Chandler caught her arm, stopping her movement. She stared at his place where he made contact and he dropped his hand to his side. The thing was that he did understand. He understood how it felt to have a sibling who seemed to be the apple of everyone's eye. The child the parents were always proud of. The one who had everything figured out. "I'm not complaining," he said, "I kinda did the same thing and you listened…. And it's okay to start over. As long as you don't give up. You can try as many times as you need to,"
Elena smiled at him. It was weird and funny at the same time. How she'd come here, anxious to see her crush from years ago… Who happened to be his brother, and now she couldn't even remember if Elijah existed. She stared at the clover tattoo on the side of his hand and wondered why he had so many of them.Chandler noticed her staring. The wavy length of her deep brown hair caught the lights in the room and he tilted his head and watched her for a moment. It had been a while since he'd spent an evening like this with a woman, especially someone like Elena. Dressed up and out on the town, with a good girl to boot. It almost felt like he was someone else because he'd managed to find himself in such a situation. She was incredibly beautiful in the unaffected, natural way that heavily made-up women hated. There was something about the way she was staring up at him, something he couldn't define. She had a hint of childlike wonder in her eyes and in the slight curl of her lips.Watching her, he felt his chest swell with something foreign and warm at the thought that he was the man with her tonight. No one else. Not his brother, the Golden Boy who everyone loved or any of the other peacocks under that roof.Just him.In every way, Elena Davis was too good for him, Chandler thought. She was neat and clean and innocent with no trace of a scar or ink on her skin that he could see. It was obvious in her eyes that despite her struggles with her business, she was loved and happy and secure, and that was the kind of woman he had no place feeling any sort of attraction to, but very slowly, he reached his hand out and cupped her elbow with his hand, just so that he could feel her skin against the pads of his fingers. She startled but didn't pull away."Wanna go to the bar and get some more drinks?" he murmured next to her ear. The edges of her hair tickled his mouth; that was how closely he was standing next to her.Elena didn't answer right away, but she took another one of those deep, fortifying breaths and turned to catch his stare. Chandler's heart turned uncomfortably in his chest."Sounds like a good and bad idea at the same time," she answered seriously. "So yes,"Chandler's lips hooked in a smile, and he held out his elbow. This protective instinct to be with her throughout the evening took him by surprise, and as her small hand curled around the crook of his arm, he grinned more widely.Chandler led them to two open stools at the bar and ordered tequila shots for them. He pulled out one of the stools for her and after she was seated, he slid his tall, broad frame onto the other stool and folded his large hands together in front of him on the bar. Ink crawled up his forearms, as did ropey muscles and strong veins. Have you ever tried to check out a man without him noticing? It takes skill, people.Elena had no issues with tattoos. She didn't have any either, because she'd never been fascinated by them before, but on Chandler, they looked very attractive. Carefully and professionally drawn too, she observed. It gave him a dangerous look, although she suspected that he'd still look that way even if he didn't have them. His stature was enough…. The tattoos only enhanced them."Nice ink," she told him, still staring at his hands. "Just how many do you have?"He licked his bottom lip, and reflexively, Elena felt her thighs clench together. His eyes, gleaming in the dim light of the bar, never strayed from hers. “I was expecting that question sooner or later,” he said.Elena raised an eyebrow. “What?”His thumb tapped the surface of the bar. His lips curved into a devious smile that made her toes curl inside her shoes. “You have been staring at them all night, love. I figured you'd ask me a question about them and you didn't disappoint”"Oh… well, is it okay if I ask then?"He grinned and nodded, "It's fine," he replied, "I've got a lot of them that I lost count. Some on my body too." There was a pause, then he added without taking his eyes off her, "I can show you the rest of them sometime if you want me to,"He was flirting with her. The realization almost came as a shock to Elena , and she looked away shyly. The bartender chose that moment to bring their drink, and Elena welcomed the distraction. He'd managed to work her up with that dance and his bloody intense stare. She sure as hell wasn't going to stay composed if he added flirting to the mix so she needed that buzz.Chandler silently watched as she sipped the liquor. Not even a flinch. His admiration grew. When she lifted those beautiful brown eyes to him, he fucking melted."No thank you," she said finally."Ouch," said Chandler, but he was smiling. He honestly wasn't expecting her to say yes, knowing the kind of person she was. She was too good for him, but that didn't mean he had to stop trying. "Do you have a problem with the ink?" He had to know, which surprised him, because he'd never been concerned with what other people thought about his tattoos. Not once in his life, and crazy enough he was relieved when she shook her head."No. Why would I have a problem with it?" Elena replied, "I mean… It's your body. No one should have a say in what you want to do. Besides, it's not like they're tacky. It's beautifully drawn and they suit you,""You're going to make me blush if you keep talking like that," Elena laughed out this time. Chandler Kendrick… Blush. Now wouldn't that be fun to see? She opened her mouth to say something when Emily, Daniel and Charlotte showed up behind them. "I really hate to break up…Whatever this is, but we have to go," Emily said, "Daniel has this really important meeting tomorrow morning so he has to go to work early," Chandler looked behind them and frowned when he didn't see his brother. Emily seemed to notice what he was looking for and said, "Elijah and Lexi are in the parking lot. They're waiting for you," Elena stared at Chandler and smiled politely, "I'm sorry I have to go," she told him, "I had a great time tonight. Thank you, Chandler," Chandler smiled back and nodded, "I had a great time too, Elena. Goodnight," to Emily he said, "Could you please tell Elijah that he can go. I'll take a cab back to my place and call him tomorrow morning," Elena began to leave with her sister and
