Chapter 11 ~
Dominic ~
I totally freaked her out.
She's been sort of in a daze the whole way through dinner. Mason, the cheeky fucker who's pretending he didn't see me kiss her, manages to pull her out of it.
I didn't mean to. She just looked sad but really fucking beautiful and I couldn't stop myself.
She liked it. I think that's what's confusing her the most.
Fuuuck! I'm gonna be in a shitload of trouble for this. Jace is going to kill me. Luc is going to kill me. The twins are going to kill me. Alec…is probably going to castrate me, then kill me.
Fuck! What about Alec? I told him I didn't want to mess with our friendship after our drunken mishap then I kiss Rory?!
I am going to hell.
Rory hands me her plate, hesitantly meeting my eyes.
"Don't overthink it, Sweetheart," I murmur as she passes. She doesn’t meet my eyes as she nods slightly.
She's totally overthinking it.
Rory leaves the kitchen and Luc goes to follow her but Mase grab his arm, yanking him back. He waits until Rory's out of the room before releasing Luc.
Mason clears his throat, crossing his arms and looking at me with a smirk on his face.
"Dominic has something he wants to tell us," Mason announces. Dickhead.
He knew if he put me on the spot, I’d have to confess.
The guys all turn and watch him.
"Dom?" Mason prompts me, not giving me an out. I sigh and lean back against the counter.
"I kissed Rory."
It's straight silence. The guys stare at me for almost a minute.
"Was it good?"
Luc backhands Maverick who rubs his head.
"Just a question," Mav mumbles.
"I am not answering that." I scowl at his lack of respect. "I didn't mean to," I tell the others. "It just happened."
Alec's looking at me expressionless. He turns away as soon as we make eye contact and I see him shut down. Fuck.
"It was bound to happen eventually." All our heads snap to Jace. We all look at him like he's lost his mind.
He's leaning against the counter, his intex finger tapping against the glass of water he's holding.
"What?" Jace shrugs as we gape.
"You're telling me that you're perfectly fine with the fact that I kissed your best friend and the girl we all like?" I say incredulously.
"Again," Jace rolls his eyes, "it was bound to happen, dude. Yes, Ro's my best friend and I want her to be happy. If that means it's with us, all of us, then…I'm okay with that."
"You mean like Alec's plan." Luc looks across at Alec who still hasn't met my eyes.
Rory shuffles into the kitchen, a book in her hands, totally engrossed. Still stunned by Jace's words, we don't have time to react when she eventually looks up and sees us staring at him.
"Did I miss something?" She asks the general group.
"No." Mase snaps out of it first. "We were just deciding whether or not to watch the third Bad Boys movie tonight."
Rory nods, watching Alec who's still standing at the kitchen window with a concerned look on her face. She sees it too.
Everyone leaves the kitchen and heads for the living room. Alec gives me a wide berth and I reach out, grabbing his hand.
"Alec."
He looks up, a layer of blankness hiding the pain in his eyes.
"What, Dom?" Alec asks, pulling his hand out of mine.
"I didn't mean to…" I trail off, not knowing what to say.
Alec turns away, shaking his head. "It's fine.
I like Rory too, you know. You don't have to try and protect my feelings.
You've made it perfectly clear that nothing will happen between us beyond what we are now," he says shortly.
His expression is cold, like it always is after he's been with his father.
Pain slices through me as my heart squeezes, tightening.
"I don't want to—"
"—Ruin our fucking friendship," Alec cuts me off. "Yeah, I got it."
My eyes widen. He bypasses the living room and I hear his bedroom door open and shut.
He swore at me. Alec never swears. Especially not at me.
I put my forearms on the bench and drop my head, squeezing my eyes shut.
What have I done?
"Why are you fucking this up, dude?"
My head snaps up to Mason who's not even looking at me as he's pulls a beer from the fridge. Fucking ninja.
"What?" I ask him, trying to shake it off. He looks at me like he's disappointed in me.
"Come on," he says incredulously. "You think we haven't felt the sexual tension between you? You're delusional if you think we haven't noticed you two dancing around each other for years. We haven’t said anything, respecting that when you’d be ready you’d come to us but clearly you were never going to.”
"Fuck." I sigh and take the beer from Mason's hand, drinking deeply. He scowls and gets another out.
"Look, Dom. I get why you haven't crossed that line but you aren't going to be able to use that friendship excuse forever." Mason warns me.
"Why's that?" I say snarkily.
"Because you might not have a friendship to protect," Mason says softly.
