I hated that she’d planned this all out in her head, knowing I would come running to her rescue. I may not have been with her much in the past four years, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t bailing her out all of the time. It never failed. My sister was terrible with money. I was forever sending it to her. In fact, I think I’d paid her phone bill three times in the past year. She was so irresponsible. “I don’t know…”
“Look, I don’t have time to beg, Will. I need you, more than ever before. Just do this for me. I won’t ask for anything else.”
She sounded like a kid instead of someone who was twenty two. “Fine. I’ll do it, but as soon as someone realizes that I’m not you. I’m out of this convoluted plan of yours, got it?”
She hugged me. “Thank you, Will. I knew I could count on you.”
A short while later, I watched my sister wave good bye to me. She left me with her keys, her car, her purse, her cell phone and her wedding ring. She’d also called a local salon for me to have my hair cut and colored to match hers.
I should have known that she was going to extreme measures to make me look like her for a reason that wasn’t good. She refused to tell me what she was involved in and I figured that the less I knew the better off I would be. As long as I didn’t have to be around Stoshua, I knew I could get through the next couple of days and go back to my normal life.
Since I hadn’t been in town in so long, it took me a while to find the house. They’d moved three times and were renting the pool house of someone my father worked with. It had a separate entrance and there wasn’t anyone at the main house when I pulled in.
Their place was cute for the two of them. When I unlocked the door, the first thing I noticed was that the place was even cuter on the inside. Then I noticed how messy it was.
Ivy wasn’t ever the kind of girl to keep her room neat and tidy. Her clothes were always thrown all over the floor and the bathroom that we shared was always a mess. As I walked around the house exploring, I felt like we were back at home. Dishes were in the sink, even though they had a dishwasher. Magazines were all over the living room floor and the couch looked like it was used for a bed instead of a place to sit down and relax. In the bathroom, there were more products than one could possibly use in one day.
There was no way I was going to be able to stay in this house without straightening it up. I started in the bathroom and then worked my way through, until the house was spotless. It also helped me manage some of my frustration for signing onto something so stupid. My sister was a grown woman. I never should have helped her with anything. It wasn’t like I owed her. She owed me more than she’d ever be able to pay back.
After I had explored the house, including every closet and drawer, I sat down on the couch and watched television. My sister had assured me that I wouldn’t see Stosh, so when I heard keys dropping on the table, I started to panic.
I heard him walk into the kitchen and open the refrigerator. “What the hell happened in here? I know you didn’t do all this.”
It wasn’t how I imagined a husband greeting his wife. I watched him take a swig of beer, before emptying his pockets and walking into the bedroom.
He must have been shocked that I’d put all of his clothes away, because he peeked his head out the door and started to say something. I thought he’d figured it out without me even talking to him. After he gave me a questionable look, he smiled and walked back into the bedroom. I didn’t know what to do, so I got up and looked for something to cook. My sister didn’t have much. She never could cook anything.
I found a couple steaks, an opened package of bacon, half an onion and a can of beans. In the freezer was a pack of sausage and some frozen green beans. It was enough to work with.
While getting the steaks marinated in some red wine vinegar and Worchester sauce, I cooked the bacon up. After separating some for the beans and some for the green beans, I mixed in onions and sausage to half of it. When the meat was fully cooked and the onions browned, I poured in the can of beans. I fried the green beans in bacon and a few diced pieces of onion, while broiling the steaks.
It took me fifteen minutes to create a nice meal. Stosh came walking out with an empty beer bottle. He had a smile on his face, but still said nothing.
I didn’t know what to do when he walked up and put his arms around my waist. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck as he kissed me there. “What’s all this for?”
“I figured you’d be hungry. I know I’m starving.” I was trying so hard to not look at him, but the more he touched me, the harder it was to attempt to ignore what was happening.
“I missed you.” He kissed the side of my head before turning me around and pulling me into his arms.
“I missed you too.” It was the truth. I’d missed him every day for four years. I could deny it to myself, but it would have been a lie. In a matter of a half hour, I was right back to being infatuated with him. The problem was that he was my sister’s husband. He could never know how I felt or that I wasn’t her. This was all pretend. He wasn’t telling me that he missed me, he was telling her that.
He pulled away and looked me right in the eye. I tried to think of what my sister would say, except I was speechless.
