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)
“Jude is a big boy. He can handle himself. And I’m wounded. Here I thought we were friends, and now you’re accusing me of…what exactly?”
“Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I just worry about him.”
I nodded, knowing that was the case, but I was still a little pissed off about it. “Jude and I know what we’re doing.”
“I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I think of him like a brother, and I want to protect him the same way you would Sawyer, but I shouldn’t have said that to you. I know the kind of man you are.”
“We’re cool,” I told Rush, because I got it. I would protect Sawyer the same way. And the truth was, I did normally sleep around, and I wasn’t usually the guy who was in relationships.
“I don’t know why any of us are pretending we’re surprised this happened,” Linc added.
“Because Jude always said he was straight?” I replied.
“Are you aware what town he lives in?” Linc teased, and the three of us laughed. He was good at breaking tension that way.
“Anyway,” Rush said, “I’m sure Jude told you we invited you both over for Thanksgiving. I’d love it if you could come.”
No…no, Jude hadn’t told me. And he didn’t have to, but it still stung. Maybe Jude didn’t want me there.
“I’m not sure. I might be heading to Florida,” I lied and then reminded myself that I could get caught in that lie very easily since our parents would be traveling and Rush or Linc could easily speak to Sawyer. But I sure as shit wasn’t going to be there if Jude felt weird about it, which obviously meant Christmas was out of the question too. “I’ll let you guys know soon.”
“Okay,” Rush said. “But if you don’t go visit your parents, you should get your ass to our house.”
Then they said their goodbyes, already having eaten.
A few minutes later my pretty fake boyfriend slid into the booth across from me. “Hey. Sorry you had to wait.”
“No worries.” Is shit going to be weird with us? Do you not want me at Rush’s? “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this lunch? Miss me?”
“You wish,” Jude countered with a playful grin.
“Aw, it’s okay. You can admit it.”
The smile slid off his face, replaced by that cute-as-hell bashfulness. “Maybe I did.”
“Well, maybe I missed you too.” I mean, look at him. Obviously, I had. I also liked the fact that he was admitting he missed me as well.
“Good.”
“Fine,” I replied.
“What are we doing?” Jude asked, and I laughed.
“I have no idea.”
The waiter came then. I’d asked him to wait for Jude when I first arrived. I got water and Jude got sweet tea, and we decided to share a large plate of nachos. When the waiter left, I teased, “Looks like neither of us is bottoming today.”
His eyes went wide, and he choked like he had something in his mouth other than his tongue, but I was fairly sure that’s not what he was currently suffocating on. Well, that and my words.
“Not something you had to think about before, huh?” I asked.
“No…” He chuckled. “Linc talks about his bottoming diet, and it sounds like a full-time job.”
“It’ll be fine. It was as a joke. If we get there, it’s not something you need to stress about that much. I can do the planning.” Which again was me offering to take his cock—and I would. It was him, so I knew I’d like it.
“I think… Never mind, we’ll talk about it later. I have something to ask you, but it’s cool if you aren’t into it.”
“Sounds kinky,” I replied, and when he rolled his eyes, I added, “Shoot.”
“I know we’re just screwing around…that this isn’t a real relationship, but… Fuck.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “And it’s last minute, but Rush invited me over for Thanksgiving. I wanted to see what you were doing first. I’m sure you’ll be with Sawyer, or maybe you’re going to Florida, but I thought—”
Well, shit. Maybe Jude did want to spend it with me. Or it could be something else. “You want me with you and I’m there, Beautiful. I just gotta know first: is it for show, or because it’s what you want?” I would accept either answer. It’s what I had agreed to, but I needed to be prepared.
Jude watched me, those blue eyes of his holding on to me, until I was pretty sure it turned tangible and I could feel it. “Because it’s what I want. I don’t ever spend time with you for show.”
Damned if my cheeks didn’t hurt from smiling.
“You like that answer?” he asked.
“Yeah…yeah, I do.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Jude
Awkward Boy likes boys! He likes boys and that’s okay…isn’t it? ~ Theo’s comic
Two days before Thanksgiving, I came home from an errand to see Theo hanging around my unit. His eyes snapped to me the second I approached. The kid was pacing the hallway, almost like he was jumping out of his skin. He was always nervous, his brain always at a higher speed than other people’s, but he seemed extra jumpy then.