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“Can we stop being all weird?” the goth boy from yesterday asked as he came into the house, Ethan right behind him. He had to be Draven. He was the polar opposite of the two boys hugging in front of me, but I could see the affection he held for them in his gaze.
Jayden stuck his tongue out at him. Draven sighed and rolled his eyes. “Stop being a brat, Jay.”
Jay snickered and then threw his arms around Draven. Draven huffed, pretending to be put out, but he hugged Jay tightly. Ethan clapped a hand to my back. “How lucky are we to meet boys who are also friends?” he murmured.
I nodded in agreement. “Extremely lucky.”
“Here,” Amree said, coming out of the kitchen with three beers. He handed one to me and one to Ethan, keeping the last for himself. “Cam has informed me that we’re kicked out of the kitchen, so we have the TV until dinner is done.”
“And then Christmas movies!” Jayden cheered, beaming at me. His smile melted my heart. It flopped into a puddle on the floor and slowly rolled its way over to him before sinking into his body.
I was so, so fucking lucky to have this boy as my own.
“Come on. You make the best pie,” Cam said, grabbing Jayden’s hand. Draven grunted when Jay latched onto his, tugging him behind them.
Ethan chuckled. “Play nice, boy,” he called after Draven.
Draven shot him a middle finger over his shoulder, but the flush on his cheeks told me he was just as smitten with Ethan as Ethan clearly was with him.
“Football?” I asked, following Amree to the living room.
“Fuck yes. I don’t even give a damn if it’s reruns. I’m desperate for normalcy.”
I settled on the couch and propped my feet up on the ottoman in front of me, Amree doing the same. Ethan settled into the recliner and kicked out the footrest. When he took a sip of his beer, he sighed, nodding his head. “This is the life. Christmas, football, food, and a perfect boy.”
I nodded in agreement and raised my bottle. “I’ll drink to that.”
Amree raised his bottle as well, and then we all took a drink.
Life was about to be hella good from here on out.
EPILOGUE
Jayden
Draven massaged my feet, a frown pulling at his lips. I knew I was dimming everyone’s Christmas spirit, but I was miserable. Sure, I was happy to be surrounded by my friends—my family—but Nikolai wouldn’t be home for Christmas.
Instead, he got deployed.
Ethan and Amree were here. Amree fucked up his ankle during training and had to have surgery. There were discussions of his military career being over. Ethan’s contract was up in a mere two months, and he wasn’t re-enlisting. He wanted to be home with Draven.
My best friends had their men to cuddle with during the holidays, and all I had were stupid fucking FaceTime calls.
I wanted Nikkyhome.
“Why don’t you try getting some sleep?” Cam gently suggested, his hand grabbing mine. He was settled on the floor beside the couch, his head leaning against my thigh. He looked up at me. “Sleeping will make the last week go by faster.”
I sighed. A week. I only had to last one more week before Nikky could come home, but it felt like forever. He’d already been gone six months. Six months had dragged on to feel like six centuries.
“Kay,” I mumbled, sliding my feet off Draven’s lap. Cam moved so I could sit up properly. Amree, always the kind and gentle one, smiled at me.
“Not much longer, Jay,” he assured me. “You know Nik hates this just as much as you do.”
I knew he did, which just made this whole thing suck even more. Because I didn’t want Nik to be unhappy. I wanted him to continue to enjoy his military career, just as he’d been doing before we met a year ago.
I slid off the couch and headed to the guest room I stayed in most of the time. With Nikky being gone, my house felt like too much. His clothes were in my closet. His toiletries still sat in my shower and lined my bathroom counter. His favorite coffee mug still sat beside the Keurig machine, ready for him to make a cup of coffee.
My house was filled with him, and while some days it brought me comfort, other days, it damn near killed me.
