Chapter 4
Katya
I threw myself onto my bed and closed my eyes. Every inch of me ached.
It felt wonderful.
We’d practiced harder than ever. The coach had been relentless and it had paid off. We hadn’t played that well all year. The team would be ready for the playoffs at this rate. Each one of us knew how lucky we were after having lost the opportunity.
My door opened, but I didn’t bother opening my eyes. I didn’t want anything to pull me away from the thrill of victory running through my veins.
“We need to talk.” Alley’s voice broke through my thoughts.
I groaned at my sister and sat up. “I’m not in the mood to fight.”
“Me neither. I hate arguing with you. Can we just forget about last night? I was seriously PMS-ing. It was probably all my fault. I even got mad at that cute new bellhop.”
My mouth gaped. She was taking the blame?
She shoved me playfully and sat on my bed. “I know, write down the date. I’m wrong for once.” She laughed. “So, what are you doing in your gear?”
I glanced down at my volleyball uniform. “Didn’t you hear? We’re in the playoffs.”
My sister tugged on her cheer skirt. “But Seattle beat you guys.”
“They had some help.” I couldn’t keep the laughter out of my voice. “And they also got caught. We’re in!”
“Congratulations!” Her expression lit up, matching mine. Seriously, she exactly matched my expression. We were identical twins with the same face but totally different personalities.
“Alley-Kat!” Our mom’s voice drifted from down the hall.
“When will she drop that stupid nickname?” Alley rolled her eyes. “We’re not five anymore. It’s so not cute.”
“At least she doesn’t do that around our friends.”
“I guess.” Alley stuck her head out into the hall. “We’re in here.”
Mom came in, carrying a clipboard. “Can you girls—?” She stared at me. “What’s with the uniform?”
“Right?” Alley gave me an I-told-you-so expression. “That’s what I said.”
I explained the playoffs to Mom. She then enveloped me in a hug. “I’m so happy for you.” She turned to Alley. “Are you going to cheer at the games?”
“Probably. I’m not sure the coach knows yet. She didn’t say anything today.”
“Well, let me know the dates, and I’ll make sure someone covers for me.” Mom turned back to her clipboard. “Any chance either of you can help out at the front desk now? Sally had to leave early because one of her kids is sick.”
I glanced over at my bag full of homework waiting to be done. “I can help if you’ll let me do my homework.”
“I’ll pay you double for the trouble.”
Alley jumped in between us. “I’ll help too.”
Mom beamed. “You girls are the best. How did I ever get so lucky?”
Lucky? She was a single mom who had to work every waking moment to keep our creepy hotel running. With everyone else she had to hire, there was no room left in the budget for someone to help her manage everything.
She headed out the door. “Be sure to change before heading down to the front desk. We have a big group coming soon to check in. Can’t have anyone looking unprofessional.”
Alley and I exchanged a knowing look. We knew the drill. Having lived in the old mansion-turned-hotel for the last five years, helping take care of it was second nature.
Twenty minutes later, both of us sat behind the long counter wearing matching pantsuits and professional smiles for the guests. Behind the desks, we both had a pile of school books along with our laptops. During the lulls, we could do homework.
Alley yawned. “I’m so tired. The coach really worked us today.”
“Yeah, I kind of feel the same way, except I’m way too excited about being in the playoffs to feel it. It’s the best day.”
“I know.” She threw me a friendly smile. “I’m so happy for you.”
Ding-dong.
The bell over the front door. We both turned our attention to the group coming in and got everyone registered.
By the time we finally had some breathing room to do homework, I was just as wiped out as my twin. We pulled out our things and got to work.
Alley yawned again. “I’m grabbing some coffee. Want some?”
I shook my head. “I’ll never get to sleep if I do.”
“Sometimes it’s hard to believe we’re supposed to be exactly the same.” She yawned again. “Even with the caffeine, I’ll fall asleep as soon as I hit the pillow.”
I sighed. “And even with being exhausted and having no caffeine, I’ll toss and turn before falling asleep.”
“Well, you want some hot chocolate or something instead? That’s relaxing, isn’t it?”
“It still has caffeine. Thanks, though.”
Alley shrugged and went around the desk to the row of vending machines for coffee. She came back with a steaming cup and a couple bags of Skittles, handing me one of the bags. “That won’t keep you up, will it?”
“Nope. Thanks.” I opened it as I turned back to my laptop.
“What are sisters for?”
The lull dragged on for a while, giving us a long stretch of time to get some homework done. I made it all the way through my art history assignment before the bell over the door made any more noise.
