“What was that?”
I couldn’t stop the grin that crossed my face if I wanted to. “That’s us, Brooke. That’s what we are when we aren’t holding back.”
Her forehead dropped to my chest and I wrapped my arms around her. I said I was coming for her, that I’d make her understand just what she meant to me, but that didn’t mean I was going to play fair. She was overwhelmed, probably confused too, but none of that mattered—we could straighten all that out later—what mattered was she knew I wasn’t going to hold back any longer.
“Dom, can we go back to the house and talk?”
We slowly made our way back. Her fingers were twined in mine once again. There was no rush between us to get back, and I hoped that meant she was finally comfortable enough to talk to me. It was unusual for her not to just say whatever was on her mind, and it was killing me. I wanted our old, comfortable relationship back—the one where we could lie in bed fully clothed for hours and just talk. Maybe this time there could be less clothing, but I’d be okay either way, as long as I had my best friend back.
Brooke’s step faltered and her gaze moved up to the deck. I could make out a shadow at the back, but I couldn’t tell who was there, not until Talia stepped up into the fading light. My breath caught, and the way Brooke stiffened next to me, I could tell she misread my reaction.
“Baby, I need to deal with this, but I’ll be up as soon as I’m done.”
Talia watched us intently, her eyes bouncing between our linked hands and how Brooke turned into my side. I kissed her forehead before she walked by Talia into the house without a word to either of us. It made me nervous that she hadn’t even looked at me before she walked inside.
“What are you doing here, Talia?”
She walked to the edge of the deck and looked down at me on the sand, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning onto the banister.
“I missed you. I made a stupid, impulsive decision, but it looks like I wasn’t far off the mark, was I?” Her eyes flashed with hurt. “I always knew there was something there, even when you tried to deny it.”
I shook my head. “I never said there wasn’t anything between me and Brooke. I just said that nothing had ever happened. And until the night you left me, it hadn’t.”
“So it’s my fault?”
I sighed and ran a hand down my face. This wasn’t the way to have a conversation. I climbed the stairs and stood next to Talia. Close enough that we could talk without being overheard, but far enough away for her to realize what we had was over.
“That’s not what I’m saying, Talia. You never even gave me the chance to explain before you left. I thought what we had was more than that. I thought you were stronger than running when things got hard, but instead, you said you felt compared to Brooke and you just left. That’s not fair. You showing up here, saying you made a mistake, isn’t fair. But you know what, it pushed me and Brooke together, so I don’t care.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Are you really this much of a jerk, and I never saw it before?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “You said some pretty screwed up things, Talia. This is just me being honest.”
“Did you use me to get to Brooke?”
I dropped my gaze, because while I didn’t intentionally plan it, that’s kind of what happened. Brooke was jealous of Talia, but in my defense, I was jealous of Austin too.
“When I met you, Brooke and I were in a weird place. That much you know, but I would’ve never deliberately used you to make Brooke jealous or get her attention. I thought you knew me better than that.”
She shrugged, and I noticed the unchecked tears gleaming in her eyes. God, I hated it when women cried.
“I don’t want to hurt you, but we’re over, Talia. Not because I’m with Brooke—we haven’t figure out that part of our relationship—I’m through because you weren’t willing to talk through an issue with me. Instead, you jumped to conclusions and ruined a good thing.”
I wasn’t trying to berate her or make her feel bad, but I wanted to be transparent and up-front. She deserved that much from me, even if she didn’t offer me the same respect.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t—I never—”
I pulled her into a hug. Gah, crying women really did have an effect on me.
“I know, and I’m sorry too.”
The moment the sun dipped below the horizon, Talia threaded her fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck. Alarm bells went off in my head, but it was too late. Her mouth was already aimed toward mine. I tried to pull back, but the railing was behind me, trapping me next to Talia. She kissed me, and I was momentarily shocked. She knew I wasn’t getting back together with her, but she was still willing to try something this desperate.
I pushed her away—gently enough she didn’t fall, but hard enough she got the point. It pissed me off that she wasn’t the type of person I thought she was. In this case, I’d been a horrible judge of character.
“You need to go.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Really? You’re that naïve.”
“You aren’t who I thought you were, Talia, and I want you to leave. Now.” I stepped around her and went to the door of the house. “Don’t make the mistake of trying to throw your pussy at me to get what you want. I don’t play games, and I sure as hell respect myself more than to let you manipulate me.”
I was livid. It took a lot to control my temper and not slam the door as I walked inside. Drew stood in the kitchen, pouring himself a drink. He raised an eyebrow, silently asking if I wanted to talk. I shook my head once and stalked up the stairs to my room. In the back of my mind, I knew I needed to go talk to Brooke, but I wanted a few moments to calm myself down, make sure I wouldn’t say anything that could bite me in the ass later.
I went searching for Brooke after I calmed myself down and found her curled up in a chair on the deck. She really did love the ocean. Her eyes were closed, and a book was open on her chest. My heart pounded in my chest. Were we finally going to make this happen? Every night since we’d slept together, I’d woken up to a rock-hard cock. If I were any other guy, I would’ve thrown her over my shoulder and made her listen to me in bed. But I wasn’t. I was the type of guy who gave her the space she needed to figure things out.
