by Anita Kidesu
“Not a ghost. Two ghosts.” Reenie grabbed Ashley’s hand and pulled her toward the door. “We need to get out of here.”
Ashley yanked her hand from Reenie’s. “No way, girl. This is getting interesting.”
If she couldn’t leave, could she hide under the table or behind Ashley? Maybe if she acted like nothing weird, life altering, and utterly embarrassing was happening, she could get Ashley to leave with her. “What do you mean?”
“First, those two hunks are staring at you like they want you on the menu tonight. Then you acted as if your life was about to end, and now, they look ready to beat each other up. Even if that doesn’t seem interesting to you, it sure as hell does to me.”
Keeping her eyes averted from the Barts, or whatever their names were since she couldn’t imagine any parent giving their twins the same name, she listened to Ashley give a blow-by-blow description of how the men were now nose to nose, each pushing a finger into the other’s chest.
“They’re coming over here,” Ashley whispered, sending Reenie into a panic.
Reenie took a step toward the back of the bar and the women’s bathroom.
Ashley grabbed her elbow. “Not so fast. Something happened between you and those guys, and I expect to find out what.”
Before Reenie could think of a way to get out of here, the men stood before her—Chicago Bart and Office Bart. Now that they were side-by-side, she noticed the difference. Chicago Bart had a tiny scar at the corner of his bottom lip; Office Bart did not. Even though she was mortified to know she’d slept with them both, she was even more mortified when her blood spiked to life.
Thank heavens, they couldn’t see her nipples puckering or pussy muscles clenching. For sure, they must see the heat rising from her chest to her face. She closed her eyes and rubbed her fingers over her forehead to ease the building tension. Maybe if she waited a minute, they’d disappear. Or maybe she would.
Her breath hitched when she uncovered her eyes. Damn. They hadn’t vanished. All six-foot-two, slim-hipped, dark-haired inch of them.
“Hi, Reenie,” they said at the same time, their deep, vibrating voices bringing to mind Zelda’s office and her hotel room.
“This can’t be happening,” she whispered. How could she not have noticed the difference? Oh yeah, she’d been so turned on at the time, her hormones had gotten the better of her. She was a slut. An out and out, all around, slept with two brothers, slut.
“Bart?”
“Yes,” they said in tandem.
“Oh, God,” she said, putting shaking fingers to her mouth. As tears pooled in her eyes, she stepped around Ashley and ran for the bathroom.
****
Jon stuck his fists into his front jean pockets as Reenie disappeared into the women’s bathroom.
“Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” Reenie’s friend asked. “I’ve never seen Reenie so upset.”
“And you are?” Matt asked.
“Ashley Jones, Reenie’s best friend.” She slapped her hands on her hips. “And if either of you has done anything to hurt her, you’ll have to deal with me.”
Jon looked at the diminutive woman with the bright red hair curling around her face. He didn’t doubt she could do both him and Matt harm. At any other time, he might be interested in her voluptuous curves and feistiness, but all he could think about was the sexy woman who’d rushed from the room.
“If I”—Jon glanced at his brother—“or should I say we, have hurt Reenie, it wasn’t on purpose.”
Ashley crossed her arms over her chest. “Anyone want to tell me what happened to make her so upset? And since she refers to you both as Bart, it might be smart to introduce yourselves.”
“I’m Jon, and this is my brother Matt. Obviously, we’re identical twins.”
“You may want to get the details from Reenie,” Matt said, “but we each met her at different times, different places. Neither of us knew we’d met the same woman.”
“When I met her”—Jon glared at Matt—“and it seems I did so first, I really fell for her. She wrote her phone number on my hand, and it rubbed off before I could write it down.”
Matt frowned. “Even though I met her second, I fell for her, too. I was devastated when she left Chicago without telling me or giving me her phone number.”
“And neither of you knew the other had met her?” Ashley asked, her voice filled with doubt.
“We’d shared that we’d each met someone,” Jon said, “but not her name or anything else about her.”
