The Twin

by Smokey Moment

  “It’s ok. I’m good. But what about you. Don’t think I didn’t notice that guy all in your ear. He was handsome too. He was standing close enough to kiss you. We’re not even in sin city yet, and already you have admirers,” she joked. “Who me,” Bella replied with a chuckle, as she grabbed her carry-on from the overhead compartment. The women walked off the plane and made their way to the luggage area to get the rest of their bags.

  “Where to?” the driver asked. “To the Bellagio please,” Dani said. Bella looked around. She wasn’t well travelled. She had been to four cities. And she had yet to travel outside the country. Growing up poor had major disadvantages but Bella counted herself lucky. She didn’t feel she had really missed out on anything. Her parents gave her love and support in abundance. Their loving presence and sound values had helped Bella develop into a strong and independent woman. Raised to believe in herself and to know her value. Money or not.

  “Oh wow. This place is beautiful,” Bella gushed, as she took pictures. “When we get to our suite, we can eat first. Then I can show you the itinerary,” she said. Bella turned her head swiftly. “What! Itinerary? Dani, you did not schedule our days like we’re at work,” she said. Dani laughed. She knew it was a bit much to have a laid out, hour to hour plan. But it was the way she liked to do things. “Yes. That way we make the most of our time here. I’ll show you what I have selected. Anything you don’t want to do, we’ll fill in with another activity. I left plenty of hours open. I figure we’ll gamble and hang out in the casinos at those times.”

  Bella and Dani entered suite number 5201. They immediately looked around. The accommodations were plush. The two bedroom suite Dani upgraded to at the last minute was more than comfortable. Bella went to the smaller room and placed her bags on the bed. She unpacked, as Dani sat on her bed and went over the days plan. They would eat first. Then walk the streets taking pictures and sight-seeing. They planned to gamble later that evening and then have dinner. The next morning, they would pamper themselves with a deluxe package that included a spa day, with messages, facials and manicures. The night would end again with dinner. They had five days. Bella looked forward to it all.

  S

  ecurity had already been to Noah’s suite twice and they hadn’t been in town a full 24 hours. They were loud. Calls from guests poured in. It was three in the morning and they showed no signs of slowing down. Adding to the festivities were three women who had joined them for drinks and food. Noah took his drink and retired to his room. He wasn’t a party animal. This was becoming more than he wanted to deal with. “Hey. Why you in here?” Steven asked. “Because... I’m tired. It’s cool. Just make sure you are the last to leave. I want everybody gone in an hour. No stragglers.”

  Noah sat on his bed looking at his social media accounts. He had created accounts using various versions of his name to keep his family from finding it. Only his twin knew his accounts. He saw a message from Niles in his messenger. It read;

  Pop was angry that you missed the dinner party. I tried to smooth things over. He’ll be ok. You know how he is.

  Noah shook his head and checked his other messages then replied to Niles;

  No way was I spending my birthday with him. You should have come here. There’s still time. Will be here for at least another week. Maybe longer. Why don’t you come.

  Noah waited on a response. He missed Niles. They were repairing a broken bond. Noah blamed Niles for his father knowing too much and Niles blamed Noah for the rift in their family structure. He wished Noah would just indulge their father and make everyone’s life easier. He didn’t understand the difficulty in it.

  A message came through from Niles. It read;

  Need to sit this one out. Already have travel plans for next week. Going to Capri with a lady friend. I got you something though. Will see you when you touch down.

  Noah smiled. He messaged him back;

  What? A Lambo this time. Or perhaps a Tesla?

  Niles responded quickly. Noah figured his brother would be up. Even with the time difference between Las Vegas and New York, Niles would still be up. He was a night owl. Noah wasn’t. The twins couldn’t be more opposite. Their manner of dress. The attitude about life and family. Their drive and goals. All polar opposites. But their differences complimented their relationship. What one couldn’t figure out, the other would. They worked together throughout their young lives and even into adulthood, figuring each other’s problems out. Being there for every let down. Every failure. Whether they were at odds or not.

