Then Summer Came (3 page)

Not much embarrassed me, and I don't think I'd have been nearly as embarrassed
then,
had I not yelled at him, thinking he was my fiancé cheating on me. 

"You're…Lissa, right?" 

I nodded. 

“Sorry about that," he said with a charming smile.  "I came in early this morning, and I guess I didn't realize anyone was here…" 

"No, it's okay."  It really didn’t bother me.  I’d seen much worse than two people screwing on a sofa. I glanced over him, trying not to be obvious.  He looked just like Derek.  I knew they were identical…but it was weird…
weirder than I thought it would be
. 

He was every inch of six feet, like Derek.  He was head-to-toe muscle in that subtle, attractive way, like Derek.  His smile was sexy, like Derek’s.  His eyebrows were thick and his face was clean shaven, like Derek’s.  He was attractive and confident and distractingly gorgeous…
just like Derek
, but there were a few differences that I noticed instantly: The tattoos were the most obvious.  Then there was his perfect shade of tan; Hawaii had done nice things for him.  Also, his eyes were a deep, chocolate brown, flecked in black; nothing like the pale blue of Derek’s.  The last thing I noticed was that his dark-brown hair was only slightly different; short, well-trimmed and edged, like Derek’s, but Beck’s looked a little untamed, where Derek’s was almost always gelled perfectly in place.  Other than that, they were definitely identical.  If you didn't know Derek well enough, you probably couldn't point out the differences without taking a really good look at them side-by-side. 

"While you're here,” he said, interrupting my examination.  “Do you think you could show me around the place?" 

“Sure…uh, yeah, I could do that,” I nodded.

I walked him through the apartment like a seasoned tour guide.  It was difficult not to take a quick peek at his bare chest, every so often, or his sex-matted hair.  He looked so much like Derek, and I never got to see Derek, so it was kind of nice.

Derek had the three bedroom apartment at Wilshire.  The upstairs bedroom was set up as an extra bedroom, and the extra room downstairs was where he kept the books and the piano.  I played when I had time, but its keys were rarely touched.  Derek and I used to play once a week or so, but that died off when he started working all the time.

“And then the upstairs, you probably already know, right?  Did you sleep up there last night?” I asked after I’d showed him the entire downstairs. 

“Oh, I haven’t been to sleep,” he said, oddly. 

Did he really just fly in to Los Angeles, pick up a hooker on the way, bring her into an apartment he’d never even been in before and start fucking her on his brother’s sofa?

“Oh, well it’s just a bedroom and bathroom up there…that’ll be your space.”

“Okay, great,” he smiled.  “So, where do
you
stay?”

"I actually have an apartment a few floors up.  I don't stay here.  I just pop in a few times a week." 

“Oh…” he said in a flattened tone.  “So, it’s cool if I have…company and stuff?”

“Yeah, of course, just make yourself at home.”

“Cool, thanks.  I’m just gonna take my bags up and grab some shuteye.”

“Sure.” I smiled. 

I watched him as he lugged his bags upstairs, and I couldn’t help but notice, again, that he looked so much like Derek…from all aspects.  I know that I should’ve known that from the start, considering they were
identical
twins
, but having him there in front of me was…
surreal
.  It felt like Derek was there.

Chapter Three

I showered, got ready and headed out to work.  I was heading Mom’s fashion show in two weeks to release her new line, so I was meeting with her every day, which was pretty unusual. 

“Lissa, sweetie, you look lovely!” she said as I closed the conference-room door. 

My mother was standing in a huddle of women who were pointing and chatting about the designs that were scattered across the long meeting table. 

“Hey, Mom.”

She was always dressed in a trendy pantsuit, but they never looked the same.  Her head towered over the other women, which was where I got my height, since my dad was short.  She was dainty looking, and she was always covered in jewelry.  Her face was virtually wrinkle-free, and her hair was a light-brown bob that made her look several years younger than she truly was. 

“Come see the drafts for the final dress picks.”  She waived me over.

“Mom, these are gorgeous,” I gushed as I looked through the designs.  “I love all of them!” 

She smiled proudly, pleased with how they’d turned out.  “Thank you, dear.  Your opinion is always so valued.” 

