Chapter 12 ~
Alec ~
I feel Dominic stir behind me and I start to doubt the decision I made last night.
Dominic climbs into bed, settling his body behind me, with a relaxed sigh.
"We can't do this anymore."
Dom freezes and I stare at the blank wall, pushing back the tears filling my eyes.
"Do what?" He rumbles, his arm curling around my waist.
"You can't sleep in here anymore," I manage to get out without turning into a mess.
"Why?" Dom manages to say calmly but I can feel his panic rising.
"I-I can't do this anymore, Dom. I can see where this is going with Rory, with all of us and if you can't—" my voice breaks and I take a deep breath. "If you can't accept this—accept us—then…we're done."
There’s a stunned silence that presses down on my chest painfully.
"That's it?" His arm disappears and the first tear falls. "I don't want a relationship so that's it? You've just decided we're done? And our friendship, to hell with it?"
"It's never been friendship, Dom." I close my eyes when I feel his body leave from where it was pressed against mine.
"This isn't friendship. It's friends with benefits or possibly something more but it's not what friends are," I try to explain to him.
"You want to just be friends?" Dominic says incredulously.
"No!" I raise my voice, sitting up. Facing the wall, I feel him move in behind me. His hands go to my shoulders. I can't stop the tears dripping down my face.
"Alec," he whispers, begging me not to do this. I squeeze my eyes shut, gripping the doona in my hands.
"I can't be your secret anymore. I can’t keep doing this—it’s slowly killing me, Dom.
I don’t want to be with you if you’re not all in.
You need to decide what you want. I'll never stop being your friend, Dom, but if that's all you want from me then tomorrow we're done and friends is all we're ever going to be. "
I keep my eyes closed when he slowly takes his arm off me.
I don't open them when he kisses my cheek, letting his lips linger for a moment. He pulls back and I feel his eyes on me. He exhales deeply and rolls out of bed.
Tears prick my eyelids when I hear the door open. He hesitates and I silently beg him to come back to bed.
To me.
He murmurs he's sorry before gently closing the door.
That sound, the finality of it…that's when I finally let myself go.
. . .
Dominic ~
It's for the best, I tell myself when I gently close the door to Alec's bedroom.
He can tell himself all he wants but he's never going to forgive me for this. For being a coward.
I couldn't face his disappointment when he wakes and I leave.
He's serious this time.
Alec's told me before that I need to make a decision. That he's fed up being my dirty little secret, only being with me when no one is around. He's never followed through.
This time he means it.
I wouldn't accept it before but I've ruined our only chance at a relationship.
I knew it wasn't fair to do this to him but once I got a taste I couldn't stop. I knew this couldn't go on forever but this time it wasn't my decision to stop. It was his.
He's never going to forgive me.
I shut my bedroom door and slide down it.
Dazed, I stare at the framed photo on my bedside table of me and Alec. A photo I could never justify to the guys if they saw it. I doubt he even knows that I took it but he looked so happy, so peaceful, I couldn't help myself.
He's never going to forgive me.
Our friendship will never be what it was before. Alec was right. We've never just been friends. We've always been more.
And I just sent it all crashing down.
. . .
Rory ~
This morning has been…interesting to say the least.
Luc woke up confused as to how he got in my room, so Mase and I had to explain his nightmare to him.
When we got up, Jace and Mav were cooking breakfast.
I knocked on both Alec's and Dom's doors and neither of them answered.
Even when Alec's busy, he's always answers when I knock.
While we're cooking, Jace finds a note on the fridge from Alec saying he’s gone for a run. According to Mase, that’s normal but he doesn’t go by himself. Not here.
With all the threats, let's just say Luc was not happy Alec didn't take someone with him.
After last night, hearing Alec and Dom talking, I'm going to assume it didn't end well. And I think it's my fault.
I've been assuming they're in some kind of unlabeled relationship since I met them but I definitely rocked an already unstable boat when Dom kissed me.
I really do hope they work it out. They would be awesome together.
It's the weekend so no school, which means I've been playing video games with the guys, excluding Alec and Dominic, for a few hours now. It is remarkably entertaining.
Soft lips on my neck start to distract me from my car that's just pulled ahead of Maverick's.
