Part 17 (1/2)
”Me? Insulting? Who called who a pig?”
”Keep your voice down.” She glanced over her shoulder ”You started it,” Alex muttered.
”Just let it go!”
He started to walk away and she grabbed his arm. ”I've been thinking that we should tell Kevin about this whole thing. I want to come clean with him.”
Alex's mouth gaped. ”You've got be kidding. What good would come of it?”
”Maybe he could help. Evidently we need some.”
”Sure, and if he can't, maybe he could call in Superman or the Green Hornet,” Alex hushed his biting tone.
”You're such an a.s.s.” The man really knew how to get to her. She wanted to lash out, to stomp her feet and cry, but how ridiculous would that look? A macho man throwing a ”pity-party”. She choked back the lump in her throat. ”He's my brother and I want to tell him.”
”Tell your brother what?” Kevin asked from the bedroom doorway.
His appearance startled both of them. Cynthia glanced at Alex then back to her brother. ”We ... we were just discussing telling him...I mean you, something important.”
”Yeah, like what? I'm confused. What does Alex's brother have to do with me?”
She knew what she wanted to say but Alex's opposition kept her from admitting the truth. Lacking an explanation, she flipped her palm in his direction. ”You tell him, Cynthia.”
Alex gulped, anger thinning his lips. ”Kevin...uh...well, I might as well spit it out. Alex has asked me to marry him.”
Cynthia sensed the color draining from her face. What was he thinking?
Kevin turned, grabbed Cynthia's hand and gave it a hearty shake. ”I knew it! I knew you two were more than friends. Congratulations, Alex.”
”Thanks, Kevin.” She glared over her brother's shoulder at Alex. ”It was quite a surprise to me, too.”
Alex wanted to swallow his tongue. Cynthia hadn't left him any choice and it was the only thing he could conjure up in a split second. He cleared the nerves from his throat. ”How about we all get out of here and do some sight-seeing.”
”Great idea.” Kevin was the first to agree. ”I'll treat us all to lunch to celebrate your engagement.”
Cynthia strolled across the room and placed an arm around Alex's shoulders. ”How grand. A celebration. Isn't that wonderful, sweetheart?”
He'd never get used to looking up at himself. He wanted to be Cynthia's sweetheart, but not like this.
”Sure is.” He sidled out of Cynthia's embrace and stepped toward the door. ”Shall we go?”
The sudden movement reminded him of his earlier toe-against-cedar chest encounter and he tried to keep from limping as he walked into the hallway. Why were things just getting even more complicated? He'd always heard lies came back to bite you, and he prepared himself for the big chunk of his a.s.s that would soon be missing.
Crammed in the back of a taxi between Cynthia and Kevin, Alex felt claustrophobic. But the situation was his fault. After a cable car ride, a tour of Pier 39 and lunch on the wharf, he begged off any more sightseeing because of his sore toe.
All he could think of was getting home and kicking off Cynthia's shoes. He was sick of this charade. The day started off poorly and had only gotten worse.
He'd had to defend himself to Kevin, suffer a stubbed toe, be dragged on a tour of a city he knew all too well, and pretend to be a lady, when all he wanted to do was lean back, let his knees fall apart and take a long cool swig of beer. To top it off, now he was engaged...well, sort of.
When the taxi stopped in front of the building, Kevin paid the fare while Cynthia and Alex got out of the vehicle. Cynthia must have sensed his foul mood; she nudged him. ”What's wrong with you?”
”I'm you, that's what,” he whispered.
”That's nothing new. Don't tell me it's just now getting to you.”
”What's getting to me is having to wear your clothes and stupid shoes.”
”What's wrong with my shoes?”
”You've gotta be kidding.” Alex tossed his head back and raised his arms to the sky. ”I hate your friggin' shoes. They're feet killers. How in the h.e.l.l did you stand them?”
Alex, realizing Cynthia's clenched teeth were not a result of his tirade but an indication that her brother stood next to them, turned and smiled.
Kevin stared at them with a furrowed brow and eyes clouded with confusion. ”Wait a minute. I must have missed something.”
Knowing he'd blown everything, Alex took a deep breath. ”You didn't miss anything, Kevin. I just lost my cool for a minute.”
”But why do you hate Alex's shoes...and how do they kill your feet? Did he step on your toe or something?”
Alex blew out a breath. ”It's a long story. Can we just forget it?”
”No!” Kevin crossed his arms over his chest and c.o.c.ked his head. ”There's something strange going on and you aren't being truthful.” He pierced them with a stare. ”What is it? I want to know. Things have been more than a little crazy ever since I arrived.”
”Okay,” Cynthia spoke up. ”We'll explain the whole thing to you. Let's go upstairs and get comfortable. Like Alex said, it's a long story.”
”Alex didn't say that, you did.” Kevin shook his head.
”I know...I know. Let's go up, and we'll explain. But please be open-minded.”
Cynthia's mind raced overtime while they climbed the stairs to her apartment. How in the world could she explain being locked inside this big, burly body? No doubt, her brother would think her crazier than a loon. Maybe she'd start with something like, 'I'm not who you think I am.'
She unlocked the door and stepped inside. The sun, hovering below the building across the street, provided very little light so she turned on the lamp.
With confusion written all over his face, Kevin followed his sister inside.
She bolstered up all six-foot-two of Alex's frame and faced Kevin. ”Sit down, big brother, I believe you'll need to be seated to hear what I have to tell you.”
Chapter Nineteen.
Cynthia patted her brother's hand. She'd watched his disbelieving, shocked stare throughout the explanation. ”So, there it is in a nutsh.e.l.l. What do you think?”
”What do I think?” Kevin rubbed the bridge of his nose. ”I think you're making this whole thing up. Or, at least, I hope you are.”
”Believe me, neither Alex nor I consider this to be a joking matter. We're locked in each other's bodies with no idea how to get back to our own. We're open to any suggestions you might have.”