He glances at her and nods before bringing his dark blue eyes back to me. “Need a ride home?”
I huff a laugh. “Why else would I be here?”
“Maybe because you finally fell in love with the game?” a mocking voice says a moment before Dominic appears at my brother’s side. It’s unfair how beautiful he is. Tall and lean, with impossibly broad shoulders and a muscular chest. A smirk that makes my heart flutter, messy blond hair, and intense hazel eyes currently locked on me.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce Dominic Watson, my brother’s best friend and the bane of my existence.
Unfortunately, his presence alone has the power to make my heart race.
“I love agame, but only when the home team is good,” I retort. Then, I turn to Matt. “Can we give Chia a ride home?”
“Oh,” Dominic scoffs, a taunting spark in his eyes, “I’m sorry we’re not meeting your standards.”
“Fuck off, Dom,” Matt scolds him, but there’s no heat behind it. He nods at me. “Sure, Chiara can come with us.”
“Grazie,” Chia chimes in. She was born and raised in Monterey, but her parents moved here from Naples and speak Italian almost exclusively at home. It’s kind of cute, the way she sprinkles in Italian words here and there.
“No worries.” Matt shrugs, barely giving her the time of day.
My heart aches for my best friend. I have no idea why she’s so hung up on him when he’s always been so indifferent.
“Give me fifteen minutes.” He taps his helmet against the bleachers. “Then we can go.”
The guys head for the locker room. Just before they step inside, a girl with red curls darts out in front of Dominic and throws her arms around his shoulders, molding her body to his.
The weirdest thing? He lets her. In fact, he snakes one arm around her waist and pulls her even closer.
I frown. It’s not the first time I’ve seen her with him, but they’ve never been all over each other. My traitorous heart cracks in my chest. God, I hate the feeling rising in me.
Matt barely slows, leaving Dominic and the redhead whose name I don’t know. Dominic says something to her and jabs his thumb over his shoulder. She looks our way, and when she notices me staring, her lips curl into a smug smile, as if she sees right through my glare and knows exactly why I’m watching them.
Crap. I really need to work on my poker face.
Forcing myself to look away, I snatch my backpack from the bench. “Let’s go.”
All afternoon,I’ve been working on my sketch of the March Hare, but I can’t get it right. It’s all because of this dinner.
Something is off. I can’t put my finger on it, but that hasn’t stopped my mind from spinning.
With a huff, I push my pencils aside and pick up my phone. I tap the Pause button on the screen, silencing my sketching playlist, and call my dad, hoping he can set my mind at ease.
“Sweetie, hi,” he says when he answers. “How are you? How was school?”
“Really good.” I stand and pace my room. “You’ll never guess what Ms. Rodriguez chose for this year’s school play.”
Dad chuckles. “Based on how enthusiastic you sound, I’m going to guess it’sAlice in Wonderland.”
Throwing my head back, I laugh. Of course he’d guess immediately. He knows me better than anyone.
“Am I right?”
“You are.”
“You’ll try out for Alice, right? The role is perfect for you.” His deep baritone is like a warm blanket on a cold day.
“Thanks, Dad. How are you?”
“Good, good,” he says. “Had a few calls today about that job. Things are starting to look up.”