  Niles’s message him again. It read;

  Damn. I guess that’s obvious. Ok then. What else do you want cause I only give cars. How about a watch?

  Niles loved cars. He had already purchased five cars for his twin brother. Noah wished he would buy Chevy’s or Buick’s. He wanted to normalize his life. Expensive cars brought unwanted attention.

  Noah shook his head and messaged Niles;

  I’ll tell you what I want. Saw a beauty on the plane today. She was gorgeous. Breathtaking. And her eyes. I tried to say something to her, but she ignored me. Had to walk away with my tail between my legs. She’s staying at the Bellagio. Our limo was behind her taxi. Saw her go there. Come here and charm her. I won’t be free. Gemma here. She beat me here and it’s my birthday. Un-fucking-believable! You know how she can be. She will not move on. No matter what I say. But this woman is beautiful. I gotta have her. Come on. At least until I get free. Like we used to do. Remember! That’s how I got my first two girlfriends.

  Noah sat back on his pillows. He wondered if Niles would entertain him. His brother was a ladies man. They were both handsome men, toned and fit with all the trappings, but Niles was the playboy. He was successful with women. Noah had to soothe many broken hearts behind his brother’s hasty exit from their lives. He admired his brother’s sexual prowess. The women always seemed to be fanatical about him. Something Noah didn’t experience. His dating experience was vastly different from his twins.

  Noah had trouble with emotion. He protected his heart fiercely. And he was extremely guarded by nature. He didn’t mean to be, but he was never anything else. He was a man of limited emotions. He had looks. An athletic and lean body. Women were interested. He was rich. And that made the women want him even more. But Noah always came up short in the area of chemistry and deep-felt emotion. Several of his exes told him they couldn’t feel him. He asked Niles what they meant. Niles wasn’t sure since he looked at Noah as an extension of himself and had never had that complaint.

  Soon a message came through. Noah opened it. It read; Where you staying? On my way. Who is she? Why you going through all this for some random woman?

  Noah replied;

  You wouldn’t say that if you saw her. She’s no random. You haven’t seen anything like her. Not even close. And she has a beautiful personality. I watched her like a hawk on the plane ride here. She’s sweet. Special. Perfect in every way. Get your ass here. I would do it for you.

  Niles texted;

  Ok. But she better be everything you say. You owe me big time.

  Noah replied;

  I’m staying at the Mirage. When you arrive, get a two bedroom suite at the Bellagio. Don’t go to the condo. See you soon!

  Noah laid back on his bed. He was nervous about getting Niles involved. He didn’t want his brother to end up with her. But he was stuck. Gemma was on her way to the Mirage Hotel with her girlfriends. And she was clingy. Noah knew once he entertained her it would be hard to cut lose from her. She talked her friends into going with her to celebrate his birthday without his approval. But that was Gemma. She never asked for permission. She was crazy about Noah but the feeling wasn’t mutual.

  He could hear jazz music playing. It was a lot quieter. Soon Gemma entered with her friends and sat on the bed with Noah. She kissed him and then turned her attention back to her friends. She had brought along two co-workers she’d known for years. “Where’s the drinks. I need something,” her friend Stacey said. “Oh,
there is definitely liquor here. I’ll get the drinks,” Gemma said, leaving her friends in the room with Noah.

  “Happy birthday Noah,” Allison said. Noah knew both Stacey and Allison well. It was through Allison’s urging that he met Gemma. And he regretted getting seriously involved with her. She was pushy and aggressive. She was a lawyer and constantly battled him on every subject. Noah felt like he was in court with her. Their whole relationship was one big argument after the next and he had tired of it. But Gemma was not ready to let go. Her last-minute trip to Vegas happened after she found out through Allison’s husband that he was celebrating his birthday there.