"Mav," I murmur, warningly. Maverick grins against my skin as he continues placing gentle kisses on the curve of my neck. Goosebumps rise making me shiver.
I try to focus but a second pair of lips trails up my neck to my ear, nibbling on my ear lobe. I groan quietly, very, very distracted by the twins.
They continue until I've fallen well behind, allowing Maverick to win.
"That's cheating!" I whine to Maverick whose arms are curled around me, his controller in front of me.
"I don't think there's a rule against distracting someone to win." I feel Maverick grinning from behind me.
Luc and Jace's shoulders are shaking with silent laughter in front of me on the floor and I decide a little payback's in order.
The next game starts and once we're on the third lap, I start shifting in Maverick's lap.
"Baby," he growls, dropping one hand to my waist to still me. He's forced to let me go to return to playing. I shift before leaning back and he stifles a moan.
Keeping my eyes on the TV through the reflection of the window, I'm able to turn my head to plant kisses up his neck, rolling my hips.
He groans—his rough, pained tone sending heat flooding through me. His eyes drop from the game to me, sucking on his neck while I keep ahead of him through the window reflection.
He drops the controller to grab a fistful of my hair, making me moan quietly against his smooth skin.
"Fuuuck," I hear Mason say beside us.
Rocking back against Maverick's arousal, I'm able to draw his attention completely and cross the finish line. It's after Luc and Jace but definitely before Mav and Mase who's been watching us the whole time.
I turn back to face the front, lingering on Maverick's pouty lips for a brief moment and see the heat burning like a fire in his eyes.
"You play dirty, baby," Mav growls in my ear. I glance over my shoulder, pressing my legs together and the smirk dancing on his lips has me almost self combusting.
"She liked that." Mason grins wickedly, in that moment almost identical to his brother.
I wink at him and Mase's eyes widen. He groans softly.
"What the hell is going on back there?" Luc says playfully, turning around.
"Rory's cheating," Jace says knowingly.
"Maverick started it." I lean back in his arms and they tighten around me.
"Mm-hmm," Jace says like he doesn't believe me.
"What are we doing for lunch?" Mason changes the conversation, putting a hand on my thigh.
Jace groans. "I'm not fucking cooking."
The twins agree.
"Let's just get takeaway," Luc says. "Someone needs to take food to Alec and Dom. I'm assuming we aren't going to see them today."
Jace volunteers me and I'm quick to decline. It's my fault they're fighting or not, whatever. I let Dom kiss me and this has happened.
J sees the guilt in my eyes, reluctantly letting it go to get up to put the order in. I have a feeling I'm going to hear about this later.
"Who's going to pick it up?" Jace asks, once he's off the phone.
"It's Luc's turn," the twins immediately say.
Luc throws his hands in the air and huffs.
Jace gives them 'the dad' look. "Luc has a bullet hole in his leg. He's not driving anywhere. Mase, you're after Luc. You go." Mase scowls but nods.
"Why don't you just get them to drop it off?" I ask and the guys exchange looks.
"There are people looking for Luc and probably you. We don't want strangers coming to the house," Maverick explains, squeezing my waist.
Right.
I nod and sigh.
Mase gets up and J quickly intercepts. "Take someone with you, just in case."
Jace realises his mistake immediately.
Mason grins and turns to me. "Come on, Angel." He pulls me out of his brother's lap.
"Fuck this.” Mav grunts. “If you're going, I'm going."
"Okay, then." I laugh.
Jace hands me the car keys. My car keys. I frown. I didn't give them to him. Actually, I don’t even think I got them out of the car.
I shoot him a puzzled look.
Jace smiles sheepishly. "I didn't trust that you wouldn't take off again."
I put my arms around his waist, my hands traveling under his shirt, up his smooth, firm back muscles. I tilt my head up to meet his.
"And now?" I ask softly.
"I know you aren't going anywhere," Jace says with a relaxed smile.
I lean up, my lips barely grazing his jaw before I drop back down and follow the twins into the garage.
Maverick steals my car keys from my hand. My mouth pops open and Mason chuckles at me.
"Come on," Maverick hollers from the driver’s seat of my Hilux.
"He hates being driven around," Mason explains, opening the passenger door for me.
I shake my head. "You've got longer legs—you sit in the front."
