Page 5 of The Holiday Boyfriend

“You make me sound like I'm obsessed with sleep or something,” Jim grumbled from behind me. There was some rustling and a second later, his voice was closer. “Here,” Jim said, standing directly behind me to hand me a towel.

“Thanks,” I muttered, grabbing the offered towel from his hands and drying my face before hanging it up on the back of the door. “I specifically recall many pillows thrown at me when trying to wake you up from naps.”

“Well, who wouldn't be grumpy when they're disturbed from their nap?” Jim had his arms crossed on his chest again. The tight shirt was really doing him favors, making his arms look even more jacked than usual.

“You're the one who asks for the wake-up call,” I deadpanned.

“Yeah ‘cuz waking up to you is always so much better than some annoying alarm,” Jim said casually. My heart thudded in my chest. It was things like this that had me confused and carrying hope that there could be something more with him one day in the future, even though I knew he wasn’t intentionally saying shit he didn't mean in that way.

“Well, I didn't wake you up today and I know it's too early for your internal alarm clock to chime in. So what are you doing up, Jim?”

When my snappy words reached my own ears, I shocked even myself and glanced up at him with a guilty expression. It wasn't his fault that I'd hurt my own feelings by reading too much into his words. I had to remember that straight guys sometimes said some not-so-straight sounding things that they didn't actually mean. “Sorry,” I muttered.

“I'm just worried about you, and I know you won't take my help, so I want to be with you. Is that not okay?” Jim's voice was soft and his eyes looked so innocent, like I was the bully who'd stolen away his candy.

Of course, it wasn't okay, because what if I got too used to being with him and forgot how to let him go? What would happen then?

We were best friends and did almost everything together, but we were at the cusp of thirty. A lot of our friends in town were already married and popping out kids, while we’d stayed single.

I knew the reason whyIdidn't date, but it wasn't the same for Jim. Maybe there weren't any women who caught his interest at this moment, but it wouldn't always be this way. I saw the way women looked at Jim. Their eyes filled with lust like they were imagining ripping off his clothes in the middle of the street, and they didn't keep it a secret. They openly flirted and made suggestions to Jim in ways that I could never, because to him, I was just his best friend, and that was something I had to remind myself so that I didn’t foolishly get my hopes up.

Sighing, I tried to release all the pent-up frustrations that built up from years of dealing with this situation. This was a problem of my own making and could easily be resolved if only I'd give up on him, but how could one move past Jim Walker?

It was impossible.

“Of course it's okay. You know we'll always be best friends, or what do kids call it these days? BFFs, right?” I joked, trying to lighten up the mood, which earned me a chuckle from him.

“So you'll let me go with you?” he said with a smile that lit up his entire face. How the hell was I supposed to say no to that?

FIVE

JIM

The nice thing about driving to the airport in the middle of the damn night was that there was no traffic. Which meant that the vast majority of people were smart and asleep like they should be.

There wasn't much conversation on the drive there. Soft pop music played on the radio and Austin hummed along with it while tapping a finger on the steering wheel along with the beat. I watched his profile for most of the ride, keeping a close eye on him to make sure that he didn't fall asleep at the wheel or something, but fortunately he looked wide awake.

He glanced over a couple of times and caught me staring. I smiled at him in return. He didn't question my actions, so I figured he knew I was doing what a best friend would; keeping my eyes on him in a totally platonic and non-creepy way. And if I was enjoying the view a little too much, it was normal. Like I'd said, Austin was easy on the eyes, and I wasn't going to deprive myself when I was lucky enough to have the uninhibited view.

It didn't take us long to arrive at the small airport. The couple was waiting for us outside, looking a little worse for the wear but all in one piece. They were easy to spot as tourists as they were bundled up in full-on winter gear despite it only being early October. It got colder here earlier than other places, but the locals were used to it.

Austin and I both got out of the cab to greet the couple. “Laura and Joey?” I asked, offering my hand to them for a handshake. They each accepted it and nodded, but looked weary at the appearance of two people coming to pick them up.

“I'm Jim from Snowfield Farm.”I gave them an easy smile that I hoped would reassure them that I wasn't some random stranger hitching a ride in their taxi.

“We weren't expecting someone from the farm to come all the way to pick us up, but this is a nice surprise,” Joey said. He sounded exhausted, but offered me a weak smile. Austin came up beside me and offered his hand to them as well.

“I'm Austin, your taxi driver. I'm sure you're tired from the long trip. Let's get you to your lodging so you two can get a proper rest,” Austin said as he took the suitcase closest to him. The couple sighed in what I assumed was relief.

Austin had worked his magic again. He had a way of making someone feel comfortable, like they could trust him. It was something that others never appreciated until our adult years, but I’d been drawn to him from our first encounter for this very reason.

As teens, the others never understood why I liked hanging out with Austin. He was the quiet, introverted one who was labeled a “weird and gloomy” kid. In truth, they never took the time to get to know him. He had layers that needed peeling back, and nobody besides me took the time to do it.

Austin opened the taxi's back door for the couple, for which they shot him a grateful smile before climbing inside the car. I grabbed the other suitcase and stowed their luggage away in the trunk. Austin and I quickly returned to our seats and we made the drive back home.

Not even ten minutes later, I heard snoring coming from the back. I looked back to see the couple resting their heads against each other as they slept. Their hands were clasped together on the man's lap. They looked so peaceful and so in love.

I turned back to the front and sank into my seat. Slightly twisting my head to look at Austin, I asked, “Do you think we'll be like them one day?”

---