  And she was holding on for dear life. She wanted to be married. And he was the one she wanted. Gemma had no need for his money or anything superficial. Her love for him was real. Genuine. He was the love of her life. It was easy to love him. But he was less enthused. He never considered it and he wondered why she was so desperate to get hitched when they argued constantly.

  Noah crossed his legs and leaned back on the pillows. He was comfortable. Even though Gemma was the last person he wanted to see at his birthday celebration, he was prepared to deal with the intrusion. Partly because of his instant fascination for a woman he didn’t even know. He could think of nothing but Bella since seeing her on the plane. And he had a plan that he hoped would work. His brother keeping her busy and happy, until he could step in. It was risky, but he believed it was worth it. If her visit there was brief, and she left, he could possibly never see her again. He would rather Niles keep her company.

  “Hey... Everybody’s going back to their own suites. Dave taking some woman he met to his suite. Dude acts like he never gets out. He is out of control,” Steven said, as he stuck his head in Noah’s door. “What! Are you serious?” Noah remarked. “He’s a wild man,” Steven laughed. The truth was they were all out of their element. Steven was a divorced father of three. Jason was newly married and had a one year old. Pete was married but had no children and Dave was single.

  Noah stretched as he was awakened by knocks on his door. He managed to get Gemma to leave, telling her he was under the weather. Gemma wanted to gamble and since she had her friends to keep her entertained, she left without incident. Noah walked to the door. He hoped it wasn’t Gemma returning. He peeked out the peep hole and sighed. He was regretting bringing all his friends. They could be party animals when their wives weren’t around.

  “Ok. Ok,” he said, as he opened the door. “Hell no! Are you sleeping? Let’s go. Get your clothes on. We are out of here. We got shit to do. You not sleeping this trip away. We’ll shop at Caesars. Maybe get something to eat,” Dave said, as he opened Noah’s blinds. Pete excused himself to the bathroom while Steven and Jason sat down. The men were ready to start their day. “Are you serious. Come on. It’s nine in the morning,” Noah said. “Yeah. Exactly! Let’s go.”

  N

  iles touched down and went directly to the Bellagio. He was able to secure a large two-bedroom suite for himself and Noah. He plopped down on his bed and called his brother. “Hey, I’m here. Where are you?” he asked. “On my way there. The fella’s want to shoot dice. We’ll be there soon,” Noah said, as he walked slowly through the lobby of his hotel. Noah got off the phone and told his friends that Niles was there. They got in a taxi and headed to the Bellagio. Steve sat up front with the driver as Noah, Dave, Jason and Pete piled in the back. The men laughed. They hadn’t been stuffed together inside a cab since their college years. Noah was rich and could have easily hired a limo to take them everywhere. And Pete didn’t have a problem telling him he expected better accommodations since he was the one with money to burn.

  “Noah. I get that you’re trying to prove a point to yourself and your father and all, but can we get a limo while we’re here. This is ridiculous,” Pete joked. “We have a limo. That’s him behind us. I thought it would be hilarious to see us pile in a taxi,” Noah replied. What! the men all blurted one by one. “You play entirely too much,” Pete said, as the men all agreed. “Pull over. We have a ride,” Jason said to the driver. The men joked with one another as they got out and jumped into the waiting limo. Steve was part of the joke. He chuckled as he and Noah gave each other looks. It was like old times. Pranks and games. The men joked all the way to their destination.

  Niles came down and met them in the lounge. He turned heads in his navy Zegna merino wool slacks and powder blue, short sleeve button down. His walk commanded attention from both old and young women alike. His mystique and good looks were captivating. He looked like the type of man a woman wouldn’t mind waking up to in the morning.

  “Hey. What’s up,” he said, as he hugged and greeted everyone. “Where do you shop? Do you ever dress down?” Pete teased. “No!” he replied with a chuckle. Even though the men were Noah’s college buddies, Niles had formed friendships with them as well. He was especially happy to see his twin. It was their birthday and he planned on celebrating everyday he was there. “Ya’ll ready to grab something to eat. Then we can hit the tables,” Niles suggested. The men agreed and went to one of Bellagio’s premier restaurants before enjoying a few games of poker. Dave and Pete wanted to shoot dice. They talked Noah into playing. Noah was there to have the best time of his life. Although he wasn’t a gambler, it was his birthday and he was open to trying new things. “I’m game. Let’s go,” he said, as they made their way to the dice tables.

