Page 55 of Dopplebanger

By the time we arrived at the building where we were staying, we were both gasping for air.

A wheeze came from Gwen’s lips, and I was worried she’d somehow ingested peanuts, but then she started laughing. “Oh my gosh. That was…” She sucked in a breath of air. “Awesome.”

“I’d choose a different word,” I said, which made her laugh harder, which made me laugh.

A shiver racked her body, and I quickly shed my jacket and draped it around her.

Her face fell, and it made me remember that we’d been about to have a shitty conversation, one I didn’t want to finish, but knew I had to. Could’ve used a few more seconds enjoying the adrenaline buzz, but such is life.

“My shoes,” she said.

My brain searched for context but couldn’t find any. “Your shoes?”

She bit her lip. “Not sure whether to tell this to a future lawyer or not, but I left my shoes at the scene of the crime. Really they’re at the spotbeforethe off-limits area, so I can just claim that I kicked my shoes off there but never crossed, right?”

“Sure,” I said. “I’ve never heard of anyone being convicted because of a pair of shoes.”

“Convicted?” The bold girl who’d brazenly ignored warning signs turned genuinely worried. “Wait. Don’t they catch people because of their shoeprint sometimes? That’s pretty much the same thing as shoes.”

I cupped both of her cheeks and tilted her face up so her eyes would meet mine. “You’re not going to be convicted of anything. We could argue a hundred things. Circumstantial evidence, too dark to see the glowing sign…” I flashed her a teasing smile. “Temporary insanity.” I looked deep into her eyes, switching back to reassuring mode. “I’ll take care of you, I promise.”

A warm, squishy sensation flooded me as she threw her arms around my middle and nuzzled my neck with her nose. “My hero.”

Not even close. I really wished I was, though.

“I mean superhero,” Gwen said. “Even though I’m still not sure which one we settled on. Hulk was the one you wanted to be, right?”

Some of our superhero jokes seemed a lifetime ago, and yet they were part of why I’d fallen so hard for this girl. It was as much of a challenge to keep up with her brain as it was her mouth.

We were a handful of feet from our room—the room I didn’t want to step inside because then I’d have to finish the conversation I’d barely started and never wanted to finish. I wished I didn’t have to ruin us with something as simple yet complicated as the truth.

Only as I dug into my pocket to retrieve our room key, a figure emerged from the shadows.

Gwen tensed at my side. “Paige?”

The blond bridesmaid stepped into a pool of light that revealed her slightly disheveled state and red-rimmed eyes.“Gwen, please. I just really need to talk to you now, before you head back to North Carolina. Everything’s changing, and it feels like I have no one, and I know it’s my fault, but…” Her chin quivered and tears spilled down her cheeks, taking what little mascara she had left with them. “If you can forgive Kyle, why can’t you forgive me? I’m way sorrier than he is.” She frowned as if she’d realized how that sounded. “That came out wrong. But, Gwen, you were like my sister.”

Gwen looked at me. I shrugged—it was so out of my league, and I could hardly be fair when it came to how much I wanted her to be able to forgive someone. I hated that her supposed friend hurt her so badly, but if I told her not to forgive Paige, the same could be said about not forgiving me. Even if I liked to think mine was driven by purer reasons. Which probably made me even guiltier.

“I know we were kind of in the middle of something,” Gwen said, her hand coming up on the center of my chest, right over the spot where my heart beat solely for her. “A lot of things.”

“It’s okay. It can wait,” I said.

Gwen sighed, an invisible weight pressing down her shoulders, and I saw the effort it took to smooth her expression to a more neutral one. Then she turned toward the still-sobbing bridesmaid. “Okay, we can talk,” she said, and Paige surged forward and hugged her. Gwen awkwardly patted her head and it might’ve made me laugh if I didn’t see the edge of hurt and other conflicting emotions in her big hazel eyes.

“What do you want me to do?” I mouthed. I’d be there as they talked if she wanted me to be, in spite of the panicky feeling that rose at the thought of tear-filled conversations and how clueless I’d be on how to help or fix it, or any damn thing.

“You have a room nearby?” Gwen asked Paige, who straightened and sniffed loudly.

“Yeah. A couple of doors down. Don’t worry, Kyle’s not staying with me tonight.”

Gwen flinched slightly but hid it fairly well. Her gaze flickered to me. “Go ahead and settle in, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She wrapped my jacket tighter around herself. “But just so you know, much like your hoodie, I’m keeping your jacket.”

“I’ll freeze to death come winter, woman.” I kept my tone light and teasing, and even though it sucked to have this ticking time bomb over my head, I was glad I hadn’t had the chance to come clean quite yet. Then Gwen might also be crying right now, and she’d already had to deal with so much emotional shit tonight. As hard as it would be, once she got some closure with Paige, whatever level of closure it was, I knew she’d feel better about this trip. Just like I knew she was strong enough to handle it without getting walked over.

Not that I was letting myself off the hook. I hated that she’d get back only to deal with more, but I couldn’t go one more night pretending to be my brother.

I pulled Gwen to me for a hug and a way too quick kiss. I used the hotel key to open the door, propping it with my foot and then dropping the key into Gwen’s hand. “Call me if you need me and I’ll be right over.”

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