Page 21 of Vodka And Virtue
Carlisle gifted me with one of his dazzling smiles, making my stomach knot. Damn, if he could affect me like that with a tilt of his lips, what would his touch do to me?
* * *
With ten minutes to spare,I knocked on Carlisle’s door. It was just my luck that his twin answered. He greeted me with a cocky grin, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Well, well. What do we have here? Rory MacGregor calling on my brother? Courting him?”
“Is he ready?”
“What? No polite conversation for me? No pleasantries? You wouldn’t be in a rush to get my brother alone, would you?”
Never were the differences between the identical twins more apparent than right now. Carson’s face was a carbon copy of his brother’s, but his head was in a totally different mindscape. Carson was tricky. He liked to tease and taunt. He could be manipulative and charming. He was an extrovert.
Carlisle was none of those things. He was quieter, more contemplative. He planned things out before he acted. He was an introspective introvert, who didn’t enjoy the spotlight of attention enough to flirt.
“Do you have a problem with me showing interest in your brother?”
“Not at all. Quite the opposite, actually. I’ve been campaigning to get Carlisle to switch teams for quite a while. Now that he has, I couldn’t be happier. I just didn’t expect you to be the first man he dated.”
“Let me make something crystal clear for you, Carson. I’m not interested in being the first man your brother dates. I’m interested in being theonlyman he dates. So, if you have any concerns, you should voice them now, so we can discuss them. Because I intend to keep showing up here and continue to court your brother, until I can convince him this is the best idea I’ve ever had.”
Carson slid his hands into his pockets, rocking back on his heels. His eyes gleamed, a huge grin stretching his lips.
“So it’s like that, is it?”
“It is,” I challenged.
“I’m glad to hear it. I didn’t see you coming, I have to admit. But now that you’re here, I couldn’t be happier.” He turned his head to call out over his shoulder. “Carly! Your boyfriend’s here.”
I heard Carlisle’s footsteps bounding down the stairs in a rush a moment before he shoved his brother aside.
“Hi.” He greeted me with a shy smile, his eyes checking me out from head to toe. “Oh wow, you’re wearing color!”
Carson‘s head volleyed back-and-forth between us. He was grinning like an idiot, arms crossed over his chest again.
“So where are you two off to?”
“Yeah, right,” I scoffed. “Like I would tell you.” No doubt, he would show up ‘coincidentally’. I wasn’t taking any chances. I only had a handful of hours with Carlisle, and I wasn’t going to spare them on his brother's shenanigans.
Carlisle shoved him inside, closing the door in his face. He looked around the driveway, eying my bike curiously.
“Where is your truck?”
“No truck. We’re taking the bike today.” I handed him a helmet resting on the backseat.
“What? No. Nooooooooo. Definitely not. You have me confused with somebody else. I don’t do motorcycles.”
“Put the helmet on, Carly, and get on the back of the bike. Your protestations are cutting into my date time.”
“It’s Carlisle,” he snapped as he positioned the helmet on his head.
I buckled the strap under his chin, testing to make sure it was tight enough, but not too tight, before putting my own helmet on. Swinging one leg over the console, I straddled my bike and kicked my leg back, lifting the kickstand.
“Of course. My bad. Hop on, Carlisle,” I corrected, sounding completely unapologetic.
He eyed the bike warily before climbing on behind me.
“You’ll have to scoot closer and wrap your arms around my waist for safety.” I couldn’t help but smirk, knowing how he’d feel about that.