Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
River chuckled quietly. “Not sure we know what’s normal.”
“Fuck normal,” Reese said bluntly. “Besides, we know plenty about you already. A lot can be said about someone who’s got not only a record player but a CD player and an iPod.” He was looking at my entertainment unit. “Yearbooks on display too—you probably had a childhood filled with fond memories. Picture of your parents, I assume. Happy family. No siblings, right? Your mother helped you decorate your apartment, but you’re not clueless around interior design. You know what you like. Should I go on?”
Um.
“He’s just parrotin’ shit I observed while you were in the bathroom,” River stated. He wore a face of slight disapproval for his brother. “All you did was point out the yearbooks.”
“So what?” Reese smiled. “We’re a team. You do the work, and I present it.”
River rolled his eyes.
I felt my mouth twitch. I didn’t know what it was about these guys, but they were certainly…interesting.
I sat down in the chair across from them and poured a gin and tonic. They’d even filled a bowl with ice and wedged up a lemon, which provided me with some information too.
“What else does my apartment say about me?” I asked curiously.
River’s eyes sparked with interest, and he didn’t waste time letting his gaze wander. From the entertainment unit, where I kept everything related to music and movies, to the shelves, where I only had a few smaller paintings. A friend from college had painted them, and if she ever made it big, I might get rich. But the main reason I’d bought them was because of the DC theme. She painted parks, monuments, and architecture in watercolor.
Next, River’s gaze slid to my liquor cabinet.
“Mind sharing some info about you?” I wondered. “All I know is you’re twin brothers, you enjoy martial arts, you’re Sadists, and you don’t half-ass your gin and tonic.”
Reese side-eyed his brother. “Ain’t much to divulge. River works in IT, and I’m his babysitter.”
“Since when does that job require babysitting?” I questioned.
Reese shrugged and tossed another few cashews into his mouth. “Company policy. We usually work in third-world countries, so we gotta be safe.”
Ah. I supposed that made sense. Reese definitely fit the bill of someone working in security, even though there really was no telling them apart. Aside from some tattoos. River had a few; Reese had a few. I was sure the abs Reese had put on display were highly visible under River’s tee too.
“There ain’t a whole lot else to know about us,” Reese said. “We work too much. We’re savin’ up to buy a house. We’re tryin’ to find our way in kink.”
I noticed how everything was we with these two. They shared a lifestyle, a sexuality, they lived together, worked together…
“Oh, and I have a lifelong struggle to get my brother to eat anything other than ramen unless I cook,” he added. “Fucker’s obsessed. If I’m not around, he’s nukin’ noodle cups twenty-four seven.”
I grinned. That was funny—and endearing.
“You leave my ramen alone,” River said absently. He was still busy observing my living room and kitchen.
“I can’t say I’m very useful in the kitchen either,” I admitted. “I recycle the same six or seven dishes—with the exception of appetizers. I like to put together apps and tapas when I have friends over for dinner.”
Reese cocked his head. “You’re social and outgoing, I take it?”
I weighed my response but ended up nodding a little. “Sure. My current problem is finding friends in the BDSM world. I have plenty of vanilla friends with whom I share less and less, the more I explore kink. I really wanna be part of a community.”
He inclined his head. “Same issue for us. Tough to find the right crowd.”
It truly was. Many communities were heavily into a specific kink or lifestyle, such as the leather community, the bondage enthusiasts, and the sadomasochists. It was natural for us to be drawn to others who shared our passions, at least in the smaller circles of friends. The larger communities were more diverse, but they could still be incredibly cliquey.
“Where are you from?” Reese asked me.
I opened my mouth to respond, but River beat me to it.
“Maryland.” He pointed to a picture from my graduation next to my yearbooks. It revealed my high school’s name in the background. “Presumably Bethesda.”
I smirked a little. “Great find.” I faced Reese again. “I moved here for college. I stayed with my grandmother a lot—she lived in Georgetown. What about you?”
“All over the South, pretty much,” Reese said. “But in the end, I guess Virginia Beach has been the main home base.” He paused. “I really like DC, though.”
River smiled faintly. “So does Lucas.”
I grinned. “Okay, share the rest of your findings.”
He cocked his head a little. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-five,” I said automatically.
He lifted his brows, then eyed the yearbooks.