The Twins & Me

Collared

The twins want me to stay the night, but I know I should get home before Lila wakes up for work. I also need to properly bathe myself and clean off any remnants of Halloween before going to class—which starts in four hours.

I don't remember the last time I stayed up all night, much less for the surreal experience I just endured.

Arlo and I get dressed in the bedroom while Ollie finishes up in the bathroom, and it's not until I pull my sweater over my head do I remember the collar still around my neck.

"Arlo, can you help me with this thing?" I ask him, pulling my hair back so he can get to the catch.

"That's yours, Wren," he says, running a hand through his damp hair.

"What? No—"

"Oh, yes," Ollie says from the doorway to the closet. He's only got a black towel tied around his waist.

My fingers fumble as I try to get it off; the little bell tinks. "It's just part of the costume..."

Arlo comes up behind me and brushes my hands away from my neck. He gives the collar a little tug and I let out a noise.

"Don't do that," he mumbles in my ear. "You'll make me hard."

I bite my tongue as he undoes the buckle.

"It is pretty cheap," he says over my shoulder to Ollie.

The twin pushes off the doorframe to take the collar from his brother. "It's the only one I could get last minute."

"The quality doesn't matter," I say, aware of both their body heats pushing against me. "It was part of the costume."

Ollie clicks his tongue and tosses the collar on the bed, while Arlo squeezes my shoulders. "We'll get you a better one," he whispers.

"What?" I repeat. "Why? I don't need—"

"Saturday," Ollie says, scooping up Arlo's shoes and tossing them in our direction. "I'm taking you two out on one of my dates. And we're not seeing some lame-ass movie, either."

I'm afraid to ask him to elaborate, so I just nod. "As long as there's food and you're paying."

He shrugs, feigning ignorance, and disappears out of the room, down the hallway. I turn to Arlo, who avoids my gaze.

"What are we doing Saturday?" I ask, slightly alarmed. I can only imagine what one of Ollie's "dates" consists of.

He hesitates. "Could be anything."

"But you have an idea?"

He gives me a smile. "Big brother is a creature of habit, so don't worry too much. You'll have a good time."

I eye the collar, glinting on the bed. The sun is beginning to peak over the horizon, brightening the room by the minute. Creature of habit. "So you give a collar to all of your girls?"

He furrows his eyebrows. "No. To play with, sure, but I wanted you to keep it. Ollie said he took care of it, to go with your costume, but I didn't realize it was so...cute."

"But aren't collars supposed to be, like... a sexual thing?" My heart flickers. I can't say I didn't enjoy it when Ollie pulled me by the ring into a kiss, but the only time I've seen collars in real use is when I've grown curious enough in BDSM to look up porn involving bondage. People in collars get led around by leashes on their hands and knees.

Arlo is watching me closely. He rises from the bed, shoes on and tied, and closes the space between us. He gently takes my cheek in his hand, and I burn under his intense gaze.