London.
I found a passable black dress among Cathleen's things. Paired with low black sandals and bright red lipstick, I was dinner ready. I decided to tie my hair up into a pony tail and forgot jewelry, except of course the large rock sitting pretty on my left hand. I grimaced when I saw Sin's outfit. A silky black shirt and charcoal pants. We looked a bit too -for lack of a better word- funeral. "You look beautiful." He said. "I should change. It's weird how we're both wearing black." "Don't. If they have a problem with it, we'll ditch them." I laughed. "You're looking for a reason to bail out on this." I turned back to the mirror and smoothed my hand down the front of my dress. I was glowing in a way I hadn't for the longest of time. My skin was tanned and my eyes were bright. I looked happy. "Ready?" He asked. My eyes met his in the mirror. "I'm ready." Dinner was at the the patio of theSinclair.I hadn't seen Cath in exactly four hours, twenty six minutes and thirteen seconds. Not that I was counting or anything. I wasn't that needy.Yeah, sure.I scoffed silently. I could admit to myself at least that I craved Cath as much as I craved air.I had gotten used to us existing in our little bubble and I was feeling a little bit annoyed that these people had burst it and taken her away.Presently, I was hiding at the bar. I had excused myself a while ago from the table where the grooms party had been holding court and bonding over drinks and such, with the pretense of going to go make a call. I ground my teeth in irritation as I checked my watch once again.Bored, restless and itching to have Cath back at my side. I had never been like this. This wasn't me at all and I didn't know what had warranted this sudden change. This sudden urgency in me to be attached to Cath's hip.I was doing my best to concea
London The party stretched far into the night, long after the older people had gone off to bed and my feet had gone sore from all the dancing. At a point, the drums and cultural music transformed into pop songs. Most of us were drunk, and uninhibited so it had started to feel more like a club than a wedding. Sin had cut off my alcohol intake a while back, so I was perfectly sober. Sana and Jay were in one corner talking and giggling and occasionally making out indecently. To my complete surprise, Charlie and Rohan had been dancing together nearly the whole night. I wondered if it was just because she was drunk or if the alcohol had allowed her to do something she had always wanted to do. Those two were definitely going to end up in bed. The thought made me laugh. “What’s funny?” Sin asked me. “Charlie and Rohan.” I replied. He looked over his shoulder at them and let out a breath of laughter. “I called it.”“All that fighting and bickering always looked a tad suspicious.” I n
LondonThe door clicked shut behind me. The sound loud and meaningful in the dark, quietness of the room. The air between us cackled with electricity as we stared at each other. The moonlight seeping into the room illuminated him in shades and silver. His hair looked darker and his eyes were like two pools of unfiltered desire. "We should shower." I said."We should." He agreed, then he reached for his sleeves and undid the cuffs. I pushed his jacket off my shoulders. He began to undo the buttons of his shirt and I followed suit, taking my clothes off, till we were both in our underwear. Mine, a matching nude and his, black Calvin Klein briefs. He held out his hand to me and I placed mine in his. The difference in the size of our palms made something primal come to life within me. I liked the size difference between us. I liked how standing beside his much larger frame, I always felt safe and protected. Slowly, we made our way to the bathroom.The moment felt sacred and I was lo
London.Waking up cocooned into his body was the best part of my day if I was being honest. I enjoyed it for as long as I could, breathing his natural body smell in. Allowing it to feel my lungs and cloud my senses. Soft sunlight filters through the curtains, creating a warm and cozy vibe in the bedroom. I sighed as I burrowed deeper into his body."Good morning. How did you sleep?" He asks in a raspy voice that does things to my insides. Flashes of the previous night flit through my head and I smile in contentment. "I slept well, all thanks to the big teddy bear I slept with last night." I tease.He chuckled. "I don't think I look anything like a bear. A little bit too less hair." "I don't know what you're talking about. You're my stuffed animal." "Hmmm." I can hear the smile in his voice. I open my mouth to say something else but a sharp pain in my middle leaves me gasping instead. Sin shot up to a seating position immediately. "Are you okay? Babe? What's wrong?" I rubbed my s
London The day was perfect. Me, half asleep cuddled up into Sin's warm body, the curtains drawn, the ceiling fan spinning lazily and Sin, reading a mystery book the concierge brought for him. I could get used to this. Nope. Hell no. I wasn't even going to go there. I corrected myself immediately. I could get used to this- with someone who definitely wasn't Sinclair Donovan-Wells. The thought left a sour taste at the back of my throat though. Refusing to think more about it, I settled back into the semi-conscious state where my mind went peacefully blank. The rythmic thump of Sin's heart under my head was just about to lull me into sleep when an unwelcome knock yanked me back to awareness. I looked up at Sin who had a confused look on his face. "Expecting someone?" I asked."No. Go back to bed. I'll get rid of whoever it is." He dropped a kiss on the top of my head before slipping out of bed. Being in bed felt instantly less appealing without him in it. The only thing that separa
London"Do you want to play a game?" I asked Sin. We were back in bed after the drama with his bitchy assistant had passed. We had both agreed that we wouldn't be opening the door to any other uninvited guests. It was better that way. Our time together was quickly ending and I was eager to maximize every second to the fullest. Our time was running out and my heart was lodged somewhere in my throat. That was how terrified I was. Tell him. The thought flittered again through my head. It had been a recurring thought. One I didn't want to address at all. "No. But you want to, so I'm gonna indulge you." He replied.I chuckle. "How do you know I want to?" "I can read your mind.""You're silly" If he could, he'd have found out the truth and kicked me out on the first day. It would have been a relief. I would have gone home angry at Cath and a little bit embarrassed. Then when Sin had simply been just a really attractive looking man to me and nothing else. "What game do you wanna play?
