Trying Temptation

chapter 3

I'm able to get up, get dressed and head to the food court without Edward or James bumping into me. My mind keeps drifting to the dream and I try to force it away. Pieces of my dream start popping up in my head and I can't stop them. I bump into Edward and James as I step into the food court. I try to avoid eye contact while I try to move past them.

I head to the counter of the food court to order something to eat with them following close behind. When I ordered my food, I sat down at a table in the far corner and started eating. Edward and James sit down beside me and eat in silence for a while.

I look between them and notice small things about them that I found attractive this morning. I quickly look away. My mind is racing with thought and my heart is beating fast.

“ Why is your face all red?“ James asks. I shrug my shoulders and try to take a bite.

“ Oh, is it by chance that you have a crush on someone don't you?“ James remarks with a smirk on his face.

“ I don't have a crush on anyone.“ I say as I finish my food.

I stand to put my tray up and walk out trying to get away from the twins quickly. I try to refocus on the day as I get ready for my classes. I still think about what they said and my dream I had. I decided to try to forget about it and ignore those thoughts.

I force myself to refocus on my classes enough to catch up on my notes. My classes drag by slowly before I can head out to the library to get more material for my assignment. I check in and go up stairs to the business section.The material I need on the top shelf so I grab the roll around ladder to climb up to get my material.

Just as I almost got my material someone bumps the ladder. The ladder shakes enough to make my foot slip causing me to fall from the ladder. I brace for the impact of the floor but instead I feel some arms catch me.

“ Whoa, I'm sorry. Are you ok?“ I looked up at him and realized it was Edward.

“ Thanks Edward. Can you put me down now?“ I ask my face starting to heat up.

He sets me on my feet making sure I don't fall. He steps away before grabbing the book I needed and handing it to me.

“ I didn't mean to make you fall. Are you sure you're alright?“ He asked, looking me over quickly

“Yea I just have to left feet. Thanks for catching me.“ I state embarrassed that he had to catch me.

He nods quickly as he follows me to the check out. He seemed to be glancing at me as we walked. As we checked out our books Edward had to meet with someone so he said goodbye. I noticed him taking a few looks back before disappearing.

On the way back to the dorm I'm deep in thought. I reached our dorm room and went in to set my stuff down. Once I set everything down, I decided to go down to the track. I have found that running helps me clear my mind when I'm stressed and overwhelmed.

Thankfully the track was open all day. I got my gear on and went out to run. Once I started running I felt free, as though nothing was weighing me down. I stayed out there for about thirty minutes. My lungs are on fire, my legs are sore, sweat is falling from my forehead but a smile runs across my face. The run helped ease my racing thoughts, letting me stop worrying for a moment.

The walk back to the dorm room helped me catch my breath. I opened the door and walked in with my hoodie up and my headphones in so I didn't hear James talking to me. The next thing I knew someone had grabbed me and pinned me to the ground.

When I looked up I noticed James pinning me with his body, staring down at me. His eyes went as round as quarters and he tried jumping off of me. I pull out my headphones.

“ I'm sorry I didn't know it was you! I didn't recognize you with your hoodie on!“ he states

“It's alright at least no one can get in here.“ I chuckle.

I go to get up but my body is a bit sore from the run and the tackle. My ankle seems to have twisted making me wince. James notices me wince and offers to help me.

“ I didn't hurt you did I?“ He asks.

“No, my ankles have always been weak since I was a kid.“ I state.

He helps me to my bunk and grabs my phone and headphones off the floor. James watches me for a moment before going to his bunk. After a moment I stand up and limp a bit but I can still put pressure on it. James didn't say anything else after that.

I decide to take a shower so I grab my clothes and my ankle wrap and head to the bathroom. My body feels sticky and sore. I needed to get this sweat off me and loosen up my tense muscles. I started my shower and felt all the grime melt off my body.

After my shower, I dry off and get dressed, feeling fresh after the crazy work out I had. I lay down in my bunk and prop my leg up a bit. I lay there for a few minutes until I felt the bed creak under me a little. I open my eyes and see James sitting by me staring at me.