“Hey, beautiful.”
She opened her eyes but she stared past me.
“Or not,” I said slowly. “What’s wrong?”
What could have changed in the thirty minutes from when I watched her walk into the house until now?
“Baby, what’s going on?”
She stood up and crossed over to the banister, careful to leave space between us as she did. It was obvious she was pissed about something, but I honestly had no idea what was wrong.
“I always come second to you, don’t I, Dom? You’re so fucking concerned about not hurting Talia’s feelings or screwing up your relationship with Josh that my opinion and emotions just don’t matter.”
“What are you talking about?” I took a step closer to her, and she dodged me. “Where is this coming from?”
“It’s something that keeps becoming glaringly obvious to me each time I think we’re on the same page. You care about everyone else more than you do me.”
Okay, she was pissed that I talked to Talia. I could understand that, but didn’t she realize I only wanted us to get this right without anything looming over us from the beginning?
I crossed my arms over my chest. “That’s not true, and you know it, Brooke.”
“Do I?” she spat. “’Cause where I’m standing, this is really fucked up.”
I ran a hand down my face. “I’ve been with Talia for the past few months. Don’t you think I owed her an explanation?”
She narrowed her eyes. “You just don’t get it. For someone so smart, you really can be an idiot sometimes. I want to come first for once in my life, Dom. You spend so much time making sure everyone else is okay with whatever’s going on around them that
you don’t even worry if I’m there with you. Maybe instead of running off with Talia you should’ve taken the two seconds it would’ve taken to tell me that.”
“Talia—”
Her hands flew into the air. “Wow, I’m talking to a brick wall. Can we make this about us for once?”
“Then give me two seconds to explain!”
She took two steps closer. “Then fucking talk!” she screamed. “But for God’s sake, don’t start this discussion with Talia’s name.”
My mouth opened and shut several times.
She crossed her arms over her chest, mimicking my earlier movements, frustration clear in her actions. “That’s what I fucking thought.”
“I—”
“Don’t worry about it, Dom. We were through before we ever even got started.”
I watched her retreating back as she went into the house. Something else happened because this wasn’t just about me talking to my ex before her. Brooke was high-strung, but she wasn’t typically irrational. I sat down in the chair she’d abandoned only minutes before and hung my head. This day had gone from being everything I’d ever hoped for coming true to a fucking train wreck in less than an hour.
Chapter Nineteen
Brooke
I squealed, then giggled when the frat boy picked me up over his shoulder. His bros were cheering him on, while Quinn and Riley watched from the edge of the group with disapproving looks. I was somewhere between shots five and eight, and the guy was insanely hot. Frat boys weren’t typically my type, but his muscles were a nice distraction for the night. It also helped that each time I took a shot, I was chanting ‘fuck Dom’ in my head.
“Let’s take another shot,” frat boy number two said while signaling the bartender. “Brooke, what do you want to take this time?”
Quinn stepped forward, and I waved her off. She was so sweet, but I wasn’t ready to stop yet. There wasn’t a chance in hell I’d escape this night without throwing up, but I didn’t care. Or I was too gone to care.
“Vegas bombs.” I whipped back toward my friends, my hair flowing behind me. I’m sure I was quite the sight—not sexy at all and a little possessed. “Why didn’t we just go to Vegas for the summer? None of this shit would’ve happened.”
My frat bro draped his arm over my shoulder and gave me a sleazy smirk. “If you had gone to Vegas, you wouldn’t have met us.”
“And that would’ve been such a shame,” Riley said dryly. “Last call for you, Brooke. I want to get home sometime before three tonight.”
I frowned. It couldn’t be that late already, could it?
“I think we need a new bar,” I announced after I took the shot.
The guys cheered. “Bar crawl!”
“Oh no, Cinderella. You’re going to turn back into a pumpkin if we don’t get you home soon.” Quinn grabbed my arm and tugged me away from the bar. The guys were too busy getting a second round from the bartender to realize I was gone. “Plus, you already made Caroline leave that super cute guy at the last bar. It’s time for your fun to be over for the night.”
I pouted. “Can I at least bring one of the cute bros home?”
She looked at me in a have you lost your fucking mind way. “That’s probably not a good idea. Dom would break him, and do you really want to wake up next to one of those idiots?”
I glanced over my shoulder. “But they’re so pretty.”
“That’s the beer goggles talking, honey.”
I stopped suddenly. “Wait. Did you say Caroline met someone?”
She laughed. “God, you’re slow tonight. Yeah, Liam. He’s pretty. Care won’t shut up about him. Apparently they’re already texting.”
“We should go back to that bar so she can see him,” I suddenly exclaimed.
She tugged me toward the door. “Not tonight. He’s meeting up with us on the beach tomorrow, though. You can meet him then.”
I took the bottle of water she handed me and followed behind her dutifully. “Do you think he has any cute friends?”
She stifled her laugh. “Come on. Let’s get your drunk ass home.”
