This Time Around (Maybe) (12 page)

“How was class?” I ask.

“Hectic. Did Reid drop by?” she asks, shoving her bag and books under the counter.

“He’s still at the gym with Xander and Dash. Said he’d be here in an hour.” Summer kisses Tag on the cheek and says hello to Jade. She takes me by the arm and pulls me into the office.

“How did it go?” she asks, her eyes sparking with excitement.

“Perfect, everything went perfect,” I say, knowing I must look like a love sick puppy.
I really couldn’t care less.

“Yes!” she cheers, doing a little happy dance.
She looks up at me, the biggest smile on her face. Almost as big as the one I’ve been wearing since the second I woke up. “I knew she wouldn’t turn you down.”

Well, I’m glad she had faith.

“When’s she moving in?” And this is why Summer and I are friends.

“I think she wants to take it a little slower than that, but we’ll see.”

“You’ll wear her down,” she says confidently.

I sure as hell hope so.

*****

I pick up some dinner on the way home and go straight to
Taiya’s. Isis opens the door, wearing a robe, a towel wrapped around her hair.

“Hey stud,” she says in greeting, opening the door for me to enter.

“Hey Isis. Thanks for last night,” I cringe when I realise how that sounds. “For leaving the place so Taiya and I could be alone.” I rang her up that morning to plan.

She nods. “No problem, anything to make
Taiya happy.”

I eye her. “And you were sure that would?”

She smiles knowingly. “She could deny it all she wanted. I knew she was crazy about you.”

“Well
, thank you all the same,” I say, turning to Taiya’s room.

Isis clears her throat. “In case you feel like you owe me, I know how you can repay.”

I turn to look at her again, more warily this time. “What do you want?”

“Is Tag single?” she asks, trying to
act nonchalant. Tag? Perhaps he should start a fan club.

“He’s single, yes.”

“Okay,” she says, and turns to leave. Okay then. I walk to Taiya’s door and open it, only to find it empty.

“Where’s
Taiya?” I call out, putting the food on the side table. Isis walks into the room, her damp red hair hanging down her shoulders.

“Oh, right. She went to see her mum. She should be home any minute.”

“Okay, why didn’t you tell me that?” I ask curiously.

“You didn’t ask.” Right, okay.

“I see,” I answer slowly, drawing out the words.

“You don’t, but you will,” she says cryptically before walking away. I take my T-shirt off and jump into
Taiya’s bed.

When
Taiya gets home, her face lights up as she spots me in her room watching TV. She throws her bag on the floor and jumps on top of me, before kissing me senseless.

“You look good in my bed,” she says, laying her head on my chest.

“I brought dinner.”

“I can see that, thank you,” she murmurs. Her hands wander over my chest, leaving no spot untouched.

“What are you doing there, hmmmm?” I ask as her tongue peeps out to lick my abs.

“Showing my man how much I missed him today,” she says softly. She sits up and lowers her head to kiss me, undoing my button at the same time.
Taiya used to be very shy, and it’s nice seeing her like this. Taking what she wants. Although it hurts to think of who she’s been with to make her so comfortable. I push those thoughts away, instead concentrating on the pleasure my wife brings me. She pulls my cock out of my boxer shorts and takes me into her mouth with one long, deep suck.

This must be what heaven feels like.

Chapter Sixteen

I walk into
Taiya’s room without knocking, about to open my mouth to tell her about the plans I’d made for tonight. “What the fuck is that?” is what comes out, as soon as my eyes land on the bird sitting on her shoulder.

She smi
les, and turns her face to the bird. “This is Leonardo, our new pet.”

I stay silent.

“I told you I was getting a pet today, remember?”

“Yeah, I thought you were getting a puppy, or a fish, or something,” I ramble, ey
eing the bird.

“He’s a
cockatiel. Isn’t he gorgeous?” she asks, cooing at the bird. Gorgeous. Not a word I’d use to describe a bird, but anyway. Taiya puts him back on his perch and stands.

“Give me a sec
. I’ll go and get his cage,” she says, walking out of the room. Curious, I walk closer to the bird and put my hand out, the same way I saw Taiya doing. Instead of climbing on top of my hand, the little monster hisses and snaps at my fingers, trying to bite them.

“Vicious little thing
, aren’t you?” I mutter under my breath, eyeing Leonardo with distaste.  When he hisses again, I step away. Taiya steps back into the room with a cage, putting it on the floor in the corner of her room.

“He isn’t going to sleep in here, is he?” I ask her, dreading the answer.

“No,” she answers, laughing. “I’m going to put him in the front room.” Well, thank fuck for that.

“I have something planned for us tonight,” I tell her, wrapping my hands around her tiny waist. She puts the bird into the cage and spins around, giving me her full attention.

“What are you up to?” she asks suspiciously, leaning her head on my chest.

“Can’t a man spoil his wife?” I say, kissing her on top of her head. I love having her in my arms
. It feels like everything is right in the world. Like I’m right where I’m meant to be. The last two weeks, since I gave her the ring, have been like a honeymoon. Taiya and I, together every day. Making love, going out for romantic dates, getting to know each other again. It’s been the best time of my life. She is perfect. Perfect for me.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve been spoiling me for a while now,” she says, looking up at me.
I push an errant curl away from her face.

“You better get used to it,” I tell her,
running my fingers down her soft cheek.

“I have to admit something,” she says, looking a little sheepish.

“What’s that?”

“I moved into this building because I knew you were here, and even if I was mad at you, I wanted to be near you,” she says, rushing out the words.

