Twin Brothers

by Mia Ford

  “Trouble this morning?” she asked.

  “Yeah…long story. What did I miss here?” Suzie changed the subject.

  “I know that look,” Laura laughed. “Fortunately, it has been a quiet day. So, give me some gossip. Heather broke up with her boyfriend, did you hear?”

  “No, that is too bad he seemed like a nice guy,” Suzie replied, multi-tasking her to do list while catching up with Laura.

  “Nice! Not even. He was sleeping with her sister on the side,” Laura whispered, aghast. “Yeah she was pretty pissed when she found out.”

  “No doubt. I wonder why he did it,” Suzie said absentmindedly.

  “What do you mean you wonder why, come on, he is a guy. Guys think with their dick. It is her sister who should know better,” said Laura. Then, her tone changing, she asked, “What is Jared’s brother like? Is he as hot as Jared?”

  “What brother?” Suzie replied defensively.

  “I don’t know, Jared told me his brother was coming to town and wanted to go out. Apparently he is single…” Laura’s voice trailed off as she scrolled through her phone. “Jeff, that’s his name. You met him right?”

  “Yeah, I met all his brothers.”

  “So, what is he like?”

  “Um, I don’t know. Jared has four brothers so, I am not sure.” Suzie hoped she sounded convincing.

  “Come on. Try. Picture him and give me a description. Compared to Jared?”

  “Okay if you will leave me alone so I can get some work done after. Jeff, now let me think. He is the same height as Jared but with darker eyes and hair. He is built too, like big muscles all over. His hair is long and wavy and he is scruffy and manly and rough…” Suzie said.

  “Pretty impressive for not remembering him,” Laura laughed. “He sounds sexy.”

  “K now let me get to work.” Suzie turned her back in a huff. Guiltily, she messaged Jared to see how his day was and find out when he would be at work. He was on his way now and was bringing her lunch. She was engrossed and did not look up until she could sense Jared enter her cubicle and with food. She was finishing up and saving the work when he reached around and passed her a white bag of food, it smelled delicious.

  “Thanks babe,” Suzie said then grabbed his arm. A sizzle of electricity jolted through her arm and she dropped the food on her desk. Feeling the thick arm she turned around to see Jeff standing there instead of Jared. He leaned against her desk, his groin at eye level. She looked up at his eyes but felt like she was thrusting her chest out. “Oh, it is you,” was all she could speak to him.

  “Yeah,” Jeff said, amused. “Jared had some meetings this afternoon, he told me to hang with you while I wait for him. So here I am.”

  At that moment Laura walked in, she looked at Jeff and smiled. “You must be Jared’s brother. Wow you weren’t kidding Suzie, he is gorgeous.”

  Jeff regarded Suzie and lowered his gaze. Suzie could not breathe and she could not stop looking into his eyes. Fortunately, Laura hadn’t noticed and was still talking.

  “…and that is how things are around here. Are you thinking of moving here?”

  “No, just have work for a few weeks. Gives me a chance to hang out with Jared, eat his food and make some money.” The two laughed.

  Noticing her chance to escape, Suzie encouraged Jeff to stay with Laura while she ran a few errands. While she was gone, Jeff and Laura had decided everyone was going out for supper after work.

  Suzie sat through supper in relative silence. Jared held her hand on one side while Jeff sat across from her, beside Laura. The brothers were chatting about their plans, the town and Jeff’s job. Laura was gushing and flirting with Jeff who would return the encounter but always with a backward glance to Suzie. She felt like she was crawling out of her skin. She had to get him alone so she could tell him to say nothing to Jared. She had to get Jared alone so she could feel safe again like last night. Oh, why did Jeff have to come early? Why did he have to come at all?

  Everyone at the table was staring at her. “Sorry, I was daydreaming,” Suzie said with a laugh.

  “We are going to stay for a few drinks,” Laura said and winked. “You look like you need one.”