“I knew she’d been excited about meeting someone and was upset because you hadn’t called.” Ashley looked between him and Matt. “I don’t know which one of you didn’t call, but she was ecstatic to have run into you in Chicago. Again, I don’t know which one.” She paused as if she expected them to give her the information.
Ashley set her empty glass on the bar. “She didn’t give me the particulars, but I have a strong feeling you each slept with her. Am I right?” When neither of them answered, she continued. “Look, I know how excited she was whenever she talked about this guy named Bart. I can tell neither of you set out to hurt her. My question now is, what are you going to do about it?”
Jon had no idea. The knowledge that he and Matt had fallen for and slept with the same woman was disturbing as well as a turn-on. It had been many years since they’d shared a woman, but at least they’d been together at the time. He wasn’t sure he liked the excitement that rushed through him at the idea of sharing Reenie with Matt.
Matt raked his fingers through his hair. “Other than wanting to get to know her better, I’m not sure what to do.”
“Me, too,” Jon said. How would he and Matt handle this if Reenie agreed to see them? Would they give her the choice of who to be with? Could they both agree to let her go? Ashley bit her bottom lip. Hopefully, the twinkle in her eye meant good things for Matt and him.
“So, you each slept with her and meant her no harm.” Ashley winked at them. “I love my friend, and because I love her and want to see her happy, this is what I’m going to do.”
Jon held his breath and sensed the tension in Matt. “What?” they asked simultaneously.
Ashley took a pen from her purse and reached for Jon. “Give me your hand.”
“No!” they yelled together.
Ashley frowned and dropped the pen back into her purse. “What? You don’t want her phone number?”
“No. I mean, yes,” Matt said. “But please don’t write it on Jon’s hand, or my hand for that matter. That’s what Reenie had done with Jon, and without realizing it, the moron wiped it off.” He reached around Ashley and grabbed four napkins. “Here. Write her number on each of these.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Ashley laughed. “All four?”
Jon couldn’t hold back a grin and nearly slapped his brother on the back before remembering they were in competition for the same woman. “Maybe we won’t lose it.”
“Got it.”
While he and Matt watched, Ashley jotted down Reenie’s number on the four napkins, handing two to Jon, two to Matt.
“I’m going to the ladies’ room to see Reenie. Why don’t you two go to the little boys’ room and wait until we leave?” Ashley took a few steps, paused, and turned back. “If I were Reenie, I know what I’d do.” Ashley eyed Jon from his toes to his head and then did the same to Matt.
Was she going to say a ménage? Sharing Reenie wasn’t something he wanted to think about—or was it?
****
Through a crack in the bathroom door, Matt watched Reenie and Ashley as they left the bar. More than anything, he wanted to trail behind. He elbowed Jon who had been leaning over his shoulder, obviously wanting the same thing.
“Back off, will you?” Matt asked, keeping his voice down. With all the noise, it would have been a miracle if she heard him over the noise in the bar.
Jon pinched his back. “You’re hogging all the space.”
“You pinched me, you mo
ron. What are you, a three year old?” He elbowed Jon in the stomach.
“Jerk,” Jon said, sucking in air.
“Jackass.”
“I’m going home.”
“Not without these.” Matt jiggled the keys in the air.
Jon grabbed the keys and ran out the bathroom door.
Trying not to knock anyone down, Matt charged behind his brother, weaving between tables and out the front door. His keys were set to open all the doors when the unlock button was hit, or Jon could have jumped in the car and taken off, leaving him stranded in the parking lot.
The anger in the air was thick. Other than being mad at Jon for not accepting their parents’ lifestyle and taking off after their threesome experience years ago, anger was not something Matt had experienced much with his brother. Sure, they’d been mad at each other before, but this was different. This was more like “I’ll beat you to a pulp” anger.
From the way Jon had rattled on and on about Reenie, Matt knew the guy was a goner. But so was he. Jon having had sex with her first didn’t bother him as much as how his brother felt about her. She was all Matt had thought about since Chicago—when he woke, while working, when he fell asleep, and in his dreams. At least he didn’t need to hide Reenie’s sketch anymore.
