by Bethany-Kris
No, it was his stare.
So hard, and cold as he leveled it on his brother.
“Yeah?” Bene asked, not turning away from the stove again.
“Thanks for watching the stove while I ran down the block. You got a minute?”
“Beni—”
His gaze cut to her, and in a blink, his features softened before he gave her a quick smile. “Sorry I didn’t wake you up.”
“It’s okay.”
He nodded, but quickly went back to his brother. “Now, Bene.”
“Fine, fuck.” Bene tossed the spatula to the counter, turned off the stove, and removed the pan of bacon to a burner in the back. “It’s finished, anyway. You’re welcome—I basically cooked your piece of as—”
“Bene!”
The twin that clearly had some issues walked past August in the entryway, who suddenly felt a lot colder than she had a few minutes ago, with his hands held high in the air. Beni gave her another smile, although it felt less true than his first, before following his twin.
Well ...
She was eating.
Their shit?
They could handle that.
She needed food.
Not that it made a difference because while she found a plate, and began to fill it with the eggs and bacon from the two frying pans on the stove, the twins’ argument filtered down the hall. Loud, and proud, it sounded like. They had to know she could hear.
You like it, I love it, she thought.
Worked for this, too.
If they didn’t want her to hear it, they would shut their mouths.
Right?
“What is your fucking problem?” Beni snapped.
She only knew it was Beni because she remembered that growl of his, and what it felt like between her thighs.
Except now, he was not enjoying it.
Yeah.
August took a seat at the small table and dug into her food while eyeing the entryway. She wasn’t a snooper, and she didn’t care to eavesdrop. That wasn’t her thing, she wasn’t nosy. They also weren’t trying to hide it, so ...
“My problem?” Bene scoffed.
“That’s what I said. And what the hell was that? Were you trying to make her think you were me, or—”
“Might have worked, too. Better to know, right?”
“Know what?”
“You know what,” Bene snapped.
“It ain’t like that, Bene. Jesus Christ. We’re not eighteen now—we don’t do that kind of shit anymore, you hear me?”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”
She heard the receding sound of footsteps before Beni barked, “And are you going to tell me why you decided to run back to fucking Toronto without even letting me know about it first? I know that’s why you were in your mood last night, too.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does!”
“Nah, you showed me it didn’t.”
“Bene!”
More footsteps.
A door slamming.
It went quiet for a while, and then it was loud again before August watched the two twins pass the entryway to the kitchen without as much as a look inside to her. Just as quickly, those footsteps faded away before the apartment door opened, and slammed shut with a bang. Even she tensed in the kitchen chair.
Not twenty seconds later, a very annoyed Beni joined her at the table. Although, he didn’t get himself a plate, or food.
“This is good,” she said, trying to help the awkwardness.
His grin came back out to play.
Yes.
She did love that.
“I’d say thank Bene—because I didn’t get the chance to cook it when I had to run out for coffee that I forgot when I grabbed shit to cook this morning, but ...”
August frowned. “What’s all that about, anyway? Me? I could have been gone before—”
“Not you,” he said quickly, leaning closer to her so that he could press a kiss to the line of her silk wrap, and her temple. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she grinned around the piece of bacon she’d just popped in her mouth. “We’re just ... having a moment. We don’t have a lot of those, so when we do, it’s bad.”
“How bad?”
He leaned back in his chair, giving her a nice view of the white T-shirt that stretched across his broad, defined chest from the movement. “We’re not used to being apart.”
“I heard he’s going back to Toronto—that’s where you’re from?”
“Canadian through and through ... well, Ma comes from Chicago. A Rossi, married a Guzzi.”
Oh, wow.
Okay, that made more sense about his last name the night before.
Huh.
She thought about the different things she had noticed between the twins. From their similar styles, the matching haircuts, even their bathroom ... “You know, it’s normal to be two individuals, Beni.”
He gave her a look.
August shrugged. “I don’t know if anyone’s told you that or not, but there’s nothing wrong with being you, and him being ... him.”
Beni’s brow knotted.
“What?” she asked.
“We’re more like an ... us.”
Yeah, but maybe that was part of the problem?
August opted not to say anything.
It wasn’t her place.
And her ma would have told her right then and there, you let others figure out their business, because it’s not yours, honey.
“How long are you planning on being in the city?” he asked.
August smiled. “A bit.”
“And that is ...?”
“Three weeks, maybe. My vacation is for another two, but I had a week extra added on for an assignment I’m working on for Bared Brands magazine.”
“A journalist?”
She thought about that for a second ...
“Trying to be,” she admitted. “That’s what I wanted, but something focused on media, and culture, and the effect it has on society. I had a focus, but for the last three years, I’ve not gone anywhere.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Well, not for much longer.”