  Suzie nodded and pretended to be part of the conversation again, after a few rounds and conversations, it was becoming easier to relax and fake it. Jared, polite as always, kept her drinks full and his arm around her. Jeff was telling stories in his animated way and Laura was soaking it up. Jared was laughing at his brother’s antics. Suzie excused herself to go to the bathroom. As usual there was a line up at the ladies’ room. Waiting in line, she debated leaving and just going home but decided in her fuzzy condition who knows where she would end up.

  After a few minutes, still waiting, Suzie felt a hand on her shoulder. Before she could register the tingle of excitement building within, he moved his hand to her lower back and guided her away from the line up and towards the men’s room.

  “What are you doing?” she hissed at him.

  “Chill, it is probably empty.” Jeff winked at her. And it was. Suzie was relieved to not have to wait in line, and when she exited the stall she went to thank him, until she realized he was standing at the urinal. She froze in place. His eyes caught hers in the mirror and she blushed. With his back to her, he finished off and both moved to wash their hands at the same time. “You’re a bit jumpy today? Or did you just drink too much.”

  “I don’t know,” was all she could reply. “When do you start work?”

  “Not for a few days but I have some prep work to do first,” Jeff said.

  Another guy walked into the bathroom, looked at Jeff and Suzie and turned and walked out.

  “We better get out of here before we get into trouble,” Suzie said, then hesitated and finally forced herself to say it. “Don’t say anything to Jared about what happened last weekend.”

  “What happened last weekend?” Jeff asked and he raised an eyebrow. His stance shifted and he leaned into her a little.

  It was enough that she could smell him, earthy, cologne free. “In the studio…Anyway, just don’t say anything.” Suzie felt flustered.

  “I already told you not to tell anyone about me painting. It didn’t happen,” Jeff said.

  “None of it happened.” Suzie looked him directly in the eyes.

  Jeff leaned in as close as he could without touching her and he whispered, “Then why are you talking about it.”

  Following him out the door, Suzie was silent. Laura met them in the hallway to the bathroom. She was in line.

  “Hey, follow me,” Jeff said to Laura. “I will help you skip the line.” And he and Laura went into the men’s room. Suzie went back to the table.

  “Now I have got you all to myself,” Jared said as she sat down beside him.

  She sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. Closing her eyes and taking a breath she said, “Yes I like it. It is quieter.”

  Jeff came back to the table with Laura giggling beside him. By the time they were all ready to leave, Suzie’s buzz had turned into a headache. Jared rubbed her neck.

  “We better get you home. We all work tomorrow,” Jared declared.

  “Yeah, early morning,” Jeff said in agreement.

  On their way home, Jared reminded Suzie he had stuff at her place and she asked him, not caring who heard, if he was staying over. He asked her to come stay with him instead as he had to drive Jeff to work in the morning.

  “No, that’s alright,” Suzie said. “I will let you boys have your little sleep over.”

  Suzie enjoyed some time to herself and fell asleep quickly. Hours later, she woke before her alarm feeling aroused. A hazy dream was trying to replay itself in her mind. She remembered lying naked on a cold surface but feeling warm and wet. It was coming back to her and Suzie moaned remembering the pleasure of the dream. She slipped back into the dream state and the haze lifted. She saw Jeff painting her. He was shirtless. And he carefully examined her body before putting brush to canvas.

/>   This time it was the alarm that woke Suzie up and she shook the dream out of her head. In her conscious mind, she lied to herself that it had been Jared painting her. And on top of that lie, she told herself that she couldn’t really remember the dream at all.

  Ignoring it and moving on with her day, Suzie was pleased to work most of the day on her own. Not stopping long enough to consider current attractions, she kept herself busy enough that work was always at hand. Jared and half the office were out of town for a one-day seminar so the office was quiet.

  Towards the end of the day, Suzie received a text from Jared explaining that he would be home late and asking her to pick up Jeff from work. No, she said to herself. Yes, she wrote back. Jared told her to get Jeff and meet him back at his apartment. He would bring supper.

  When Suzie arrived to pick up Jeff, he was surprised to see her and looked at her quizzically. Climbing into the passenger seat he smelled like sweat and his tight shirt clung to him. Fumbling through his pockets for his phone, his shirt tugged upwards revealing his rippled abs.

