2. Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Tyler
O n the rare occasion Tyler went out with his friends, he tried to avoid dive bars. He liked nicely decorated gastropubs or microbreweries with too many IPAs on tap and a good food selection. However, Cameron’s band was playing tonight, and Tyler found himself at a high top, with a tepid lager, and a plate of the greasiest fries he had ever eaten.
The set had just ended with applause from the crowd around the stage area. Tyler clapped with them before he picked up his beer and attempted to finish it quickly. He usually drank wine or craft beer, but he was unlikely to find anything decent in this place.
He had given Cameron’s gigs a pass a thousand times before. The band wasn’t bad. They played covers of rock songs and sprinkled in their own songs, which Tyler preferred. However, Cameron always played at the shadiest places. Tyler couldn’t help that he’d been brought up in a household where they went to country clubs and benefit galas, not grimy biker bars.
But he owed Cameron because, after Thanksgiving, Tyler had practically begged his best friend to pretend to be his boyfriend during Christmas. Cameron’s family lived in California but usually didn’t have anything going on for the holidays unless Cameron made the trek from Pittsburgh all the way there.
Cameron had been his unlikely best friend since college, but nothing was remotely romantic between them. He was a good sport and readily agreed to Tyler’s request without question. Tyler had to ensure he was on his friend’s good side, which meant watching his band play in a bar where his shoes stuck to the beer-stained floor.
Tyler got up to order another beer. He nearly jumped out of his skin at a loud bang on the bar near where he had walked up.
“Fuck!” came from beside him. The man sitting there smacked his phone on the counter so hard that Tyler was sure it had broken.
He was tall and broad, with tattoos winding down his arms. His dark, curly hair brushed the nape of his neck. He looked so angry that Tyler averted his gaze in case he wanted to fight.
“Fuck, fuck,” the big stranger repeated, loud enough to be heard over the music of the next band to get on the stage.
The slightly blue bar lighting made his features stand out angrily, with a set to his jaw and tension in his eyes. He raked his hand through his curls, messing them up in a way that had no business looking that attractive.
“You okay, Jules?” Cameron asked, appearing after his set, wedging between Tyler and the stranger. He clapped the guy on the back, his freckled face open with concern.
The brooding guy looked up, recognition flashing over his robust features and dark, almost black eyes as he looked at Cameron. “Yeah. Fine.” He ordered a shot from the bartender, clearly in no mood for conversation.
Of course, Cam is friends with the shady thug , Tyler thought. Cam could befriend anyone if given half a chance .
Cameron shrugged and turned his attention to Tyler. “What did you think?” He bounced on his toes. Cam always wore his emotions all over his face and spoke his mind so freely that it made Tyler anxious.
Tyler stood by the fact that he would never have considered Cam a friend if he hadn’t forcibly adopted Tyler as his best friend in college. Now, it seemed he was stuck with him.
“It was great. You guys killed it,” Tyler said. The crowd wasn’t huge, but they seemed into the music. Tyler was no expert on these things but knew that could only be good.
Cameron grinned. He ordered a beer when the bartender finally returned with Tyler’s beer and Jules’ shot. “We must have, because someone wants to book us for their Christmas party. Isn’t that fucking lit?”
“What? That’s amazing. When is it?” Tyler asked and leaned against the bar. He felt the fabric of his favorite Ralph Lauren sweater stick to the wood and tried not to cringe.
Cam gave him a weird look. “ Christmas , dude.”
Tyler had been in the middle of taking a sip, and he nearly choked. “What? But…, you said you would come to my house for Christmas. Remember?”
Cameron’s brow furrowed before his eyes widened. “Oh shit, the fake boyfriend gig. I completely spaced. But this is a massive win for us, Ty.”
Tyler breathed out, trying not to get frustrated. “Okay, but you can still come for the week before, right? You can leave the day before Christmas.” It wouldn’t be as planned, but at least Tyler could show everyone he wasn’t a pathetic, lonely loser.
“I….” Cameron hesitated and licked his lips, facing Tyler seriously. “Look, you know I would literally die for you. I would . But I need to practice. We have to get our set together. I want this to be perfect. If people hire us for private parties, we can start to make real money.”
“But what am I supposed to do?” Tyler whined, leaned back, and felt his shirt stick to the bar even more.
“I don’t know. You could find a real boyfriend?” Cameron grinned again, and Tyler wanted to punch his stupid face and make his nose even more crooked .
“You’re not helping my case, thank you,” Tyler said, with a sip of the watery beer.
