Midnight Surrender: A Paranormal Romance Anthology by Alyssa Rose Ivy, Airicka Phoenix, Shannon Dermott, Charlotte Abel, Kelly D. Cooper, Laura A. H. Elliott, Amy M. Jones, Kris Kendall Read Free Book Online Page A

borrow a shirt and a pair of jeans?”
    Franklin put a finger in the middle of the page, then twisted sideways to look at Jonathan. “Why? You hate my clothes.”
    Jonathan knew better than to lie to Franklin. “You know why.”
    “ Then the answer is no.”
    “ Come on, Frankie, what’s the point of being identical twins if we can’t use it to our advantage?”
    “ What advantage? Why do you want to be me?” Franklin narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side. “Or is there some reason you don’t want to be you?”
    “ I need to talk to Naomi.”
    “ So?”
    “ She won’t answer my calls or texts or let me inside her house. She won’t even look at me.” Jonathan sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand. “She un-friended me on Facebook.”
    “ Not my problem.”
    “ Come on Frankie. I’d do it for you.”
    “ How is pretending to be me going to change anything?”
    “ There’s a party out at the mine tonight. If I can just talk to her—”
    The wheels of Franklin’s chair clattered across the hardwood floor as he pushed away from his desk. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back. “You mean seduce her.”
    “ No. I mean talk to her. I just need her to understand how that whole thing with Harleigh was nothing but a mistake. I was so drunk I didn’t know what I was doing.”
    “ That’s no excuse and you know it.”
    “ If that doesn’t work, I’ll do the concerned brother routine… Please, just talk to him. He may be suicidal.”
    “ You’re pathetic, but you aren’t suicidal.”
    “ I can’t live without Naomi.”
    “ That would be easier to believe if you hadn’t boinked her best friend.”
    “ I didn’t boink Harleigh. I just made out with her. And like I told you … I was drunk.”
    “ And like I told you … that’s no excuse.” Franklin turned back to his book. “Besides, Naomi’s going out with Rich Blanchard now.”
    Rich was a senior and the state heavy-weight wrestling champion. He had the strength, thick skull and temperament of a silver-back gorilla, but only half the intelligence. There was no way Naomi actually liked him. “She’s just trying to make me jealous.”
    “ Probably. She doesn’t care who she hurts as long as she gets her way. Find someone else — half the girls at school are already in love with you.”
    True, but Jonathan didn’t want anyone else. He didn’t want to start over either. It had taken him two months to get his hands under Naomi’s shirt and another three weeks before she let him unhook her bra. If he hadn’t messed up with Harleigh, he was sure that he and Naomi would have had sex by now.
    He hopped onto Franklin’s bed and bounced on his toes. He couldn’t think unless he was in motion and he definitely needed to think of a new plan …
    Jonathan dropped to his knees, then bounced back to his feet. “I could talk to Heather while I’m impersonating you. Ask her to homecoming or something.”
    It was ridiculous the way Franklin turned bright red and stuttered every time he tried to talk to the girl. There was nothing special about Heather Compton. She wasn’t ugly or anything, but she wasn’t exactly hot either — not like Naomi.
    Franklin slammed his book shut. “You can’t hit on Naomi and Heather at the same party.”
    He had a point. Jonathan stopped bouncing. “Unless … you go to the party and pretend to be me. Lay low until I ask Heather out for you and convince Naomi to talk to me. Once I’m done, we’ll sneak inside the mine and change clothes. You can hang out with Heather while I make up with Naomi in the back of the Rover.”
    The corners of Franklin’s mouth did that subtle little twitchy thing that meant he was going to start stuttering. No one besides Jonathan ever noticed the twitch. They’d both stuttered as little kids. Jonathan out grew it, Franklin didn’t. Stress made it worse, especially around girls. “The f-first t-time I open m-m-my m-mouth, everyone is