Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 204: First Kiss

The first thought on Mari’s mind when she woke up the next morning were of Jax and Chad.

She let out a tiny sigh and felt her heart give a funny thump. She smiled slowly as she reached for her glasses on the nightstand and slid them onto her nose.

Everything turned clear.

She looked around her room as she sat up. It was quiet, but her mind was busy. She thought of Jax’s serious eyes and Chad’s easy smile.

She shook her head when she remembered how Jax had left after Chad showed up and she had not seen him since then not even for dinner.

It seemed to her that those two never stayed in one place at a time. One always disappeared whenever the other came in. If she didn’t know better she’d think maybe they weren’t twins and one of them was from the past or future and it was forbidden for them to be in the same place for longer than five minutes else one or both of them would fade away. She laughed at her funny and rich imagination.

Mari slipped out of bed and padded to the bathroom. As she freshened up, memories from the day before danced around in her head. She thought about her discussions with Jax and how she had enjoyed his company.

She wondered again who the girl was that Jax was in love with and how he met her. She hoped he would be in a good mood and be as chatty today as he had been yesterday. She was still very curious about him and wanted to ask him lots of questions.

She thought about Chad and the easy flow of their conversation. Chad had asked her about how Jax pretended to be him and what they discussed, and she had told him about it. Chad had laughed a lot. And then she had asked him about the girl Jax was in love with and if he knew anything about her. He had laughed even more and then told her not to let the girl stop her and to just go for Jax if she wanted him.

Mari dried her face and stared at herself in the mirror. ”Who am I going to meet first today? Jax or Chad?” she asked with a little laugh.

She pulled on her clothes, a black short and a pink T-shirt, and combed her hair until it was smooth. Today, she decided, she was not going to let either of them disappear. She was going to spend time with both of them together. No more of this disappearing act.

Mari left her room and headed for the kitchen. She was still wondering who would be out, but when she stepped into the doorway, she paused.

Jax and Chad were both there, sitting side by side at the kitchen island. Both of them wore black T-shirts and black sweatpants. Both had coffee mugs in front of them.

So this was what today’s game was about? Did they plan to confuse her?

Mari stared. For a tiny second, she thought she would just stand there watching them and listening to their conversation then try to tell them apart before they noticed her presence.

Before she could even take a breath, both of their heads turned slowly toward her like they felt her standing there.

Two pairs of eyes met hers. Her heart skipped. They looked so alike it almost made her dizzy. It almost felt like she was drunk and having double vision.

They didn’t move or speak as they watched her. They both stared at her like they were waiting for her to say something or figure out who was whom.

She studied their faces carefully. One of them had cooler, observing eyes and he watched her like he wanted to read her mind and know what she was thinking. She pointed her finger at him.

”You’re Jax,” she said firmly. That stare was totally his.

His lips twitched with a satisfied smile, and the other one chuckled.

”That’s more like it, Chad,” she finished, smiling back.

Chad chuckled. ”You got it right.”

”Aren’t you both a little too old to be messing with me this way?” She asked as she swept into the kitchen, feeling proud of herself. She went to Chad first and leaned close to kiss his cheek. ”Good morning, Prince Charming,” she greeted sweetly.

”Good morning, little mermaid,” Chad murmured, still smiling.

She turned to Jax. ”Good morning,” she said, as she went to pour herself coffee.

Jax raised a brow. What was that? Chad was Prince Charming, and he was what? Or did she mix them up again in her head? He wondered, watching as Mari carried her mug to the stool across from them and sat down.

She wrapped her hands around the warm cup. ”So...how are you two doing?” she asked, smiling at Chad. ”Did you sleep well?”

Chad leaned his elbow on the counter and sighed dramatically. ”I didn’t sleep,” he said. ”I left my door open all night, hoping you’d sneak into my bed. But you didn’t.”

Mari giggled, almost spilling her coffee. Jax shot Chad a glare that only made Chad grin.

”You should have sneaked into mine instead. Why wait in vain? My door was open,” she said with a flirtatious smile.

Jax raised an eyebrow. ”Oh? Would he have been welcome?”

”Of course,” she teased, winking at Chad, who was now laughing, before turning to Jax. ”Since we’re both single and not in love with anyone it would have been perfectly fine. God must have known how much I liked you to have made two of you.”

Liked? Did he make a mistake by telling her he was in love with someone? Jax wondered. Or was she just trying to make him jealous using Chad as she had initially planned?

