by Maris Black
Raven groaned. “That’s just Leo trying to be mysterious. You know how he is. I’ll bet you money he wants the twinsies.”
“But we can’t make that assumption,” Skyy said, cutting her eyes up to Gavin’s face. “I think it would be cool to have them, but you know the final say is with Leo.”
I couldn’t hold my tongue any longer, because it was unnerving being discussed as if we weren’t even in the room. “Is this some sort of clique like in the movie Grease? Are we going to have to earn our T-Bird jackets? Cause I’m more of a t-shirt and jeans man.”
Skyy giggled. “Actually, we call ourselves the Coven— Leo’s idea. And no, we’re not witches. We work on projects together, and each member is hand-picked by Leo based on what they have to offer the team. You’d have to be a good fit.”
“And how would anyone know that when we just got here today?” Gavin asked.
Hadrian answered. “Leo has access to your files. And before you ask how… don’t. He doesn’t reveal his secrets. Just know that he has seen the portfolio submissions of every incoming freshman, so he knows what you’re capable of. If he thinks you are a fit based on your work and on your personality, then he will extend an invitation. Raven is just messed up and running her mouth where she shouldn’t. Honestly I would be shocked if Leo made a decision before a week or two of getting to know you. He’s very cautious.”
“Calculating,” Skyy added absently. Then something caught her eye at the stairs and she smiled. “Speak of the devil, here comes our fearless leader now.”
All of us turned toward the staircase just in time to see Leo reach the bottom and make a beeline over to us, looking bright-eyed and perfectly put together. His blond hair sparkled under the low lights, and his deep purple button-up shirt and creased black dress pants were immaculate.
“Meeting without me?” he asked with a smirk.
“You snooze, you lose,” Hadrian drawled. “The girls were just about to invite the twinsies into the Coven, and I was explaining that you had a lot of things to look at before a formal invitation was made.”
Leo looked from me to Gavin and then back again. His gaze lingered on me for a moment, and I could feel those glittering eyes assessing me. Then he smiled. “I’ve already familiarized myself with the work the twins submitted with their enrollment application, and we met in person this afternoon.”
“And?” Skyy prompted.
“And I’m charmed,” he said, still looking at me. “Consider the invitation officially made.”
Hadrian glowered through the curtain of his black hair and crossed his colorfully tattooed arms over his chest. “It took you a couple of weeks to decide on me.”
“Well, that’s because your editing left a lot to be desired. But the raw talent was there, and eventually your effervescent personality won me over.”
Raven giggled. “Effervescent. Yeah, right.”
Skyy turned to Gavin and reached up to put a hand on his shoulder. “Wow. You’ve just received an unprecedented early offer of inclusion into the most cutting-edge student filmmakers group at Otranto. What do you say?”
I could have hugged my haughty brother at that moment, because he tossed his disheveled dark hair and fixed Leo with a challenging stare. “Since this is the first we’re hearing about all of this, Bain and I will have to discuss it before we make a decision. Forgive us if we don’t pounce on the first offer that comes our way.”
Leo returned Gavin’s stare, unblinking. “Of course. Exactly how I would have played it. Just realize that the offer won’t be on the table forever. We’re ready to add some new blood to our little group, and there are several other strong candidates I’m considering. There are only two empty places, and when those are filled, it will be final.”
“Fair enough,” Gavin said. “Now if you’ll excuse us, I think we’re going to head up to our room. It’s been an eventful day, and I’m ready to relax.”
CHAPTER 4
(BAIN)
AFTER ANNOUNCING that we were leaving, Gavin walked away without a word to me, expecting me to follow. I fell in line with him just as he reached the staircase, but I kept silent until we were safe behind the locked door of our room, away from prying eyes.
“Gavin, what the hell are we doing? This is the craziest shit I’ve ever heard of. We’re supposed to join a clique on the first day of school? The whole situation has a bit of a Mean Girls vibe, don’t you think? Will we be ostracized for the entire year if we turn Leo down?”
