Falling For The Wrong Twin

Gia I had s*x with my best friend last night after fourteen years of waiting for him to look at me the same way I’d always looked at him. A dream that had once seemed as unreachable as the stars finally came true. He was drunk. I was half tipsy. When he crushed his lips on mine and stuffed his c**k inside of me in the backseat of the taxi, a tear slid down my cheeks. I had won. That was what I thought it was. That was what it was supposed to be until he spilled every last drop of his c*m inside of me, and groaned a name that wasn’t mine. Vivienne. His toxic ex. The emptiness that followed next was from a mix of humiliation, disbelief, and all the things I shouldn’t feel. I had wanted to leave, gather the last bit of self-respect I had, and ditch his birthday party but that sick part of me clung to the fact that perhaps I had misheard him. He must have said Gia. Not Vivienne. They had broken up six months earlier, and he told me he had finally moved on from her and was ready to date other people. Hearing that made me believe the only obstacle standing in my way was gone, and for the first time, I thought I might actually have a chance with him. And right now, I have never felt more stupid. My legs almost wobbled out of my heels, heart constricting in my chest as he got down on one knee, held out a diamond ring, and popped that dreadful question. “Will you marry me?” Not to me. But Vivienne. Each word was like daggers buried in my chest as Vivienne hopped, her brown hair bouncing as she squealed. “Yes. Yes. I will,” Applause erupted through the restaurant as he slid the ring down her finger—much to my own mortification. The moment he straightened, she launched herself right into his arms. His hand rested on her waist and with a tender smile he whispered for her not to ruin her makeup. I stood there frozen, broken, heart slowly splintering into pieces like shards of glass. Then out of nowhere, our eyes clashed and I smiled, like I was not dying inside. Like I was not crumbling. Like I was not on the verge of breaking down in tears. “Congratulations…Mitch,” the words were like granite in my mouth. Mitch smiled, his eyes brightening as he acknowledged me with a nod. I sat alone at the bar, numb, nursing a glass of bourbon, completely detached from the laughter and noise spilling out around our table as one question kept circling in my mind. Why the f**k did I agree to come for Mitch’s birthday dinner? A year ago, Mitch cut me out of his life and stopped coming to the apartment we both shared. Special thanks to Vivienne who called me a jealous freak. She said I was trying to come between them after she walked in on me telling Mitch to break up with her. She wasn’t entirely wrong. No, she wasn’t. If there was one thing I lived for, it was to see them apart. But that time, the advice didn’t come from a need to satisfy my own selfish desires. It was out of genuine concern for my best friend. Vivienne was a ticking time bomb and coupled with Mitch’s stubborn refusal to see her for what she was, they were a f*****g disaster. I couldn’t count the number of times I had to bail them out of jail. If she wasn't getting him arrested, he was getting her arrested. Pressure ballooned in my throat as I watched Vivienne and Mitch making out in the corner with a hot rush of jealousy. She sat on his lap as he took her by the throat and captured her lips in a hot kiss, her hands roaming over his body. Her hand on his erection. The same c**k that was buried inside of me last night. My chest tightened. She whispered something in his ear, his eyes brightening as laughter spilled out of his mouth. That should be me in his arms. I drained the glass with sharp irritation, slamming the glass on the bar. An action I wished I hadn’t done because this time, his eyes cut to mine and I tensed. Vivienne glanced at me and rolled her eyes. She had never really had an issue with me before, but ever since she walked in on us, I had climbed straight to the top of her list of enemies. I just knew it. “Hey,” Mitch said, swinging a hand over my shoulder despite the emotions tumbling inside of me. One part of me wanted to ask him about last night. Another part wanted to talk about Vivienne. Why was he acting this calm? As if last night had not happened. “Hi,” I drew in a heavy breath. “This is surprising. I thought we were best friends,” He looked at me with those puppy eyes that always shot straight into my heart. “You will be disappointed—” Of course, I was. “—and talk me out of it. I was scared of how you would react, how you would see me if you knew we got back together…” His head dipped lower, eyes flicking up to mine before dropping again. “I was worried you would never talk to me again, Gia.” I had a lot to say. Words that didn’t sound good. But I swallowed them down. “There’s nothing much I can do. You’ve both been inseparable since high school… Congratulations. I wish you both a happy married life together,” Sourness accompanied each word. Mitch’s smile was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. The same smile that drew me to him in the first place. “Thank you, Gia,” he drew me closer, pressed a kiss to my cheeks and my body tensed. “I knew I could always count on you” How was he not talking about last night? Not even an explanation. For a beat, silence stretched between us and before Vivienne could come pull him away, I decided to ask. “In the backseat of the taxi—” Mitch paused with the glass of whiskey halfway to his mouth, his shoulders tensing as he cut me a look. A cold one. Emotions drained out of them. “What happened in the backseat of the taxi, Gia?” My heart skipped a beat as he stared straight into my soul. The air thickened between us, unease swirling in my stomach as his jaw tightened. He didn’t remember? I squirmed, forcing a smile that didn’t reach my eyes. If he didn’t remember, there was no need to bring it up. After all, he was drunk and had mentioned Vivienne’s name instead of mine. “Nothing…you were really heavy last night. I mean getting you in the car,” His shoulders slowly relaxed and he did nothing but smile. The whole restaurant exploded in cheers as Mitch cut his birthday cake, while feeding some to Vivienne, her arms linked with his as she showed off the stone sitting on her finger until her eyes landed on me, and the light in them slowly fizzled. A smile curved the corner of her mouth and that look— I knew it all too well. The look of someone who wanted to start trouble and right now, she had picked me as a victim. Oh God…please no. “So do you have a boyfriend now,” The noise slowly faded, the nerves in my stomach tightening as all eyes turned to me. “I was thinking of setting you up with someone. For being a good best-friend to my fiancé all these while,” I didn't miss the sarcasm in her tone. She didn’t mean well for me. “You don’t have to ask that,” Mitch said. Vivienne grinned. “Of course, I have to. You’re not the only person allowed to care about her,” No. Why the hell was he even nodding to the nonsense she just spilled? I swallowed the softball in my throat. “I—” Faye, Vivienne’s friend chimed in and it clicked. This was a planned gang-up to humiliate me. “That would be great because she has been single for years. No man on her socials. Or do you still have a crush on Mitch?” My blood ran cold. “What!” I blurted, blinking rapidly. No one knew about my crush on Mitch. Not even him. So how did she know? “What are you talking about, Faye?” “Oh, stop acting like you don’t know, Gia. You used to look at him dreamily in high school, follow him around and—” “That is not true,” I almost snapped, glancing at Mitch for help. “Yes, it is not true. Faye.” Faye waved her hand at him dismissively. “How would you know? I am a good judge of character and definitely know when someone is eye-f*****g their best-friend and thinking of how to get in their pants,” White hot-rage boiled inside of me. Not because it was a lie. But because of how well she could see through me. How something I thought was secret was so visible to her. And worse, how she was using it against me right now. “I don’t have a crush on him. Never did. Never will. Mitch isn’t my type and I have a boyfriend who is waiting at the hotel for me…” The words left my mouth before I could stop them, my chest heaving. “You have a boyfriend?” Mitch’s face fell. What boyfriend? Except for random hookups. I had never been in a relationship with anyone. Vivienne clapped her hands. “Perfect. Then bring him to Adeline’s retirement dinner tomorrow.”