Loyalty

by L. P. Maxa

  “Well, yeah, I’m sure they would if we ever got caught.” She laughed, like I was the silly one.

  “Your parents don’t check on you?” I loathed how this conversation was going. I was eighteen, and I sounded like a junior high wannabe completely infatuated with the high school cheerleader’s life.

  “Why would they? I live on a secure compound. The only people I spend time with are my cousins, who are my family. The ‘rents have no reason to check, no reason to worry. All they care about is that we’re safe within the boundaries of our family’s land.” She shrugged and tossed one of the flowy sundresses my way. “Your outfit is hot as hell, but we’re heading to the lake. You should wear that one. It’ll be shorter on you, perfect for showing off those gorgeous long legs of yours.”

  “On a scale of one to ten, how much freedom would you say you have?” I stood up, holding the pretty dress up to my body. She was right; this would make my legs look crazy long. And I brought the perfect boots to go with it.

  “An eleven.”

  When my bewildered gaze met her eyes in the mirror, she started to laugh.

  Chapter Four

  Cash

  “Thanks for dinner. I had a really great time.”

  If lukewarm conversation and trying to jack someone under the table are your idea of a great time, you need to raise your standards. “Yeah, me too.”

  “My parents are out of town.” Of course they are. “Would you like to come inside?” Not even a little bit. “Maybe watch a movie?” Your veiled attempts at subtlety are disgraceful.

  “Mmm…I’d love to.” Gag me with a fucking spoon. I cut the ignition of Crue’s white truck, not even bothering to go around and open the chick’s door. After our dismal dinner, I knew she’d still want me, no matter how terrible my manners were.

  Her name was Ashton and she had graduated with us last week. Her parents had a lot of money—not as much as mine, but still a substantial amount. Her hair was too blonde, her makeup too heavy, her clothes too skimpy. Everything about her turned me off. But tonight I wasn’t me. I was Crue. And Crue found vapid girls like Ashton extremely fuckable. At least, the old Crue did. The Crue I’d been pretending to be for a year longer than I’d originally fucking planned.

  The moment I stepped over the threshold her arms were around my neck and her tongue was down my throat. I switched on autopilot. I knew exactly what to do to make her squeal my twin’s name. I knew where to touch her, I knew how to kiss her. By this point, I had enough experience with girls like Ashton to fill a book. I could write a how-to manual.

  How to be a DICK and Still Make Her Want Yours.

  Let’s call it a working title. That was a little long for any bestseller list.

  “Yes, Crue, ohmygod yes.”

  I had Ashton up against the entryway wall, my thigh pressed against her core, my teeth on her jaw. I didn’t kiss these girls, ever. Because, yeah, I was basically a hooker and I had rules for myself too. I’d seen Pretty Woman, more times than I’d like to admit, but unlike Vivian I didn’t get to say who or when. Nope, that honor belonged to my best friend.

  Ashton fumbled with my belt, my jeans falling to my ankles. She instantly dropped down to her knees, pulling my cock from my briefs. Ashton didn’t want to suck my dick, not really. She simply thought it would make me like her. I let her give it a shot, waiting two minutes before I put my hand under her chin, bringing her back up to her feet. I knew it was two minutes because I stared at the giant clock above the fireplace in the formal living room. “Take off your panties. Now.” I put some dominance in my tone. They all loved it.

  I cupped her bare pussy, nipping at her collarbone. I wasn’t in the mood to even attempt to enjoy myself tonight. I was tired. I’d been studying nonstop over the last few weeks. But it had all paid off. I’d aced my last final and graduated high school with a 3.98. I missed salutatorian by .01 points.

  I’d get this chick off real quick, a skill I’d more than perfected, and then leave her standing by her front door. A confused yet blissful look on her face. She’d tell her friends I fucked her.

  She’d lie and I’d let her, because her lie would keep my brother’s lies intact. And that was the reason I was knuckle deep in some chick I’d never think about again. It was a vicious fucked-up cycle.

  But it was my life. Was being the operative word. I didn’t want to be here, but this was my last official gig pretending to be my twin brother. I was done.