Gavin thought for a moment before speaking. When he did, his voice was low, as if he thought someone might be listening outside our door. “I have a feeling it would be unwise to refuse the offer. Leo is clearly the alpha around here, and having him on our bad side can’t be a positive thing. That being said, I don’t like it one little bit.”
“Why not?”
“Because we normally do our own thing.” He paused and took a step toward me, uncertainty etched on his beautiful features. He was close now. So close we were breathing the same air. “And I don’t like the way he looks at you.”
I laughed, embarrassed at how close Gavin was, knowing he could see any guilt in my eyes. “And how is it that he looks at me?”
“He looks at you like he wants to eat you,” he all but whispered. “Like he’s some sort of dapper cannibal, and my brother is his next meal.”
“Dapper cannibal, huh?” I laughed. “That sounds like one of those serial killer names, like the Zodiac Killer or the Gay Slayer.”
Gavin opened his mouth to reply, but a knock at the door had us scattering apart like we’d been doing something wrong. He opened the door to find Skyy on the other side holding a bottle of white wine.
“Leo asked me to bring this as a welcome from us to you,” she said.
“Thanks, Skyy.” Gavin took the offered bottle and handed it off to me. “This will really take the edge off. I have to admit I’m a little travel-weary. Jet lag is a bitch.”
She smiled. “I can imagine. I hope you get rested up soon, because I’d really like to get to know you better. You can tell me all about what it’s like to have a famous father, and I can teach you how to make the best of your time here in this strange and wonderful prison we call Otranto.”
“I’d like that,” Gavin said a little too warmly.
Skyy stood unmoving, hanging in the doorway as if waiting for an invitation to come inside. “Um… do you have glasses?”
“Pardon me?” Gavin said.
“For the wine. Do you have glasses?”
“Ah.” He chuckled. “No, we’ll just share the bottle. Bain and I are pretty much the same person. We share DNA, so swapping spit is nothing to us. We do it all the time.”
Skyy blushed, and I have to admit so did I. People said shit like that all the time, but coming from Gavin that night, it sounded way too personal. Like a confession.
“Gavin, that’s disgusting,” I said, deflecting. “You know I don’t mind drinking after you, but referring to it as swapping spit is just nasty.”
Gavin let out a bold laugh and moved the door ever so slightly toward the closed position, a subtle hint to Skyy that it was time for her to go. Or at least that’s what I hoped it was. She had worn out her welcome as far as I was concerned.
“Well, I guess I’ll be…” She gestured down the hall, threatening to leave if he didn’t stop her. He didn’t.
“Yeah, thanks for the wine,” Gavin said. “We’ll be seeing you around.”
She gave a tight smile. “Yeah. See you.”
After she left, Gavin swung the door closed and turned to me. “Look, Bain. Your boyfriend sent us some wine. What should we toast to first? His average good looks, or his uninspired taste in clothing?”
I smirked. “Maybe we should toast to your girlfriend instead. She did walk her prissy ass all the way to our door to deliver the wine.”
Gavin laughed. “My girlfriend?”
“Yeah, your fucking girlfriend. If you can call me out on flirting with Leo,
I can call you out on flirting with Miss Blond Perfection. I knew the minute I saw her she’d be just your type.”
“Oh, really? How would you know my type, Bain? Name one girl I’ve been attracted to.”
I sifted through my memories and came up empty. Gavin had been a chick magnet in high school, but for the life of me I could not think of a single one he had dated or even expressed any real interest in. I had never thought it strange at the time. We were brothers and best friends, and I hadn’t thought much beyond that. I had no idea what Gavin’s life was like in England, but as far as the time leading up to our senior year went, he’d never dated anyone that I knew of.
Still, I felt an aggressive need to push the issue. “Skyy. That’s one girl you’ve been attracted to.” I unscrewed the cap of the cheap wine and took a long pull from the bottle, then passed it to Gavin, who guzzled about three times what I had.
“Bain, I don’t know where this is coming from. I just met the girl. I was being polite.” He passed the bottle back, and I matched his greedy guzzle.
“Yeah, politely undressing her with your eyes.”
“I certainly was not.”
