Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 85157 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85157 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“Yeah,” Rush replied with a shrug.
Lincoln bit his bottom lip, looked at me, and I could see the apology there, that it had been an accident. And he was also likely feeling guilty for fucking Rush again.
“I thought you went home with that guy you met at the club a while back.” Lincoln was trying to cover for me, but the truth was, Rush likely didn’t give a shit if I was fucking anyone. It wasn’t his style. He’d only said something for Linc, which was the shit that made me feel like he had feelings for him.
“Coffee?” the waitress asked, effectively putting an end to a conversation I was pretty sure both Lincoln and I wanted to be over.
“Yes, please,” I replied.
We ordered after that and then chatted about everything other than fucking because we all had shit we wanted to keep to ourselves at the moment. Rush had his arm around the back of the booth, around Lincoln, and I could see the guilt swimming in Linc’s eyes because of it. We needed to make time to talk—or I guessed I did. Linc obviously had some shit going on that I’d been too busy to notice, and despite his outgoing personality and his large group of friends, he didn’t typically talk when he felt like that, except to me.
When breakfast was over, the three of us said goodbye outside. Rush left first, ruffling Lincoln’s hair in a weird way I didn’t quite understand. The moment he walked around the corner and out of view, Linc said, “Fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t say much. We went out without you last night, and I might have drunk a little too much, complained you would rather fuck someone than hang out with us, and then took Rush home with me.”
“Jesus, Linc.” I ran a hand through my hair, wishing I had my damn cap. It was apparently lost to Ash for good now.
“He doesn’t know it’s…you know who.”
“You don’t even know who it is. I never confirmed anything.” Plus, after our conversation about me always being with Ash, I was pretty sure Rush knew. Not that he would ever say anything. I trusted Rush.
“This is what happens when I’m needy! You should know me by now!”
I shook my head, then pulled him into a hug. “Don’t make me admit it.”
“I might need you to admit it,” he replied, looking up at me and fluttering his lashes. Linc and I had a strange relationship. We were nothing alike, but we needed each other, we understood each other. I wasn’t sure he let anyone else really get him. In some ways, he was like Ash. They both had that strong exterior, both hid behind their sarcasm so no one dug deeper. I apparently was a digger and hadn’t realized it.
“I love you. You’re my best friend. I just…” How in the fuck did I finish this sentence? I just what? Wanted to be with Ash every moment I could? That sounded needy as hell and not like me.
“You’re mesmerized by his magic dick?” Linc teased.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about, and I haven’t fucked him.”
Linc pulled back, mischief sparking in his eyes. “Oh, Beau, I’m disappointed in you. Do you need some pointers?”
“Fuck off.”
“I love you too.”
“I know you do.” I kissed his forehead. “I need to get to work.”
I waited until Lincoln walked away, and then I jogged across the street to the station, my conversation with him still fresh in my mind. There was something going on between Ash and me. That much was obvious because…fuck, even then I missed him, wanted to spend time with him. I’d never had that with anyone, this desire to be in their presence the way I did with him.
I liked having him in our kitchen, with my family. I loved the bond he formed with my brother. And I was also beginning to feel like his house was mine; I wanted to be there all the time, because it both reminded me of when we were kids and still felt fresh and new—like us. It was unnerving and exciting and sort of felt like someone else was trapped in my body. What had Ash done to me?
We got a few calls throughout the day. An older woman had fallen and broken her wrist, and we got there before the EMTs and made sure the situation was stable. Then there was a false alarm on a house fire. Nothing too exciting.
It was an hour before the end of my shift. Ash and I were texting about the game that night, and Jace was sitting on the same couch as me, talking to whatever girl he was with at the time, when we got a call for a warehouse fire on Old Mills Road. The area was abandoned, and apparently the flames were spreading quickly.