  It was time for Crue and Avory to come clean to the ‘rents or figure their own shit out.

  ***

  “Hey, I’m done. Y’all still at the lake?” I backed my brother’s truck out of Ashton’s driveway, and headed to the party I’d missed the beginning of. Not that I was worried; it was the weekend after graduation, and this was the last lake party of my high school career. It’d go well into the night.

  “Already? That was fast.” Crue chuckled. “You’re going to screw up my street cred.”

  The fact that he could crack jokes about what he kept asking me to do bothered me. It made me want to yell into the phone and call him a selfish prick. But he was my twin, and he was my best friend. And everything he did, everything I did, was for Avory. “Tonight was my last gig. As of this moment, I give two fucking shits about your street cred.”

  “Drive safe.”

  “I mean it, Crue. I’m serious.”

  I looked at the nav screen. The fucker hung up on me. I growled in frustration and punched a million buttons, messing up all his satellite radio presets. Passive aggressively ruining his day the only way I currently could.

  My twin wasn’t a bad person, not really. He was in love with a girl and he was terrified of losing her. Avory still had one more year of high school to go, which meant one more year of living on the Devil’s Share compound in her parents’ house. Crue and Avory were afraid to tell the adults what was going on between them, what had been going on for well over a year now. Afraid that the ‘rents would try to separate them, try to put a stop to their relationship. Thus Crue needed the rest of the world to believe that he was still single, and still a whore of epic proportions.

  And that was where I came in.

  The ruse had started out slow, a date here, a lake party hook-up there. The next thing I knew, I was booked solid. At least two, if not three nights a week. I drew the line at four. I wasn’t a damn stud horse. Eventually our older cousin Beau figured out what we were up to, that I was pretending to be my twin, hooking up with girls…letting them yell out Crue when they came. Then Halen found out, and her disappointment in both of us made me take pause.

  Halen and Beau understood better than anyone what it was like to be in love on the Devil’s Share compound. What it was like to try to hide a relationship from four different sets of parents. So if they thought what we were pulling off was appalling? It had to be bad.

  I know what you’re thinking. What eighteen-year old dude wouldn’t want to get with a different chick every night? Well the answer is: me. It’s not who I am, it’s not what I enjoy. I’m attracted to girls with substance, with character, with ideals and personality. I also really fucking hate fake eyelashes.

  I’m sure your next question is, then why do it? Number one: Crue is my twin. We’ve been together since we were cells. Number two? I was the second-oldest boy in the Devil’s Share family. I was older than Crue by two minutes and fourteen seconds. I came out of the womb wanting to protect everyone I loved. And that included Avory, Crue’s girlfriend. I’d do anything to make sure that she didn’t get her heart broken, up to and including switching places with my twin to hook up with chicks I couldn’t fucking stand. I was supposed to be done the last day of school our junior year, but they kept asking for my help and I kept saying yes. Glutton for punishment or saint? I couldn’t decide.

  But this time, I was seriously done. For real. No takebacks. I was hanging up the pocketknife I used to make notches in Crue’s bedpost. I didn’t like the person I was becoming. I was jaded. I was hear
tless. I wasn’t myself.

  I looked at the dash, an incoming call ringing through the speakers. “Hey, Hales.”

  “Hey, where are you?”

  “I’m headed out to the lake party.” I pursed my lips, waiting for her next inevitable question.

  “Where’ve you been? Beau and I were babysitting Wyatt and came to see you. Now we’re stuck at your house and your mom stole him from me.”

  Oh you know, on another stupid fucking booty call that had to start with dinner because even when I’m supposed to be an ass, I can’t help being a little bit nice. “Out.” Small word that spoke volumes.

  Halen let out a sad sigh. “Okay, well you want to do brunch at our house tomorrow? Landry and Brody are coming to pick up Wyatt and I’m making lots of bacon.”

  “Only if I get dibs on Wyatt.” I smiled, knowing she’d be torn. We were all more than a little in love with Landry and Brody’s baby boy. He was about ten months old and the happiest little man I’d ever met. Which made sense because Brody walked around like a beam of sunshine. Apparently Wyatt’s father could have been one of two men, and all of us were relieved he had inherited Brody’s perpetually happy genes.

