Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
“Any excuse to have a party, my dear. I’ll help you arrange the whole thing.”
“Um…okay, that sounds good,” I said, since it was unlikely she’d follow through with what was obviously one of her many flighty ideas.
Returning to Fever Falls after news had spread about my make-out session with the Prince of Parlaisa had been interesting, to say the least. Not only had I come out to my hometown overnight, but there was this whole other aspect of being watched and approached by acquaintances and strangers. It reminded me of when Jace had been hounded by people for pictures after the Instagram pic of him saving his dog Mac blew up and became a viral sensation.
Not to mention the photo of his scandalous kiss with Serena’s son, Dax Munro—aka former child star Donnie Gibson.
Apparently, scandalous photos of the Kruse boys kissing men was officially a thing. However, despite my initial worries, Fever Falls proved to be as supportive and encouraging a place as ever.
A place I was proud to call home.
Not a week had passed before Fever Falls Community College was back in session and I had a full course load to get through my first semester of my sophomore year.
Pretty typical, considering my vacation had concluded with the media declaring Prince Owen’s Secret Boyfriend’s Accidental Arrest and similar headlines that I figured were being coordinated by none other than the prince and his PR people. Outside of a few brief messages, I hadn’t heard much from Prince Owen III, which made the whole spectacle seem that much more like some dream I’d had. Of course, there were instances like at the mall that reminded me that things weren’t normal anymore.
It was one of many, the first being when Casey, Steve, Serena, and I unearthed the Google Search results for “Prince Owen of Parlaisa”:
Is Prince Owen on the Verge of a Relapse?
Prince Owen’s Top Thirty Lovers, Ranked
Rumors of Queen Tara’s Lesbian Affair with Governess Sharon Harington Prompts Child Welfare Investigation
Queen Tara Loses Battle with Cancer
Then there was the official Kruse investigation I endured as soon as I returned home and Jace and Nance performed their own searches:
“Keeg, did you see this prince had to go to rehab for a coke addiction?”
“Is he blackmailing you?”
“NDAs? Are you in some sort of cult?”
“Fifteen grand? Can we be one hundred percent sure this isn’t a scam?”
“You don’t have to do this.”
Once I managed to calm Jace and Nance down and convince them I didn’t have to provide bank information to participate in some sort of wire fraud, they became more at ease about the whole deal.
Despite moments like those, which were surreal as fuck, there were moments like when I arrived back at the apartment to find Casey and Steve lounging on my bed to use my big-screen TV for their game of Halo, that assured me I was still just typical, everyday Keeg, whose buddies were happy to leech off him until we could afford to replace the TV in the living room.
I didn’t have the fifteen thousand dollars until after I’d followed through with the deal, after all.
“Hey, bruh,” Steve said as soon as I entered.
“Bruh, what’s up?” Casey added, both imitating my usual greetings.
Neither looked away from their gameplay as they continued some battle. “How’s Serena?” Casey asked. “Still doing that funny accent she picked up in Europe?”
“Yup. I think we’ll be dealing with that for a while.”
“It’s fun watching it get on Dax’s nerves,” Steve said.
“Be nice,” I said, though I had to admit I found it just as amusing.
My phone buzzed.
When I saw a private number, I assumed it was either Serena or Dax, both of whom showed up on my phone like that.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Hello? That’s a terrible greeting for your boyfriend.” Owen’s voice hit my ears just right, and my soft chuckle, coupled with the grin that swept across my face, reminded me that I couldn’t deny what he could work up within me.
“Is that your Daddy Prince?” Casey practically sang out as he glanced over his shoulder and winked at me.
“There’s no daddying going on here, Case.”
“Well, that sucks,” Casey followed.
“Is that one of your friends?” Owen asked.
“The way they’ve been taking advantage of my TV since our big-screen broke in the living room, I think I can consider them annoying roommates more than friends.”
“The kind of roommates who will love you forever if you get us some Asian food tonight,” Steve said.
“Ooh, General Tso!” Casey exclaimed.
“I want some crab rangoon, but make sure they bring the sauce.”
“Okay, I got it, you slackasses,” I conceded. “I’ll order once I’m off the phone.”
“I can call at a different time, if you want,” Owen offered.
“I’m good,” I said, slipping out of the bedroom and closing the door.
“Ooh, he needs privacy,” I heard Casey whisper, and they chuckled together, laughing at my expense, which certainly wasn’t a first for either of them.