by Melody Anne
“Okay, you’re forgiven,” Jennifer said breathlessly a few moments later when Trenton released her lips. Trenton turned her in his arms, not willing to let her go, as he backed up to a seat, pulling her onto his lap. Jennifer actually giggled as she laid her head back to rest against his chest.
Austin pulled Kinsey to the couch against the far wall of the room. He sat down, pulling her beside him. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, trapping her against the side of his chest. She was too embarrassed to look up and see if everyone was still watching the two of them.
His hand rubbed along the side of her neck, making her wish they were alone – one touch from him and she was putty in his hands.
“I guess I can continue the story. Where exactly was I? Oh yes, so the day after Joseph left, after making such an ass of himself in front of my neighbors, I had to deal with the aftermath,” Katherine began.
All attention focused solely on Katherine as she began reflecting back…
“You have to spill. Is he an escort? Honestly, I don’t even care if he was hired, just as long as you give me the number to his service.”
Katherine took a deep breath in, then slowly blew it out. She was standing in her doorway, her hair a mess, her robe having seen better days, and with what she was sure was atrocious morning breath.
Her neighbor hadn’t wasted any time whatsoever in knocking on her door, first thing in the morning so she could get the scoop on the hunk in the hallway the night before.
“He wasn’t even drunk. He’s an old friend who I haven’t talked to in a very long time, and he showed up unannounced. I wasn’t going to let him in, so being the stubborn fool he is, he decided to embarrass me to get his way,” Katherine said.
She could see by the look in her neighbor’s eye’s that she didn’t believe her. Katherine tried not to let it bother her, but she cared what people thought of her. She in no way wanted anyone to think she’d been at some bar picking up strange men, or worse, calling an escort service.
“Fine, keep it to yourself. Rumors will just continue to spread, though. It’s better to fess up and tell us.”
Katherine decided right then that it was time to move. The hassle of dealing with gossip over her sex life for the next few months just wasn’t worth staying. Her neighbors had no lives, so her love-life would be their entertainment until the next big event happened to take their minds off of her.
“Look, Penny…” Katherine started to say when Penny’s eyes widened as she looked over Katherine’s shoulder. Katherine decided she didn’t want to turn around and find out what was causing the stunned look on her neighbor’s face. Joseph was probably back. He tended to have that effect on women.
“Holy mackerel, how in the heck do you get all these gods beating down your door? I’ll pay you to teach me your secrets,” Penny reverently muttered.
“Penny, I explained to you already that Joseph is just an old friend,” Katherine snapped, losing all semblance of patience with the woman.
“Well, you may have been a lot more believable if it weren’t for the fact that Zeus number two is currently walking toward us with an earth shattering smile plastered on his face. Oh my gosh, you have to give me the number.”
Katherine felt a chill run down her spine. There weren’t many men she knew who could inspire that kind of reaction in women. The drop to your knees, strip naked, and roll over look that had come into her neighbor’s eyes. She had a really bad feeling…
She slowly turned, her eyes rising up the custom fitted slacks and button up shirt, open at the neck, showing a glimpse of his smooth chest. As she finally met his eyes, her heart pounded and rage took over her temporary shock.
George.
How dare he show up. He saddled over to her and leaned in for a hug. Without conscious thought, she raised her arm and slugged him square in the jaw.
His smile faltered as he looked at her with astonishment. It took about three seconds before Katherine felt a searing pain shoot from her knuckles all the way up her arm. His jaw felt solid as granite.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she gripped her hand and jumped back.
George’s eyes immediately looked down, concern radiating from their deep blue depths.
“Katherine, you should be more careful,” he uttered as he reached toward her.
“Don’t you dare touch me,” she snarled. He seemed amused because the corners of his lips turned up. It seemed she wasn’t as intimidating as she wanted to be.
“Hi,” Penny said as she gained back the ability to speak. She crept up right next to George, her barely clad breasts rubbing against his arm as she introduced herself. “I’m Penny.”
Katherine looked on in shock as the woman actually batted her eyelids. She shouldn’t be shocked. When she’d dated Joseph, and thought George was her friend, she’d seen countless women throw themselves at the two men. George had always shamelessly flirted back, but she’d been so impressed when Joseph had seemed to not even notice them. She guessed it had all been an act for her benefit, though.
Without even acknowledging Penny, George took Katherine’s arm and pushed his way inside her apartment. He shut the door in the face of her stunned neighbor. It was almost comical enough to make Katherine laugh. Almost.
“I’ve missed you, Katherine. I think it's long past the time for me to explain my actions,” George said as he led her to the couch. He walked away, making her wonder what he was doing. She heard some noise from her kitchen, then he was back with ice wrapped in a towel. “Put this on your hand and it will feel better soon. It doesn’t look broken, you most likely just bruised it.”
He acted as if her punch had done nothing to him, which wasn’t fair, considering that her hand was throbbing.
“What are you doing here, George. I think you’ve done enough damage already.”
