Operation Boyfriend...

By Heather Mar-Gerrison

I'd had some outlandish ideas in the past - pretending to be Faith's boyfriend to win back her ex was just one of them - but this plan of Celeste's took some beating for just plain stupid... I looked at her in horrified disbelief, “She thinks I’m gay?” I cried indignantly before she could even invite me inside, “Why for the love of God?”
Celeste grinned and shook her head, she beckoned me inside and shut the door behind me, “I have no idea, Dallas,” she said stifling a chuckle as I discarded my jacket, “maybe it’s the guy liner; or maybe it’s your amazing fashion sense.” She shrugged, eyeing my lime green jeans and turquoise and lime checked shirt combo, and sniggered again – maybe she had a point...
Celeste grinned “So are you going to actually listen to me this time?”
I nodded, swallowing nervously. I didn’t really have a choice – my plan was going nowhere. She grinned back at me, an evil glint in her eye. “Here’s what I think you should do...”
I bit my lip a little nervously.
“It’ll be fine,” Celeste said firmly, “We’re just playing to your strengths.” She smiled evilly. I frowned at her backhanded compliment.
This new idea of Celeste's really wasn't what I'd planned at all. Operation Boyfriend was supposed to get Faith to realise that Danny was an idiot and for her to fall for me. How was that gonna happen if she thought I was into guys?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Heather Mar-Gerrison
• Release date: May 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310509896

Heather Mar-Gerrison

I love to write M/M romance and as a sucker for a HEA, you're guaranteed one in my books. #happyheatherafters

Book preview

Prologue

You know, I’ve been thinking…

I lifted my head off the cushion. I was all nestled up on and looked across at my best bud and confidante, What? I asked.

Dallas looked up from his task. He was painting my toenails for me – bright red – and yes, they looked absolutely fantastic. His beautiful hazel eyes danced and the corners of his mouth were curved up in a cheeky grin, It’s really quite a plan, he said gleefully, I’m very proud of myself for thinking up such a fine plan. He paused for effect. Seeing that I was completely intrigued his grin broadened, Well, to be honest, he shrugged modestly, it’s a total no-brainer really. You just have to make him jealous. He was referring to my very recent break-up with my boyfriend Danny Tanganelli. A very good-looking but very untrustworthy guy that I’d fallen head over heels in love with during the first couple of weeks of starting uni. He’d been really attentive to start with, but as the weeks passed he seemed to spend less and less time with me and more and more time with other girls – one girl in particular… Dallas put the brush back in the bottle and screwed the lid shut. He held up my foot and blew lightly across his handiwork to aid the drying. It felt nice.

Jealous? I looked at him doubtfully. Danny slept with someone else, Dal, so I’m not sure jealousy is going to rate very highly in his range of emotions towards me – and I clearly wasn’t good enough for him to wait for, I blushed as I spoke; it wasn’t easy talking about my total lack of sexual experience – even to Dallas, who was about the most understanding person I knew – and have ever known come to that, "what on earth could I do to make him want me back?"

Dallas shrugged, He just needs to see what he’s missing, he grinned confidently and leaned forward slightly to grab my other leg so he could make a start on the next foot. His enthusiasm was catching. I found myself grinning back at him as he planted a little kiss on my ankle.

I loved it when he really grinned. It was the only time the dimple in his right cheek was obvious – and I’d always loved that dimple…

I raised an eyebrow, Go on then, I said with a laugh, I’m listening.

He leaned in towards me conspiratorially and lowered his voice to just above a whisper, "If you’ve got a new boyfriend. One that loves and adores you – one that positively worships the ground you walk on and tells everyone how absolutely fantastic you are – he’s gonna want you back, like that." Dallas snapped his fingers. The snap was very impressive.

I looked at him bemused; his plan sounded pretty good but how the hell was it gonna work? Well, okay – that’s as maybe, I agreed, "but where am I gonna find myself such a perfect boyfriend?" I looked at him perplexed.

My jaw dropped as he pushed my leg off his lap, stood up and swept a bow. Look no further, he said looking up at me, I’m right here. He sat back down and pulled my leg back onto his lap. He picked up the bottle of nail polish and gave it a little shake. Unscrewing the lid, he very precisely got rid of the excess and carefully started applying the bright red polish to my big toe, a big sappy grin on his face.

I gaped at him; Dallas and I had been friends for a long time and between you and me, I’d always suspected he was gay – well, he was painting my toenails like it was an every-day activity for him – and he was incredibly good at it too… My toes looked almost as good as his finger nails which were a perpetual shade of high gloss black…

We met during the first few hours of fresher’s week at uni. We literally ran into each and we’ve been really good friends ever since. I really liked him – the idea of us being ‘together’ together, however, was frankly absurd and not something I’d ever considered. I grant you he already had a girlfriend when we met – or so he’d said but I honestly thought she was just a cover... Like me, he was single right now; I guess that was why he was spending so much time with me, since they’d apparently finished a couple of months ago, but even then, it never occurred to me to think about him in that way. We were just mates – and I rather thought things were pretty much perfect the way they were between us. No one would believe it if we suddenly announced that we were ‘together’ together… most people thought he was my gay best friend – although in all fairness that was probably because it was the way I described him to everyone, but still… You? I asked doubtfully.

