9. Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Tyler
“ Y ou were amazing,” Tyler said as he returned the cap to his contact solution and came out of his en-suite.
He honestly couldn’t believe how well it had gone. It was only the first day, but Julien had been fantastic. He’d be charming and surprising in ways Tyler did not expect. There had been a few slip-ups, but nothing noticeable. Tyler thought they might actually get away with this.
“Thanks,” Julien said in his gruff voice as he stepped into the bathroom to change.
“I mean, I feel like you fit right in. That’s great.” Tyler rolled the plush duvet down on his bed. Then he found a pair of extra fuzzy socks to keep his feet warm and debated which side of the bed Julien might want.
He hadn’t ever had someone sleep over in his childhood bedroom, and certainly not a boyfriend. However, he had to keep reminding himself that he hired Julien. Julien wasn’t a boyfriend. He was barely even a friend.
When Julien stepped out of the bathroom, he wore loose black gym shorts that hung low on his hips.
Tyler considered removing his glasses so he wouldn’t stare at Julien’s gorgeous body. He was toned in all the right places, with tanned skin and abs that Tyler wanted to lick and shoulders he wanted to bite. His arms were covered in elaborate tattoos, and over his heart was another large piece that depicted a pocket watch, the outside framed by date. The details were ornate, flourishing even, and Tyler longed to run his hands over the blackened skin to see how it felt.
“I really am dying for a cigarette, Tyler,” Julien said as he finally pulled a T-shirt on. This one wasn’t one Tyler had bought him. It was thin enough that he could almost see the ink through it.
Tyler blinked. “What? No way, what if someone sees you? My mom would literally freak out.”
Julien frowned. “I’m not going to be able to make it another week without a smoke, Ty.” Gone were all of those charming smiles from the rest of the day. Julien was back to his signature scowl. It would have been unpleasant if he wasn’t so damn attractive.
Tyler considered for a moment. It wasn’t fair to ask him to stop smoking when it was just a fake relationship. He had already policed Julien’s clothing, backstory, and everything else. As much as Tyler didn’t think he would want a boyfriend who smoked, Julien was still a person.
“Fine, ugh, hold on.” He went to his window and pushed it open before pulling the screen up. He and Hailey used to climb out of their bedroom and sit on the roof as kids. He hadn’t done it in years but thought he could still manage it if he didn’t consider how dangerous it was.
Sure enough, he could step out from his room onto the roof. “I think if we’re quiet, no one will notice,” he said, but peered back into his room.
Julien’s eyebrows raised, but he went into his bag, grabbed his cigarettes, and carefully climbed out the window. “Did you sneak out a lot this way?” he asked.
Tyler led them to the flat area where they could sit.
The air was chilly, and Julien’s breath came out in visible puffs.
Tyler sincerely regretted not bringing out a coat. “No. I didn’t really sneak out. Hailey did, sometimes. We would come out here to talk, and one time, we smoked weed up here,” he confessed.
“I knew you couldn’t be that buttoned up.” Julien lit his cigarette. The smile on his full lips was natural, and Tyler tried not to stare but failed miserably.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Jules inhaled deeply from the cigarette and held his breath before turning his head away and blowing it out in a white stream of smoke.
“Nothing,” Julien said after another drag. “So, you think it’s going well?”
Tyler still tried to parse what Julien meant about being buttoned up. He had his life together, but that made him sound boring. He wasn’t dull. Okay, he was a little dull. It sucked that Julien thought so, and he tried not to pout over it.
“Uh, yeah,” he said. “I think they like you. I’ve never heard Walter laugh before. I actually didn’t think he knew how. And he made a joke . That was wild.” Tyler shook his head, baffled by that development. “How did you manage that?”
Julien shrugged. “I don’t know. I talked to him?”
Tyler made a face at that. He didn’t really think Walter had anything interesting to say. If Julien thought he was boring, he was surprised Julien could stand a conversation with Walter.
“How do you think it’s going?” he decided to ask.
Julien tapped the butt of his cigarette, and white ash rolled down the roof before the wind carried it away. “I’ve never met someone’s parents. I’ve got nothing to compare it to.”
“What do you mean? You’ve never been serious with someone before?” Tyler asked, unable to imagine the hunk beside him being perpetually single like he was. Maybe Julien had a string of pretty girlfriends he kept at arm’s length to keep his relaxed, mysterious vibe. Tyler hated the imaginary girls immediately .
Julien shook his head. “Not really. I guess I’m not the kind of guy you take home to your mother.”
Tyler bit his lip. Despite little tweaks to Julien’s appearance and backstory, he didn’t think it was terrible . Julien might have had a bit of a rough exterior, but he wasn’t rude or inconsiderate. Even when alone, Jules seemed more soft-spoken and guarded rather than an asshole. “I don’t think that’s true,” Tyler told him.
“Yeah, but I’m not the kind of guy you want to bring home to your mom.” Julien gestured with his cigarette.
Tyler imagined what his mom might have said if Julien, the real Julien, the one sitting on the roof smoking a cigarette with ink splattered across his arms, introduced himself as Tyler’s boyfriend.
The thought made him swallow nervously. She would probably be tight-lipped and polite like always, but then she would ask Tyler a thousand questions about Julien’s past and his ‘people.’ She would definitely mention drugs.