“ You said you don't really have a type so long as they treated you well, right?“ He asks.

I nodded my head wondering where he was going with this. He sat there thinking about something for a minute and I couldn't help but stare at him. Edward and James were twins and they looked alike but there were some differences.

Edward seemed more serious and James always had this playful vibe come from him. He looks back at me and I have to look away quickly. I had started to piece together what this feeling was and I don't need to make it any worse.

All of a sudden I feel a poke on my side causing me to jump. I look back to see James poking my side again.

“ so you are ticklish.“ he smirks.

I immediately knew what was going to happen as I tried to pull away. He attacked my side on a full on assault. I didn't get tickled often so it was hard for me to ignore it. We wrestled around for a bit until we landed on the floor. I tried to get away but I couldn't breathe.

“ I..tap out..“ I say between laughs.

I felt a sense of familiarity as siblings should rough around like this. When I could breathe again I noticed James was on top of me. We froze staring at each other.

“ How are you so small?“ He asks absentmindedly.

I stare at him wondering what could be going through his mind. My heart seemed to race at how close he seemed and the position we were in.

“ I don't know" I state forcing my voice to remain calm.

I try to move him off of me when our bodies meet. I can feel his body as I try to pull away and it doesn't help with my thoughts. I felt his abs, his toned muscles under his shirt and I can't stop the images from coming as my face turns beat red.

I manage to push him off of me. He noticed my face but didn't say anything. I need to fully figure this out and try to put a stop to whatever this is. After I take a moment to calm down I notice it's dinner time. I noticed James following me to the food court but he didn't say anything.

He seemed to watch me closely, seeming to be thinking of something but unable to say it. I didn't talk to Edward or James anymore that night as I lay down after dinner and went to sleep.

Sometime during the night a dream started. It didn't start as a nightmare but instead I dreamt of Edward and James. They were touching me, kissing me and setting my body aflame with desire. Every touch engulfed me and my body in warmth and pleasure.

The kind of pleasure that makes your toes curl, the type that makes your mind go blank. I tried to wake myself up and stop the dream desperately because this was wrong. I finally escaped the dream and jolted awake. I looked down and noticed my body had reacted to the dream, leaving me flustered and confused.

I looked over at the other bunk and realized that everyone was still asleep. Trying not to wake them up I make my way to the bathroom to calm myself down. I take a cold shower to push away everything that dream did to me. After I finish up, I dry off then quietly make my way back to my bunk.

JAMES P.O.V

I heard Eric cry out in his sleep so I woke Edward up and got out of bed. We were just about to wake him up when we heard him moan. It was a soft, smooth sound that was not pain or fear but complete pleasure. His face was red and his body was twitching clearly reacting to whatever the dream was about.

We decided to let him be and head back to bed. We found it amusing to hear Eric have a wet dream until we heard him call out our names. We glanced back at Eric shocked and intrigued. We watched him for a few moments as we processed what we heard and saw.

It was clear that he was struggling with what he felt as his body reacted but his face twisted in pleasure and guilt. We lay in our beds again and watch him for a moment until we see him stir awake. We pretend to be asleep but secretly watch him as he wakes up. He glances down at himself and his face turns red slightly. He looks over to our beds shocked and flustered before quietly rushing to the bathroom.

Thoughts dance through our minds as to why he was dreaming about us and when this had started. How do we feel about it and what are we going to do? We decided to let it be for tonight and talk about it in the morning.

Eric's P.O.V.

I have been able to avoid Edward and James most of today. I wouldn't have been able to face them after that dream. I realized last night what is happening but I don't know how to stop it. Every time we hang out or get something to eat this feeling gets stronger.

We have been in college for seven months now and we have hung out more in the past seven months than we did at the house. I'm almost certain that they don't like guys like I do so I need to find a way to stop these feelings or hide them.

I head to the food court and grab a sandwich, needing something light on my stomach. My stomach has been twisted in knots since I noticed these feelings. I step outside and head over to the table under the trees to try to put distance between me and anyone. I think about my feelings towards Edward and James as I eat.