I freeze. "What are you talking about?"
"Come on, Dom." Mase sighs like he's disappointed in me. He leans back against the counter, crossing his arms, beer in his hand.
"I'm up all fucking night, dude. You sneak into his room like you think he's a secret. How long will it be until that stops? How long do you think it will be until he's only a friend around you? No more sleepovers, no stolen kisses, no silent declarations of love. Just friendship,” Mase emphasises.
"We're not in love," I say sharply, feeling my heart squeeze at my words.
Mase gives me a pitiful look. "Well, you might never find out. Because if you aren't willing to take the plunge, man, that's exactly what's going to happen."
Mason puts his hand on my shoulder for a brief moment before he walks away like he didn't just shatter my world.
. . .
Rory ~
"Don't overthink it."
Great advice from the guy who kissed me.
We're half an hour into the movie when Dominic comes in looking like someone kicked his puppy. We're almost an hour in when Alec sits down beside Luc on the floor rather than on the couch with Dom. I guess I'm not the only one confused.
The twins are keeping me distracted and focused on the movie. Jace moved in while Mase was getting a beer so it goes Mase, Jace, me then Maverick with Dom on the other end of the couch.
Every time Jace's eyes flick down to my book, I half close it and pretend to be watching the movie so he doesn't see anything.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
That kiss though…when Dominic's lips met mine for a second before they were gone.
I know I walked in on their conversation. I don't know what was said but it's stunned everyone.
"Don't overthink it, Sweetheart."
Fuck that, I'm overthinking the hell out of it.
Maybe it was just in the moment. Maybe it doesn't mean as much to him as I thought?
Mason saw us but he didn't seem jealous. Does he just not care? Or does it not bother him that his friend just kissed me and now his other friend, my best friend, has me tucked under his arm on the couch?
Dom kissing me definitely upset Alec. I'm not entirely sure what's happening there. I'm not sure they do either.
"Ro," Jace whispers in my ear.
I look up, meeting his grey irises filled with sympathy.
"Stop trying to justify it or decide what it means," Jace murmurs. My eyes widen. Dom told them?
"We’re family. We tell each other everything," Mav fills me quietly from my other side where he's fiddling with my fingers.
"Look, Ro, just calm down because you're going to drive yourself crazy. It doesn't have to change anything," Jace reassures me. He studies me for a movement before turning back to whatever’s playing on the TV.
Maverick kisses where my shoulder meets my neck. "Or you could change everything," he says low enough that Jace doesn't hear it.
I capture his gaze and see the promise in his eyes, a glint of mischief and a spark of heat.
. . .
Mason's snoring quietly, exhaling in my neck and sending shivers down me.
I’ve been up thinking for a while now. With me beside him, Mase drifted off pretty quickly.
I thought this would be awkward—us sleeping together but it’s not. We talked for a little before saying goodnight and that was it. I’m comfortable and content in Mase’s arms.
They’re good at doing that—making me feel safe. At home.
When Mase first tugged me into his arms, I asked him if we should really be blurring the lines. Not that I didn’t want to. Because I really wanted to.
Mase just laughed and told me, “I think the lines are already blurred, Angel.”
His laughter faded and he very seriously asked me if I wanted space.
My response was to move closer.
My mind shifts to Luc. After the movie ended, Luc pulled me aside.
Luc was almost nervously fiddling with his hands in front of him.
“You didn’t really say how you felt. About everything,” Luc added awkwardly.
How I felt about everyth—oh. About what he told me about him being The Slayer.
“Oh, um,” I shrugged, “I don’t really know.”
“But you don’t hate me?” Luc rushed out, seemingly nervous. “You’re not scared of me?”
My jaw dropped open. I was stunned momentarily before shaking my head.
“No, Luci, I’m not scared of you.” I threw my arms around his waist.
His six foot three height put him way higher than me so Luc actually had to lean down to hug me.
“And I definitely do not hate you,” I told him, concerned as to what brought this self doubt on.
“I’m an ex-gang member,” Luc said incredulously, surprised by my lack of hesitation. “I’m—was a Death Reaper.”
I was very much aware at this moment of the secrets Luc has told me and the ones I’m keeping from him. What he doesn’t know about my father. All he knows is that I was in a shitty situation that he saved me from.
“You’re not bad, Luci. You’re a good person who was dealt a bad hand in life.” I glance up to meet his eyes and smile softly.
Luc stares down at me, a world of emotion trapped within those green irises.