Chapter 6

Aidan and Connor finish up their cold soup and cold toasted cheese sandwiches and Aidan says, "Thanks for lunch, Mom. We loved it." Changing the subject Connor says, "Aidan and I are going to finish up our homework and if it's alright with you, we would like to go swimming in our pool."

Getting their Mother's approval, they finish their homework in their room, change into their swimming suits and go out to the pool. Connor tells Aidan that he'll apply sunscreen to him, then he can reciprocate. Connor sprays sunscreen into his hand and then applies it to Aidan's ears, nose, cheeks and his whole face. He then sprays Aidan's arms and chest and rubs it in. Aidan giggled a little when Connor applied it to his armpit. He then moved to Aidan's back and then his legs and feet. When he was satisfied, he handed the lotion to Aidan. "Your turn." Aidan used the same care to make sure his brother was totally protected from the burning rays of the Sun. They would burn easily being as white as they were.

After a while of jumping, diving, splashing, dunking, and a couple of pantsings, the youngest Sharpe brothers got out and laid out, sunning themselves on the chaise loungers. They faced each other laying on their stomachs, letting their backs and legs get some sun. They talked about how it had been a while since they enjoyed swimming and just hanging out like this. Soon they fell asleep napping in the sun.

Connor felt a shadow over him. He opened his eyes and saw Logan's Tevas (Sandals). He looked to see his brother in just his swimming suit with a towel draped over his shirtless shoulder. "Hey, Logan. What are you doing here?" Connor said while he squinted his eyes, adjusting to the light.

Logan smiled. "You invited...no you told me that I'd be swimming with you guys this afternoon. Remember?"

Aidan wakes up and rubs his eyes and sits up in the lounge. "What time is it? How long have we been asleep?" Connor is thinking the same thing.

"I don't know how long you have been napping, but it is after 3pm." Logan informs his brothers.

"Crap!" Connor yells as he sits up. "We've been asleep for at least an hour. Aidan, I hope the sunscreen was waterproof. Connor then stands and Aidan joins him. He asks Logan, "Can you tell if we have a sunburn?" Logan guides them over into the shadows so he can check their backs. When he places his hands on each of the boys backs, he can feel the heat emanate off their skin.

"Jump in the pool and cool down." Logan feels empathy for his brothers and wants to help. "Stay in the shadows and we'll see how bad it is after a little while."

While the boys cooled down, Logan did a few laps. Then he placed his hand on each of the boy's backs. "Yup. I feel heat still emanating from your backs. You know, you are supposed to apply more sunscreen after you swim if you are going to lay out in the sun."

"We do now!" Connor says sarcastically. "Do you have any information that might be useful?"

Logan gave Connor a quizzical look. He first thought he was talking to Aidan, but then he remembered that Connor had a sunburn on his right side while Aidan had his on the left. He would easily be able to tell the boys apart now.

"Sorry, Logan." Connor had regretted the way he spoke to his eldest brother and apologized. "It's not your fault we fell asleep in the sun. What can we do?"

"It's okay, Connor. I got a nasty sunburn a few years back and it wasn't fun. Mom applied some Aloe Vera lotion to my burn and it felt much better. Why don't you guys get out and put the chase loungers in the shade and lay down like you did earlier. I'll get some of that lotion from the house and put it on your sunburns. I'll be right back."

The boys were mostly dry when Logan returned. He first rubbed in the lotion on their legs and then he applied it to Connor's back and arms. While he was doing Aidan's back, he had a nice feeling. He was soothing Aidan's sunburn and felt love towards him. He had to check their faces to make sure they hadn't traded places.

"Aidan? I've been thinking a lot about earlier today. It really hit me hard that you thought I hated you. I don't know what really happened between us, but I'm sorry for the way I have treated you. I remember being 15 and it was a tough year for me and Mom and Dad too. You need to know that I do in fact love you. I just think that I didn't like you that much. You were rude, abrasive and not fun to be around. It was kinda like you turned into Mr. Hyde. I should have been more patient with you. I doubt I was fun to be around during my hormonal period. Earlier when we hugged, I did feel the love between us. Yes, I thought you were Connor, but my heart told me that I loved the person I was hugging."

Logan spreads more lotion on Aidan's back. He continues. "Just like right now. Just rubbing this lotion on your back, gives me a feeling of love I have towards you. It's hard for me to explain, but I don't want to stop. Do you feel something similar?"

"Yeah." Aidan said. "This morning I really felt it too when I said that I loved you. It was the first time I felt that you loved me in a long time. Then when you said, 'Connor'…. I was devastated. That really hurt, Logan. It hurt a lot. (sigh) But you telling me that you do love me, I know it is true. You caressing my back like this, is so nice too. Again I feel the love. I could lay here for hours, but I need to hug you right now. Is that okay?"

Aidan stands up so he can give Logan a proper hug. Logan is careful not to squeeze too hard because of the sunburn.

"I'm sorry I called you a jerk, yesterday." Aidan tells Logan.

"Well, I did mess up your hair on purpose." Logan said. "I only did it because I knew you really hated it. So really, I was being a jerk. I'm sorry about that and thanks for apologizing though I was in the wrong."

"Okay." Aidan said. "Maybe, but I have been a jerk to everybody for months now. I see more clearly now and I was mean to all of you. Maybe it's puberty or maybe temporarily insanity, but I'm better now. I hope you can all forgive me."

Logan looked at Connor and Connor looked at Aidan. Logan then smiled, "I believe we already have."

Connor joined them in a group hug.

They separated and the twins were standing next to each other for the first time since they laid out in the sun. Logan starts to laugh at them. They look at him like he is crazy. "You two must have been facing each other when you fell asleep. Ha ha! Aidan, you have a sunburn on you left side of your face and Connor, you have a sunburn on your right. There's no way I won't be able to tell you apart now."

The twins look at each other and they start to laugh. "We do look funny." Connor said and then they all laughed. Logan then applied Aloe Vera to their faces. He was careful to not get it in their eyes and applied it around their mouth, nose and ears. Again he felt a brotherly bond between him and his brothers.