I have to work tonight - A

Within seconds, my phone vibrates and his reply is displayed across my screen.

Sunday for lunch then. Please? I’ll pick you up.

Sunday lunch? That doesn’t sound like a date time. That sounds like an I’m-curious-about-your-story-but-nothing-else time. Not that I would have been able to do Saturday anyway, because I finally relented to Em’s endless pursuit to go to the beach party tomorrow. Thankfully, Lane is going to tag along with me. I can’t help but wonder if Jace has a date tomorrow night, and that’s why he suggested Sunday. Forget it, Audrey, just get Sunday over with. I quickly text back that I will meet him and then put my phone away for the remainder of the class.

* * *

Tonight is my last night of training with Em. It’s been a lot of fun and this place will be kind of boring on the nights I have to work without her. She definitely keeps it interesting. Since I never really needed any training in the first place, we’ve been able to talk during our shifts, and I’ve slowly been telling her everything. Tonight, I finally just spit it all out. I told her all that’s happened between Jace and me, starting from the moment I met him on the sidewalk in Texas, all the way up to this morning.

Her silent, stunned face has me cringing, so I turn to put away the last of the glasses. The bar is finally empty and Mark is sweeping under the pool tables, leaving Em and I to get everything squared away for tomorrow’s shift. After minutes pass, I glance back her way and see that she still hasn’t moved from her spot. She’s staring off into space, as if she’s just been given some life-threatening news.

“All of that could not have happened to one person,” she finally says.

“I wish I could say I made it up.”

In a kind-hearted tone, she says, “You weren’t lying when you said you’re a mess.” She pouts her lip out in a sad expression. “But I think you’re just a victim of circumstance.”

I laugh and reply, “Yeah, the circumstance just so happens to be my life.”

That makes her laugh and her mood immediately lightens. “Surely you’ve drawn the last chip out of the bad luck jar. I mean, from here on out, I bet your life is gonna be fabulous.”

I give her a look that clearly says, ‘Yeah, right…’

Then, her face lights up and she claps her hands. “Jace! Oh my God, this is going to be so much fun! You and Jace!”

“Umm… I don’t think you heard every roadblock I listed earlier. I wasn’t kidding when I said the fates are not in our favor.”

She shakes her head back and forth stubbornly, “Nope, this is happening. He sounds CRAZY about you. It all makes so much more sense now!”

She’s getting way too excited about what will most likely amount to nothing. “What makes sense?” I ask.

“Wait, what happened last winter when I saw the two of you talking together in the store back in Texas?” she asks, avoiding my question altogether. “He said it was nothing and that you cornered him,” she adds.

“Really now? I cornered him? Ugh… boys suck.”

“So that’s not what happened? I just remember that you weren’t happy to see me either.” She sticks out her bottom lip in a fake pout.

I shake my head back and forth in reply and laugh. “I felt like every time I saw you, Jace had his arm around your shoulders. Of course I wasn’t happy to see you,” I laugh.

She giggles with me and says, “Okay, that I can understand.”

“Remember that night I told you about, where we hooked up for the first time in his car?” She nods her head quickly, obviously loving the prospect of hearing some juicy gossip. I smile and continue, “Well, after he said what he did, I couldn’t be there anymore. So once he passed out, I got out of the car and walked back to the hotel Lane and I were staying in.”

Her mouth gapes open in shock. “Yep, he had the same reaction,” I laugh. “I’ve walked through that town more times than I can count, so it wasn’t a big deal. But when he saw me at the store, he cornered me, demanding to know what happened to me and why I had left. He was spitting-mad to learn that I had walked back. He went over every possible scenario he could think of as to what could have happened to me, but then that was when you came up and ended the conversation. I haven’t talked to him again until we ran into each other last night. After which he snuck into my room, I might add.”

“Oh, this is so good! He’s totally into you. I do feel really bad for him and the huge mix-up from before. Now I finally understand the comments about how he’s tired of being a twin and people getting them mixed up.”

“Man, I wish I hadn’t been such an idiot that first day I met them.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself; it’s hard to tell them apart at first. I got them mixed up too,” she says. My head whips around to look at her in shock and she rushes to continue, “No, no. I didn’t accidently sleep with Jace or anything. I just didn’t know Jaxon had a twin brother either. The only way to really tell them apart at first is their...”

“Voices,” we both say at the same time, giggling.

She sighs and whispers, “Jaxon’s voice is so...”

“Irritating. Like nails on a chalkboard,” I interrupt.

“What?! Girl, you’re insane. That voice takes my panties off before his hands can do the job themselves.”

I laugh out loud and redirect the conversation. “Anyways, even if by some miracle things did work out with Jace, I don’t think he would ever be able to tell Jax.”

“Well, he’ll sure have to get over that now, won’t he?”

I shrug my shoulders noncommittally.

As we walk toward the back to grab our purses, she says, “Hey, do you want to go with me and Quinn tomorrow to get pedicures?” Before I can turn her down, she says, “Don’t worry about money. Quinn got all these gift certificates from someone she tutors, but they expire tomorrow so we have to use them.”

“I don’t know. The last time I saw Quinn… I’m pretty sure I heard her call me a she-devil.”

