AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Even worse, he looks absolutely gleeful over it.
I yank my coat from the hook and shrug into it jerkily. My legs still feel like Jell-O. I point at him. “Never again.”
He shakes his head and nods once, smiling. “Never.”
He’s going to want to do this every chance he gets.
I sling my backpack over my shoulder, take a deep breath, and open the door enough to slip out, closing it behind me. I keep my head down and find the nearest bathroom. I’m a total wreck.
I do my best to make myself presentable, but I can’t get rid of my red cheeks or the blotchy patches on my neck. Kodiak is waiting for me outside the bathroom, looking ridiculously smug and smelling a lot like eau de vagina. There is no way I’m leaving through the main entrance with me looking the way I do and him wearing that expression. I leave the book I was supposed to check out behind. I’ll have to come back for it when I’m less mortified.
I brush by Kodiak, and he automatically links his pinkie with mine. “Where we goin’?”
“Out one of the side doors. It’s closer to your class, which you need to be at in”—I point at the wall—“sixteen minutes if that clock is correct.” The exit is also not frequently used, so we’re less likely to run into people. Besides, I passed a group of girls who I know from my psych course before I ran into Kodiak, and I would like to avoid them post-orgasm.
I take the stairs as quickly as my short legs will carry me, Kodiak’s pinkie still linked with mine. When we get to the last flight, I glance down between the railings and catch a glimpse of a couple in what looks like a very heated make-out session. And upon closer inspection, I’m pretty sure half of the couple is Josiah. They’re so engrossed in each other, that they must not hear us.
“What time does your class end?” I ask rather loudly as we descend the final flight.
They jump apart, and I almost trip down the last four steps. Because the other half of that couple is my twin.
____________________
The four ofus stand there for a few long seconds, staring at one another. Well, I assume Kodiak is staring, but he’s behind me, so I can’t know for sure. He bends and kisses me on the cheek, whispering in my ear, “I gotta get to class. You gonna be okay?”
I nod, aware he has a test and can’t be late.
“I’ll see you at your place after class. Text me if you need me.” He traces a figure eight on the side of my neck, tips my chin up, and presses his lips to mine. “Josiah, River.” He gives them a nod and disappears out the door and into the sunshine, leaving me alone with my brother and Josiah, who both look cagey as fuck.
River begins, “Lav, it’s not—”
Josiah’s head snaps in his direction, and he pins my brother with the same look he gave Kodiak when he made it rain dicks in my bedroom and acted like a territorial asshole.
River’s expression is pained and conflicted.
“I’m not going to be some secret you’re ashamed of,” Josiah says quietly. He turns to me. “I wanted to tell you, but River was adamant he be the one.” He takes a couple of steps toward the door. “Call me when you’re tired of hiding in your closet.”
“’Siah.” River reaches out, but Josiah shakes his head, and River’s hand falls limply to his side.
“Sorry, Lavender. This is not how I wanted you to find out.” Josiah pushes through the door, leaving me and River alone in a stairwell that smells like guilt, shame, desire, and cologne.
I lean against the railing and set aside my feelings about River and Josiah keeping this from me, so I can deal with my twin. “You do realize this isn’t a surprise, right?”
River’s gaze shifts to meet mine. How he manages to have a furrowed browandwide eyes is beyond me.
I raise a finger and clarify. “I mean, the fact that it’s Josiah is a surprise, but you being gay, or bi, or however you choose to identify, isn’t.”
His gaze darts around before it finally settles on me again. “Gay. I’m gay.”
Based on Josiah’s reaction, this isn’t a random hookup. “You know you don’t have to hide who you are from me, right? I’m always going to love and accept you, no matter what.”
He nods, but the sound of a door opening somewhere in the stairwell above us prevents him from responding.
“Wanna get a coffee?” I ask.
“Shots would be better.”
“I’m done with class for the day, so we can go home andyoucan do shots and we can talk?”
