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)
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Carter
“Divine, dah-ling, divine!” Serena called out, tossing her head back and releasing a loud, affected laugh—the sort of laugh I was accustomed to from the parties and functions I attended in my PR work. Serena was the epitome of plastic, from an era in television that was all about glamour and fabulousness. She was a peculiar and apparent beacon of light in Fever Falls…in stark contrast to her previous life as a television starlet in a sea of half-baked celebrities, where she would have been more like a dim glow stick at a circuit party.
We sat in a booth at a restaurant on Fever Street as Serena entertained Jerrick Hacksmore’s wife with humble brags and embellished tales of her plight as a star in the Falls. Meanwhile, Elliott, Jace, Dax, and I discussed the possibility of renewing Jace’s contract with Hacksmore. The other summer, a pic of Jace, bare-chested and rescuing a Shar-Pei from a river, became a viral sensation, the media dubbing him #HottieFirefighter. Dax had won our company the Hacksmore Designs account by convincing Jace to sign on to an endorsement deal for their new apparel line.
“We had a good run with #HottieFirefighter,” Hacksmore said. “And as we’ve seen with that puppet canine we’ve been using to promote this year’s campaigns, it’s hard to buy that kind of publicity. And Dax…Jace, they loved you guys, especially together. All those antics you managed to get yourselves into.”
“Pretty unintentionally,” Dax assured him.
He certainly hadn’t intended to get roped into the deal, but then the press had discovered that Dax, former child star Donnie Gibson, was running around skinny-dipping with #HottieFirefighter.
“Hey, man,” Jace said, in that down-to-earth way he had about him. “We appreciated the opportunity, and it raised some money for the Fever Fight rec center. I don’t want to come across as ungrateful, and I feel bad that you wasted time coming down here, but we’re finally starting to enjoy some peace and quiet. I don’t think we can sign on again.”
“As I told you all on the phone,” Hacksmore said, “it’s not a waste to visit one of our most valuable marketing investments over the past few years. You can’t blame me for trying to persuade you.”
“No, not at all,” Jace said with a smile.
It was evident Hacksmore wasn’t offended by Jace’s response, as he continued, “Also, it doesn’t hurt that there’s always the possibility of discussing other avenues. Like your brother, Keeg, and a certain Prince of Parlaisa…”
“Oh, more gay celebrities,” Serena piped up. “Who knew gay men would become so chic? I feel like it was only yesterday I was telling Dax he couldn’t tell a soul or it would ruin his acting career.”
“Not something we have to discuss anymore,” Dax said through his teeth.
If anyone could understand the mommy issues I was grappling with, it was Dax Munro. He had his own sordid relationship with his mom—a former drug addict and altogether downright crappy parent during his childhood.
“Also, Mom, I would have given my right eye to ruin my acting career at that point,” Dax added.
“Yeah, it was fun while it lasted,” Jace told Hacksmore. “But I think we’re both ready to throw in the towel and enjoy…much quieter lives in the Falls.”
“Don’t be discouraged, though,” Elliott spoke up, flashing that charming, award-winning smile that could seal any deal. “We have plenty of options for you not very far from here. Why don’t I run it by Rush Alexander or Ash Carmichael?”
“I like the way you think,” Hacksmore replied, and they continued talking shop.
After we settled on officially closing all negotiations for a new contract for Jace and Dax, we paid our check and headed out to catch Ubers. I checked my phone once again to see if Sawyer might have messaged me.
Nothing.
It had been a few days since we’d video-chatted. We both checked in about each other’s days, but it was clear that things were different since we’d done that.
Maybe we’d gone too fast.
I was good at reading people—it was something I prided myself on—and I had known that Sawyer wasn’t someone I could rush with into anything. I’d thought the video-chatting would be safe for us, but maybe I’d killed it before we’d even really started…well, anything.
And yet, a part of me thought that might be the best thing for me.
Or was I just paranoid about fucking up something that felt so good?
I didn’t do relationships…and I especially didn’t do crushes. Not even with Paul, a guy I used to mess around with in Fever Falls. We’d met while we were working on organizing the autumn festival, hooked up a few times, and just called it something because we were fucking around so much.
No feelings. No commitment.
That was my thing.
And what was going on with Sawyer was definitely not.
But why didn’t that keep me from wanting it?