Three Against All

By L.P. Maxa

EVERY INCH OF ME IS YOURS

Since they were children, Holden, Finn, and Monroe belonged to each other.

Over time their love changed.

Deepened.

Became More.

Became Everything.

Absent parents with more money than sense and decency left their children to each other, and they raised themselves. They defined their relationship within the context of their love for each other.

And now they don't care what anyone thinks.

Days away from graduating high school, their lives are about to change.

For better or for worse, they're in this together.

Forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group
• Release date: Dec 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781953810939

L.P. Maxa

L.P. lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, daughter, three rescue dogs, and one adopted cat. The first group of chickens met with a sad and unexpected death. They have been replaced. The dwarf goats are a story for another day. And now there are ducks. Writer, business owner and office manager, L.P. says she loves to read as much as she loves to write. Reading a good book is her reward after writing one. In her spare time—ha!—she fosters puppies for a rescue organization based in Austin. Connect with L.P. – lpmaxa.wordpress.com facebook.com/pages/LP-Maxa/1442560722667127 twitter.com/lpmaxa instagram.com/lpmaxa

Book preview

Finnian

From the outside, Peyton Pointe, Georgia looked like the kind of town in which children would dream of growing up. It was the type of place you see in movies where kids are riding their shiny bikes on well-lit sidewalks. Where mansions stood tall behind massive gates with wraparound porches, sprawling green manicured lawns, and glistening pools. Mercedes SUVs and Range Rovers filled the school pickup line, and bake sale treats were handcrafted with all-organic ingredients.

Shame it was all a lie and all a front.

The parents in those cars were too busy to talk to their children, the cookies were made by the help, and not one of the yards was mowed by anyone other than the landscaper. I couldn’t wait to get out of there.

Peyton Pointe, Georgia had never been for me: I’d never belonged.

There were two reasons why I’d never run away. My two saving graces. I met my best friend Holden in kindergarten. We both showed up on the first day in Town Cars driven by our fathers’ chauffeurs. We’d been best friends from that moment on. We needed each other. Rich kids made fun of richer kids. We laid eyes on our girl Monroe a couple of years later while we were out riding our bikes. She was running around her front yard in a turquoise tutu and a tiara doing cartwheels in the grass. Her nanny had come out the front door scolding her loudly. She’d laughed and twirled some more. We knew right then she was one of us.

Our relationship with her had never been a contest. We didn’t vie for her affection, and we didn’t push each other out of the way to gain alone time. But we were boys, so of course we kept a running tally. Holden was the first one to talk to her on her first day at our school and he asked her to sit with us at lunch. He gave her his pudding and I gave her my strawberries. I was the first one to hold her hand. We were playing in the woods behind our neighborhood and she needed help over a big log. Afterward, I never really let go. That was how it went, back and forth between Holden and me.

There was never any jealousy, and I think that was the hardest part for people to understand. You see, Monroe Montgomery was the most amazing girl in the world and we both loved her. Girls at school were jealous of her from the start because she was fun and loved to laugh. Boys all wanted to know her because she was pretty. At first we let them come around, let them try to get her attention. The older we got the more things changed, and the less we tolerated anyone touching her. We weren’t being dicks. We belonged to Roe as much as she belonged to us.

Our love, it wasn’t easy for people to understand. Our story needs to be shared. It’s time we laid it all out there, it’s time we put the rumors and the gossip to rest. Because what we had was fucking beautiful. It was perfect and kind and pure.

I got to be the one to introduce you to our tale.

It started with me because it ends with me.

Not the beginning, but where we are starting nonetheless.

Chapter One

Holden

Finnian Archer?

I glanced sideways at my best friend, Monroe, catching her attention as our homeroom teacher took attendance on our second to last Monday of senior year. Ten more days and we were out of this hellhole.

Finnian?

Monroe half shrugged as she rolled her striking green eyes. We didn’t need words to communicate. I knew what she was saying. Finn was out being Finn. He hadn’t felt like being in homeroom, so he hadn’t bothered to be.

