I Dated Twin Guys As Their Online Experiment, But I Had My Own Plan Chapter 03

I Dated Twin Guys As Their Online Experiment, But I Had My Own Plan Chapter 03

Thursday afternoon, right as Psych let out, the professor called out over the noise.

“Everyone, the term ends next weekend. Don’t forget to submit your project reports.”

The classroom erupted in groans.

I checked my phone. My “Morning, busy day today?” from earlier sat on delivered. Unread.

Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday. Evan’s cold phase.

Fine. I slid my phone into my pocket and didn’t send another thing.

Around nine that night, just as I walked out of the library, my phone buzzed.

It was Evan.

[You didn’t text me today.]

Rare. The cold-phase brother was initiating.

I leaned against a pillar outside the library and typed back. [You told me people need personal space even in a relationship. I didn’t want to bother you.]

A pause. Then, [You didn’t used to be like this.]

I raised an eyebrow. [People change.]

His next message came faster. [Ever since I agreed to meet up, it feels like you’ve gone cold on me instead. Worried I won’t live up to the photos?]

The corner of my mouth curved. [Don’t overthink it. See you Sunday.]

The days slipped by fast.

Sunday arrived. I chose a floral dress and actually put effort into my makeup.

The comments swarmed the second I walked out the door.

[She really dressed up. She must be genuinely excited.]

[Ugh, knowing what’s coming, I almost feel bad for her.]

[Don’t be so soft. She’s literally written as a plot device. Why feel bad?]

[Still, you gotta admit—she’s been all-in on chasing him. It’s kind of sad.]

I read the floating text, kept my face blank, and hailed a ride.

The restaurant was a casual place near campus called The Rusty Fork. I got there ten minutes early, pushed through the glass door, and scanned the room. Only one person sat in the booth by the window.

I recognized him immediately—nothing like the warm, scattered energy of his brother. This had to be Evan Sullivan.

I walked over, a polite smile in place. “Evan?”

He stood, gave me a quick once-over, and nodded.

I barely settled into the seat before he spoke. “Nora, I need to tell you something.”

“What?”

“It wasn’t just me you were dating online.” He said it without any particular expression, like he was discussing the weather. “Technically, my brother and I have been trading off messaging you. He took Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays. I took Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays.”

I widened my eyes in mock shock.

The comments erupted.

[Here it comes. The iconic scene.]

[Honestly, their choices are pretty questionable. They’d do anything for the female lead’s project.]

Before I could react, the restaurant door swung open again.

A girl in a white dress walked in, a guy trailing behind her.

“Sorry we’re late.” Her voice was soft and sweet. She reached the table and finally noticed me, her steps faltering. “Nora?”

I looked at her—delicate face, big eyes, sugary smile. Definitely familiar.

“You know me?” I asked.

She pressed her lips together and slid into the opposite seat. “We competed against each other for the Dean’s List scholarship interviews. You beat me by 0.3 points on the oral presentation. You seriously don’t remember?”

I thought for a second, then nodded. “Oh. You.”

Vivian Collins folded her hands on the table. “Nora, I need to apologize. The two of them dated you online to help with my psychology of romantic relationships project.”

She gestured at the brothers. “They used opposite personalities to collect comparison data.”

She went on. “I pushed back at first, but they said they were already deep in conversation with someone. If I’d known it was you, I would’ve shut it down way sooner.”

She paused, glanced at me, then at the twins.

Evan drank his water without a flicker. Ethan leaned back, flipping a lighter through his fingers.

Vivian continued. “But if you’ve actually developed feelings for either of them, you can just pick one.” She offered a slight smile. “From your messages, it seemed like you were more into Ethan. You kept texting him even when he wasn’t texting back.”

The comments stormed.

[Is anyone else feeling like something is off about the female lead?]

[That answer wasn’t what anyone expected.]

Ethan spoke up first, his tone lazy and detached. “Look, my brother and I already talked about it. The online thing was just for fun. Neither of us meant for it to turn into something real.”

Evan said nothing, just nodded once.

Vivian glanced back at them, then turned to me with a practiced, apologetic smile. “Nora, if that doesn’t work, you could always—”

“No need.” I cut her off.

All three of them looked at me.

“Because I was doing it for my project, too.”