Tom can’t catch a break when it comes to his love life. He isn’t good with romance, as his exes told him in uncharitable terms, and he’s starting to wonder if there’s something wrong with him. So when he finds himself attracted to his temporary roommate, he’s afraid of being called inadequate all over again.<br><br>Alex has serious anxiety which make his life a challenge and his dating prospects slim to nonexistent. He assumes Tom isn’t interested in him because men never are. It’s a pleasant surprise to start a friends-with-benefits relationship, so Alex goes out on a limb in an attempt to impress Tom. When it backfires spectacularly, he thinks all hope is lost.<br><br>Both men are held back by past rejections. Will a minor crisis bring them together ... or tear them apart?

Acts of Service

Alex sighed. “That would be the cons.”


“If the cons list is twice as long, I don’t think the apartment is for you.”


“You’re right.” Alex’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “I wanted it to work.”


“That’s no good if you hate the inside.”


“I have to find something in the next week and a half so I can move.”


Right. Tom had offered three weeks, and Alex being Alex, a limited-time housing offer had just piled another stress onto his already significant load.


It was a problem Tom could easily solve. “If it takes you a little longer to find a place you like, that’s fine.”


Alex abandoned his list and turned to Tom, not looking as though the news was much relief. “At the risk of sounding ungrateful, could you please be a little more specific about the time frame? Don’t get me wrong, you’ve already been so generous and I appreciate the extension, but I don’t want to overstay my welcome and ‘a little longer’ is subjective.”


Chapter 11