Page 54 of Heart Strain

“Hendrix, don’t be a dick. Why did you say that?” Holds fusses at his brother. Drix winks at me while allowing his brother to berate him. Holds doesn’t know that’s what Drix always says to me when he knows I’m nervous to ask someone on a date.

No time like the present.Adjusting in my seat until my leg knocks into his, I ask, “Holds, would you like to have dinner with me?”

“Uh, we have dinner together every night. I assumed we would tonight as well.”

“No, I mean, would you like to go out to dinner?” His leg tenses, but I push forward. “As in a date. Would you like to go on a date with me tonight, for dinner?”

“Oh, um—”

“Don’t you be a pussy, either, little bro. Man up,” Drix says to him before leaning back against his pillow and closing his eyes.

Holds is silent for so long I’m convinced I really screwed up, then his lips curve into the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen on his face, making me want to pull him into my lap and devour his mouth. “I’d love to.”

“Finally, now get the hell out of here so I can get some rest. Watching you two circle each other went from being entertaining to exhausting two days after I woke up.”

Tears spring in Holds’s eyes as he leans over his brother and kisses him on the forehead. “It’s so good to have you back, Drix. So damn good.”

* * *

Pullingup to Drix’s house to pick up Holds for our date has me ridiculously nervous. Before getting out of the car, I drop my neck forward, shaking it from side to side before rolling my shoulders and exhaling a long, steady breath. I know I’m being silly. It’s only been two hours since I dropped him off so he could get ready, and I could go home and take Peanut out, feed all our pets, and change myself.

When I see the curtains twitch in the front window, I know Holds is watching so I force one more deep breath out to steady my nerves and exit my car. He answers the door—uncertainty playing across his face—as soon as I knock, and my brain stutters out. Hendrix and Holden may be twins, but the difference in the thickness of their body, their hair, and personal style has never made me look at them the same. Tonight, however, there is no similarity at all. Holden is the most stunning man I’ve ever seen. If the sapphire blue button-down shirt that not only matches, but magnifies, his beautiful eyes wasn’t enough, instead of having his hair pulled back, it’s hanging down loosely around his shoulders. “I thought you agreed to go out to dinner,” I say once I can get my mouth working again.

He self-consciously reaches up, touching the bottom of his hair before dropping his hand. “I-I, um, I can go put it in a ponytail or something. It just seemed like you—”

I cut him off, “That’s exactly what I’m saying. You look gorgeous, and with your hair like that”—I reach up and rub the silky softness of his longish locks in my fingertips—“I want to take you back inside and ravish you. In fact, I think my appetite for food has disappeared.” I crowd into him in the doorway, invading his personal bubble.

Holds rests both hands on my chest as he beams up at me, face as bright as the sun on a cloudless summer’s day. “Oh no,” he says, giving me a little push back. “If we’re going to actually do this, we’re going to do it right.” He takes a deep breath. “It’s not just because you’re my brother’s best friend or his partner or whatever, I normally don’t date, period. I-I want to do this right if we’re going to try. That is what we’re doing right, trying?”

Leaning forward, I kiss him gently, one simple press of the lips. Before my body can get any crazy ideas, I back up and grab his hand, waiting while he pulls the door shut behind him before I lead him to the car. “Yes, that’s absolutely what we’re doing. There’s no question the sex was smoking hot, but spending time with another man has never been like this for me before. It’s different with you.”

I open his car door and wait for him to settle in; as I go to shut the door, he looks me dead in the eye and says, “It’s never been like this for me, either. So let’s not mess this up, huh?”

“Let’s not.” It’s impossible for me to hide the dorky smile splitting my face, but as I get into the driver’s side, I don’t even try because Holden’s matches mine.

“I hope you like this place,” I say as I help him out of the car after parallel parking down from a little hole-in-the wall Italian restaurant. “When I called to make the reservation, I made sure they had vegetarian options for you.”

A smile that I’ve come to recognize is especially for me softens his face. Whenever he’d smiled like that in the past, I huffed at myself with the way my heart raced and how special it made me feel. But since Drix woke up, I’ve realized it’s never graced his face for the hospital staff, or Aiden when he’d visited, or that guy Gavin when they’re texting away, or even Drix, not even when he first woke up. This one’s special, and for some reason, it’s all for me.

I hold the door to the restaurant open for Holds to walk inside and take the opportunity to check out his pert ass encased in the tight, dark denim jeans. I’ve never been so happy for a date to have his shirt tucked in. As we approach the hostess stand so I can give my name, my cheeks flush when I’m met with the knowing smirk of the older Italian woman who owns this place with her husband. “Jameson! It’s been too long, honey.” She sweeps around Holds to embrace me in a crushing mama bear hug. “And who is this?” she asks, turning to Holds.

“I’m Holden,” he replies before I can.

“Well, you must be special, Holden,” she says, patting his cheek. “Jameson has been coming here with his father since he was a little boy, and he’s never brought anyone with him.”

Holds flashes his special smile at me again before following her to the back corner table. “Luisa will be right with you, boys. Enjoy your meal,” she says before walking away.

The restaurant hasn’t changed in all the years I’ve been coming here. The walls have been freshly painted throughout time, even the upholstery has been updated, but the homey feel and the delicious aromas have remained the same. As I hand Holds his menu, he asks curiously, “You never even brought my brother here?”

I shake my head, glancing down at the menu, before facing him and giving away a little piece of myself. “This was always my special place with my dad. We came here to celebrate our birthdays or when I’d had a bad day, he’d bring me here to talk. My mom didn’t like it here. She said it was too small and claustrophobic, but really, I think it wasn’t flashy enough for her. And Jovany always followed my mom’s lead. But Dad and I loved it here.”

“It’s not small, I think it’s quaint. It’s like coming to a friend’s house for dinner almost.”

Smiling, I reach across the table and grab Holden’s hand. “I thought, no, I knew you’d understand.”

“Have you come here since your dad’s… been away?” he asks softly.

I shake my head. “Not as much as when Dad came with me. I still come on our birthdays and for Father’s Day. It makes me feel close to him, you know?”

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