Spring Fakers

SPRING FAKERS AN M/M FAKE DATING ROMANCE SUMMERVILLE UNIVERSITY BOOK ONE CATHERINE CLOVERDALE Copyright © 2023 by Catherine Cloverdale Cover by: Catherine Cloverdale All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Shout out to the awkward ones. Remember it’s okay cancel those plans you don’t really want to leave your house for. CONTENTS 1. Charlie 2. Theo 3. Charlie 4. Theo 5. Charlie 6. Theo 7. Charlie 8. Theo 9. Charlie 10. Theo 11. Charlie 12. Theo 13. Charlie 14. Theo 15. Charlie 16. Theo 17. Charlie 18. Theo 19. Charlie 20. Theo 21. Charlie 22. Theo 23. Charlie 24. Theo 25. Charlie 26. Theo 27. Charlie 28. Theo 29. Charlie 30. Theo 31. Charlie 32. Theo 33. Charlie 34. Theo 35. Charlie 36. Theo 37. Charlie 38. Theo 39. Charlie 40. Theo 41. Charlie 42. Theo 43. Charlie 44. Theo 45. Charlie 46. Theo 47. Charlie 48. Theo 49. Charlie 50. Theo 51. Charlie 52. Theo 53. Charlie Epilogue: Theo Excerpt: Charlie and Theo have steamy fun at the beach… Check out this small town series 1 CHARLIE “Hey!” I froze at the sound of the deep voice calling out. Fat drops of rain pelted my face, an icy wind whipping around me. Shit, the library wasn’t far. Should I make a run for it? Maybe they weren’t even talking to me. But my feet felt heavy, and I couldn’t move. “Hi,” came a friendly voice. Before I could make my feet move, however, there he was in front of me, smiling. The group of friends he’d come with, all too beautiful and aloof, stood off on the side, watching. He was tall, with broad shoulders and blond hair, tan skin, and full lips. One of the most handsome people I’d ever seen that wasn’t on TV. I blinked at him, raindrops falling on my face. Shit. I looked crazy. “Um…” What was I supposed to say? ‘Hi’ would have worked. But my throat felt dry, and I couldn’t make myself. He kept smiling, showing off his beautiful smile and bright white teeth. His eyes were so blue. “Did you drop this?” He held out a keychain expectantly. Shit. I felt in my pocket, out of instinct more than anything. They had to be mine. Who else would have a bright orange dragon alongside a few other fantasy-laden charms? Even if he didn’t know what they were, they said ‘nerd’ all too clearly. “Oh…um…” I held out my hand under his, and he dropped the keys onto it. I still couldn’t find the words, still couldn’t make my mouth work to say thank you. Something must have been wrong with me. “No problem, dude.” He didn’t seem disturbed by my lack of thanks, somehow interpreting my indistinct mumbles. The smile never left his face. Was he even aware how much it was raining? Were these raindrops not falling into his eyes? Why wasn’t he leaving? My lips curved, trying my best to be polite before walking away. It was a wash. I hadn’t even said two words to him when I should have at least thanked him. What was wrong with me? I didn’t have an answer. He was too handsome and too aware of it. * * * Loud. That’s all I could think as I stood in the kitchen's corner, trying to tuck myself away from sight. Everything was just so damn loud. The music was too loud, and people were yelling to be heard above it. I sighed, wondering for the dozenth time that night why the hell I’d allowed myself to be dragged along to this mess of a party. Oh yeah. For friendship. Micah, my best friend since high school, had cornered me when I was in the library and asked me to come. Despite my better protests, something about the look of absolute disappointment on his face made me agree. Even if I was already regretting it. Micah smiled as he walked over to me, handing me a cup of…something. Probably beer, but who knew? My best and only friend was handsome and perpetually tan, with dark eyes and darker hair. “Here you go, having fun yet?” he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes as he looked at me. It was almost a surprise he wasn’t already curled around his boyfriend, where he’d remain for the rest of the night. I glanced around the room. A girl was on the counter, trapping some guy between her legs as they made eyes at each other. Next to them, some guy was teetering on his feet, looking like he was ready to fall over. Worst of all, a group of guys were chanting “chug.” I didn’t even want to look in that direction. “Uh…not yet, no,” I admitted. Did he expect me to? He had to know me better than that. “Come on, let’s look around. You’ll be fine, Charlie.” Micah nodded in the general direction of the rest of the house, urging me to follow. I resisted the urge to sigh again. He wasn’t even going to listen to me, was he? But I had no other option. I followed him, keeping closer than I needed to. He didn’t want me to just stand in the corner like a weirdo. But I didn’t know this was much better. He led me into the living room, where some people were attempting some kind of dance, and others were just making out. God, why was this fun to people? “Lots of cute guys here, right?” Micah asked, leaning against the wall. Looking around the room, I followed suit. I didn’t even know if they were great looking, mostly. They all just looked like drunk, dancing fools. “I don’t know…” I trailed off. Micah laughed, gesturing to a group of guys