It's only temporary holiday magic.

Brent

Life has taught me not to get attached to anyone because they'll only let you down, but I can't stop myself from falling in love with my roommate and frat brother the moment we meet. It's been three years, and not only do I secretly pine for him, but now he's also my very best friend. My first real friend.

Nothing can possibly go wrong when I agree to be his fake boyfriend for the holidays, right? I know I'm putting my heart on the line, but it'll just be a bit of hand-holding. My heart can survive that…

Rafe

I know my mother will get off my back about settling down if I bring home a partner, so I recruit my best friend into becoming my fake boyfriend. It'll be fun, easy, and a great holiday without all the subtle hints from my parents.

One kiss under the mistletoe changes everything, and the childhood make-believe suddenly morphs into so much more. There's only one problem—this arrangement is only for Christmas, and then we're back to being only friends when we return to school.

I didn't plan to fall in love with Brent Mitchell… I don't know what to do now that he's acting like I don't exist.

This is an LGBTQIA+ story. Contains mature content. A complete list of content warnings can be found on the author's website.