Chapter 48
I’m flipping through yet another page of the latest Vanity
Fair issue, when I see movement in my peripheral. I look up, just in time to see Dorran climbing up my balcony. His arms flex as he grabs the marble railing and lifts himself up and over it, and when I look at the time on my nightstand clock, I can’t help but smile.
I’d texted and called him a couple of times during the day, but he hadn’t responded to any of them. I’d had half a mind to visit Finesse in order to make sure he was okay, but I also didn’t wanna be one of those people who crowd their partner’s space at all times, so I hadn’t acted on my instincts.
Dorran enters the room, and I turn to gaze up at him. My smile fades almost immediately when I see the expression on his face, and the way he seems weighed-down while standing before me.
I drop the magazine on my bed and rush to him. Up close, I can see the darkened stains of blood on his yellow vest, the circles around his eyes, the sweat and grease on his face, and the way his brows have knitted together, as if he’s got something on his mind that’s straining him on the outside.
“Dorran…” I cup his jaw. “Hey, what’s wrong?” I wipe the grey smudges off his chin and nose, then frown when he doesn’t answer me.
“You’re scaring me,” I confess, and run the back of my fingers over his cheek.
He leans into the touch, then lets go of a weak breath and closes his eyes. “I’m…tired, I guess.”
I feel an ache in my gut as I watch him. I haven’t seen him like this since I’ve known him, and whatever has caused this, has to be huge, or at least something that hit home for him somehow. I wanna know what it is, and I wanna fucking fix it for him.
“Dor–”
“I’m sorry I didn’t answer your calls and texts yesterday,” he says in a voice that’s soft, yet broken. “Me and the boys were with Varsha for most of the day.”
I blink, and my frown deepens. “What hap–” I lose my train of thought when Dorran opens his eyes and grabs my hand – the one I have on his cheek – and brings it to his lips before pressing a kiss on the inside of my wrist. Goosebumps prick my entire body, and when he touches his nose to the spot he just kissed, I feel a blanket of warmth wrap itself around me.
“Will you go for a ride with me?” he asks. “Right now.”
I nod without hesitation. “Yes,” I say. “Of course, yes.”
He sighs as if he’s relieved to hear my answer. “Okay.”
I step closer to him, then rise on my tiptoes before giving him a kiss on his lips. The lingering smell of cigarettes on his breath is familiar, and also soothing in an innate sort of way.
“Okay,” I tell him, then smile and give him another kiss.