All at once, Beni leaned his whole body toward her, filling up her space with his intoxicating presence and scent. He really was all man, and she felt it. Every single part of her. He kissed the corner of her mouth, making August let out a pleased hum, in response. She turned her head to the side just enough to catch his lips with her own kiss, and damn ... it hit her all over as he reminded her just what he could do with nothing more than his mouth and tongue.
Even when it warred with hers.
Too bad it didn’t last longer.
“But if you’re going to be around,” he said, his words whispering over her cheek as she smiled, “then I would really like to see you again.”
“Me, too.”
“Yeah?”
August nodded. “Give me your phone?”
“To plug your number in?”
“Yep. I’m going to be busy for the next week with some locations I want to document, but I’ll see what I can do for you after that.”
Beni placed a hand over his heart, brown eyes darkening with his amusement. “Ouch, I take second to work, that hurts.”
August shrugged. “A girl has got to have priorities, that’s all.”
He didn’t even look offended.
“You’re absolutely right.”
Then, he fished out his phone from his pocket, and handed it over. Telling her the passcode to get inside. Now, that was some trust.
August appreciated it.
• • •
“So,” Cam drawled as August kneeled on the ground, her Nikon at the ready to capture the perfect angle of the mural covering a good portion of the underside of a bridge. “Are we finally going to talk about last weekend, or ...?”
August shook her head. “You’re doing too much. Trying too hard.”
Cam laughed. “I mean, come on ... you spent
the night with a gorgeous man, and you don’t even want to tell me about it?”
She got the shot in the frame that she wanted, and held down the shutter of the camera, taking a burst of shots in a spread of seconds. Standing up, and brushing the dirt from her knees, she turned to face her friend.
“You’re married now, so do you really want details about my sex life?”
“Um, yeah.”
August grinned. “You know, I am surprised you lasted this long. I thought when we met up for lunch last weekend, you would mow me over to find out every last thing you could.”
“I was trying to let you come to me.”
Right.
“It was ... good.”
“Just good?”
The slyness to Cam’s tone couldn’t be missed. August came out from under the bridge, taking note of the towering apartment buildings in the urban neighborhood around them. An area popular in Chicago for the rap scene, and the artists that had come out of it, she knew—without a doubt—this was one of the places she needed to come to and soak in during her trip. Not just for the spread she was working on for the magazine, but also for herself.
There was so much to absorb.
And she wanted it all.
Like the mural—painted by fans of a famous rapper who had grown up just down the street, and got his big break in the nineties during a rap battle that took place in a now-demolished warehouse three blocks away.
The rapper died seven years ago ... an undetected heart condition. He was revered by his fans, not just for his music, but also for the legacy he left behind. A good man, and his community work had always been a top priority.
His legacy lived on beyond the music people still streamed so much; his tracks regularly made it into the Top 100 lists. Like the murals that continued to pop-up all around Chicago. The city would just remove one, only for another one to be painted overnight in the rapper’s honor. That was respect.
August wanted to document at least one of the murals during her time in Chicago before it too was gone, like the others. Maybe, if the city stopped removing them, then people would quit defacing property just to prove a point.
But what did she know?
“Well?” Cam asked. “About Beni, I mean.”
The way her friend dragged out Beni’s name like it was dangling a treat for August had her laughing. Camilla was damn shameless, but she loved that about her.
“Really good,” August said.
“Yeah?”
The two shared a knowing grin.
“I told him we could meet up again while I’m here, you know, if I get around to it.”
“Get around to it, she says,” Cam guffawed, “look at that man, Aug.”
“I did. A lot.”
“And you stayed the whole night ...”
“Lord,” August muttered, peeking up at the sky. “You know I did.”
“How was the next morning?”
“I mean, after the other twin had his tantrum and left ... not too bad for round two on the kitchen table.”
Camilla whistled low. “Yes, that’s what I wanted to hear.”
“I had fun.”
“Good. And the twin thing, huh?”
August sighed, packing her camera away. She had an interview a couple of blocks away with the man who had designed the logo for another famous artist’s brand, also now passed on, and his legacy a bit murkier. Not that it mattered because the brand was what August wanted to focus on, and in Chicago, the music industry and hip hop had been a driving force in the city’s culture.
“They’ve got some issues,” she said.
“Really?” Camilla pulled a face. “Because they always seem so ... together.”
“I think that’s part of the issue.”
“Huh.”
The two women were quiet as August finished packing up her things, and then they headed out of the ravine that led them under the bridge. She loved that Camilla was willing to come with her for the work she had to do when she had a day off, as it helped August find her way around a city that she wasn’t very familiar with.
“Hey, how much time do you have before you need to meet up with the designer?”
August checked the watch on her wrist. “About an hour, or so.”
“Oh, we have time.”
“For what?”
