Chapter 10 #2
“No,” I said loudly enough that a passing couple glanced our way.
I pulled my arms closer to my body as the wind picked up again.
“Most of the time we rehearse, we have two people on the sidelines. People who have watched us grow up and have mentored us, examining every move and telling us how to make it better. There’s nothing sexy about that.
” If I hadn’t before, I now knew why actors and actresses said sex scenes were extremely uncomfortable.
“That’s…” he trailed off, suddenly looking puzzled. He stood a little taller. “Most of the time?”
“Yeah, usually they would both be around to tell us what they thought we were doing right and what they thought we could improve. They have different things that they look at and help us with, so it is nice to have them both around when we’re trying to get ready for competitions.
Sometimes it would just be one of them, though.
” We thought it was nice to have both of them with us, but unfortunately, all the other skaters they worked with seemed to have the same opinion.
“But one of them was always with you,” Brandon said. He said it as a statement, not a question. His expression had gone hard. “You two didn’t practice… you didn’t grind up on him alone, did you?”
I squared my shoulders, steeling myself for what was to come. “We didn’t do the part you’re thinking of alone often, but had to sometimes.”
The fury on his face made me take a step back.
“You did that alone with him?" he spat. He was practically shaking with rage. "You rubbed yourself against him and had him grab your upper thigh? A move that is basically like grabbing your ass, which you told me you didn’t do. You put your face an inch from him and acted like you were about to kiss him. You did all that alone with him while telling me that there was nothing going on between you and that I had nothing to worry about. Are you fucking kidding me, Hazel?” His voice alternated from nearly shouting to a restrained grit through his teeth.
My eyes darted around to see if anyone was watching us. “Keep your voice down. People can hear us," I urged. Lowering my voice to a level I hoped he would mimic, I added, "We practiced what you saw today. We only did what we were told we had to do. I told you, we’ve never done anything real.”
Brandon looked like he wanted to shout some more, but another group of people walked by.
They excused themselves as they passed around us, which seemed to make him think he should restrain himself.
A second later, when I had braced myself for a tirade, he turned on his heel and walked into the pub.
He had his wallet and ID out faster than I’d expected and was soon walking away from the bouncer.
I apologized profusely while I dug around in my purse blindly for my ID, trying to keep my eyes on Brandon so I could see where he was going.
By the time I’d been allowed in, he was already over where everyone else was.
I rushed over to where they had pulled two tiny tables together.
They were the small round kind that always seemed to be unsteady if you dared to rest an elbow or an arm on them.
Everyone was looking up at Brandon, who was standing right next to Dom and had a hand in front of his face.
“You were grinding up against my girlfriend?”
Dom looked less surprised than I’d expected, considering he was being accused and cornered. “Woah, man. You saw the routine. That’s all we’ve done. I never touched her otherwise.” He had his hands up as a sign of surrender.
“How am I supposed to believe that’s true when she just told me you two practiced that without your coaches around? Did you suggest that to get your hands on her?”
“Brandon!” I exclaimed.
“It wasn’t anything like that,” Dom said.
He pushed his chair back as he stood up.
It let out a screech on the floor, which was marginally less painful on my ears than the argument it was interrupting.
Dom stood toe-to-toe with Brandon. When they were so close together, it was clear just how much more muscle Dom had.
With the additional couple of inches he had on Brandon, I was surprised that Brandon didn't step back.
“We practiced a professionally choreographed skate. That’s it.
You need to trust your girlfriend and stop accusing us of fooling around behind your back.
We have a job to do, and we take it damn seriously.
I won't let you fuck up everything Hazel and I have spent the last eight years working towards.
I was around years before you and I'm going to be here long after you're gone.”
"I am her boyfriend," Brandon said indignantly.
"And I'm her partner." Dom's voice was icy. "I outrank you."
I felt like I wasn't getting enough oxygen. I tentatively took a step closer to them. “Brandon, you need to calm down and listen.”
For a split second I thought I got through to him. But it passed so quickly that I wondered if I had only seen what I wanted to see. Brandon raised a fist. I was vaguely aware that the shrill scream was mine as he swung at Dom.
Somehow, Dom moved out of the way of the worst of it.
Brandon’s fist grazed across Dom’s cheekbone, close to his ear.
Brandon pulled back to throw a second punch, but Dom was too fast. The reflexes I’d trusted to keep me safe in dozens of dangerous situations over the years were keeping him safe this time.
He grabbed Brandon’s wrist before it could get near him and pulled it down.
I could hear the bouncer behind us yelling at them to break it up and to step aside, as well as the heavy footfalls.
A moment later, the bouncer was there and physically separated the two.
Dom put a hand to his cheekbone and took a few steps back, cursing under his breath.
I couldn’t make out the words, but the tone said enough.
Brandon was still hurling insults as the massive bouncer steered him away from the tables.