Cameron patted him on the shoulder. “I bet you could find someone online or something. You could pay them. It would be much more believable than you and me because, I mean, come on. You wish you could have this,” Cameron said with a wink. He gestured to his lanky body and wiggled.
Tyler had been a little worried about that. He and Cameron had known each other since their Freshman year of college. His parents had met Cameron a few times, and it did seem weird to bring him home and claim he was now his boyfriend, even though he had never expressed any interest in his friend before. Cam wasn’t even gay. Not to mention, he was so far from Tyler’s type with his shaggy hair and overly relaxed style. He didn’t think his parents would be too impressed.
“That sounds like a good fucking way to get murdered,” Tyler pointed out. He could only imagine what the ad on Craigslist would say...
Man seeking man for fake holiday date. Must be tall, dark, handsome, and preferably not a cannibal, murderer, or escort.
“Then you wouldn’t have to worry about a Christmas date,” Cameron supplied.
“How much would I even pay someone?” Tyler asked after a moment of reckless consideration. It wasn’t like he had anything to lose except his life, money, and dignity. Actually, he didn’t have much dignity left anyway.
“I’d do it for eight thousand.”
Tyler and Cam both looked over as Jules, who had committed the phone assault, spoke up.
Tyler’s cheeks heated when he realized the attractive thug must have been listening to the entire conversation. He probably thought Tyler was a legitimate creeper who considered paying someone to pretend to be his boyfriend. The idea that he would even offer made Tyler wish the sticky floor would swallow him up .
“Perfect!” Cameron exclaimed, clapped his hand on Jules’ broad shoulder, and looked absolutely pleased as punch. “Julien will do it for eight.”
Tyler raised his eyebrows and tried to pretend he was not wholly mortified. It wasn’t enough that a stranger had overheard what he was talking about. The stranger had to be a six-foot-something god , whom Tyler would never take home to his parents. He wouldn’t have minded taking him to his apartment if Tyler had thought for a second that Julien would look twice at him if money wasn’t on the line.
“Eight thousand? That’s a little rich for my blood,” he managed to say. He was proud of the confidence his voice had. Truthfully, Tyler could afford it. He had a beefy savings account and made a good amount of money for work, but that was a lot to hand over to someone who looked like he could crush his windpipe with a particularly exuberant headlock.
Cameron frowned at Tyler, and as much as he knew Cameron, the only person’s mind he could even pretend to read was Hailey’s. He had no idea what his friend wanted to get across.
“What about three?” Cameron finally said. He turned back to Julien.
Tyler sputtered. It was much more reasonable, but he wasn’t considering hiring this scary stranger to pretend to be his boyfriend over the holiday. Tyler wasn’t going to hire anyone . He would go back home and listen to Hailey discuss her wedding plans while Tyler imagined how lonely he would look in the photos.
Julien seemed to consider the counteroffer. “Five. But I want half up front.”
Cam turned back to Tyler. “Can you do five?”
“When did you become my middleman?” Tyler hissed.
Cameron shook his head and waved an arm toward Julien. “Julien would be perfect for you,” he said. “I mean, look at him. That is a face you want to take home to your family.”
Julien watched Tyler as though he wanted to rip his throat out with his teeth, and not in a fun, playful, sexy way. His thick brows were low over his dark eyes, and his full lips were set in a scowl. He looked the opposite of what Tyler would want to take home to his mother .
Tyler gulped and stood straight, ignoring the sound of fabric pulling off the bar’s wood like a sticker. “Five thousand is a lot. Would you be able to make it believable?” He didn’t know why he entertained this horrible and reckless idea. Tyler didn’t know anything about Julien. As much as he trusted Cameron, how could Tyler spend time with someone he didn’t know and who, frankly, was scary?
Julien tilted his head back and forth as if contemplating the question deeply before he invaded Tyler’s space without warning. Before Tyler could process the situation, Julien’s arms were around his waist, and Tyler was pulled into a tight embrace.
He could smell the deep scent of leather, the faint smell of smoke, and something peppery, woody, and intoxicating. Tyler didn’t realize he had automatically put his arms around broad shoulders and could feel the outline of hard, defined muscle hidden by the fabric of Julien’s tight T-shirt.
It had been a long time since Tyler had been this close to any man, let alone one as big and attractive as Julien. He had never been this close to someone so intimidating, but his body reacted. His heart thudded in his ears, and his cheeks grew hot.
