by Terry Towers
She smiled at me, her smile following through to her eyes. “All right.”
~*~ TT ~*~
Andrea
“I think we need to talk.” As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I cringed. Wasn't that what you normally say when you break up with someone? I’d used and heard it with other men in my immediate past.
Eric looked up from his paperwork, a frown on his face. He was in the middle of balancing the night's cash. We did twice as much business as usual tonight, which was exciting—exhausting, but exciting. Come to find out the reason was because an office decided to have a staff leaving party at our bar. It actually felt good that they chose our bar, until we were told it was because our bar was always so quiet, and they figured that could have a great time without being interrupted by a bunch of strangers.
My fairly good mood had been blown to shit.
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s about the bar,” I said, taking a seat across from him at the small table next to the bar.
With a sigh, Eric sat back in his chair. “Okay. What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the idea of turning this into a strip club.”
“Jesus Christ, Andrea. Are we going to go through this all over again? Seriously?”
I frowned.
“Look, I was hoping we could just go home and relax. Maybe pick up where we left off earlier...”
“But that doesn’t help the bar, does it?” Ohmygod! I was worried about the club and he was worried about getting laid? What the hell!
“I don’t think it’s the way to go, Andrea.”
“Sam and I do. We feel it’s the best way to make a run at this.”
“Let’s set aside the fact that, like the other strip club in town, this place will get picketed. Even though the strip club is busy, that doesn’t mean there’s a market for two. And if we take the remainder of money and invest it into making adjustments to turn this into a strip club, which would include advertising, what if it doesn’t work out and we’re still dead? It would be the final nail in our coffin. We’d lose the bar and maybe even the house. None of us have regular jobs. If this place closes, we’d have at least two to three weeks without a single cent. We may not even be able to make the mortgage at that point.”
“And if this continues, and we just sit back and die a slow death?”
Eric shook his head, defeated. “I don’t know. Maybe…”
“Maybe, if things keep up this way, we’ll shut down in the not-so-distant future. If we try this, then we have a fighting chance.” I leaned across the table and took his hands in mine. “I can feel it in my gut. This will work. I can make it work.”
“You’re not fucking dancing.” He wasn’t even close to joking. He was giving me his no-nonsense look. Not that I wanted to dance, anyhow. Okay, well, maybe it hadn’t been such a bad experience, but I’d already decided it was a one-time thing only.
I didn’t pay any heed to the look he was giving me, because what really mattered was the fact that he was beginning to really think about it. With Eric, all you needed to do was open his mind to your idea, and you could get him on board. It was all in that initial wall of resistance you had to break down.
“So...we’re going to do it?”
He sighed. “Yes, we’ll give it a shot. In reality this bar is your families legacy not mine. It may have been left to the three of us, but you’re the one it really belongs to. If you want to spin the wheel and take a chance, so be it.”
I squealed, a high-pitched, girlie squeal. Ohmygod, the excitement that raced through me at that moment was overwhelming! This might have just been the way to make it. Leaping from the chair, I ran over to his side of the table, and as he leaned back in his chair, I plinked myself into his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“This is so great!” I began to plant a series of kisses up and down neck and across his jawline. “So great!”
Laughing, Eric wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me tight to him, one hand slipping up my outer thigh under my skirt. “Andrea, I’m scared you’re going to be very disappointed when this doesn’t work out.”
I was about to plant a kiss on Eric’s lips when I heard the front door of the bar open behind us. “What’s going on?”
I froze, and I could feel Eric tense under me. Sliding from Eric’s lap, I spun around, my hair whipping into my face as I spun to face him. “Sam?” My skirt had inched its way up as I’d plunked myself onto Eric’s lap, so I pulled it down, my cheeks growing warm, as if I’d been caught in the process of making out with a boy by my parents, something that had happened on numerous occasions in my teen years.
“Andrea was just a little excited after I said that if you two were really into the idea of the strip club, it’s a possibility we could entertain further.”
“Oh.” Sam looked from me to Eric and back again. “I see.”
Did I see a flash of jealousy in his eyes? I was certain I did, though why, I’m not sure, he'd just gotten back from a date with some new chick. “Didn’t you have a date?”
“Yeah,” He looked down at his watch, “but it’s two in the morning.”
“Exactly, finished a little soon.” Now it was my turn to be jealous, and as I stared at him, my eyebrow cocked. I know I had no right to be jealous—I was just in the lap of his brother, after all. But I was.
He shrugged as he approached the table and say down. “I wasn’t really into her.”
“Why not?” I asked pulling up another chair and sitting down.
“I don’t know. No chemistry. Just...wasn’t into her.” Grabbing an empty beer bottle that was sitting on the table that Eric had just finished drinking, he turned it to its side and gave it a spin. It stopped with the head pointing to me.
Looking up from the bottle to meet his gaze, he gave me a seductive little half-smile and shrugged.
Laughing, I stood and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Clearing his throat, he looked back to Eric. “What made you change your mind? I thought you were hardcore against the idea. Wasn’t it, to quote you, ridiculous?”