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Excuse us, ladies,” she said, and the room cleared out immediately. 

She took a seat in the chair next to me and poured us both some tea from the steaming pot that sat in the middle of the table.  “So, where are we with the wedding?”

“Well…it’s mostly still the same.  I did find a veil that I liked better, but it’s all kind of at a standstill right now.”

“Well, let’s fix that then,” she said, blowing the surface of her tea.  “Let’s take the day to meet with the wedding planner tomorrow.”

“I’d rather wait,” I said. 

Her face fell, and she sat her tea cup down, looking a bit serious. 

“It’s just that I’m not sure when Derek will be able to pull himself away, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be soon.  So, I was thinking, maybe we can set a date for next winter.  That way it gives him plenty of time to get the company ready for his absence.”

She scrutinized me.  “Don’t you think we could go ahead and continue to plan, and when he’s ready everything else will be, too?”

“We can’t really make any plans when we don’t have a date…” I explained.  “
We don’t even have a date
.  How can we decide on a venue when we don’t even have a date?”

She smiled, sensing my irritation of the subject.  “I suppose you’re right.”  She sipped her tea and continued.  “Maybe I need to have a chat with Derek and remind him of the importance of the wedding.”

I laughed at my mom’s serious tone, and she smiled over the rim of her cup.

“Well, it’s seems it might be necessary, Lissa,” she added.

“I know…”

“How’s Emily?” 

Thank God!  I didn’t think I could talk about the wedding anymore.

“She’s great.  She said she wants to model your new line if you’d like her to.”

“Of course!” she beamed.  “I’d love her to.  I’ll have Mitzi gather her wardrobe, and it’ll be waiting for her at the show.”  She jotted something down on the paper in front of her and looked back to me.  “Will you be wearing something, too?” 

“If you want…”

“Well, I always
want
you to, but it’s up to you.”

“Then, I’d love to, but only if I can wear this one.”  I shuffled through the designs and pointed at my favorite dress. 

After my meeting with my mom, I stopped back by Derek’s apartment.  I really needed the designs I’d drawn up the night before that Beck had probably had sex all over—I suddenly remembered where I’d left them. 

A small part of me suddenly hoped he would be there.  Yes…I was sort of also going back because I wanted to see
Derek
again.  I mean…I knew he wasn’t
actually
Derek, but the thought was inebriating.  It kind of made me feel stupid and delusional, but I really didn’t care.  I missed Derek, so maybe I was a little stupid and delusional. 

“Oh, hey,” Beck said as I entered the living room.  He was walking out of the kitchen with a sandwich in his hand, and I wondered momentarily how he’d made a sandwich in an apartment that never had anything other than a box of cereal in it.

“Hey.”  I was just staring at him.  It was so weird to walk in and him just be standing there, like he had all the time in the world.  It took me a second to remember that it really wasn’t Derek. 

He was in a snug, blue t-shirt that didn’t bother concealing the muscles I’d seen that morning and ripped jeans that were
far too ripped
, and he was barefoot. 

“What is it?” he asked, raising his eyebrows at me.

“Hu?  Oh, sorry…” I shook off my stare.  “It’s just weird.”

He lowered his brows, and his face smoothed into a smile.  “Oh,” he said smiling wickedly.  “You mean the twin shit?” 

I snickered, and I’m pretty sure I blushed. 

“I bet it is weird,” he added, and I nodded.  “So…are you attracted to me?”

“Hu?”

“I’m just kidding,” he laughed and walked around to sit on the sofa.  “Seriously though, you are attracted to me, right?  I mean, it’d be an insult to Derek if you weren’t.”

My mouth dropped open a bit at his forward statement.  “Uh…” 

He laughed at my expression and smiled a huge, charming smile. “I’m truly just kidding, Lissa,” he said, again, propping his feet up on the coffee table.

I saw something out of the corner of my eye, and I turned to see a blonde sashaying down the stairs in an unzipped miniskirt, her bellybutton ring peeking out from under her cutoff halter top. 

I eyed her the whole way down, and she eyed Beck.  He looked at her over his shoulder and gave her a wink and a head nod, while chewing the bite of sandwich in his mouth, and turned back to the TV.  She smiled at me awkwardly and left through the front door without saying a word. 