I smile widely. “I knew it!”

“You did not,” she says, rolling her eyes.

“Okay, I didn’t. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was. Summer said she mentioned the place to you.”

She nods. “She did, and she
also mentioned that you lived here too.”

Summer failed to tell me that part. “That was a gamble,” I mutter.

“A gamble that paid off, clearly.”

“You’
re right. And I’m so fucking happy with the way everything turned out. Now, I get to touch you whenever I want,” I say as my hands grip her ass.

“You have it bad
, Ryan,” Taiya jokes, leaning up to kiss me on the jawline. Fuck, she’s sweet. I’m about to show her just how sweet she is when my phone rings, blasting that stupid fox song. Taiya starts laughing, and I know then that it’s her who put it there. I tickle her under her breast, before answering.

Then
I head straight to Reid’s to find out what the hell is going on.

****
*

Reid stands by the window in his bedroom, staring outside. He has a blank look on his face, and I know straight away something is wrong. He said nothing on the phone, just for me to come over because he needed to talk to me about something. Summer and
Taiya are in the kitchen, giving Reid and me some space to talk alone. I love that the two of them understand that sometimes Reid and I just need to be there for each other. It may sound girly, or whatever, but being a twin means I’m connected to him in a way no one might ever understand. And I wouldn’t expect them to.

“What’s going on?” I ask, sitting on the edge of his bed. He picks up a piece of paper and hands it to
me without saying a word. It’s a letter. From our father. I glance up at Reid and he nods his head encouragingly. I read over the letter, once, twice. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I growl, putting the paper on the bed and standing up. Reid scrubs his hand over his face, and then looks me dead in the eye.

“We need to find her,” is all he says.

I nod, smiling bitterly. “We will.”

I have a
half-sister I had no idea about. And only now he wants to tell us, just spring it on us like this. In a fucking letter. Is she okay? Is she living a good life? Does she know about us? Did our mum know that he cheated on her? So many unanswered questions, and since I’m not going to go to the source to ask for answers, I’m just going to have to try and find them out for myself. Starting with her. Persephone Knox.

I put my hand on Reid’s shoulder, squeezing. “We have a baby sister, huh
!”

He smirks a little. “I feel sorry for her already.”

“Tell me about it. So this is how Xander felt,” I say, and we both go quiet, lost in our own thoughts.

“What if she doesn’t want anything to do with us?” he asks suddenly, sitting down on the bed.

“We will worry about that when we get to it. First we need to find her.”

He tightens his lips. “We could have had her in our lives this whole time. Even if it was just on holidays. We would have kept an eye on her, make sure she wanted for nothing. He is such a selfish fuck.”

I nod. “I know.” What else is there to say? Our father is a dickhead; there’s really nothing new there. I have to wonder why he decided to tell us. Probably for us to come and see him to beg for her whereabouts. Maybe he needs money or something.

“How do we know he isn’t lying?” I ask. Reid stands and gets the envelope on the table. He hands it over to me, and I peep inside. Pulling out the small photo, I stare at it. It’s my father, another woman, and a little baby
girl. She’s blonde, and cute. I turn the photo over, and it reads ‘Persephone’.

I swallow hard, taking in every detail on the photograph.
I don’t know why it hurts, but it does. He had a whole other family. Is that why he hated us so much?

“Stay in the present
, Ry,” Reid says, pulling me from my thoughts.

I go rigid. “It’s a little more complicated than that
, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but we need to think about
Seph now,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck.

I pause.
“You’ve already given her a nickname?” I ask, my lips twitching.

“That name is a little long,” he pauses, “and ridiculous.”

I nod in agreement. “She needs an R name.”

He laughs. “That’s exactly it.”

“You know, I think we’re going to be amazing brothers.”

I flash him a look that says ‘well, duh.’ “So I guess we start with the internet.”

“We should ask Mia to help,” he says, surprising the shit out of me.

“What?” I ask, confused.

“She’s like the FBI. I remember when we were dating, she would hack into everything, my phone, my email, and track me down at random times.” We both laugh, and I know he’s only messing around, trying to lighten up the situation.

“Yeah, it’s funny now,” he says, clearing his throat. I laugh harder at the expression on his face.

“Come on, let’s go talk with our women,” he says, making me grin.

“Now who’s whipped?”

“Still you,” I reply.

He scoffs. “Well
, yes, but now you can’t judge me for it.”

“Fine, we’ll call it even.”

“Equally pussy whipped?”

I still. “Well
, yes. But you don’t admit that.” At least not out loud. Or in public.

“Pussy whipped but can’t admit
it, got it,” he says, his smile letting me know he’s just being a tool.

“You worry me sometimes.”

“You love me.”

I do. “Al
l right, let’s call in the reinforcements. Tomorrow, we start looking for Persephone.”

Chapter S
eventeen

Taiya

When we get back to Ryan’s apartment, his mood has suddenly changed. He is quiet and almost zoned out. I know that he was just processing the news of his sister, so I let him have his space. I know how much Ryan values family, even though his dad is an asshole; he loves Reid with everything he has. He is so loving, always trying to take care of everyone around him. He even offered Isis a job when she mentioned looking for something to make some extra cash. Ryan is always willing to help someone else. That’s just who he is. Knowing he has a sister out there, I can’t imagine how he’s feeling. Her being a half-sister doesn’t matter to him; I know that. Ryan wants her in his life, and he’s going to make sure it happens. Almost like he did with me. I hope we’re able to locate her soon, and that she is happy and well.