“Then you’d better quit leading her on, because I’m telling you that chick wants your ass.”
He chuckled. “Spoken like a true gay boy. Newsflash: I’m pretty sure chicks want dick, not ass.”
“Fuck you, Gavin.”
“No, fuck you. If you want to talk about flirting and wanting someone’s ass, we can talk about you and Leo. When he came to our room today, I thought you were going to drop to your knees and suck him off right in front of me.”
“That’s ridiculous. I mean he’s cute, but I don’t want him. I don’t want anybody. I’m here to study with you so we can get to Hollywood. That’s all I care about, dammit.” I killed a quarter of the bottle before Gavin snatched it from me and pushed right up into my personal space.
“I think you’re getting distracted already. Why don’t you just chill? Just because you’ve never been out with anyone doesn’t mean you have to jump the first guy who shows you attention.”
“I’ve been out with someone.” I said it more out of embarrassment than anger, and I immediately regretted it. Now I would have to come clean about something I had never intended on sharing with Gavin.
“Who was it?” he demanded. “The last time I asked, which was only a few weeks ago, you said you still hadn’t been on a date.”
“Well, I may have told a little white lie about that.” I winced, fearing his reaction. Because if there was one thing Gavin and I didn’t do, it was lie to each other.
Gavin closed his eyes and turned the bottle up, taking several angry swallows. When he pulled it from his lips, there was hardly any left. “Who was it?” he grated, wiping wine from his lips with the back of his hand and handing me the bottle.
“Caleb Brantley,” I said, bracing for the fallout.
“Caleb Brantley?” Gavin’s expression went dark. He dragged a hand through his hair, paced away, then came back and pushed his face up right into mine. “Caleb fucking Brantley? My best friend? Are you kidding me right now?”
He was angry, as I knew he would be.
“It was nothing, Gav. After you left, Caleb and I were both lonely. He’d lost his best friend, and I’d lost my brother. We spent a lot of time together, and after a while he invited me to the Halloween Triple Play at the cinema. One thing led to another, and he kissed me.”
Gavin was literally vibrating with anger. I’d known finding out about Caleb and me would be a shock and that he would not be happy about it, but I hadn’t expected quite such an extreme reaction.
“Is that all he did? Kiss you?”
“Yes, Gav, that’s all he did. It wasn’t that great, though. To be honest, I had expected more from my first kiss.”
“So you’re still…”
“A virgin?” I chuckled. “Yeah, I am, so go easy on Caleb. He was just lonely like I was. Neither of us wanted to make you uncomfortable.”
“You expect me to go easy on him? That bastard was texting with me the whole time I was in England, and he never even mentioned that you two were spending time together. Hell, he never even told me he was gay. That sneaky son of a bitch doesn’t deserve easy.”
“Please don’t say anything to him. You don’t have to be so overprotective of me anymore. It served its purpose when I was getting picked on in elementary school, but it’s time to let me take care of myself. Caleb was nice to me, and we liked each other for a minute. That’s all it was. He didn’t take advantage of me or anything. You’re blowing this way out of proportion, and I think you just need some time to process it and get over the shock. By the time you see him again, all of this will have blown over.”
“If only that were true.” His lips stretched into a ruthless grin. “Caleb is supposed to come up here this weekend to see us before he leaves for college. I guess we’ll all have a wonderful visit now that I know what I know.”
“Oh God, this can’t be happening,” I groaned. “Text him not to come. Say we can’t have visitors. Say there’s been an anthrax attack on the school and we’re in quarantine.”
“Not a chance,” he said. “I wouldn’t miss this reunion for the world.”
I flopped down onto my bed in a daze. Fuck. Caleb and Gavin in the same room would not be a good idea at this point in time, possibly never again. I could read on Gavin’s face how pissed he was, and he’d be out for revenge. I loved my brother more than anything in the world, but sometimes those eyes of his were so dark, so full of threat, and so devoid of compassion it made me wonder if he was capable of hurting someone.
But not me. Never me. I knew that.
