Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 81272 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81272 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“He’s adorable,” I told Beau.
“Yeah, he is. So…how’s everything going?”
I shrugged. Took a drink of my water. Checked my nails. Took another drink. “Oh, fine. I just… I mean, I have a boyfriend, but—”
“You have a what?”
“Boyfriend. You know, that thing Ash is to you? I have one. Only we’re not in love and it’s not serious, but we’re boyfriends…just trying to see if it works…and exclusive. Well, I think we’re exclusive. Oh my God, I’m exclusive.”
My head spun a bit. I was exclusive. What had I been thinking?
When Beau didn’t reply right away, I asked, “Are you mad?”
“What? Why in the hell would I be mad, Linc?”
“Because you’re always telling me I need to stop fucking Rush. And that I’d hurt him. I don’t want to hurt him, and I tried to stop sleeping with him. And ugh! God, I like him, Beau. And I’ve never liked someone before. Not really, but I don’t want you to be disappointed in me, because you’re my best friend. And what if I do hurt him? God, I would never forgive myself if I hurt Rush!”
I couldn’t control the rapid spin of thoughts in my brain. It was all something I hadn’t let myself think about much, and I sure as shit hadn’t allowed myself to say any of it out loud—which would have made it all feel more real and scared the shit out of me.
“Hey, I would never be disappointed in you for dating someone—whether he got hurt or not. I apologize if that’s how I made you feel. You know I worry about you. My thoughts were more for your benefit than Rush’s. I knew you wouldn’t want to hurt him…but I could also tell he had feelings for you. I just didn’t…” He paused, seemed to gather his thoughts. “I just didn’t think you felt the same. You’ve made no secret of your dislike of exclusivity and desire to never settle down.”
“Well, God. We’re not married or settled down. We’re dating.” My skin began to feel a little itchy. “Plus, I’m sure it won’t last. Eventually he’ll want to move on or I’ll miss my freedom or something.”
“If it’s the right person, being with them will feel like freedom,” Beau replied.
“So you don’t think Rush and I are a good idea?”
“What? No. That’s not what I meant. I don’t know. I think it’s cool you guys are giving it a try. Again, it was never about you not being with Rush; it was about Rush wanting something you didn’t. And now I see you want that. I’m happy for you.”
I breathed for the first time since I’d told him. I needed Beau’s support more than he’d ever know. “It’s so weird. I don’t even know what to think about it.”
“I think things are about to get a lot more interesting. Does that mean you’re going to stop hitting on Ash?”
“Do you know me? If I stopped, I wouldn’t be me, which means you wouldn’t love me, and Rush wouldn’t…like me, and we’d all be a whole lot more miserable. This isn’t going to change anything.” It wouldn’t. I wouldn’t let it. Granted, I hadn’t seen Rush since the day we decided to date. It had only been a couple of days, and we talked on the phone at night and stuff, which was weird. Was that some universal thing people in relationships did? Beau was right; things were definitely about to get interesting.
Starting right after this lunch, when I went to Rush’s house to meet with him and Dean again.
“I’m sorry, Linc. I didn’t realize I made you feel that way. You know I always have your back. The only thing I’ll ever want is for you to be happy,” Beau told me, and I smiled. I did know that.
“I don’t know about you, but I need a drink. This is entirely too much sweetness for me.”
When I pulled up at Rush’s place, he was standing outside waiting for me. It was like a movie or something. He pushed off one of the porch columns, all tall, scruffy, and handsome. Not gonna lie, he sort of made me weak in the knees. This whole thing would have been a lot easier to ignore if Rush hadn’t been so sexy.
He tugged at his sling as he walked over, and I smiled. He was the kind of guy who was sweet and had charm and good looks, but he didn’t use them to his advantage. Sure, he was playfully cocky at times, but there was no doubt it was just for fun. Rush was…humble, and that was one of my favorite things about him.
I got out of the car just as Rush approached. “Thought you might be freaking out, so I figured if I was out here, you couldn’t run.” He grinned.