I watched as the confident piano man lured Nessa out onto the dance floor, grinning to myself.

Girl was trying so damn hard not to be happy about the situation she was in right now, but I saw right through it. He'd swooped in like a savior, and as much as Nessa might insist that she didn't need saving, she was trying way too hard to hide her grin.

Grayson saved me, too. Honestly. Madie was off with Bren, Nessa was occupied with him, and now I could focus on my date.

My gaze swept back to Collins, only to find her squinting at me.

"Are you a model?"

I snorted. "Am I a model?"

"Yeah, you know. People who pose for money."

"I love how you just complimented me and then insulted my intelligence in under thirty seconds."

She gave me a slight, secretive grin. The booze had been working its way through her; I could tell. And so far, being tipsy only made her more adorable.

"Just trying to keep you on your toes, Beau."

I leaned back in my chair, grinning at her. "I can appreciate that."

Collins took another sip of her drink, and I took a steadying breath when her eyes didn't leave mine. She was making me feel drunker than any alcohol ever had.

"You didn't answer my question," she pointed out.

Laughing, I shook my head. "No, I'm not a model."

A perfect eyebrow raised. "You could be."

Maybe it was time to cut her off.

—

The shuffling of feet alerted me that someone was coming down the hallway, and I knew exactly who it was.

Collins stuck to her routine like it was her lifeline. She always got up at seven-thirty, even on the weekends. Her alarm usually woke me up, too, but I didn't mind. It was my little bit of solace in the mornings, listening to her drag her feet down the hall and punch buttons on the coffee maker until the gradual drips of brewing filled the quiet apartment. She usually shuffled back to her room after that, her door closing with a faint click.

Fuck, I sounded creepy. That sounded downright creepy, and I should probably just find a new place to live right now.

But I couldn't. I wouldn't.

When the footsteps stopped on the other side of the kitchen, I didn't look up. I already knew what would happen when I did, and frankly, I wasn't prepared to deal with that this morning.

"Oh, hey."

She sounded breathless. Surprised to see me. Which made sense because I wasn't usually in the kitchen at this time. Even though I heard her door open every day at seven-thirty, I always waited until it closed again before venturing to get my own coffee.

But today, I had somewhere I needed to be. And even though I'd rolled through the shower faster than I could sing my personal rendition of Lose Yourself, I hadn't been able to make it out of the apartment quick enough. And now I was stuck in my own version of hell. Fuck Dante's nine circles. This right here easily replaced the one where people were just stuck bouncing around in the center of a storm like human freaking windmills.

"Mornin' Collins. Coffee's in the pot."

"Thanks. Nessa up, too?"

Funny how she only thought I'd be up if Nessa was, too. Perceptive of her, honestly. Sure, I did a lot with Nessa. And yeah, maybe I didn't do much on my own; being alone was shitty as fuck. But still, Collins' assessment of the situation couldn't be more wrong.

Baby girl, the only schedule my life revolves around is yours.

"Nah," I said, finishing the note I was writing. "Nessa's still in bed humping Grayson."

Collins laughed lightly, and the shuffling of feet started up again.

After signing my name at the bottom of the sticky note, I slapped it on the counter and tucked the pen in my pocket.

"What's that?"

I shrugged, finally willing myself to look at her. And yep—gorgeous.

The sight of her like this killed me. It made me want to turn back the clock to that morning last winter when I'd woken up next to her. Her frizzy morning hair, soft, sleepy eyes. Vulnerable and beautiful. There were little lines on the side of her face, the imprint of her pillow. It was the same look I'd seen once before, and it destroyed me to remember.

Circle number one, folks. I was right here in my own little hell.

Clearing my voice, I said, "Just a note for you and Ness."

She cocked her head to the side, and I rubbed the back of my neck.

When Collins began walking curiously toward my side of the kitchen, I froze. And yes, the kitchen was divided into sides. All the rooms were divided into sides. My side and her side. Did Collins realize she had a side? No, she didn't. And yet, she was pretty damn good at sticking to the imaginary guidelines, which had worked out well so far. But now she was coming closer, and I panicked, stepping back toward the front door.

"It's going to rain today," Collins read from the sticky note. "Dress appropriately...bitches?"

She said the last word like she couldn't believe that was what it actually said, so I nodded, confirming it. "Yes, ma'am. Gonna be a chilly one. So for the love of God, wear something other than those sandals you always have on, Collins. You know, a pair of rain boots would work well."

She shook her head. "I don't have any rain boots."

Mental note: buy Collins a pair of rain boots.

Her eyes widened. Ah, fuck. She read my mind.

"And don't you dare buy me any."

Mental note: buy Collins a pair of rain boots. Make her believe they're from Nessa.

"I would never," I said, raising my hands to prove my innocence. No quick purchases going on behind my back here. After all, I still needed to figure out her shoe size. Flashing a smile, I tried not to betray how off-balance she made me. And to my surprise, she laughed. It rang across the kitchen, tickling my nerve endings.

"You're so...motherly, Beau."

"Motherly?" I choked a bit on my own tongue. That wasn't exactly something I wanted to hear coming from the girl I had it bad for. But maybe this was why it hadn't worked between us, huh? My mouth split into a smirk, recovering as quickly as I possibly could. "I've had girls call me daddy, but I gotta say, Collins, mommy is a first."

"Beau Martin!"

Of course Nessa picked that moment to walk into the kitchen. Loved that for me.

"No one is calling you daddy," she scoffed, her hair piled on top of her head as she began rummaging through the fridge.

