7. Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Julien
T yler’s dad picked them up as promised. He drove a sleek silver Lexus that looked like it had just been driven off the lot. Julien complimented him and shook Mr. Ashford’s hand as he climbed in the back seat.
Mr. Ashford was in his early fifties, with the same thick hair Tyler had and brown eyes. He was a little chubby in the middle, but Julien could almost not tell from how well he dressed. He wore a button-down shirt, neatly pressed slacks, and a sweater similar to Julien’s.
Tyler’s dad hadn’t grilled him, which was good since he still felt nauseous. Tyler had mentioned that the flight had been rough, and Julien got slightly sick. His father seemed happy enough to let that be.
Julien wanted a cigarette, but there wasn’t time between landing and getting in the car. If he had to cover up his tattoos and dress like a preppy car salesman, Julien suspected he wouldn’t be welcome to light up in the car.
The drive to the Ashford house wasn’t too long, but Julien couldn’t deny he felt a bit of trepidation. The ruse had officially started. There was no going back now. He would have to keep this up for a week and a half, and then he would get his money.
He didn’t think Tyler was out to fuck him over, but he wasn’t about to take a risk and not put his all into this. He didn’t want Tyler to change his mind because Julien wasn’t doing a good enough job.
They pulled into the driveway, and Julien looked out the window, waiting to see where Tyler had grown up, but they kept driving.
“How big is this property?” he asked, unable to keep the incredulous tone out of his voice. He wouldn’t be surprised if they passed a tennis court and horse stables or something crazy.
“Five acres,” Mr. Ashford said proudly. “We bought the property maybe twenty-five years ago and built the house. We redid it five years ago, updated and remodeled the whole thing.”
Eventually, the house came into view. It was a massive two-story house with a covered porch and the neatest shrubs Julien had ever seen. Despite the cold weather, the grass was a perfectly manicured green. He could see delicate lights outlining the house. It would probably look unreal on a snowy night. Hell, it looked unreal right now.
He was born and raised in Pittsburgh. Living somewhere so far from the hub of a city seemed like a dream only seen on TV. Julien couldn’t imagine how anyone could have grown up in a huge house like this. He didn’t know if his lungs could handle the fresh air.
Mr. Ashford pulled into a garage bigger than Julien’s apartment, and Julien stepped out to drag the luggage from the trunk.
Tyler rushed to the back to help him. “I figure we can go unpack and change, or whatever, and just chill? I know it’s been a long day already.”
“It’s alright. I’m glad we’re finally here.” Jules gave what he hoped was a tender smile as Mr. Ashford came to pull out one of the suitcases. The expression felt unnatural, and Julien hoped the smile didn’t appear pained.
“Good lord, Ty, what did you pack? You’d think you were moving back in.” Mr. Ashford shook his head. “He takes after his mother, a chronic over-packer.”
“Those are Christmas presents,” Tyler protested. He reached out for the giant suitcase and placed it upright. “Be careful. Some of those things are fragile.”
Julien chuckled. “I said the same thing to him before we left.” He attempted to sound friendly. This ruse would be exhausting. “But to be fair, the presents did take up one whole suitcase.”
Mr. Ashford laughed and led them inside through the garage door. It opened into a mudroom, and Julien could smell the scent of cinnamon and orange wafting through the house. The ceilings in the mudroom were needlessly high. He already felt like a fish out of water.
“Hey, shoes, remember?” Tyler said before he stepped out of the mudroom .
Julien noticed a rack of shoes lined up by the door. He kicked off the tasteful and not-at-all-practical sneakers and lined them up next to Tyler’s. The vanilla wood floor felt slightly slippery underfoot, polished to such a shine that Julien wasn’t sure it was natural wood. The entire floor was warm as well. Were they heated?
