Chapter 12
Marley
Dominic Decker was a really good kisser.
His office was dimly lit, it smelled nice, and we were completely alone. He kissed the living daylights out of me. No one had ever kissed me like that before. We were truly alone for the first time in a while, and he had done it greedily. He knew what he was doing, and it caused me to have bodily sensations I had never experienced before.
It was a good thing we were alone. No one had come down the hall since that first group left. It didn't matter. The door was locked, and we were oblivious to anything but each other. He held me and kissed me and looked at me like I was something important to him. How in the world was Dominic Decker holding me like this? How was I in this position with this man? I didn't understand it, but I was careful not to question it.
Dominic pulled back eventually and reached out for the light switch. "I'm turning this on," he said as he flipped the switch. "Sorry, it's bright. We have a couple of hours before we go get your car. I think my sister has a pair of skates in here. Do you want to do some ice skating? I can see if you're the same size as her."
"I wouldn't mind ice skating if you're okay with me falling a little. Is it similar to roller skating? If the skates fit me, I'll take it as a sign that I'm going to be great at it."
"That sounds good, I'll let you try them on and we'll see if you live up to that hype."
"Is the rink open right now?"
"It's always open to us," he said. "Even if they're having hockey practice, I'll work it out with the coach for us to have a corner of the ice."
"Is it safe to assume you're good at it?"
"Well, yes, Marley, I think you'll find that I'm good at skating, and really, at most things. I hate to put it like that, but it's pretty hard to find something I'm not great at." Dominic was being hilariously serious before he grinned at me. He was honestly good at most things, and so that statement rolled off his tongue easily, but he was one hundred percent joking around. I loved his sense of humor. "I am a pretty good skater, but you have to understand the context. I grew up in Chicago with a competitive family. Lila's really good at it. She figure skates and everything. She was doing it as a little girl—before we had this gym or anything."
He stooped and began to dig in a lower cabinet of a built-in bookcase. There were multiple pairs of ice skates in there.
"She was really into it. That's why I have some of her skates in here—she's got about a dozen pairs. Yep. These are good ones. Try these on and see if they fit. They should be snug."
I sat on the small sofa and tried on one skate. It took me a minute because they were rigid compared to roller skates. Dominic was doing something on his computer.
"I think it's fine," I said eventually. "It's kind of snug, but I can loosen the laces once we get over to the rink. Are you sure she won't mind?"
"No, I promise. I don't even know when she put these in here. She might not even remember they're here. And that's good, snug's better than loose."
We left his office within a minute. It took us a while to walk to the rink because he stopped and spoke to three people on our way. I made sure to give him room. He didn't take the time to introduce me to all of the customers, and I didn't need him to. He was doing his job, and I just smiled and seemed distracted and pleasant.
Hockey was happening when we made it to the rink, but it was lessons, and they were only taking up the back portion of the ice. We stayed at the front end and skated.
I was not as sure-footed as I imagined I would be, and Dominic had to help me out. I skated away from him and was making my way back to him when he pulled out his phone and took a picture of me while I had my hands out for balance. I smiled and I made a face while he had his camera out, but I wasn't sure how he caught me.
We skated for the better part of an hour, and then we headed back to his office to put up the skates.
"Is that Dom or EJ?"
"Dom," he answered turning to face whoever had asked the question.
It was an older man.
"You put on the skates? You better be careful, you'll end up like your brother, needing surgery."
"I know," Dominic said, laughing. "It might be in my future, anyway, with four years of college football under my belt, but I'll try to prolong it."
"I understand that," the man said. "But I probably shouldn’t give you a hard time about having fun. And how about you?" he asked, looking at me.
"It's my first time here."
"Oh, really? At ETC? How do you like it? Those are nice skates. You probably get along fine at the rink."
"Oh, no, sir, they're not mine. I borrowed them. I didn't get along fine at all." I laughed, and so did they. "No, I did okay. I had fun, and I didn't get hurt."
"Good, good," the man said, smiling. "Are you leaving? Aren't you going to show her the rest of the gym?"
"Oh, we've been here all afternoon," Dominic said.
The guy looked at me. "Did you see the café?"
"Yes sir, we had a smoothie. Then he had me do some cardio, and then we went skating."
My heart started racing when I made the cardio comment. I was doing it to flirt with Dominic, and then it hit me that the man could ask me to elaborate, so I got nervous. I grinned at the man, trying to remain calm.
"Okay, so you did get the full experience," he said, and left it at that, thank goodness.
"Yes sir."
"What about the rock climbing wall?"
"Not this time," Dominic said.
"Maybe next time," the man said, smiling at me.
Dominic shook his hand, and we said goodbye.
We didn't mean to stay at the gym so long, but people talked to Dominic everywhere we went.
There was traffic when we left the gym, and it was slow driving to the mechanic. We talked the whole time, and we were more than halfway there when Dominic grinned at me and brought up the comment I made at the gym.
"You told Jimmy Goldberg I made you do cardio."
