Free Gemini by Ophelia Bell Page A

about. At least not yet.
    Of course Alex was being cagey on purpose. It was an unspoken rule between the two of them that the secrets they shared with each other weren’t meant for the ears of their lovers. Dimitri was still raw from a recent breakup. His brother knew all the sordid details of it, so it was unexpected that he’d have introduced Dimitri to a new flame so soon, knowing how sensitive he still was. Yet Alex had. So either Alex’s relationship with this perfect woman was incredibly serious or something else was going on.
    Dimitri took a long swallow of his beer, studying his brother through low-lidded eyes. What have you got up your sleeve, brother?
    “Well, he looks lonely,” Thea said. “And this place is lousy with pretty girls. He may not be as gorgeous as you , but it can’t be that tough to find someone for him.” She winked at Dimitri, obviously pleased with her joke. It wasn’t the first time Dimitri had heard the joke—he’d even used it himself once or twice. Dimitri shared an amused glance with his brother, his mirror image, aside from their clothes, while Thea glanced around the room.
    That first night set the tone for their interactions. Every Friday Dimitri would leave his tiny graduate assistant’s office on campus, walk to the next wing to his brother’s similar office, and they’d drive to meet Thea. Their destination was almost always the same comfortable little pub in the neighborhood where she lived.
    Thea seemed to love hunting down girls for Dimitri, but after that first night it became clear it was just for show. Whether it was out of respect for him or because she started feeling some sense of possessiveness toward him, he couldn’t be sure. She’d gotten into the habit of hooking her arms through both his and his brother’s, and walking between them down the street. Dimitri thought she enjoyed some of the envious looks she’d get from other women, bookended by him and his brother as she was. One pretty little pixie flanked by two Adonises was probably the trifecta of attractiveness. He almost wished he could be on the outside looking in, because the truth was nowhere near as interesting as what other people probably imagined.
    Buzzed from her third drink, Thea laid a hand on Dimitri’s arm. “Dimitri, it’s been a month. Alex won’t share no matter how much I beg. I think it’s time you tell me exactly what this girl did to you. You’ve gotta get back on the horse, sweetie!”
    “Thea…” Alex began, but Dimitri cut him off.
    “No, it’s fine. She’s right—I should talk about it.” He turned and met Thea’s eager gaze. “Well, first of all it wasn’t a girl.”
    Thea’s eyes grew wide and she shot Alex a curious look before saying, “Oh God, why didn’t you say something? I feel so dumb trying to hook you up with a girl. I’ll switch focus, I have lousy gaydar, though… clearly. ”
    Dimitri laughed. “No, please. I don’t need any help finding a date, and I actually do like girls, too. I’m just too busy focusing on my dissertation right now, I don’t need the distraction.” He took a deep breath and a long swallow of his beer, then let the rest of the story out in a rush just to get it over with. “That, and the person I’m getting over was my mentor so my life’s about ten times as complicated as it needs to be.” At least his mentor had prudently opted to take a sabbatical while the whole debacle blew over.
    Dimitri was still nursing the painful humiliation of the disastrous affair. It never should have started, but it had. The ending had been epic and emotional. He was just grateful he had Alex to bolster his mood in the aftermath. And now that he’d told Thea, he found he was glad someone else was there to shoulder the burden. She reached out and gently squeezed his hand, then adroitly changed the subject. And that was that, at least he thought so.
    Around midnight the three of them left, slightly the worse for wear after running into