  “We can go whenever you are done staring,” Jeff said.

  Sputtering in embarrassment, Suzie drove off. Jeff found his phone and learned Jared was late. They walked into the apartment in silence. Suzie paced around checking her phone to hear an update from Jared. Suzie sat on the couch trying to relax.

  “I’m going to shower,” Jeff said. Suzie nodded in acknowledgement.

  In the meantime, the phone rang and it was the restaurant saying their food was ready. She arranged for it to be delivered and called Jared. Unfortunately, there was more bad news and he would be two hours still. He asked her to wait for him.

  “I am pretty tired. I might be asleep before you get here,” Jane said quietly.

  “So go crawl into my bed and sleep. I miss you and really want you there when I get home. Please,” Jared asked sweetly.

  As Suzie agreed to stay, Jeff came out with a towel wrapped around his waist. Walking over to the couch, he stood in front of her. As she choked a goodbye to Jared she envisioned pulling the towel off Jeff. Just a quick tug was all it would take.

  “What are you doing?” she asked him.

  “It might not look like much but you are sitting on my bed. My clothes are right behind you,” Jeff said with a smirk.

  Suzie shrieked and jumped up, bumping into Jeff as she tried to get past him. She walked into the kitchen for a drink of water. A minute later, a knock on the door brought food and Jeff answered wearing jeans, but otherwise still naked. Food made Suzie feel a bit saner and gave a distraction from Jeff’s naked chest and stomach. This Jeff stuff had to stop, she wanted Jared and that was that. Jeff had asked her something and was waiting for an answer. She had to ask him to repeat himself.

  “So, tell me a bit about Laura,” he asked.

  “What happened to Candy?” she replied to his question with a question.

  “Come on, you met her,” he laughed. “She was hardly worth the effort.”

  “So you are looking for a girlfriend while you are here?” Suzie asked. “What’s your type?”

  “More like a distraction,” Jeff replied gruffly. “My brother’s girlfriend keeps taunting me with compromising positions and since he loves her, I would be an asshole if I did not at least try to resist her turning me on. Hopefully Laura can release some of this pent-up frustration for me.”

  His frankness and accusing her filled her with rage and she threw her water across the table at him and jumped up. Startled, he staggered back from the table, dripping from head to toe.

  “Me taunting you! You kissed me,” Suzie said, pointing her finger at him in accusation.

  “I thought you said nothing happened,” Jeff said, still dripping.

  Suzie grabbed a towel and brought it to him, wiping the floor when he was done wiping himself. Her breathing slowed and panic subsided. “We cannot tell Jared.”

  Shaking, she turned away from him and went to clean up the table. Her appetite was gone and she felt exhausted. Jeff grabbed her arm and turned her to him. At his touch, she felt energized and alert.

  “I said I wouldn’t tell him. So stop whatever it is you are doing. What is this?” Jeff said.

  “Stop what? I am not doing anything. I’ve tried to stay away from you yet here you are again, touching me.”

  “You’re tempting me. Sending mixed signals. Shaking your amazing body around me. The laughing and teasing. I cannot resist it. And it’s pissing me off. Any other girl, I would have made mine and the one driving me crazy is the one my brother is in love with.”

  Suzie opened her mouth to speak. She wanted to defend herself, to insist she had been sending no signals at all but she knew it was a lie. Though she had not consciously thought about it, there were signals exploding between her and Jeff. She felt it too. And her body moved in desire for Jeff. But she couldn’t. A quiet moan escaped her mouth and she took a step toward Jeff. She intended to excuse herself to Jared’s room so they could both catch their breath.

  Jeff moved to follow her when his phone rang. Seeing a text from Jared, he tided the food and table instead of following her to the bedroom. Suzie sat down on Jared’s bed looking into the next room through the small crack she had left the door open. She pretended to sleep while Jeff cleaned up and Jared came home. He came in and kissed her, showered and changed while she still pretended she was sleeping. After his shower, Jared, also shirtless sat beside his brother. Suzie looked at them both, desired them both.

