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)
“Oh yay! Cam, Jude, and Theo are here!” Linc said as he, Rush, and Trey came toward us.
Theo clutched my arm.
“We good?” I asked him, and he nodded.
“Well, don’t you guys look nice. Not as good as me, except you.” Linc looked at Theo. “You look fab. You must be Theo. I’m Lincoln.” They shook hands. “This is my boyfriend, Rush, and our friend Trey.”
Trey had his nails painted red and green for Christmas with matching glitter around his eyes, which popped against his smooth, brown skin.
“Hey. It’s great to meet you. We’ve heard a lot about you,” Rush said. “This guy can’t shut up about you.” He pointed to me, and Theo smiled.
“Yeah, I’ve heard a lot about you too!” Trey told him. “I’ve been really excited to meet you. I’m glad you came tonight. Do you hug? I like hugs,” Trey added, and I was pretty sure Theo was going to burst out of his skin, the way his eyes sparked and excited energy radiated off him.
“Yeah. Hugs are cool,” Theo replied. Trey wrapped him up, and I couldn’t help but feel warmth in my chest as Theo returned it. “I like your stuff…like the glitter? It looks really cool. I’ve never done something like that. I don’t know if I want to, but I like it on you. I mean, not you, you, just anyone. Not that I don’t like it on you, you, it’s just—Oh my God.”
Cam put his hands on Theo’s shoulders and gave them a squeeze. “I like the glitter too,” he said, and again, the support made my chest swell.
“Thanks. I used to totally be nervous to wear stuff like this. I was bullied a lot at school and didn’t know any other queer people, but then when I was in the hospital fighting cancer, I met Linc. He showed me it was okay to be who I am.”
“And you’re pretty damn fabulous,” Linc concurred.
“Wow, that’s…amazing. You’ve been through a lot,” Theo said.
“Do you want to go get something to drink? Then we can find a table to talk?” Trey asked him, and Theo turned to look at me.
“You can go. We’ll be around.”
“Thanks, Jude!” And then the two of them were off, and it was…pretty fucking incredible.
“It’s a good thing you guys are doing,” Rush told us.
“He’s a great kid,” I replied. “Like the little brother I never had.”
Rush reached over, wrapped one arm around me, and gave me a squeeze. He knew I’d wanted siblings when we were kids, a bigger family. “It’s funny how things work out sometimes.”
Yeah, it was. When Rush and I finished embracing, I reached for Cam. “Thank you.”
He frowned. “What are you thanking me for?”
“Everything.” I tugged on his hand. “Let’s go dance.”
Cam nodded. “Lead the way, Beautiful.”
We danced for a little while, but both of us were more interested in Theo. We kept watching him and talking about him.
“Oh, he’s laughing!” I said.
“He does that a lot,” Cam teased.
“He doesn’t laugh with another boy his age who likes boys, though, does he?”
“No, I guess he doesn’t.”
The two of them didn’t dance, but they did talk the whole night. When the rest of the crew showed up, I introduced them to Theo and they said hi to Trey, but we left them alone. It was good for Theo, getting out like this, and I wanted to make sure he had all the time he could.
We all chatted about the holidays and made final plans. Rush asked Cam, Sawyer, and Carter if we should plan something another day for all of us, but Cam said it wasn’t necessary. I was a little surprised by that, but then Cam and I would be spending time together regardless, so I figured that’s why he’d said it.
“Mom tried to get your dad to stay at my place, since your condo is only one-bedroom, but he wouldn’t have it,” Rush told me.
“Are we really surprised? I told him he can stay with me too, but he wanted a hotel. Likes his space.” Which meant his solitude. I didn’t know if we even knew how to talk to each other anymore, or what we would say. He didn’t know me. Didn’t know why I left Virginia or that I’d been depressed or that I’d hated my job. All he knew was I’d lived there and now I lived here and was a bartender. He didn’t ask questions.
We stayed until the party ended, and as we were saying goodbye, I saw Trey and Theo putting their numbers in each other’s phones. I nudged Cam, and he wrapped his arms around me.
“I see it. You did good,” he whispered close to my ear.
“We did good,” I replied.
The second we were at the car, Theo threw his arms around me. “Thank you! That was seriously like…the best night of my life. There were so many people there, and Trey…he’s awesome. And so confident. I mean, the nails and the glitter and like…I don’t even know.”