Page 35

CHAPTER 35

ETNA

It’s good to be home. Not that we’re home quite yet. We just got our gear and are heading for the car. I have both gear bags and Keno has our suitcase and garment bag. We each have our backpacks, too. It’s funny that we’ve almost always shared luggage.

I’ve spent a lot of time these last couple of months thinking about all the things we do as a couple and realizing so many of them haven’t changed. It’s like we were easing ourselves and our friends into it without realizing we were doing so. By the time we announced our pending nuptials, they rolled their eyes and were like it’s about time.

We’ve unlocked the secret to making those around you accept your relationship, whether they want to or not. Make it so obvious that only those involved are blind to it.

The thought makes me grin.

Keno opens the trunk of his SUV, and I load in the gear bags.

“You hear from your sister?” he asks as he adds the luggage next and then our backpacks.

I nod, grinning. “I received a voice note while you were in the shower.” Keno shuts the trunk, and we head to the front to climb in. Once he’s started the car, I play the message.

“You’re going to be here, ohmygod, I can’t wait for you to see your house! It’s amazing. In just a few hours. Ohmygod, ohmygod! Eeeee!”

Keno laughs.

“That’s Eddy’s normal energy. Not the brooding mess you met at Christmas.”

“To be fair, she didn’t start out brooding. But I’m really glad she sounds like that again.”

“I am, too.” Also incredibly fucking relieved. I can count on one hand the number of times Edna and I have gone more than twenty-four hours upset with each other. An entire month was rough.

“We have a couple hours before we’re supposed to be there, in case she’s got some last-minute shit to do. Want to stop and get some food?” I ask.

“You didn’t tell her we were early?”

I shake my head. “I didn’t want to stress her. She’s probably been done since last night, but in case she was waiting on something last minute, I don’t want to send her into a tizzy.”

Keno laughs. “Yeah, let’s get something to eat.”

I’m tapping through my phone to find a restaurant on the way to our new place when an email notification pops up. I’m about to swipe it off my screen when I see the subject line.

Re: Booking Caffeine Daydreams for our wedding.

“Ohhh,” I say and feel Keno glance at me while I click on the email.

“What?”

I don’t answer as I skim the email, a smile climbing. “We just booked Caffeine Daydreams,” I say, looking up at him.

Keno grins. “No fucking way.”

“Yes! I have a contract in my email and everything.”

“Holy fuck. That’s awesome.”

“I know. Is it too soon to be posting that shit online? I feel like I need to brag.”

I laugh. After replying to the agent accepting the terms and saying we’ll return the contract as soon as we get home, I return to scrolling for restaurants in the area.

“I already kind of miss the lake,” Keno says.

I place my hand on his thigh and give him a comforting squeeze. At least, I intend it to be comforting. But from the way his hand covers mine and keeps my hand still, I think maybe it has a different effect.

Not going to lie. I love how he’s always so turned on for me. I’ve always thought that one of the sexiest things about a person is to see how hot they are for their lover. Keno is always ready. At the drop of a hat.

“There’s a small café right outside the subdivision,” I say. “Right on N 59 th Ave. Actually, there are a bunch of options right there when you turn off West Beardsley Road on both the right and the left. We have options.”

“I hope they’re good options.”

We end up choosing the deli, which turns out to be a great decision. The sandwiches are large and delicious. However, since it’s a deli, we don’t waste a lot of time. We’re still an hour early. I end up calling Edna to tell her we’re just around the corner and she goes so high pitched with excitement, I think I hear neighboring dogs in the distance.

Hanging up, I look at Keno. “I think she’s okay with us being early.”

He laughs, shaking his head. “Then let’s go.”

It doesn’t take us long to get there. A mile up the road, take a right. Straight through the roundabout and then the first right over the bridge. We’re the third house on the right. The dark one with black pillars, surrounded by really tall palms.

One of the garage doors is already open for us to pull right in. My car, which I’d left for Edna, is in the next bay.

Speaking of Edna, she’s waiting just outside the door leading into the house. Her smile is huge, and she’s practically bouncing. As soon as I get out, she jumps into my arms like she had at Christmas. I sigh, closing my eyes.

As they always seem to, it feels as if our heartbeats sync. There’s a moment when my heart gets all wonky in my chest before it picks a new rhythm. I have to assume the rhythm it’s picked is the one that matches that of my twin. As if in the time apart, they fall out of harmony, but as soon as we get back together, they re-tune and find the right tone again.

“Missed you, Eddy.”

“Missed you too, you big dumb hockey player.”

I grin at the familiar greeting. Thank fuck it’s the same as it’s always been.

