Inseparable (7 page)

“You said yourself it’s gnarly,” I snapped, reaching out and pushing him away from the door. “Stop laughing at me,” I demanded, as I tried to close the door, putting all my weight against it, but he was nearly twice my size and way too strong for me.

“Okay, okay! I’ll stop laughing. I promise,” He looked at me solemnly, his eyes showing the only trace of amusement in his whole face, as he held his hands up, scout’s honor.

“Fine,” I grumbled, “Come in. but you’re paying for the pizza.” He followed me inside, into the living room. I sat back down in my spot, complete with blanket, magazines, tissues, pillows, and a nail file. Dane shook his head, hiding a smile behind his hand by pretending to rub his chin.

“What?” I growled, daring him to say something.

“I didn’t say anything,” He protested. The doorbell rang. Rolling his eyes, he pulled out his wallet and went to get the pizza.

“Hope you like anchovies! And olives!” I called after him. He came back a few minutes later, chuckling.

“You’re very strange, Lily,” He handed me the pizza, “Anchovies
and
olives? I mean, one or the other is bad enough, but
both
?” He made a face, and I took a strange satisfaction in him not liking my choice of pizza topping. That was fine by me; I was more than happy to have the whole pizza to myself.

“Double anchovies, too,” I said, my mouth full of pizza, just in case he wasn’t turned off enough.

“Do you want a drink?” He called out, heading into the kitchen as if he owned the place.

“Sure,” I called out, “And help yourself,” I added, rolling my eyes at his boldness. He came back with two cans of coke, throwing one of the cans on the sofa next to me. I rested it on the table, not game enough to open it, just in case he’d shaken it, because that’s something I would do.

“So now you’ve cancelled our date, I guess I’m picking the movie,” He walked over to Kella’s DVD cabinet. For a hard ass lesbian turned straight chick with anger issues, Kella sure loved her soppy romantic movies.

“Is this all you have?” Dane screwed up his face as he read through the selections, “
Gone with the wind, Sleepless in Seattle, True Love, Pretty Woman
…” He looked at me, horrified.

“Don’t blame me. They’re Kella’s,” I jumped to my feet, heading for my room, fully aware he was following me. I fished through one of the boxes in the corner of my room that I was yet to unpack as he stood in the doorway, watching me. After a moment he wandered in, looking at the few photos I had on my dressing table, me vaguely aware of the pile of underwear sitting on the bed I’d yet to put away.

“You and Abby,” He murmured, gazing at the picture. Not that it was that hard to work out. She was the only identical twin I had. “You two look identical,” He said softly.

“Yeah,” I replied. Hadn’t I mentioned that? I wasn’t sure what difference it really made in the whole scheme of things.

“Okay, so we have
Die Hard
, or
Under Siege
,” I handed Dane the movies. I had more, but truthfully I needed him out of my room. He was hard enough to resist in the car, but put me in a setting with a bed and Dane, and I couldn’t promise things wouldn’t happen.

“Hmmm. Tough choice.
Die Hard
,” He answered, throwing
Under Siege
back on the bed. “You’re still limping,” He commented, as he followed me back into the living room. I wondered if he had checked out my ass. I blushed as I recalled how we’d met.

“Yeah. Doctor said it might take me a few days to get my strength back in the foot, but it’s so good to be out of that plaster,” I grinned, glancing down at my foot. While in the bedroom, I’d thrown on a pair of socks in an attempt to hide my foot. If he noticed, he didn’t say anything.

“So, tell me more about you,” He raised his eyebrows as he reached for a slice of pizza, picking off the olives and anchovies. What was left was a limp slice of cheese pizza. I reached over and gathered up his scraps, piling them on top of my slice. He stared at me in disbelief as I took a big bite.

Me? Shit. It had been that long since anyone had asked about me, I had to think for a moment.

“That’s a tough question. What do you want to know?” The flavors exploded in my mouth. Mmm. So good! This beat the ass off frozen pizza.

“You’re not good at talking about yourself,” He laughed. I gave him a look. And he was?

“Neither are you,” I shot back, “Okay. Something about me. Well, I love fishing, basketball. I’m a bit of a tomboy. The son my parents never had,” I giggled, “And I love my food, but I can’t cook. My skill lies solely in eating,” I added.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m a pretty awesome cook, then,” He responded, cocking his eyebrow. I laughed.

