The white noise of the shower relaxed James and when he finally stepped out and dried off, he felt like he was back to his usual self.
Christians birthday with his family wasn't a party, not really, it was just a late lunch with cake and presents, and then, according to Ambika, they'd all pile into the big van and drive down to the tree lighting.
James dressed carefully. He'd brought a few things just in case they'd have to go out or something while they were visiting, and he was thankful he'd thought of it because he knew exactly what he was going to wear, but then he saw the pile of clothes that Christian had dumped out of his bag and onto the bed and he changed his mind. His tight black jeans and black boots were fine, but he took his black T-shrt off and pulled on Christians oversized, deep red sweater instead.
Christians birthday gift was downstairs with the rest of the presents they'd brought with them. It had seemed like a silly little thing when he'd bought it, an inside joke almost because Christian had been dropping stupid, obvious 'hints' about what he wanted for his birthday and James had ignored every single one. There was no way he was getting Christian a new xbox or a forty-two inch television. Instead, he listened and paid attention to the little things, so after Christian opened all of his birthday gifts from his sister and his parents, he opened James's to find a soft, thick, fluffy blue bathrobe, embroidered with his initials..
He lifted it out of the box and hld it up to inspect it, then a wide grin spread across his face. "Is this—"
"Matches mine that you keep stealing, yeah. Opposite colors though," James said as he traced his fingers over the letters.
Ambika burst out laughing. "You guys have matching bathrobes? Seriously?"
James felt his face heat instantly. It'd started as a joke when Christian had bought James's for his birthday last year and had included a ten-pack of briefs in the package as well. He'd said, "I'm tired of seeing your bare ass every day of my life, james ," and had draped the soft fabric over James's shoulders with a laugh. James'd ordered Christians to match months ago, but now...
"Shut it, Amb," Christian said, pointing at her and frowning, then he turned back to look at James. "I love it, baby. It's perfect."
And then James's face was warm and flushed for a different reason because Christian leaned over and planted a big, smacking kiss on James's lips, right there in front of his entire family.
James was still blushing while they cleaned up the mess of wrapping paper and stacked up Christians birthday presents to take out to the car later. The back of his neck was sweaty and more than once, he pulled the hem of his sweater out to let cool air underneath it. He was to the point that he thought he might have to shower a third time just to lessen the pink tint of his entire face and neck when Christian stepped up behind him and asked him to go upstairs.
As soon as they walked through the door to the bedroom, James yanked his sweater and undershirt off and went into the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. Christian stood by the bed watching him, James could see him in the mirror, but he ignored Christian and reminded himself that he'd decided to say fuck it all and just be Christians boyfriend for the weekend. No more faking, at least not on James's end, no more second guessing his every move, no more following Christians lead.
"This is mine," Christian said and looked down at the deep red sweater that James had thrown onto the bed.
James finally met his eyes in the mirror. "Yeah, I know." He swiped more deodorant under his arms, then met Christian in the middle of the bedroom. "If I'm your boyfriend, I'm wearing your clothes. It's how I roll."
Christian snorted and said, "How you roll? Is the whole blushing, stammering, embarrassed thing just a part of how you roll?"
"No." James snatched the sweater from Christians hand and tossed it back on the bed. He wasn't putting it back on until he absolutely had to and the bare skin of his chest and back were happier that way. His sweat had cooled and he almost wished he could just go shirtless to the tree lighting. "What'd you want? Why'd we come up here?"
"Well, that's just the thing..." Christian stepped a little closer so that there was only a few feet of space between them. "We're supposed to be serious, right? We live together, but the way you react whenever I'm, like... affectionate with you..."
"My skills are not lacking, Christian."
Christian rolled his eyes and stepped even closer. "No, they're not. Um... I just thought you might want to... not freak out everytime I touch you or, um... kiss you."
"I'm not used to it..." James lowered his voice to a whisper and continued, "It's not like we're actually dating. I don't have a lot of experience kissing you or having a fake boyfriend. All of this is... new."
"Yeah, I know. Sorry..." Christian looked down at his hands and laced them together, then without looking up, he muttered, "Don't worry, we'll fake break up soon enough."
"I need... Shit. Okay. I need for you to make sure that your family doesn't like... hate me after this. You have to make it so the break-up is your fault. Please. I mean, earlier at the store, Ambika literally warned me not to break your heart."
"Did she?" Christian asked quietly. "What'd you say to that?"
James reached down and shoved Christians shoulder. "I said your stupid heart was safe with me. Now promise me that you'll fix things so that your family still loves me when this is all over."
"Yeah. Okay." Christian held his hand out for James and they hooked their pinkies together. "Promise."
"Thanks, shithead." James squeezed Christians finger, then dropped it. "Now why did we come up here?"
"Oh, um... I thought you might want to practice."
"Practice what?"
"Well, like you said, this is all new, um... for both of us. And I thought if we practiced, you wouldn't get so freaked out every time we touch or kiss in front of my family."
"Oh..." James's brain screeched to a halt, but then he reminded himself: no more faking. He nodded and before Christian could take the lead, he closed the distance between them, draping his arms over Christians shoulders, letting one fall down until his hand was between Christians shoulder blades, and sliding his other hand up so that it rested on the back of Christians neck, his thumb playing in the short hair there. It was easy to pull Christian in and kiss him like he'd always wanted to, but had never imagined he'd be able to.
For once, it seemed that he'd been the one to take Christian by surprise when he gasped. No more faking. James parted his lips and slipped his tongue inside, tilted Christians head with his hand on the back of his neck, and pressed in closer. His brain finally caught up, so he backed off a little, and gently placed another kiss on Christians lips. Christians arms were tight around his waist, hands flat against the bare skin of his back, holding James in place, so that even when he leaned away, he wasn't going anywhere.
James kissed Christians cheek, then dropped his hand down and patted his ass twice. "Good practice. See you for the game later?" He winked when Christian finally opened his eyes and looked up at him, then he was doing everything he could to protect himself from Christians hands as he poked and tickled and pinched him everywhere he could reach.
Christian managed to catch James's nipple and pinched it and James couldn't help the whine that escaped his mouth. "Alright, jayyyyy?" Christian smirked and raised his eyebrows, looking about as smug as James'd ever seen him.
"Fuck you." James said and grabbed for his undershirt to cover his nipples.
"Nah, I doubt we need to practice that. Wouldn't be doing it in front of my family, that's for sure."