  Suzie woke up when Jared came to bed. He wrapped his arms around her and they talked about their day. Jared was exhausted, and holding her tight fell fast asleep. Suzie, on the other hand, could not sleep. She was full of disappointment in herself; so unsure what to do or what was really happening.

  It was the other lie that was eating away at Suzie. It was true that she had lied to Jared about what happened that day. There was another lie though. The lie she had been telling herself. The other lie was that she didn’t like it and it was completely untrue because she liked it a lot and wanted more of it. Since seeing Jeff paint, having him touch her, kiss her; she wanted more of it. Rubbing herself gently she moaned in pleasure remembering her interaction with Jeff and imagining it had gone a bit further. As she wiggled and touched herself, she aroused Jared and he began to use his hands, all over her. Suzie kissed Jared, trying to emulate the kiss she had with Jeff, and then giving in to panicked desire she cried out. Whispering quietly to her afterwards, Jared thanked her for staying with him. Finally, they both fell asleep.

  In the morning, Suzie was up early and felt refreshed. She got up and made breakfast and coffee. Jared joined her and set the table, made them a bagged-lunch and worked alongside Suzie, both smiling happily. Jeff woke up surly and disengaged. He ate nothing but toast and drank black coffee, complaining there was no newspaper to read. Eventually he muttered something about lovebirds and took his coffee to the couch by himself.

  At work Suzie was faced with completing a report for her first committee meeting which was later in the week. She was allowed to choose an associate to partner with on the project and had chosen Laura because she thought it would give her someone to talk to, make the project more fun. But of course all she wanted to do was talk about Jeff.

  “Is he seeing anyone, do you know?” she asked. When Suzie replied that he was not, Laura continued with a giddy voice. “I totally got the vibe like he was interested yesterday but he didn’t try anything. He said he might text me but nothing yet. Was he sending signals? He is so gorgeous!”

  “Signals seem to be a common problem,” Suzie said, feeling lightheaded.

  “What?” Laura asked.

  “I think that’s a song,” Suzie added, saying the first thing that came to her mind. Eager to get back to work, Suzie changed the subject; she did not like Laura with Jeff at all. Her jealousy made her even more impatient with herself. A few minutes later, Jared came in and asked Suzie to come to his office. They left the door open and sat across fro
m each other at his desk.

  “This is way too formal, move your chair over to me,” Jared said.

  “No I have to get back to work right away anyway. I am sure this is better from a policy standpoint,” Suzie replied.

  “You are so cute when you quote policy. I wanted to steal you away a minute because I have to go away for a few days. Just till the weekend and then we will have some fun,” Jared explained.

  “Why do you have to go? Never mind I know why, I just feel safer when you are around,” Suzie said.

  “Nothing to be worried about, it will go by fast. It came up quite suddenly and I will try to get back sooner. Will you stay in my bedroom while I am gone?” Jared asked.

  Quiet for a moment, Suzie finally said, “Why would I stay at your house with your brother while you are gone?”

  “I like you in my bed. Never mind. I forget you guys don’t know each other as well as I know you. Will you spend some time with him while I am gone? He does not know anyone here and I know he came partly to spend some time with me. I kind of feel bad.”

  “Quit trying to fix everyone. He will be fine,” Suzie said to reassure Jared.

  “You’re right. He will probably bring home a different girl each night I am gone,” Jared said with a laugh. “Jeff is never alone for long.”

  “Yeah he seems to have his sights on Laura,” Suzie said and she let herself relax.

  “He told me,” Jared said. “I would prefer not though because we work with Laura. Jeff always leaves things messy.”

  “Why?” Suzie asked.

  “He doesn’t do long term and women can’t seem to get enough of him,” Jared replied with a laugh.

  “Typical guy can’t handle commitment. Maybe you have been around him too much lately, you are always off somewhere. Starting to crave a similar life?” Suzie asked. Yawning she shook her head. “That came out wrong. Go get going, call me when you get there.”

  “Yeah ok. Keep an eye on Jeff for me, please. And I will call you later,” Jared said. “Love you.”