Twist (Siren Publishing Allure) (28 page)

“You have to get a license to drive it. Three wheels doesn’t make it a car.”

“I know. I already have a motorcycle endorsement. Compliments of Joe in our earlier years.”

“Cool. You can take me for a ride after we get something to eat.”

He pushed her legs around his hips and carried her into the house, kissing her.

“The two of you didn’t get enough last night?” asked Lee in a teasing tone.

“Never enough!” they replied in unison before looking at each other and laughing.

Lee cut the huge omelet he had made into three pieces and dished it out onto plates. He added slices of toast, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, and then set the plates onto the table. Rolf deposited Lana in a chair and sat down across from her. “Penance for your insults. Feed me, woman.”

She smiled and fed him a piece of her egg. He ate it, watching her as she took a piece for herself. When she offered him another bite, he refused, grunting. Lana picked up her toast and put it to his lips. Rolf bit into it hungrily. “I love toast with cinnamon sugar on it.” He gobbled up the rest of the slice and glared at her for more. Lana couldn’t help but laugh at his expression and fed him the other piece. He held out one of his slices for her, but when she went to take a bite, he snatched it away and ate it himself. Lana ate her omelet and then got up, making herself more toast.

She examined her wild appearance in the toaster. “My hair is a disaster and my eyebrows are a horror. Any idea where the tweezers are, Lee?”

“What do you need tweezers for?”

“To do my eyebrows.”

He wrinkled his nose, staring at her as if she were an idiot. “You own a salon. Go into town and get them waxed. Have a facial while you are there and let them streak your hair again.”

“Wow. Thanks. It’s nice to know how crappy I look.”

“I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant go into town and do something nice for yourself. You deserve it.”

“I agree,” said Rolf. “I want to go check out the two restaurants that I am now part owner of. Is that okay with you, Lee?”

“Of course. You should go and introduce yourself. Opal called me early this morning and we talked for about an hour. I’m actually thinking about taking off for a few days with her. She has to go to Atlanta for work and I have always wanted to see their aquarium. She suggested that I tag along and we can spend some time together at night. I have changed my alarm system. Here is the new code and all of our cell phones will ring if anything happens.” He handed Lana a slip of paper. “I also went and purchased a better insurance policy with extra coverage for the paintings we purchased. Nothing like closing the garage door after they have stolen the car.”

Lana sprinkled her toast with cinnamon and frowned. “Isn’t that closing the barn door?”

“Yeah, but I don’t have a barn or a cow.”

“You don’t have a garage either.”

“True.”

He handed her his dish and she washed it, setting it in the drainboard. Lana poured herself a glass of cold water and went to get her toast from the napkin, but it was gone. Rolf put his dish in the sink, putting the last half of the slice to her lips. “Want some?”

Lana bit into it before he could pull it away and chewed greedily. Rolf put another piece in the toaster for her, smiling impishly. “I told you last night that I’m a tease.”

“Yeah, no shit.”

He turned to Lee. “Trivia question, what is the record for female climaxes in a single night?”

Lana wanted to crawl under the sink as she stared in open dismay at Rolf. Lee took the question in stride. “If I remember right, some woman claimed that she had twenty-five or thirty. I don’t remember the particulars of the claim. There was a study done and most women said two or three. Anything higher and the percentage plummeted. I think ten was the highest.”

Rolf ignored Lana’s mortified expression. “I guess we need to try for eleven. We missed it by a few last night.” Lana growled and dumped her water over his head. She laughed at the surprise on his face and then hurried to the bathroom, grabbing the phone on the way.

She could hear Lee laughing as she dialed the salon and made an appointment for two thirty. When she opened the door, Rolf was waiting for her with a bucket. The ice rattled against the sides of the plastic as he lifted it threateningly over her. Lana screamed, crouching to get away from him. Her knee didn’t like the position and instantly gave out, sending her to the floor. Rolf put the bucket down and sat down beside her. “Want to go for an X-ray now?”

“No. That was my bad knee. I should know better. I can’t kneel on it and I can’t do squats. It gives out. That was part of the reason I loved the Spyder. I can’t ride a normal motorcycle anymore because I can’t trust my leg when I stop the bike. With the Spyder, I don’t have to put my feet down.”

