Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
First, I poked my head inside because I sure as shit didn’t want to be responsible for locking someone inside. The second I did, I froze. Fucking froze like I should be surprised by what I saw. Froze like it fucking mattered and I should care.
Carter was on his knees in front of a big-ass muscular guy, who had his pants down and his dick buried in Carter’s throat. Carter had his own pants pulled down, cock in hand, jacking himself as he sucked off the big guy.
My whole body went rigid, went hot in this way I didn’t understand. My jaw tightened, hurt. I really needed to back away. Why wasn’t I backing away?
I didn’t make a sound, but it was as if Carter knew, as if he somehow sensed me there. He turned to look at me, and smiled around a mouthful of dick before pulling off and saying, “You know, I’m real good at multitasking. Care to join?”
My head spun, and I wasn’t standing in the doorway of a storage room in Fever anymore. I was in college, in a dorm room where another set of eyes looked at me, ones I’d stupidly fallen in love with, no matter how many times they guy they belonged to hurt me or how many times he’d said horrible things to me. “Don’t just stand there, Sawyer. There’s room for you too.”
I stumbled out of the doorway. Carter’s forehead wrinkled as if he could tell something was wrong. “Sawyer?”
I didn’t reply, just turned and walked away, my footsteps heavy and my hands fisted as I made my way through the crowd.
My head still spun. In that moment I was so fucking angry at everyone—at Carter, at the guy getting blown, at my ex, Julian, for screwing me up so badly, at myself for letting him; for giving a shit whose dick Carter sucked, and for letting myself get sucked into the past.
“Hey, you okay?” Beau asked as we met up in the crowd. He was making his way toward the bathroom.
“Yeah, I’m just…not feeling so hot. Can you tell Cam I’m heading home?”
“I’ll grab him for you real quick,” Beau said, but I shook my head.
“I’m fine. I don’t need him. I’m just gonna walk home and get some rest.”
“Okay, if you’re sure,” Beau replied. I hated that everyone thought I needed my brother to take care of me.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
But I wasn’t. I was pissed.
Beau had just walked away when I heard, “Sawyer!” Carter was calling after me, but I kept going, surprised he’d stopped what he was doing. He really didn’t have a reason to. I was the one who freaked out for no reason. He could blow whomever he wanted.
Carter caught up to me. “Hey, man. Just wanted to chat for a second.”
I stopped and looked at him.
“Care to join?”
“There’s room for you too.”
Carter’s and Julian’s words mixed, increasing my anxiety.
Shoving those thoughts out of my head, I replied, “There’s nothing to talk about.” And there wasn’t. This was my issue, my problem, not his.
He reached for me, but I walked away, got out of the bar, and then finally I could breathe. I sucked in a deep breath, my whole body a mixture of misplaced anger and embarrassment over how I’d acted.
My walk was quick. I lived on Blue Flame Drive, a couple of blocks from Fever. I didn’t go toward the stairs on the side of the building that led to my upstairs apartment. Instead, I unlocked the door to Fearless Books—my store, my dream. This place was mine, and I was damn proud of it. I had one of the largest LGBTQ sections of books in Georgia.
I’d always felt more comfortable in a place like this than with too many people, anyway. Books didn’t make me feel alone, didn’t make me feel like I was just a little different from everyone else.
The bookstore had a coffee and pastry bar, and there were armchairs and couches scattered about. I fell into my favorite chair and closed my eyes.
“You know I’m real good at multitasking. Care to join?”
“Don’t just stand there, Sawyer. There’s room for you too.”
Fuck Julian. I hadn’t needed him then, and I sure as hell didn’t need him now. That was the problem, I realized. In some ways, Carter was just like Julian. He was sexy and funny and everyone loved him.
Julian had broken my heart.
I’d never let Carter get close enough to have the chance.
CHAPTER ONE
Carter
Sawyer and I stepped into the Silver Fox Ski Lodge, a gay resort in Whistle Ridge, British Columbia, where we’d be spending the next week with the Saturgay crew.
Like the exterior, the interior walls were horizontal stacks of logs. A deer-antler chandelier hung from the center of the space, and behind the registration desk, two sconces were placed on either side of a black-and-white map of the area. Rolling our bags behind us across the wooden floor, we remained silent on our trek to the registration desk.