He goes to argue but I dodge him and slide into the backseat. Mase chuckles to himself and gets into the front seat.
Mason fiddles with the radio before settling on a pop station.
I make it five minutes before I can't stand it anymore. "What's the deal with Dom and Alec?" I blurt out.
Maverick looks across at Mason before meeting my eyes briefly in the mirror.
"We don't really know," Mav edges.
"But we do know they're sort of together. Well, Alec wants to be but Dom doesn't want to ruin their friendship or some bullshit like that," Mason jumps in.
"And Dom kissing me jeopardised that," I guess.
Maverick shakes his head. "Our guess is it's only sped up the inevitable. Alec's realised what he wants and Dom's not willing to bet the odds that they'll last. He doesn't want to chance it."
"They've 'broken up' before," Mason tells me putting air quotes around his words. "But…this time is different."
We pull outside a complex of buildings. Mason grabs his wallet from off the dash and goes into the Thai place. I’m surprised a town this size has a Thai place at all, though I’m pretty sure it’s family run.
I stare out the window at some kids playing next to the street. Feeling Maverick's eyes on me, mine flick up to the rearview mirror. I smile faintly before turning my attention back out the window.
"Rory, baby," Maverick starts as Mase opens the door. I take the boxes of Thai food he's balancing from his hand and put them on the seat beside me.
"It's not your fault," Maverick tells me seriously.
"What?" Mason says, utterly puzzled having just gotten into the car.
"Not you, brother. Rory thinks this is her fault." Maverick starts the car.
"What?!" Mason says outraged. As Maverick's navigating the parking lot, Mase unclips his seatbelt and climbs into the back, clipping Mav in the head with his elbow. I don't know whether to wince or gawk as Mase settles in the seat beside me.
He reaches out and takes my face into his hands. "Angel. This is not your fault. At all," Mase stresses.
"This was inevitable," Maverick says, from the driver's seat. "Dom was always going to have to decide whether to tell us or let Alec go."
"But you know?" I say confused.
"Yeah but they didn't know that we all know," Maverick explains. "Well, Alec might."
"We got off track." Mase tilts his head in confusion.
"Right. Baby, even if Dom didn't kiss you, which is also his fault by the way, not yours, they were at a crossroads. Alec wasn't going to let Dom keep him a secret forever. He's too smart for that," Maverick says sadly.
"Okay." I exhale deeply. Mase and Mav smile at me with relieved glances to each other.
As we're driving home, Mase finds a song on the radio we all recognise and it turns into a competition on who knows the most words.
Mason's singing rather on tune when Maverick cuts him off.
"Hey. Hey!" Maverick demands our attention. "We're being followed."
"What?" I feel panic start to rise up. What if it's my dad? What if he found me?
"Angel, Rory, calm down," Mase says, reaching over and grabbing my hand.
"We're okay," he reassures me before turning to Maverick. "Brother, change course and head into town, we'll try and lose them."
"Got it," Maverick says shortly.
I turn, letting out my seatbelt so I can face the car following us.
"Rory! Sit down now!" Maverick barks.
"I'm trying to see their number plate. Luc said Rylan's a detective. He can run the plate through the government database." I repeat it over and over again in my head, also taking a mental note on the car model and colour.
"Shit, that's smart," Mason says like he's surprised.
"Not just a pretty face," I tell him, grinning.
"Rory, as I'm approaching this intersection, I need you to tell me if anyone's coming from the left. Brother—the right," Maverick directs.
"Got it," Mase says and I give Maverick an affirmative nod.
As soon as I can see the road to the intersection, I give Maverick the all clear and Mase swears.
"It's going to be close, brother," Mase warns and his twin just grunts.
Maverick floors it and we fly through the intersection, barely missing a car coming from the right. I turn around and see the car that had been following us was forced to slam on the brakes to keep from being hit.
I take a huge shaky breath of air and Maverick slumps in the front seat. Mason hoots and brings his hand down on Mav's chair.
"Awesome driving, dude," Mason says, bouncing around like a kid on sugar.
Once we're out of sight, Maverick slows back down to the speed limit.
"Fuck," he breathes, excitement finally showing in his glacial blue eyes. "It's been fucking ages since we've had a car chase." Mase nods in agreement.
"I don't even want to know," I mumble.