Ben walked into his apartment, his voice loud and booming. Star squinted through the white slats of the closet to see who was with him. He was holding a woman’s hand. She had long brown hair and was wearing bellbottom jeans. Her movements were familiar, the way she brushed her hair off her face. If only she’d turn around.
“Why don’t you sit down?” Ben asked.
“I don’t know, Ben. I know we’ve talked about this before, but I’m not sure I’m ready.”
“Come on, I have everything ready.”
She sat down on the bed and Star saw the woman’s profile against the small lamp on the bedside table. Her voice, her nose. She could swear it was
“Roz, I’ve been waiting so long for this.”
Roz. Her twin sister. Her best friend. With her ex-boyfriend.
“You just miss Star, Ben.” She twiddled her fingers as Ben lit a candle. The drawer rustled as he looked for something else.
“No, Roz. It’s not like that. I just have this idea that…”
“If we’re together you’ll experience the complete package, right? Yin and yang, all that crap.”
“Yes, but not as crass as all that. Come on, now. I have the instrument right here if I can find it.”
“Why me, Ben? Why?”
“You’re so, so different from Star. Different but the same. It’s hard to put your finger on. You’re untouched. A blank canvas waiting for those first strokes.”
“So it’s because I’m a virgin?”
“Not only that. You know we have chemistry. Those few times I brushed up against you thinking it was Star? We even kissed once. Now don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that.”
“No. I couldn’t forget that.” She whispered just loud enough for Star to hear.
Ben leaned over and kissed her then. Star closed her eyes, she couldn’t watch. She remembered what it was like to kiss Ben. You could lose yourself in a kiss like that.
The kiss lasted a good while. There were soft moans on both of their parts. Some heavy breathing. Star looked closer and saw that Ben had his hand under Roz’s sweater. Soon, the sweater was off and he was working on her jeans.
“No, let me do it.” Roz said. She stood up. Her back was turned to the closet. She slowly kicked one leg off and then the other. She was wearing dark purple underwear that matched her bra. Ben rifled in the drawer again, probably to find a condom.
“I’ve got it.” He stood up and undressed fully. Now lie down while I heat this up. It will only hurt for a second, I promise.
Roz lay down on the bed and undid her bra and threw it on the floor. She kept her underwear on. Then she softly touched herself, first on her breasts, then over her underwear.
Ben came over and knelt beside the bed. “Where do you want it?”
“Upper thigh.”
He placed a silver object on her thigh that looked almost like a car cigarette lighter. “I’m going to press down, and then it will be over, okay?”
“Okay, Ben.”
He pressed down and Star heard a hiss. Roz yelled out and Star stood up from her crouching position and almost opened the door.
“Shh, it’s okay.” Then he rubbed her leg with a towel and straddled her. “Now you’re different from Star. You have a marking -- the marking of the half moon. You are unique, Roz. And now I’m going to mark you a little more.”
He kissed her and she kissed him back. He pressed his naked body on top of hers. There was no sound of a condom wrapper being opened. Star pressed closer to the closet door and saw his hand come up and move aside Roz’s underwear. Then he situated himself and was inside. Roz yelled, but that yell soon turned into a moan. Ben buried his face into her neck and kept pumping, saying her name, “Rozalyn Moon” over and over. Then he yelled and buried himself further into her.
He moved off of Roz and onto his back. He was satisfied with experiencing the two halves that make a whole, like the full moon. Roz was unsure how she felt. She had wanted to shed her skin and become different from her twin sister, but by being with her ex, she felt a strange, closer bond to her. As if she had never wanted to stray too far from her.
Star fell asleep in the closet and never saw the sun come up the next day. Or the next, or the next.
Wow, Kathy this is awesome. you have managed to combine the sensuality of the whole twin experience with the pain of betrayal and desire. I hope there is a sequel to this for I found it a great read.
This is book 2 of my new fantasy trilogy, The Twins of Moon. As Quimbre warns Eefa, 'No world is more riddled with secrets than the eldritch waters we now blithely sail.' Here in the Sea of Stars the twins discover their extraordinary true destiny.