He stepped into a vast kitchen with a refrigerator bigger than Julien’s bathroom and built-in double ovens. A massive island with marble counters housed a giant gas stove top. The kitchen was open to a dining room area, with a large table set with an ornate centerpiece—a wooden bowl filled with pinecones frosted with fake snow, pine fronds, red berries, and a candle that seemed to be made of bark.
“Holy shit, you didn’t tell me your house was a mansion ,” Julien whispered to Tyler when Mr. Ashford had stepped out of earshot.
He had made his way over to the fireplace, taking up the far wall of the dining room, and warmed his hands.
Tyler widened his eyes. “It’s not a mansion. It’s just a house,” he whispered back. He moved to the winding staircase off the side of the large room and placed his luggage there.
“I guess I’ve been living in just a shoe box then,” Julien protested. The room was doused in natural sunlight from the windows covering the walls that went up two stories, and it looked bright, airy, and massive.
Something cold nudged Julien’s knee while he took in the space. The droopiest dog sniffed him. Immediately, Julien knelt down to give the dog a scratch with a wide grin. He loved dogs. He’d never been able to have one but held out hope that one day when his shit was together, he could adopt one.
“Hey there, buddy,” he cooed. “Who’s a good boy?” The dog lazily leaned over and swiped his wet tongue over Julien’s chin. “Yes, you are.”
“That’s Duke,” Mr. Ashford said from the fireplace. “He’s taken a liking to you already.”
Tyler watched him practically make out with Duke, a smile spreading over his lips. “Julien and I are going to bring our stuff up, and I’ll get him settled in the guest room,” Tyler said as a woman emerged at the top of the stairs. “Mom!”
Mrs. Ashford was tall and slender, with a bottle-blonde bob that had no hair out of place. She wore a pair of khaki pants and a red turtleneck sweater. The solid of the shirt was broken up by a long necklace that glittered in the sunlight. She wore a pair of house slippers as she stepped down the stairs to greet Tyler with a kiss on the cheek, but her piercing blue eyes focused on Julien.
Julien had convinced himself that he didn’t care if these people liked him, but from how Mrs. Ashford assessed him, he didn’t think he stood a chance even if he tried. It was as if she could see right through the clothes already.
“How was your flight, Honey?” Mrs. Ashford asked after she pulled away from Tyler.
“It was fine. Julien had a little motion sickness, but nothing too bad. I’m just glad we’re here.” Tyler turned his piercing blue eyes to Julien. They were somehow as transfixing on Tyler as they were unnerving on his mother. “Mom, this is Julien.”
Julien stood straight and took a few hesitant steps to take Mrs. Ashford’s perfectly manicured hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Ashford. ”
“Connie, please,” she said. “Nice to meet you, Julien. I’d love to say I’ve heard all about you, but Tyler has kept you something of a mystery.”
Tyler shifted uncomfortably behind his mother. His expression turned from warm to concerned, almost like he didn’t trust Julien to sell this.
Well, Jules would fucking show him. “Has he? Well, he’s told me a lot about you and the rest of the family.”
The concern turned to apparent panic. Tyler had supplied Julien with only the basics of his family. From what Julien gathered, they were all pains in the asses. It fit the bill because Tyler had been a pain in the ass so far too.
“Has he? Only good things, I hope?” His mother narrowed her eyes with an appraising look.
Julien offered his most charming smile. “Of course. Thank you for having me over for Christmas. I’m sorry it was so last minute.”
Mrs. Ashford, Connie, clasped her hands together in front of her. “Yes, Tyler said your family is abroad for the holidays. A shame you couldn’t join them. Where is it that they went?” she asked.
Julien tried not to let confusion show on his face.
Tyler slapped his hand over his forehead and shook his head rapidly behind his mother’s back until she glanced behind her. He stopped and grinned, waving nonchalantly. Subtle.
“Florida.”
Julien could tell from how Tyler practically melted and Mrs. Ashford’s smooth brow wrinkled that this was the wrong answer.
“Right,” Tyler chimed in. “Florida, to visit his grandparents, and then they’re all traveling to, what was it? Corsica?”
