23. Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Julien
T yler didn’t tell him where they were going until they were on the street the ice-skating rink was on. They had stopped for some supplies and laughed way too much about buying condoms that Julien felt as if he were in high school again. Then Tyler directed him through a few other streets and told him to pull into a parking lot.
It was crowded, but he found a good spot and hopped out of the car. It was probably for the best Julien didn’t know about Tyler’s plan because he would have tried to convince Tyler to change his mind.
The rink was in the middle of the small town, across from a movie theater, a quaint-looking restaurant, and several shops.
Julien would have preferred to do literally anything else. But Tyler looked so eager that he had no heart to tell him that.
“I haven’t been ice skating since I was eight,” Julien admitted. “Maybe we could just do a movie instead?”
Tyler smiled. He reached over to take his hand so automatically it made Julien’s heart thud in his chest. “I’ll make sure you don’t fall, alright? I promise it will be a lot of fun.”
Julien grimaced but followed Tyler through the gate to the rink. Tyler paid for both of them, and they were given skates by a pimple-faced kid who told them some rules and looked about as excited to be there as Julien felt.
“It’s not too busy yet,” Tyler noticed as he sat on a bench and pulled his shoes off, revealing bright blue socks covered in a snowflake pattern before shoving them into the well-worn skates. “We won’t have to worry about being bumped or anything.”
“I wasn’t worried about that before,” Jules said. “But I am now.”
Julien kicked his boots off and put the skates on. They fit really weird, stiff, and definitely precarious. But they only had a few steps from the bench to the ice. He stood up, wobbly as a newborn giraffe, and took a shaky step before he nearly fell .
“Hold my hand.” Tyler laughed as he grabbed Julien by the waist and slipped his hand back into Julien’s, slowly leading him to the ice.
For some reason, Julien thought it would be easier once they got onto the ice. Still, he had to immediately grasp the wall to prevent himself from falling into splits.
“Right, I don’t think I was any good at skating when I was eight,” Jules confessed. He remembered his mom had held both of his hands the entire time and a lot of icy falls.
Tyler laughed. “It’s okay. You’ll get the hang of it,” he assured Julien, holding his hand tightly as he tried to move Julien away from the wall. “Just slide with it, lean into it.”
Julien tried, his knees bent, and his free hand held out to catch himself because he knew he would fall. “This is stupid. Why do people even do this?” he grumbled.
“It’s fun,” Tyler stated.
Julien glared at him, but Tyler’s smile was so wide it was hard to keep the glare up. “If I fall, it’s your fault, and I’m taking you down with me,” he said. Then added in a low tone, “Or taking you down on top of me.” Julien’s eyebrow twitched, and he wore a naughty grin.
Tyler blushed crimson, smirked, and rolled his eyes but pulled Julien along. Tyler offered him instructions as they moved, like stand up more, keep a wide stand, try not to walk, and relax , above all else. None of which Julien was any good at.
They had made it around the rink once, with very few incidents besides a few slips and near falls, but the crowd was starting to pile in now, and it seemed that the number of people in the rink had at least doubled.
Rowdy children zoomed past them. The couples held hands and had to let go to get around Julien and Tyler. Families showed off for each other or yelled at their rowdy children to slow down. People slipped and twirled, and Julien clung to Tyler for dear life.
“Why are there so many people here? Don’t they have families? It’s Christmas Eve,” Julien growled as he leaned almost all his weight on Tyler, who was the only thing to keep him upright .
A group of pre-teen boys whooshed by at top speed and knocked Julien’s shoulder. Jules spun around dangerously before his feet slipped out from underneath. He slipped between Tyler’s legs, hit his foot and sent him sprawling out on top of him. “Told you I’d take you down on top of me.”
“Fingers! Watch your fingers,” Tyler said quickly, getting to his knees.
Julien tucked his hands away from the track of people with literal blades on their feet. He did not need to lose a finger. That was what he had been trying to prevent with the Rossi’s.
“I think maybe we should take a break,” he finally said when Tyler clumsily reached his feet. “We can grab a drink.”
Tyler bit his lip, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Yeah, good idea. The people watching is the best part anyway.” He offered a hand to Julien.
Julien thought crawling back to the exit would be a better solution. With Tyler’s help, he managed to get to his feet and hold desperately onto the wall. Jules thankfully did not fall again. When he was safely back in his boots, he took a breath.
“Sorry.” Tyler pouted. “I thought this would be fun, but you looked like you wanted to die that entire time.”
Julien shrugged. “It’s fine. It’s good to try new things. I guess.” He reached over to push Tyler’s glasses up his nose. “It was fun,” he promised. Even if he had feared for his life.
Tyler rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to lie to me,” he said with a laugh. “I’m going to grab some drinks. Maybe some French fries? Want anything?”
Julien shrugged. “Yeah, fries and a cold drink filled with poison and sugar,” he joked weakly. “I need a smoke. I’ll be back.”
Tyler grinned. “Got it.” He stood up and went to the concessions while Julien left the rink.
It felt colder now that Julien wasn’t fighting for his life on the ice. Occasionally, he noticed a tiny flake of snow fall from the sky. It hadn’t snowed the whole time Jules had been in Connecticut, but it looked like the sky was ready to open up with a proper snowstorm. The world seemed so white, and Julien wished he had sunglasses, even though the sun was nowhere to be seen .
