The Dead Oaks returns in less than two weeks! Here's an exclusive excerpt from the first chapter of the new book, Haunted Road Trip:
“It's always so loud in here!”
Jasper wasn't opposed to live music. Not at all. He loved that
he'd reached a point where his nights could be spent hanging out with
friends at Neon Flux instead of just binge eating junk food and
streaming movies online; not that he was opposed to that either. It
was just nice to finally have friends.
But at the moment, Wes attempted to
shout at him from across the table. They were crowded into a corner
booth with Liv Robles, Caroline Strathers, Pheobe Tống,
and Martin Chopra. Between the din of guitars and drums pounding out
an obscure sub-genre of heavy metal that reminded Jasper of his cat,
Zener, screaming for canned whitefish, and the cheers of the crowd,
Jasper had no idea what on earth Wes was trying to say.
Exasperated, Wes kicked Jasper's foot underneath the table and
motioned for them to leave.
Jasper nudged Pheobe and Martin who had no qualms letting him out of
the booth. They took the opportunity to hit the dance floor and bust
some seriously embarrassing moves which Jasper was thankful he
wouldn't have to witness.
Wes grabbed his energy drink off the table in one hand and took
Jasper's in the other. As soon as he was in earshot, he shouted,
“Let's go outside!”
Jasper didn't want to blow out his vocal chords so he simply nodded
and followed behind Wes as they pushed their way through the crowd
and out the front door.
Even though the night air was warm, it still provided a nice
reprieve from the heat of bodies building up inside of Neon Flux.
They walked to the side of the building where broken bricks jutted
out and Wes hopped onto them like a makeshift bench. Jasper opted to
lean against the building so they were eye level with one another.
Wes swept his loose black hair back out of his face and let the
night breeze cool him off.
“Remember when I suggested we should go on a trip together this
summer?” Wes took a sip from the can and provided Jasper time to
recall the event as though it was on offer he'd easily forget.
Jasper's heart leaped but he didn't want to seem too overzealous.
He tried his best to mask his excitement. “Are you finally ready?”
“More than ready!” Wes grinned so big his smile practically
filled his entire face. “I've got it all planned out. All you
have to do is pack your things.”
Jasper relaxed and let himself be thrilled. “Awesome! Where are
we going?”
He had daydreamed a few times about where they'd take their first
romantic getaway. He often pictured them on a beach; which was
definitely a fantasy because he'd never actually been to the ocean
before. He wondered how soon he'd need to be ready because he still
needed to buy some new swim trunks.
“On a haunted road trip!” Wes proclaimed. His eyes lit up at
the exact same moment Jasper's clouded with confusion.
“What is it, JJ? Not what you expected?” As always, Wes could
see right through him.
“I maybe imagined something with a little more sand and sunsets.”
“Sex on the beach?” Wes raised an inquisitive eyebrow and
offered a wicked smirk.
Heat immediately rose to Jasper's cheeks, “Or, you
know...swimming.”
Wes shrugged it off. “We have all summer to swim. I've already
booked our stops. We're taking a little tour of our home-state and
hitting up every haunted dive within driving distance this weekend!
So you'd better run it by your parents ASAP.”
Jasper was definitely surprised but
nothing about Wes' idea sounded the least bit romantic. “Let me
re-frame this for you. We're finally getting a weekend alone
together and every night we'll be focusing on ghosts?”
“I
love ghosts. You love
ghosts. What could be more perfect?” Wes looked at Jasper as
though he'd traded bodies with someone else.
Dreams of underwater sexy-times and sandy beach bums immediately
dissipated from Jasper's mind. They were now replaced by cheesy
tourist attractions and haunted hotel rooms. At least there would
still be a hotel room involved. Maybe. Hopefully. Perhaps Wes had
planned for something romantic in there after all.
“It sounds perfect. I'll run it by them first thing in the
morning,” Jasper agreed.
Sucked in by Wes' enthusiasm, Jasper leaned over to steal a kiss.
Triumphant, Wes hopped off the bricks. “We'd better head back
inside before the others ask too many questions and find a way to
turn this into a packed Mystery Machine adventure.”
Join Wes and Jasper on their next adventure September 9th! Pre-orders are available now!
