Braydon(12)

The last thing he wanted to do was to hurt Jessie or Braydon. He would never purposely sabotage what they might have, but he just didn’t know how to let go, how to move forward. He was selfish, he knew that. But he wasn’t being that way out of spite. His need to keep his twin from abandoning him was making it impossible for him to do the right thing.

“Oh, f*ck yes,” Braydon roared, his body stilling behind Jessie as he came.

It wasn’t long before Braydon was pulling out and when he went to dispose of the condom, Brendon helped Jessie to stand, wrapped his arms around her and placed a kiss to her temple. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about Jessie. Or that he wasn’t attracted to her. He was. A great deal, in fact.

He just didn’t have the same overwhelming physical response to her as he did to Cheyenne.

And since Cheyenne wasn’t willing to give in to him and Braydon, Brendon knew he had to hold out, bide some time until she came around. Hopefully just a little while longer.

The idea that he could’ve possibly stooped low enough to use Jessie, a woman he considered a friend, made his stomach churn. He’d turned into a world-class * somewhere along the way. And as much as he wanted to solely blame Cheyenne for waltzing into his world and turning it upside down, he knew that wasn’t the only reason for his less-than-desirable attitude, yet he couldn’t shake it.

Meeting Braydon’s gaze, Brendon swallowed hard. He had to make this right. He had to take a step back, give them a chance.

The f*cked-up part about it all was that he just didn’t know how to do that.



FROM THE MOMENT Braydon stepped out of the storeroom, following close behind Brendon and Jessie, to the time they came face-to-face with Cheyenne just outside the door, things went to shit fast.

Not that he was all that surprised.

Brendon and Jessie stopped abruptly and Braydon had no choice but to do the same. He watched as Cheyenne studied Brendon, casting a murderous glare at him. There was no question as to how she felt about finding the three of them stepping out of a storage room. Together.

The look she pinned Brendon with would’ve had most men cowering, and Braydon instantly knew why. It was the same reason Braydon was ready to beat the shit out of his own twin. Brendon was playing everyone, including himself. He was pretending that things weren’t changing, all while knowing they were.

Braydon felt the tension between them and watched as Brendon’s face fell the moment Cheyenne turned and walked away without a single word spoken. Despite Brendon being absolutely clueless, it was blatantly obvious to Braydon that Cheyenne liked his twin. Even if she didn’t want to.

And what woman would want a man who continued to dig himself deeper rather than trying to find his way out.

Braydon glanced at Jessie, then turned back to his brother. His temper had reached a boiling point and for the first time, he couldn’t contain the rage.

“What the f*ck are you thinking?” Braydon yelled, getting up in Brendon’s face.

Brendon, clearly just as frustrated as Braydon, fired back. “What the hell are you talking about? I thought . . .”

“You thought what?” Braydon implored. “You thought that you’d get in one more night, that you’d string Jessie along until the timing was right for you and Cheyenne? Is that what you thought?”

Brendon’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talkin’ about.”

“Sure you do, Bren. You’re so far gone that you don’t even know your ass from a hole in the ground. And I’m tired of you using Jessie to sate that urge.”

“Fuck you, man. I never used Jessie.” The expression on Brendon’s face exposed his lie for what it was.

“Well, you sure as shit aren’t putting her first now, are you?” Braydon countered.

“And you are? If I recall correctly, you were right there with us. You didn’t balk at f*cking her in a storage room.”

“Will you two just shut up?!” Jessie screamed, causing Braydon to spin around and face her. He’d been so lost in his own anger that he hadn’t even considered her standing there.

“Jess, I’m so—”

“Save it, Braydon,” Jessie said through clenched teeth. “I’m not playing this game with either of you anymore.”

Before Braydon had a chance to stop her, Jessie stalked off down the hall. He would’ve gone after her if it hadn’t been for the fact that Travis came walking up, a furious glare on his face.

“This is bullshit,” Travis growled. “The three of you need to figure this shit out, and you need to do it soon. This is not the time or place for you to hash out your issues.”

Braydon turned his glare on Brendon, wanting nothing more than to continue the argument, to find a way to relieve some of the pent-up anger. Because he feared that if he didn’t, he was going to do something he’d regret.

“Go your separate ways,” Travis demanded. “Y’all can work this shit out later.”

Brendon’s eyes narrowed on Braydon, and he felt the heat of his twin’s wrath more then than he’d ever felt it.

But then Brendon walked away, disappearing in the same direction Jessie had. Thankfully, Travis hadn’t stuck around to give him his two cents, which left Braydon staring down the empty hallway, wondering just how he was going to fix this.