“What do you want to do tonight?”
I shrugged. “Don’t you have cards?”
Stosh ran one of his hands up my back over my shirt. “I could stay home. We could hang out. It’s been a while since we’ve done that.”
What was I supposed to say? How could I stand there and tell someone that I wanted to spend every second with, that he should get as far away from me as he could? I swallowed my pride. How bad could it be? It wasn’t like I was climbing into bed with him. I didn’t want to be second to my sister, but since he thought I was her, I wasn’t doing anything wrong. “Okay.”
He seemed shocked that I agreed. After taking a green bean out of the pan and popping it into his mouth, he kissed me on the nose. “Go sit down. I’ll make our plates and meet you in the living room.”
I smiled and made my way over there. A few times, I caught myself looking over at him, admiring how much he’d changed since high school. He was even more handsome as an adult. Stosh’s hair had gotten darker and his face had more hair on it. He was still built well, just bigger. When he caught me looking, he winked at me. I turned my head and blushed like I was fourteen again. This wasn’t like me to act that way. I was mature and handled my relationships with a keen sense of responsibility. Whatever was happening, I had no control over myself.
When Stosh came over with two plates and the bottle of ranch, I had to laugh. I’d put ranch on everything when I was a kid and so did my sister. My father would always tell me that I was ruining the taste of my meat. He didn’t get it.
It was weird how
Stosh watched me eat. Who was I kidding, everything was weird. This wasn’t my life. Pretending to be my sister was only going to break my heart all over again. He was clearly in love with her. I just wanted to know what that felt like.
I should have got up and walked out of the house. Whatever my sister was involved in, it was her problem, not mine.
Still, after all this time, I couldn’t tear myself away from this man. Even if it were only for a couple days, or one night, this was exactly where I wanted to be. I wanted to have my best friend back. I wanted to pretend that he’d never fallen in love with my sister.
I wanted to pretend that he was in love with me instead.
Chapter 3
Truth or Dare
After we ate, Stosh insisted on doing the dishes. I guessed that he was the one who did them every day. In order to keep up with pretending to be Ivy, I sat on the couch and pretended to ignore him. It was difficult. I’d been away for so long that I wanted to know what he’d been up to for the past four years. Surely, he’d have a lot to tell me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t ask that, since I was suppose to know.
I’d stopped asking my parents about my sister years ago. When I had done it, hearing about them being so happy literally made me sick. I was so jealous of their life. Perhaps it was immature. I had run away from my problems, instead of facing them. She was my twin sister and I’d abandoned her.
I’d stayed away when they lost their baby. I hated him for not wanting a divorce. I hated them both for falling in love.
For years I’d wondered what she’d had that I didn’t. We were identical. Stosh and I were friends, not him and Ivy. Why would he be friends with me if he wanted her the whole time?
Was he that shallow in high school that he had to pick the twin that put out?
It was all I could figure.
The thing was, I would have given him my virginity. I knew it then and I would still have felt that way if I was a virgin now. Them being together didn’t just crush me as a teenager. Every relationship I’d had, I found myself comparing them to Stoshua.
When he came over and sat down next to me on the couch, I didn’t know what to do. I had to focus on being Ivy. I looked around and thought about what she would do. Would she file or nails, or pounce all over his fine ass?
Knowing that the second choice was probably out of her idea of boundaries I couldn’t cross, I decided to grab the fingernail file and start concentrating on them instead of the musky scented man sitting right next to me.
Speaking of his smell, I wanted to reach over and stick my nose right against his freshly showered skin. He smelled divine.
He cleared his voice after flipping through the channels. “Anything you want to watch?”
I shook my head. “Anything is fine.”
He cocked his eyebrow and turned on a show on MTV. When he sat the remote down, it took me about five minutes to realize how much I hated the show. “You said anything.”
“Well, I thought you’d want to watch something more educational.” Maybe my sister had changed him.
He turned on some show on the National Geographic channel and got comfortable. After only seconds, we were both fully involved in the program. I caught him giving me looks every couple of minutes. At least if he figured out I wasn’t Ivy, he wouldn’t regret his actions too much.
The later the night got the closer his body ended up next to mine. Maybe I was inching my way toward him too. I couldn’t help it.
Around ten, my phone vibrated. I leaned over and saw it was a text from Ivy. Of course, it said it was from Willow.