What the hell were the two of them going to do? Was Reenie worth them fighting each other? He pictured her long, curly hair and curvaceous body. Her smile and laughter. What it was like being inside her.
Damn straight, she was worth it. The question was whether Reenie thought one of them or neither was worth it.
Chapter Fifteen
“I’m done for the day,” Matt said, scooping up the pens used to color in the page he’d drawn that morning.
Jon didn’t answer. But what did he expect? In the week since seeing Reenie at the bar, the only thing Jon had said to him was to get out of his way. Thank heaven, they’d already plotted out the next book. The jerk even e-mailed him the pages he’d written for Matt to read and edit—despite the fact they sat a few feet from each other.
“This is ridiculous, you know,” Matt said.
Jon remained hunched over his laptop.
“We need to talk about Reenie, Jon.”
Nothing.
Matt stopped in the doorway. To hell with him. “I’m making myself a drink and ordering a pizza. You can join me if you want, or you can keep ignoring me and pout like a little boy. Just remember, I didn’t do anything wrong. I would have never slept with her if I’d known you had. I’ve never stolen anything or anyone from you, and I never will.”
Jon sighed, the only sign he’d heard Matt. At least, that was progress.
In the kitchen, Matt took a glass from the cupboard, poured some brandy, and added a splash of water. He picked up his phone to dial the nearby pizza joint as Jon came in and stood by the table.
“I’m sorry, man. I know I’ve been acting like a jerk.” Jon picked up Matt’s glass from the table and downed the drink in two swallows.
“That was mine, jackass.”
“I’ll make you another. Let me finish my apology first. It just bugged the hell out of me knowing you’d slept with her, too.” He held up his hand when Matt wanted to jump in and defend himself. “You’re right; you didn’t do anything wrong. Neither of us did. I just don’t know what to do about it.”
“Let’s get drunk. Maybe something will come to us.” Jon’s grin warmed his heart. They were back on track again, the way they used to be, the way brothers should be. “The hell with brandy, let’s bring out the harder stuff.”
Jon grinned and took a bottle of tequila from the cupboard above the refrigerator. “Tequila?”
“Sounds good to me, but let’s order the pizza and eat first. I’m starved.”
****
“Fuck it,” Matt said two hours later, grimacing as the tequila slid down his throat. After slamming the shot glass on their kitchen table, he sucked on the lemon and shuddered. Why the hell did he drink the stuff? Every time he took a shot he went through the same routine—salt, tequila, shudder, lemon, shudder some more, cross his eyes, swear, try not to throw up. Through glazed eyes, he glanced at Jon, sitting across the table from him with the bottle, salt, lemons, and pizza box between them. He’d be damned, though, if he’d give up before Jon.
Since the pizza had been delivered, they’d nearly finished the bottle of booze. With age came wisdom, so before starting on their way to oblivion, they chowed down pizza along with a few bottles of beer. During those two hours, they had danced around the situation before them. Matt was afraid if he brought up the subject again, it would further open the can of worms between him and his brother. Maybe the alcohol would loosen things up.
“Dammit, Matt.” Jon’s wavy, pointed finger almost made Matt laugh. “I saw her first. I fucked her first.”
Matt uncrossed his eyes. “You may have fucked her, but I made love to her. There’s a hell of a lot of difference there, bro.”
“Hell, you can’t say you made love to her after only one meeting.” Jon filled the shot glasses again, only spilling a few drops on the table. “At least I’m honest enough to say I fucked her.”
Matt lifted the glass to his mouth. His hand shook as he set it gently on the table. He wasn’t sure he could take another sip. If he tried to stand to head to the bathroom to upchuck the crap in his stomach, he’d probably fall on his face.
As much as he hated it, Matt wanted to know more details of Jon’s hookup with Reenie. “So how long after you met her were you hitting the sheets?”
“An hour or so. What about you?”
“Unlike someone I could mention, I was working when I met her, so I had to wait until I was done working before I saw her again.”
