by Tia Siren
“It just doesn’t seem that simple. I mean, what if he is crazy? What if he, like, dives off the deep end and tries to stab me with a knife psycho-style?”
“Maybe one of these sets of twins will be bodyguards or something,” she said, grinning.
“Ugh. I know I need to end things with him, but I can’t honestly tell you that I’m comfortable doing it.”
“You’re scared, Lexi, and that’s not okay.”
“I’m not fucking scared, all right? I’m just—”
I looked at myself in the mirror, my lipstick poised above my lips. Things had gotten a bit boring and monotonous with Jeremy over the past year, and that was when things seemed to have ratcheted up. Maybe this was his weird way of spicing things up and showing me he cared, but I’d be satisfied if he was just willing to try other things in bed.
That shit had gotten old fast.
“Lexi, can I be honest?”
“Since when do you ask permission to be honest?” I asked.
“Since you became such a blatant pussy.”
“What?”
“Look. Jeremy’s not right for you. You’ve been dating him ever since you moved to LA Cool. Got it. He was your introductory man. Now it’s time to find you a real one. One that doesn’t need to know your every move and will be okay with you calling him back. Someone who doesn’t make you feel creeped out or uneasy at night. Come on, you’re a strong, independent woman. Why am I telling you any of this shit?” she asked.
“It would be nice to just spend time by myself. You know, doing me and shit,” I said.
“Yep. And I know you think your sex life has gotten boring. You could do you while doing other men who do you right. Know what I’m sayin’?”
“You’re a fucking horndog, you know that?” I asked.
“You’re just jealous because you are, too, but you can’t explore it. It’s just the boring old missionary shit where he lubes up his cock and sticks it in. He doesn’t even go down on you! When was the last time you had a decent orgasm?”
“I have orgasms, all right?”
“When, Lexi?”
I paused, and my silence was all she needed. I just didn’t understand why it was so hard for Jeremy to please me for once. The more I thought about it, the angrier it made me, and the more I wanted to end things with him right then.
“I bet there’ll be a nice twin or two who would lick that pussy real nice,” Courtney said, grinning.
“Be careful. You’ll spray the bathroom and we’ll both be taking another shower,” I said.
“You just need a change of pace. Allow yourself that. I miss my headstrong roommate. I’ve been stuck with this asshole for months.”
“I’m not an asshole,” I said.
“The only things assholes do is shit and blow hot air. That’s all you’ve been doing for months. End it with the poor man and get your life back. And if he tries any hinky bullshit, I’ll just punch him in his nuts.”
“You’re insane,” I said.
“And that’s why you love me.” Courtney handed me my phone, and I sighed as I took it. I wasn’t going to do something like this through text message. We’d been together way too long for that. But if things were about to end, then that needed to happen now while I still had the guts to do it. Plus, I was now distracted from the party and running ten minutes behind.
Hey. We need to talk. Meet in the lobby before the party begins?
I sent him the text message and then gave it to Courtney to see. She rolled her eyes but accepted it for now as we continued to get ready. I had to let him down easy, seeing as he was still my boss. He couldn’t fire me without grounds relating to my work, but he could make work a living nightmare in order to gain the grounds to fire me. I had to tread lightly with this, especially considering the habits he’d struck up over the past four or five months.
“Come on, Courtney! You’re gonna make me late!”
“You better fucking break up with him. I’m ready to mingle with the twins with my best friend,” she said.
“I’ll talk to him, I promise.”
We drove through downtown Los Angeles before I whipped behind the hotel. If I ran, I could still meet Jeremy on time and catch my breath before the kitchen would need help coordinating food tray runs. I grabbed Courtney’s hand and rushed her in, pushing her through a door that dumped into the ballroom before I made my way to the lobby.
Jeremy was standing there in the corner looking out at the street. His eyes were darting around in that paranoid state I’d come to view as normal, but seeing it from afar, it only struck me as odd. Part of me wanted to help him. I’d spent the last three years of my life with him and I cared about what happened to him. But I couldn’t do this. Not anymore.
Not with him.
“Hey, Jeremy.”
He whipped around as I walked up to him, relief flooding his face. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close, and I closed my eyes to take in everything about it. Right now, he was being kind. Right now, he was being a relieved boyfriend. But soon the green-eyed monster would rear its head, and I found my hands shaking at the thought.
“What’s going on, Lexi? Are you all right?” he asked.
“Yeah, yeah. Just nervous for the party. It’s the first new one I’ve acquired since working here.”
“You’ll do just fine. Is that all you wanted to talk about?”
“No actually. There’s something else.”
I looked up and searched his hazel eyes as I drew a deep breath through my nose. His hands were clamping tighter and tighter around my skin, and I squealed a bit before I jumped back. He released my arms, giving me an apologetic look, but all it did was confirm that I needed to back away from this. Something was happening to Jeremy, and I couldn’t stick around to figure out what it was.
“I don’t want to hear it,” he said.
“Jeremy—”
“This isn’t happening right now. It’s fucking Christmas. I promised my parents you’d be there.”
“That’s not my fault. I told you I couldn’t go this year. I work right up through Christmas Eve,” I said.