“Enar told me what happened. What idiot puts a box on the top stair and doesn’t tell anyone?”

“My late husband did. Mostly it’s okay. It just gives out occasionally.”

“Has anyone looked at it lately?”

“My ortho sent me for an MRI about three months before I met Enar. He said that about all he could do was clean out the scar tissue. I don’t relish the idea of elective pain and crutches, so I said that I wasn’t ready. I’m still not ready.”

Rolf scrutinized her as she rolled to her stomach and pushed herself upward, walking toward her hands to keep the direct pressure off her knees. She picked up the bucket and dumped it into the bathroom sink. He was still watching her as she came out, leaned to kiss him, and then walked into the kitchen, returning the phone to its cradle. When she turned, he was standing directly behind her. Lana shrugged. “What?”

“You just scared the shit out of me.”

“I assure you, I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“I know you didn’t. It’s little things that make me realize how in love with you I am. What time is your appointment?”

“Two thirty.”

“Why don’t we go take a shower and go for a ride? I want to check out your beast.”

* * * *

They hit the road around one, Lana sticking to back roads and taking the extreme long way to get into town. They stopped for a snack at a little café that she had been to with Enar a few times and then headed to her appointment. He walked her inside, and Lana gave him directions to get to the two restaurants. She could see the women scrutinizing her, their eyes locked on Rolf. Beth walked over, smiling thinly. “We were saddened to hear about Enar. I’m so sorry.”

“We got the card from all of you yesterday. Thank you.” She turned to Rolf. “Ladies, this is Enar’s twin brother, Rolf. Rolf, this is Beth, Olive, and Celia.”

“Nice to meet you. Take good care of Lana for us.” He bent and whispered in her ear, “Your hair needs to be trimmed, but don’t streak it. I love the color as it is. I don’t care what Lee says, you are beautiful.”

She giggled. “Thank you. Do you have a preference for the color of my toes?”

He walked to the wall display and considered the colors, choosing a hot, metallic pink. He handed it to her. “Make ’em look like cotton candy.”

She asked in a low voice, “Do you have a foot fetish?”

“Among other things.” He stroked her palm with his finger, the gesture instantly causing her inner muscles to throb. “Don’t skip on the pedicure.”

Lana glared at him and he smiled as she replied, “I won’t. Go check out your restaurants. Bring me back a coconut joy cookie.”

“No problem.” He took her cheeks in his hands, kissing her forehead softly. “I will be back shortly. Give me the keys.”

“You are going to take my beast?”

“Yes. I have a license.” He leaned closer and whispered, “I’m still a bit too raw to enjoy a sweaty walk on a hot day.”

She handed him the keys. “Have fun.”

“I will.” He pushed back her hair, biting her ear and then whispering, “We are getting some really disgusted looks. Ciao.”

Rolf walked out and Lana turned, grinning at the three women. “I know that I don’t need to explain myself, but I really don’t want my hair dyed green or anything. Enar knew me well. He knew that I loved him completely and faithfully. He also knew that I was attracted to his brother. We had a long talk before he died. He understood that I had been grieving for him for months. I knew he was going to die and I couldn’t do anything but try and make him happy for whatever time he had left. He in turn said that he didn’t want me alone. He didn’t want me to mourn his death for eternity. I would have been happy to do just that, but he made me promise that I wouldn’t. He told his brother the same thing. I think that one of his biggest fears was that after he died, I would end up with someone who wouldn’t treat me right. For that reason he wanted me with someone that he trusted. Rolf has been my rock, and I’m too old to care if anyone judges me for being happy.”

Beth smiled. “We already know.”

“What?”

“Enar stopped in here about two and a half months ago. He told us that he probably wouldn’t be in again. He said that he was leaving his half of the salon to you and it was his hope that after his death, you would become romantically involved with his twin brother. We thought it was kind of a strange thing to tell us, but after seeing the two of you today, we understand that he was just preparing us. It wasn’t that I was judging you, it was just very odd to see you with Rolf. He looks like a larger version of Enar. It must be kind of comforting to be with a man who looks so much like your late husband.”

“I think it would be kind of creepy,” commented Olive. “It would be like fucking a corpse.”

Celia backhanded her in the shoulder. “That was a horrible thing to say.” She grunted at Olive and held her hand out to Lana. “What are we doing?” she asked as she led Lana over to her station.