“When it comes right down to it, it's Andrea’s call. If the ship is going down, and she wants to make a crazy effort to save it, then I just decided that we can cross our fingers, hold on, and hope not to sink.”
“So do I get to interview the applicants?” He winked at me. “I’m a pro at picking out good performers.”
I groaned out loud, giving his arm a swat. “You’re so nasty, Sam.”
A cocky grin spread across his lips as he leaned into me, his lips so close to my ear that I could feel his breath on the bare skin of my neck, and it sent a shiver through me, reminding me of our moment together a few days ago. “Isn’t that what you love about me?”
I pulled back a little shifting uncomfortably in my chair. “Well...” We stared deep into each other’s eyes and shared a moment. Oh shit, what in the hell was I doing? I shifted my gaze over to Eric, who was staring at us intently. Did Eric know something had happened between me and his brother the other day?
“So if we’re doing this, we need to figure out what changes we’re going to need to make with the club. We need new hires. There’s a lot to do and not much time to do it.”
“Yes, I know.” Putting my hand over my mouth, I faked a yawn. “Maybe I should get home and get some sleep. We can start early tomorrow on plans, and I can place an ad in the classified section for dancers in the morning.”
Both brothers nodded their agreement.
As we left, I realized I had more than one really big decision to make, all of which would affect me for the rest of my life.
Chapter 13
Sam
“What in the hell was going on with you two when I walked in?” I hit Eric with the question as soon as Andy retired to her bedroom and we were alone in the living room, each of us having a drink before going to bed ourselves.
“What do you mean?” Eric responded.
He was lying, he knew damned well what I meant. “You know what I mean. You and Andrea. What in the fuck is going on with you two?” I honestly don’t know how I felt about the situation. Something between Eric and Andy had changed, just as it had with myself and her. I wanted—no needed—to know exactly how.
Had they kissed? Fooled around? Had they had sex? Anger filled me. I had to know the answer. Was she into him? Into me? Both of us? She’d been avoiding me since our experience at the bar a few nights back—was it because it was Eric that she really wanted, and I’d been the substitute?
Eric’s expression went stone blank. Did he seriously think I couldn’t read him like a book, we were identical twins for god’s sakes!
“Do I need to have this conversation with her? You're my brother, man. I deserve to know.”
With a loud huff, Eric sat back on the couch and threw up his arms. “I honestly don’t know. Things got a little heated tonight, and that’s it. I don’t know anything other than that. It could have been a heat of the moment, or maybe it was something. I haven’t had a chance to talk to her and flush out what exactly it was.”
My eyes narrowed as I looked into dark eyes identical to mine. “What do you mean by heated, specifically?”
“Fuck, man, I really don’t feel comfortable talking about this.”
My jaw clenched. So she’d messed around with both of us only a few days apart. Humph. I guess that meant it was time to put all the cards on the table and see what we come up with. I took a breath. “A few days ago, Andy and I fooled around after you left the bar to go home.”
His mouth dropped open, shock in his expression. A moment passed, and he snapped it shut again. “What do you mean by fooled around?” I could hear the anger in his tone, and it gave me a perverse sense of satisfaction. Good, I’m not the only pissed one. Misery loves company and all that, you know.
“I mean, we were intimate.”
He leaned forwards, I could see the anger rising up within him, but I didn’t give a damn. “Intimate how? Did you have sex with her?”
A little self-satisfied smirk touched my lips. “I put my hand places. I know what she sounds like when she comes.”
To my surprise, he gave a smile that mimicked mine. “Guess I have you beat brother, I know how she tastes.”
Was it the smile he gave me as if to say he beat me out? Or maybe it was the thought my brother got a taste of her while I didn’t. Hell, the alcohol I had in my system, while not a lot, was enough to stir the demons within me, enough to make me act before thinking. Whatever it was in me, it made me spring into action. I leapt from the arm chair I’d been sitting in and rushed the sofa. Drawing my arm back, my fist shot forward and made contact with Eric’s chin, catching him off guard and sending his body back against the sofa.
~*~ TT ~*~
Andrea
What in the hell was I doing? I asked myself that as I paced back and forth in my room. After leaving the bar and getting home, I just couldn’t face either of the brothers. I didn’t know what to say, so I took the coward's way out and made a run for it. I came into my room, changed into my pajamas, and tried to sleep. Of course, I couldn’t.
Honest to god, I didn't know what was wrong with me. I’d made out with both Sam and Eric in a matter of less than a week, and now what? Was I a complete pervert or just some sort of tease? Maybe I was just so needy for attention that I needed to pursue them just to get the attention.
It was none of those things. I knew that. Deep in my heart, I knew.
The real truth was more black and white. The answer was right in front of my nose, but I didn’t want to admit it. I was in attracted to the brothers—both of them. But it was even more than a simple attraction, I loved them. Not love as what a sibling would love other brothers and sisters, but I was in love with them. Both of them.
What in the hell was I going to do?
My ponderings were interrupted when I heard a crash coming from the living room, followed by yelling. I couldn’t make out what was being said, but I knew it was Sam and Eric.
I didn’t miss a beat as I raced from my bedroom, and as I reached the top of the stairs I heard another crash, then the sound of something breaking, then one of the brothers calling the other a “fucking prick.”
