Page 100 of Left on Read

I jumped a mile at Zane’s voice. “Jesus!” I whirled around to find him standing behind me.

He smirk-smiled and leaned against the wall as casual as could be. Jumpscaring people was Zane’s thing, so I didn’t mind. It was one of the ways he showed he accepted you.

“Not quite.” He nodded to the sketchbook. “Do you know how many people he’s given blanket consent to look through his drawings?”

“No, but I assume it’s not that many.”

“Two. Me, and you.”

I blinked in surprise as the implications of Zane’s statement hit. I was the only person other than his twin brother River trusted enough to open his innermost thoughts to?

“I know you haven’t snooped, even though you’re allowed to. Not sure if it’s because you don’t care enough to look or because you respect his privacy.”

“The second,” I said quickly. “I don’t feel right looking when he’s not around, even with permission.”

Zane nodded, his stare piercing and intense.

That was another thing about Zane that was so different from River. Zane could flip between animated to deadpan and expressionless. Not bored or robotic, just a blank mask only Noah and River could read. He also had a talent for scaring the shit out of anyone who dared cross him with his signature death stare. And I’d seen him flip a butterfly knife around his fingers with all the confidence and skill of a butcher—or serial killer, depending on what mood he was in at the time.

The twins were, like Ryan said, the most identical identical twins I’d ever known, but were somehow opposites at the same time.

“So, all ready?” I glanced around the living room when he kept pinning me with his death stare. Where was Noah? Or River?

He crossed his arms, studying me closely.

“What?” I cracked what I hoped looked like a smile and not like I was about to crap my pants in terror.

I wasn’t afraid Zane would hurt me. He wasn’t violent or anything, but he could be scary as hell when he wanted to be.

“How long are you going to string my brother along?” he asked bluntly.

I glanced around again. I didn’t want to talk about this if there was a chance River could overhear us.

“Riv went with Noah to get something from his truck.”

“Oh. I didn’t hear the door.”

“They were quiet. I’ll ask again. How long are you going to string my brother along?”

“I’m not?” I stammered.

“You aren’t?” He arched his eyebrow.

“No?”

“Okay. If that’s the case, then riddle me this. You spend all your free time together. You talk all day, every day. You’ve been sleeping together for almost four months, and you’re exclusive. But you’re just fuck buddies.”

My mouth went dry, and my dinner hardened into a brick in my stomach.

“Look, what you do is your business.” He pushed his hair back from his face in a move that was so reminiscent of River I almost did a double take.

I’d never had trouble telling them apart, and it had gotten to the point where I didn’t really see them as twins until moments like this when they unconsciously copied each other’s mannerisms.

“But River is my business.” Zane’s pause hung in the air between us, his point clear as a bell. “Do you understand why?”

I nodded quickly. The twins had a bond that transcended everything else in their lives. They weren’t just best friends. They were, and would always be, a team.

“Good. Now, I like you,” he said, still staring at me like a viper ready to attack at any sudden move.

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