“Oh shit. I didn’t tell you that was my name last night, did I? The last time I pretended to be him, he kicked my ass.”
“No… not last night…” I say, still not understanding.
“Nah, you got the wrong twin, sweetheart.” He shakes his head. “Well on second thought, I guess you got the right twin. Jace is the dull one.” When he winks at me, I feel like I’m about to be sick.
Twins? Jace is an identical twin? This has to be a monumental misunderstanding. First of all, there should never be two guys who look like this set free to roam the female population. Second of all, that should be the first thing that comes out of their mouths! ‘
I start to scan through memories of last night, trying to reassure myself that he’s wrong. Jace is just messing with me; he has to be. I didn’t hear anyone call him Jaxon last night, but then again, I didn’t hear anyone call him Jace either. Well this is fantastic. Just add one more point to the never-ending total on the scoreboard that is the mess of my life. I sit up and begin searching for my clothes. While pulling on my shirt and shorts, I look over to see
“I’m Audrey,” I stammer.
“You’re just gonna leave, Audrey?” he asks, still looking perplexed.
“Yes.”
“Most girls either want my number, breakfast, or to date me after a night together,” he says arrogantly.
“I don’t.”
I know I’m being unnecessarily harsh, but right now my stomach is on the floor and I want to leave before I get any queasier. Last night, I thought I was with the charming, authoritative guy who made my toes tingle and the hair on the back of my neck stick up. I thought I was kissing the same guy who took charge in the parking lot and who rescued me from spilled groceries.
How could I have not taken the strange feelings I had throughout the night more seriously? I remember thinking that his voice sounded off, and then there were the kisses that felt different.
Jaxon sits up with a smile on his face, looking like he has an idea. “Audrey, let’s hang out today. I want to talk to you about some things.” I try to ignore him and continue for the door. “My mom makes the best French toast…” he trails off enticingly.
I can see the victory on his face when I misstep. Because seriously? French toast just
“Just breakfast, then I’m going home.” I give him a stern look.
“Yes ma’am,” he teases. Then he pulls out his phone and begins tapping the screen. “Let me text Jace, so he can come pick us up. I didn’t drive.” Oh, this won’t be awkward at all… When his phone beeps, signaling an incoming message, Jaxon laughs. “Damn, he’s in a bad mood. His chick…” He pauses and then looks at me. “Sorry, that’s rude. The girl he was interested in must not have shown up last night.” I try to hide my grimace at the mention of ‘the girl he
He motions for the door and we walk down the grand staircase. I cringe at the mess scattered throughout the house. There are tables dispersed in the living room, some with red plastic cups lined up in triangle formations and little plastic balls floating in the alcohol. Beer cans have been tossed in the corners and on luxurious couches. There’s even a pair of dirty socks hanging from a silver chandelier and a broken vase on the fireplace mantel. I don’t know Cole’s parents, but I can only assume they will be livid if they see this.
“Wait right here, I’ll grab Cole,” Jaxon says, as he walks down the hallway.
I make my way into the kitchen to find the trash bags. I decide to begin in here and start by tossing all of the cans, bottles, and paper plates into the bag. I have almost filled the second bag when they both walk into the kitchen. I can’t help but notice that the boys on this side of town are achingly handsome; it must be good breeding. I can understand why girls were giving me dirty looks last night for kissing Jaxon. They wanted their turn with him.
Cole grins at me, while grabbing a set of car keys from a nearby cabinet drawer and says, “Don’t worry about that, pretty girl. All of this will be taken care of later.” He shoves Jaxon on our way out the door and says, “Now
Cole drops us off in front of a beautiful, two-story farmhouse. While this house is also quite massive, it isn’t pretentious like Cole’s. It’s sophisticated yet charming, and has a beautiful wrap-around porch. This house is perfect. I could live happily on the front porch alone. In my head, I picture myself lazing around on the outdoor sectional, reading book after book all day with a glass of sweet tea. Hey, a girl can dream every once in a while.
Jaxon leads me inside the heavy, wooden front door, and before I can fully take in my surroundings, I ask for the bathroom. I need to take a second to compose myself before seeing Jace again.
I hear Cole’s Porsche 911 pull away, and I get up to confront my brother about last night. After I left the party, I spent the remainder of the night in the barn, pounding the heavy bag my dad installed for me two summers ago. I tried to let all of my aggression loose, and was doing a good job of it until I split the leather and had to step away, somewhere around two in the morning. I’m pretty sure I can keep myself in check with Jax now.
As soon as I round the corner near the kitchen, I see a familiar set of beautiful brown eyes looking around, as if she doesn’t know which door to approach first. She’s wearing the same clothes I saw her in last night, and damn if that doesn’t make me grind my molars together in frustration.
I watch as her eyes grow wide the second she realizes it’s me standing in front of her. “Jace?” she breathes out.
“Well, I see that you
She frowns and rushes toward me, grabbing my biceps. “You never told me you had a twin.”
“What does that have to do with anything, Audrey?”
“Jace, I thought Jaxon was you. I didn’t realize my mistake ‘til this morning.” Her eyes fill up with tears and as they threaten to spill over, my gut clenches. She thought
Instantly, I stalk forward, backing her up against the wall and completely surrounding her with my body, not letting her escape. Lifting her chin, I look down into her eyes and seconds later, I devour her lips with mine.
She lets out a long sigh in between our lips and threads her fingers through my hair while grasping it roughly. My tongue flicks into her mouth and her tongue begins to flirt with mine. It takes me a solid minute to come back down from the high of having her mouth on mine again, and that’s when I think about why she’s here now and where she’s been all night.
“You slept with Jax?” I whisper, while firmly holding her face between my hands. She looks surprised, and when her bottom lip begins to quiver, I know what her answer is. I step away, conscious of the fact that I can’t hold her any longer, but I need to hear her reply. “Answer me,” I growl.
I shouldn’t have kissed her, because I can tell by the shock on her face she thought that I would get over that little part. Only focused on her, I just hadn’t fully comprehended it yet.
“Jace…” she whispers, “I thought I was with you.”
“Did you call out my name?” I ask tensely.
She shakes her head ‘no’ and shocks me by adding, “I didn’t call out anything.”
I step forward, lower my forehead to her shoulder, and groan. This only makes me want her more. She should have been with me. Audrey deserves for someone to make their name rip from her mouth, to drive her so absolutely insane it would be impossible for her to hold it in. What a fucking shame.
“Please…” she whispers, begging me with her glistening eyes to let this go. But all I can see now is that my brother has been here.
