Chapter 2 · My Split Personality Boyfriend

Evan: [OP, you're such a hopeless romantic! Seriously, what are you getting out of it?]

OP: [Evan, I like her because she's cute. What if I tell her the truth, and she thinks I was just lying to her, then breaks up with me?]

Greg: [LOL, this is like stand-in romance coming to life. But OP, being the stand-in must feel pretty miserable, huh?

[Want to become the actual boyfriend? Just lay it all out. Tell her all the joy and sweetness she's felt came from you. That cold-faced guy is just a phony.]

OP: [Greg, that's way too risky. What if she actually likes my brother's type?

I stared at the OP's profile pic. It was a goofy dog sticker, exactly like Brandon's avatar.

My brain froze.

Brandon had a twin brother?

No, according to the OP, Brandon was the cold and distant older brother. The guy I'd been dating was actually his reserved, secretly passionate, and pure-hearted younger brother.

I deleted the message I was sending him and typed: [What are you doing?]

He replied almost instantly. [Baby, you finally texted me back! I'm sorry for being so cold today. Please don't be mad at me, okay?] He even sent a cute sticker.

I stared at the screen, imagining a grown man whispering in a baby voice right next to my ear, and it gave me goosebumps.

Judging from the tone and the sticker, this was definitely not the ice-cold Brandon from earlier today.

So, did this mean I somehow ended up with a boyfriend plus a bonus twin brother?

No. To be precise, I thought I was just dating one guy, but turned out it was a buy-one-get-one deal, complete with a full personality sampler.

I couldn't hold back a laugh.

How interesting.

Let's see what kind of game these twin brothers were playing.

I replied slowly: [I'm not mad, just been missing you a bit. Are you free tomorrow?]

He shot back instantly: [Free? Absolutely! Even if I have to cross mountains and seas, I'll be there for you.]

Alright.

I put my phone down, opened the delivery app, and ordered myself a massive bowl of chili stew.

Tomorrow was when the magic happened.

I was definitely going to expose them.

*****

The next day, I went all out with my makeup and threw on a new dress. I showed up at the café we picked a whole thirty minutes early.

I grabbed a window seat, sipped on lemon water, and scrolled through that advice thread.

The OP, Brandon's brother, had posted another update last night.

OP: [She wants to meet up tomorrow. Is she about to come clean and dump me? I'm losing it here. Should I beg for forgiveness, or is it already too late?]

The comments section was full of crappy advice.

[OP, keep your cool. Women are a mystery. You never know what they're thinking. She might just be testing you.

[Tomorrow, dress to impress, act even more passionate than usual, and let her really feel your love!]

[Agreed! If you need to, play the pity card. Tell her you've always lived in your brother's shadow, felt super insecure, and only feel confident when you're with her. Girls totally fall for that.]

Charlie: [Why not just tell your brother to stop meddling and stay out of it?]

OP: [Charlie, I wish I could but he's my brother. I can't take him on.]

Reading these replies, I nearly snorted my lemon water from laughing so hard.

Those two goofballs were so funny.

I was totally engrossed when the café door swung open, and a familiar figure walked in.

The guy was rocking a crisp white shirt and black casual pants, looking effortlessly clean and fresh.

The moment he stepped inside, his eyes zeroed in on me, and he strode over with a bright smile, his whole face lighting up with joy.

"Baby, have you been waiting long?" he asked, sliding into the seat across from me and grabbing the menu. "What do you want to drink? My treat."

I propped my chin up, grinning at him. "Guess what I want to drink?"

He paused for a second, and his ears went pink. He scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. "A caramel macchiato? Am I right?"

"Bingo!" I snapped my fingers. "How did you know?"

"Because that's what you had last time," he said, grinning like a cat that got away with stealing the cream. "I remember everything you like."

Chapter 2

Evan: [OP, you're such a hopeless romantic! Seriously, what are you getting out of it?]

OP: [Evan, I like her because she's cute. What if I tell her the truth, and she thinks I was just lying to her, then breaks up with me?]

Greg: [LOL, this is like stand-in romance coming to life. But OP, being the stand-in must feel pretty miserable, huh?

[Want to become the actual boyfriend? Just lay it all out. Tell her all the joy and sweetness she's felt came from you. That cold-faced guy is just a phony.]

OP: [Greg, that's way too risky. What if she actually likes my brother's type?

I stared at the OP's profile pic. It was a goofy dog sticker, exactly like Brandon's avatar.

My brain froze.

Brandon had a twin brother?

No, according to the OP, Brandon was the cold and distant older brother. The guy I'd been dating was actually his reserved, secretly passionate, and pure-hearted younger brother.

I deleted the message I was sending him and typed: [What are you doing?]

He replied almost instantly. [Baby, you finally texted me back! I'm sorry for being so cold today. Please don't be mad at me, okay?] He even sent a cute sticker.

I stared at the screen, imagining a grown man whispering in a baby voice right next to my ear, and it gave me goosebumps.

Judging from the tone and the sticker, this was definitely not the ice-cold Brandon from earlier today.

So, did this mean I somehow ended up with a boyfriend plus a bonus twin brother?

No. To be precise, I thought I was just dating one guy, but turned out it was a buy-one-get-one deal, complete with a full personality sampler.

I couldn't hold back a laugh.

How interesting.

Let's see what kind of game these twin brothers were playing.

I replied slowly: [I'm not mad, just been missing you a bit. Are you free tomorrow?]

He shot back instantly: [Free? Absolutely! Even if I have to cross mountains and seas, I'll be there for you.]

Alright.

I put my phone down, opened the delivery app, and ordered myself a massive bowl of chili stew.

Tomorrow was when the magic happened.

I was definitely going to expose them.

*****

The next day, I went all out with my makeup and threw on a new dress. I showed up at the café we picked a whole thirty minutes early.

I grabbed a window seat, sipped on lemon water, and scrolled through that advice thread.

The OP, Brandon's brother, had posted another update last night.

OP: [She wants to meet up tomorrow. Is she about to come clean and dump me? I'm losing it here. Should I beg for forgiveness, or is it already too late?]

The comments section was full of crappy advice.

[OP, keep your cool. Women are a mystery. You never know what they're thinking. She might just be testing you.

[Tomorrow, dress to impress, act even more passionate than usual, and let her really feel your love!]

[Agreed! If you need to, play the pity card. Tell her you've always lived in your brother's shadow, felt super insecure, and only feel confident when you're with her. Girls totally fall for that.]

Charlie: [Why not just tell your brother to stop meddling and stay out of it?]

OP: [Charlie, I wish I could but he's my brother. I can't take him on.]

Reading these replies, I nearly snorted my lemon water from laughing so hard.

Those two goofballs were so funny.

I was totally engrossed when the café door swung open, and a familiar figure walked in.

The guy was rocking a crisp white shirt and black casual pants, looking effortlessly clean and fresh.

The moment he stepped inside, his eyes zeroed in on me, and he strode over with a bright smile, his whole face lighting up with joy.

"Baby, have you been waiting long?" he asked, sliding into the seat across from me and grabbing the menu. "What do you want to drink? My treat."

I propped my chin up, grinning at him. "Guess what I want to drink?"

He paused for a second, and his ears went pink. He scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. "A caramel macchiato? Am I right?"

"Bingo!" I snapped my fingers. "How did you know?"

"Because that's what you had last time," he said, grinning like a cat that got away with stealing the cream. "I remember everything you like."