  The men yelled in excitement as Noah rolled the dice. Gemma texted Noah constantly trying to find out where he was. She and her friends set out on a mission to go casino to casino until they found them. Noah ignored her calls as he continued to be in control of the dice. Niles stood next to him cheering him on and sipping on Cristal Brut. Noah was on a winning streak. He had several glasses of champagne and had loosened up. Cheers from the crowd sounded again, as Noah hit his point, winning again. He rolled again and his point was eight. He shook the dice and rolled six. He rolled again and hit nine. He rolled three more times finally hitting the eight as the crowd cheered. Several other men were playing and had been winning off Noah’s good luck streak. He had made them a great deal of money and one of the men was curious as to who the twins were. They looked wealthy. There was an air of confidence about them. One that spoke of money and privilege.

  “Hey. Do I know you? You’re someone big?” the man said. Noah tried ignoring the man. He gave a half smile then rolled the dice. “Oh shit! I know where I know you from. You were in that last Forbes issue. This dude is loaded,” the guy announced, as his friends stood around. Noah paused. Niles walked up after excusing himself to the restroom. “Twins too. Aw man. Twice the luck then. Keep hitting those numbers. You got Forbes money. So we’re going to be here all night I suppose. Hey, this dude cannot run out of money,” the guy shouted. Noah and Niles glanced at each other. This was the reason Noah had told his father he hated publicity. The last thing he and Niles wanted was an announcement of who they were. They weren’t public figures. Just the sons of a wealthy investor.

  “No. You got it wrong. Wasn’t me. I’m not in Forbes,” he replied, irritated by the man’s aggressive conversation. Niles stood silent. He was becoming irritated and hoped the conversation didn’t get too disrespectful. He was overly protective of Noah. He had no body guards and the last thing they needed was a brawl. Brawl’s meant lawsuits. But the belligerent man continued. It was obvious that he was intoxicated.

  “Man… That was you. And your family. I’m a fan of anything that Forbes talk about. If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me. Damn! How does it feel to have all that money?” the loud-mouthed guy continued. Noah sighed. Dave could tell he was getting agitated. But the man had an entourage of unfriendly looking men with him and they didn’t look like the type that would take an insult. Niles, Dave and Steven hoped Noah would refrain from harsh language. He was known to get belligerent himself. Even go as far as to swing first, if he felt threatened.

  “Hey. I said it wasn’t me. I can stop rolling and you c
an take over if you want,” he replied. The man looked fiercely at him. The crowd got quiet. The man was hard to read. Niles braced for a fight. After a few seconds of strange silence, the man laughed. “Naw. I’m good. No disrespect. You won me a shitload of money. No harm. I’m impressed. No need to get all bent out of shape. You got the dice hot. Keep rolling.”

  Niles walked to a waitress and asked her to bring another round of what they had been drinking. His attention was off of Noah and the game, as he flirted with the pretty young woman. Noah blew on the dice. His point was eight. He needed to hit the eight again. Seven would end his winning streak. He shook them, then glanced up. A woman in the crowd with a familiar face stopped him in his tracks. It was the beauty from the plane. Noah froze. He couldn’t move. He looked around for Niles then looked back at Bella.

  She stood peering from the crowd trying to see what the commotion was. Noah smiled at her. Bella gave him a half-hearted smile in return. Noah could see something was off about her demeanor. She didn’t seem to be the same jovial woman she was on the plane. She seemed present physically, but not in spirit. A sadness in her eyes that she was trying desperately to hide didn’t escape him. He had watched her most of their plane ride from New York until they touched down. The reason he was determined to meet her.