  “Okay, fine. Be safe tonight, Cash.” Halen hung up and the interior of the truck got a little dimmer.

  Twins switching places to get with chicks, people raised as cousins hooking up and falling in love, knocked up out of wedlock…I know we sounded like a huge fucking mess. But I promise you, we weren’t.

  Chapter Five

  Cash

  “Look who finally showed up.” Benson, a guy we’d been in school with since kindergarten, held his long arms out wide. “Where you been, man?” His lips twitched—he knew where I’d been. He was the only other person aside from our family that knew what I’d been doing for my brother. He found it a lot more comical than my older cousins did. “From that dark frown on your handsome little face, I take it you could use a drink?”

  I walked toward his truck, taking the plastic cup he offered. “Where is my dickhead brother?” I took a sip, wincing slightly as the chilled whiskey hit the back of my throat.

  Benson nodded his head to the right. “Holding court, waiting on you.” He hopped down off his tailgate. “You ready?”

  I nodded, finishing off the borrowed drink and setting it down.

  “Cash, look man, your brother finally showed up.” Benson sauntered over to the front of his jacked-up Ford, calling over his shoulder. “You two come here, I got a little graduation present for you.”

  I followed Benson, stepping into the shadows and away from prying eyes. I ripped off my black t-shirt, tossing it to my twin when he joined up. He did the same, removing a baseball tee with royal blue sleeves. Crue took the ball cap off the top of his skull and put it on my head backwards. “Everything go okay? Anything I should know?”

  “No.” My tone was pissed. I was pissed. I was always pissed when we did this. When we switched clothes and he finally gave me permission to be myself again. I shoved past him and headed straight for the bottle of whiskey I’d seen sitting in the bed of Benson’s truck. I grabbed some ice from the cooler and made myself another drink. I leaned against the tailgate, the hard metal biting into my lower back. I didn’t look at Crue as he walked past me, heading to the opposite side of the bonfire in front of me. Avory smiled when she saw him, acting like she hadn’t seen him all night. No doubt playfully giving him crap about where he’d been. It was a game, and we’d all honed it to perfection.

  “Tonight’s your last night, right? You’re done now.” Benson sat back down on his tailgate, his own drink now sweating beside mine.

  “Yeah. I’m done.” And I was fucking done. Crue and Avory were both certifiable if they thought this summer was going to mirror last summer.

  Benson chuckled. “What now, man? Your dick is going to go through withdrawals.” He gestured out to the crowd, his hands wide to encompass the entire lakeshore. “You going to finally start fucking as yourself?”

  I shook my head. “Nah, I need a break.” I crossed my arms over my chest, sighing. “Besides, I’ve pretty much been with every chick in this damn town. They’re all the same.”

  “Well, as someone who hasn’t banged the entire junior and senior class, I might still try to get with a few of them before I leave for A&M.” Benson leaned over, whispering behind his hand. “Help a guy out. Which ones are a good time?”

  I shook my head, laughing despite myself. “Tell me who you’re looking at, and I’ll tell you what I know.” Benson was a good guy, which was how I knew he was mainly kidding. Trying to pull me out of my funk by making light of my—thankfully now over with—situation.

  “How ‘bout her?” He pointed across the field, his drink sloshing out onto the ground.

  I followed his gaze, nodding my head. “Sara Jones. She tried to take about a million selfies with me while we were making out in a movie theater. Fame hungry and inconsiderate.” When the cameras came out, my irritation level reached combustible proportions. I hated having to spend time with chicks who only cared about who my father was.

  “Mmmmkay. What about that one?”

  I glanced over to where he was pointing then turned around and poured myself another drink. “Kristen Martin. Funny, easy to talk to, and…”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “Enough daddy issues to fill that lake she’s about one drink away from skinny dipping in.” I sent him a toothless smile. “I’m telling you man, the only semi-sane chick at this party is Avory.” I shrugged. “And Crue would remove your eyeballs with a spoon if you even looked her way.”

