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CHAPTER EIGHT
BARLOW
“Hey.” Rita slides intoher usual seat next to me in QR, dropping her bag on the floor next to her chair.
“Hey.”
This is the first time I’ve spoken to Rita since Saturday, and while I have no problem with her and my brother being a thing, I can’t lie and say I don’t feel a little awkward around her all of a sudden.
“So, um...about Saturday,” she immediately starts.
“If you’re worried I’m upset, don’t be. Brennon is a great guy and if you like him, good for you.”
She blows out a breath.
“How freaking weird is it though? I mean, the guy I’ve been crushing on turns out to be your twin brother.” She lets out a humorless laugh.
“Yeah, it definitely wasn’t something that even crossed my mind.”
While Saturday was very eye opening, finding out her and my brother are a thing was probably the least uneventful thing that happened all night.
My mind immediately travels back to Atlas. How easy it felt with him. The way he smiled at me. The way my heart skipped a beat every time those dimples would make an appearance. I lied to myself all night. Tried to convince myself it was the remaining alcohol still swimming in my veins. But when I woke up the next morning, my whole body lit up at the sight of him shirtless in the kitchen making coffee, and I knew the liquor had nothing to do with it.
I don’t know how it happened.
How I went from not being able to stand the sight of him to barely being able to form a sentence when he walks into a room.
I’m not stupid enough to believe that he feels the same, or that we could act on it even if he did, but I find myself daydreaming about what it would be like to be with him. To have him moving on top of me. To feel him deep inside me. God, just thinking about it causes a flush to creep up my neck.
Which is precisely why I’ve done my best to avoid him over the past handful of days. I still talk to him, it would be suspicious if I didn’t, but I keep it to a minimum and I have gone out of my way to ensure we are never home alone. Because let’s be real, that’s when shit seems to go sideways.
“I really like him.” Rita’s voice cuts into my thoughts, pulling me back to the conversation at hand. It takes me a second to remember we’re talking about Brennon, since all I can seem to think about is Atlas.
“He really likes you.”
“He does?” She gives me a hesitant smile and I can tell she wants to ask me more.
“My brother is a pretty private person. He doesn’t usually talk about things like feelings. But I can tell he likes you. I could tell he liked you before I knew it was you he liked.” I laugh lightly.
“I promise I’ll try not to let it get weird and if things end up going south, I won’t let it affect our friendship,” she reassures me.
“Trust me, girl, you are not the first friend I’ve had that’s dated my brother. When you’re the same age and run in the same crowd, it happens. Just, please don’t hurt him.”
“I would never. Not intentionally.” She shakes her head adamantly.
“Just... Brennon is...” I hesitate. “He acts like he’s all macho tough guy, but in reality he’s actually kind of a softy.”
“Looks like you two share that commonality.” She smiles.
I think about that for a moment.
I know how most people view me. Thick skinned. Take no shit. Mouth that never stops. If you’re on the outside looking in, you probably wouldn’t see any similarities between me and my twin. But while Brennon is the funnier, more agreeable one of the two of us, he still keeps people at arm’s length, just like I do. He’s just more tactful about it.
“I guess you aren’t wrong there.”
“So we’re good?” she asks, dropping her voice when the professor enters the room and makes his way toward his desk at the front of the class.
“A hundred percent,” I whisper back.