Edward is serious, reliable and caring. James is playful, gentle and loving. They both have good qualities but those are the reasons it's hard to be around them. These feelings aren't right for me to feel considering that we are technically family. I haven't seen Edward or James take an interest in guys so I assumed they weren't into guys. That just makes it worse the longer I let these feelings build.

I need to find a way to get some space from them. It's hard though because I have started to have feelings for them and my mind and body are at war. My body is mush when I'm around them and my mind is putting up warning signs. How can I figure this out to where I don't mess up our friendship but I don't completely fall for them.

TWINS P.O.V.

We had to talk after last night when Eric had his dream. We had made sure to stay away from him today as much as possible so we could sort out our feelings about this. We wondered when this had started and when his feelings had changed. We have noticed that for the past few months Eric has acted differently around us.

He avoids our gaze directly, he loves hanging out with us and takes glances when he thinks we're not looking. We found it strange at first that he would turn beat red when we asked him something or tease him but recently it makes sense. Now we are wondering what other sides of him he has not shown. This is a new side to him that we have never seen but it interests us.

“ How do you feel about this thing with Eric?“ Edward asks.

“ I'm not sure honestly. I know he has been through a lot so I don't feel that he is joking.“ I state to Edward.

“ I'm not sure how I feel about this either.“ Edward states.

“ what did you feel when we heard his dream last night?“ I ask edward.

“ It seemed unusual but exciting. I been with other guys before but his voice..it was…exciting.“ Edward states.

I thought about it and could understand in a way. His voice wasn't harsh or gruff. It sounded sweet and smooth to the ear. We were so caught up in our thoughts that we barely noticed the time. We packed up our things and headed to our classes. On the way to our classes we bumped into him a few times.

We had tried to say something but we didn't know what to say. Eric thought it was a bit funny because he had to hold in his laugh which peaked our interest. We had noticed that Eric seemed more open here than at the house. We had tried to talk with him or hang out with him a little at home but he always seemed so tense. We know now that he had been going through a lot at the time.

Our classes drag by slowly before we had a quick break in between them. Both of us were restless barely able to study or focus on the lesson. Eric was clearly on our minds.

“ I want to try to see how our feelings will unfold with Eric.“ Edward speaks up.

“ I'm not opposed to seeing it either.“ I state.“ How should we go about it though?“

“ How about we test our boundaries a little. We can try some small things and go from there but don't be too pushy or forceful.“ Edward states after a long pause. I nod ready to get started. That's when we decided to see where this would go with Eric.

ERIC P.O.V

As I'm thinking about how I could possibly separate from them, someone hugs me from behind. I start to freak out and panic remembering times when my father would come up behind me…and they weren't good memories.

“ Hey calm down, it's just me, James.“ James says calmly.

I relax a little at hearing his voice enough to breathe. It's things like this that put me at war with myself. His touch is soft and warm but he is my brother. I shouldn't have these thoughts..these feelings.

“ You really do relive those horrific nights don't you.“ He states in a sad tone.

Ever since I told them what had happened it felt as though they have become protective of me. I tried to tell myself that it's just a brother thing since I'm technically younger than them.

“Have you ever kissed someone?“ he asks calmly while he stares at me.

I choke on my breath and my eyes go wide. I did not expect James to ask about this stuff at least not with me.

“ Why would you ask that?“ I ask my face beat red.

“ I was just wondering how kissing a guy would feel like.“ He remarks watching my reactions.

He glances at me and I see his eyes move down to my lips. I turn my head away wanting to avoid his stare.

“ It feels the same as kissing a girl.“ I state avoiding his gaze completely.

“ Why did you get so red when I asked that?“ he asks his tone teasing.

I glance back at him..feeling the heat in my face start to slowly creep up. I look away again to try to calm down before I answer him. When I can finally look at him again I turn to face him and find that I'm nose to nose with him. My face starts to heat up even more and I freeze, unable to answer his question. Every word seems to die in my throat and my brain screams at me.