  “What about her? The gorgeous one dancing.” He leaned forward, squinting his eyes. “The one who also seems to know all the words to the old Ryan Bingham song coming out of my truck speakers.”

  Oh, my, my see them girls shake their ass

  Underneath the sunrise

  He shook his head, a stupid grin on his face. “Son. I think I’m in love.”

  I peered through the flames of the small bonfire, ready to burst another one of Benson’s bubbles. But the words died on my lips. I pushed off the tailgate, taking a few steps to the right. I’d never seen that girl before, but Benson was right. She was fucking gorgeous. Her hands were in the air, making her dress shorter than it really was. Her dark hair fell past her shoulders, wavy and almost wild. Her eyes were closed, but her lips were moving, a smile on her face.

  Oh my, my, taste the sugar on their lips

  Underneath that moonlight

  She was lost in her own little world, completely oblivious to the party going on around her. She looked mystical, like she was made of gypsy magic and fairy dust. I took a step in her direction, without even meaning to.

  “Cash, man, where are you going? I saw her first.”

  I could hear Benson protesting behind me, but I simply didn’t care. The girl was twirling and dancing in the light of the flames. Still singing every word to a song that was written before she was even born. Her legs were long, tanned, and perfect. Her boots stopped above her knee and I was almost afraid I was drooling. She was all alone, and having the time of her life. I rounded the bonfire, moving toward her in a trance.

  Cause everybody’s beggin’, well, everybody wants a chance

  Stuck in a storm, we’ll do a rain dance

  “Katie, come over here, I want you to meet some friends of mine.”

  I stopped short, my eyes flying to Avory. My little cousin was holding her arms out, laughing as the girl I was oddly infatuated with danced her way over. How did Avory seem to know this chick and I didn’t?

  Please God don’t let me be related to her in some form or fashion.

  “Hey, Cash, come here and meet Katie.” Crue had his head cocked to the side, studying me with a shit-eating grin on his stupid face. “Katie, this is my twin, Cash.”

  She held her hand out, smiling. “Nice to meet you.”

  Oh, the pleasure was all fucking mine. But saying that out loud would make me
sound like a douchebag. Like when I had to pretend to be Crue. “Nice to meet you too, Katie.”

  Avory slung her arm around Katie’s neck, like they were old friends. “Katie is staying at the compound for the week while her dad is out on tour.” She handed her a red plastic cup. “Her dad sent her home with my dad so that she would be somewhere with adult supervision.”

  Katie took a small sip of the drink Avory had given her, a grin playing on her lips. Then Avory took her hand, spinning her in a circle. “Stick with me, girly. I’ll make sure you don’t get into any trouble.” Avory was giggling, which meant Avory was most likely drunk. She spun Katie out, basically handing her to me. “Dance with C Money, he’s better at it than Crue.”

  Crue dug his fingers into her side, making her squeal and spill some of her beer onto the ground. That was the most he’d touch her in public like this, but I could tell by the look on his face he was mere minutes away from demanding they leave. He wanted to get her alone, and if everyone surrounding us wasn’t wasted, they’d notice it too.

  “I think I’m all danced out.” Katie spoke politely. “No offense.”

  “None taken.” I gestured with my head to Avory and Crue, who were still eye fucking each other. I dropped my voice, “But, unless you want to have a front-row seat to the most PDA-filled car ride you’ve ever seen, come with me.” I held my hand out. “I don’t bite.”

  She snorted. “I’ve heard that one today already. What else you got?”

  “I’m your only bet for a ride back to the compound.” Her eyes darted to Crue and Avory and I chuckled, shaking my head. “I can assure you, they aren’t headed home.”

  After a few more moments of indecision, she put her hand in mine. Holding her hand was making me happier than it had any right to. “I asked Avory earlier if she and Crue were—”

  “Shhh.” I squeezed her hand, moving my mouth closer to her ear. “Not here.” We walked past Benson, who flipped me off, and then we arrived at my truck. Crue would take his when he left. We had switching back down to a science. We’d each leave our keys in the truck so no one would see us making the exchange.