“I’ve missed you, my friend. There are a lot of misunderstandings from our time five years ago, but if you give me a half-hour, I can explain…”
“There’s nothing to explain. You and your brother like to play games with innocent girls. No problem, I get it. I was just stupid enough to think you were my friend, and even more stupid to believe Joseph loved me. Good job,” she said with sarcasm.
Katherine was barely hanging on to her anger. If she let it go, she’d internally combust and be nothing but a pile of ash. The temporary Band-Aid placed over her emotional wounds had been quickly ripped off, leaving her hurts fully exposed to the elements around her. Seeing Joseph, and then George, was almost unbearable. It was like looking at that coveted toy in a store window, only a thin piece of glass separating her from it, but having it be just out of reach. She knew the men were out of her reach. She couldn’t ever trust George to be her friend again, and certainly couldn’t trust Joseph with her heart anymore.
He’d abused it too badly.
“Katherine, I’m here to beg for forgiveness.”
“Really? Do you and Joseph have another bet. Which of you will I forgive first? The lover or the friend?”
George leaned close to her, and took her uninjured hand in his. When she tugged, he refused to release it. Reluctantly, she finally looked up and met his pain filled eyes.
“I was a fool. You truly were my friend, really my best friend. I was arrogant and immature, and now Joseph and I barely speak. Everything’s changed,” he said, his voice filled with so much emotion, she couldn’t pull away from him. Was he actually speaking the truth?
Katherine was silent as her gaze raked over him. Even though, he and Joseph were twin brothers, they weren’t identical. Both men were superbly good-looking, but she’d never once felt desire toward George.
She’d felt love, the kind of love one would feel toward a sibling. He’d become her best friend, and the betrayal of the two men had wounded her to her very center. She’d not only lost the love of her life, but also the best friend she’d needed so badly to help her make it through.
Usually when you went through heartbreak, you at least had you
r friend to turn to. In her case she’d been doubly devastated because she’d lost both in one day.
“I don’t deserve it, and if I was a better man, I’d stay out of your life, but I can’t. I’ve missed you and I need you to know what happened,” he said.
She hated to admit it, even to herself, but she’d missed him, too. Missed him so much it hurt to sit there with him in her tiny apartment and try to hold onto her resentment. Her fragile emotions were about to splinter into a million pieces. She had to let him say what he needed to so he’d leave and she could have a breakdown.
“Fine, George, go ahead and speak, but I’m telling you now that if I detect even the tiniest piece of deception in your story, I’m going to find something a lot stronger than my fist to hit you over the head with,” Katherine warned.
George laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. She had to remind herself how he’d deceived her, because it would be too easy to fall back into her old routine with him. He’d always brought laughter and joy to the forefront, wherever they happened to be.
“I deserve your anger, Katherine. It took me a while, but I finally figured out that you somehow found out about the bet,” he stated, cringing as he said the last word.
Katherine glared at him, not even bothering to respond to his statement. Of course she knew about the bet. It had nearly destroyed her.
“I’d like to explain…”
Katherine held up her hand, stopping him mid-sentence. It felt like she was back at that day, finding out all over again how little they thought of her. She didn’t think she could listen to him, resurrecting those old feelings of hurt and betrayal. Her chest hurt as she looked at him, anger and humiliation seeping from every pore.
“Don’t try and tell me you didn’t have a bet. Don’t even try and insult my intelligence like that, George.”
“Sadly, I can’t deny that. But, please listen. You promised to give me a few minutes. Let me explain what happened, though it will never excuse what I did,” he pled.
Katherine sat back, her arms folded across her chest. She was on the verge of tears, only her shear will was keeping her from releasing them. It hurt so much worse to silently listen as he explained how little he’d thought of her. He needed to relieve his conscious, though, even if it meant tearing her apart.
“I was resentful of Joseph. There were a few years that I actually hated him. He made everything look so easy. He just seemed to have the Midas touch. If he decided he wanted to do something, then it was almost done before he even finished the thought. He was better at sports, academics, and women. Every single thing he set out to conquer, he conquered.”
“What does any of that have to do with this?” she interrupted.
“I’m getting there. But to fully understand, you need to know the history. When we were young, I adored Joseph. He grew faster than me, and instead of looking at him like a twin, it was almost as if he was an older sibling. Even at a young age, Joseph was taking the world by storm. I was content to follow behind in his shadow. At least for a while,” George said as he sat back. Katherine wasn’t sure if he even realized she was in the room anymore.
“All siblings’ fight, that’s nothing new.”
“Yes, all siblings fight, but then they make up. I remember the moment I stopped idolizing Joseph and started to resent him. We were in the seventh grade. A new girl moved into our school, and I fell hard for her. Yes, I know, I was only a kid, but to me it was true love. She was shy, and sweet, and so pretty. A Valentine’s dance was coming up and it took me a week to work up the courage, but I finally decided to ask her to be my date. I picked her out a nice necklace, and decided to wait until after school. I’d told Joseph I had a crush on her, but I hadn’t gone into many details. At lunch that day, he asked her to the dance, and she said, yes. I was devastated. Looking back, I had barely said anything about her to Joseph, so he didn’t really know, but to me he’d just stolen the only thing I’d asked to keep for myself.”