“You?” I repeated, not bothering to hold back my amusement or surprise. I would never have picked Dane to be good at cooking.

“Yes,” He said with a wounded look, “Why is that so funny? Haven’t we reached a point in our society where a man can be appreciated for his cooking ability?”

“Sure we have, you just don’t strike me as the type to whip up a gourmet meal,” I giggled.

“Hold on,” He began, “I never said gourmet, but my skills extend beyond boiled eggs and pasta.” He stopped as I continued to laugh, “Are you done?” He crossed his arms, and narrowed his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized, my expression suggesting the opposite. He shook his head.

“Okay. You leave me no other choice. Tomorrow, you are coming over to my house for dinner. I’m going to cook you a meal that will make you want to throw yourself at me,” He said proudly, and very confidently. Little did he know I already wanted to do just that.

“Oh, is that right?” I replied sarcastically, “Well I don’t want to miss out on that.”

“Good,” Dane looked satisfied. His sneaky smile made me feel like I’d somehow just fallen for a joke. I was beginning to doubt he could even cook at all, and this was just a façade to get me to his house.

I put the movie on, trying to stop myself from sneaking glances at him. This guy was different to anyone I’d ever known. He was confident, cocky, and sure of himself, but then he was sweet, sensitive and funny. I found myself wondering if there was any truth at all to the rumors Kella warned me about.

“So, are you a sophomore or junior?” I asked, pretending to be confused. I’d known from that day in the office that he was sophomore, because he had to make up a few classes which had held him back.

“I’m a sophomore. I had…some issues last year that kept me from full time study,” He was hesitant. It was the first time I’d heard that reserved edge to his voice. Something was holding him back, what it was exactly, I didn’t know. He abruptly changed the subject.

“Tell me more about Abby,” He asked, turning on the sofa so he was facing me, “What was it like to have a twin?” He asked.

“It was like having a part of you as a separate person,” I began, not really sure how to describe it. It was easier for me to explain what it was like to not have a twin, “We were lucky in that we were so close. We had different personalities, which a lot of people seemed to forget. The number of times we were treated as a single person was a joke,” I said, smiling.

“And your other sister, are you close to her?” Dane asked

“We’re close, but it’s not the same kind of closeness if that makes sense?” I tried to explain, “I love her and would do anything for her, and she knows she can talk to me about anything, but losing Abby almost tore us apart. You’d think it would’ve brought us closer, if anything,” I added. I think all my relationships became strained to some degree after Abby died. I felt bad, maybe it was my fault Anna and I weren’t as close as I’d have liked us to be. I should be calling her more often. It was kind of selfish of me, I’d never really thought about how much losing Abby would’ve affected Anna, especially with my withdrawing from everyone. It would’ve almost been like losing two sisters.

“Lil?”

I glanced back at Dane. He didn’t need to say it, I’d drifted off into my own little world again. His arm rested on the back of the couch, his fingers softly touching my hair. I wondered if he was going to kiss me again. I hoped he did. When he lifted his other hand to my face, I knew it was coming.

Gently, he moved his face closer to mine. His eyes were still firmly locked on mine. I stared into those amazing blue eyes, and wondered what he was thinking. Was he thinking about me? About how much he wanted to kiss me, and touch me? I reached my own hand up to his face, my fingers running over the rough stubble that lined his cheekbones. I found the roughness of his stubble an incredible turn on.

This time, I initiated the kiss, drawing my lips to his. He responded immediately, sliding back onto the couch and pulling me on top of him.

I lay above him, my hair cascading around his face, loving the intimacy of this moment. Apart from the soft hum of the TV, the house was silent, as his mouth worked with mine, together, in unison. My back arched as his hand dipped under the back of my top, his hand running along the curve of my spine. His every touch made me jump, my body responding by pressing closer against him. I was well aware of how aroused he was, and how sexy his arousal made me feel.

“You’re such a good kisser, sexy. Where did you learn to kiss like that?” He murmured, kissing me again.

“I guess I must be a natural,” I laughed, but that’s exactly how it felt. Natural. I rested my head on his chest, this whole experience feeling a bit surreal. As he stroked my hair we watched the rest of the movie, every now and then he’d lean down and kiss my forehead.

