as he kept pace with her breakneck pace. “Stop. I'm not going to Fort Worth."

"It doesn't matter," she said with just enough wobble in her voice to turn his stomach inside out. "It's not like any of this mattered outside of the strange bubble of Catfish Creek."

"Bullshit." Desperate to get her to understand he wasn't the boy he was that summer anymore, he was the man who wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, he sped up and pivoted into her path, blocking her getaway. "Do you know what I did when I left you all snug in my bed last night?"

She didn't answer, but she didn't move either. It wasn't much but it was probably the best sign of encouragement he was going to get from her at this moment.

"I emailed the Fort Worth Police Department and withdrew my application. Then, I spent the next few hours applying for a job at every police department I could find within an hour of Denver," he said. "After that, I bought a pair of snow boots and a real life winter jacket because no matter what happens with the job—hell, I'll take a night shift security guard position—I need to be near you."

Ever the hard ass, Leah arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms in front of her body. "You lied to me. Maybe not outright, but by omission and I'm done making the same mistake over and over again. What do you want, for me to start a slow clap because of your bravery in deciding to leave Texas?"

"No, I want you to realize what you mean to me, what you've always meant to me, but I was too fucking dumb to figure it out any faster than this. I love you, Leah Camacho." She didn't move, didn't flinch in the slightest at his declaration. He sucked in as much of a steadying breath as he could, determined not to stop until he'd confessed it all. "I love that you make me nuts. I love that you wear your bad girl attitude like armor. I love that underneath all that black you wear nothing but hot pink lace. I love that you always keep me guessing. I love that you are the best kind of trouble there is." The hard expression on her beautiful face made him hurt. Fuck that. Agony was squeezing his chest hard enough to make him want to double over and cry for mercy, but he kept going. "I know you want to run. It's written all over your face. Don't do it. Or better yet, let me run beside you. I know exactly why my life has been on a loop until now, because it was leading me to you. No matter what I did, where I went, or how much I fought it, my life was always leading me back to you. Together we work. I don't know why. We just do and I'm sorr--"

Leah pressed a finger to his mouth, stopping him mid-sentence. His heart sputtered to a stop as the words died on his tongue. This was it. He could see a decision in her eyes. He'd either convinced her or he was going to have to continue this grovel in Denver.

"I know why," she said, a soft smile curling up one side of her mouth. "I've probably known somewhere deep down since I was six years old, but it seems like I was just as slow as you were." Her finger brushed across his lips and he couldn't stop himself from kissing the tip. "We work because we're different sides of the same coin."

It made sense. He was always Mr. Law and Order and she was little Miss Trouble. "Head and tails."

"Yeah." She took a stop closer, eliminating every inch of space separating them.

His hands seemed to move of their own accord, automatically going to her because he couldn't ever seem to stop touching her. "You do have a phenomenal ass."

Leah threw back her head and laughed. "Really? That's what you're going with at a time like this?"

He dipped his head lower. "I never said I had your brains."

She tilted her chin just the right amount to bring her lips within millimeters of his. "But you do have my heart."

"And you've got mine, Sweets." He claimed her lush mouth, not only for tonight but for tomorrow and every trouble-filled tomorrow after that.

* * *

Isaac

Nothing tasted like home quite as much a breakfast burger from The Hamburger Shack. It was a half a pound of hamburger wrapped in bacon, topped with an egg and square of crispy hash browns and sandwiched between to thick slabs of Texas toast. His mouth was salivating as soon as the waitress dropped off his plate. Tamara looked doubtful.

"You're going to have a heart attack before we even get back to Fort Worth," she said, shaking her head.

"Totally worth it." He reached out to double fist it, but his phone buzzed on the table.

MARKO: Everything OK with ur sis?

ISAAC: Y

MARKO: Then get ur ass back here. New assignment.

He glanced down at the breakfast burger, already regretting leaving his phone on.

ISAAC: Why don't you take it?

MARKO: Working on something with Elisa.

ISAAC: Besides striking out with her?

MARKO: Ur so ducking funny.

He snorted.

ISAAC: Ducking? Maybe your clumsy fingers are the problem. I can give tips. Do you require guidance?

MARKO:

ISAAC: Emojis? You're so cute. What's next, a sparkly unicorn tattoo?

MARKO: Fuck off and get back here.

Tamara was already halfway through whatever horrible and healthy thing she'd managed to find at The Hamburger Shack. His burger was still untouched. What a sin.

ISAAC: Right after breakfast.

MARKO: Eat in the car.

Isaac snapped a picture of the burger and hit send.

MARKO: Carry on and grab me one of those to go.

ISAAC: Only if you say pretty please.

MARKO:

Isaac laughed and set his phone down before flagging the waitress.

"Everything okay?" Tamara asked, her tone was light but he could see the fierceness just below her icy exterior.

That was his girl, ready to do battle for those she considered hers. God, he loved her. And if he kept his foot hard on the gas on the rental since the helicopter was in use by other B-Squad members, he could probably get her back to Fort Worth, naked and satisfied, before anyone else on the team knew they'd gotten home. Anytime spent between her sweet thighs was always the best part of his day and was definitely worth the speeding ticket.

"Yeah, new assignment."

"What's the B-Squad up to next?" Tamara asked, excitement sparking in her blue eyes.

"Got me." Isaac shrugged and picked up his breakfast burger. "But I bet it'll be fun as hell.”

Thank you so much for reading Trouble, I hope you loved Drew and Leah as much as I did. And if you’re curious about the B-Squad, check out the entire series. Drew and Leah’s story is part of the fun and sexy Bad Boy Homecoming series. Each book is a complete stand alone but we hope you’ll go through each of the romances to see your favorite characters make special appearances and see just how the reunion went down. Each book carries at least one of our favorite tropes as well as a few high school flashbacks that make us smile and shake our heads. If you enjoyed the book, we’d love if you could please leave a review to show us how much. Reviews help authors every day and we totally appreciate it.

Thank you for coming to the Bad Boy Homecoming reunion and we hope you’ll not only find a romance you love, but a few authors as well. And be sure to subscribe to my newsletter for all my latest book news!

xoxo, Avery