If You Could Only See

Chapter 7

Shane~

Two tequila shots and two beers later, I was feeling absolutely no pain.

No. Pain.

Why I'd never partaken in this bubbly of goodness before? I had no idea. As I stood on the fringes of the group of people that Viola was talking with, I took notice of how my body felt absolutely no stress. There was no tightness around my neck, no weight across my shoulder blades, no tension behind my eyes.

Nothing.

Nothing, but languid muscles and relaxed body parts.

It felt amazing.

This had to be the first time that I'd ever just felt the life around me, my mind not constantly spinning with school, work, or my future. No wonder people turned to alcohol and drugs to make their problems go away. If two beers and a shot or two of tequila were making me feel like this, I couldn't imagine what drugs did for a lost soul. Not that I had any plans to turn to alcohol or drugs to relieve my future stress, of course. I just...understood the allure more now.

Viola was in an animated conversation with her boyfriend-not-boyfriend, Micah, and while I liked Micah, we'd never really chatted. However, he'd been kind enough to bring me a beer when he'd brought another one for Viola. The beers hadn't been opened, so he had scored major points with that one.

I was two drinks into my new beer when I noticed the surrounding crowd fall into a quiet lull. I scanned their faces to see what had captivated them, but before I could gander at a guess, I felt a masculine arm fall heavily around my shoulders. It was paired with another masculine body flanking my other side, and I immediately knew the reason for the sudden hush.

The. Goddamn. Buchanan. Twins.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here, Pretty Girl," said...well, I still wasn't sure which one he was, but when I turned my face to look at him, I noticed a very faint scar slashed right underneath his right eye. I made a point to study the mark, so that I could tell the difference between them in the future.

I cleared my throat, very aware that everyone was witnessing the exchange in rapt fascination. "I came with my friend, Viola," I said, nodding in her direction.

Twin #-well, I still didn't know-looked over at her, then gave her a quick jerk of his chin in acknowledgment. "You having a good time?" he asked me.

I had to clear my throat again. This kid was making me antsy and super killing my buzz. "I am." I glanced over at the other identical face of perfection paying attention to me, then asked, "Are you guys?"

The non-hugging twin said, "Sure are. It's our first college party, you know." He winked at me, and my alcohol addled brain was trying not to swoon.

These kids were military-grade lethal.

The arm around my shoulders gave me a quick squeeze. "You going to introduce us to your friends, Pretty Girl?"

I gestured towards Viola and Micah. "That's my best friend...well, my only friend, Viola Banks, and that's her boyfriend, Micah Bentley." I scanned the other faces of the group, and I didn't know not a one of them. "I don't know who everyone else is," I mumbled.

"Awe, now," Flanked Twin drawled out. "She's not your only friend, Shane. You've got us now."

I gave Viola a helpless look, but I almost snorted out a laugh at her expression. I knew that I would have to do some serious explaining later, and I didn't blame her for looking shocked.

"Viola, Micah, I'd like you to meet..." I swiveled my head back and forth between them. I didn't know who was which twin. I just knew their names like everyone else on campus did. One was named Michael, and one was named Gabriel.