Lana slid into the chair. “Eyebrows, manicure, pedicure, my hair needs to be trimmed, and Lee told me to get a facial.”

Celia smiled. “How is Lee?”

“He is holding up. I think he’s a bit lost. He was at the house for hours every day helping me with Enar. I think he has too much time on his hands now.”

“You seem as if you are holding up okay.”

“I have my moments. Rolf and I have always made each other laugh. That has been a big help over the last few days.”

Celia slipped a plastic sheet around Lana’s neck, pulling her hair through it. “Do you want me to highlight it again? It has grown out quite a bit.”

“Lee said yes. Rolf said no. Rolf rules. Just trim it.”

Celia chucked as she shifted the seat back. She ran the water, washing Lana’s hair with the organic line that she preferred, and then sat her back up. As she began to trim Lana’s hair, she asked, “What’s it like?”

“What’s what like?”

“To be with a man like that.”

“Can you be a bit more specific?”

“I don’t know. I always admired Enar. He was smart, savvy, sexy.” She hesitated, her hands stopping for a moment. “I was dating a guy a while back who got an introductory pass to Club Trist. We checked it out. He didn’t like it. I did. I saw the photo of you and Enar on the wall.”

“Oh. Is your question specific about things you saw at the club or just in general?”

“All the guys I have dated are average. They are nice looking, reasonably smart, and basically straitlaced. You were with Enar, and I always wondered what life would be like with someone that alluring. I felt so bad for you when I found out that he was dying. I was surprised to see you being so intimate with Rolf today.”

“They are both incredible. Life with Enar was a living fairy tale until he got really sick. As I said, I wanted nothing more than to make his last days happy. I did anything I could think of to make life better for him. It was a constant battle not to sink into despair, because he needed me to be strong.” Tears threatened, and she sniffed them back. “I loved him so completely that I told him I would do anything for him. His final idea of ‘anything’ was for me to give myself to Rolf.”

“Is that your choice or just Enar’s?”

“I don’t think I would have pursued my feelings for Rolf had Enar not asked me to. What I feel for him would have been buried by grief. I didn’t let that happen. I kind of kept a running tally in my mind of every little thing that Rolf did for me over those first few days. I focused on that rather than wallowing in self-pity because Enar was gone. It’s my choice to be with him, and I think it’s his choice to be with me. As far as what it’s like?” She chuckled in consideration. “Rolf is a very special man. He is attentive and very sweet. We talk and laugh a lot. We have a lot in common, but not enough to drive each other crazy. Of course, we are just skimming the surface of our relationship.”

Celia examined her eyebrows. “How thin do you want them? I can kind of make out how they were shaped before.”

“I don’t like them super thin. Just get rid of the stragglers and shape them.”

“Okay. Rolf and Enar were twins. Are their personalities alike?”

“Enar and Rolf both have good qualities. They are thoughtful and strong minded. They know what they want and go after it, regardless of what others think. They are both health conscious and into exercise. They are proud, trustworthy, and honorable. Rolf also has more ghosts in his past and they grew up on different terms. Although they have similarities, the way they portray those qualities is very different. If anything, Enar was more serious than Rolf. I also think that over time, I will find that Enar was more predictable. I never know what Rolf is going to do next. I am also comparing them in the present tense.”

“Is Rolf into Trist?”

“Ah, the ultimate question.” Lana jumped as Celia tore the cloth strip from her eyebrow. “That hurt.”

Celia rubbed aloe cream into her burning skin and then began smearing warm wax on the other eye.

“I don’t really know. If you are interested in Trist, then my best suggestion is to get a couple of books on the subject and read them. Then if you want to go to the club, call me and I will talk to the owner about getting you a pass. Just be careful, and before you leave with anyone, sneak off for a moment and talk to one of the bouncers. They always know who can be trusted.”

Celia dried and styled her hair, removing the plastic so Lana could get up. They walked over to the massage chair and Celia ran hot water into the footbath, adding the cinnamon sugar soaking wash that Lana picked out. She pulled up a chair and put Lana’s fingers into a bowl of liquid with small worry stones in the bottom. As Lana soaked, Celia exfoliated Lana’s legs. “Did you know what Enar was when you met him?”