Alex went deathly silent while his brother waited for his response, smiling. His sinewy muscles flexed suddenly and there was a flash of sunlight across his makeshift harpoon blade. Water splashed in front of Sebastian who jumped back, the smile vanishing from his face. When he opened his eyes again, his brother was holding his harpoon up with a skewered fish on the end.
"You're bullshitting. There wasn't time."
"Jesus Alex, you need to relax. Of course, I'm bullshitting. How could there possibly have been time?"
Alex tried to reckon the time in his head but it was already so long ago and it had been so crazy with the turbulence and the accident. He couldn't tell if his brother was telling him the truth or just trying to rile him up even further.
"You've got to admit that she's something special though, right?" Sebastian continued.
"I don't want to talk about her with you."
"That's because you can see it too, right? You can't bullshit me bro, I know you too well, just like you know me."
Alex ignored his brother and began wading back to the sand to bag up his fish. Sebastian followed him.
"I've never seen anyone like her. She's not like any other girl we've ever dated. All those debutantes, heiresses, and movie starlets with their fake boobs and plastic lips. Melanie is for real. A true, honest to God authentic American beauty, inside and out."
Alex stopped dead but didn't turn around. His lengthening hair was beginning to spread out over his broad, tanned back. The muscles of his shoulders bunched and knotted with tension.
"Okay." He said softly. "Look, you're my brother all right? My twin brother. We've always shared everything, and we've never held any secrets from each other."
Sebastian smiled. Now the truth would come out and the truth had ever possibility of setting him free.
"You're right bro. Come on, it's time for a little truth here. What's really going on?"
Alex turned around to face him.
"You know how long I've been looking for the right girl."
Sebastian wanted to be as sarcastic on the subject as usual, but he knew this wasn't the time. His face was serious as he nodded his head.
"I haven't dated anyone seriously in over a year."
Sebastian raised an eyebrow.
"By haven't dated, you mean you haven't slept with anyone in over a year?"
Alex nodded his head.
"Jesus Christ bro, no wonder Melanie is beginning to look like the Holy Grail to you. You have one serious case of blue--"
"It's not that. Come on Sebastian, grow up for God's sake. Do you know how many women I've met over the last year?"