“I’m not listening to this.”
He shoved past me and headed for his office, but I was hot on his heels. I’d be late to the party if it meant having this conversation now. He didn’t get to be paranoid, controlling, and then off-putting. All of his attitudes and moves only solidified that this needed to be over.
“Jeremy, just stop for a second,” I said.
“Go the fuck to work, Lexi, before you’re late.”
“It’s over, Jeremy.”
Those words stopped him in his tracks. He slowly turned on his heels, fire blazing in his eyes. He was angry, and I got it. I was throwing away the past three years, and I knew that would make anyone mad. But I stood my ground in the doorway of his office. I wasn’t going to let him intimidate me out of this decision.
“What?” he said.
“Things have deteriorated between us. You’ve gotten paranoid, and you’re following me places—”
“I’m not fucking following you anywhere, you self-absorbed idiot.”
“I’m leaving you, Jeremy. We’re no longer dating,” I said.
He took a step toward me, and I backed out of his office. He drew a deep breath through his nose, but I didn’t want to hear any more of what he had to say. In my opinion, he’d said enough with that last sentence he’d spewed at me, and the last thing he was going to do was gaslight me. He wasn’t going to manipulate me and make me feel crazy any longer.
“Have a wonderful holiday season. I gotta go work,” I said.
I backtracked out of his office before he had a chance to address me. It was shocking to me that he didn’t follow me out, but I was relieved he didn’t just the same. I walked over to the closet and shrugged my coat off to hang it up before I made my way into the kitchen. It was time to coordinate the tray runs of appetizers for the guests. As I threw my gaze out the small window into the room,
Courtney caught my eye. She was giving me a quizzical look, no doubt wondering if I’d done it.
I flashed her a thumbs-up, and a smile creeped across her cheeks.
Chapter 2
It really was a sight to behold. Twins were walking around everywhere, sticking by their siblings while they fraternized with one another. If they were all strangers, none of them acted like it. Everyone interacted with everyone else like they had known each other all their lives. I walked by the tables, making sure no one needed anything and asking if they had any food allergies or personal requests. I took an order or two, delivered a few drinks, and then went on my merry way. Courtney was living it up. She was currently smack dab between two lovely men with darkened skin. She loved her men black, and I couldn’t stop giggling as they showered her with affection and touches.
I made a mental note not to expect her home this evening.
As much as I hated to admit it, she may have been right. There were some sets of twins that caught my eye. At one table were the Wolf brothers—Terry and Tony. I had to compliment them on their bespoke suits, tailored to their runner’s bodies and broad shoulders. They kept smiling up at me and offering me their life story, telling me how they were the CEOs of their own investment and energy companies. I giggled at the idea of two brothers going into business with one another, and they said it kept them on their toes. Wolf Energy oil refineries now had two very handsome faces behind it, and I found myself sitting down as I listened to them talk to me.
Tony was obviously the business-savvy twin. He kept going on about Wolf Worldwide, the parent company their parents had started over three decades ago. He talked me through grand business plans while Terry spouted off statistics and facts that spun my head clear off my shoulders. The amount of knowledge, though very different, they each had up in their brains was astounding. I couldn’t help but get lost in the excitement brewing behind Tony’s eyes, and Terry kept grinning, watching my every reaction as his hand slowly settled behind the back of my chair.
The twins were tall; I could tell by their long legs. They had short dark hair with brown eyes set deep into their faces. Their identical strong brow cast a mysterious shadow over their features, boasting of secrets I so desperately wanted to be privy to. Terry started stroking my back with his fingertips, sending shivers down my spine that I had to try hard to conceal. I could tell by their accents they were from upstate New York, and the strength in their chests that pulled at their shirts boasted of an athleticism beyond running.
Maybe they lifted weights in their spare time.
I had to excuse myself and continue with my rounds, and if I hadn’t convinced myself I was seeing things, I would’ve thought they were disappointed. I rounded the next table, making sure everyone was just fine, but the moment I slipped over to the next table I came across another set of twins that caught my eye.
But for very different reasons.
The Castle brothers introduced themselves, and it was very apparent how strong they were. Their forearms were bulging with veins and muscles. Their brown eyes stayed connected with mine as I introduced myself and asked for their names, which they told me were Liam and Logan. Their faces were chiseled and their shoulders thick. My eyes flickered down to their legs, which were clad in jeans that clung tightly to their muscles. I listened to them as they told me they were firefighters for the greater Los Angeles area, and for a split second I thought about training my sights on them. I could feel the wild woman within me rise up as these two hulking men raked their eyes over me, but before I could get into a decent conversation with them, another table beckoned.
I reluctantly excused myself and darted across the room only to be met by another set of twins that took my breath away.
Kevin and Kyle were the Jameson brothers, and I could tell right off the bat that they were doctors. They were lean and most definitely did nothing but running. Their glasses enhanced the intelligence found behind their eyes, but as they talked me through the mistake in their food order, I felt as though I were underneath a microscope. Their eyes roamed over me, clocking me much the same way I’d done with the other sets of twins, but for some reason the motive behind it felt different. Their auburn hair and blue eyes sucked me in even as they nitpicked at the food. I rushed their order to the kitchen and waited for it.