Julien nuzzled against his neck and murmured in a husky, low voice, “Baby, you smell so good,” into his ear. Tyler didn’t know how he managed to hold in the moan that threatened to bubble up in his throat at the warm breath tickling his sensitive skin. “I can’t wait to spend Christmas with your family. Do you think they’ll like me?”
Warm lips dragged over the tender skin of his neck, and Tyler’s brain stopped functioning correctly.
“Y-yeah,” Tyler stammered. His hands traced over Julien’s muscled back, all but groping him. Julien’s lips brushed against his jaw, and his body reacted stupidly by giving butterflies that made his breath speed up. Tyler couldn’t think clearly about this between the closeness and two beers. “I think so,” he croaked.
Julien pulled back quickly and looked down at him with eyebrows raised. Their height difference was more than just a few inches. Tyler had to lift his chin to meet the man’s dark gaze. “Five thousand dollars, and I’ll make sure they do.”
Tyler was thankful for the darkness of the bar because he knew he was blushing deep enough to be used as a traffic light. He glanced at Cameron, whose crooked teeth were all on display as he gave two thumbs up. Well, if Cameron knew Julien, then he probably wasn’t a murderer, at least.
“Fine. Five thousand. But you have to stay the whole time and make sure my family believes that we are a stable, happy, perfect couple.“ Tyler held his hand out.
“I need half right away,” Julien reiterated.
“Fine. The second half is on Christmas, though. I don’t want you running off with my money,” Tyler said. He had to try not to overthink this. What could the harm be? He wanted a fake boyfriend. Despite the price tag, he could make it work if this was his option. He took Julien’s big, warm hand and gave it a shake. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Julien wasn’t hard on the eyes.
Julien nodded. “Deal. I’ll be the best boyfriend you’ve ever had.”
“You’d be the only one he’s eve—“ Tyler shot Cam a look before he could finish his sentence. “I mean, yay, Christmas is saved.” He did a dramatic twirl before chugging his beer.
Tyler’s gaze drifted away from his best friend back to Julien. “Come by my place tomorrow. I’ll get you the money, and we can work out our story. My family lives in Connecticut, and I’m flying out. We’d have to book your plane ticket, too,” he said as he mentally calculated the expenses and gave Julien his address and phone number. The phone had miraculously survived its earlier attack.
“Great. I’ll be there after work.” Julien slid his phone into his pocket and picked up his jacket from the back of the bar stool. Then, as if mad at the world, he stalked out of the bar without another word to Tyler or Cam.
“I really hope you didn’t just set me up with a serial killer, Cameron.” Tyler swallowed the last bit of beer and ignored the sinking in his gut. How would he make a guy like that fit in with his family? He wasn’t exactly the sort of person the Ashfords would expect from Tyler.
Tyler had always thought he’d bring home a clean-cut man who wore designer clothes, not those scruffy-looking jeans that had hugged Julien’s ass so nicely as he walked out of the bar. If they covered up his tattoos and wiped the scowl off his face, Tyler might have something to work with, but it wouldn’t be easy .
His friend laughed and slung his arm around Tyler. “No, Julien’s a great guy. I promise you’ll love him,” Cameron assured him.
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s hope he can be convincing,” Tyler said as if he had not been convinced with a warm hug. What am I thinking? Tyler could only blame the alcohol and the fact that he hadn’t gotten laid in years.
“I mean, he seemed to win you over,” Cam quipped. He waggled his unruly eyebrows and nudged Tyler.
Tyler sighed. “Shut up. How do you even know him?” he asked, worried it was from some underground street fighting ring. Knowing Cameron, it could be something as unhinged as that.
“He works for the auto body shop I take my car to. He’s good friends with Scott. We’ve been at a few parties together,” Cameron explained. “He’s cool. I swear to God.”
Tyler sensed that Cameron didn’t know Julien well, which only made him more uneasy. “He won’t just take my money and fuck off, will he?”
Cam shook his head. “No way. Besides, I know where he works, so you’re good.” He leaned on the bar to get the bartender’s attention and ordered them both another round.
Tyler didn’t think he needed any more beer tonight. He had already made too many questionable choices. “This is going to be a disaster.”
“Well, you can always change your mind and, you know, not lie to your family,” Cameron offered.
Tyler glared at him, recalling the sad state of Thanksgiving. Even Eliza was more interested in her phone than talking to him. He’d spent half the meal in complete silence. He grimaced.
“Or not,” Cam added.
Tyler nodded. “Or not.” Lying to his family was definitely the lesser of the two evils. Maybe he would even get away from the kids’ table this Christmas.