He looked out at the people bundled up, walking with last-minute bags of shopping or random treats here and there from the candy shops and bakeries. The whole town looked quaint and picturesque. Julien felt obscenely out of place.
But he wasn’t the only one out of place.
Julien’s blood ran cold when he saw Anthony Rossi on the other side of the entrance to the rink, against a tree, staring at him with a mean, gap-toothed grin.
“Well, well, well, I’ve been looking for you everywhere, Jules.” Rossi pushed off the tree trunk and approached. “Are you ignoring my texts?”
“What the fuck are you doing here, Tony?” Julien took a deep inhale of his cigarette. He knew what he was doing here, but how? He just talked to Lou. They could wait two more days, surely.
“Maybe don’t leave your vacation plans where anyone can find them. There’s crazies out there, Jules. You could end up with a stalker.” Tony shrugged. “Anyway, you said you have the money, so pay up.”
Jules thought about Tony snooping through his apartment. He clenched his teeth in an attempt to keep from saying something regrettable. “I have until the twenty-sixth,” Julien said instead. “I don’t have it on me.”
“Uncle Lou changed his mind. Time is up, Jules. So why don’t you take me to wherever that money is, and we can put this all behind us,” Anthony told him with a light, friendly tone.
Julien shook his head as he attempted to sort out how Rossi could be here and how he could have changed his mind. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting this over with as soon as he could.
“No. I’ll get it and bring it to you tonight. We can meet here.” If he could get this sorted as quickly as possible, he wouldn’t have to worry about it. The threats, the blackmail, and the requests to do dirty work for the Rossi family would be in the past. Then maybe he could be someone Tyler would want to spend his time with. He would maybe be worthy of the other man.
This sick and sudden reminder of why he had come here in the first place shook Julien from the dream he had lived in for the past few days. As much as he had let himself forget, live in the moment, and enjoy Tyler and for once feel like he had a stress-free life, Tony’s appearance shattered it in one second.
Tyler couldn’t know about any of this. Julien already knew he thought he was from the wrong side of the tracks, but this would make him question what he thought about Jules. This was a part of his life he had to keep in the past.
Tony tilted his head. “Is this a joke to you? We’re not doing this on your terms.”
“It’s not my fucking fault that you guys decided to change the deadline. What, do you expect me to carry that kind of money on me to go ice skating? Jesus Christ,” Julien growled.
He’d never talk to Lou this way, but Anthony Rossi was a fucking idiot. As much as he knew, Tony could be just as dangerous as his uncle, they were on more even grounds. “Give me until tonight, at least. It’s a few more hours. I have the money at home. I want to be done with this.” Julien wondered when the Ashford house started feeling like home to him.
Tony grinned. “Fine. Tonight. Six o’clock sharpish, Jules. You got it? Wouldn’t want that pretty little boyfriend of yours to get all mixed up in this, would you?”
Anger exploded in Julien’s chest. “Is that a threat?” He clenched his teeth and stepped into Rossi’s space before he could think better.
Jules was several inches taller than Rossi and more prominent in every way. He looked at him and sneered. “Leave him the fuck out of this. He’s not my boyfriend.”
Anthony laughed. “Yeah, right. You have good taste, though. I like a pretty boy, too.” Tony leaned against the rail and looked at the rink momentarily, not intimidated by Julien.
As much as Jules wanted to wipe the smirk off of Rossi’s face, the last thing he needed to do was fuck up this close to the end of this matter, so Julien stepped back.
“Pay up, and things won’t have to get messy.” Tony turned on his heel and began to walk away, but not before tossing one more remark over his shoulder. “Tonight. Be here or—well, you know.” He held a slimy grin that Julien wanted to punch off his face .
“Fuck!” Julien stamped on his cigarette with anger. He watched Rossi disappear into the crowd before he hurried back inside.
“We have to get out of here, Tyler,” he said when he found Tyler on a bench. A paper basket of fries was on his lap, and some hot chocolate and one of Julien’s favorite energy drinks were on the bench next to him.
Julien wondered if he had seen Rossi. Obviously, Rossi had seen him, seen them . How long had he been following them? Since the drug store? Before? He didn’t like to be threatened, not when he was close to being fucking done with all of this, but the insinuating way that Rossi had mentioned Tyler set Julien’s entire body on fire with rage.
If Tony even considered doing something stupid, Julien would risk it all. He wouldn’t let Tyler get involved in this bullshit.
“What do you mean? Is everything alright?” Tyler held his hands up.
“I want to go home,” Julien repeated, not answering Tyler’s question. But how could he answer him? He needed to get the money and get as far away from this place—and Tyler—as possible for Tyler’s safety.
Tyler stood up. His shoulders hunched a little, and his lips were twisted into a frown. “I thought we were having a nice date.”
“It’s not a date. It’s not real.” The words sounded forced like a lie, and he didn’t mean any of it. Julien couldn’t put Tyler in danger, though, not because of some money and his stupid mistakes.
Tyler’s expression morphed from a frown into a tight smile. “Right. Of course not. It’s all been fake. I forgot.” He shook his head and walked off. Julien followed close at his heels.