Fool Me Once

Blakely’s eyes go wide, trapping her bottom lip between her teeth. Her eyes leave mine, and she glances down at her feet, shuffling them like she’s nervous. When she glances back up, I expect her to answer, but she doesn’t. Instead, she turns to Brenton and says, “Is Zane okay in his room?”

“Yeah,” Brenton replies. “He’s playing with his Legos. I came out here to make sure everything is okay. You were out here for a while.”

“Can you go check on him?” she asks softly. “I think I should talk to Keegan alone.”

Brenton opens his mouth to argue, but Blakely speaks first. “Please.”

“What about them?” he asks, pointing to my brother and the woman who is clearly Blakely’s sister—they’re identical in almost every way, from their brown hair and eyes, to their heart-shaped lips, to their body type. The only major differences between them are that Blakely’s face is a tad rounder and her lips are a bit fuller than her sister’s.

“Sierra,” Blakely says, turning to her sister.

“We’re actually late for our date,” Kolton says. “I can probably get us in for a later time, though.” He grins at Sierra.

“That’s not happening.” Sierra scoffs, and Kolton’s brows furrow in confusion. “We’re practically family.” She cackles, and Blakely smacks her arm.

“Really?” Blakely glares.

“Sorry.” Her sister shrugs.

And now I’m confused. How the hell are they practically family? That would mean Blakely and I are family… and there’s no way we’re family.

“Can someone explain what the hell’s going on?” I ask, starting to freak out. Are we distant cousins or some shit? My parents are happily married, so there’s no way she’s my fucking sister, right? Fuck! Did I fuck my sister?

“I’ll watch Zane,” Sierra says to Blakely, “and you can go talk to Keegan.”

“Do you really think it’s wise for her to be alone with him?” Brenton asks as if I’m not standing right fucking here.

“They’ve been alone before,” Sierra points out.

“Blakely,” Brenton says, ignoring Sierra.

“She’s right, Brent. We spent plenty of time together—alone. His brother is my TA. I’m pretty sure neither of them are serial killers.”

“That was a long time ago,” Brenton hisses, ignoring Blakely’s joke.

I’m about to tell this fool it’s time he closes his mouth about me, when Blakely’s eyes meet mine, and with her lips curled up in a beautiful smile, says, “You haven’t murdered anyone in the last four years, have you? Gone to jail for anything?”

I can’t help the laugh that escapes as I remember our conversation from years ago. “Nah, Jailbird,” I say, and her lips curve into an even bigger smile. “No murders, no arrests. How about you? Have you kept yourself out of jail? Paying for everything at the store? Attending all your classes…”

Sierra laughs. “You told him about the time we shoplifted, and when you got caught skipping?”

Blakely rolls her eyes. “I was making sure he wasn’t going to rape and murder me, and it backfired.”

“You’ve been arrested?” Kolton asks, and Sierra and Blakely both laugh.

“We were bad teenagers,” Sierra says with a shoulder shrug and a smirk. “Now we’re responsible law-abiding adults.”

“That’s good to know,” I tell them both. “So, you wanted to talk?” I say to Blakely to get back on track.

“Yeah.” She nods, and her smile disappears. “Brenton, you can go,” she tells him. “I’ll call you later.”

I stifle my grin at his scowl. The entire time we’ve been talking, anger has been practically radiating off him. I wonder if Blakely knows how badly her friend wants her.

“You sure?” he asks, his voice taking on a bit of a whine to it.

Kolton’s gaze meets mine, and I catch the laughter in his eyes. He’s thinking the same thing I am. Guy has it bad. It’s a shame I’m about to step in and make shit even harder for him.

“Yes,” Blakely says, patting his shoulder.

With one final glare my way, Brenton stalks off.

“Keegan, want to go for a walk?” Blakely asks me once he’s gone, and I nod in agreement.

“Sounds good.”

“I better get inside with my nephew,” Sierra tells my brother, who looks like he wants to argue but agrees.

“All right, but this isn’t over,” he tells her. “I’ll catch you later, bro.” He lifts his chin to me, then takes off in the same direction Brenton went.

Just as Blakely and I are about to take off, a tiny voice yells out, “Mommy!” and the little boy from earlier appears. He has messy brown hair, and he’s in a cute pair of pajamas that have Lego men all over them. “Can I have some ice cream, please?” The L in please comes out sounding like a W, and I find myself grinning.

“Hey, sweetie,” Blakely says, kneeling down. “I’m going to go for a walk with a friend of mine, and Auntie Sierra is going to watch you. You can have one scoop.”