I looked back over to the table where Courtney had been sitting, but she was nowhere to be found. Knowing her, she was probably in a bathroom somewhere with the twins she’d found, and I honestly couldn’t blame her. Every set of twins that wanted my attention tonight could have all of it they wanted. The Wolf brothers were rich and charming. Classically handsome. I dreamed they were probably very romantic, which meant they might have a nasty streak about them in bed. The Castle Brothers rocked my primal world. Hot and chiseled with muscle. What I wouldn’t give to shower with the two of them. To lick every drop of water off those chiseled abs.
I grabbed the two plates of food for the Jameson brothers and then darted back to them. I set the plates in front of them, then apologized for the mix up, and I saw them both soften. The intense microscope they had me under seemed to melt, and that was when I figured out that my prediction was correct. Kyle was a gynecologist and Kevin was an oncologist. I could tell from the way their polo shirts splayed against their bodies that they were fit underneath them. They probably had those thin, sinewy muscles that were unassuming until they had those long arms of theirs wrapped around the body of the woman they wanted.
I wondered if any of these brothers shared the women they took home.
I bid them farewell and made the last of my rounds, stopping at the last table for the evening before I had to go prepare for the dessert round. There I stumbled upon a pair of brothers that raucously laughed with those around them. They were loud, proud, and incredibly strong. Their muscles were lumped all over their bodies and they hunched at the table, primal in their reactions. They had no issues showing the pleasure they were taking in from the night. I walked up to them and made sure everyone at the table was doing all right, and that was when I felt it.
The Oakley brothers had their eyes on me.
They introduced themselves as Cameron and Cole, and I quickly recognized them from all the sports Jeremy constantly consumed. Cole Oakley played for the LA Rams and Cameron Oakley played for the LA Dodgers. I smiled at them, telling them my ex was probably shitting himself right now, and that was when Cole made a quipping comment about how he was an idiot if I was an ex.
It made me smile, and I melted into his big green eyes.
The Oakley brothers had curly blond hair piled on top of their heads. They talked about how they had always wanted to be professional athletes but never wanted to play on the same team. Cole said he had always loved football and playing it with his dad, and Cameron said their mother was a baseball fanatic. I sat down in a chair and listened to the happiness in their voices when they talked about both getting drafted into their respective sports and how lucky they had gotten to be able to live in the same city and stay close. They were beautiful men, and they constantly doted on my looks and told me how much of an ass my ex must’ve been if I left. I felt beautiful, truly beautiful with the two of them, and it killed me inside when I had to go prepare for the desserts coming out.
I tried to distract myself with sending out desserts, but my eyes kept dancing around the room. Every time I looked toward one of the twins, they were always looking back at me. The Wolf brothers had these devilish grins on their faces while the Oakley brothers kept their innocent eyes trained on me. The Jameson brothers allowed their glasses to fall down their noses as they craned their heads in my direction, and the Castle brothers were simply lounging in their chairs and looking over at me when they thought I wasn’t looking.
Holy fuck, I’d never been in the presence of so many beautiful men in my entire life. All of a sudden, I was glad I’d broken things off with Jeremy. He would’ve been fucking pissed if he’d seen how I was looking at these men. I didn’t thi
nk he would have pulled anything stupid or caused a scene, but I did know him well enough to know he might have told the head honcho of the Beacon-Ansley that I was flirting with the guests.
It wasn’t exactly frowned upon, especially if it garnered us more business, but things could always get twisted when it came to Jeremy.
After the dessert was sent out, I made my rounds again. Most people had finished and gotten up to mingle, while some were out on the dance floor. I walked around the tables, trying to make my way back to the twins I’d met earlier, but none of them were sitting in their seats. Disappointment rolled over my body, so much so that I almost relegated myself back to the kitchen.
Until I saw all eight of them standing in the corner.
This was the perfect opportunity to go up to them, but I needed a reason. I couldn’t just approach them and idly stand there. I’d look like an idiot if I did. So, I grabbed the name tags and a Sharpie and walked on over to the group of men.
And they looked all too happy to usher me into the middle.
“Gentlemen, there is a reason name tags were sitting at the entrance,” I said, smiling.
“You mean you don’t remember my name, Miss Lexi? Because I surely do remember yours,” Tony said.
“Did you know the name ‘Lexi’ is actually of Greek derivation? It means ‘man’s defender,’ which is interesting, don’t you think?” Terry said.
“Then allow me to defend with my entire honor. But, that requires name tags,” I said, lifting my Sharpie.
I wrote down all their names and smoothed each tag out onto their chests. I got to feel their strength underneath my fingertips and instantly became aware of my cheeks flushing with embarrassment. I smoothed the last name tag onto Cole, whose bright eyes pulled me in again, but the more I craned my neck back, the more I saw what was dangling from the ceiling.
Mistletoe.
I was fucking standing underneath mistletoe with these men.
“Well, well, well. Look what we’ve got up there, Kyle,” Kevin said.