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)
“Mothers have always been strange,” Serena insisted. “I had to kiss the man playing my son when I was Gertrude in Hamlet in a small production in Pasadena.”
“Did anyone need a refill?” the waiter asked as he passed our booth with a pot of coffee.
“A little coffee, and a bar of Xanax.” Elliott’s joke was lost on the waiter, who eyed him uneasily before pouring him some more coffee and moving along.
“So…while I burn these comments from Serena about my business partner off my brain,” Elliott went on, “Carter—and please don’t make me regret asking this—was there something that prompted your question about your eyeballs?”
“Oh, yes.” I hardly remembered mentioning it, the way Serena had taken it and run with her own story. “I just…um…have been doing some things with a guy around town.”
“Would we know this guy?” Serena asked, intrigued to be in on some gossip.
“Yes, you both would, but I’m not saying anything else. You were talking about lions and gazelles… I want this guy to stalk me through the jungle and go straight for my jugular.”
“Let’s throw out some names,” Serena said to Elliott.
He shook his head. “I don’t care for this game at all.”
“Just name the first single gay and bi men in this town that you think of,” she continued. “Oh, who am I kidding? Might as well name the straight ones too because at the rate Fever Falls is going, they’re going to find some radioactive rock under the earth that makes everyone just a bit curious. Are you feeling the effects, Elliott?”
Now that we were off the more salacious details about our personal lives, Elliott lit up and let out a laugh. “Not quite yet, but I’ll let you know if that changes.”
“Just plan a longer visit next time,” I teased.
“With breakfasts like this to look forward to, I might just plan a trip to Siberia instead.” Elliott was acting oh-so-annoyed, but I knew him well enough to know he enjoyed the playfulness. It was a strange way to have friends, but it was our way.
“Will this secret man-beast lover of yours be at your drag show tonight?” Serena pressed.
I almost asked her how the fuck she knew he was a man-beast, but remembered that I fucking said I wanted him to stalk me like a lion.
“I don’t think so. I didn’t mention it to him because he said he had to work late.”
Something I was more disappointed with than I let on.
But what did it matter? Since I started spending more time in the Falls, I’d done a few drag shows—they were fun and made money for local charities. I hadn’t made a big deal about it, but for some reason, I really did want Sawyer to be there. Of course, he had his own business to run, so I wasn’t going to bother him with it.
I was pleased that Serena’s many guesses didn’t include Sawyer. It made me think that, as fucking obvious as my feelings for him were starting to feel to me, it wasn’t something anyone would immediately pick up on. Yeah, I’d flirted with him plenty, but the way he’d always responded to me, I doubted anyone would have guessed even about what we’d done so far.
Fever was packed as I offered my rendition of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”
The crowd gathered around the makeshift stage we typically put up near the front of the club whenever we held drag shows. I was dressed in a fabulous bright-green number from Serena’s impressive gown collection, which I’d had tailored at a place on Fever Street. I went through my act, accepting tips and making a spectacle out of some of the more enthusiastic members of the crowd.
As the song came to an end, the audience—including members of the Saturgays, Elliott, and Serena—applauded. I went right for Elliott, hooking my arms around him. “Hey, lover boy,” I teased as I planted a kiss on his cheek, intending to leave a big lipstick mark on him.
“I know exactly what you’re doing, you jerk,” he said before I pulled away and greeted my other fans…well, at least that’s what I would call the guys since they’d shown up to support me.
“Oh, Dax, I had the most informative chat with your mom at breakfast this morning,” I told him as I approached him, Jace, Ash, and Beau.
“Have you and Elliott figured out how to revive her halted career?” Dax joked.
“She’s got a great idea for a novel. I’ll have to tell you about it at some point. Or let her, depending on which way is more fun for me.”
“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be staying in your drag character…this Misty Skatz persona?” Jace asked.
“The beauty of drag is that it can be whatever you need it to be. It’s art, but it’s fun too. And rules and drag don’t exactly go hand in hand, unless we’re talking about eyeliner and lipstick. Misty Skatz is play for me. She’s whatever I need her to be in the moment.”