Beyond Bloodline - Unbreakable Bonds

seventeen

By the time Saxon was done with his dinner and returned to the kitchen to do away with his dirty dish, there was no sight of Hayley. Just his twin, humming a tune under his breath with the kind of lovesick expression that should have been illegal as he helped himself to a serving of the late dinner Hayley had been involved in creating.

Nigel had chanced a small glance over at his return but ultimately took a spot at the marble kitchen island and began gobbling up his dinner.

In the same vein, Saxon paid him no mind as he approached the sink and began doing the dishes he'd used in the process of cooking. He made quick work of it, wanting to hurry along so he could take another look at his script. The sooner he could get to the latter, the quicker he could let himself grab some shuteye.

"So," Nigel's voice trailed, low from where it cropped up meters behind him. "How long did you keep in contact since the meeting at the supermarket for you both to be so close already?" He was jealous, yes. After all, it'd taken him so much nerve before working the guts up to get all up in her business. But even that couldn't stop his curiosity. It all seemed to come so naturally to his twin.

"Not long," Saxon reassured, tone sincere but coming after half a beat, his effort at stalling so his tone calmed down enough to not come off as defensive. "Believe me. We only met by coincidence earlier on the street. I hadn't even known it was her."

"So, a couple hours?" his tone was bland, not giving much precedent to what exactly he was feeling. Not his expression though. It was the only thing through which you could get a glimpse into what he was feeling if his darkened eyes were anything to go by at this point. And it was certainly something, one Saxon didn't even want to come close to discovering.

"Yeah," Saxon said simply, giving a slight shrug as though to say it was up to the other whether he believes him or not, even as his hands worked much faster. He wanted to get out of here even more desperately now and it had little to do with going over his script again. And everything to do with the conversation that was slowly but surely revving up, the very one he was in no mood for.

"So, what?" he sneered, setting his soup bowl down. He was sure to send it down the wrong channel if he so much as tried to down it with the torrent of feelings pulsing through him. "You just happened to hit it off in three plus hours? How charming."

Saxon found himself gripping the ceramic plate in his hands so tightly his knuckles whitened but he fought for the restraint to hold his tongue. No good would come of going head to head with his brother and merely fueling his anger.

"There's nothing," he finally defended, picking his words with the utmost care despite the silence that followed his declaration. The much his twin seemed interested in doing now was slurping on the bowl of tomato soup. Loudly. Real mature, Nic.

"She met me on the way," he explained, knowing how much he wanted it despite acting like he didn't care for it. "She wanted to see you so asked for a ride back. There's nothing else. Sure, she's quite pretty but she's definitely not my type."

Nigel was choking in the next second and Saxon was by his side in an instant, hastily drying his soapy hands on his slacks and filling a glass of water from the half filled pitcher for the other.

Saxon's lips pursed grimly when his twin merely stared down his nose at the glass despite still coughing slightly, hand wrapped around his dry throat. "Or just choke yourself to death," he said, setting the glass down on the island with annoyance.

Choosing life, Nigel grabbed the glass before it could even complete the soft clunk and promptly drained it of its contents. A small irk inducing smile suddenly curled up on his lips as he held the glass in Saxon's direction, even swaying it this way and that for good measure when his twin only narrowed his gaze down at him.

Saxon felt this idiot was asking for a beating but still took the glass and refilled it anyway. If it would save him from getting into a full-blown argument with his brother, then he was willing to refill ten more glasses to soothe his damn throat, let alone one.

"Right, where were we?" Nigel asked, going back to slurping on his soup and gobbling down his bread despite the unimpressed brow Saxon arched at him. "Of course. Your type."

It was plain derision at its finest.

Saxon set the glass down harder than before, hard enough that a crack was sure to have formed if it was less durable glass. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"I didn't even get into it yet," Nigel said with a short, fully aware how infuriating he was being and not caring one little bit. For lack of a more precise term, his twin was a womanizer, skirt chaser, playboy. Take your pick. He had no qualms telling him just that.

He'd had feelings for Hayley for quite a while, sure, but that hadn't stopped him from dating others. People he didn't have much substantial feelings but still liked enough to be together with. There were quite a couple, seven to be exact and without reason, all but Cassandra had been wooed to his side without much effort and little going for him other than his oh so charming personality.

Plus, he didn't seem to have a type either and just went along with those whose personalities were compatible enough with his and just happened to be pretty as well. Okay, so perhaps their appearances played some role but it wasn't the deciding factor! Then again, he digressed.

Point was, all six were hardly alike. Whether it be in appearance, personality or charisma and aura so he'd long since ruled out with his preferences towards women clashing with his twin's. Unless his type was just so long as he could woo away anyone Nigel himself was remotely interested him. Otherwise, he'd given up until Hayley. 

He'd long accredited him the name to his love life anyway.

He blinked away his thoughts at the sight of his brother going back to the sink, posture slack. "Nothing to say?" he said.

"I don't have to defend myself to you," he said, tone cold as he went back to washing the dishes in abrupt, jerky motions. "You and I could never fancy the same set of women. Period."

Nigel wasn't sure whether to take that as an insult to his own taste in women but decided not to overwork his brain stressing over it. "I'm just saying," he shrugged. "I won't just let bygones be bygones this time. Not if it's Hayley."

"It won't be a problem if any of those girls so much as actually felt something for you in the first place," Saxon scoffed. "You should stop kidding yourself."

"You're gold and I'm dust, I get it," he began.

"Don't put words in my mouth."

"But it won't just blow over with some intervention if you so much as stretch your claws in her direction," Nigel said. "I'd like to believe she likes me well enough. Things are going just fine without your interference."

Saxon pleaded innocent. He'd never wanted to have anything to do with any of his twin's exotic girlfriends. "If it's what you want," he said, stacking the dishes in the rack so they could air-dry. "I'll stay away."

"Great," he said. "Do you need help putting stuff away?"

"It's fine."

Nigel looked away at the chime of his cell phone, eyes narrowing in anger on seeing the message in his inbox. He quickly pressed two on his speed dial. "Where are you?" he scowled.

"Back home," Aries' voice was low, hoarse and came out only in short bursts. "Just come over."

Click.

Nigel got to his feet in an instant, washing his own dish in half a minute. "I won't be back home tonight," he notified before breezing out to his bike without so much as waiting to be acknowledged.

Saxon said nothing as the door swung shut loudly. This wasn't anything out of the normal. Anyway, he was home alone so often already. He was used to it by now.

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