Finn?

Our teacher was wasting her time calling his name over and over with increasing annoyance. Did she think he would suddenly pop out of the closet and give her jazz hands? Even on his best day, with the promise of a trillion dollars and the best head of his life, Finn would never do jazz hands.

Okay, moving on, Holden Benedict?

I raised my hand a few inches off the desk, not wanting to give her the full satisfaction of an enthusiastic response. High school was basically over, I didn’t have much give a damn left at this point.

Where is Finn, Mr. Benedict?

I’m not Finn’s keeper, Mrs. Scott. I smiled serenely. I could garner a pretty fucking good guess where my other best friend was, but it wasn’t really any of Mrs. Scott’s business. The three of us answered to no one, including any of the teachers at this godforsaken school.

We both know you are aware where your partner in crime is today, Mr. Benedict. She studied me over her laptop, adjusting her rimless glasses, clearly annoyed at my refusal to participate in her virtual Where’s Waldo.

Well, he’s not here. Do the details really matter? She glared at me for a good five seconds before continuing on down her list. She knew I was right. She knew his whereabouts were none of her concern, and they wouldn’t make any fucking difference. She wouldn’t mark him absent. It wouldn’t do her any good. Finn got straight As, and we were days away from graduation. Finn’s father wouldn’t give a shit his son hadn’t felt obligated to be in school today.

Finn owned and operated the motor speedway here in Peyton Pointe. He’d dubbed it The Track. Finnian Archer already made more money in a month than most CEOs made in a quarter. He didn’t really need a diploma, and being counted present in homeroom ranked real low on his list of priorities. I propped my Tom Ford brown leather sneaks on the top of my desk and put my hands behind my head, already more than bored. I should’ve skipped with Finn.

Monroe Montgomery?

Our beautiful girl raised her manicured hand without bothering to look up at the teacher, let alone answer her. I watched Roe. I couldn’t help but watch her all the damn time. She was so sexy. The way she wore her plaid uniform skirt, showing off her creamy thighs. I licked my lips. Roe shook her head, trying to hide her grin. She could feel my gaze on her and she knew what I was thinking. I hazarded a glance around the room, taking inventory of who was here and who wasn’t. Who would be paying attention if I reached over and ran my hand over Roe’s smooth skin?

I put my feet on the floor before leaning over to whisper against her ear. Where’s our other piece, babe?

She turned to me, a small smirk on her expertly painted matte lips. He climbed into bed a little after midnight last night, grumbling something about payroll at The Track.

The three of us were an anomaly at this school. No one understood us. Not the students, and certainly not the teachers. But they all craved our attention. We came from money. Piles and piles of money, and extremely well-known and connected parents.

We mattered, not by choice, but by birthright.

I licked my lips, speaking with them pressed against her lower jaw. I never even heard him come in.

Roe laughed quietly, making sure to keep her voice soft enough so only I could hear. That’s not surprising, H. You sleep like the dead. She glanced around, making sure no one was eavesdropping. He was gone this morning when I woke up. I didn’t know why she bothered. Everyone assumed what they wanted about the three of us. It didn’t matter if they heard her talking like she cared what they said.

Is that why I was freezing all night? I woke up with no covers.

Roe kept her beautiful smile in place, her voice quiet. My personal heater wasn’t in bed. I needed the extra warmth.

Greedy little thing. I reached over and ran my palm up her bare thigh, no longer able to help myself. Like most rich fucks, I had self-control issues. I’m giving you the boot next time Finn decides to be a workaholic and comes to bed at an unreasonable hour.

She raised a perfectly micro-bladed eyebrow. Says the guy who hasn’t slept alone since he was ten years old.

At the age of ten, the co-ed sleepover thing wasn’t such a big deal. Now, at the age of eighteen, people had their suspicions. While we were somewhat careful about the way we acted at school, we let them talk. We had no control over it anyway, so we let the gossip spread like fucking wildfire.