I sat my stuff down by the door and walked over to the coffee table in front of him.  “Excuse me,” I said politely and gathered the scattered papers from the sofa cushion, and he lifted his feet for me to gather the rest from the table.

“Are you some kind of designer?” he asked around his mouthful of sandwich.

“Yeah, I run my mom’s shoe line at her company.”  I straightened the stack and held them to my chest.

“That’s cool.”

“Yeah, it’s my dream job, I guess,” I admitted.  “What do
you
do?”  I asked, and sat down beside him.

“Well, I sold a domain name when I was eighteen and made a killing off of it, so I’ve really never worked,” he shrugged.  “I’m kind of a song writer, too.  I make enough that I don’t really have to do anything else.” 

I nodded.  “Couldn’t blame ya.”

“I don’t really care to spend every day of my life in a stuffy office with people kissing my ass all day.  That’s what my dad wanted, but that’s just not gonna happen.”

“I get it…to each his own, right?” was all I said. 

He nodded, chewing his sandwich.  “So what do you do around here?” he asked swallowing his bite.

“Uh, I work…a lot.” 

“Right…a stuffy office minion.”  He laughed and sat up to open his bottle of water. 

“Well it’s a little different when you’re the boss,” I explained.  “Plus, I don’t really work as much as I say.”

“Hm,” he nodded, the bottle to his lips. 

“I mean, there’s tons of stuff to do in Los Angeles, if you’re asking what you can do while you’re here?” 

He smiled. 

“Didn’t you grow up here?”

“No, just Derek.  I left when I was sixteen.  I went to say with my favorite aunt until I was old enough to leave.  Then I went…well, I went a lot of places.  I don’t really remember much about LA.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah, I just figured you knew a lot about the city, so maybe you could clue me in?”

“Well, yeah…I do.  We used to run the streets all night, but that’s kind of died down a lot lately.  We’re all grown and have responsibilities and jobs now, ya know?”

“Of course.  I don’t really have many, but I can imagine,” he smiled.  “Do you guys have any cool shit going on?”

“Yeah, there’s always a ton of events, if that’s your thing.  My mom’s fashion show is next Wednesday, so that’s the only event I’ll be at.  But there are all kinds of things to do.  I think The Electric Run is coming up.”

“Fashion show?” he asked, piqued.  “I like fashion shows.  There’re always women.” 

“I could get you a ticket, if you want?”

“Sweet!  That’d be great.”  He dusted the crumbs from his hands and grabbed the remote. 

His phone vibrated loudly against the glass of the coffee table, but he ignored it as he lay over on the sofa, propping his feet up. 

I stood and adjusted my designs.  He looked up at me and said, “I was gonna order pizza later, if you want to hang out and get to know each other?”

I thought for a second and then he added, “Oh, you probably have plans with Derek.”

“Uh
…”  I wish I had plans with Derek
, I thought.  “I don’t really see Derek much.  We don’t have plans very often.”

“Well, that sucks.  Aren’t you guys engaged?”

“Yeah…” I looked down at the giant diamond on my finger.  “He’s just busy with your dad’s company.”

“Gross,” he snarled his nose up.  “Better him than me.  I couldn’t dedicate my whole life to that career.”  He ran his fingers through his hair as he talked.  “I won’t spend every waking hour working.  If I were him I’d much rather be home with you.”  He kept a clean stare on me, and I smiled uncomfortably.  I wished he was Derek again.  Honestly, I think I just wished Derek thought the way he did.  Why couldn’t he see things the way his brother saw them, and just stay home with me?  He could still work.  I just wanted a little bit of his time. 

“Derek’s always been that way, though.  Even when we were kids he was all work and no fun,” he added, filling in the silence. 

I cleared my throat.  It felt awkward talking to him about Derek. 

“Well…I’m gonna head upstairs to my place.”

“Okay,” he nodded and turned to the TV.  “ I’ll see you around.”

He ended up “seeing me around” every morning for the next week.  I stopped at Derek’s to eat breakfast like I almost always did, and Beck was usually awake.  A few mornings he’d come down with a woman, or one would just come casually strolling to the front door as we were talking on the sofa.  And one morning there were three of them, and I rolled my eyes inwardly at how womanizing he was.