The insults were mostly aimed at Dom, but the occasional one that included me.
The muscled man kept him from re-approaching and tried to steer him towards the door.
Brandon pulled his arm out of the bigger man's grasp. “I’m going,” he snapped. He looked at me and said, “Hazel?”
Everyone we had come with us was talking at once, but I wasn’t processing what they said. All I could do was look at the man in front of me and wonder how it had come to this. He was staring at me, waiting for me to follow him on the way out, but I couldn’t. Instead of speaking, I shook my head.
He cursed again. “Are you fucking serious? You’re choosing him?”
The venom in his voice made me sick. I knew he didn’t like Dom.
I knew he had trust issues. But I didn’t think it would come to this.
I thought we would work past it and he would realize that he was being ridiculous.
“We’re done.” The words came out easily.
There was no question that it was the right decision.
He stormed out then, not bothering to look back.
I watched him go until he was out the door.
I felt six pairs of eyes on me, if not more, as I turned back to my group, but I couldn’t focus on anybody other than Dom.
He was still standing near the wall, his hand in his hair now.
I walked over to him and gently touched his arm. “Dom?”
He glanced down at me. There was a red mark on his face that would probably develop into a terrible bruise before the night was through. “Hazel, I –”
“Shh,” I said. There was a lump in my throat, and I suddenly felt sick.
"I’m so sorry. I didn’t think he… I tried to explain…
" It was just as difficult to find the words to apologize to Dom as it had been to talk to Brandon earlier.
This time, I wasn't struggling because I feared his reaction.
As I looked up at Dom, all I could feel was guilt.
Rather than speaking, he pulled me into a tight hug.
My face pressed against his shirt and I inhaled his familiar scent.
I wrapped my arms around his waist, giving him a squeeze.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated. My words were muffled because I spoke directly into his chest, but I didn't want to be the one to break the hug.
Dom pushed me away ever so gently, just enough that my face wasn’t pressed against him. “Don’t blame yourself,” he said firmly. “It’s not your fault.” His eyes bore into mine. They left no doubt about his sincerity. His voice softened before he asked, “Did he ever hit you?”
I shook my head. “I knew he wasn’t happy, but I thought he’d get over it.
Worst-case scenario, I thought he’d break up with me if he couldn’t handle it.
” I hadn’t wanted to think it would get to that level, so maybe I hadn’t been looking out for everything.
“I should have listened to you when you were worried.”
“I thought he would be upset, not this,” Dom said. He was whispering, so I doubted anyone else could hear. “But you’re okay and I’m okay. He showed his true colours tonight. And even though you keep apologizing, I want you to know I’d take a punch for you any day.”
I pulled him close again, squeezing as hard as I could. When I pulled away, I gestured for him to lean down so I could tell him something. “You’re the best partner I could ever hope for.”
“You too,” he said.
We turned back to where everyone was sitting.
The bouncer was still there, watching Dom and me, and Dom excused himself to talk to him.
Somebody had pulled up a chair in the chaos, and I sat in it, suddenly exhausted.
They were all looking at me and I felt like I had to say something, but I couldn't find the words. The argument had been right over them. They’d heard me break up with Brandon.
Finally, Kendra reached over and grabbed my hand. “Hazel? Are you okay?”
“I feel just as shitty as you’d expect,” I said. “But before anybody else asks, no, I didn’t think he was capable of that, and he never hit me.”
“What do you want to do now?” Kendra asked. “Go home, come to our place, stay out for a bit? Whatever you want.”
“I…” What did I want? The prospect of going home to an empty apartment with nothing but my thoughts sounded terrible, and I didn’t want to impose on my friends. That left one option. “Let’s just stay out for a bit. One drink, then I’ll go home.”
Alexis got up to get a drink for me and came back a few minutes later. I reached into my bag to pull out some money, but she said, “Don’t be silly. This one’s on me.”
“Thank you,” I said. I drank half of the glass in one go. My hands were shaking. I wondered how long they had been doing that.
A minute later, Dom came back and sat down next to me. His hands were steady, but he kept them wrapped around his beer. He looked around and said, “If anybody wants to head out now, I’d get it.”
Wyatt glanced at the others, then said, “We’ll leave when you do.”
Dom nodded. Maybe he felt better having backup if Brandon was still in the area, waiting for us to leave the pub and continue his tirade against us.
The happy, laid-back mood from earlier was gone.
Try as they might, the conversation seemed stilted.
Alexis’s chair was right next to Zain’s.
They were so close that I wondered if she’d been leaning up against him when Brandon and I first came in, but she wasn’t paying attention to him now.
It was a small thing in the scheme of the disaster this night had become, but it still made me want to cry.
This was supposed to be a joyful, celebratory evening to kick off the season.
This wasn't how the day was supposed to go.