Flying down the stairs, I reached the bottom, landing in time to see Sam fall backwards out of the living room. He landed on his back on the floor, and Eric jumped on top of him, his arm pulling back and landing a punch straight into Sam’s face.
I screamed, running over to Eric and grabbing his arm before he could get another blow in. But I could see from the faces of both the brothers that they’d both taken a bit of a beat down already. Sam’s nose was bleeding, and Eric was already developing a black eye and had a cut lip.
“Stop!” he tried to jerk his arm out of my grasp, but I used all of my strength and pulled him back off of Sam. “Stop it, both of you!” I attempted to keep Eric pinned while shooting a glance in Sam’s direction. Sam got up and looked like he was going to charge Eric. I’d never seen such hate and anger in him before. Not even when he kicked Tommy Grant’s ass for sleeping with his girlfriend in his senior year of high school. Sure, he’d kicked his ass, but there wasn’t the same raw anger I saw in his eyes now, and it scared me.
“Sam! Stop!” I put my hand up, stepping between the brothers. Eric began to stand, but when I glanced in his direction, I could see the tension begin to ease from his body.
Thank goodness for small favors.
I glanced back at Sam. “Stop. Just calm down.” The tension in Sam’s body also started to quell as he wiped his nose with the back of his hand, smearing blood all over the back of it and across his cheek.
“I think you broke my nose, you fuck,” he growled, but I could see the fight had left him. He was just venting.
“Good on you, you were the one to throw the first punch, asshole.”
What have I done? Tears formed in my eyes. This was all my fault, I didn’t need to ask them what this was all about. I’d played with fire, and now, my ass was going to get burned.
“What’s going on, you two?” I looked over at Eric and watched as he worked his jaw back and forth.
“Take a guess, Andy.” Sam growled, causing me to turn my attention back to him, “Why do you think we might be fighting?”
“I’m…” Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod! “I’m...so sorry.”
I looked back at Eric to see him glaring at me.
“So, so sorry.” Tears began to stream down my cheeks. I’d been selfish, I hadn’t thought about the blowout that would occur when this happened. Even worse yet, I hadn’t thought enough to care. “Both of you. I have no excuse. I just…”
“Who do you want, Andy?” Sam demanded.
“Yes, Andrea. Did you actually want either of us, or were we some pawns in a game you were playing?” Eric spat.
“I’d never…” I placed my hands on the sides of my head and raked my fingers through my hair, fisting the strands. “I love you both. You guys know that.” I looked from one brother to the other and back again, hoping to see some understanding—hoping they’d believe how much I cared. “I fucked up, guys.” The tears came harder, and a sob caught in my throat. “Please…”
“I don’t know what to believe,” Sam said before turning his back to me and making his way into the kitchen.
“Eric?” I looked up into his eyes, pleading with him to understand.
“Did you sleep with him, Andrea?” Eric asked through clenched teeth, his large hands balling into fists at his side. “Were you just trying to get off, or do you actually feel something for me?” he jerked his chin in the direction of the kitchen. “Or for him?”
“Everything is so damn complicated, Eric.”
“How is it complicated, Andrea? Either you slept with him or you didn't!”
“No. No, I didn’t.” Releasing my hair from my grasp, I sighed. “I didn’t sleep with him. I mean, my feelings towards you two, they're...it’s c
omplicated.”
“Did you forget I wasn’t Sam?”
“No, of course not! Of course I knew it was you. Don’t be an ass!”
“So I’m an ass now? You’re playing around with both me and my brother, and I’m the ass?” He shook his head in disgust. “You’re a fucking piece of work, Andrea.”
“Eric?” I reached out to touch his arm, but he shook off my hand.
“Don’t touch me, Andrea. I’m taking off for the night. Don’t wait up.”
I put out my hand to stop him as he stormed past me, but he didn’t even slow, refusing to look at me. A moment later, I heard Eric start his car and squeal off down the road.
Dammit.
I was tempted to run back into my room and close myself away, but I had another brother to answer to and beg forgiveness from. I made my way into the kitchen and gasped as Sam turned to face me. He looked horrible. His nose didn’t look right and was still bleeding, saturating the piece of paper towel he had up it, and black circles were forming under his eyes.
“Yeah. I my thoughts exactly,” he groaned, wincing as he touched his nose again.
“We need to go to the hospital!”
“It’ll be-”
“You won’t be fine. We’re going.” I grabbed his free hand and pulled him from the kitchen. He hesitated a moment, but finally gave in under my insistence.
“Fine. I guess we should go.” He pulled the piece of paper towel from his nose and looked at the blood. He sighed. “Let’s go.”
Fuck, this is all my fault. All my fault. Grabbing my purse and car keys, we made our way to my car, a little compact power-blue Ford.
We drove several minutes in silence. I had no idea what to say or where to start. It was Sam who finally broke the silence. “So is it Eric that you want?”
Shit, shit, shit. I knew this conversation was going to happen, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be this soon. But of course he needed an explanation. They both deserved it. I just didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t sure I could explain these feelings I was having for not just one but both of the brothers.