Page 2 of The Holiday Boyfriend

I'd always been told that I was a good listener, but honestly, it was more the fact that most people only wanted to talk about themselves rather than get to know someone else. Most days on the job, I actually preferred it this way since it meant that I didn't have to use brain cells to think of topics of conversations with the passengers.

Some liked to stay silent during the entire ride while others preferred to have conversation—or more like talk about themselves—and that way, I could sit and let them talk while I focused on driving.And tonight, I was even more grateful for this fact.

This was my last passenger before I called it an early night, and after a couple weeks of early mornings and late nights, I wanted to focus on the road to get my passenger to their location before going home and passing the fuck out.

Fortunately, the lady happily chatted the entire way without needing much input from me, and ten minutes later, I was dropping her off at the B&B she booked on the outskirts of town. Getting out of the driver's seat, I helped her retrieve her luggage from the trunk. She accepted it with a smile and thanked me for being such a great listener.

As she waved goodbye and walked inside the building, I put on my professional smile that I'd learned from years of working in customer service. People tended to like those who smiled. As someone who didn't naturally smile, I had to learn this fact the hard way.

It wasn't that I had a resting bitch face, but was told on more than one occasion when I was younger that I had a gloomy disposition. Perhaps that was the reason why I'd been a loner as a kid. It wasn't that Iwantedto be alone, but it was like the natural progression, like my presence was easily forgotten.

The only exception to this norm was Jim. While I usually went unnoticed in the crowd, Jim always noticed me and made an effort to include me in the group. He'd been like this from the start.

His family had moved to Wintertown during tenth grade. He was instantly in with the popular kids at school, with having an athletic build and infectious charisma and all.

Which was why I found it so strange at how close we'd become, considering how different we were from each other. I couldn't even recall how our friendship came to be, but now Jim was one of the most important people to me, and it'd been that way for the past ten or so years.

Honestly, I was a bit shocked to find out how much his personality contrasted with his appearance. If anyone had a resting bitch face, it was Jim. When he wasn't smiling, he looked like a completely different person, so much so that I'd once witnessed a kid burst out in tears upon seeing him. Of course, the child was quickly coaxed into laughter by Jim's charm.

Jim had thick brows that bordered his hard eyes and dark facial hair that made him seem much older than he actually was. Objectively speaking, he was handsome, but looked a bit too serious at times. Those who didn't know him might judge him by his fierce appearance, but those who were close to him knew his true character.

As his best friend, I was proud to say that no one knew Jim better than I did. There was so much kindness behind those blue eyes.

He liked to pretend that he was tougher than he actually was—to match his appearance, he'd once told me—but in truth, he wouldn't hurt a fly.When those pesky bugs invaded our home, Jim refused to kill them and opted to let them free in the wild instead. “They deserve a chance as well,” was what he’d always say.He was as sweet as those cherry-red lips of his tasted.

Images of being wrapped in Jim's arms as he took my breath away with his mouth filled my mind. The kiss turned frantic as heat licked my body, and the moment was so delicious that it starred in countless of my dreams.

Of course, that was all kissing Jim would ever be. A dream.

I'd only seen Jim dating women, and even if, by some miracle, he was bi, he would never see me inthatway. I was his best friend and roommate and that was all he'd ever see me as.

But…sometimes when he looked at me, those glorious blue eyes lit up likeIwas the one who caused the beautiful sparkles that mesmerized me, and that only made me fall harder for him.

It was the same at this moment. As soon as I unlocked the door to our apartment and before I could even turn the knob, the door was opening from inside. Jim's broad figure filled my vision and those damn eyes fixed on me, locking me in place, both in body and heart.

How was I going to be able to move past thislittlecrush if he kept looking at me like that?

I knew that I was delusional. This crush was nothing close to little. It was a cosmic longing that occupied most of my thoughts and all of my heart. Pretending like he was nothing more than a friend to me already took every ounce of effort, and there was none left to find a resolution to this one-sided crush.

Although some days, I didn't know if I even wanted to find a solution. I wanted Jim to keep looking at me like this. I wanted those eyes to only see me. And when I was deep in my fantasies, I sometimes feared I'd mix up dreams and real life. That I'd keep falling deeper into my feelings for Jim and never find my way back.

And I would fall happily too.

THREE

JIM

I sprang to my feet the moment I heard noise coming from outside the apartment. I flung the front door open with Austin's hand still on the knob.

The first thing I saw was the top of his shaggy brown hair, followed by his shocked blue eyes when he glanced up at me.

God, was he a sight for sore eyes.

Austin had the same coloring to me with brown hair and blue eyes, but that was where the similarities ended. His slim figure was the complete opposite of my bulk that I'd built up from playing sports, then working on the farm. His soft features starkly contrasted to my hard ones.

In high school, tourists who saw us hanging out after school would sometimes try to play the hero and save the frail-looking boy from the big bad bully—me. Austin would always put them in their place by standing up for me and berating them for judging people by their appearance.

It was so refreshing being the one being protected for once. With my size, I had always been expected to be the one to step up and take charge. I didn't mind it most of the time, but the expectation was honestly exhausting.

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