Operation Fake Relationship - Jay Northcote Page 0,4

could get used to calling her that again by Christmas if he kept practising it in his head.

“Bye, darling.”

As Nick set his phone down he was feeling quite chipper.

“Partner, huh?” Jackson raised his eyebrows. “Sounds intense.”

“I didn’t think ‘boyfriend’ lent enough gravitas. I want my parents to take our fake relationship seriously.”

Jackson snorted. “Of course you do.”

Nick turned his attention to the screen, watching while Jackson threw his virtual opponent to the mat. “Nice move. You wanna watch something on TV when you’re done with this match?” he asked.

“Sure.”

As Nick settled down to wait, it occurred to him that it shouldn’t be too hard faking that he and Jackson were together. After sharing a flat for over a year and being best friends for nearly a decade, they were already like an old married couple.

This was going to be easy.

Two

December

Jackson gave a deep sigh of impatience as he waited near the tills in John Lewis. The queues were ridiculous, and Nick had only just joined the end of the line. He didn’t see why Nick couldn’t have ordered stuff online like any sane person. Christmas was still over a week away, so there would have been enough time. The shops might have been pretty with their lashings of fake snow, glitter, and excessive amounts of fairy lights, but they were also rammed with other shoppers.

“It’ll be fun,” Nick had said. “And I hate ordering online. I’d rather see what I’m getting.”

Damn Nick for being so persuasive.

Jackson had skipped his morning trip to the gym to help Nick lug his shopping around, and surrounded by crowds of people he was feeling increasingly antsy and impatient. Tension was building in his back and shoulders. Helping Nick carry his bags to the car wasn’t going to be enough to burn it off.

He caught a woman looking at him nervously and realised he was scowling. With his height and build, Jackson looked pretty intimidating when he was in a bad mood. He smoothed his features into something more neutral and got out his phone as a distraction. Maybe if he played some of his music loud enough, it would drown out the annoying Christmas carols pealing through the speakers.

With the holidays fast approaching, Jackson was increasingly anxious about how things were going to go over Christmas. But he didn’t regret his decision to go home with Nick.

Nick needed his support. Going back to visit would put Nick right in the thick of everything he’d worked so hard to detach from. Even if his father had stopped drinking, that couldn’t take away from all the times he’d hurt Nick in the past. Jackson knew the hurt had been emotional rather than physical, but that didn’t make it any easier for Nick to return. Anger rose as Jackson remembered how hard it had been for Nick to walk away, to cut himself off from his family—especially from his mum, and from Maria who’d still lived at home then.

Yeah. This was a massive deal for Nick. Of course he didn’t want to go back there alone.

With a rush of uncomfortable honesty, Jackson realised he wouldn’t want Nick to face his parents alone either. He was glad Nick had asked him to come, even if it meant not seeing his own family at Christmas.

He stared across at the line of shoppers. Nick was easy to spot because of his hair. The burnt orange of autumn leaves, it caught the light and made him stand out from the crowd. Jackson’s heart swelled with warmth at the sight of him and beat a little faster as he thought about what was coming.

As though he could feel Jackson’s gaze on him, Nick turned and shot an apologetic grimace in his direction, and then he got out his phone and typed something.

A text alert interrupted Jackson’s music, and he got his phone out to see Nick’s message: Sorry it’s taking so long. Coffee’s on me later.

I should hope so, Jackson sent back. Then quickly added: and cake too?

Of course :)

Jackson looked across, hoping to see Nick’s smile for real. He wasn’t disappointed. He smiled back, heart thumping treacherously again as he wondered exactly what being Nick’s pretend partner was going to involve.

Whatever. Your crush on him was over years ago, he told himself sternly. He’s your friend, and that’s enough.

The night before Christmas Eve—when they were due to travel to Nick’s parents’ place—they were sitting on the sofa watching Bad Santa, and drinking eggnog while they ate their way through a box