Page 18 of Sweet on You
Lex looked almost shocked. “That’s actually quite remarkable. I know Noah is your twin, Callie, but sometimes it seems like you two are more in sync.”
“It’s a sister thing,” Callie winked at me and I couldn’t help the grin splitting my face. Times like this, I felt so full, so complete, and so loved, it felt like my heart might burst through my chest.
“Although,” I said, “You should see her and Noah together. If you thinkwe’rein sync, they are downright creepy.”
“Hey!” Callie laughed while pouting her bottom lip out and smacked me across the arm. “We are not creepy.”
“I dunno,” Lex shrugged. “Twins are, in general, pretty creepy.”
“Of course you’re taking her side on this,” Callie said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.
“Oh, let me tell you some creepy twin facts,” Lex said, holding up a finger. “Twins start playing with each other at about 14 weeks in utero. In some cases where conjoined twins were joined at the head, they could hear each other’s thoughts. About forty percent of identical twins develop their own special coded language that only they can understand. To outsiders, it sounds like babble, but twins can comprehend it with perfect clarity. It’s called ‘idioglossia.’
“Well, I’m not a conjoined twin nor am I an identical twin… since we’re different genders… ,” Callie said, and I could see her hackles going up. She didn’t like being called weird.
“Okay,” Lex added. “How about this for creepy? There are countless cases about twins being separated at birth who grow up to lead similar lives in adulthood. Some even go on to have about the same IQ, the same job, the same salaries—even the same named pets and spouses.”
My eyes widened. “Holy shit, is that true?”
Lex nodded, grinning. “Crazy, right?”
Callie snorted. “Well, Noah and I leadextremelydifferent lives. One of us is a loser living with her mom and the other is a famous movie star. Doesn’t get much different than that.”
Lex’s excited expression immediately sagged. “Oh, Callie. That’s not what I meant. I was just throwing out some stupid statistics and facts, you know?”
“I know, I know.” Callie sighed and started organizing the energy bars Lex had given us. “I just wish I knew what I was doing with my life sometimes.”
I crossed behind the counter and squeezed my sister into a hug. “You will. You’re still so young. Noah always knew what he wanted to be… you have time to figure it out.”
I held Callie for a second longer until I felt her sigh against me. “Thanks,” she whispered, peeling herself away from my arms and offering me a smile.
I turned to Lex, directing a playful scowl in his direction. “How do you know so much about twins anyway?” I challenged.
Callie followed me, spinning and putting a hand on her hip. “Yeah?” she narrowed her gaze at him. “What’s with all that twin intel of yours?”
His grin widened. “BecauseI’ma twin.”
I blinked, my playful, teasing smile dropping completely, and Callie and I both stood there in shock. “You are?” she asked. “Then why the hell are you saying we’re creepy!”
Lex laughed and leaned in, whispering, “Because we are.” Then, he clapped his hands together. “So, hiking? Where’s Penny?”
Right. Penny. “I left him at home while I was working. I figured we could go get him, or if you’re in a rush, we can just leave him at home for the hike this time.”
“No way!” Lex said, hiking the backpack higher on his shoulders. “I want to meet him.”
Meow.
“See? Frost wants to meet him, too.”
I guess I had no choice. We headed out the door with a final wave to Callie and I stared at the chatty cat through the globe of his backpack as we crossed the street to where his car was parked. “I swear, I’ve never seen a cat so chill with being out and about. Aren’t they usually… I dunno, scared or something? Don’t they usually scratch and hiss and bite?”
Lex shifted the backpack off his shoulders and placed it gently in the back seat. “Some do. But not Frost. She’s practically a dog. She plays fetch. She loves going on walks and hikes. She even loves meeting other dogs and cats.”
“Wow.” Maybe Icouldbe a pet person… if all pets were as cool as Frost. Even Penny hadn’t been so bad last night. She chilled with me in my little house, curled up beside me while I watched Netflix. And even though she snuck up into the bed during the night… I had to admit, it was kind of nice sleeping beside another living, breathing creature.
Lex opened the front passenger door for me, and I felt my muscles go rigid when he did it. I haven’t had a man open a door for me in years. Not since Brandon. I wasn’t sure if I just omitted astay awayvibe or what, but men did. They stayedfaraway.
And his moment of kindness… of chivalry struck me hard, right in the chest. A swallow stuck to the back of my throat as I hoarsely said, “Thank you,” and slid in, turned around and put my finger to the globe. “Hey, Frost,” I said. She meowed and rubbed her face against where my finger was.
