A Daydream Away

Jack's POV

I wanted to pull my hair out at the moment, and that's saying something because my hair is my baby, but my mom was being stubborn as hell.

"Mom, please, I-"

"Jack Bassam," I heard my mother's stern voice leak over the phone, "If you do not show up for Christmas, I will treat you like a child and put you in the corner, and not the one you like, so don't you dare make that joke young man."

I groaned, not wanting to fight with her. Since I had to miss Thanksgiving because of weather conditions, she was grinding my ass about making it to Christmas, and spending a few extra days there to make up for lost time. It also didn't help that I couldn't stand the overly-cheery holiday.

I leaned up against the kitchen counter, rubbing my temple, "Mom. I've got a business I have to run, I can't take off an entire week, especially since you're asking for New Years with me also." I reasoned.

She only scoffed at me, "I am not stupid, that one friend of yours, Matt, he's good with business things and numbers, isn't he? He can handle the place." I could tell she was nodding at her suggestion.

"It really isn't that easy." I sighed.

"Oh yes it is. He seems reliable. And Zackary, he can help him. You're precious building will be in good hands."

I glanced over at Alex. He had been staring at me the entire time I've been on the phone, eyes wide with wonder, and a hint of jealousy. Maybe he's realized I have a good relationship with my parents? I couldn't quite understand, but looking at him gave me the perfect reason to skip out on another holiday with my family.

"I can't come for Christmas anyway." I told her, puffing out my chest and allowing a smirk to settle on my face.

"And why not?" she huffed with irritation.

"Well," I looked over at Alex, who looked rather curious as to what my new excuse was going to be, "Alex is here, and he can't make it to his family's for the holiday, so I'm going to-"

"Bring him with? Oh Jacky, what a great idea! I've been wanting to meet the dear since you told me he was moving in with you!" she squeaked, if my mom can even do that with her voice, and continued on, the excitement never leaving her voice, "We can set up your old room and you boys can have a sleepover in there! I'll start setting it up now! I'll see you then, dear."

I tried yelling back at her, to tell her that that was not what I was going to say, but the monotonous tone signaling the end of the call told me that our conversation was over.

Not even a second later, Alex's phone, which he was able to buy with his first paycheck, started going off.

"Hello?" he answered warily, giving me a questioning look. Whoever was on the other end was talking rapidly, and I recognized that quick babbling as my mother. Did she really have to call Alex? And how in the hell did she have his number?

After a few more moments, he hung up the call and set his phone down, looking at me, a mischievous smile on his face.

"So," he said, drawing the word out, "Can't wait 'till Christmas."

He stood up and skipped away, letting me sit in my failed attempts at getting out of this family get-together.

I groaned again, slumping after him. "Lex," I complained, "Why couldn't you have just played along?" I walked into his room and flopped on his bed, watching him as he began changing for work.

"It'll be fun," he shrugged, throwing off his pajama pants and retrieving a pair of acid wash skinnies. I couldn't help my eyes grazing over his bare legs.

Pang.

I shook my head, trying to get the pain out of it, and then muttered, "You're not going to be saying that when you're forced into all of our wacky traditions."

I heard a sigh escape his lips. "Jack. Do we really have to go over this again?"

"Go over what again?" I mumbled, face digging into his pillow to avoid watching him get dressed. After a few moments of silence, I glanced over at him. He sent me a sad glare, like he meant for it to intimidate but was too upset to force it too much. I turned my head back into the pillow, letting out a loud groan. Now I knew what he was talking about.

I pushed myself from his bed and slid out of it, walking over to the now-dressed Alex and pulling him into a hug.

"I'm sorry," I murmured into his hair, which smelled wonderful, "I have a constant case of ass-mouth, I need to get it checked out." I heard a soft laugh muffle into my chest, mentally high fiving myself for making him slightly happier.

I brought him out of the hug and held him at arms length, leaning my face into his.

"Just for you, I'll tolerate my family. Maybe with you around, they'll ease up on me a bit, eh?" I chuckled, and he let out a breathy laugh.

"Thank you for such a generous offer. Your mom was all excited, saying how we can sleep in your room and watch your entire Home Alone collection." His smile grew, adding, "And I get to see a Christmas tree again. She said we can help decorate if we want to. Can we?"

Alex gave me an anticipatory, almost childlike expression. Despite the fact that he was older than me, I couldn't help but to find his whole act adorable.

He looked straight into my eyes. I've never really noticed how pretty his eyes were, flecked with gold here and there. They were also framed with thick, dark lashes that seemed to flutter every time he blinked, the colors moving as his eyes adjusted to the brief lighting change. And we were so close... so close...

"Uh.. Jack? Personal space there, buddy." Alex coughed, a blush littering his cheeks.

I blinked at him, immediately releasing him from my grip. I let out a nervous laugh, trying to play it off as a joke, but his eyes were just so... mesmerizing.

"Hey, hey Jacky," Alex was snapping his fingers in front of my face, breaking me from my trance, "You alright there?"

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, though I never understood why people did that, I contemplated telling him what I was thinking. In the end, I decided that, hey, I have no filter.

"Yeah, you just have really pretty eyes." I smiled down at him.

Besides the red covering his face, he managed to keep some of his composure and half-heartedly slapped my arm.

"I thought I told you to knock that shit off," he said, walking past me, "Now c'mon, we've got work. Oh," he stopped to turn around and look at me, "I'm decorating that tree whether you like it or not."

-

Leaning up against the wall, my eyes stayed put on a hard working Alex. Even though I gave him the job because I felt it would do him good, he was actually a pretty hard worker. He was fast, kind to customers, and picked up on things real quickly. If I didn't know him and he applied for a job, I would have hired him in a heart beat.

That, and his adorable demeanor definitely brought in the customers. You have Zack, a handsome, very well built man whose personality reminds me of a shy school girl. Then you have Alex. He may look small and quiet, with an endearing sense of innocence, but if you piss him off, he was a fucking bomb. I've been hit with the shrapnel, I know. Their conflicting personalities just seemed to fit together well.

With the two completely opposite personalities, their interactions have brought in quite a crowd. Mostly girls, go figure. Some guys, too, but mostly chicks. Alex never complained, though, saying his tips made it worth it. He'd also been given quite a few numbers, but, poor girls, they didn't have the dick he was looking for. Maybe his and Zack's homosexual auras were, like, a magnet for females, increasing in power when they worked together. Hell, I don't know.

I watched as Alex jumped on Zack's back, attempting to do some fancy bartender trick for a bunch of girls, when a man covered in tattoos and sporting a half-shaved haircut came and leaned up against the wall next to me.

"Hey," he greeted. "You're Jack, the owner, right?"

I nodded, "Yup, that's me."

He returned the nod. "And you know Alex?" he said, gesturing to the brown haired boy now attempting some other complicated trick. His eyes seemed to hold what looked like hunger in them as he kept them trained on the bouncing, energetic man.

Again, I nodded, slightly worried. "I've gotta know him, he both works for me and lives with me. Why, do you?" I replied.

A smirk graced his features and he pushed off the wall and out the front door, leaving me more than confused and left with an unanswered question.