“To check out the center Tommaso’s aunt opened with Evelina DeLuca for youth in this area. It’s part of Manic Media’s Urban Initiative in the city, you know? Gives the kids a safe place to go after school for activities, or tutoring. Whatever they need. Some get signed up by their parents, and some just come with friends. They’re not turned away, regardless of how they come.”
August passed her friend a look, making a noise under her breath. “Or is this your way of trying to get me to see Alessa again so that she can make me another job offer to work here for Manic Media?”
Not that she was going to tell her friend, but she had already set up a meeting with Alessa. She made it clear it was just to discuss different things, and what she could do here, if that’s what she decided to step into. However, she didn’t want Cam to know about the meeting, or the fact that Alessa’s job offer with Manic Media was still very much on the table.
If only because Camilla’s excitement and desire to have August live in Chicago would overwhelm her understanding that this would be a huge life change. And not just moving, but her career ... everything. Alessa, thankfully, agreed to keep the meeting just between them for now, so that August could make rational, smart decisions about her life, and what she wanted to do with it. That wasn’t asking for much, right?
She didn’t think so.
“No, I just thought ... well, you’d appreciate what they’re trying to do with the center,” Camilla said, “and you know how kids are—they’re way more in tune with what’s happening in media, and with their icons. The center even let some of the popular graffiti artists come in to paint murals on the outside wall, which did not please the city, but there wasn’t much they could do about it. Private property, all the permits were in place. The kids got to help.”
August did love that.
“Okay, that’s pretty cool.”
Camilla nodded. “Right? So yeah, I just thought you might like to see it. And since we’re in the area, you know ...”
“Fine, wear me down.”
“Except I didn’t really have to wear you down, huh?”
Yeah, not at all.
No shame.
“And if it does make you want to ask Alessa if that job offer is still on the table for Manic Media,” Camilla said, staring anywhere but at August, “then I am just going to consider that a win, and go on with my happy little life.”
Smartass.
“You’re lucky I love you.”
Cam smiled brightly. “You’re right, I am.”
Despite the fact that August’s mind was now on visiting the center, and her upcoming interview ... her thoughts still drifted back to Beni, and what he might be up to currently. He hadn’t called or texted her throughout the week, but to be fair, she didn’t mind.
After all, she told him she would call.
The two reached Camilla’s car parked at the top of the ravine when August decided to pull out her phone—she might be busy today, and tomorrow was set for her secret meeting with Alessa that she needed to get done under Cam’s radar ... but after?
Possibilities.
“Who are you texting?” Camilla asked as she pulled open the driver’s door.
“Who do you think?”
“Ohhhh.”
“You are literally the worst.”
Camilla wagged her eyebrows. “I’m just saying ... it makes me very happy to see you enjoying your time in Chicago, that’s all. Don’t judge me.”
“Oh, I judge you. Often.”
Her friend stuck out her tongue before getting into the car. August stayed outside of the vehicle, so that she could at least send the text off to Beni without Cam cooing
over her shoulder while she did it. God, she loved her friend.
Truly.
Do you have Sunday free? I was thinking we could meet up, maybe.
That was all August typed out.
Beni’s response was almost instant, like he had been waiting for her text. Again, she wasn’t a liar, so she wouldn’t pretend like that didn’t appeal to her a lot.
Name the time and place, he wrote back.
I’ll let you know.
Perfect, bella.
He really was charming.
Amongst many other things, too.
7.
“I sincerely hope you’re not playing on your phone when we’re supposed to be having a meeting here, Beni.”
Snickers echoed from the fucking peanut gallery, but Beni took his time looking up from the screen to meet his boss’s gaze across the room, before he shut the phone off, and slipped it into his pocket. He could continue his conversation with August later, even if he would much rather be talking to her than doing this meeting.
Everybody’s got to make sacrifices.
Next to him, Bene didn’t even react to his twin being chastised. A little unusual but considering the tension between the two of them over the last week ... not really.
“Good, now back to the discussion,” Tommas said, giving Beni a look before he gestured Damian’s way, so they could go over the new rules for the east side. “Continue, cousin.”
“No major events on the east side,” Damian droned on, “no announcements of our presence until we have culled or calmed the issue with the gang and the crew.”
The conversation continued, but Beni wasn’t that interested. He knew the rules they were setting in place, and the reasons for them. He didn’t need to go over them again. Besides, he was working on the east side whether or not these rules were followed. His job with the crew wasn’t going to change because of this. If anything, it became more important now than ever for him to figure out what in the hell was going on.
“How’s that going, anyway?”
The voice behind him—Cory Rossi—had Beni sighing.
“The crew is made up of a bunch of pricks and—”
“Nah, dude, the chick. August, right?”
Fuck.
Cory chuckled low enough that the rest of the room couldn’t hear him. “Yeah, saw the text over your shoulder. You two were getting it at the club, huh?”