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)
When I felt Jude’s hand at the small of my back, the tension melted out of me. “Are you okay? I sensed something there.”
“That’s, um…that’s him. The guy I told you about.” I’d told Jude about Henry when he’d talked to me about being in love with Rush, what felt like a lifetime ago. He was the only person I’d ever shared the story with, because it wasn’t mine to share. Sawyer, Beau, and the others knew him, either from school or around town, but they hadn’t known about us. No one was close with Henry, but they knew who he was, and so no, I couldn’t share his business with them, even if there had been a time in my life when I’d needed to talk about it. I probably shouldn’t have confirmed to Jude who that had been, but I trusted him.
“Shit…wow…I didn’t put two and two together. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I am. He made his decision, and I got over it a long time ago. We’re here to see Theo, not to deal with old shit.”
He nodded, but I wasn’t sure he believed me.
“Jude? Holy crap! What are you doing here? And with Construction Guy. I can’t believe you guys came. Like…did you come to see me, or were you already coming?”
My eyes caught on Theo, who was wearing slacks and a button-up shirt with a nice vest over it…with his beanie. The kid was cool as fuck. I could already tell.
“We came to check out your work,” Jude told him.
The kid looked up at him like he hung the damn moon, and it hit me. It was something some people, straight or queer, didn’t understand, but LGBTQ people had a way of finding each other, congregating together, whether we knew it or not, whether we were out or not. I’d seen it often throughout my life—people I’d been drawn to in school, coming out later in life. And somehow I knew Theo was queer. I could see it in the way he looked at Jude like he knew him. What I didn’t know was if Jude knew or if Theo was out.
“Oh, wow, that’s…” Theo’s eyes darted down. “You really came to see me? Like only for me?”
Fuck. I really hoped this kid didn’t have a crush on Jude.
“Yeah, we did. We were curious about your work. This is Camden Burke, by the way—not Construction Guy.”
Theo held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Burke. I’m Theo.”
We shook. “You can call me Cam, Camden, or Construction Guy, but please don’t call me Mr. Burke. I’m too young for that shit.” There was another gasp from a parent, and I was quickly discovering I wasn’t good at being back in high school. That was the second time I’d been gasped at. “How about we go look at your art before I get kicked out?”
Theo smiled. “Yeah…I…of course. It’s this way.”
He was so excited, he looked like he was bursting at the seams. Damn, I was glad Theo had found Jude, and that Jude had invited me there with him. Having someone support you could make all the difference in someone’s life. I’d always tried to be that person for Sawyer growing up, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Theo had anyone.
He led us over to his cubicle, talking a thousand words a minute the whole time. I had no idea what he was saying most of the time, but he pointed to different pieces and told us a bit about them. One was a comic strip, and he said he wanted to make comics one day, but there were also some charcoal pieces, one of a clear box with someone inside looking out, and I thought maybe that was how he felt—trapped.
The kid was good. Really fucking good.
“Wow, Theo…this is incredible,” Jude told him, and Theo nearly glowed.
“You really think so?”
“He’s right,” I added. “You’re really fu—freaking talented. Oh my God. I don’t think I’ve said freaking since I was fourteen.”
Jude rolled his eyes playfully, and Theo laughed.
“This is what I want to do someday. Be an artist. Mom thinks it’s silly, but…”
“It’s not silly,” Jude said. “It’s your dream. You’re lucky you know what it is. I had no clue at your age. Hell, I don’t have a clue now.” Jude’s voice was low, sort of throaty.
“You’re doin’ all right if you ask me, Beautiful.”
Theo’s eyes went wide, and when I looked at Jude, I realized his were too. Shit, was I not supposed to call him that unless we were with our friends or around all queer people? The thought made my jaw go tight. I wasn’t good at that—playing the game, denying who I was—but then, this wasn’t about me, was it? It was about Jude.
Theo sucked in a breath that apparently seemed to choke him. He began to cough, his face turning red, and he reached for a water bottle and took a few long swallows.