Page 61 of Real Tree / Fake Boyfriend

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, seenthem. 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.

Chapter 24

Tyler

Tyler sat in the passenger seat of Wally’s car, staring out the window as Julien sped down the icy roads. It started to snow when they left the ice-skating rink, and big fat flakes stuck to the ground.

Julien hadn’t spoken since they had gotten into the car, and Tyler didn’t know what to say to break the tense silence. The change in Julien had been so rapid that Tyler felt at risk for whiplash.

Now, he was sure that Julien was hiding something from him. He first thought nothing of it when he spotted Julien talking to a stranger outside. But their posture had shifted, and Tyler was confident they knew one another. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to ask who he was.Is he an actual boyfriend? Or a jealous ex?

He looked a little dangerous, and Tyler could imagine that was the sort of guy Julien wanted. Because clearly, Julienwasn’t actually interested in anyone likeTyler. He made that perfectly clear.

It all left a bad taste in his mouth. How could this go from feeling real to suddenly beingfakeonce more? “Are we just going to pretend like we didn’t have sex last night?” Tyler asked, unable to restrain himself.

Julien’s knuckles went white on the steering wheel. “That was a mistake, and I’m sorry.”

Tyler wasn’t sorry. In fact, he would happily do it again and again, but that seemed wildly out of the question now. “It wasn’t a mistake for me. Is this because of that guy?”

Julien swerved dangerously as he hit a patch of ice already accumulated on the ground. Tyler grabbed the handle above his window as Julien managed to get them back onto the road without spinning off it.

“What guy?” he whispered.

So, there wasn’t going to be any honesty here. Tyler shouldn’t be surprised. “I just—thought…” He shook his head. Disappointment, anger, and rejection combined to create a violent cocktail inside. “You’re a fucking asshole,you know?” He shook his head. “I literally don’t know what you want from me. You act like you’ve been interested for days, and now this? I think you owe me some explanation.”

Tyler watched Julien’s Adam’s Apple bob as he swallowed. “This was just about the money, Tyler. I don’t know what else you want me to say.”

“You said it wasn’t last night,” Tyler spat. “So, what now? You’re an escort, and I’m a guy that pays for sex?” A sick feeling bubbled up from his stomach and into his throat. He would not cry. Despite the ache in the back of his eyes and his voice wavering a little, he wouldn’t let Julien make him feel like shit.

Julien’s eyes were glued to the road. He didn’t even have the decency to look at Tyler. “No. But one fuck doesn’t make you my boyfriend.”

Tyler pressed his lips together. No. No, it didn’t, but one fuck, one date, and a week spent together seemed like they could maybe get there. He didn’t know what had suddenly changed, but he knew it had to dowith that man.

Julien returned to that grumpy, unhappy guy he had known before. It was as though all of the walls Tyler had managed to get through had been rebuilt with barbed wire at the top.

He wanted to push, ask him again, and make Julien tell him, but he was too upset to even think of what to say.

Tyler watched out the window as the snow grew heavier and accumulated rapidly on the ground until they finally turned into the driveway of his parents’ home.

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