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)
So I did what any other guy my age would do, and by any other, I meant no other guy my age would do—I called my brother. Not because I wanted to tell him what was up, but because I knew Camden would know something was going on, and he had a way of making me open up to him.
When I heard a knock at the door, I expected it to push open, but it didn’t. Then I remembered I’d told him I could have company. I chuckled before calling out, “Come in!”
The door slid open slowly. “Is it safe? No naked twinks in there?”
I rolled my eyes. “I called you over here, jackass. If I had company, I wouldn’t have done that.”
“I just wanted to be safe. It’s strange.” Camden slipped inside. “You’re getting laid more often than me now. I need to step up my game.” He kicked the door closed. “I have beer, pizza, and ice cream. You’re welcome.”
Fuck, how had I ended up with the greatest brother in the world?
I grabbed the pizza box out of his hand, and Cam went to the fridge, slipping all but two bottles inside and adding the ice cream to the freezer.
“I feel like we’re having a sleepover or sneaking to stay up or something, like we used to when we were kids, only this time there’s alcohol, and we don’t have to be really quiet so we don’t wake up Mom and Dad,” he teased, and I grinned.
“There was alcohol sometimes when we were kids too.”
“Well, there was alcohol for me because I was a bad boy. You, on the other hand, would freak out at every noise you heard because you thought Mom and Dad were going to get up and bust us.” He ruffled my hair. “My nerdy little brother.”
“Fuck off.” I pulled away and took a beer from him.
I grabbed plates while he took the pizza to the table, and the moment we sat down, he asked, “What’s wrong?” Leave it to Camden to get straight to the point.
“Maybe I just want to hang out with you. Why does something have to be wrong?”
Cam frowned. “I know you. This have to do with LA?”
“LA?”
“Yeah, your boy,” Cam replied, and I got what he meant. Carter was from Los Angeles. Carter was temporary.
“He’s not mine,” I told him before taking a bite of my pizza. When I finished, I went for the beer, making my best attempt at stalling.
“That’s kind of my point, Baby Burke.”
“Why are you obsessed with nicknames?”
“Why are you suddenly obsessed with changing the subject,” Cam countered. “Listen, you know me. I’m all for enjoying yourself—fucking who you want, when you want, and all that. I’m also fully aware that I’m the one who told you to go for it, and I’m glad you did. You just…let life pass you by sometimes, and I worry about you.”
“But?” I asked because there was no doubt in my head that it was coming. Cam might know me well, but I knew him too.
“But, I saw how you looked at him at Fever Pitch a few weeks back. I know how much time you’ve been spending with him lately, and I know you. This isn’t fucking around and exploring anymore. You have feelings for him, and I guess I wonder if he feels the same.”
“I’m fine,” I shook off his question. “You wouldn’t be asking this if you were talking to anyone other than me.”
“But I’m not talking to anyone else. I’m talking to you, and I know you…and you know yourself too.”
My eyes automatically darted away because he was right. It wasn’t something I’d wanted to let myself admit, but I was pretty sure I’d realized what was happening. That was likely why I’d called and asked Cam to hang out. He wouldn’t let me ignore my questions, would make me confront my concerns. “I wasn’t supposed to get my feelings involved.”
“Did he tell you that?” Cam’s voice was tight, going into older-brother mode.
“No. Come on, man. I’m not a fucking kid. Don’t treat me like one. We’re attracted to each other and decided to screw around. You guys do shit like this all the time.”
“Again, you don’t do no-strings sex, though, especially not more than once. I respect the hell out of you for always being who you are, despite the rest of us pulling the shit we do. Well, me, I guess. Everyone else is all coupled up now—holy shit.”
He wasn’t telling me something I hadn’t already thought of. “Except us.”
“You need to talk to him,” Cam said. “If you’re fine with keeping it no strings, then go for it. If you’re not, you’re going to regret it, and you’re gonna get hurt. There’s nothing wrong with being led by your heart, Baby Burke. That’s a good thing. We need more Sawyer Burkes in the world.”