Page 17 of The Holiday Boyfriend

God, I wished I wasn’t a fool.

TWELVE

JIM

We ate the rest of our breakfast in silence. Austin was acting weird, but when I tried to ask what was wrong, he brushed it off by saying that he was exhausted from the hangover. I wanted to push, but the defeated look he carried while stabbing his bacon had me pausing.

After we finished eating, I insisted on cleaning up and pushed him to his room to rest. He must have been really exhausted, since he didn't resist as much as he usually would when I tried to do all the chores. Dropping off some pain meds and water for him, I returned to the kitchen to start coffee and clean up the mess I'd made from cooking.

The kitchen was never this messy when Austin cooked, but he was a lot more skilled in this area than I was. I poured myself a cup of the dark goodness, inhaling it to clear the fog that still lingered in my mind. With my cup drained, I rubbed the knots on my shoulders that had formed from yet another night on the couch.

I hadn't planned on sleeping on the damned thing again, but when I finished changing him into a shirt that wasn't wet from the combination of our pleasure, he looked so peaceful sleeping there. I didn't want to potentially wake him by carrying him to his room and something had kept my feet stuck from leaving that spot.

I'd somehow ended up lying on the couch with him. The last thing I remembered before I passed out was Austin snuggling into my arms and a deep sense of peace.

Sleeping on the couch sucked and had my bones aching, but I wasn't as tired as I thought I would be. In fact, I felt refreshed. Maybe I missed sleeping with someone, not in a sexual way, but having the comfort and warmth of another body beside you.

That was the one thing I missed about dating. Falling into a cold bed after a hard day didn't feel the same as having a warm body beside you, but that wasn't a good enough reason to deal with the headache of dating. I was too comfortable with my current life that I didn't want to add that stress.

Would it be weird if I asked Austin for a repeat of last night?

Maybe not a reenactment of the entire night since I was sure the only reason for our mutual orgasms was because he was drunk and frustrated and I was…well, I didn't know what I was thinking, but I knew I didn't hate it. If Austin wanted a repeat, I wouldn't be opposed, but that was unlikely. Maybe he would be willing to offer up some cuddles while we slept though.

Cleaning the kitchen went by quickly as I hummed a random tune. My good mood followed me to work, despite mucking stalls being the last thing my sore body wanted to do right now. But even after I finished my morning chores and victoriously escaped the evil pecker that ruled over the chicken coop, I was still humming the same tune.

“Finally got some good rest last night?” Trish said with a grin.

I dropped off the egg basket on the farm table, filled up a cup of coffee, and took a seat across from her. “Nope, slept on the couch again,” I said as I took a sip of my drink.

“Then what's got you in such a good mood?” Trish asked as she nursed her own mug. Ever since I'd known her, she'd used the same pink mug that had the generic words “world's greatest wife” in loopy letters and a gazillion hearts painted on it. Apparently Alice had handmade the mug for her, and Trish was very proud of that fact, and always bragged to anyone and everyone who asked her about the mug.

“Who's in a good mood?” Lena asked, sitting down beside me with her own cup of coffee.

“Nobody's in a good mood. Trish is over-exaggerating because I'm not as grumpy as yesterday,” I muttered.

“More like you've been grumpy for the past week or so,” Trish teased.

“Is Jim finally telling us why he's been a bit moody recently?” Alice leaned down to give her wife a peck on the cheek before sitting in the empty seat beside her. The three women all looked at me expectantly, and the happy mood I'd been in earlier was rudely cut off.

“Oh, shove it. Nobody's been grumpy or moody. I've been acting like I always do,” I grumbled, which only earned me a snicker from Trish.

“We all know that's bullshit. You've been acting on edge, like a puppy that's been abandoned. Your mood was going from one extreme to another, so tell us, what's changed?” Trish said.

I tried to remember what had happened these past few weeks for them to see my moods like this. I didn't think I was acting moody, but if three people were telling me then…

The only thing I could think of was that I was overly worried that Austin was working a bit too hard and a bit depressed that we hadn't been able to spend any time together.

As adults, we were usually busy during the week with work, but at least tried to hang out on the weekends. That hadn't been the case the past few weeks since Austin had been working overtime. In fact, I'd probably hung out more with him these past few days than I had all month.

But it would be embarrassing to admit that I'd been moody because I missed my best friend. It would make me sound…clingy, and nobody liked clingy people.

“I haven't been moody, okay? And can't I be happy because it's Friday, and the weather is nice out?” I said, but they all gave me skeptical looks. I glared right back, not backing down from my stance.

Lena was the first to break the silence. “By the way, I saw Austin at the pub last night. It looks like he's getting back with his ex.”

“He isnotgetting back with Jared. They are over. Now and forever,” I gritted out with my arms crossed.

God, I hated that man. I wished he would get out of my life for good.

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