Jon leaned back in his chair and hooked an arm over the top. “You know how I met Reenie. Care to tell me how you did?”
Matt told him the shortened version, and Jon frowned when he mentioned Perry.
“What’s wrong?” Matt asked.
“Reenie had said something about an ex-boyfriend giving her problems. He must really be getting bad to follow her to Chicago. Do you think she’s in danger back here?”
“From what I understand, he’s still in jail, pending a hearing.” The last piece of cold pizza called to him, so before Jon could, he grabbed it and took a bite. “I don’t know the logistics of everything, but I think she’s all right for now.”
“I need to ask you something else,” Jon said. He leaned forward in his chair and rested his forearms on the table.
“What’s that?”
“How was it for you?”
Matt’s stomach plummeted. His brief sexual encounter was not something he was willing to share. “It was like I told you; it was one of the best nights of my life. And as I recall, you had the same experience.”
Jon washed his hands over his face. “Yeah. I’m not sure what it was, but the instant I laid eyes on her, it was as if my world was complete. As if the cosmos re-aligned itself and came up with Reenie and me.”
“That about sums up how it was for me. When she was at my booth, no one else existed. I swear the entire building emptied out and it was just the two of us.” How the hell were they going to work this out? Obviously, Jon was as infatuated with Reenie as he was. He slapped the table as he recalled something Reenie had said. “That’s what she meant.”
Jon frowned. “What?”
“When I pulled out a condom, she asked, ‘Prepared this time?’ I kinda wondered about that, but I was so anxious to…to…” He waggled his hand back and forth.
“I get it.” Jon’s shoulders sagged. “No need to go into details.”
“Reenie had thought I was you, and had been referring to your little condom problem in her mother’s office. She’d made a few other comments that night that didn’t make sense, but now, they do.”
“Just proves what a great lover I was if she was so anxious to get into bed with you, or me.” Jon shrugged. “You get the idea.”
Mat
t dropped the half-eaten piece of pizza back into the cardboard box. “Yeah, I do. So now what?”
Jon snatched up the pizza. “We try to contact her? I can’t imagine how she’s feeling, knowing she slept with both of us. I don’t think she’d take it lightly.”
“I agree.” Matt belched and rose to start a pot of coffee. With all the alcohol they’d consumed, he doubted the caffeine would keep them awake. “I’ve known women who’d get a kick out of this situation.”
“If she ever decides to see us again, she’ll have to choose between us.” Jon staggered to the garbage can and crushed the pizza box into it. He pointed a weaving finger in Matt’s direction and hiccoughed. “I can tell you right now, I’m not willing to give her up.”
Did Jon really think he would? Hell, the short time he’d spent with Reenie was better than his times with all the other women wrapped up in one. And he wasn’t only referring to the sex. “Fuck it, Jon. I’m not, either. But I don’t want a woman to come between us, even if it is Reenie.”
Jon frowned, ran a hand over his face, and narrowed his eyes. “Shit. I know you never thought you’d hear these words coming from me”—Jon dropped into his chair—“but what if we shared her?”
Him and Jon and Reenie? Together? The idea sent his body into instant overdrive. Thoughts of what they could do to bring her to heights of passion sent his mind reeling. His drunken mind. And Jon had to be really drunk even to suggest it. “Are you kidding me? Because if you are, it’s a piss-poor joke. And if this is the booze talking, you’d better shut the hell up right now.”
Jon shook his head. “No. Since that night years ago when I walked in on you and that girl and we had a threesome, I’ve thought about it a lot. I didn’t want to, but I did.”
Keep it cool, Matt. Keep it cool. Matt rose, handed Jon a cup of coffee, and returned to sit at the table.
Jon wrapped his hands around the cup and leaned toward him. “It could be the answer to our problem. We share her. You and me, together with Reenie.”
While the thought of both of them sucking her nipples at the same time was exciting, fucking her together was more than Matt could imagine. But acting too eager might turn Jon away. “The idea has merit, but there’s one little problem.”