“Let’s watch a movie,” I said, trying to change the subject and get that murderous look off of Gavin’s face. “How about a sci-fi film?”
I knew sci-fi wouldn’t trigger any kind of emotion in Gavin. At the moment, sci-fi was the safe bet.
CHAPTER 5
(GAVIN)
BAIN JUMPED up from the bed to get his laptop, stumbling over one of my suitcases in the process and landing flat on his ass with his legs splayed out on top of the case.
“Damn you and your luggage.” He struggled to right himself. “Who do you think you are, fucking Beyoncé?”
I stepped over and offered him a hand, which he grudgingly used to haul himself up. Then he kicked the offending suitcase for good measure.
“Kick it all you want,” I told him. “It’s just a bag.”
“Yeah, right. You are obsessed with those bags. I’m surprised you didn’t get mad at me for scuffing the leather.”
“Did you really scuff it?” I demanded, making my voice go all squeaky with feigned alarm.
“See, I told you. You’re completely obsessed. It’s not healthy.”
I smiled and pulled him into a fierce hug, feeling his lips against my throat as he nuzzled in like he used to when he needed comforting. Seeing him fall and sensing his embarrassment over it wiped the Caleb drama from my mind for the moment. Now all I wanted to do was comfort my brother like I always had. It was my mission in life to keep him safe.
“I was joking with you, Bain. I really don’t care about the stupid bag. I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s a hot bag, but if you had twisted your ankle or something, that hunk of leather would be out on its ass in a heartbeat.”
His breath caressed my neck as he let out a muffled giggle. “I hear you talking, but I don’t believe a word you’re saying.”
“Hey, I’m serious. I’ll take that bitch down to the dumpster right now if you want me to.”
He squirmed out of my embrace and pushed away, still smiling. “I guess the bag can live for now. But one more false move, and it’s history.”
“Duly noted.” I reached out to ruffle his hair, but he moved away. One minute he was nuzzling my neck, and the next he wouldn’t even let me touch him. I couldn’t really blame him, though. After I’d ditched him for a whole year, it would probably take
a while for him to forgive me and trust me again.
He surprised me with another one-eighty by hopping back onto his bed and patting the spot beside him. “Let’s watch on your laptop. I forgot mine is still packed away.”
“Like mine isn’t? I didn’t even have a minute to breathe at Mom and Dad’s, much less waste time on the internet.” Bain didn’t reply. He just happily stared at me until I sighed and cursed him with a resigned smile. “Fine, I’ll get mine.” I grabbed my laptop and joined him on his bed, sitting Indian style and positioning the computer between us where we both had a good view of the screen.
Bain scooted away from me until his arm was touching the wall. “Have you got enough room?”
“No, but what are you going to do about it, become two-dimensional? A full-size bed is no better than an army cot, in my opinion. We need room to stretch out.” I swiped across the screen to wake my computer up, sticking my face in front of the camera so that the security app could analyze my facial features.
Bain chuckled. “You know I can totally break into your laptop, right? Not the most effective security measure when you have a twin with the same face.”
“Well, I didn’t have to worry about it in England, having left my identical twin in the states. Anyway, there’s nothing on my computer I would need to hide from you. I like the fact that you have access in case anything should happen to me.”
“Don’t you ever say that again.” Bain’s face contorted in horror, as if the idea that I wasn’t immortal had never occurred to him until that very minute. “You might jinx yourself.”
“Hey, nothing is going to happen to me— to either of us. It’s just a thought, you know? A precaution.”
The tension in his face eased a little, and I turned my attention to my computer screen as it populated to reveal about a million desktop shortcuts. I set up the internet connection, typing in Argento as the password, then dragged my finger over the touch screen and tapped to open the browser. Instead of opening a fresh window, a text box warned me that my browser had not been shut down properly and gave me the option of restoring the most recent session. I did not want to restore it. Not at all. Not in a million years. But apparently the universe thought it would be a cute turn of events if my finger hovered too close to the screen as I passed over the yes button and accidentally clicked it. It also thought it would be hilarious if the last window I’d had open contained one of the most condemning things imaginable: a gay porn site.
