TWIN PASSIONS: (A Logan Brothers Novel) (16 page)

The sound of footsteps drew me
from my thoughts and I turned my head up. Zack was walking towards
me, a bottle of wine and two glasses already in hand.

“
You looked deep in thought
when I came in,” he said with a large smile, “and, unforgivably,
without a drink. So, I thought I'd grab a bottle and let you finish
whatever it was you were thinking about.”

He sat down in front of me, his
beaming smile bright and radiant. He looked so much more relaxed than
I'd seen him recently. He had always looked so glum when we
would hang out together as a group. In fact, the only times I ever
saw him return to the boy I knew was when we were alone.

He poured two glasses and set
the bottle to one side before leaning in and asking me what I'd been
thinking so deeply about. I shirked the question, thoughts of murder
and affairs and betrayal and revenge still crashing around in my head
as he started talking about his excitement for Cade's fight.

“
I think I've been a little
selfish recently,” he was saying. “It's time I really got behind
Cade and supported him fully, like a good brother should. He's always
been there for me, and I've let him down. I won't make the same
mistake again.”

I guess I must have missed the
beginning because Zack had always seemed like such a great brother to
me. It sounded like he was probably being a little hard on himself,
maybe overthinking things that other people would barely even notice.

“
So...what exactly have you
done to let him down?” I quizzed. “You're a good brother Zack,
from what I've seen...and heard. Cade's only ever had good things to
say about you.”

His eyes went a little downcast
as I spoke. “Really?” He looked almost guilty. “Well I don't
think I deserve it, not recently anyway. I left him there with no one
to spar with ahead of the most important fight of his life. That
sucks. I know how important that type of practice is.”

“
You sparred with him? I had
no idea you boxed as well.”

“
Yeah, I used to, but I just
walked off after a few minutes. I should have stuck it out, helped
him out. I should have been down there helping him train every day,
rather than lying in bed nursing a hangover and screwing random
chicks...” He stopped abruptly and took a sip of his drink.

“
So you've been having fun
recently then?” I asked. I felt a twinge of jealousy shoot through
me.

He smiled. “A gentleman never
tells.”

“
Well it doesn't sound like
you're much of a gentleman,” I retorted with a wry smile.

“
No, I am...don't you remember
how I used to walk you to your car after school everyday?”

I smiled, the memory flooding
back. “Yeah, that was kinda sweet. But it was nearly ten years ago
honey. People change.”

“
And do you think I've
changed?” he asked quickly, looking me dead in the eye.

I stared back at him in silence
for a few moments. “I think we've both changed a lot. Although, I
guess some things are still the same. Like...this.” I gestured with
my hands, pointing between the two of us.

He looked confused. “What do
you mean?”

“
Well, we still click, that
hasn't changed.”

“
Yeah, well, only when
sneaking off behind people's backs. I think people might be confused
if we started babbling about old times when they think we only met a
few months ago!”

“
Yeah, true....although I
wonder how long it's going to take for one of us to slip. I bet it'll
be you first, probably after a few drinks.”

“
Ha! Rubbish! I'm great at
keeping secrets Gem...when these lips seal tight, they never open.”

I laughed lightly, the thought
occurring to me that I was now carrying the same secret as him –
about Crash, about Walter Lithgow, about his father. I wonder...maybe
I should say something...

“
Well we never shared secrets
when we were younger. So come on, tell me your deepest secret now. I
promise, hand on heart, that I won't tell anyone.”

He looked at me like I was
slightly mad for a second before leaning in close.

“
OK....all right....how about
this.” He paused for dramatic effect. “I...I...I don't have a
clue what to say! Gem, this is stupid...the whole point of secrets is
that you're not meant to tell anyone!”

“
Oh come on, it's fun. We can
trust each other, right? OK, I'll go...”

Shit, should I tell him that
I know? How should I say I found out?

I could feel my heart rate
rising steadily as the words crept closer and closer to the tip of my
tongue.

“
...I...I think you're
right...this is too hard.”

I couldn't do this. It was
too weird, it had nothing to do with me.

“
I know, told you,” he said
nodding, “it's not as easy as you think is it! OK, how about this –
let's play truth or dare instead.”

“
Well, isn't that the same
thing?”

“
Kinda, but you get to ask the
questions and find out the secrets you're interested in. It's more
like little secrets, you know, rather than really serious ones.”

“
OK, I'll go first. Truth.
There's no way I'm doing a dare that you give me!”

He sat back in his seat, smiling
and thinking. “Have you ever had a threesome? POW!”

God, what a typical boy,
straight in with the sex.

“
Simple. No. Right, truth or
dare?”

“
Truth. I'm not in the mood
for dares either. You know we might as well just call this 'truth or
secret' or something!”

“
Same question then, have you
ever had a threesome.”

His smile widened in pleasurable
memory.

“
Holy shit, you have?!”

He nodded and took a sip of
wine. “Sure.”

“
Was it with two girls or a
guy and a girl?” I asked, completely seriously.

“
Huh! Are you fucking
kidding?! Two girls, of course. Fuck no, I'd never do it the other
way!” He screwed his face up in disgust as I laughed.

We carried on playing,
conversation mingled in between the reveals, moving onto cocktails
after the first bottle of wine. It was the most fun I'd had in a long
time, despite all the shit in my head. Zack was so full of life, so
garrulous and upbeat. I guess we had a lot more in common than me and
Cade. A lot of our relationship had been based on sex, and in reality
I really hadn't missed seeing him all that much over the last couple
of weeks.

