Graduation and Gifts Untouchable Book Eight Heather Long Copyright © 2021 by Heather Long Cover by Crimson Phoenix Designs Editing by Kira of Leavens Editing Proofing by Bookish Dreams Editing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. For my heathens. You are the absolute best. Series so Far Rules and Roses Changes and Chocolate Keys and Kisses Whispers and Wishes Hangovers and Holidays Brazen and Breathless Trials and Tiaras Contents Graduation and Gifts Foreword Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Subject: CONGRATS!! Freedom! Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Subject: SUMMER PLANS Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Subject: COVER OPPORTUNITY READ ASAP Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Subject: ARE YOU SERIOUS? Chapter Nineteen Subject: HELL YES WE'RE SERIOUS Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Subject: BOUND HEARTS IS TRENDING Chapter Twenty-Five Defiance and Dedication Afterword About Heather Long Also by Heather Long Graduation and Gifts Life doesn’t come with a script but some moments don’t need one. Senior year pushed us all. It dared us to embrace wonder and chase love. It challenged us to find out who we were as people, as partners, as a family. We’re so much better together. Graduation isn’t the end of our story by any stretch. It’s the next chapter. *Please note this is a reverse harem and the author suggests you always read the forward in her books. Contains some bullying elements, mature situations, and is recommended for 17+. This is the eighth in a series and the story will continue through future books. Foreword Dear Reader, Thank you for picking up Graduation and Gifts. If you haven’t read the first seven in the Untouchable series, I caution you to go and grab those right now and read them first. When I first started this series—I wrote the first chapter of the first book in September of 2019—I envisioned a trilogy. That, of course, quickly changed as I got to know Frankie, Jake, Coop, Ian, and Archie. I fell in love with each guy for different reasons. There were things I saw on my side of things that the reader didn’t get to see yet. Since that first chapter, I’ve written eight books, expanded the series from a trilogy to ten books then ten books to twelve. We’ve begun releasing the series on audio and I can’t even begin to tell you how fantastic it sounds with Maryne Young and Grayson Owens doing the narration. They truly bring these guys to life. We’ve covered 181 days of their school year, not counting their vacations (hello Colorado, Padre Island, and Massachusetts), celebrated birthdays, watched each relationship she has with the guys flourish and grow. More, we’ve seen the guys grow their own brotherhood (brother boyfriends isn’t going anywhere) and extend their family. They’ve faced the rumors, the trials, and the neglect. Finally, they’ve faced truths about themselves and their families and through it all, they’ve managed to not only stick together, they’ve kept it together and become so much more than who they were at the beginning of the year. Frankie, herself, has grown and I couldn’t be more proud of her if I tried. On the home front, we’ve gone through a pandemic, been crowded together at home, worked on the idea of planning for “after” it was over and, of course, rooting for vaccinations and more. The last thing I expected was to have a herniated disc in my spine hit in February just as so many other challenges hit at once including a winter storm that crippled the whole state and it took me two extra weeks to even see a doctor, having a dear friend face a health crisis while I was too far away to do anything about it, while another faced the rising flood waters around her home. The pandemic may have isolated us, but I have never felt so far away than I did in those weeks. Writing Graduation and Gifts through all of this turmoil was both a relief and a challenge. I shared their joy and their triumphs while I was worried about so much more. I talked about letting this story breathe and even when I couldn’t catch my own breath, Frankie and the guys were doing it for me. Their investment in each other reminds me constantly that we build the families and the communities we need. From found families to girl gangs, I am surrounded by a community of amazing individuals and I treasure each and every single one of them. This series wouldn’t be the same without them, or my family or the readers themselves. Thank you to everyone who gives this series a shot. To those who left reviews. To those who recommend it to their friends. To the narrators who love the characters as much as we do. To the fans who make those amazing TikToks. To my friends who cheer Frankie and the guys on, who tell me it’s okay to take a break, who listen to me complain, who celebrate the highs and catch on the lows. Thank you will never seem like enough, but right now, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of you. And now, as always, the housekeeping notes: For those of you who have never read a reverse harem before, first let me thank you for picking this up and giving it a shot. Second, a reverse harem means the heroine will not make a choice in this book or any other between the guys in her life. It may take her a while to reach that conclusion, but it’s the journey that drives it. There are many ways to frame this kind of relationship, currently reverse harem fits it very well. Also, this is the eighth book in a series. If you haven’t read the first seven, I encourage you to pause here and go grab them. While there may be no specific happy endings at
