Twinsequences (A Twisted Twin Series) (7 page)

Stosh
 drove
 us
 to
 a
 little
 place
 that
 was
 only
 around
 the
 corner.
 They
 served
 
pancakes
 and
 pastries.
 I
 remembered
 my
 sister
 eating
 the
 Bavarian
 crèmes,
 so
 I
 
ordered
 one
 of
 those.
 Stosh
 smiled
 when
 he
 sat
 down
 with
 our
 food
 and
 coffee.
 He
 
kept
 smiling
 as
 he
 watched
 me
 eating
 it.
 It
 wasn’t
 bad,
 but
 it
 wasn’t
 as
 good
 as
 the
 
fresh
 apple
 critters
 that
 I
 knew
 they
 made.
 I
 watched
 Stosh
 eating
 one
 and
 I
 almost
 
licked
 my
 lips
 twice.
 
“So,
 I
 was
 wondering
 if
 you’d
 want
 to
 go
 out
 on
 the
 boat?”
 
He
 had
 a
 boat?
 I’d
 never
 known
 that.
 “Alone?”
 
He
 reached
 over
 and
 grabbed
 my
 hands.
 “I
 just
 want
 to
 spend
 the
 whole
 day
 
alone
 with
 you.
 Is
 that
 so
 bad?”
 
I
 shook
 my
 head.
 “No,
 it’s
 really
 sweet.
 I
 guess
 I
 just
 didn’t
 think
 you
 wanted
 
to
 be
 around
 me
 lately.
 I,
 uh,
 I
 got
 the
 impression
 that
 we
 weren’t
 on
 the
 same
 page.”
 
What
 was
 I
 supposed
 to
 say?
 I
 couldn’t
 tell
 him
 that
 my
 sister
 had
 told
 me
 a
 whole
 
different
 story.
 
He
 squeezed
 my
 hands
 and
 looked
 right
 at
 me.
 “The
 past
 four
 years
 haven’t
 
been
 easy
 for
 either
 of
 us,
 but
 I
 can
 assure
 you,
 we
 are
 definitely
 on
 the
 same
 page,
 
babe.”
 
Every
 time
 he
 said
 something
 nice,
 I
 had
 to
 remind
 myself
 that
 he
 was
 
speaking
 it
 to
 my
 sister
 and
 not
 me.
 Still,
 hearing
 it
 made
 me
 smile.
 Knowing
 that
 I
 
was
 going
 to
 get
 to
 spend
 more
 time
 together
 made
 me
 even
 more
 happy.
 “I’d
 love
 
to
 go
 on
 the
 boat
 with
 you,
 Stosh.”
 
He
 seemed
 so
 happy
 as
 we
 walked
 back
 to
 his
 place.
 For
 me,
 well,
 I
 was
 living
 
a
 fantasy.
 When
 they
 say
 absence
 makes
 the
 heart
 grow
 fonder,
 I
 think
 they
 meant
 
it.
 I
 was
 every
 bit
 in
 awe
 of
 this
 man,
 as
 I
 was
 when
 we
 were
 in
 high
 school.
 I
 wanted
 
to
 be
 around
 him,
 spending
 every
 second
 watching
 him
 smile
 and
 enjoy
 himself.
 It
 
made
 me
 happy
 to
 see
 him
 happy,
 even
 if
 that
 happiness
 wasn’t
 really
 because
 of
 
me.
 
Since
 I’d
 not
 known
 about
 the
 boat,
 I
 had
 no
 idea
 what
 to
 expect.
 When
 he
 
started
 to
 tell
 me
 about
 how
 his
 dad
 had
 repaired
 some
 things,
 I
 remembered
 that
 
they’d
 had
 a
 nice
 size
 boat.
 They
 use
 to
 take
 it
 out
 and
 spend
 the
 night
 on
 it.
 
 
I
 was
 going
 to
 be
 alone
 on
 the
 water
 with
 Stoshua
 Wheeler.
 It
 was
 horrifying.
 
 
I
 hadn’t
 signed
 up
 for
 this.
 
As
 panicked
 as
 I
 was,
 I
 couldn’t
 just
 jump
 out
 of
 a
 moving
 vehicle
 to
 avoid
 the
 
elephant
 in
 the
 room.
 I
 had
 to
 stay
 focused
 and
 remember
 that
 I
 was
 Ivy,
 not
 Willow.
 
“So,
 I’m
 sorry
 if
 I’ve
 been
 kind
 of
 distant
 lately.”
 
“Lately?
 Try
 the
 whole
 time
 since
 the
 wedding.”
 I
 wondered
 what
 he
 meant.
 
“Surely,
 I
 haven’t
 been
 that
 awful
 to
 be
 around.
 Have
 I?”
 