He nodded, Me. He said looking totally smug. He screwed the cap down on the bottle and blew my toenails again on my other foot, making a shiver go up my leg. There was no denying it – gay or not, he was a sensual guy… "Are you up for ‘Operation Boyfriend’ or what? Because I promise you. I’ll be the best boyfriend you’ve ever had."

Well, that I could believe since I only had one other guy to compare him to and that was Danny the cheater. I couldn’t help it, I grinned back at him, Hell, yeah. I said. This might actually be kind of fun…

*

It didn’t occur to me that it was a rather strange thing for Dallas to suggest. There was absolutely no love lost between him and Danny – in fact he spent most of his time with a scowl on his face whenever I mentioned him – so why he thought it would be a good idea for me to get back together with him was anyone’s guess.

Anyway, like I said; we met on our first day at uni. I was hurtling around the corner of the library, trying to catch up with my two new friends, Celeste and Sinead. He was coming the other way – a takeaway cup and cake in his hands. I crashed straight into him and the drink and cake went everywhere.

Whoa! He yelled, backing up quickly and taking in the mess that was left of his cake – all over me… Oh, my God! I’m so sorry… He looked down at me in concern.

I looked up and almost swooned. It’s not every day you crash into Adonis… The first thing I noticed was his hair, dark and long and kind of curly – well, it was really damp and drizzly that day and it was beginning to curl up. He offered his hand and I took it eagerly.

He pulled me up and smiled apologetically, Are you okay? he asked, his eyes searching mine, I know I’m not exactly your rugby player type but you’re tiny!

I smiled back at him, It’s fine, I laughed at his worried face, I wasn’t watching where I was going either. I glanced at his coffee spattered tee shirt and jeans in dismay; here he was all concerned about me and I’d made such a mess of his clothes. You could hardly tell on me with my dark jeans and equally dark tee shirt, but he clearly took care with the way he dressed – red jeans and a checked red white and blue shirt – with red Converse All Stars.

I’ll buy you another drink and cake, I offered, It’s the least I can do – and I’ll wash your clothes when I go to the launderette, I added for good measure.

He grinned at me and shook his head, Thanks, he said good-naturedly, that’s really kind of you but I’m good. I can’t take advantage of you like that – it was just an accident. I’m Dallas, by the way. He stuck out his hand.

I grabbed his hand and shook it, smiling back at him and wondering where I’d seen him before. He was so familiar but I just couldn’t put my finger on it – and then it hit me. I had seen him before – the last time I’d come to look around. I’d seen him on the train. My heart sank as I remembered. He’d been sleeping, his head had been tucked right into his friend’s neck and his mouth had been slightly open. His friend, who was taller and built like a Greek God, had been looking out of the window with his arm securely around this guy’s back. They hadn’t looked like friends – they’d looked far too intimate for that. Dallas was gay. I was sure of it.

So, that was how we’d met and we’d got chatting over a coffee together. I never mentioned seeing him on the train – and he never mentioned having a boyfriend. I told him what I was studying and to my delight, I found he was going to be in my English class. Obviously, since neither of us knew anyone else in the class, we ended up sitting together…

He smiled shyly at me and stuck out his hand as I approached him in the lecture theatre, Dallas McKenzie, He said, Pleased to meet you properly.

Oh, hello, I smiled at him, noticing how pretty he was; something I hadn’t noticed so much when we’d had our first encounter. He had the most adorable dimple in one cheek when he smiled and his eyes were just gorgeous – a really unusual hazel, and I swear he was wearing a little eyeliner. And God, his lashes were so long – were they actually real? I’m Faith, I said, Faith Kennedy.

He smiled a little more broadly. Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Faith Kennedy. He said. He seemed to mean it and my heart skipped a beat. But then it depressingly struck me that as well as snuggling on trains; guys didn’t usually wear make-up and that he might just be a little too feminine to be interested in me as anything other than just a good friend…

Chapter 1 – Dallas

Faith

Dallas wasn’t the only friend I made during those first few hectic days at the start of term and my other very good friend at uni was Celeste. We kind of just totally hit it off at first sight and if I wasn’t with Dallas – I could usually be found with Celeste. Dallas got on really well with her too, which was really cool so we were often all together. Dallas had gone to play five a side football with his other mates tonight though, and I was chilling with Celeste at the Student Guild, which was really just the student union bar. I was explaining Dallas’s rather outlandish plan and trying my best to not look as if it was the best thing to have ever happened to me.