Lost in thought, she had no idea when he got close to them. Chandler recognized her immediately, and he smiled at her. Elena found herself wanting to smile back, but she didn't. Knowing that she'd be living in the city, and how close her sister and his brother were, she knew that she would likely run into him sometimes, so the earlier she put boundaries between them, the better. "Hello, ladies," said Chandler, in that voice of his that had remained ingrained in her memory for the past three days. "Hey Chandler," Emily greeted back. Beth on the other hand simply smiled and waved at him, while Elena remained silent, although she couldn't stop herself from stealing glances at him. "What brings you to the mall?" Emily asked him, "Hunting for chicks? Or whatever the hell you men do with your spare time?" Chandler laughed this time. A deep, sexy, rumble that did something weird to Elena's insides. "Nah, I just wanted to get some stuff," he replied, "And I don't… hunt for chicks. If I wa
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked him, "You scared me!" Chandler raised both hands as he took a step inside the kitchen, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to. Emily said you were here so I came to say hello," Elena didn't roll her eyes, but she did let her eyelids fall shut before lifting them slowly. Hiding her reaction made her even more fascinating in Chandler's book. He saw her shoulders rise and fall as she took a deep breath and let it out. It made him grin."What?" she asked, with a bit more heat behind her tone."Just find it funny that you need breathing exercises to deal with the other Kendrick brother. Am I really that vile?""I wasn't doing breathing exercises," she explained calmly. "I just ... wasn't expecting," Elena paused, and her dark eyes flicked briefly in his direction, "Well… you.""Not many people are, love.""That is not my name," she snapped. "I am aware of that." He gave a brief glance of his own, careful not to piss her off more than he already
Emily's eyes widened dramatically as she stared at Chandler, then they flipped to Elena and blinked a few times. Chandler crossed his arms over his chest and leveled a dry look in her direction."Hey Emily," he said quietly. As frustrated as he was with Emily's interruption, he'd never been so happy to see her in all the time he'd known her. Because if she hadn't walked through that door, he might not have been able to keep himself from reaching for Elena just to see what she'd do. If he thought she was smokin’ hot in the yellow dress she'd worn to the club that day, what she was able to do with a pair of leggings and a crop top was a fuckin miracle of fabric. But instead of staring at her like he quite desperately wanted to, Chandler kept his gaze pinned on her twin sister. The one meeting his stare head-on, quite unapologetically."What's going on?" Emily asked no one In particular. Chandler decided to answer because Elena couldn't seem to find her tongue, "Nothing much. Elena and
In the living room, soft music played in the background, creating an ambiance filled with laughter and conversation. Everyone was getting along quite well, and Elena was happy. This indeed was the start of something new in her life. She didn't know how it was going to go or end yet, but she was here for it. Amidst the group conversations they all engaged in, Chandler found himself engrossed in an animated conversation with Charlotte. Her laughter was infectious, her sparkling eyes capturing his attention momentarily as she leaned in closer, her fingers lightly grazing his arm."You are a very handsome man, Chandler Kendrick," she complimented, making sure no one else could hear her, her voice carrying a hint of flirtation.Chandler, ever the polite and courteous gentleman, acknowledged her compliment with a gracious nod. "Thank you. It's very nice that you think that," he replied, "You are a lovely woman yourself, Charlotte," Charlotte smiled at his compliment and Chandler hoped she
She tugged on some cotton shorts, a tank with a built-in bra and a T-shirt, worn through in spots from being washed so many times. When she flipped on the bathroom lights, she took a second to remember, again, what she'd felt like before the night began. Happy. Terrified. Excited. Now she just felt exhausted. A makeup remover wipe took care of her face, bringing it back to its normal state. A brush did the trick for her hair when it was tugged high on top of her head and off her neck. Her hand was just about to flip the light switch off when the door buzzer rang.Elena froze. "Nooo," she moaned because for some weird, fucked up reason, she just knew. Oh, did she know who it was. She knew it couldn't be Emily because she'd given her sister a key. It rang again, and she swore under her breath. It was the kind of language that would've cost her a fortune in her family swear jar.With a brick of nerves lodged in her throat, Elena hit the speaker button. "Who is it?" she asked, hoping that
Chandler carefully set down the frame. "It must be strange to look at someone else and see your own face looking back at you."Elena shrugged, "People say that to me all the time, but I don't think it is. When I look at Emily, I see Emily." She knew their family was the same. Elijah probably was too. But she wasn't sure about Chandler even if he'd said that he could tell them apart. Maybe it seemed strange to him, but that was the thing about being a twin, wasn't it? They were a novelty, and honestly, she wanted him to look at her and see her. Not Emily… Her. "I guess I'm pretty used to it by now." She concluded. He nodded."Chandler," she said gently. "What do you want? I know you didn't come back to talk about the ins and outs of being an identical twin.""Well …" He paused and gave her a lopsided grin. "No I didn't." Her brow furrowed. "Okay. Then why did you come back?" Chandler nervously clasped his hands together, the words he intended to speak echoing repeatedly in his mind.
Two days passed, and Elena didn't hear a peep from Chandler. Which was disappointing. She'd said no to his date but she wasn't sure why she was still looking out for his text or call. She told herself that she was only looking forward to his call so she'd know if he'd spoken to the agent he told her about, and refused to admit to herself that maybe…Just maybe she also wanted him to text… To check up on her. It was really pathetic. She wasn't one of those girls who played hard to get by engaging in mind games, but she couldn't help the way she felt. She had just taken a shower and slid into bed when her phone beeped. She sat up, and the thrill she felt when she saw that the text was from him embarrassed her a little. If she could feel this way over a text from him, she wondered how it'd feel if they actually kissed, or touched or made —hell no, she wasn't going to let herself think that far. 'Hi, Elena' the next read, 'I'm sorry I haven't texted since. It's been really hard to get a