He
 didn’t
 answer
 as
 we
 pulled
 into
 the
 marina,
 but
 I
 wanted
 to
 know
 what
 he
 
would
 have
 said.
 
 
 
His
 parents
 boat
 was
 nice.
 It
 wasn’t
 huge,
 but
 it
 wasn’t
 small
 either.
 When
 
you
 went
 down
 underneath,
 it
 had
 a
 galley
 kitchen,
 with
 a
 table.
 A
 compact
 
bathroom
 followed
 and
 then
 there
 was
 one
 bedroom.
 After
 looking
 around,
 I
 leaned
 
back
 on
 the
 bed
 and
 saw
 him
 looking
 at
 me.
 “Did
 you
 bring
 me
 here
 to
 seduce
 me,
 
Mr.
 Wheeler?”
 
He
 took
 one
 step
 forward,
 but
 stopped.
 “What
 if
 I
 did?”
 
I
 was
 at
 a
 loss
 for
 words.
 
 
What
 would
 Ivy
 say?
 “Are
 you
 hungry?
 I’m
 starving.”
 
Yeah,
 I
 changed
 the
 subject.
 After
 I’d
 sampled
 his
 kissing,
 I
 knew
 talking
 
about
 sex
 was
 going
 to
 cause
 me
 to
 crumble
 at
 his
 feet.
 I
 had
 to
 keep
 my
 composure.
 
Stosh
 made
 us
 a
 picnic
 top-‐side
 and
 we
 sat
 on
 the
 boat
 floor
 facing
 each
 
other.
 He
 leaned
 over
 and
 fed
 me
 a
 grape.
 “You
 look
 so
 beautiful,
 sitting
 there
 across
 
from
 me.”
 
I
 could
 feel
 myself
 blushing.
 “Maybe
 it’s
 the
 new
 haircut.”
 
“No,
 you
 could
 be
 bald
 and
 still
 be
 as
 beautiful.
 It’s
 not
 the
 hair,
 I
 can
 assure
 
you.”
 I
 think
 I
 saw
 him
 blush
 before
 he
 bit
 down
 into
 a
 sandwich.
 
“So,
 should
 I
 be
 worried
 you’re
 going
 to
 throw
 me
 overboard
 in
 the
 middle
 of
 
the
 night
 and
 leave
 me
 to
 the
 sharks?”
 
“Babe,
 there’s
 no
 sharks
 in
 this
 river.
 You
 know
 I’d
 never
 hurt
 you
 like
 that
 
anyway.
 I
 love
 you.”
 
As
 much
 as
 I
 liked
 the
 way
 it
 sounded
 coming
 from
 his
 mouth,
 I
 felt
 repulsed.
 
He
 should
 have
 loved
 me.
 This
 should
 be
 my
 life
 and
 not
 hers.
 My
 next
 
sentence
 escaped
 without
 me
 being
 able
 to
 rationalize
 it
 away.
 “What
 ever
 
happened
 between
 you
 and
 Willow?”
 
He
 shook
 his
 head
 and
 started
 laughing.
 “I’m
 not
 going
 to
 discuss
 that
 with
 
you,
 babe.
 Not
 here.
 Not
 now.”
 He
 leaned
 over
 and
 tried
 to
 kiss
 me,
 but
 I
 instinctively
 
pulled
 away.
 “What’s
 wrong?”
 
I
 shrugged.
 “I
 don’t
 know.
 I
 guess
 I
 just
 feel
 like
 I
 want
 you
 to
 answer.”
 
“After
 all
 this
 time?
 What
 does
 it
 matter?
 Why
 do
 you
 even
 care?”
 He
 seemed
 
like
 he
 was
 getting
 annoyed.
 
“Never
 mind.
 You’re
 right.
 It
 isn’t
 important.”
 Yes
 it
 was!
 
We
 finished
 eating
 in
 silence
 and
 he
 got
 up
 to
 start
 the
 boat’s
 engines.
 I
 felt
 
relieved
 that
 the
 conversation
 was
 over,
 but
 scared
 that
 we
 were
 going
 out
 into
 the
 
open
 water
 alone.
 
 
Don’t
 get
 me
 wrong,
 if
 I
 died
 at
 any
 second,
 I’d
 die
 a
 happy
 girl.
 He
 was
 here
 
with
 me
 and
 not
 Ivy.
 Temporary
 or
 not,
 he
 was
 mine.
 
 
Here
 was
 the
 biggest
 problem
 with
 pretending
 to
 be
 my
 sister.
 I
 envied
 her
 
life
 so
 much,
 that
 I
 was
 starting
 to
 consider
 what
 it
 would
 be
 like
 to
 take
 it
 for
 
myself.
 I
 wanted
 to
 know
 what
 it
 would
 feel
 like
 to
 touch
 his
 naked
 skin,
 to
 lay
 
naked
 in
 bed
 next
 to
 him
 and
 to
 make
 love
 with
 him.
 
