9. Dominic
9
DOMINIC
L ying curled up in the back seat of his car, Luca rests his head on my chest. I look around us, trying to get some understanding of the time but unable to see anything through the heavily steamed-up windows. I have completely lost track of time, and my head is still clouded from what we’ve just done.
Oh my god. I can’t believe what I’ve just done.
I just fooled around with Luca Valenti. Everything just spiraled out of control so quickly. One minute I’m screaming at him, then all of a sudden I’m holding his head and ramming it down into my crotch until I hear him gag and my cock slides down his throat.
This feels like it was all just one massive mistake, but feeling his weight on me, the warmth of his body against mine, and I can’t even try to forget what we’ve just been through. That felt…right.
Looking down at him resting on top of me, Luca meets my eyes as he shifts slightly and turns his head up toward me. His blue eyes are full of need.
His face turns to a small smile. “Hi,” he says softly.
“Hey.” A feeling of pure warmth rises in my chest. “You doing okay?”
Luca takes a single long, shaky breath, “Yeah.” He moves his hand up my chest and rests it there. “Was that good for you?”
I take a moment to respond as I remember the flashing images of him getting out of the car to check on me, me taking him on the back seat, and now the sight of him lying with me. “Yeah. It was good for me too.”
“Too?” he asks, his smile turning wry.
“Oh I know it was good for you. Trust me. ”
“Shut up,” he says as he slaps my chest with his palm.
“Alright, alright.” I laugh. “Was this… Was this the right thing to do?”
Luca looks me in the eyes and hesitates. “I… I…” he stutters and looks around. “I need to go.” Luca’s big blue eyes go even wider as he lifts himself from my chest, panicking and pulling his pants up around his waist.
“What? Why?”
Luca doesn’t say anything. He just continues to struggle to get his clothes on in the cramped car.
“Luca?” I demand. My voice resounds around the back cabin, startling him to a halt.
“I’m sorry,” Luca utters. He looks at me, “I need to get back. My dad will realize how long I’ve been out and start to check on me.”
“Yeah,” I murmur. “Sure…” I grab my jacket from the floor and sling it around my shoulders. “What did you tell him you were doing?”
“Huh?”
“You borrowed the car and came all the way out here. What did you say?”
He zips his fly back up and fastens his belt around himself. “Oh, right. I just said I had to go pick up a friend who got himself into trouble…”
We stare at each other.
“I should probably get back to him.” He pushes the door beside me open and gives me an awkward smile.
I shuffle myself out of the back seat.
Stepping out onto the alleyway’s asphalt, I give Luca one last look through the rear window of the car while walking back to Angelo’s car. My hand rests against the door handle, not quite ready to open it. I keep watching Luca through the windows as he shifts around in the back seat, getting his clothes back to normal as much as he can. Finally, he switches the key in the ignition, and pulls the car out of the alley as he heads off down the street.
He just left. For the second time, he leaves me all alone.
I shake the overbearing thoughts away, gripping the handle of the car door with too much force, and yank it open. Dropping myself onto the seat, I slam the door shut behind me. Still reeling from everything that just happened, I just sit there staring blankly forward.
Fists clenched, I slam them against the steering wheel, letting out a frustrated grunt as they impact against the leather.
I can’t believe I let him do that again.
Somehow it feels worse this time. I don’t know if it’s because I was the one to initiate or because we went so much further than before. Maybe it’s both.
I wish I could forget about him, and push any thoughts and feelings for Luca far from my mind. It would be better for me and my family. Making what we have into anything more could not only tear me apart but also decimate what little cooperation the Rossis have with the Valentis. My mom will kill me if I’m the one that messes this up for everyone.
I have to forget about him. Move on.
But I can’t. I just can’t manage to forget about him. Even before tonight, he was on my mind almost constantly. I just couldn’t admit it. But now…? Now I’ve done more than just admit it. There’s just something about him. He just has some kind of pull. He feels like a magnet; no matter what I do or wh ere I go, I always seem to be drawn to him one way or another.
If I’m going to be pulled toward him, is resisting it even worth anything? Or should I just give in and let myself go to him?
It doesn’t matter right now. Dwelling on it and beating myself up over it won’t change the fact that I’m in a high-profile car in the middle of downtown Montcove after fleeing the scene of an illegal street race that I won, in some random alleyway after hooking up with the son of one of the city’s most renowned crime bosses.
How did I get myself into this?
Angelo!
I had completely forgotten about him.
Fumbling around for my phone tucked away in one of my pockets, I take it out and frantically dial his number.
Its repetitive rings seem to go on forever, waiting and waiting for him to pick up.
“Dom?” he asks through the muffled speaker.
Finally!
“Yeah, it’s me. Are you okay?” I have to be careful of what I say. If somehow he got picked up by the cops earlier, I can’t be sure who’s listening in right now.
“I’m all good. You okay? You weren’t at your dorm when I came to check on you.” His response tells me everything I need to know. He’s fine and is doing the same checks as me. Perfect.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll head over there now. Just got caught up, but I’m good now.”
“See you then,” he says, already ending the call.
I toss my phone into the pocket of the center console, turn the key, and back out of the alleyway.
Pulling into the campus parking lot, I abandon the car between the white lines of one of the spots. Listening to the car’s melodic beeps, I lock it behind me and make a beeline straight toward my dorm.