I passed out in the car on the way home. The last thing I remember besides waking up and violently puking into the trash can next to my bed, was Dom carrying me to my bedroom. One of the girls must have gone inside to grab him since they couldn’t carry me up the steps.
Of course it had to be him.
Dominic Torres could take his half truth and lies and shove them up his ass.
***
The sun was an asshole. My eyeballs felt like they were melting into my face and my head held a jackhammer that wouldn’t stop. Quinn and Riley kept giving me knowing looks, which weren’t very empathetic. I was kinder to them when they were hungover. Every once in a while one of them would offer me a beer and I’d give them a go to hell look. Those bitches knew I was hurting.
It was one of the last days we would have at the beach, though, so I wasn’t willing to miss the time—hungover or not. Caroline had also introduced me to her friend, Liam. He was pretty. Quinn hadn’t been exaggerating last night. Plus, he seemed pretty taken with Care. As much as I thought men were the scum of the earth right now, I was willing to give him a shot if he made her happy.
I tugged a towel over my face and tried to take a nap, but as soon as I got comfortable ice-cold water covered my entire stomach and legs. I screeched and jumped out of my chair, making myself nauseous in the process. Josh was doubled over laughing with the bucket still in his hands. I sucked in a few deep breaths to calm my stomach.
“You are such a dick,” I said through clenched teeth.
He threw an arm over my shoulder and pulled me down, trying to noogie my head. I was going to kill him—just as soon as I knew I wasn’t going to throw up all over his feet. It would serve him right.
I shoved him off and stomped away, barely keeping the tears at bay as I did.
“Brooke,” he shouted from behind me. “It was a joke.”
I ignored him and kept walking. It didn’t take long for him to jog and catch up with me. I tried hiding my tears, but of course he caught me wiping at my face.
“B, I’m sorry. I was just kidding around.”
“It’s fine,” I mumbled. “I don’t feel good, so it pissed me off.”
He grabbed at my arm. “That’s why you’re crying? Because you’re pissed?”
I set my jaw and stared ahead of us.
“B, talk to me.”
“You don’t want me to do that, Josh.”
He tried to stop me again and this time I let him.
“My life is a fucking shit show.”
“We’re not kids anymore, Brooke. I want to know what’s going on in your life, even if it’s about my best friend.” Mercifully, he started walking again so I didn’t have to look him in the eye.
I filled my lungs with air. “Okay. Just remember, you asked for it. Your best friend is an asshole of epic proportions.” I paused, trying to gather my thoughts. “He told me he wanted us to try to figure things out, then he took his ex-girlfriend—the one he dated in the first place to make me jealous, I might add—to talk while I sat there waiting for him like an idiot.” Tears streamed down my cheeks, and it was because I really was pissed. “I went outside to sit on the deck and read—because I trusted him—and saw him kissing her. Last night I got so drunk I wanted to bring home a fraternity guy.”
Josh laughed at the way I said it. “Is that a bad thing?”
“The worst.”
I stopped and stared out into the ocean. Some days I missed being near the water so much I wanted to say fuck it and move back to North Carolina.
“I can’t trust him. And it fucking sucks, Josh. Because I really want to trust him.”
He rubbed my back softly. “He’s my best friend, but you’re my sister. I’m always going to take your side, but are you sure that’s what happened?”
I shook my head. “I couldn’t talk to him about it. Instead, I just screamed at him for always choosing
everyone else over me. I wanted to be different with him. I’m so sick of being everyone’s last choice.”
Josh gave me a questioning look.
“He’s the kind of guy who has to make sure everything is perfect. You can’t be upset with him for wanting to be with me. Talia can’t be mad at him because he’s moving on. School has to come first.” I sighed. “I never really noticed it until now. He says he wants me so much, but I’m always his last choice.”
“That’s not what he does, Brooke,” he said softly. “He knows you’re okay because you’re always there with him. Dominic knows the second anything is wrong with you. Isn’t he the only one who can calm you down from one of your panic attacks?”
I couldn’t speak, couldn’t make eye contact with him because it didn’t matter what he said to defend his friend. My opinion wasn’t changing. Josh knew I was stubborn. He shouldn’t be surprised that I didn’t want to hear it when he sang Dom’s praises.
“It’s because he knows everything about you, B.”
I groaned. “Josh, if he knew everything about me, he would have made a move sooner. I’ve practically been in love with him since the first time we met. If you hadn’t run your fucking mouth about how I could never be just friends with a guy, we probably would have been together from the beginning.”
“And you probably would’ve broken up in a month. The reason you and Dom work so well together is because you took the time to get to know him.” He ran a hand down his face. “I’m sorry if I made you feel bad when I said that, but I didn’t mean anything by it. B, I just want you to be happy.”
He stared out at the tide with me. There were several families playing in the water.
“I’m going home for the rest of the summer.”
“What?”
“Mom and Dad bought me the ticket yesterday. I can’t stay here while everything is so fucking raw, Josh.”
He stepped in front of me so I had to look at him. “Are you throwing away three years of friendship for something you won’t even talk to him about? Please don’t tell me that’s what you’re doing.”
I looked away. “I just need some time.”
Keeping Dominic (The Golden Boy Series Book 1) Page 14