After learning a great deal more
about each other's lives and the turns they'd taken over the last 8
or so years, Zack came at me with a question that I would usually lie
to or avoid. With the alcohol loosening me up, however, I wasn't in
the mood for side-stepping the truth.

“
So you and Cade...where do
you see that going?” he asked. “Is it serious?”

“
Are we still playing truth or
dare – sorry, secret – here?”

He nodded, his expression
growing a tad more serious.

“
Um, I don't know to be
honest. I...I guess I...well...”

“
Hey Gem, it's me, OK. You can
tell me the truth, I won't tell Cade, I promise.”

“
Well, I haven't seen him or
really spoken to him for two weeks and, really, I haven't missed
him.”

A smile began to grow in the
corner of his mouth, although he was trying to hide it.

“
That's amusing to you?” I
asked casually.

He was shaking his head but his
expression told me otherwise. “No, not at all, it's just...no,
nothing.”

“
What? What were you going to
say?”

“
I dunno. I just don't see you
two as a good fit, that's all.” He shut his mouth and bit his
tongue, reaching again for his drink.

“
So you think we should break
up?” I asked bluntly.

“
That's not for me to say Gem.
It's not my place.”

“
No, go on, what do you think?
I want to know...do you think we should break up?”

“
Yeah, I do.” His words came
out quick, his eyes turning straight on mine and flashing green.

We looked at each other for a
few moments, each of us with plenty to say, neither of us willing to
do so. The way he was looking at me, it was like Cade did, only
deeper. There was more between us; more history, more feeling. I
could feel it pulsing out of him, this longing, this desire.

An energy caught us, dragging us
in closer across the table. I leaned in as he did, our lips moving
towards one another like magnets. I couldn't stop it.
Did I want
to stop it?
They moved closer, inching towards each other, about
to touch...

A sudden chime broke us from the
spell, a large clock over the bar shouting us the time. A look of
horror swarmed over Zack's face as he shot his eyes at the clock.

“
Holy shit, it's 8 already!!”

He grabbed his phone from his
pocket to double check the time. It looked to be filled with missed
calls from his brothers.

It was the last thing Cade had
said to me when we spoke on the phone: “The fight starts at 8 PM.
I'll look for you in the front row for good luck.”

It was starting right now! The fight was starting right now! And
neither his girlfriend nor his twin brother were there.

Present Day

Cade

I'd been to Stadmore arena many
times in my lifetime, but never like this. Tonight I'd be stepping
into the ring myself and trying to make my own dreams come true.
Tonight I'd join all those fighters I'd watched come and go over the
years, some of them rising to the top, many others falling back down
into obscurity.

I hoped, I prayed, that I would
join the ranks of the former.

I had sat in the upper reaches
of the arena earlier that day, looking down on the ring. It was so
small in the middle of the wide space, encircled by row upon row of
seats, starting level with the ring and climbing higher and higher
the further back they went.

I had never sat so far back, not
even as a kid. Dad would always pay for the best seats, often getting
great tickets from business associates and other contacts. I'd
watched the action up close, so near I could almost taste the blood,
smell the sweat, sense the nerves that so many fighters carried into
the ring with them. They were a burden for many, but not for me. When
I stepped into the ring, I was fearless. One day, I'd be peerless
too.

But tonight, in so many ways,
was different from all the others. There was more on the line this
night than any other, more for me to win, more for me to lose. Win,
and my chances of rising to the top would be greatly improved. Lose,
and they'd take a real hit.

It all weighed down on me,
creating pressure that I'd never had to deal with. But even so, even
with the prospect of thousands of fans cheering and roaring my name,
I wouldn't be phased. I had this inner confidence, this inner
tranquility that would help me focus, help me perform at my peak. I
just hoped, tonight, the home crowd would give me an edge.

And then there was Gemma, my
lucky charm. The thought of seeing her face in the audience watching
me gave me confidence. I still didn't know what it was, but ever
since she'd entered my life, my boxing had gone from strength to
strength. It wasn't something I wanted to lose.

It was a few hours later that I
sat on the bench in my changing room, my gloves being taped up by
coach. He was giving me his usual pep talk, talking me up, making
sure that when the bell for the first round went, I'd have my full
energy stores intact.

“
This is your time Cade, this
is your town, your crowd. They're all here for you, all here to see
you win. This night will be remembered as the night when Cade Logan
made a real name for himself, a name that will soon be accompanied
with the word 'champion'. You're in the best shape you've ever been in,
you're faster than him, stronger than him, younger than him, fitter
than him. Agulla is a no-hoper, he's in your way. You're going to
trample him tonight, walk straight over him. Nothing's going to stop
you getting to the title. Nothing.”

I'd never told him, but most of
the time I wasn't really listening. I liked to go into my own zone,
my own little world, a place where I could focus on the fight,
visualize what I'd do, how I'd win. I'd done my homework on Agulla,
watching footage of him fighting every night for hours. I knew his
strengths, I knew his weaknesses, and I knew exactly how to exploit
them.

I could hear the heavy roar of
the crowd begin to rise now as the current fight moved towards its
conclusion. It had gone the full distance, both young light
middleweight fighters clearly well matched. But it was merely a
warm-up for my own bout. I was the one people had come to see.

I stood and began walking around
the changing room from wall to wall, keeping my muscles warm, keeping
my body moving. I felt calm as always, my focus absolute. I had
tunnel vision, and all I wanted to do now was walk out and step into
the ring to the sound of thousands of roaring supporters.