Masterpiece Theater

Conflicted. Confused. Pleased. Satisfied.

All these emotions hit me at once as we squished ourselves together on his couch. It was barely wide enough for one person, let alone two. I was practically under him as he caressed my body and kissed my skin, still sensitive from what had just taken place.

I arched my back when he lowered himself and he flicked his tongue between my legs. As he pulled away, I sat up and looked around for cigarettes, wanting to calm down and put distance between us.

I needed clarity and a minute to think.

I fumbled with the lighter. He had to take it from my shaking hands and light my cigarette for me before lighting his own.

“You, uh,” I started, inhaling deeply. “You wanted to talk?”

He laughed and leaned back into the couch. “Yeah. Talking. Talking would be good.”

“What about?”

“Well, before it was to see if we could try again. Now it’s to ask what the hell just happened and where does your boyfriend think you are?” His tone was not friendly.

I snapped back. “What about your girlfriend? Why did you ditch her at the restaurant?”

“I told you, Michelle isn’t my girlfriend. She’s my ex. Tonight was supposed to be us talking about getting back together.”

“So what happened?”

He whipped his head in my direction, his gaze intense. “I saw you.” After a sharp inhale, he continued. “I saw you and realized that she wasn’t who I wanted to be with. And then I saw you and your boyfriend flirting and I needed to get out of there.”

“You’re jealous?” I asked, teasing just a bit. I finished my cigarette and pushed my hair out of my face, tying it up with a beat up hair tie I kept around my wrist.

“I’m…” He grunted and stood up to pace. “I’m confused. You told me you didn’t have time, that you had other commitments, and then I see you, and you’re with this guy. You show up here and we-”

He took a breath and plopped back down. I moved over to him and pulled my legs up, curling into his side. I pushed his hair out of his face and smiled, kissing his temple. “He isn’t my boyfriend...he’s...he’s a friend.”

“Hell of a friend,” he muttered, definitely jealous.

“We have an arrangement, that’s all.”

“You know what,” he said, frustrated. “You don’t owe me any explanations. It’s not really my business.”

On cue, my phone started ringing. Without looking, I knew it was Jason, wondering why I wasn’t home yet. The only time he wasn’t up my ass was when he was up his new boyfriend’s, and I’d seen enough of both of them being cute and cuddly to last a lifetime.

Jason could be happy, but god forbid I was. He was terrified I would leave him again. Sex was fine. I could have all the sex I wanted, as long as I was home and around whenever he needed me to be. Having an actual boyfriend didn’t allow room for such things, and he was totally against it.

At least his boyfriend did a better job at keeping him sober than I did.

Against my better judgement, I answered the phone.

“What, Jason?”

“Where are you?”

“I’m at a friend’s.”

“Danny let you come to his place? How romantic.”

“It’s not him and it’s not your business.”

“Well, you sure get around.”

“Did you call for a reason or do you just wanna bust my chops? Where’s Ian?”

“Ian is getting food. I needed your opinion on something.”

“Make it quick. I’m busy.”

“Why is it that you never have time for me when something really important is going on?”

Realizing it would take a while, Brian pulled away and started getting dressed, a fresh cigarette hanging between his lips. I lit another and tried to be patient with my twin.

“Jason, doll, I have all the time in the world for you. You know that, but I really am in the middle of something and I promise, as soon as I’m done, I will be home, and we can talk about whatever it is you want to talk about.”

“Laurel, I’m in a crisis. I really need you.” He pouted. “Please.”

Irritated, I huffed. “Fine. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Thank you thank you thank you. I love you.”

“Love you too. Bye.”

Brian avoided looking at me as he went into the kitchen and came back with a couple of beers. I drank down half my bottle before I began to get dressed, pissed at my brother and more pissed at myself before answering.

Brian was pissed too, but instead of fighting with me about it, he pulled me back down into his lap and began kissing my neck.

I melted into him when he nipped at my collar bone and shifted so that I was straddling him. He gripped the back of my neck and slipped his hand under my bra and brushed a thumb over my nipple before pulling my bra straps down my shoulders and slipping the cups under my breasts.

When he pulled my nipple into his mouth and sucked, I gasped and ground myself into his lap. Through his jeans, I could feel that he was hard again, and I’d not bothered to put my panties back on with my skirt, so there wasn’t much resistance.

“Brian, I-I can’t. I have to go.” I stammered weakly. His hand went from my chest to up my skirt, his finger darting inside me before I could stop him.

“Stay.” He whispered against my lips. I kissed him back, rocking my body against his hand for just a second.

“I can’t.”

Reluctantly, I pulled away and climbed off him, stepping out of immediate reaching distance and putting my shirt on.

“Why did you come here, Laurel?”

“I wanted to see you, okay? I wanted to talk, just like you, but nothing’s changed. I still have…”

“Commitments.” He finished for me.

“Yeah. It’s complicated.”

“Does complicated happen to be the guy who called you just now?” He kept his focus on his beer bottle and his cigarette, seeing through me instead of looking at me.

“Brian, it isn’t what you think. Jason is my brother, okay? My twin. And he needs me right now and I’m the only person he has, so I need to go, as much as I don’t want to.”

“I’m not stopping you.”

“Don’t be mad. Please.”

“Why would I be mad? It’s not like we’re together. You’re free to do what you want. When you decide what exactly that is, gimme a call. Until then, I’ll leave you alone.”

He stood and opened the door, holding it wide open for me. I gathered my things and walked over, giving him a pleading look. He was kind enough to kiss my cheek.

“Goodnight, Laurel. Drive safe.”

Feeling dismissed, I nodded and left, berating myself for answering my phone and agreeing to come home.

Back at my apartment, Jason was wide awake, eagerly waiting for me. As soon as I was through the door, he came over, excited and showing me something on his phone.

“I wanna take Ian somewhere nice for next weekend. I can’t decide. I need your help.”

“What’s next weekend?”

“Duh. Valentine’s day. Well, technically the weekend before, but still. I was thinking maybe a winter cabin rental, remote and quiet. Skiing. What do you think?”

“This is your crisis?” I groaned. I hung up my purse and my coat and stared at him in disbelief. “You begged me to come home so I could help you plan a romantic weekend for two? Christ, Jason, I thought you had a real, actual problem.”

“Uh, hello? This is a real problem. It has to be perfect.”

“I need coffee.”

He followed me into the kitchen. Thankfully, he’d already made some, so I poured a cup and took a deep breath. He’d completely ignored my irritation.

“You know, instead of getting a cabin, we could go to Vegas! That would be fun, right?”

“You in Vegas? You think that’s a good idea?”

“Why not?”

I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t stay pissed at him, no matter how much I wanted to. This was important to him, and so I would help him. I’d let Brian cool off and call him and things would work out.

Or not.

After an hour of planning, and Ian coming back with Indian food, it was almost four in the morning. Luckily, I didn’t have work the next day. I disappeared into the bathroom for a shower as soon as I could get away.

Jason’s glass bowl was sitting on the bathroom sink. It still had weed in it. Normally, I abstained, but I was stressed out and just wanted to relax. I took a hit and coughed up a lung. The second hit went a bit smoother. Steam mixed with smoke as I finished the bowl and stripped down. Once in the shower, I let the water pressure beat the stress out of me.