 
Maybe
 my
 time
 away
 had
 changed
 me
 from
 a
 caring
 person
 to
 the
 devil
 
himself.
 At
 any
 rate,
 the
 more
 I
 thought
 about
 walking
 away,
 the
 more
 I
 wanted
 to
 
stay.
 
 
We
 spent
 the
 day
 heading
 out
 to
 sea.
 It
 wasn’t
 hard
 considering
 we
 lived
 
right
 outside
 of
 Middletown
 Delaware.
 We
 were
 practically
 surrounded
 by
 bodies
 of
 
water.
 It
 took
 us
 about
 two
 hours
 to
 get
 to
 the
 mouth
 of
 the
 Chesapeake
 Bay.
 Large
 
cruise
 ships
 and
 shipping
 freighters
 shared
 the
 water
 with
 us.
 
 
We
 spent
 the
 day
 fishing
 and
 bathing
 in
 the
 warm
 sun.
 It
 was
 the
 perfect
 day,
 
and
 as
 the
 sun
 started
 to
 set,
 he
 wrapped
 us
 up
 in
 a
 blanket
 and
 watched
 it
 go
 down
 
with
 me
 in
 his
 arms.
 
How
 could
 I
 not
 be
 in
 love
 with
 this
 man?
 He
 was
 damn
 near
 perfect.
 
Did
 I
 feel
 bad
 for
 pretending
 to
 be
 my
 sister?
 
I
 was
 starting
 not
 to.
 
“This
 is
 amazing.
 Thank
 you
 for
 bringing
 me
 out
 here.”
 
“I
 used
 to
 like
 it
 when
 we
 hung
 around
 and
 watched
 movies
 all
 day.
 Things
 
were
 easier
 back
 then.
 There
 was
 no
 work
 and
 no
 drama.
 Now,
 I
 go
 to
 work
 and
 
come
 home.
 My
 days
 are
 busy
 and
 I
 spend
 my
 nights
 trying
 to
 forget
 about
 my
 days.
 
After
 a
 while
 the
 monotony
 drives
 you
 insane.
 I
 tell
 you,
 I
 just
 need
 a
 damn
 break
 
from
 it
 all.
 I
 want
 to
 do
 something
 different
 than
 what
 I’m
 doing.
 I
 don’t
 want
 to
 rent
 
a
 pool
 house
 for
 the
 rest
 of
 my
 life.
 I
 want
 a
 house
 full
 of
 kids
 and
 to
 be
 able
 to
 coach
 
them
 in
 sports
 and
 take
 them
 to
 Disney
 World.”
 
I
 heard
 everything
 he
 said,
 but
 only
 one
 sentence
 stuck
 in
 my
 head.
 I
 
remembered
 watching
 movies
 with
 him.
 It
 hurt
 to
 think
 that
 my
 sister
 took
 that
 spot
 
next
 to
 him
 on
 the
 couch.
 She’d
 taken
 everything
 we
 ever
 did
 and
 made
 their
 
memories
 better.
 I
 was
 always
 pushed
 to
 the
 side,
 with
 everything
 I
 tried
 to
 do.
 
Maybe
 that
 was
 why
 I
 took
 the
 academic
 route.
 It
 was
 the
 only
 thing
 she
 had
 no
 
interest
 in.
 I
 couldn’t
 blame
 her
 for
 falling
 for
 Stoshua.
 He
 was
 an
 all
 around
 amazing
 
guy.
 He
 was
 into
 sports,
 but
 equally
 into
 academics.
 He
 was
 brilliant
 and
 gorgeous.
 I
 
couldn’t
 have
 been
 the
 only
 one
 to
 notice.
 
 
Shouldn’t
 I
 be
 glad
 that
 he
 was
 somehow
 always
 going
 to
 be
 in
 my
 life?
 Had
 I
 
wasted
 so
 many
 years
 of
 being
 a
 part
 of
 their
 lives
 over
 something
 that
 was
 just
 an
 
adolescent
 action?
 
I
 looked
 over
 at
 Stosh.
 He
 took
 his
 arm
 and
 pulled
 me
 closer.
 We
 stared
 into
 
each
 other’s
 eyes.
 As
 much
 as
 I
 wanted
 to
 be
 the
 better
 person,
 I
 couldn’t
 imagine
 
not
 having
 him
 for
 myself.
 In
 one
 selfish
 move,
 I
 leaned
 up
 to
 his
 mouth
 and
 kissed
 
those
 perfect
 lips.
 While
 our
 physical
 contact
 became
 downright
 involved,
 I
 had
 not
 
one
 single
 regret.
 In
 fact,
 my
 sister
 never
 even
 crossed
 my
 mind.