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)
I ignored the missed calls from Sawyer, instead calling Trey’s dad, Tyson.
“Hey, man. Everything good?” Tyson asked.
“Yep. Everything’s fine with work.” We chatted a bit about the week ahead before I said, “I have a sort of personal question to ask you.”
“Go for it.” Tyson was a good man. He’d recently started dating a new woman, and from what both he and Linc said, Trey really liked her. I hoped for the best for them.
“There’s this kid…he’s like seventeen, I think? I’m pretty sure he’s gay, or at least questioning. I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think he has anyone he can go to. If it comes down to it, I wanted to see if Trey might be willing to talk with him? Maybe I can introduce them or take them to do something. It might not happen, but I wanted to ask if it’s okay, in case the situation arises. I think the kid feels alone, and I want to make sure he has someone his age to talk to.” I figured it would be okay, which was why I’d already sort of mentioned it to Theo, but after today I wanted to make sure.
“Yeah,” Tyson replied. “I understand that. Trey didn’t have anyone until Lincoln, and even after that, no one his age.” Now Trey had friends from the LGBTQ center, but it had taken a while. “I’m sure he’d be honored to do it, but I’ll talk with him and let you know.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. What you guys all did for Trey and me? I’ll never forget it. Pay it forward, right?”
“For sure,” I replied, before we got off the phone.
Fever Pitch? I texted Sawyer, knowing we’d need to talk.
Yeah, I can head there now, if you can.
I told him I’d see him soon, then grabbed my keys and made the drive to our favorite restaurant on Fever Street.
My brother was already there when I arrived, wearing his glasses, which he donned much more often now. Apparently, Carter liked him in them. “What’s up, Baby Burke?” I slid into the booth, across the table from him.
“Nothing’s up with me. I’m not the one with the new boyfriend.”
“Carter’s not that old. Unless you’ve been with him longer than I thought?” I teased, and Sawyer rolled his eyes. He had a habit of doing that with me, and I had a habit of enjoying it.
“You know what I meant.”
The waiter came over and gave each of us a beer, which Sawyer must have ordered before I arrived.
“You hungry for dinner?” my brother asked.
“Sure. It’s been a while since we hung out.”
He cocked his head slightly, making me think there must have been something in my voice I hadn’t planned. Either that or he just knew me. It was likely the second option.
“Bacon cheeseburger and fries,” I said without looking at the menu. Sawyer got the same.
When the waiter left, Sawyer looked at me with a concerned-Sawyer frown I had seen a million times before. “Are we okay?”
“Of course. That’s a stupid question. Why wouldn’t we be?”
But then, things had been different with us, hadn’t they? I figured that was just me being used to being the person Sawyer came to, and I wasn’t anymore.
“Because normally I would know if you had a boyfriend.”
And he would…except Henry. He hadn’t known about him, but then Sawyer had been off at college and I’d been Henry’s dirty little secret.
“Yeah, but normally it wouldn’t have been this long since you and I had dinner together either.” That time I tasted the bitterness on my tongue and felt guilty for it. “Shit. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that. You know I’m happy for you.” Yet strangely, I also felt left behind, which was probably weird, but I’d always put Sawyer first, and now he didn’t need me to do that.
“You’re right. I’ll make more time.”
“You shouldn’t have to do that.”
“I want to do that. I also know Jude isn’t your boyfriend.”
I scoffed, not at all surprised Sawyer didn’t believe our little charade. He knew me too well. But I wasn’t going to betray Jude’s trust. “Did you not see me on my knees for him? I think that’s self-explanatory. And you know I’ve wanted him from the second he showed up in Fever Falls. I just hadn’t gotten around to telling you about us yet.”
Sawyer shrugged. “You were going to blow him, yeah—and at Ash and Beau’s wedding? Really? We’ll get back to that in a minute. I do know you want him, but no, he isn’t your boyfriend.”
“And you know that how?”
“The way we’ve both always known everything about each other. That hasn’t changed.”
He was right about that. People often said twins had a special connection. Sawyer and I weren’t twins, but we had it. Always had and always would. “I’m dating Jude in all the ways that matter.” Which wasn’t a lie. We were friends, and we were fucking around. We spent most of our free time together. Was there more to dating than that?