Are you bored out of your mind yet? -‐I
Actually, Stosh stayed home. We had dinner and are watching TV. Are you dealing with things? -‐ W
I may need you to stay longer. Things are bad. Does he know it’s you? What is he up to? -‐ I
No, he doesn’t know. What do you mean longer? I can’t do this for long, Ivy.
He’s going to find out. What if he tries to kiss me? I can’t sleep next to him in bed. -‐ W
Oh stop! Stosh sleeps on the couch every night. If he kisses you, just kiss him back. He has to think you’re me. Please do whatever you have to. My life depends on it. -‐ I
You’re insane. I’m not kissing your husband! If you’re in trouble, you need to tell me right now! -‐ W
Willow, I’m not saying you can fuck my husband. Just keep him happy. I have to go now. I will try to keep in touch. Love you. -‐ I
Wait! How long? -‐ W
She didn’t answer.
“You okay, babe?” Oh, wow, he called me babe. Butterflies filled my stomach and suddenly he had all of my attention.
“Yeah, it was just my sister.”
He chuckled. “How is your sister?”
“Same as always.” How was I supposed to be?
He played with my ponytail. “Do you have plans for tomorrow?”
“Don’t you have to go away for work?”
He shook his head. “Not anymore. I think I want to spend the day with the woman I love. Is that okay with you, or did you make plans?”
This man was so sweet. My sister was an idiot. “Yes.”
His lips kissed my chin. I closed my eyes and tried to settle those butterflies again. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I couldn’t do this. I wasn’t the kind of person to take advantage of people. She never even knew how I felt about him. Had she known, I wouldn’t have been here alone with him.
“I’m getting tired. Maybe I should just get some sleep.”
He stood up and grabbed my hand. “We can go to bed.”
I looked down at the couch. “Do you need me to get your blankets?”
Immediately, he looked defeated. “I was thinking we could sleep together tonight. I haven’t been drinking, so I shouldn’t snore. Besides, I wasn’t planning on sleeping for a while.”
If it were up to me, and a perfect world, I’d have already been naked and in his arms. Except my world was far from perfect. He wasn’t mine and I just wasn’t willing to lose my sister completely. Sure, he’d already caused a strain in our relationship, but that would end it all. I was supposed to be here helping, not getting them divorced.
“I just started my period.” It just blurted out of my mouth. I could feel my face turning a shade of red.
He laughed and brought my hand up to his lips. I watched him watching me. “If you don’t feel good, we can just lay together. I just want to spend time with you.”
As long as he knew that we weren’t having sex, I could handle sleeping next to him. In fact, I was looking forward to it. He was secretly fulfilling a fantasy. As lame as it was, sleeping next to him was like a dream. It had to be enough, because it was all I was going to get.
I knew where my sister kept her pajamas, but unlike mine that covered my whole body, hers left little to the imagination. I felt embarrassed holding
up the little bit of fabric. Stoshua pulled off his jeans right in front of me. His shirt was the next item to go. I couldn’t help but gaze at his sculpted physique. His body was even more defined than I remembered. Before I even knew what I was doing, I found myself licking my lips.
When he caught me looking, he smiled and started to approach me. I grabbed a couple articles of clothing, without looking, and ran into the bathroom. With my back against the door, I looked down at what I had grabbed. It was just my luck that what I was holding couldn’t even begin to be considered clothing. Everything was see-‐through. Panic struck and I didn’t know what to do. Stoshua was expecting me to join him in bed. He wanted to wrap his arms around his wife and fall asleep.
I couldn’t go out there wearing my clothes and I wasn’t sure if I could put on any of the things that I was holding in my hand.
Knowing that I didn’t have a choice, unless I wanted to come clean about who I was, I slipped on a tiny white number and stared at my reflection in the mirror.
I was surprised that I actually looked decent. In fact, I let my hair fall down my back and admired myself.
Stoshua knew my sister intimately. He knew every inch of her body. There was no outfit that was going to make him believe that I was his wife.
I was scared.
My sister would never forgive me if I messed things up for her. I had to do my best to convince him that everything was fine. After taking a few more deep breaths, I opened the bathroom door and found him already tucked into bed. He sat up when he saw me walking toward him. “You look so hot!”
Twinsequences (A Twisted Twin Series) Page 3