I nodded, dancing my fingers even higher toward the apex of her thighs. You’re right. Maybe you should try sleeping in actual clothes instead? Oversized threadbare t-shirts don’t provide much warmth, yeah? Roe loved to sleep in our old clothes. Finn’s and mine. She had a drawer full of our shirts and refused to sleep in anything else, no matter how cold Finn cranked the AC.

She tsked, her mouth forming a sexy pout as her palm slapped down to stop my wandering hands. Now, H, you know you don’t mean that.

I winked, letting my gaze travel from her plump lips to her peek-a-boo cleavage. Right again, babe. Falling asleep at night with Roe’s scantily clad body pressed up against mine? That was something I wouldn’t trade for anything in this world. I could assure you, neither would Finn.

The three of us stayed at Finn’s house last night. After he turned fourteen, he’d basically lived alone after he fired his nanny. He had staff, like the rest of the kids here at Peyton Prep, who kept their opinions to themselves. None of us had those good Southern nannies you read about. You know, the ones who are more like your parent and love you unconditionally. Not even fucking close. We had the kind of nannies who liked a fat paycheck and a child who didn’t cause problems. So when we started demanding sleepovers, they agreed without hesitation. They were smart, got together, and started a rotation schedule. Each one getting a paid weekend off a month with our parents being none the wiser. It was difficult to keep tabs on your children when you traveled nonstop and never took them with you.

Now all I can think about is you in bed, your hot little body spread out underneath me. I was whispering again, putting my mouth as close to her ear as I could. I was hard as a fucking rock underneath my desk, which was no one’s fault but my own. Let’s get out of here. I chuckled when Roe immediately reached down and grabbed the Gucci tote I’d given her on the first day of senior year, her gorgeous honey hair sliding in front of her face.

She was the most beautiful girl in the world, she really was. Her light brown hair was thick and shiny, and hung down to the middle of her back. Her skin was smooth and clear except for the light dusting of freckles on her button nose, and you could only really see them in the last few months of summer. Her eyes were green, deep dark green, like the dark moss growing near the water. Don’t even get me started on her body. Long legs, tiny waist, round ass, and perky tits. Roe never had those awkward preteen years. She’d been a beautiful child and she’d grown more appealing and more beautiful as the years went by.

Her gaze met mine, confused. What are you doing? I thought we were leaving.

I shook my head. I was kidding. I tilted my head and stuck out my bottom lip, playing with her. Sorry, Roe Boat. I helped you study for that makeup government final for two miserable hours last night. I leaned back in my seat. Take the test, and I’ll get you out of here. Deal?

You’re such a tease. She put her bag down, a small pout on her mouth. Deal.

The three of us were raised in gilded cages where everything was so pretty sometimes you forgot you were actually trapped: distracted for a moment by the glitter and shine. We had parents who never showed us love or affection, they certainly couldn’t be bothered with things like family dinner or quality time.

We had classmates who wanted to be near us because their shitty parents wanted to be buddies with ours, or because they wanted to play with our cool toys. The three of us were kids when we met, kindred spirits, and we did normal kid things. We rode our bikes and played tag. Then somewhere along the way Finn started holding Roe’s hand. Then I’d leaned in and kissed her one night after walking her home.

The next thing you know, Finn had his tongue down her throat at the movies and I felt her up in the backseat of my Town Car. We’d known. We’d never actually talked about it out loud, we’d simply known. Hell, we’d been friends for years by then. We understood each other inside and out. I kept waiting for the jealousy to surface.

I’d watch them together, watch Finn slip his fingers under her prim little uniform skirt, and I’d be ready for the rage to come. I would tense when she moaned my name, preparing for Finn to beat the shit out of me. Nope. The anger never came. Not once. Instead it turned me on to see them getting hot and heavy in the backseat. It felt right. Finn felt the same. I’d caught him smirking at me more than once when I’d had Roe panting in the media room.

