Page 16 of The Holiday Boyfriend

“Of course. I get worse at the farm. Big Boss does more damage than this to me on a daily basis,” he said with a chuckle. With one last rub on my head, he got up and headed into the kitchen. He returned with a pack of frozen peas and a cup, handing both to me.

“Your head must be killing you. Drink this for now and I'll whip up some breakfast. We need to fill your stomach before you take any meds,” he threw over his shoulder and returned to the kitchen.Jim didn't usually cook, mostly because he honestly sucked at it, but he could at least fry up some eggs.

Seeing him act so normally made me question if last night actually happened. All signs pointed to what I thought was a dream, in reality, wasn't—plus the fact that I was sleeping on the couch in only my boxers and a shirt that I wasn't wearing yesterday. But if that was the case, why was he acting so…unaffected?

Maybe I wasn't the only one who'd gotten drunk. Perhaps he did as well, and everything we did was a drunken mistake that he'd promptly forgotten about in the light of day.

That thought left a sour taste in my mouth that had nothing to do with the fact that I probably had “morning after” alcohol breath. I sprung from the couch, making my head throb in a way that shook my entire body, but I ignored it and wobbled into the bathroom to brush away the sour taste.

I vigorously brushed the toothbrush back and forth, only stopping when my gums started to feel sore. I made sure to thoroughly scrub every inch of my tongue, and only then did the sour taste leave. If only I could brush the annoying pounding that was still throbbing at my temple away.

The savory scent of breakfast was lingering in the air when I left the bathroom. Jim had two plates of toast with fried eggs and bacon set at the kitchen bar. He looked up when he saw me enter the kitchen, and the smile that lit up his face had me pausing at my spot.

“C'mon, let's eat. The grease should do you some good,” he said, waving me over. I walked forward in a daze and was sitting facing him before my brain finally decided to come back online.

I grabbed the toast and took a bite. My gaze fixed on the beautiful man in front of me the entire time I chewed. Jim took one glance at my expression and laughed. “You still drunk? Or thinking about last night?”

The comment had me choking and trying to cough out the piece of bread that was restricting my airways. Jim shot off his bar stool to my side and gave me a few hard pats on the back.

“Whoa, slow down there. The food isn't going anywhere,” he said, handing me my cup of water. I chugged the entire contents before planting the cup on the table and turning to him with wide eyes.

“You…you remember last night?” I didn't know if I should be happy or sad that he remembered, but the bitter feeling from earlier finally disappeared completely.

“If anyone should be asking that question, it's me. You were drunk off your ass.” He paused for a second before wrinkling his brows and asking, “Actually,doyou remember last night?”

I slowly nodded, still trying to process what was happening.

“Okay, good. I was afraid you were blackout drunk,” he calmly said before returning to his seat and eating his breakfast like we were discussing our schedule for the day.

“So…” I started. Jim glanced up from his plate with a raised brow. Clearing my throat, I braced myself to ask the question that had been tugging my mind. “Are you okay with what happened? Last night, I mean.”

I was squirming on my stool by the time I finished asking the question. My hands anxiously wrung the hem of my shirt as I watched each of Jim's micro-expressions to try to determine what he was thinking.

“Why wouldn't I be? Besides,I'm yours, aren't I?” he said with a teasing grin that almost had my heart drumming out of my chest.

Did his words mean what I thought they did? I sat up straight in my seat as the fluttering in my stomach went on full force. Did this mean Jim accepted my feelings for him and wanted the same thing as me? My head was light, like his words had cured all the pain that was previously ailing me.

Happiness swelled every single cell in my body as the images of my fantasies merged with reality, only to be cruelly shattered by his next words.

“Besides, it's normal for friends to help each other out. I get it. You were pent up and so was I,” he said with a shrug, like kissing and jerking off your friend was something that happened on a daily basis.

“Right,” I grumbled as I slumped back down. I picked up my fork and moved the food around on my plate. It was stupid of me to get my hopes up.

Straight men didn't fall in love with other men.

They only did gay shit while thinking it was commonplace locker room antics.

Even if Jim was my best friend and someone I knew who would never hurt me intentionally, I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up that he would be different from all the other straight men out there.I angrily stabbed at the bacon, pissed at myself that I could ever be so foolish.

“You okay?” Jim asked, looking at me with a worried expression like I was acting strangely.

If anyone was strange here, it was him. What straight man kissed another man, even if he was their best friend? Didn't he know he was playing with my feelings?

Of course he didn't, because I'd made it a point to keep the actual depth of my affections from him. He thought he was just helping me out. I couldn't blame him for trying to be a good friend.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” I said without looking at him. The food on my plate suddenly became very interesting. I needed some space to collect my thoughts and remember that Jim only acted that way because he’d thought he was helping.

It was only a one-night stand, and I would be a fool to think anything more of it.

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