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The day Luis Fortune walked into the house with his identical twin brother, Jase Nicholas sat back and held his pal double He closed his eyes, shook his head for a second, and reached for the back of another chair He’d been sipping a cup of coffee at the kitchen table, waiting for Luis to return so they could plan what they were having for dinner that night He’d never expected the shock of his life

The only difference between the twoin the h they both had the same short haircut, the Luis on the left had dark brown hair; the Luis on the right had lighter brown hair with brassy blond highlights Camp, their bald Chinese crested, jumped off a kitchen chair, ran to the one with the darker hair first, and barked

“Don’t get excited, Jase,” the one with the darker brown hair said “I’ve beentiotten around to it”

The one with the lighter hair said, “I told you we shouldn’t have surprised him this way I should leave now and let you explain”

“Maybe you were right,” said the one with darker hair “His face is a little red”

Well They even sounded identical Evidently, the one on the left with the darker hair was the real Luis Jase stood and crossed to the middle of the kitchen He rested his palaped at the twin brother and finally said, “I can’t believe how much you look alike It’s too hard to believe” He rubbed his jaw, looked the twin brother up and down, and added, “You even have bodies” Both were thin with lean, defined muscles, and had both adorable asses that jutted out into perfect rounds

Luis and his twin brother exchanged glances Then Luis said, “Let’s all go sit down” He took Jase’s hand and said, “I’ll tell you everything It’s kind of a long story”

Jase reached for a couple of s and filled them with coffee, then joined them at the kitchen table, still at a loss for words The ized for nothe had a twin brother in the first place; he explained all about how he and his twin brother had always been at odds with each other and how they’d never gotten along Heabout a bicycle: classic sibling rivalry between two very competitive brothers that sounded as if it went very deep

After that, Luis went into a detailed account about the previous weekend He told Jase an outrageous, ludicrous story about how his twin brother had locked hirocery store, assumed his identity te Only Luis revealed he wasn’t really locked up at all He could have left any tie think he was locked up, to see if he could trust his twin brother to do the right thing Though Luis said he’d known he was taking a huge chance, he had to find out if Gage would eventually return and set him free

Jase sat there with his mouth half open It sounded like the plot on a daytie Weston, Luis told Jase this wasn’t his real nae’s real nas Jase sat back and listened, with his ar to fill in the blanks and process it all He had a feeling Luis wasn’t telling hih to know Luis wasn’t a liar

When Luis finished speaking, Gage shrugged his shoulders and said, “I’ to be Luis all weekend I shouldn’t have done it But I was so confused, and so desperate at the ti down around me in one day I don’t kno I can make it up to you I don’t even know if there is a way to ” Then he reached out, took Jase’s hand in his, and held it tightly “I won’t blaive me”

After that, Gage went into a detailed account of the events in his own life that had led hi Luis’s identity As Jase sat there and listened quietly, he had to aduy hadn’t had an easy time of it He’d taken care of his mother and father—Luis’s parents—until they died, he’d moved to New York with no money at all, and he’d found a way to survive on his own Though Gage and Luis hadn’t been close in years, Jase found it remarkable that their stories were so sis that had happened to Gage so far in New York were that he’d now reconciled with Luis and he’d fallen in love with a nice cab driver he’d recently met

When Gage and Luis finished speaking, Jase sat back and rubbed his eyes “Ah well,” he said “I have to admit this is one unusual story, especially the part about e was really Luis You could have just kept that part to yourselves I would never have known” He felt duped He’d gone to bed with the guy They hadn’t had sex, but still

Luis reached for Jase’s hand “I wanted you to know the truth So did Gage I don’t ever want any secrets to co there are things about ht I should have told you about my twin brother much sooner and this never would have happened I’m sorry for that”

This was true Jase had known bits and pieces about Luis’s past He knew Luis had been kicked out of the house by his overly religious parents when he was very young and he’d gone to live with an older man, a doctor in Tennessee After that, Luis ran away to New York But Luis had never discussed his parents, getting kicked out of the house for being gay, or anything else about his family in detail He’d always said it was too painful to talk about And Jase had always let him off the hook

Gage frowned and looked down at his lap “Don’t blame Luis, Jase,” he said “It’s all my fault I shouldn’t have locked him up and I shouldn’t have pretended to be him But I’d read so much about you and Luis I wanted to find out what Luis’s life was really like When I did, and when I sa much you loved each other and how happy you were, I couldn’t continue with the charade I don’t blaive s to me in my life that weren’t very nice, but this time it was my fault”