Rick
“Claire? Why aren’t you answering your phone or your door?”
I sat up and thought I was seeing double. It was Claire standing there in the doorway and then I looked over and saw Claire lying next to me. She had woken me up in the middle of the night and had me come lay with her. I wasn’t sure why, but I took the opportunity to hold her for a little while before we both drifted back off to sleep.
Now I was trying to figure out if I was seeing things or if there was another Claire.
“Who are you?”
The second Claire that was in the bedroom doorway wanted to know who I was, while I wanted to know the same thing as she did.
“Rick.”
I sat up and pushed the covers off of me. I wanted Claire to wake up and set this all straight because I didn’t know what the hell was going on.
“Claire?”
The woman shook her head and came towards me. “Haven’t I seen you before?”
It was then that I knew who she was. “Amber?”
“Guy from the club that came to my dressing room.”
Now I didn’t want Claire to wake up and hear about me being in that kind of place. I don’t know why, but I didn’t want her to look at me like that.
“Yes.”
“So you finally told my sister that you like her.”
“Your sister?”
“My twin.” I was floored and I looked back to Claire’s sleeping form and her blue eyes opened, the same as the ones staring at me from the doorway. This was strange. There were two of them and apparently, they were very different.
“Wow.”
“Claire wake up and tell me why you have a man in your bed.”
Claire started to move around a little bit and she smiled up at me before she realized that Amber was standing there.
“Hey sis. What are you doing here?”
Amber held up some coffee and smiled. “We are supposed to go shopping, remember?”
Claire sat up and rubbed her eyes. Even in the midst of everything, I loved to see her that way. She was makeup free and her yellow hair was all tussled. I got to look at her until she realized that I was staring.
“Oh.” Did she just realize that I was in the bed with her? It looked like she did and if I didn’t know any better I would say that she wasn’t all that happy about it. Did she not remember coming to me the night before to lie down with her?
Claire turned to me and introduced me to her sister. “Rick, this is my sister Amber.”
“Yes, we have already met Claire. He was the one that thought I was you. Can you imagine? Claire as a stripper?” Amber started to laugh and though it was a little funny that I had mistaken one for the other, I didn’t feel so bad now.
“Oh, this is the guy you were telling me about?”
I didn’t want to look over at Claire because it was now known that I had gone to that club and I was there to see strippers. I wish that I hadn’t now, but I had to say that I liked the red glow on Claire’s face. I had a feeling that Amber would have found it hard to blush like that. How could two women that looked identical, be so different?
Claire got up and mumbled something about getting a shower in and getting dressed. Amber followed her out of the room and I was left in the bedroom, reeling from the news. I couldn’t believe that Claire had a twin. While her sister would be more my style in the past, I was in love with Claire. I didn’t realize it until just then though. Why hadn’t I seen it before?
Getting out of the bedroom, I went to the door and got my shoes on. I was about to leave when Amber stopped me.
“Where are you going? Are you really going to sleep with my sister and leave?”
I was at a loss for words. Amber’s face was so serious that I didn’t know what to say.
“I didn’t sleep with her, not like that.”
Amber smiled and waved me off. “Oh, I know.”
It made me wonder how she knew. Why wouldn’t Claire sleep with me like that?
“What are you doing here then?”
“She called because Jack came over and I guess calling me over got him to leave.”
Amber sighed and sat down at one of the bar stools at the counter.
“Yeah, it is my fault because I told him where she lived. I thought after Claire got over her issues, they would get back together, but I guess he is just too pushy.”
“Her issues?”
“Yeah, she wanted to wait until marriage and he didn’t.”
I almost asked her if her sister was a virgin, but I caught myself. I shouldn’t be asking questions like that after all and I think I knew that to be true. It made so much sense as to why she wasn’t responding to me in the way that I was used to. It had baffled me to no end, but now it all starting to make a little more sense to me.
“Well I was happy to help.”
“I bet you were. Haven’t seen you at the club Rick. When are you coming back?” She had a grin on her face and I could tell that she enjoyed razzing me.
“I don’t usually go to places like that.”
“Really? That is not what I heard.”
So much for confidentiality in places like that.
“I assure you that it isn’t like that Amber. I shouldn’t have gone…”
“Don’t worry Rick. Your secret is safe with me. I haven’t seen my sister this close to someone in a long time. As long as you are good to her, I have nothing to say.”
She was talking to me like Claire and I was dating. I didn’t correct her and if I was honest, I liked the idea that she used me to get rid of her ex. In her past was where Jack needed to stay as far as I was concerned.
“I won’t do anything to hurt your sister.”
Amber looked at me for a time, judging if I was telling the truth or not. I could tell that she was protective of Claire and there was something else there, but she didn’t say much else before Claire was out and walking into the bedroom in her towel. I got a glimpse of her lithe body and I could envision Amber’s body in my mind. Now I knew that they were identical, that meant that everything about them was going to be the same. I closed my eyes with the thought.
I told myself I was just going to wait around to tell Claire goodbye. I didn’t want to go, but I had things to do as well. It wasn’t every day that I had such a good wakeup and heeding Amber’s advice, I told Claire that I would see her later.
“Bye Rick. See you around.”
She smiled at me and did a little wave that made me a bit uncomfortable. I left the apartment not sure what to think of everything. I was absolutely floored to think that she was a virgin. It made sense, but to see her and how beautiful she was, it really didn’t make any sense at all to me. I kept wondering to myself, how? Claire was gorgeous and it seemed to me that she would have all kinds of suitors.
I drove back to my place and I couldn’t get the damn woman off of my mind. I was really going to have to work on that. Knowing the truth though helped me in a massive way. My ego had taken a hit every time she denied me, but now that had changed. Now I knew why she didn’t move forward with me, she didn’t know how.
Was Amber serious when she said that her sister was waiting till marriage? That was a hard thought to think and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. Claire was already the one person I wanted and unless I could do what no one else could do, I would never have her. Marriage wasn’t even an option to me, not even something I would consider.
I was just going to have to wear her down on it and convince her that I was worth the risk. I would make her feel so good that she would never avoid me again. I was now even more bound and determined to have Claire in my arms and in my bed.