Jax tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. ”I guess you’re still trying to make me jealous using Chad.”

Mari laughed and sipped her coffee. ”Well, that was the plan,” she admitted. ”Until I realized your heart belongs to someone else. I don’t want to end up like Diva. I love to take my own advice.”

Without saying a word, Jax just shook his head, picked up his mug, and took a long drink.

Chad threw back his head and let out a loud laugh, enjoying himself. ”Well, I’m here for you whenever and however you want me,” Chad winked at her.

Mari looked at him with a playful grin. ”I know, darling. I can’t wait to snuggle together with you on the couch like we did yesterday seeing a movie.”

”You too cuddled together?” Jax asked, looking from Mari to Chad with disbelief.

Chad chuckled, while Mari grinned at Jax. ”Yeah. Where did you disappear to, anyway? I enjoyed spending all that time with Chad, though.”

The doorbell rang before Jax could say another word and he set his cup down with more force that was required. He glared at Chad before walking to the living room to see who was at the door.

The moment he disappeared, Mari leaned across the counter and whispered to Chad, ”I think he is jealous. Do you think he was jealous?”

Chad’s eyes gleamed with mischief. ”Oh, definitely. If I weren’t his brother I’m sure he’d have liked to punch me,” he whispered back.

Mari bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. ”What’s wrong with him though? If he does want me, why is he holding back?”

”That’s for you to figure out. But I’m glad you decided to take my advice and not give up on him,” he said with grin.

Mari shrugged, blowing on her coffee. ”I’m here, and whoever he loves isn’t. So, why not? He doesn’t think it’ll work with her anyway. So it’s not like I’m snatching anyone’s man. Even if I was, they aren’t married anyway. Overtaking is allowed.”

Chad studied her, his smile widening. ”I like you.”

Mari looked up and smiled. ”I like you too.”

Just then, Jax returned. He was carrying a small white bag. He set it down in front of Mari.

”Is that my phone?” she asked as she untied the ribbon.

Jax said nothing. He merely watched her, wondering if she was really interested in Chad and if she was ever going to have his time again now that she had a phone and could easily reach out to her friends.

”It’s a new phone!” she squealed.

Mari jumped up dramatically, nearly knocking her stool over. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck.

”Thank you!” she said, hugging him tight and kissing his neck.

She could feel his chest rise and fall fast, like he was trying not to react. His hands were suspended in the air before finally settling lightly on her back. His body was stiff as a board.

Mari pressed herself closer and winked at Chad, who was watching with a big grin knowing fully well that Mari was deliberating overreacting just so she could unsettle Jax.

Jax tried to pull back, but she slid her cheek against his and brushed her lips against his mouth.

”You’re the best,” she whispered.

Jax’s heart raced as he took hold of her shoulders and pushed her back just far enough to look her in the eye. ”Why did you do that?” he asked, voice low.

Didn’t she say she didn’t want him anymore because he was supposedly in love with someone else?

Mari fluttered her lashes innocently. ”That’s how I hug and kiss people when I’m excited and happy they got me something,” she said sweetly.

”I don’t remember you doing that when I got your eye drop or your glasses and clothes,” he said, eyeing her.

”Because we were not close enough then. I don’t go about hugging and kissing strangers. But now that you mention it, I can make up for it right now. You know, hug and kiss you for the ones we missed. And I’d even add interest to it,” she said, and Chad howled with laughter.

”Didn’t you just say you want Chad because you both are single?” Jax reminded her.

”Yeah. I said that. Why? You want me to hug and kiss Chad instead of you?”she asked, batting her lashes.

Jax glared so hard she thought his eyes might catch fire. ”I guess not,” she teased, pulling away and grinning as she went back to her seat.

Mari could tell she was getting under his skin. And she loved it.

”By the way, I guess we can say we just had our first kiss even though I’d have preferred something deeper. Let’s work towards the next kiss and make sure it is deeper and more romantic. I can’t believe we almost went fourth base before kissing,” Mari said, grinning at Jax.

Chad shook his head, laughing so hard he nearly spilled his coffee. ”You two,” he said, wiping his eyes, ”are the most hilarious pair I’ve ever seen.”

Mari giggled as she took her phone out of the pack while Jax just stood there, staring at her like he couldn’t believe how she had gone from messing with his head and pretending not to care about him anymore, to kissing him.

He looked from her to Chad, who was grinning from ear to ear. These two were not a good combination to leave out of his sight. He couldn’t leave them alone together ever again.