Some of the tension left Katherine’s body as George talked. She could hear the confusion and hurt from so many years ago, and she found herself wanting to comfort him. She had to make herself keep her defenses up, but it was becoming increasingly more difficult.
“He took her to the dance, and they decided they wanted to be friends and nothing more, but she was tainted to me after that. I didn’t see her the same way. She tried to talk to me the following Monday during lunch as we’d been doing for months, and I snubbed her. I don’t think she ever realized why I suddenly stopped being her friend. She ended up moving two years later and I never did explain it to her.”
Kinsey felt bad for the shy teenager. She’d been the exact same way, too afraid of rejection to put herself out there. It was silly when she thought about it, but one thing she hadn’t figured out how to do was go back in time and slap herself upside the head.
After that, I pulled away from Joseph. He was so popular and always busy so he didn’t notice until the bond was severed beyond repair. In high school he asked me if we had a problem, and I acted like there wasn’t one. I told him I was busy with school and different activities. He believed me, but he started pulling from me as well. We continued drifting apart. To this day, we hardly ever talk. I miss my brother. He was my best friend and I let jealousy tear us in two.”
George choked as he spoke the last sentence. Katherine couldn’t hold the tears off any longer, and one fell from her eye, slowly sliding down her cheek. He looked at her and gave her a semblance of a smile before carefully lifting his hand and wiping the lone tear with the soft pad of his thumb.
“I didn’t mean to upset you, or wallow in self-pity. It’s just that sometimes it really gets to me,” he apologized.
“I also cry during those sappy coffee commercials so don’t be too hard on yourself,” Katherine told him with a depreciating laugh.
“The years continued slipping away from us, one right after the other and all of a sudden we were adults and still had this strange distance between us, but added to that was a new competition. I was determined to beat him at anything. I wanted to watch him fall on his face, to see the all perfect Joseph Anderson fail. We saw you at the dance, and I overheard some of the girls talking about you, calling you the ice queen.”
At least he had the decency to cringe as he said it. Katherine still felt hurt about those days. Her shyness was taken as condescending. Her choosiness in men as snobbery. She hadn’t wanted to make the mistakes she’d watched her mother make.
“Before I thought about your feelings, I goaded Joseph. I bet him there was at least one girl at the dance he wouldn’t be able to make fall all over him. Since he’d never had that happen, he felt pretty sure in accepting the challenge. He hadn’t heard the girls talking. I pointed you out, and his eyes widened when he took you in for the first time. I think he was instantly smitten. As he approached you and asked for a dance, I had a smirk on my face, expecting you to snub him and walk away. When you accepted with a pure, sweet smile, I realized my mistake. No girl can fake that innocence. I instantly regretted the bet, knowing it was all going to go south. When you danced straight through the next three songs, and I saw the way you looked at him, I felt like the lowest of the low.”
Katherine didn’t even realize her cheeks were wet from her tears. As he talked about that night five years ago, it was as if she was living it all over again. She remembered it like yesterday, how she felt when the most eligible bachelor in the room had walked up and asked her to dance. How his laughter had brightened her world. By the end of the night she was half-way in love with him, by the end of the month, she was over the moon in love.
“When the two of you became a couple and you were at our home all the time, I got to know you, see why Joseph was spending every moment with you. I truly did love you as a friend. The bet was long forgotten, and you were starting to bridge that gap between my brother and me. Your insistence we do things together, your pureness, everything about you drew me in.”
&nbs
p; George paused long enough that Katherine asked her own question. “Why didn’t you tell me about the bet?”
“I was afraid you would hate me. How did you find out about it, anyway? I never brought it up again.”
Katherine thought about making him suffer, letting his life-changing bet haunt him the rest of his life as it did her, but then she wasn’t that kind of person.
“You did bring it up, at least one more time. I overheard you and Joseph talking one day. After that, well, you know the rest…”
George’s eyes rounded as he thought back and remembered. “I’m sorry, Katherine, more than I could ever express. I know it doesn’t take anything back, but I truly am sorry,” he said.
“I guess it doesn’t matter anymore, George. It was years ago and I’ve moved on with my life. You may have regretted the bet, but a bet’s all I was to Joseph – a foolish prize to be won.”
“No, Katherine. I never before, and have never since, seen him look at someone the way he gazed at you that night and the months that followed,” George insisted.
She wanted to believe his words, but how could she trust him. She was scared to open that door again. Afraid to be hurt any more than she already had been.
“Why did it take you so many years to talk to me?”
Her question wasn’t asked in anger or even resentment. She was perplexed as she began to believe his words.
“I was a fool. I was so embarrassed about my behavior, I figured you were better off without me.”
“Then why come back now? Why not just continue staying away?”
“I moved to Chicago, fled was more like it. I was trying to outrun my demons. After a couple years, I realized they were within me and no matter where I went, they’d continue to be my constant shadow. Then, last year, I got married to a wonderful woman, who’s brought joy back into my life, and loves me enough to want all of me – not the shell of a man I’d become. She’s been helping me heal. I came home to make amends. I need to try to clear past wrongs and I needed to tell you the truth.”