I shrugged. "You'd be surprised."

And then I quickly backed out of the front door. Moonwalked that shit like a Nick Miller wannabe.

It wasn't a lie, though.

Nessa would be surprised. I was joking—mostly—about the whole daddy thing, but still. Just because I was discreet about the girls I'd hooked up with in college didn't mean they didn't exist. What did my friends honestly think I did when they all went out on dates? When I went home for the summer? It sure as hell wasn't sitting at home alone on my ass.

Sighing, I hopped into my car and started driving out of town. A couple of hours to Sacramento, and then this would be over.

****

"There's my baby bro!"

Slamming the door to my Rover, I crossed the parking lot of the IHOP we decided to meet in.

"Five minutes, man. You're five minutes older than me."

Cato flashed me a shit-eating grin in response. It was familiar because it was mine. Just different around the edges.

The novelty of being a twin wore off a long time ago, but it still took me by surprise every now and again. There were obvious discrepancies between Cato and me—the scar above his right brow, the ironic twisting of his lips, how his cheeks hollowed out a bit more than mine, the way he kept his hair buzzed short. But sometimes, he looked me in the eye and purposefully put on my face. My face.

He wiped the grimness away and sported my smile. And I hated it.

I knew why he did it; it was a ploy to make us seem closer and remind me of when we were more similar. When we were kids.

"You know I just like giving you crap, Beau."

I sighed. "I know, dude."

He pulled me into a tight hug, and for a second, it did feel like we were young again. But then we stepped back, and the air shifted.

"You have my stuff?"

Cato cocked his head to the side. "That depends. You have mine?"

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

His lips split into a grin, and he tucked one hand into his black jeans before elbowing me.

"Kidding, bro."

He wasn't kidding; I could tell.

"But if you wanted to throw me something for delivering your shit, I wouldn't mind."

Yep, there it was.

"You stole that shit out of my bedroom at mom and dad's like three years ago, Cato."

"Well—"

"It's whatever," I cut in. That wasn't the main problem. If Cato wanted to spend what limited money he had on snowboarding with his buddies with my equipment, he could do that for all I cared. "I wouldn't have minded coming to get it from you, but you won't tell me where you fucking live."

Cato nodded, swallowing. "You know you'd tell mom."

"I wouldn't."

Mom would probably pry it out of me, but that was different.

"She would ask you questions until you let it slip, and you know it."

Yep. There it was. He wasn't wrong.

I sighed, and there was a short silence. Sunlight filtered through the trees on the edge of the parking lot, giving minimal coverage for a bright day. I'd driven out of the rain on my way up here. It wasn't very warm, though, and a chill worked its way around my bones.

"How far you'd drive?" I asked. "I can cover your gas."

Cato kicked at a rock and looked to the ground. "Not far. But..."

I waited for the other shoe to drop.

"I could really use some help, Beau." He glanced up, and seeing my expression, immediately hastened his words. "Just for rent, I swear. Seriously. Work's been fucking slow, and—"

"How much?"

Shrugging, Cato looked sheepish. And that was how I knew whatever he needed money for, it wasn't just for rent.

"Few thousand."

I shoved my hands in my pockets.

"Where ya living that rent is a few thousand a month?"

He flashed me a look. "Beau..."

"Mom and dad—"

"Mom and dad don't understand shit," he cut in with a snarl. His face contorted into the other side of him that he'd tried to hide when I first walked up. The side of that got him cut off from the family funds.

"Explain it to me, then," I said, trying to level with my brother. But he just shook his head and started to walk away, waving at the air.

Goddamnit.

"Cato!" I called, and sure enough, he turned right back around.

I knew he was playing me like a goddamn fiddle, but I just didn't care. I hated when people walked away from me like that. I hated when people left—period.

"I'll get you the money," I muttered. "Now give me my snowboard, and let's get some fucking pancakes, huh?"

Cato nodded, and the next thing I knew, his arm was slung over my shoulders, and the smell of the International House of Pancakes drifted over us.

"You gonna become a pro boarder now, Beau?" he looked over at me, a teasing glint in his eyes. "Find more ways to show me up as the family golden boy?"

Resisting the urge to shove him off after that comment, I shook my head. "Not a chance. Just need something to fill my spare time."

Cato nodded to that, but his expression didn't change.

****

My mood was shit when I walked into the apartment later that day. Thank God it was Saturday, and I didn't have anywhere to be until my Econ lecture Monday morning. I fully planned on going for a run to shake myself out of the feeling I got whenever I saw Cato. And then I was going to drink. A lot.

Stopping in my tracks, I looked up to see Nessa and Collins, both snuggled under blankets in the living room. It made me pause.

Nessa and Collins got along well. Really well. But they didn't usually hang out together. More often than not, Collins stayed in her room. And Nessa was typically with Grayson. Or me, when football boy was busy. And I was avoiding Collins. Which meant that Nessa wasn't usually with Collins. Because I came up with excuses for us to be anywhere else but, well, with Collins.

But now they were nothing sitting there. Together. Looking at me.

"We're having a roommate meeting," Nessa said gleefully.

Gleefully?

What did this girl have up her sleeve?

"Now?" I asked.

So much for my run. And my alcohol.

"Now," she replied firmly. "We've been waiting for you to come back."

Fucking fiddlesticks.

✨

yes, you read that right. beau has a secret identical twin.

I hope you're enjoying the story so far! Thanks for reading!

xoxo amelie