Letting her go, she looks around me at Keno. I’m surprised to see she’s looking a little shy as she waves. Maybe she feels awkward since the last time she saw him, she was a complete bitch.

Her eyes meet mine again. “Okay, I think you need the grand entrance first. The way the house was meant to be seen. So, back outside and to the front.”

There’s a concrete path from the driveway intersecting with the path from the sidewalk. I’m amused and just now realizing we’re the only house with a green turf lawn. Everyone else has rocks. This feels very bougie.

Two large black columns hold up the arched roof over the second story. And yes, the front door with its round window above it is just as bougie as the turf.

“I don’t think I ever realized how much this house stuck out,” Keno says as we step up to the door. He’s looking at the neighbors’ houses as I am.

Edna snorts. “Oh, you have no idea. I’ve driven all around this place and yes, you’re the most over-the-top house in this little subdivision on the canal.”

I laugh. “Seems about right.”

“Oh,” Edna says, and spins before she opens the front door. “I meant to ask how your games went?”

“You’re going to pretend you didn’t watch us lose all three?” I ask, raising a brow.

“This is me showing an interest in your profession,” she says, sniffing and turning back. “But yes, I did see. Losing by a single goal is shit.”

I huff.

“Okay, enough about your sport. Time to see the house! Ready?” She looks over her shoulder at us with a beaming smile. I swear, she’s like a kid at Christmas.

“Ready,” Keno and I say together. I take his hand as Edna opens the door. My heart races. This is our first house together. Ours. I suddenly truly understand what Keno meant. This suddenly feels a whole lot more real.

We’ve only been in the house once, so in a way, it feels like we’re touring it for the first time again. Stepping inside feels like we’re walking into a magazine. Straight ahead is a feature wall with a large oval mirror in front of a table with a bouquet of what look like very real flowers, but Eddy assures us they are fake—which is good because we’re never home long enough to keep real flowers alive. The walls are painted and aged in a way to look like the gray blue paint is peeling to reveal the light gray paint beneath.

To the right is an open doorway which Edna refuses to let us look through yet. Beyond the door is a tufted bench. On the opposite wall is a closed door and another doorway without a door that leads into the dining room.

“That’s the entry closet,” Edna tells us, nodding to the closed door. “Now go through the dining room.”

There was debate about whether we’d use a formal dining room, but we told Edna to go ahead and decorate as if we’d use it. It’s a mixture of elegance and comfort. The wall we’re facing is a dark gray with two tall mirrors over a banquet, making the already high ceilings feel taller. The table is black, but the chairs are soft and cushy, with the same light gray color as the rest of the walls and the drapes. Edna was brave to put carpeting under the table thinking that we’re grown up enough not to dump food on it right away.

“Two for two,” I say, my eyes trailing over the dining room. There’s so much to see. So much to take in. Even in this fairly sparse space.

“Awesome. Kitchen next.” She turns and heads into the second opening that we’ve obediently not peeked through.

The kitchen is definitely a sight out of a magazine.

Keno whistles as he drags his finger across the stone countertop. “I’m going to enjoy cooking in here.”

“It’s so nice, you might even convince Etna to cook,” Edna teases.

“Maybe every fifth Friday of the month,” I say as I open the fridge. “You went shopping?”

“No. You had a surprise food delivery yesterday.”

I wince. “Sorry. Forgot about that.”

“I’m just glad you changed your address, and it was delivered here.”

“You got rid of the microwave over the stove,” Keno says with a smile. He touches a button on the range and a light turns on.

“You both seemed to hate it. It’s the only construction I had done, if you can call it construction,” Edna says.

“Where’s the microwave now?” I ask.

“In the butler’s pantry that I’m entirely envious of.” She waves at the door. It’s smaller than a regular-sized door in width, but the top is rounded, as if it needed to be made fancier since it’s not a full-sized door.

“Oh yeah,” Keno says as he steps into the pantry. “I forgot about this room. Gorgeous.”

One entire wall is filled with shelves to the ceiling above lower cabinets. The back wall is the same. The wall to the left is wider lower cabinets with a countertop where the microwave is sitting. On the other end is a deluxe coffee maker with all the handles and shit that I don’t know how to use. There are also floating shelves with smaller appliances like the handheld mixer, a blender, a food processor, and things I’m not sure we owned.

“This all came from our boxes?” I ask.

“No. I bought a few things you were missing. How did you not have a food processor? Seriously? You’re barbaric.”

Keno laughs.

“Come on,” Edna says, pulling me out of the pantry by my sleeve. “There’s so much more.”