Tyler cleared his throat. “I hope you don’t mind that we have to share a bed. If it’s too weird, I can sleep on the couch. Maybe I should do that anyway. I know you didn’t sign up for that.”
Julien shook his head, and Tyler caught another glimpse of a smile on his lips as he grasped the cigarette between them. “Your family would be confused.”
“No,” Tyler said. “We can just tell them we’re taking things slow.” He could imagine how weird Julien would feel about sharing a bed with a stranger, a gay stranger.
Julien snorted and shook his head. “Yeah, okay, ” he said sardonically.
“What?” Tyler asked.
“They’re not going to believe that,” he flicked more ash from his cigarette. “Like you’d want to take things slow with me .”
Tyler’s eyes widened. He could feel himself blush. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He bit back a grin. “I’m not that easy.”
“No, I bet you aren’t. But I’m sure I could make you that easy, Baby,” Julien drawled, and dammit if he didn’t toss Tyler a wink .
Tyler pressed his lips together and tried to think of a comeback. He doubted his family would buy that he didn’t want to share a bed with his big, beefy boyfriend. He wanted to share a bed with Julien, like the desperate little creep he was. “Fine.”
“Besides, that bed is huge. You won’t even know I’m there,” Julien added. He stabbed out his cigarette on the shingled roof and then let the butt roll into the gutter before Tyler could think of what to do with it.
Tyler wanted to say something like oh, I would know you were there , or anything mildly flirtatious. The trouble was that he was terrible at flirting and didn’t even know if Julien was attracted to men. Even if he was, Julien was doing this to get money, not because he would want Tyler in any way. Tyler figured he was too wealthy and nerdy. Too much of a pretty boy for Julien. Flirting for flirting’s sake would be going down a road he didn’t want to take. “Come on. I’m freezing.” He carefully stood up and made for the window.
His foot slipped just as they reached the junction to step back up, and he slid back a little. A strong hand pressed against his lower back, and another came around to grasp his chest .
“Careful.” Julien pulled Tyler’s back flush against him. “I’d rather you didn’t break your neck before I get the rest of my money.”
Any warmth that had spread throughout Tyler’s chest quickly withdrew at the pointed reminder. This was a job, and Tyler still owed him. He was putting on a good show, even without witnesses.
Tyler sighed but was more careful as he returned to his bedroom’s safety. It was warm and inviting, and he hurriedly climbed into his bed and under the covers.
Julien brushed his teeth and came back to slide into the other side of the bed. “What’s on the agenda for tomorrow, Boss?” he asked once Tyler had turned out the light using the remote.
“We’ll go pick out a tree and then decorate some more. There’s this insane Christmas market Mom takes us to every year. It is the best for last-minute shopping, too.”
He realized that Julien spending Christmas with him would mean the man wouldn’t be with his own family, and with a pang of guilt, he looked over at him in the darkness. “I…uh, I never asked if you were missing out on your Christmas stuff to come here with me.”
Julien shifted, and Tyler could feel his weight and warmth from his side of the bed. It had been an unreasonably long time since he had shared a bed with anyone, and the chill from the air coming into the blankets when Julien moved threw him off, but it wasn’t entirely unwelcome.
“I didn’t have anything planned. It’s fine,” Julien said.
Tyler relaxed against the pillow and curled up again. “Good. I would have felt bad.”
“I don’t know why you need to lie to your family, you know? They’re all pretty nice. You made them sound awful before we got here.”
Tyler’s brow furrowed as he burrowed deeper into the blankets. “They’re not awful. They’re just caught up with being perfect. I feel like sometimes I don’t fit in. They all have these perfect, happy relationships and look at me like some black sheep. I’m already the odd one out because I’m gay, but I’m also single and completely alone, so it makes it even worse.”
Everyone in his family had always married young, had babies, and started that perfect American dream family. His family didn’t care that he was gay, but he knew that it detracted from that suburban dream they all aimed for.
“Maybe they’re just worried about you,” Julien pointed out.
He felt the same frustration when Hailey told him she and Mom and Cece had gossiped about him being sad and single. “That’s the problem. They shouldn’t have to worry about me. I work or study all the time. I don’t have time to find someone who isn’t going to ghost me after the first date.” He didn’t need this all pointed out to him. He knew they were worried. They had said they were concerned, and that was the problem. Tyler sounded bitter even to his own ears.
If they are worried, how am I supposed to feel?
Julien huffed and turned away from Tyler. “Yeah. It must be so hard having a family that cares about you.”
Tyler managed to bite his tongue. He realized he knew nothing about Julien, his family, or anything. Julien was kind of just a mystery to him, which was not great when deciding to bring someone to your family’s home for Christmas, but now he started to get curious.
Julien had no plans and seemed okay with flying a few states over to spend the holidays. Maybe he wasn’t close with his family. Or perhaps he didn’t really have any. Tyler debated for a long time, stewing in annoyance at himself, his family, and Julien before finally speaking up. “So, what’s your family like?” he asked.
But the soft breaths from Julien’s side of the bed and the lack of response told Tyler that Julien had quickly fallen asleep.
Tyler didn’t have the same luxury of falling asleep fast, and he mulled over his plan and miserable life for a while before sleep finally caught up to him.