He laughs. “Yeah, it can get wild.” He runs his hand through his hair. “We need to do some repairs on the house and we’re doing a car wash to help raise the money. You should come.”
“We’ll think about it,” I tell him. I glance over the flyer again. Bold type declares:Volunteers needed for the WOW Car Wash. All money collected goes to the Bears fund.
“Bring your bikinis. It can get wet.” He winks before jogging off and towards another group of girls walking by.
“Are there even bears around here?” I ask Erika.
She shrugs and looks over the flyer. “Only bears I know about are shifter ones I read in romance books.” Her mouth falls open and her face turns a shade redder than I’ve seen on her before. I burst into laughter. I like that I’m not the only person who says things before they think.
“Pretty sure my boyfriends are bears. They just can’t shift,” I tease, trying to ease her embarrassment over her small slip. I nudge her with my elbow. “That I know of,” I add, and she giggles. “And don’t hold out on the book recs. I love a good romance, too. They have gotten me through the last couple of years,” I sigh.
We fall into talking about our favorite books. I fold the flyer up and put it in my purse as we order. I get a hot chocolate and muffin. Erika gets the same. We sit down at an open table outside, and I pull out my phone to check the time.
“They change their names back?” Erika asks, taking a giant bite of her muffin.
“Yes, and I can’t figure out how Zeke made it so I can’t change it again.” I play with it for a moment. I don’t know how he does this crazy tech stuff.
“Oh shit.” I look up at Erika. She raises her eyebrows in question. “I’m in trouble,” I groan. “I accidentally stopped sharing my location.” I show her my phone.
It starts to ring, causing me to jump and drop in onto the metal table. I don’t have to look to know who’s calling. I pick it up, answering it.
“Morning, honey,” I chirp in my sweetest voice. Erika fights a laugh.
“Told you to keep your ass planted.”
“Best friends don’t boss each other around. They don’t carry that privilege.” A few people turn to look at me. Why does it feel like people know who I am around here? I haven’t even been here twenty-four hours.
“I warned you once, Livvie,” Levi growls. “Why did you stop sharing your location?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Zeke says, not only through the phone but from behind me. I turn to see them both standing there. Their eyes are on my bare legs and my tiny shorts. Their breaths are short and heavy and their eyes have a wild look in them. I smile to myself, knowing that I made the right decision in wearing these shorts and a thrill of anticipation runs through me waiting for the rest of their reaction.
CHAPTER5
ZEKE
“She's playing with us,”my brother snarls in my ear.
“Yep.” I fold my arms across my chest and survey the sight in front of me. Olivia’s long legs are completely exposed and her ass is barely covered with a tiny scrap of denim. Her shirt isn’t much better with its tight fit and low-cut neck. There’s enough cleavage there for a man to drown in. I bite down on my lower lip.
I’ve spent countless nights imagining the weight of those tits balanced on my palms—how I’d squeeze and shape them and ready them for my mouth. I’d suck on her nipples until they're tight and hard. My mouth begins to salivate. Beside me, Levi lets out a low, guttural moan.
“I don't know how much longer I can take this.”
“You got four days, man,” I murmur out of the side of my mouth. My eyes are still pinned on Olivia, smiling like an innocent beam of sunshine.
“Four days until she turns eighteen,” he says.
I tear my eyes away from Olivia’s perfect body to glare at my brother. He’s not saying what I think he’s saying, is he?
“Four days until we can touch her,” I clarify.
Levi returns my grim look. “We promised Livvie’s mom to wait until Livvie was ready. If she’s not ready now then four days isn’t going to make a difference. Her birthday doesn’t magically change shit.”
The urge to bury my brother behind our apartment suddenly seizes me. Why is he bringing logic into this? I had the same awful thoughts myself. I pinch the bridge of my nose and tilt my head back. The promise that we made to Olivia's mom wasn't just to wait till she was eighteen but to wait until she had found herself. Sonya worried we’d be rushing her daughter into a decision she wasn’t emotionally prepared to make. For a lot of people, a threesome might be okay for a hookup but not a permanent relationship, which seems dumb as fuck to me. I get that. I do, but…I’d set her birthday as the deadline and there's been a mental timer ticking in my head. That countdown has been about the only thing that’s kept me sane.
I drop my head down and stare at my girl who has turned back to her roommate. “What are you suggesting?”
I already know the answer. We aren't identical twins for nothing. It's not that we just look alike. We think alike. We have some kind of psychic connection. No matter how far away we are from each other, I can sense what's going on in his life, what he's feeling. I know if he's upset. I know if he's happy. The whole reason that we never dated before Olivia came along was because it would be impossible for him to love someone without me feeling the exact same thing. We’re one soul in two bodies. Levi couldn't be with the girl without me wanting to be with her, too, and vice versa.