I sighed. I could get used to this.

Chapter Eight

Kella was sitting at the table eating toast when I dragged myself out of bed. I sat down next to her and rested my head on the table. It was early, just after eight. I had no business being up that time. Nobody should willingly get up that early.

“You were out late last night,” I commented, yawning. Thank god it was the weekend,
why was it one of the few days I could actually sleep in I woke earlier than if I needed to get to classes? I was beginning to wonder what possessed me to enroll in an extra study load for my first real semester. Between all my assignments, and my foot, I’d barely had time to myself. And now I was throwing Dane into that mix.

“Mmm hmm,” Kella grinned, a mouth full of toast, “Fraser took me out for dinner, then up to this amazingly beautiful lookout.” She sighed, her eyes closing, the dreamy expression on her face telling me she was falling for Fraser, and fast.

“Really?” I giggled, picking at the cereal I’d just poured myself, “Well, I had a pretty good night too,” I hinted. Kella’s head whipped around.

“What? I thought you cancelled because of your fugly foot,” She said suspiciously

“I did,” I said, smiling at Kella’s choice of words. She was such a potty mouth, “And then he turned up on the doorstep,” I laughed at Kella’s shocked expression and her half open mouth.

“Really?” She glanced under the table at my foot, “And he didn’t run after seeing
that
?” She joked. I stuck my tongue out. Nobody could ruin my mood today.

“Are you forgetting that he caused
that
?” I retorted, mimicking her tone, “Anyway, we ate pizza and watched
Die Hard
.”

“So romantic,” snorted Kella, “He sounds like a catch.”

“I’m going out,” I announced, brushing cereal crumbs off my shirt. Kella eyed me curiously, “He
may
have invited me to his place for dinner,” I smiled mysteriously at her.

“Careful you don’t wind up in a barrel of acid in his basement,” She said snidely, chuckling at her own little joke. I glowered at her, my hands firmly on my hips so she knew I meant business. “Sorry,” She shrugged. She smiled brightly, her brown eyes wide with fake enthusiasm, “That’s great news, Lil!”

“Oh fuck off,” I grumbled, grinning at her, “Can I borrow your car?”

The nearest mall was less than a ten mile drive. It had been ages since I’d gone clothes shopping, and now twice in a week. On the way, I’d called Gem to see if she was free. I would have asked Kella, but shopping with Kella was like shopping with a two year old, and I needed to focus. Besides, I was really enjoying Gem’s company.

I met Gem at the entrance. She was already waiting, with two coffees in her hands.

“You read my mind,” I grinned, grabbing one of the coffees off her and taking a big sip. I sighed as the warm liquid ran down my throat. Gem laughed.

“No, I just assume everyone is like me on a Sunday morning, unable to function without several hits of caffeine,” She joked, “So, why are we here again?”

“We are here so I can knock the socks off Dane tonight. He invited me over for dinner,” I explained how he’d turned up last night, and how we’d watched movies and eaten pizza.

“And you want something cute and sexy to woo him tonight, right? I know just the store,” She grabbed my elbow and led me inside to a small boutique. We’d barely made it through the door when she stopped suddenly, “Hey, your cast is gone!”

“Yesterday,” I nodded, sticking my foot out to show her. After two more showers, and a night to breathe, it didn’t look or smell nearly as bad as it had yesterday. Gem had already begun skimming the racks as if she were in a time trial, I stepped back, afraid to get in her way.

“What are you, like a professional shopper?” I joked, staring at what was fast becoming a mound of clothes in her arms. She rolled her eyes at me, giggling.

“No, I’m just a girl with way too much spare time and parents who feel guilty about not being around,” She kept her voice light, but I caught the underlying sadness that hid there. The few times she’d opened up about her family I got the feeling things were tense.

“Thanks for this, Gem. You’re a good friend,” I reached for the clothes in her arms and began sorting them into yes and no piles. She looked surprised, as if my acknowledgement of her friendship had meant a lot to her.

“Anytime, Lily,” She smiled. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I reached for it, juggling the dress and my bag. It was from Dane, “Dane?” Asked Gem. I glanced at her, surprised, “Your face just broke into this big grin,” She laughed. I blushed, embarrassed my feelings were so obvious.