Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 81426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“You just might be the biggest dork I’ve ever met.”
“Well, that wasn’t very nice. Smelly Sandoval? Shut-up Sandoval. Stop-pretending-you-don’t-like-me Sandoval, because when you do, you’re so Satisfying Sandoval.”
Jude let loose a deep, husky laugh that was contagious, so a second later I was doing the same.
“I really think there might be something wrong with you,” he added, still snickering.
“Stop it, Sandoval.”
“Make me, Crazy Camden.”
“Ugh. My name is better and easier, Jilly Jude.”
“Jilly?”
“Silly with a J.”
“Or you could have paired it with Sandoval.”
Glancing over, I winked at him. “I keep you interested by keeping you on your toes.”
Jude shifted in the seat and looked away. I hoped I hadn’t overstepped. We said we were going back to normal, but the thing was, I always flirted with Jude, and he never cared. “Sorry. I—”
“Let it be, Charismatic Cam. Don’t coddle me.”
I liked that…him calling me charismatic, and I also understood his not wanting to be coddled. I would be the same. “So tell me more about this kid.”
Jude told me what he knew about Theo as we finished our drive to the high school. The parking lot was nearly full, which was cool. Great turnout for an art show. We hadn’t done that when I went to school there.
We were almost to the bright red and orange doors, when I stopped him. “Hey.” I put a hand on Jude’s shoulder. “This really is cool of you, supporting some kid you just met like this.”
Jude shrugged it off, which I knew he would. “It’s no problem…and wow, this school is bright.”
“Fever Falls Fire, baby. You’re talking to a previous homecoming king, most likely to accidentally set the school on fire, and district champion in high school football here. Are you impressed?” We’ll forget that our team was so good because of Ash and Beau. Jude didn’t need to know that.
He shook his head, but a smile played at his lips. “Most likely to accidentally set the school on fire? That doesn’t sound good. So no, I’m not impressed, Cocky Cam.”
“Eh, we can’t use that one. Beau claimed it for Cocky Carmichael, though I’m sure my dick’s bigger than Ash’s, so it’d fit me better.”
A woman gasped behind me, and Jude’s eyes went wide. I mouthed a sorry, and then we hurried inside, trying to hold back our laughter. Christ, he was fun.
They asked for a small donation to get in, which Jude and I both did. Then we made our way to the gymnasium, where they had different sections for each high school artist.
“Wow…this is really cool,” I told Jude, meaning it. We hadn’t run across Theo’s section yet, and had only made it to about three showcases, when I heard, “Camden? Isn’t this a surprise.” I froze up for a second, then shoved that feeling aside. There was no reason for me to get that way. Not after all this time.
I turned around and saw him holding his wife’s hand.
“Jude, this is an old friend of mine, Henry, and his wife, Dee. They’re both teachers at Fever Falls High. Henry, Dee, this is my friend Jude.”
It was still awkward when Henry and I ran into each other. I guessed a shared secret past would do that to people. Especially when you’d thought you were in love at one point, only one of you said he would never come out, and despite saying he’s gay, promptly proposed to a woman.
“Hey, Jude. It’s so nice to meet you!” Dee said.
Henry’s eyes darted from Jude to me, then back to Jude again. He seemed to notice everyone was looking at him. Henry shook his head, apologized, and said he had a bit of a headache, before shaking Jude’s hand.
“Jude’s neighbor’s in the show, so we came to support him,” I told them.
“Oh, that’s so nice of you.” Dee put a hand on her belly. Oh wow, she was pregnant again.
“How are the kids?” I asked.
“They’re good,” Dee replied. “They’re both in elementary school. It feels like they’re growing up too fast.” Henry reached over and grabbed her hand, but he hadn’t spoken, just sort of looked at me and Jude.
This was awkward as fuck, so I needed to get the hell out of there. “I’m glad things are going well. And congrats on the new baby coming. We need to be on our way, though.”
The last thing I needed was for the conversation to drag on any longer. It was obviously uncomfortable for Henry…having his wife and the man he used to secretly love and sleep with speak to one another. I turned, and Jude was right behind me. It always shook me up a bit to see Henry. Not because I still had feelings for him, but because I was sad for him…and for Dee too. But then, maybe he’d realized he was bi and not gay? Maybe he loved Dee, but I also knew he had loved me, that it had been real, but that he hated that part of himself and wished it didn’t exist.