“Carter?” Alley asked.
My head snapped up. Sure enough, it was my sexy stalker.
He glanced back and forth between us, his face pale and his expression confused.
“You know him?” I asked Alley.
“Yeah.” She kept her attention on him and waved him over.
Well, that explained it. I should’ve known it was a case of mistaken identity. I’m not sure why the thought hadn’t crossed my mind earlier.
“There are two of you?” Carter asked.
I put my laptop away. “Yep. You thought I was her this morning.”
Alley turned to me, arching a brow.
Carter leaned against the counter. “Which one of you is Katya?”
“Me.” Now I was confused. He hadn’t thought I was Alley?
He studied me. “You’re the one who took me to Toby’s classroom?”
“Right.”
Alley turned to me. “You’re on a first-name basis with a professor?”
I shook my head. “Carter is. You live with Professor Foley?”
He drew in a deep breath and glanced back and forth between us, stopping at Alley. “What’s your name?”
“I thought I told you.” My sister’s tone held annoyance. It wasn’t often guys forgot her. “I’m Alley.”
Carter shook his head. “You started to tell me, but then your friends grabbed you and dragged you away.”
“Oh, right.” Pink colored her cheeks.
I was tempted to snap a picture. Alley almost never got flustered, and she’d probably deny it later.
“Are you the one who invited me to the party on Friday?”
Alley grinned, her color returning to normal. “Well, technically it was Brenna, but yeah, we were talking about meeting up there.”
Carter glanced back and forth between the two of us. “Are you both…?” His voice trailed off.
“What?” I asked.
He held my gaze and then Alley’s but didn’t answer my question.
“Both what?” I repeated.
“Never mind. I’m just confused.”
Alley and I exchanged a glance before she turned back to Carter. “So, what brings you here? Planning on staying in the hotel?”
“I was looking for you, but I didn’t realize there were two of you.”
Alley giggled. “That does make things awkward. Did you come to talk about Friday?”
Carter glanced back and forth between us, seeming unsure how to answer. His confusion was actually kind of adorable. He came off as so confident and sure of himself earlier. Now he seemed so… human.
Ding-dong.
Another group of people. I groaned. That might take us half an hour to get everyone settled before we could get back to our homework, and I was already behind.
Carter stepped aside and nodded toward some chairs by the vending machines. “I’ll just be over there.”
Alley and I turned our attention to the guests. The largest man of the group, who also ordered everyone else around, froze when he saw Carter. The two of them stared each other down as soon as Carter noticed him.
Alley leaned close to me. “Awkward.”
“Awkwardness seems to follow Carter around.”
“Yeah, but I’ll take that kind all day long.” She stared at him longingly.
I sighed.
She turned to me. “Wait, you don’t like him, do you? I didn’t even think about that.”
Of course she didn’t. Whenever guys had the choice between this set of twins, they always chose Alley. “No, he’s annoying.”
Alley arched a brow. “Why do I get the feeling you’re lying?”
“I’m not.”
“If you like him, just say so. I won’t go to the party with him. There will be tons of guys there. I don’t want to hang out with the one you have feelings for.”
My face flamed, though unlike her, it wasn’t all that unusual. “I don’t have feelings for him.”
“Really?” Her tone told me she didn’t believe me. “Hey, I know. Why don’t you come to the party? Or do you have a hot date already?”
I glared at her. “You know I don’t.”
“Then come. He probably thought you invited him since he met you first and didn’t realize we had the twin thing going on.”
I shrugged and glanced over at Carter. He and that big guy from the group were in the farthest corner of the room, and they appeared to be having a heated discussion. Carter’s fists were clenched and his expression tight. The other guy was red in the face and gesturing wildly.
My breath caught. What if that guy hit Carter?
“What’s going on over there?” Alley sounded more curious than worried. “He knows everyone, doesn’t he? How is it we just met him today?”
Carter spoke to the other man now, and it seemed like he might be the one to throw the first punch.
“Maybe we should call Che.” I realized my fists were clenched, and I relaxed them. “He might need to break up a fight.”
“Go ahead.” Alley’s attention didn’t leave Carter and the other man. “I want to watch this.”
“Fine.” I dug out my phone and texted Che, who was twice as intimidating as the big guy arguing with Carter.
He showed up a few minutes later and carried the man’s bags to his room, pulling him away from Carter.
Alley turned to me. “That was so intense. What do you think it was about?”
I glanced back over at Carter, who now stared out the large picture window.
“I have no idea, but I want to find out.”