There is so much more. The living room with a ginormous couch and art on the walls. Edna explains how all the frames holding just a solid color throughout the house are there for us to add our own pictures. Wedding, honeymoon, family, hockey, friends, adventures. Whatever.

The bedroom suite is stunning. Huge with dark features and a tin tiled ceiling. The chandelier over the bed is incredible. Our old bed looks bigger, too. The closet is probably the size of the bedroom we left at Keno’s lake house.

“Those are the only boxes I didn’t unpack. I don’t want to know what you have hidden amongst your clothing,” Edna says as she leads us out. “Honestly, the bathroom leaves a lot to be desired after the bedroom and the closet. I think they either ran out of money or ambition.”

We end the tour of the first floor with a half bath and a little room off the entry I’m not sure is big enough for anything. Edna calls it a den and has put a chair and table there. It reminds me of a waiting room. Then off the kitchen is the entry into the garage that’s also the laundry room. It has a large industrial sink Keno thinks a single set of gear might fit in to wash. Yeah, it’s that big. I can’t help but wonder what the previous owners needed such a big sink for.

Upstairs we find three guest rooms, all decked out and welcoming. There are two full bathrooms up there as well, but the true feature is the open area that Edna’s turned into a dream. An entire wall is filled with bookshelves and books. There’s a large built-in desk with three big, curved computer monitors and keyboards with puffy executive chairs.

On the opposite wall is a television bigger than I’ve ever seen outside of a movie theater. There’s a variety of seating and a bar. Edna shows us how the coffee tables extend higher and get closer to where we sit on the couch so we can eat at a good height with less chance of mess.

There are jerseys on the wall. Among the books are our trophies and pucks and awards. There’s an elevated hockey theme that doesn’t make it feel like a simple sports fanatic’s game room.

“This is amazing,” I say, and pull Edna into another hug. “You did so much more than I ever imagined or expected, Eddy. Thank you.”

“So, I did good?”

“You did phenomenal. I love it.”

She sighs. Kissing my cheek, she takes a step away and turns to Keno. He’s still looking around in awe. When his revolution has him facing Edna, he asks, “Can I hug you?”

Edna nods and I watch them embrace. “This truly is perfect,” Keno says. “Thank you.”

“You really like it?” Edna asks. “I know my brother and what he likes, but all I know about you is from my brother. Admittedly, he’s talked about you a lot, so I feel like maybe I learned some useful stuff.”

Keno’s eyes meet mine. “I love it, Edna.”

She sighs. Her arms tighten. “I’m sorry for Christmas. I didn’t mean to treat you that way.”

Keno looks at me again and smiles. “I know. Thank you.” He takes a step back and meets my sister’s eyes. “You know I’ll never take your brother from you, right?”

Edna wipes her cheek and nods. “I know.” She sniffs and then turns to look at me with a big smile. “Okay, I’m leaving for the night so you can enjoy your new house on your own the first night here. I’ll be back in the morning.”

I nod as we follow her back down the stairs. I’m not sure where I want to look first. It was a whirlwind tour, and I think I’m going to be noticing something new every day for the next month.

“Oh,” Edna says as she opens the front door. “Keno, there was a delivery for you this morning. It’s in the closet there.” She points to the entry closet.

“Thanks,” Keno tells her, grinning. “Perfect timing.”

“See you tomorrow,” Edna says, and waves as she leaves.

Keno retrieves the box and tears into it. He pulls out another box, this one plain black. “This is for you. Let’s go find our bedroom. We need to unpack.”

Those sound like two different subjects, but I follow, anyway. Keno pushes me to sit on the bed and then hands me the box, taking a seat beside me, turned in my direction. I give him a curious look before pulling the lid off the box.

There are six dildos inside, arranged by size. The first one looks like it’s maybe four inches long. The last one is double its size in both length and thickness. All those in between gradually get bigger.

I raise an eyebrow as I look at Keno. He laughs. “You said you want to bottom, and I think we’ve kind of reached the limit on how I can stretch you with my fingers. I thought maybe, if you still want to bottom, we can try this. If you want to. I don’t?—”

“Yes,” I interrupt, and set the box beside me. Scooching myself backwards, I pull Keno onto my lap so he’s straddling me. “Yes.”

Keno’s tension releases. “I didn’t want to pressure you.”

“You’re not. I want to ride your big dick, but yeah, I think I need help getting there.”

He rests his forehead against mine.

“Keno?”

“Yeah?”

I swallow and close my eyes for a minute. “I think I love you.”

His inhale is sharp. “You think so?” he murmurs.

“I’m pretty sure.”

Keno laughs, shoving me backward. He lands on top of me, pressing his mouth to mine. “I know I love you.”

Maybe we just lost three games, but I still feel like I won.