Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
“What are you guys supposed to be?” I asked as I looked them over.
Kendra wore a blonde wig, white-and-blue blouse, and blue skirt, while Lana wore a green wig, white blouse, and black skirt.
“I’m Sailor Moon,” Kendra said, and Lana added, “And I’m Sailor Pluto.”
“What is that? A comic or something?” Steve asked.
They glanced at one another, laughing.
“You don’t know who Sailor Moon is? Really?” Lana asked.
“No joke.”
“It’s an anime cartoon and kind of a big deal,” Kendra said, looking him up and down. “What are you supposed to be? A confused American?”
“Don’t hate on my half-assed Indiana Jones outfit,” he said.
“At least put on the hat if you’re going to half-ass it,” Kendra said, taking it from his grasp and setting it on his head. “There we are. Much sexier.”
Steve posed as though taking a picture, and they both laughed.
“Thanks for the warning about the costumes, by the way,” I told them, since they’d been the ones to give us a heads-up to grab costumes for the parade. “You guys weren’t kidding about the cosplay.”
“The parade is all about fantasy and escape,” Kendra said. “It’s about being whoever you want to be and living your life to the fullest. It’s heaven for superfans because you can be your favorite hero. Or you can make up your own. You can do anything with it, but it’s not required, so some don’t do it, some people go all out, and others are amateurs like us.”
“And some are tourists who buy the outrageously priced, oversimplified costumes to attend the hottest parade of the year,” Lana joked as she winked at me. “But I do love a sexy Ash Ketchum.”
We chatted a little bit more before a thundering sound filled the square.
We all turned to the stage, where a man dressed as Harry Potter, wand in hand, approached the podium. He offered a comedic introduction for the royal family, and the audience grew so loud with excitement that I could hardly hear the rest of what he said before two figures walked up a set of steps from behind the stage. The King was dressed as Han Solo and the Queen as Princess Leia, both still in ornate crowns I assumed were standard headwear for them.
The crowd burst into a mass of laughter before whispering to one another.
“This is a big to-do,” Lana told me. “No one knows what they’re going to wear until this reveal.”
Which explained why everyone hurried to get out their cameras to snap pictures and take video as the Queen and King approached the podium, all smiles and friendly waves to their clearly adoring public. They offered gracious and charming speeches about the event and their nation, and when they finished, our new friends urged us to hit the bars with them, something we sure as hell weren’t going to turn down. We headed to a nearby bar, packed as much as Town Square had been for the royal speeches. A couple of drinks and shots later, we’d made a few new acquaintances. I glanced across the bar, and my gaze snagged on a man dressed as DC Comics’ superhero Robin chatting with a guy dressed as Peter Pan.
Both in masks, the guy in the Robin outfit looked sexy as hell, the hems of his sleeves gripping his thick biceps while his chest jutted out in the front of the shirt. And then there were those shorts, so tight against his thick leg muscles.
Damn, he was hotter than my face, which was on fire as I gazed upon the beautiful man.
Steel-blue eyes shifted my way as he caught my gaze.
I shouldn’t have just stood there, staring, but I was too absorbed in how fucking hot the guy was to turn away. Even though his mask obscured some of his face, those fucking lips and that jawline covered in a light spread of smooth facial hair left me suspecting that the rest of his face was just as yummy.
“Dude, dude!” Casey said, and I turned to see him offering me my drink.
“Oh, sorry. Thanks, man!”
I took the glass and enjoyed a sip, glancing back, and as I should’ve figured, he was chatting with his friend again.
Maybe even his boyfriend.
My cheeks still burned from the intensity of whatever had overcome me by sharing glances with him.
Yup.
I had certainly had my doubts about my sexuality in the past, but seeing him standing there assured me I was one hundred percent gay, and thank God for that.
I got to chatting with Lana and Kendra, and despite my attempts at keeping up with Sexy Robin, at some point, I managed to lose track of him. And I would have been lying if I claimed that my migrating around the bar wasn’t an attempt to find him once again. I managed to spot him in the corner of an open space leading to some back rooms, with his mask off. He adjusted it and started to put it back on, turned, and locked eyes with me.