“Just in the area?”
“Yup,” he retorted, popping the p. The expression on his face was pure innocence.
Again? He was just ’in the area’ again?
It was starting to feel less like chance and more like scheduling. There was an odd flutter in my chest.
The truck was still purring softly next to me. I hesitated, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. With a deep sigh, I told myself I’d regret this later but approached his truck anyway.
Sue me. Walking was fucking annoying, it was chilly, and I just didn’t feel like arguing anymore. I knew he wouldn’t give up.
The fluttering sensation in my chest intensified as I held his gaze. This man was possibly lowkey stalking me, and my stupid ass responded with butterflies.Great.
Grinning like the Cheshire Cat, he stretched out his arm to open the door from the inside for me, surveying my every move as I climbed inside.
His truck smelled like leather and mint gum, like it always did, and he was listening to some kind of UK rap, judging by the artist’s accent.
“You buckled in?” he asked, while already checking the buckle was securely clipped in with his own hands.
I stifled a roll of my eyes with difficulty. He pulled away from the curb and surprisingly, didn’t press for conversation. I did catch him glancing at me out of the corner of his eye every so often, though.
For someone who supposedly wasn’t looking for me, he sure had a knack for being exactly where I was. Like a perfectly timed glitch in the system. Just enough to keep me guessing.
“You stalking me now?” I poked, jokingly, when I couldn’t take the silence any longer.
Dom gave me that weird half-laugh that could mean anything.
He pulled down the corners of his mouth, swayed his head from left to right, and shrugged. “Maybe I just have good timing.”
I narrowed my eyes. He didn’t actually deny it.
Silence engulfed us again, and this time, I let it stretch while I watched his fingers tense slightly on the steering wheel.
He wanted me to ask. To notice. He always played it like I had all the control, but moments like this made me wonder if I ever did.
The drive to my apartment was short, but I was surprised when he pulled into an open spot instead of just stopping in front of the building.
I guess he was coming inside.Again.
As I climbed out, my heart rate was just slightly elevated, not because I was afraid, but because I hated not knowing his angle. If he wanted to throw me off balance, it was working.
And if he wasn’t stalking me? He was doing adamngood impression of it.
As expected, by the time we reached the upstairs apartment, I already regretted accepting the ride. Dom was right on my heels, acting like he belonged there, which — technically — he didn’t.
But when your roommate was his sister, the boundaries got fuzzy — fast.
I unlocked the door and shot him a look over my shoulder. “You know this isn’t your place, right?”
He shrugged and stepped inside like I’d just asked what he wanted for dinner. “Could’ve fooled me. Couch still has my imprint.”
“Yeah, because you’re always on it.” I dropped my bag by the kitchen island, scowling. “Don’t you have your own dorm to infest?”
He flopped onto the couch with all the grace of a smug golden retriever. “Sure. But your Wi-Fi’s better.”
“And yet, you always time it for when I’m home. Weird.”
“Coincidence,” he fired back, gold-green eyes locked on mine as if daring me to call bullshit.
