Font Size:

“Fuck, fuck,” the big stranger repeated, loud enough to be heard over the music of the next band to get on the stage.

The slightly blue bar lighting made his features stand out angrily, with a set to his jaw and tension in his eyes. He raked his hand through his curls, messing them up in a way that had no business looking that attractive.

“You okay, Jules?” Cameron asked, appearing after his set, wedging between Tyler and the stranger. He clapped the guy on the back, his freckled face open with concern.

The brooding guy looked up, recognition flashing over his robust features and dark, almost black eyes as he looked at Cameron. “Yeah. Fine.” He ordered a shot from the bartender, clearly in no mood for conversation.

Of course, Cam is friends with the shady thug, Tyler thought. Cam could befriend anyone if given half a chance.

Cameron shrugged and turned his attention to Tyler. “What did you think?” He bounced on his toes. Cam always wore his emotions all over his face and spoke his mind so freely that it made Tyler anxious.

Tyler stood by the fact that he would never have considered Cam a friend if he hadn’t forcibly adopted Tyler as his best friend in college. Now, it seemed he was stuck with him.

“It was great. You guys killed it,” Tyler said. The crowd wasn’t huge, but they seemed into the music. Tyler was no expert on these things but knew that could only be good.

Cameron grinned. He ordered a beer when the bartender finally returned with Tyler’s beer andJules’shot. “We must have, because someone wants to book us for their Christmas party. Isn’t that fucking lit?”

“What? That’s amazing. When is it?” Tyler asked and leaned against the bar. He felt the fabric of his favorite Ralph Lauren sweater stick to the wood and tried not to cringe.

Cam gave him a weird look. “Christmas, dude.”

Tyler had been in the middle of taking a sip, and he nearly choked. “What? But…, you said you would come to my house for Christmas. Remember?”

Cameron’s brow furrowed before his eyes widened. “Oh shit, the fake boyfriend gig. I completely spaced. But this is a massive win for us, Ty.”

Tyler breathed out, trying not to get frustrated. “Okay, but you can still come for the week before, right? You can leave the day before Christmas.” It wouldn’t be as planned, but at least Tyler could show everyone he wasn’t a pathetic, lonely loser.

“I….” Cameron hesitated and licked his lips, facing Tyler seriously. “Look, you know I would literally die for you.Iwould. But I need to practice. We have to get our set together. I want this to be perfect. If people hire us for private parties, we can start to makerealmoney.”

“But what am I supposed to do?” Tyler whined, leaned back, and felt his shirt stick to the bar even more.

“I don’t know. You could find a real boyfriend?” Cameron grinned again, and Tyler wanted to punch his stupid face and make his nose even more crooked.

“You’re not helping my case, thank you,” Tyler said, with a sip of the watery beer.

Cameron patted him on the shoulder. “I bet you could find someone online or something. You could pay them. It would be much more believable than you and me because, I mean, come on. You wish you could have this,” Cameron said with a wink. He gestured to his lanky body and wiggled.

Tyler had been alittleworried about that. He and Cameron had known each other since their Freshman year of college. His parents had met Cameron a few times, and it did seem weird to bring him home and claim he was now his boyfriend, even though he had never expressed any interest in his friend before. Cam wasn’t even gay. Not to mention, he was so far from Tyler’s type with his shaggy hair and overly relaxed style. He didn’t think his parents would be too impressed.

“That sounds like a good fucking way to get murdered,” Tyler pointed out. He could only imagine what the ad on Craigslistwould say...

Man seeking man for fake holiday date. Must be tall, dark, handsome, and preferably not a cannibal, murderer, or escort.

“Then you wouldn’t have to worry about a Christmas date,” Cameron supplied.

“How much would I even pay someone?” Tyler asked after a moment of reckless consideration. It wasn’t like he had anything to lose except his life, money, and dignity. Actually, he didn’t have much dignity left anyway.

“I’d do it for eight thousand.”

Tyler and Cam both looked over as Jules, who had committed the phone assault, spoke up.

Tyler’s cheeks heated when he realized the attractive thug must have been listening to the entire conversation. He probably thought Tyler was a legitimate creeper who considered paying someone to pretend to be his boyfriend. The idea that he would even offer made Tyler wish the sticky floor would swallow him up.

“Perfect!” Cameron exclaimed, clapped his hand on Jules’ broad shoulder, and looked absolutely pleased as punch. “Julien will do it for eight.”

Tyler raised his eyebrows and tried to pretend he was not wholly mortified. It wasn’t enough that a stranger had overheard what he was talking about. The stranger had to be a six-foot-somethinggod, whom Tyler would never take home to his parents. He wouldn’t have minded taking him to his apartment if Tyler had thought for a second that Julien would look twice at him if money wasn’t on the line.

“Eight thousand? That’s a little rich for my blood,” he managed to say. He was proud of the confidence his voice had. Truthfully, Tyler could afford it. He had a beefy savings account and made a good amount of money for work, but that was a lot to hand over to someone who looked like he could crush his windpipe with a particularly exuberant headlock.