London."I don't really want to play games anymore," I said."I want to cheer you up, so let's play a game. I want to know, so you have to indulge me." "Okay. What's the game?" "Letters of the alphabet, from A to Z, we'll take turns mentioning a date idea or venue. Like A for aquarium and so on." He said."What does the winner get?" I asked."Shouldn't you be asking what the loser gets? Let the winners worry about what the winner gets." He winked. I rolled my eyes at him. "Oh, shut up. I'll mop the floor with your hide.""I'll believe it when it happens." He booped my nose. I glared at him which only made him laugh. "You're cute." "I hate you." "I love you." I sighed. It didn't matter how many times he said it, it still thrilled me every single time. I could never get tired of hearing him say it. I wondered if Cath felt the same way. I hoped she never missed an opportunity to tell him that she loved him too. Did she though? The question popped into my head unbidden. Had her a
London"I can't think of a single date idea that starts with the letter z," I said."Going to the zoo." He supplied to my eternal consternation. We had been playing for hours. And I had accused Sin multiple times of having researched all his answers earlier. The man was a whizz. I had run into multiple roadblocks and I was sure the amount of points I had lost was way more than the ones I had gotten. Especially as Sin kept bringing up stupid rules that made sure I always had a point deducted even when I was rejoicing about gaining one. He was a shameless crook. "Sin! You could at least pretend like you are as clueless as I am.""And why would I do that?" He scoffed."To make me feel better. I thought you loved me.""I didn't know you were such a sore loser." He laughed. "So you brought up what the loser gets and what the winner gets.""And you didn't say anything. No agreements were made." I argued. "It's my game. And for this game, the rewards are revealed after the act."I gasped
One month laterLondon“What if this doesn’t work?” I wrung my hands nervously. Cath rolled her eyes. “You’re the one that came up with this ridiculous plan.” I glared at her. “Hey! You’re the one who started the whole twin switch trend.” “Gabriel thinks this is stupid too.” She pointed out. I huffed. “I can’t believe you even told Gabriel. This was supposed to be between us.” “I’m not going to rub myself over Sinclair without my boyfriend knowing.” She said. “You should just go be Gabriel’s twin then. Ugh, isn’t there like a sacred twin code or something.” She shrugged. “I’m confused about what you’re trying to do here exactly, Lon. Isn’t Sin like so head over heels in love with you that he has a tunnel vision for you.” “Well, but what if?” I whined. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Sin and I were okay, everything was perfect, and yet… yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that he could just love my sister as easily again. I knew it was just my insecurities rearing their ugl
SinclairI had just gotten back from work, a single foot inside my apartment when my phone rang. I dug it out the inner pocket of my suit jacket. “Hello.” “Am I speaking to Sinclair Donovan-Wells?”“Yes. Who’s this?” “I’m calling about Miss Albright, she’s been involved in an accident and you are…”The woman’s words trailed off. Blood rushed out of my head and I felt dizzy and unsteady. “Where? Where’s she?” I managed to ask through the lump in my throat. I was already jumping into the elevator and stabbing the button for the ground floor repeatedly by the time the woman began to rattle off the location. “Thanks.” I said and hung up. The drive over was one big blur, I must have run several red lights in my rush to the hospital. All I could think was that London was lying in a bed, hurt and she needed me. She had to be okay. She had to be. I should never have wasted so much time running around my feelings for her. I should never have even let her walk away from me, from us back
London“I need you.” Three words. Eight letters. The exact same ones from the very same person that had gotten me into the biggest disaster of my life. Maybe I was weak, pathetic, a pushover, whatever you wanted to call it. A wiser and stronger person would have blocked my sister’s number, cut off all connections to her and my parents. Because they had hurt me. The kind of hurt where after years and years of it, I hadn’t even realized that I was being destroyed from inside out. The kind of hurt where they had broken me so much that I thought I had to be the one constantly apologizing for myself. For some reason though, I just couldn’t take that final step. I wasn’t Cath no matter how much I wanted to be sometimes. I was angry and heartbroken about everything, but I knew that someday I’d want to talk about it more calmly and heal. My phone had been blowing up since everything had gone down. I had listened to my parents cry over the phone, but Cath had been radio silent except that o