So, let me get this straight, Celeste clarified, you’re going to kiss him and everything? She frowned at me, trying to work out the logistics of the whole thing, while all I could thing of was what ‘and everything’ might entail… Celeste was great, if kind of weird – in a nice way. She had a point that I’d really not considered before. Trying my best to block out all the tantalising images in my head of exactly what ‘and everything’ could mean between Dallas and I, I swallowed hard and concentrated on replying without giving my feelings about him away too much. But damn, all I could think about was kissing him now. Kissing Dallas… hmm now there was an interesting concept – particularly since I was getting all sorts of weird feelings around him when he was painting my nails.

Um, well, I dunno – he never said anything about that… I ignored the little flip in my belly at the thought. Dallas was a very good-looking guy and if I really thought about it, he had the most kissable lips… I dismissed the thought of him really wanting to kiss me almost immediately, He wouldn’t be interested in kissing me, anyway. I finally said, trying not to sound too disappointed as my heart hammered against my ribs at the idea of the whole thing.

Celeste raised an eyebrow and spluttered, "You what? You’ve gotta be kidding me, surely – he’s been totally into you for ages."

My heart took off at a gallop at her words. Had he? Well that was something I really hadn’t tuned into before now. No, he hasn’t, I argued, a little breathlessly, we’re just friends, I looked around us and whispered, And, well, you know – obviously, he kind of prefers boys.

She stared at me open-mouthed for a good few seconds before she finally spoke, "You think he’s gay? she spluttered, looking at me as if I was quite mad. I felt a little embarrassed. I nodded uncertainly, Well, yeah, I said, you’ve got to admit, he wears some pretty outlandish gear – and he’s got his nipples pierced and both of his ears – and he wears guy-liner…"

She grinned at me with one eyebrow raised, I didn’t know he had his nipples pierced, as it happens, she said drily, "And I’d be rather interested to know how it is that you know?" she looked at me expectantly.

He told me, I mumbled. Actually, I’d seen them when he was changing a few weeks ago. He’d gone into his room and I’d spied him through the mirror on the opposite wall. He had a mighty fine set of abs too – in fact he was downright gorgeous…

Right, she nodded her voice dripping with sarcasm – she didn’t believe a word. Course he did – so you think he’s gay?

I nodded miserably.

And yet, that hasn’t stopped you from fancying him, has it? she grinned slyly.

I blushed. I did. I always had since we’d first met – but even if he wasn’t, I honestly never thought he would look at someone like me that way. It was an impossible dream – only it didn’t seem quite so impossible anymore….

"I’m sure he isn’t gay, Faith, Celeste said firmly, and it’s what he doesn’t say you have to listen closest to." She added cryptically.

I frowned at her, what the hell was she on about? You what? I asked.

She shook her head with a wry little grin, Mark my words, she said, sounding all wise, there’s more to this than meets the eye, Faith. She even tapped her nose.

I nodded my acknowledgement; with Dallas there usually was. He was an evil genius – he just didn’t usually carry out his master plans involving me. I would agree with you, I said, but what’s in it for him?

Celeste narrowed her eyes. I’m not sure, she said, rubbing her finger across her bottom lip thoughtfully, "but I’d take a stab in the dark that it’s one of two things. He either really does despise Danny as much as he says he does – so it’s totally vengeance on his part – or… she shrugged, he really likes you more than he should."

More than he should? I murmured, wondering how much more that was. My heart started to beat a little faster. I turned to Celeste with a big defeated sigh. I shook my head, But – the only reason he’s doing this is to get me back with Danny. I reminded her, And of course that’s what I want, too. I added a little lamely.

She pulled a face and looked at me as if I was quite unhinged, and let out the most unladylike snort, "So he says – but it’ll be about you two getting closer – make no mistake, Dallas is smitten – and he’s smitten with you…"

Chapter 2 – Faith

Dallas

Call me an idiot by all means and I promise that I won’t be offended – I’ve been called much worse… and this could only end in tears – mine most likely but in my defence, the idea had struck me as a good one.

I’ve been in love with Faith pretty much since we first met which was the best way I’ve ever met anyone.

At the time, I was going out with a girl from back home and we were very definitely drifting apart from each other – it’s difficult enough to maintain a meaningful relationship when you’re at opposite ends of the country to each other – but it’s all but over when you meet the girl of your dreams... and of course that would be Faith.

Anyway, Faith and I just seemed to hit it off immediately. She was so beautiful – she’d got this blinding red hair and the greenest eyes I’d ever seen… almost ethereal.

Sadly, she’d never noticed me that way – and I’d played a blinder over the past few months, listening to her lament about her idiot boyfriend. I had no idea what she ever saw in him. He was one of those player types that always seemed to get the girls – seriously what was it about guys like that that made girls flock? Was it the cheesy lines? Or just the confidence they exuded that they were God’s gift? I didn’t know – anyway – whatever it was – she’d never caught on to the fact that I wanted to be her boyfriend – and I’d never treat her the way that jerk had.

So, this guy – he was a real piece of work. Danny Tanganelli. And