We both loved her. We both took care of her and cherished her. It was the three of us, and no one else. There was no jealousy, there was no set schedule. Our parents didn’t care enough to dig deeper. Roe’s mom assumed she and I were dating and that Finn was my bad boy bff. She assumed this because it was what she wanted to believe. I was polished and polite. Finn was rough around the edges and drove a Ducati ninety percent of the time.

In short, I was a parent’s wet dream and Finn was their worst nightmare.

About five minutes later the bell rang, knocking me out of my inner monologue trance. We all filed out of homeroom, a necessary evil no one took advantage of. It was a time to catch up on reading and do the homework from the night before they assumed we hadn’t done. Everyone used it for checking social media. I ushered Roe out the door toward her locker, my hand on the small of her back, itching to move lower and palm her sweet little ass.

Let me guess. Is it because today ends in an odd number? Charlotte Walters passed by Roe and me in the hallway, sneering like the basic bitch she was. You let Holden out on odd number days and Finn on even? Her tone was snotty.

I let my gaze sweep the hallway dramatically. We’ve been at school less than an hour. How do you even know Finn isn’t here today? I pointed a finger in her face, singing my words, Stalking is illegal, Walters.

Charlotte ignored me, keeping her bratty expression trained on Roe instead. Girls didn’t like Roe for a lot of reasons. One being she was gorgeous. Two being she was ridiculously rich. Three? The two most desired guys at school never gave anyone, except for Roe, the time of day.

Finn and I had experimented with other chicks in middle school, before we knew Roe would allow more from us. Since then though, there were no other girls. We hadn’t cheated on Roe, not really. It was complicated, as I’m sure you can tell.

Either way, we were all virgins. Dirty and orally experienced virgins. For whatever reason, the bitches around here still thought they had a chance with us. We were considered catches in Peyton Pointe.

Except we’d been caught when we were seven.

Roe nodded, flipping her the bird, more than capable of holding her own. You figured us out. I have Finn handcuffed to my bed right now. He isn’t allowed to leave until the clock strikes midnight. She shrugged one gorgeous shoulder. He’s like my own personal Cinderella.

Charlotte turned to me, done with Roe and a flirty smile on her face. Are you coming to my party tomorrow night? Objectively, Charlotte was pretty. She was blonde with big hair and big tits. She didn’t really measure up when compared to Roe, though. No one did. It’s going to be a good time. She batted her long eyelash extensions at me. Last hurrah before graduation next weekend.

I winced and gave a slight shake of my head. Well, that’s up to my girl here. And since you just pissed her off, I’d say it’s not looking too good. I pulled Roe against me, wrapping my arms possessively around her waist and making Charlotte’s overly flirty smile slip.

Her fake doe-eyed gaze turned into a glare as she tossed her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder. Your loss.

Charlotte was one of a dozen girls at Peyton Prep who couldn’t seem to help giving Roe a hard time. It wasn’t fair, not at all. The guys at this school didn’t dare say anything to Finn or me about Roe, or our relationship with her. They knew better. The girls were harder to control, mainly because Finn couldn’t break their noses.

She can fuck her stepbrother, but I can’t have two male best friends? Roe made a disgusted face as she surveyed the crowded hallway, a sea of dark blue and red plaid. People were watching us. We were their favorite form of entertainment. This school is fucking deluded.

I put my chin on her shoulder and squeezed her trim hips. It’s because they understand lust. I kissed her neck, breathing in her sweet sugar scent. But love is a completely foreign concept.

She hummed low in her throat, enjoying my attention for a moment before pulling away. Always stopping us before we gave our unwanted audience too much of a show. We’re out of here soon, right?

One week, Roe Boat. Just hang in there a little longer, babe. I kissed the side of her head. Now go ace that government test so we can get the hell out of here. I pushed her gently into her next class then stood in the doorway watching her take her seat and pull out a pen.

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