4.
I parked outside Zeke's house and messaged Brice to meet me at the door. I did not particularly enjoy the feeling of walking into homes of people I did not know, especially when it was full of people I did not know either. Brice introduced me to the few people that were there, apparently most of the regulars were unable to make it that night. But of all the people that did attend, one was Lex, and when I smiled at him, he looked sheepishly at me and sent me a gentle smile back. Okay! So that was not the reaction I had expected, perhaps it was because he was deep in conversation with someone. When the study started, he sat for a few minutes behind everyone else and then left. Everyone simply said cheers as he left. I was confused and thought of asking Brice more about him but then reconsidered, Brice was after all only eighteen. Besides that, I thoroughly enjoyed the study and knew I would attend whenever it was possible.
That weekend it was my friend Britley's birthday which called for celebrations at the club we frequented. We sat in our usual corner filling our souls with such laughter that we cried. On my way to the bathroom, Lex obstructed my pathway with a huge smile on his face.
'Hi.'
My heart added a few extra beats to its rhythm.
'Oh, hi.'
'Want to dance?'
He pointed at the dance floor, but I was already doing a little dance of my own – I needed the toilet in a hurry.
'When I come back from the bathroom,' I said hoping he hadn't noticed my urgent need.
'I shall be waiting right here.'
And there he stood as if to attention. He was still waiting there when I finally returned from the bathroom. He sure did deserve a dance for his patience. One dance led to three or four, and after a while, I lost count. We tried to have a conversation above the noise on the dancefloor, but that did not work out too well, so we finally decided to take a seat together. He got introduced to all my friends and made to wish Britley a happy birthday and to buy her a drink – it was done all in good cheer. I found out that he was an architect, had an apartment in town, had two brothers, no sisters and that his parents were still alive. He enjoyed surfing occasionally but mostly loved to have fun; loved extreme, adrenaline pumping sports with his mates. A real man's man I figured. But he seemed to be a nice person, and he made me laugh even if the adrenaline stuff frightened the daylights out of me. By the end of the evening, we had exchanged phone numbers, and I went home looking forward to having Lex as a new friend. Strangely enough, the idea of anything more than that did not excite me as much as I had originally thought it would. I felt confused.
I looked around at church for him the next day, but he was nowhere. I remembered mentioning to him last night that I had seen him the previous Sunday, and he had just shrugged his shoulders. When I'd asked him why he'd left the study so soon, again he had only shrugged his shoulders. After that, I'd laid off the subject as he clearly did not want to talk about it. Unfortunately, it only peaked my curiosity.
From church, I went to the mall. Now I know I have a hard and fast rule never to go to the malls or shops on weekends, but I had to get my hands on some more books. The leather armchair was waiting for me to sit in it and page through a few books as I made my mind up on which ones to buy. Readers Rest had become my favourite shop. I looked up from my comfy position on the leather chair as the shop door opened and the door chimes jingled. I yelped as I saw double – literally. Lex walked into the shop twice. Lex seemed to have gotten a shock himself at the look of shock on my face. I opened my mouth to say something but to no avail as it was already open and no words wanted to slide from my lips. Now I knew where I had seen Lex before! Or was it him I saw? Or was it the double?
'Hi, um hi, what you doing here?'
He stumbled over his words clearly still greatly surprised.
'Buying books, having coffee…'
And then I gasped, 'Aaah, you!'
I pointed to the two men standing in front of me, both identical, my heart totally freaking out, its pounding stabbing a bruise into my ribs. The one that looked like the other one stood with the biggest grin on his face and quickly stretched out his hand.
'Hi, I'm Dax, Lex's twin brother. I'm the one you have seen here.'
I offered my hand.
'That explains a lot. I thought I was hallucinating for a second.'
I looked at Lex, 'You said "brothers" – you never mentioned a twin! Wait, is the other brother also a clone?'
They both laughed, the same laugh with the same movements, it was so weird to watch.
'No. He is older than us,' Lex answered.
In the meantime, Jayce was crying with laughter from behind the counter. Dax retreated to his office while Lex got some coffee and sat in the other armchair. I closed the book on my lap and swallowed my coffee, drowning the flutter of upturned nerves.
'So you're a bookworm?' Lex asked with a smirk.
'Yes. Love books, and you? Do you read?'
'Of course, I read. Everyone has to read, I just don't read books. They're boring.'
'You would prefer to jump off a cliff or something to that fashion I guess?'
'Totally. So what are you doing next weekend?'
'Not planned anything yet. Why?'
'You're coming rock climbing with me. Before you say no – I can see the horror on your face already,' he chuckled, 'you don't have to climb, just come along.'
'Hmm. Okay, but I promise you now I will not climb anything,' I said in a very stern voice, stamping my resolve.
'Okay. Point taken. I will call you in the week then.'
He got up and went to Dax's office.
'Sorry, I laughed so much. Your face was too classic,' Jayce piped up.
'I believe you. That was a scary moment there.'
I had to laugh with her.
'They might look the same but in personality, they are complete opposites. Dax is the quiet bookworm and Lex is the extroverted adrenaline junkie.'
'Have you known them long?'
'They're my cousins,' she giggled as she watched all the pennies drop into place in my brain.
I left with my head still reeling from the surprise. When I got to my parents' home, I relayed the episode to them and Brice, much to their amusement. Brice informed me that it was Dax I had seen at church and Bible study. He knew Dax better than he knew Lex although he did not know either of them that well.