Read Online Fever Pitch by Heidi Cullinan - Free Book Online

face, nostalgia and empathy and…something else. “I think it’s a hard call. Play it easy when you get there. Don’t beat yourself up if it turns out to be a bad gamble, but don’t write anything off too fast either. Most importantly, though…” he pulled a business card out of his jacket pocket and slid it across the table, “…stay in touch with me.”
    When Giles arrived at Saint Timothy College, he half-considered kissing the lawn in front of his dorm.
    Summer in Oak Grove had been hot, boring and interminable. He reread every novel he owned, played so much Xbox he thought his brains might leak out of his ears, and practiced violin and sometimes even piano, he was so bored. Basically, he marked time until his life could begin.
    He deliberately didn’t think about his midsummer adventure at Hickey Lake.
    The one highlight had been his frequent IM chats with Brian, his roommate-to-be. At first they’d talked about pretty boring stuff, like who was bringing what, but when Giles mentioned his gaming system, this had unleashed the kraken. Brian was a major gamer. He played more first-person shooter while Giles preferred strategy, but their Switzerland was Minecraft. They met all August via Xbox Live to kill Creepers and harass Endermen, and haunted the same online servers. They’d already hatched a plan to bring in takeout from Noodles & Company and spend the first night of college in introducing each other to their favorite games. Giles couldn’t wait.
    Best part? Brian was straight, knew Giles wasn’t and didn’t give two shits.
    Brian was as cool in person as online. When Giles and his family came up with their first set of boxes, Brian greeted Giles with a warm smile and a man hug.
    â€œI can’t believe we’re finally here.” Brian put his hands on the back of his head and grinned up at the canopy of trees above them as they crossed campus to go to orientation. “I hope it doesn’t turn out to be as dumb as high school. My older brother says it isn’t, that the stupid popular kids don’t have the same kind of foothold here.” He lowered his hands and glanced at Giles. “When is your orchestra tryout?”
    â€œAt five. I have to head over there after orientation, actually. Which, shit, I should have brought my violin with me.”
    Brian waved this worry away. “I’ll bring it to you on my way to the parking lot to go get our dinner. Of course I think it might be faster for me to walk to the store, and I’m not kidding. Did you see how far away M lot is?”
    Giles snorted. “Try P lot. I’m west and half a mile from M.”
    They split up as they stood in line to check in at the student union, meeting up in the back to find a seat in the packed room.
    Brian shook his head. “Look at all these people. And this is just freshmen.”
    â€œMina’s in here somewhere—my friend from home. I was supposed to find her, but I have no idea how.”
    â€œText?”
    Giles pulled out his phone and grimaced. “God, there’s no LTE. I don’t have a signal at all. And no Wi-Fi. What the hell?”
    â€œTry the hallway. Maybe they have the walls lined with lead or something. I see three seats up ahead—I’ll snag them for us, okay?”
    After watching where Brian pointed, Giles slipped into the main hallway, where he still didn’t have much signal but did have enough service to send a text.
    The crowd pouring into the ballroom didn’t look like a high school crowd. There was a lot less diversity of class—more people of color, but also a distinct evening out of social strata which, honestly, felt a bit weird, as if Giles had entered a gated community. The lack of cliques was visible and almost jarring—people herded up, but not much and not often.
    A cute twink across the room cruised Giles with a stealth intensity he found intriguing. The guy was so