London“I don’t think I’ve ever fully recovered from that night of debauchery.” Eva said as she joined me in the booth. It was the day after Adam and I’s surprisingly fun date. I had been surprised at how well he had taken my rejection, but also glad about it. I’d have hated to have been mean to drive home my obvious lack of interest. Thankfully there had been no need for that. Eva’s lunch break corresponded with mine so we had decided to have a quick lunch together. My treat, because I now had some much needed amount of money in my bank account thanks to March Madness selling out. The hype around it was still going on strong. I guess everyone was curious about the new bestselling book by a previously unheard of author. It felt good to have money, but it felt much better to be able to pay for lunch with my friends. Eva had paid all the other times we had gone out together and even though she had assured me that I shouldn’t think too much about it cause she had money to burn, I still
LondonI had been digging through my wardrobe at a loss for what to wear for my date with Adam when I’d stumbled upon this really cute pink blouse. It was an old cloth but I had never won it because it had been too big at the time I had gotten it. Almost five years later and it was now perfectly my size. It was also perfect for this date paired with dark skinny jeans and black ankle boots. It gave the vibe I had meant to go for which was cute but not too sexy to look inviting. A little stern, but still lovely. The blouse had big flowy sleeves that I loved so much. I put my hair into a low bun, applied minimal make up and a spritz of perfume, then left my apartment to meet Adam at the foyer of my building. I had set up this date earlier today when I had run into him at the dog park. My decision to talk to Sin had hardened into a sure resolve. No matter how it turned out, I knew I couldn’t go out with Adam. I just wasn’t in the right place to pursue anything with him and I had to tel
SinclairAs soon as Cathleen left, I rang Lucas up. “Hey, man. What’s up?” “Sips Plix in fifteen?” I asked. “Make it twenty, I drove out to my sister’s place.” He said. “Sure.” I hung up. Changing out of my shirt and slacks, I slipped into a dark grey T-shirt and black corduroy pants, grabbed my wallet, car keys and headed out. I needed to talk to Lucas and get his opinion on things, but in reality, I knew that even if he discouraged me from going after London, I would still do it. I needed him as more of a sounding board to know how to go ahead with getting her back than anything else. I had made up my mind that I wasn’t spending one more second moping around and waiting for some force of nature to yank us back into each other’s orbits. Lucas showed up almost ten minutes after I’d gotten to the bar. My half full glass of alcohol had been left untouched. “Hey, this had better be an emergency.” He said as he joined me at the bar. “I had to leave my sister’s cute kids halfway int
SinclairI had completely forgotten that Cathleen had access to my apartment. The first thing I usually did when I ended things with a woman was revoke her access to my place. It had always seemed unnecessary with Cathleen though. She was the last person that would show up out of the blues to exchange words or do something crazy. But then again, maybe I had always just overestimated her. I was in the living room with my laptop when I heard the sound of heels clicking behind me. I looked over my shoulder.The first thing I thought was that London was here, in my apartment. My heart leaped. It came crashing back down when my brain finally registered that it wasn’t London at all, but Cath. Now that I knew them, I could clearly differentiate them even half asleep. They were perfectly identical of course, a mirror image. But I had had London in my arms and fallen in love with every inch of skin on her body, so my soul would know her even in the dark. And this wasn’t her.I followed Cat
LondonIt was almost three am when we were all finally wiped from a night of drinking, singing along to the music Eva had queued up to her amazing surround sound speakers and laughing till our bellies began to hurt. All in all, it had been an amazing night. Eva’s bed was super large and so somehow we had all fallen into it in a tangle of limbs and hair. When I woke up, it was almost five am. My head felt like someone had taken a drill to it and my mouth tasted like it had been stuffed with cotton. I tried to silently slip into the bathroom but ended up making more noise than I had expected. The girls were either too drunk or too deep in sleep to notice because when I looked over my shoulder, neither of them had stirred. I let out a breath of relief and tiptoed to the bathroom. I quickly peed and splashed water on my face and rinsed my foul tasting mouth out before making my way to the kitchen. I gulped down three glasses of water then located an Advil and popped two down my throat.
LondonStatic buzzed in my ear at her words. March Madness had what? “I d-don’t understand. What are you talking about?” I stammered. March Madness was my singular published book, and it was a raging failure. Only about ten copies of it had been bought since it’s release two years ago. The horrible sales had made me depressed for the longest time, and my editor had also cut off ties with me afterwards. And now, she was telling me that it had sold out? I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it. “Your book, March Madness.” She clarified, her voice never loosing that edge of excitement. I understood her excitement. My book suddenly making it big was like Christmas to her, it meant that she was about to line her pockets with some serious cash. And so was I. “It’s just become an overnight sensation. Six thousand copies were bought and now it’s on the New York bestseller list. Not on the top three, but I believe it could actually get there.” “Oh.” I said stupidly. “As I’m talk