God, I waspathetic.
Dom’s grin widened as he approached, his white teeth flashing amid the dark red stubble.
“There you are! Almost thought I’d miss you. Here.”
He came to a stop, offering me a cup from the on-campus coffee shop — the same coffee shop that was a ten-minute walk in the opposite direction.
“Where’s your drink?” I inquired, gingerly taking the cup.
“Didn’t get one.” His smile never wavered, his eyes shining with happiness.
I stopped short, looking up at him with furrowed brows. “So you grabbed a bite to eat there?”
“Nope. Just popped in there to get your drink.”
“Oh, okay, so it was on the way! Lucky me.”
He chuckled. “Sure, yeah. It was on the way.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You should work on your tone if you want to actually convince me of something. And thank you.”
“See, I would, but since I wasn’treallytrying to convince you, I don’treallygive a fuck, Darlin’. My girl got her caffeine. That’s all I wanted.” He shrugged.
Heat rose to my cheeks. “Do you evernotsay whatever pops into your head right that very moment?”
He pushed his tongue into his cheek, then nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah. Matter of fact, you’re one of the few people I’m comfortable enough with to do that.”
I took a sip of my drink. Of course, it wasperfect. Like every drink he’d ever bought or made me.
“How did you know I’d be here this morning?” I cocked my head to the side.
Dom shrugged. “Not gonna spill all my secrets, Darlin’. How else would I ever surprise you?”
“I hate surprises,” I mumbled, taking another sip.
Dom smiled lazily. “No, you don’t.”
He was right — I didn’t. “How would you know?”
“Because I know you,” he shrugged, piercing me with his gaze.
“No, you don’t,” I repeated with a scoff.
“Keep telling yourself that.” His easy smile persisted. Grabbing the back of my neck, he pulled me in for a quick kiss, and I willingly parted my lips.
He tasted like trouble, like bad decisions, like he could end up breaking my heart. And yet, I couldn’t fucking stop.
***
The tapping of keys filled the living room, quiet music was playing on the TV, and the concentration was slowly giving way to fatigue.
Dom had shown up, as he did every night, but I still had some work to complete for my classes, so he was patiently waiting for me to finish up.
I typed the last words for the night before shutting my laptop, letting my head fall back, and stretching my arms out over my head.
Dom, who had been sprawled out on my bed, scrolling through his phone, lifted his gaze and propped himself up on his elbows.
“You know, I was just thinking,” he said casually, which immediately put me on my guard. Dom was always straightforward, unapologetically so.
