“This is going to be an interesting friendship, Corbin. I’m still trying to figure out how I let it happen.”
“Don’t put yourself through that. There’s nothing you could have done to stop it. I’m The Charmer, remember?”
I’ve been intrigued by Corbin’s story since we first met him back in The Loner. He was full of charm, always quick to flirt or crack a joke but most of his behavior was a defense mechanism to hide the lingering trauma from his difficult childhood. As a kid he was overweight with bad skin and was relentlessly bullied, his only solace was the time spent with his 3 best friends. As an adult, he spends most of his time focused on how he looks and tends to measure his worth by how many likes and comments he gets on the thirst traps he posts daily to his Instagram – and one negative comment can send him into a tailspin.
His 3 best friends worry about him and his mental health which is why they are skeptical when they discover he’s become cuddle buddies with his neighbor, Spencer, who has a history of being not-so-nice to Corbin. But it turns out Spencer doesn’t hate Corbin at all and goes out of his way to look out for him and be there for him when Corbin’s feeling down. Much to Corbin’s surprise it doesn’t take him long to fall for Spencer but he is surprised to learn that Spencer’s fallen too. But Corbin knows he needs to work through his mental health issues to have the type of future he wants with Spencer.
“I think you want to be one of my best friends.”
“Ew,” Spencer teased.
“You do. Don’t lie. You want to be my CBBFF.”
“Cuddle Buddy Best Friend Forever?”
I loved this whole series. The friendship the Beach Bums had was so special and I think knowing this was the final installment made it extra emotional for me. I loved seeing how their group changed and grew as each guy found his match. Naturally, seeing all his other friends pairing up made Corbin want that for himself. I thought Spencer was such a great partner for him. They were sweet together, their cuddle arrangement may have been weird to some people but I thought it was adorable and was a good way for them to build their friendship. It was beautiful the way Spencer looked out for Corbin and sought to make him see that he was so much more than just a hot body and pretty face. Spencer was such a good guy and I loved his confidence. He was exactly what Corbin needed in his life.
“You care about people, oftentimes more than you do yourself, so I’m gonna put Corbin first and teach you how to do it too.”
The part that made me emotional (I actually cried quite a few times during this one!) was Corbin’s mental health journey. He knew he had issues but it was always easier to just push it all back and cover it up with his fun-loving, charming persona instead. Who can’t relate to that? But seeing him finally realize his mental health was worth fighting for was great. Seeing him stand up for himself against those who hurt him made me so proud of him. And watching him finally accept that he was worthy of the love that all his friends and Spencer gave him brought a tear to my eye. I thought this was a great way to wrap up the series, I’m going to miss these guys!
Love was people who made you feel beautiful when you couldn’t see it. It wasn’t acceptance. Love was affirmation.
The Book Boyfriend Addict 