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

Focus on the good, Alex. A new friend is never a bad thing.


Tom chomped on two pretzels at once. “Maybe these peasants all need to go hide in the nearest castle and yank up the drawbridge.”


“I think they’re trying to prevent the zombie horde from trampling all their crops, otherwise they face starvation.”


“I didn’t know zombies were such a threat to wheat fields,” said Tom.


“Apparently they’re a real menace to agriculture.”


“I already knew I didn’t want to be a farmer.”


Farmers had to worry about all manner of problems beyond their control, from hail to drought and locusts. Alex could think of more stressful occupations—neurosurgery came to mind—but none where a person was so utterly at the mercy of fickle nature. He’d be a terrible farmer for multiple reasons, including chronic sleep deprivation from staying awake worrying about the weather forecast


Chapter 14