Page 49 of Real Tree / Fake Boyfriend

“You’ll ruin it,” Owen grumbled.

Julien caught Tyler’s eye, and they both grinned in unison.

“We have a chance,” Tyler hissed. He set an arm against Julien’s side and bit down on his lip, mischief glinting in those blue eyes.

Julien wanted to pull Tyler in for a kiss right then and there but stopped. He was still playing at being boyfriend,as much as Jules was being himself now. Julien wanted to kiss Tyler when there wasn’t a part to play when he could do it and know that they both wanted it.

He pecked him, unable to resist. The kiss was chaste, but Tyler's answering blush sent warm satisfaction to Julien's fingertips.

As the days passed, Julien grew more confident that Tyler wanted him. However, finding the right moment to break that transactional wall that still hovered between them was difficult.

“Are you sure you want me as your partner?” Julien asked dubiously.

Tyler sat and patted the chair beside him. “Absolutely. But if you ruin this for me, I promise I will make your life Hell.”

Julien raised his eyebrows as he sat next to his fake boyfriend. “You can’t say I didn’t warn you.” He popped a minty gumdrop into his mouth.

Once everyone was settled, the teams were set. Tyler and Julien sat at one side of the table. Beside them, Hailey and Wally had already mapped out their plans. Cece and Owensat on the other side of the table. While Jim sat with Kelsey, helping her create the house of her dreams.

Connie would act as the official judge. However, Julien suspected she did not want to become covered in white frosting. She walked around the table and snapped pictures of the progress.

“Stop eating all of the candy.” Tyler smacked Julien’s hand away from the candy pile they claimed.

“You just ate an entire licorice wheel,” Julien pointed out. “It was your third one.”

Tyler gave him an innocent look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Can you please hold the walls up so the frosting can dry?”

Julien did as he was told. So far, their house was pretty bare bones, but it looked like a house, which was better than Julien could have done by himself.

He remembered doing this with his mother, but the house had already been put together and sturdy enough that a rambunctious boy couldn’t set it toppling over. Actually constructing it seemed as though it wouldtake hours.

However, Tyler managed to get it up and functional in just a few moments. “Do we think chimney?” He picked up a candy cane and popped it into his mouth.

“Yeah, how else is Santa going to get in?” Julien asked. He finally let go of the walls, which were solid enough that they didn’t fall. He reached over and pulled the candy cane from Tyler’s lips, bringing it to his own.

“Hey, that was mine,” Tyler said. He tucked his finger in the hook and tugged. It popped out of Julien’s mouth. Tyler replaced it between his lips smugly.

“You aren’t very good at sharing, are you?” Jules picked the piping bag of frosting off the table and dabbled some onto Tyler’s nose.

Tyler’s eyes widened behind his glasses. “You were absolutely right. I should have picked someone else to be my partner.”

He took the bag from Julien’s grip and smeared some across Julien’s cheek.

“It’s not my fault you don’t listen to me, Baby.” He leaned in and ran his tongue over the tip of Tyler’s nose. “Who do you usually partner with?”

Tyler’s cheeks were bright red, and he sucked on the candy cane for a long moment before replying. “I was partnered with Kelsey last year. We came close, but Brad and Owen ultimately took the W.”

“Bad luck,” Julien said.

Tyler returned the candy cane to Julien before leaning in to lick the frosting off his cheek. He smelled like mint, and the warmth of his tongue was tempting. Julien could turn his head and capture his mouth to taste the sweetness of the candy on him.

But Tyler backed away too quickly for him to make a move.

As much as they were surrounded by other people, Julien felt like he was in a bubble with Tyler. It popped when a pretzel flew its way and landed in Tyler’s hair.

“This is serious business, you guys,” Hailey said. “Stop making out. Brad’s not here, so it’sanyone’s game.”

Hailey and Walter’s creation looked precisely like a log cabin. The pair used pretzels to make wooden siding, and they sprinkled powdered sugar over it to make it seem like a gentle snowfall had cascaded over the entire scene. Their gumdrop trees even looked realistic somehow.

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