My feet strike against the ground as they keep pace with my mind, rushing forward, not stopping until I reach the doors, terrified to look around at my surroundings in case I catch sight of him or anyone else .
I burst through the front doors to the hall, slamming the doors back against the wall, and push forward. As I fly up the stairs and race down the hallway, my dorm room’s door finally comes into view. Waiting outside of it, Angelo picks up on the rapid drumming of my steps and turns to see me coming toward him.
“Relax. No one’s racing you anymore,” he calls to me with a chuckle.
I don’t respond to his joke. I just move past him to the door, unlock it, and shove him inside. “Get in here.”
Slamming the door behind us, I throw myself onto the bed.
“Woah, Dom! I know we’re close, but I don’t like you in that way,” he continues joking.
“Cut it out.” My voice remains cold and shaky. It doesn’t take him long to catch on to my panicked state.
“What happened? You didn’t get caught, did you?” His eyes move to the window and check outside the building for any signs of the police.
“No. No, the cops didn’t get me.”
“Why did you say it like that? ”
I give him a perplexed look.
“You said the cops didn’t get you, so who did?” he persists.
How does he manage to read me like this?
“Nothing like that. We’re all clear,” I try to lie.
Angelo quirks his head to the side slightly; he sees right through me. “You don’t get to lie to me like that. You’re out there in my car getting caught up in things. You have to tell me, so I know what I’m going to have to deal with.”
“Fine. No one bad got to me. It was just…” I don’t know if I can say his name. I know it’s just Angelo and he’s heard about me doing far worse things, but there’s just something about breaking that barrier and actually saying his name right now. Admitting to myself that all of this really happened, saying it out loud. I don’t know what to do.
“Who was it, Dom?” Angelo grinds away at me.
“It was… It was Luca,” I admit.
“Your stepbrother?” He almost gasps.
I can only nod .
“He’s not going to snitch on you, is he?” His tone turns serious.
“No, he won’t risk doing something like that.” He knows that he’s just as involved in this as me now.
“Then what’s the problem? You’re all messed up. There’s more to this than you’re telling me.”
“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“Nope.”
I sigh. I suppose he would find out about this one way or another. Angelo always had a knack for that. I should just tell him the whole truth. But can I actually say it aloud?
“We kind of got into it a little bit.” I keep my words vague. I wish it’s because I want to, that it’s a specific choice that I’m making, but it’s not. I just can’t bring myself to say what I want to.
“Oh, I get it.” He chuckles. “You beat him up. Really let him have it this time, right?” He punches my arm gently.
“No.” I pause. “Not quite.”
“You didn’t let him piss you off then run away again?”
“No, I—” I pause, praying for the right words to come out. “We… We kind of hooked up.”
“What?” Angelo explodes. “What do you mean you hooked up?”
“What else could it mean?” I shout back. “Now keep it down.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but how else should I react when you tell me you fucked your worst enemy and stepbrother all at the same time?” he fires back.
I bury my face in my hands. “How do you think I feel about this?”
“Then why did you do it?” “I don’t know.” I groan. “One minute, we’re screaming at each other, and then all of a sudden, I’m on top of him in the back seat.”
“My back seat?” Angelo roars.
“No, not your back seat.” I take a moment to admit the rest of the story. “It was his dad’s car.”
Angelo stares at me, his mouth agape. “You were in the back seat of Salvatore Valenti’s car having sex with his own son,” he clarifies the situation, as if either of us aren’t sure about it.
I look forward, not saying a single word. Still, it’s enough of an answer for him .
“Wow,” he mutters, crashing down onto the bed beside me.
“I know.”
He turns to face me, but my mind is still too busy tumbling over itself to notice.
“What’s that going to mean for you guys?” Angelo asks.
“Oh, you know, we’ll probably get married and settle down together,” I say sarcastically. “Obviously I don’t know what it’s going to mean! How could I? This just happened!”
“Alright, I get that. Just a lot to drop on me tonight after everything that happened.”
“Imagine trying to get your head around it when you’re the one that went through it, especially when it happened right after you got chased by the cops,” I shout, my own words switching me onto another train of thought. “Also, what the hell happened out there tonight? I thought the cops were busy?” Angelo stands up from the bed and paces the floor. “I don’t know what to tell you, man. I told you exactly what I was told. But I’ve got something else that can make up for it.”
“I’m not going to another race of yours.” I turn him down .
“It’s not a race. This is completely different, I promise. A lot lower profile, intimate event—you’ll love it.”
“I’m not interested.”
“Well, it’s tomorrow night, so just think about it.”
I roll my eyes at him. Angelo’s extracurricular activities had a tendency to go south, but at the end of it all, I’d forgotten about whatever I needed distracting from and had some fun while doing so. However, everything he’s gotten me into recently has only made things worse, so maybe it’s best to try and handle things without him for now.
“Fine, I’ll think about it.”
“Thank you. Now, I’m going to leave you to sleep.” Angelo heads for the door and waits in the open frame when a smirk starts to grow on his face. “Just make sure you’re by yourself this time.”
“Screw you!” I shout, my words are overshadowed by his laughter until the door shuts behind him.
Now alone, I lie back on the bed, wiping my face with my open hand and, letting out a single prolonged groan.