Julien didn’t even know what Corsica was, but he nodded. “Yep. Just the four of them,” he added. “In Corsica.”
“Anyway,” Tyler said hastily. “I want to get Julien set up in the guest room so he can freshen up, and then we’ll be back down soon. Walter is staying in the room closer to Hailey, right? ”
“Oh no, Sweetie,” Connie said. “No, he’ll need to stay with you. Cece, Brad, and the kids are also staying with us.”
Tyler looked shocked. “What? What do you mean?”
Julien’s eyebrows raised. Tyler had mentioned that his mother had always been weird about couples sharing a room in her house, so he’d get a spare room.
“Your sister and Walter will be in her room, and you and Julien can stay in your room,” his mother explained. “I don’t see what the big deal is. I thought you would be happy if you could share a room. I know Hailey was glad. It’s not as though you can get pregnant, anyway,” she added earnestly.
“Eww, gross, Mom!” Tyler exclaimed, his hands running through his hair frantically. “Don’t say things like that.”
Gross ? Julien frowned. Did Tyler think he would be gross to share a bed with? “It’s fine, Baby.” Sure, Julien wasn’t thrilled about sharing space with another person. He had roommates before, but they had all shared separate rooms, and even that was a bit much for him. This was only for a few days. Julien was sure it wouldn’t be that big of a deal.
“I just mean, I am sure you know how to behave yourself,” Mrs. Ashford said, and the sharp look she gave Julien was so motherly that he didn’t know what to do for a second.
“Fine, sure. I’ll take him upstairs to my room then.” He lifted up his giant suitcases and hoisted them up the stairs awkwardly.
“It was nice to meet you,” Julien said to Mrs. Ashford and followed with his suitcases. They left the one with all the gifts near the stairs.
The staircase’s landing looked over into the great room and led to a wide hallway. Tyler opened the door to the first room and led them inside. The bedroom was spacious, with a big bed up against the wall and a bench at the end. Like the other rooms in the house, it had those wide planks of polished vanilla wood and big windows to let in light. The view of the grounds was gorgeous, and Julien stopped to stare out the window for a moment.
“My mom and dad redid it a bit once I left. That’s why it looks bare bones,” Tyler said. “But we have our own bathroom, so you don’t have to fight Hailey for the shower.”
“What are your sisters like?” Julien tore his attention from the window to look back at Tyler, who was on the floor with his suitcase and rifling through his clothes.
They hadn’t talked much about Tyler’s family, and Julien could kick himself for not asking more questions. He was going in blind.
“Ugh, normal, I guess? Hailey is my twin, and Cece is a few years older than we are,” Tyler said, offering nothing useful to Julien. “Look, I’m sorry about sharing a room. I didn’t know. She’s always been weird about having couples share a room until marriage. I don’t know why she’s suddenly changed her mind.”
Julien shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. I think we can handle it. I don’t bite. Much.” When Tyler didn’t take the flirtatious bait, he asked, “So, uh, where is Corsica?”
Tyler laughed in shock but told him Corsica was an island off France. He also helped Julien choose a casual outfit and let him use the bathroom first to wash up and change. When he returned to the room, Tyler had changed into a Christmas-y sweater and jeans and put his contacts in .
Julien thought the glasses would have made the outfit, but he didn’t say.
“What?” Tyler asked, and Julien realized he had just been staring.
Julien scowled and shook his head. “Nothing.”
The sounds of the door opening and people chattering came from downstairs, and Tyler breathed.
“Well, time to put on a show, Baby.” He frowned. “No. Never mind. I’m not sure I can call you ‘Baby’.”
“Whatever you say, Baby .” Julien didn’t know why it made a difference. He thought it sounded fine.
Tyler flushed a little and grumbled, “I don’t know why it sounds so good coming from you.”
Julien shrugged and followed him out. It was, indeed, time to put on a show.