She laughs out loud and covers her mouth to stifle it, but there’s no holding back her amusement. “I’m sorry,” she says between snorts, “I shouldn’t laugh. That whole time was pretty outrageous. Quinn is loyal to a fault; it’s one of the reasons I love her. And neither of us had ever heard of you until you showed up, so she didn’t know your story either.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. Doesn’t make it any less nerve-wracking to hang out with her though,” I say.

“I’ll take care of it all. So be ready, because I’m picking you up tomorrow morning.”

JACE -

With a nervousness I’m not accustomed to, I sit on the end of my bed and dial my mom’s phone number. Calling her doesn’t make me nervous, since we usually talk a couple times a week at the very least. It’s what I need to tell her that makes me uneasy.

After four rings I begin to wonder if she’s home, but then I hear her familiar voice, which always makes me a little homesick.

“Hello, my favorite son,” she says with her characteristic greeting, and I can hear the smile in her voice.

“Mom, it doesn’t count if you say that to both of us.”

“Damn, you caught me,” she jokes. “But seeing as how I haven’t heard from your brother since I left California a few weeks ago, you certainly are my favorite.”

“Gee, thanks Mom. I win on account of having no life.”

“Is that why you’re calling me on a Saturday evening?”

“No… there’s actually a beach party tonight everyone’s going to,” I begin. I know she’s staying quiet so I can tell her what I need to on my own. She’s always had the patience of a saint. “Mom, I wanted to talk to you about Pre-med…”

“What about it, sweetie?”

“I dropped it.”

Without the sound of any surprise in her voice, she asks, “And what are your plans now?”

In one long breath, I say, “I’ve been double-majoring. Pre-med and Business. But I don’t want to be a doctor, Mom. I thought it sounded cool a long time ago, and Dad acted like it was the greatest thing ever. I tried to like it, I swear, but now it’s my senior year and I’m so tired of doing both. Uncle Logan has been talking to me since last year, trying to convince me to come and take over when he’s ready to retire.”

“Go on…” she says.

Damn, she’s more disappointed than I thought she would be. I know they are all excited to have this awesome doctor in the family, but do they not want me to do what I want to do? Especially something like taking over my dad’s business? Well, at least Uncle Logan thinks it’s a respectable idea.

“I want to do what Dad did. I want to join The Riley Group and keep it in the family. I know you’re disappointed, but… I know it’s what I need to do,” I finish.

“All I have to say about this matter is…thank God!” she exclaims. “I’m so relieved you finally made this decision.”

“What?” I reply, shocked.

“Jace, I never thought you wanted to be a doctor. I was surprised when you applied for the Pre-med program. Of course, I wasn’t surprised when you got in, but I always thought you were more interested in your Dad’s company than anything else. I remember you asking a million questions a day about his job. Any chance you had to go hang out at his office, you took. I know you’ll do a fantastic job, and I couldn’t be happier for you. I’m sad that you felt like you needed to impress us though. What does Jaxon think about all of this?”

“Um…”

“Jace, you haven’t told him?” she assumes loudly and correctly.

“No. Jax is the worst when it comes to bragging about my major. How can I tell him?”

“Jace Riley, you need to stop being so concerned about your brother and what he thinks. He loves you and will support you through anything. No matter how distracted he is at the moment.”

“That’s the other reason why I haven’t told him. He can’t stay out of Em’s mouth long enough to talk to me.”

“Talk to your brother. Stop making excuses. I love you and you’re doing a great job with school. You should know by now I’ll always support your decisions.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

She keeps me on the phone for a while longer, updating me on everything happening back home, and even trying to get me to talk about any girls I’m dating. Nice try, Mom. She eases my fears about telling Jaxon and makes me realize that it really isn’t as big a deal as I’ve been making it out to be.

When I finally disconnect, I realize that the beach party started an hour ago and I was supposed to be there with Quinn and Em. I rush to get dressed and run out the door.

I pull up in the parking lot at the same time Jax’s truck is easing into a spot near the front.

“Dude, you’re just getting here?” Jax calls when I step out of my car.

He and Cole are freshly showered from practice and looking a little beat. Coach must have run them hard today. He tends to do that at Saturday practices, because he likes to try and wear them out so they won’t go out and party later that night. It usually doesn’t work though.

“Running behind. The girls here?” I ask, as I catch up to them.

“I sure as hell hope so, since they aren’t answering their phones,” Cole adds, sounding irritated.

“Ease up, jackasses, I’m sure they’re at the party. Nobody carries a damn phone with them at these things,” I explain.

I can hear the laughter and the hoots and hollers from the party. As we cross over the sand hill, I quickly spot our group standing around three lit fire pit rings. From what I’ve heard, some of these guys are out here several nights a week, just sitting around the fire. It does create a nice atmosphere, the way they’ve built the fires up as high as they can get them in the circular, concrete rings.

“There’s Quinn,” Cole says, while walking away.

“It was nice seeing you too, man,” I say to his retreating figure.

Cole shoots me the middle finger, and Jax wraps my neck in a headlock tightly.

“Aw, does my little brother need some attention?” he whines, mocking me. He knows how irritated I get when he calls me his ‘little brother.’ A two-minute difference doesn’t count in my book.

This asshole loves to pull the headlock move on me, and apparently he still hasn’t learned his lesson yet. With my head restrained next to his armpit, I reach behind his back and lock his opposite arm against his chest and hold it there firmly. My feet bounce into position behind his, and then I move toward the ground, bringing his body with me. He falls to my side and I’m instantly released from his lock, which allows me to trap his legs underneath me.