Page 7 of The Holiday Boyfriend

A grin appeared on Trish's face at that, which was what I assumed, her enjoying my misery. “Partied hard last night?” she asked, giving me a knowing look.

I scoffed, sat up, and rolled my shoulders to work out the kinks that had built from scrunching my body to fit the tiny couch. “More like accompanying my roommate to make sure he makes it back safe.”

“You sacrificed your precious sleep for your roommate, huh? He must be pretty special to you,” Trish said. I didn't like the suggestive tone she was using.

Did everyone think I have an obsessionwith sleep or something?

“Of course, he's my best friend,” I said. Her grin grew wider, making my guard go straight up. Trish loved giving me shit, and I gave back as hard as I got most days, but my brain wasn't functioning enough for mind games right now.

As she opened her mouth to say something, Alice swooped in and saved me from her wife's torment. “Stop teasing the boy,” Alice said as she pushed a cup of coffee into Trish's hand.

“Thanks, honey,” Trish said, her tone turning warm and sweet in the presence of her wife. She gave Alice a quick peck on the cheek, which made her hum in approval.

Alice offered the other cup of coffee she held to me. I gratefully accepted it, muttered a thanks, and inhaled the dark liquid like it was my saving grace. Due to my lack of sleep and the uncomfortable couch that I'd used for my nap, I felt like hell. Coffee was the only thing that could save me right now.

Chuckling had me pulling the mug away from my face to look up and catch the two women watching me with amusement. Alice nudged Trish's stomach when she saw my eyes on them.

“Come have some breakfast before you start. We can't have you passing out and risking Big Boss finding you to finish you off,” Alice teased as she gestured for me to follow her.

Trish was right behind her wife, following her like a puppy. It was almost comical to see the way Trish practically danced to her wife's side, her blonde ponytail swaying to an imaginary beat behind her. For someone who was portrayed as having a rough exterior, she turned as sweet as honey when it came to her shorter partner.

I slowly followed behind them and watched as Trish wrapped an arm around Alice's waist. Whether it was intentional or subconscious, Alice leaned to rest her head on Trish's shoulder.

From what they'd told me, their love story was one obtained through years of struggle and endurance, starting from when they were teens. Before settling in Wintertown, the town they lived in was one of those stereotypical closed-minded small towns that gave all small towns a bad rep. They didn't let the pressures of their family or the hate from their neighbors stop them from following their hearts and found their way to Wintertown instead.

I wondered what it was like to spend over forty years with someone, especially if it was the love of their lives. Did it feel like the decades that they were, or did they not even notice time flying by, like how it was with my time with Austin? Granted, Austin and I had only known each other for over a decade—nowhere near theirfour—so it was a tad bit different.

My thoughts lingered on Austin as I ate the warm breakfast Alice kindly provided and into my morning chores. Mucking stalls wasn't a fun task, but it was made better with my fond memories of Austin to keep me company.

Days of us hanging on the school bleachers, laughing and dreaming about an unknown future. Neither of us were good at school, but it was what was expected. Finish high school, go to college, find a stable job, get married, and have kids.

Apparently, that was the magic formula to a happy, fulfilled life.

I wouldn't know since the only thing I’d checked off that list was finishing high school. My family and everyone else I knew had been adamantly against me giving up my full-ride sports scholarship to a college in the next city to stay and work on a farm. They all said I was ruining my life.

Austin was the only one who supported my decision. Perhaps if I didn't have him with me then, I would have caved to the pressure of following a more traditional route. But I was so damn happy I hadn't, that I had Austin there with me, because working on the farm was everything I thought it would be and more.

Just like that, Austin stayed with me throughout the years and supported all my choices, and I hoped that, in return, I’d been a support to him as well.

I didn't know if I believed in soulmates or not, but if they were real, Austin had to be mine. Maybe not in the way lovers saw soulmates, but a platonic kind who would live life with me. Someone I was able to depend on without feeling like a burden.

Despite the lack of sleep, my mood couldn't be dampened with that single thought in mind. Most people were never lucky enough to find someone who they could fully depend on.

Sure, there were friends who would help on occasion, but it was different from finding theirperson, and I had found my person. Not even Big Boss pecking at my ankles while I escaped with today’s basket of eggs was able to ruin the rush of happiness that left my body feeling nice and warm.

I dropped the basket of eggs off on the counter, then walked to the fridge to find something for lunch. Alice and Trish prepared food for the staff at the farm, but I usually brought my own meals.

The reason for that was because Austin prepared enough meals for both of us. In the beginning, I’d tried to stop him, since it wasn't good to take advantage of someone's kindness like that, but he kept insisting, so I’d finally caved in. And honestly, Austin was a wizard in the kitchen—not that Alice and Trish's food was bad—but there was something about Austin's food that hit exactly the right spot.

Considering I hadn't brought a packed lunch to the farm today, I was quite shocked to find a container with a sticky note and my name on it. The note had Austin's handwriting on it, but it confused me how it got here. He should either be at home resting or driving his taxi around, looking for clients.

I picked up the container and read the tiny, loopy words under my name. “Hope you have a great day,” it said with a smiley face at the end. It was such simple and generic well wishes, but it still caused butterflies in my stomach.

“Oh, right. Austin came by earlier to drop it off. Said you'd get grumpy without food,” Trish said when she passed by while I held the food container and stared at the note.

At her words, the butterflies turned into a gentle warmth that settled in the pit of my stomach. I must have been making a goofy face, because Trish laughed when she caught sight of my expression.

“Just your roommate, huh?” she asked, shooting me a smirk.

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