"I know, I felt kind of bad after I said that, but you did give me cardio," I said. "I wasn't lying. I'm pretty sure I've been running at a good pace before and my heart was going slower than it was in your office today. Why? Was it bad that I said it to Jimmy Goldberg?"
"No, he's just a senator, but it's fine."
"Are you joking?" I said, staring at his profile.
He glanced at me from over the console. "No, I'm not joking, I think he's a representative, maybe. But, no, I thought it was funny. And he liked you. And like you said, you weren't lying."
He reached out, palm up, and I put my hand in his. It had been such a full afternoon that I was left with this tired, spent, exhausted, surreal feeling. And now Dominic was holding my hand as he drove. I stared at his profile, having a tingly feeling and wondering how any of it was my real life.
I didn't want the drive to be over, but we had to get out of the truck right when we got there because we made it just before they closed.
The receptionist rushed to the door and welcomed us with a smile. Then she eagerly went back to make sure my car was ready. She told us to follow her, and the guys in the back recognized Dominic and asked for photos with him. There were six mechanics present, and they all asked for photos. They assured me that the repairs were under warranty and told me they changed the oil and filters. I thought he said something about the tires, but I wasn't sure. It all took place quickly. There was no money exchanged. The man just said a bunch of words and then thanked me and handed me my keys.
Dominic and I had already decided that I would follow him to his parents' house. He had talked me into going there on our way to the mechanic's. He said he wanted to get our plans together so we didn't have to discuss things in front of everyone else.
I got in my car and pulled out, knowing I was following him. Everyone at the car place was all smiles and waving at us when we pulled away. What stuck in my head was that they had not seemed surprised to see him. They had been excited about it and seemingly prepared for it.
I figured out what had happened, and I called Dominic once we got settled in traffic.
"Hello?"
"Hey. Did those guys know you were coming, at that car place?"
"Yes. They did. I'm sorry I was thinking about telling you about it even before they made it so obvious."
"Telling me about what? Did you pay for that?"
"Yes."
"It wasn't free?"
It was cold out, and my body began overheating. I loosened the scarf and cracked my window. It wasn't a bad reaction—it was just that this felt… really… significant if he had paid for something with my car.
"It wasn't free. I took care of the tab earlier today when you told me where it was. I didn't want to lie to you, but I also didn't want to tell you because I thought you wouldn't let me. I hope you can understand. I'm sorry. Are you upset?"
I was quiet for a second or two just because I was overwhelmed. How could he do all that for me and then ask if I was upset?
"Marley?"
"I'm here. And no, I'm not upset at all. I was trying to think of the right words to say. I guess thank you. I don't know if you expect to be paid back or if—"
"No. That's why I didn't even want you to know I did it. I do not want to be paid back. Not a cent. Please."
"Y-yeah, 'thank you' doesn't seem like enough for this, Dominic. I don't know what to say."
"It's enough. I work hard, and God blessed me with a good starting place in life. I wanted to help out with your car."
I had to hold back tears at the thought of how much he could've spent. Just the radiator leak alone was going to cost me a month's rent.
"Thank you, Dominic. This whole day has been a… I'm prepared to wake up any minute."
"Not before dinner."
I laughed. "It still feels like it could be a dream. I'm touching this scarf, and it still hasn't sunk in that it's around my neck. I can't believe I'll wake up tomorrow and have it at my house. Then my car. They filled it up with gas. I barely had any. And I think they washed it."
"Good. They were supposed to fix you up."
"Goodness, Dominic. Thank you so much for this. I really need to repay you somehow."
"That's what I was trying to avoid by not telling you," he said.
"Something small."
"Fine."
"I feel like it's driving better. Did they do something with the tires?"
"Yes," he said simply.
I didn't even ask. I figured I would later. I didn't know how to respond other than to thank him again. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. It's my pleasure, honestly. You're following me to Northbrook right now, and you might have to take a trip to Milwaukee soon. I like knowing you're safe on the road."
My heart ached at the words. I loved that he wanted me to go to Milwaukee and that he was protective of me. I wanted him to always feel that way, but that was asking too much. It was sweet of him to look out for me, but I couldn’t expect him to stay in my life and continue acting like this. I had to keep things light and non-committal even though I very much wanted heavy and committed. I knew I had to be cool.
"That is just incredibly sweet," I said reasonably. "You're too much. This day. I'm sorry that I'm going to have to still destroy you and your brother at Super Smash Bros. tonight."
He laughed. "I don't mean to kill your enthusiasm, but there is just no way. And I'm telling you right now… I might be a little different, but my brother is not going to take it easy."
"He won't have to," I said confidently. "Ada and I used to go over to our neighbors' all the time to play that game. I would compete with them, and they were actual gamers. I promise I can destroy your brother. People who are athletes in real life can't touch gamers." He laughed because he knew I was joking around. "Also, my knitting bag is in my backseat if you want me to take it in and show you my latest scarf."
"Definitely. My mom will want to see it and hear the whole story. I told them the whole Mariam Waterson stuff when I first got it, but they didn't know I was meeting you today. I was planning on catching them up at dinner."