He ran his fingers through his hair. “I can’t believe you.” He walked a few paces away and whipped back around. “You have to tell him.”
I swallowed hard. “I can’t.”
“Damn it, Brooke. Quit running away. It doesn’t solve a fucking thing.”
I watched his retreating back for a few minutes. I wasn’t ready to join everyone and pretend I was okay, or look at my brother, so I stayed there, rooted to my spot. This summer was turning out to be one of the worst possible. The only highlight was knowing what Dom’s skin felt like against mine, which ironically was the part that hurt the worst. I wondered if I could get my parents to up the date of the ticket to tomorrow.
***
Dom stood in my doorway, watching me throw clothes into my suitcase, trying to get everything to fit like it did when we first arrived. It wasn’t working, and I was ready to scream. My emotions were like a cavity. The more you picked at it the worse it felt. I felt exposed and having Dom watch me like this wasn’t helping.
“What do you want?” I finally snapped.
“Are you ready to talk?”
“About what, Dom?”
He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. “What do you mean about what? Brooke, we haven’t spoken a word to each other in four days. I was trying to give you time to cool down. And now you’re running—sorry, leaving.”
I ignored that last part and threw one of my bathing suits down on the bed. “If I remember correctly, Dom, you didn’t have much to say to me when we last talked.”
“There’s absolutely nothing going on between me and Talia.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course. Sure, I trust you.”
“What the—why are you acting like this?” He tried to touch my arm, but I shrugged him off.
“Don’t.” I moved to the other side of the bed so there was some space between us. Dominic’s presence was big and imposing, so it didn’t work, but it gave me a clearer head when his scent wasn’t filling my senses and making me insane. “I saw you kissing her.”
“Brooke—”
“No. I don’t want to hear your excuses or explanations. You should’ve said something the second you found me on the deck.” I rubbed a hand over my face. “We need to stop kidding ourselves. I’m sick of getting hurt and I can’t do it anymore, Dom. I told you that before, and you wore down my defenses. This time I mean it. We’re done. I can’t be your friend and feel the way I do about you. I’m leaving.”
“She kissed me.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. “Does it really matter? There’s always going to be something that gets between us, Dom. Our timing isn’t right and we can’t force it.”
When I opened my eyes, he looked like he wanted to kiss me. Maybe shake some sense into me? God, this hurt. There came a time when self-preservation had to kick in and after three failed attempts at making something work, we were doomed. It was better just to cut off the dead limb.
“What do you mean you’re leaving?”
“I’m going home to North Carolina for the rest of the summer.”
He ran a hand down his face. “Because of me?”
I looked away. “Not just because of you.”
“Did you ever think this might actually work? What if I proved to you—”
“Aren’t you sick of the what-if’s? Everything has changed.”
He glared at me. “What I’m sick of is you running every time things get difficult. This is what you do every damned time, Brooke. You’re scared. I get that. Austin called me a coward, but seriously, you’re the one who can’t face things head-on. This thing between us could be amazing if you ever quit making excuses and just let it happen.”
“I can’t believe—”
“What? That I’m calling you out on your shit? That I’m sick of letting you get under my skin? Bye, Brooke, enjoy North Carolina.”
He slammed the door behind him, and I sank down onto the bed. I’d actually upset Dominic enough that he cussed. Twice. My hands shook as I tried to finish stuffing the remaining clothes into my suitcase. Leaving held more appeal that ever, and I couldn’t wait to escape everyone.
Caroline and her new boyfriend.
Quinn and her judgy eyes.
Riley and my asshole brother.
And most of all, Dominic Torres.
Chapter Twenty
Dominic
“How did you fuck this up? We had it all set up for you!” Quinn yelled. “Seriously, Dom, what did you do to screw this up? Brooke wanted you. She was ready to jump all in and now she’s gone. Josh isn’t even sure she’ll come back from North Carolina.”
I sank down onto the couch. This was all a really fucking bad dream. Brooke couldn’t stay halfway across the country to avoid seeing me.
“Talia kissed me, and Brooke saw it. I ended it immediately, but Brooke didn’t see that part, or she didn’t care.” I ran a hand down my face. My life was a fucking shit show right now. “How did this get so fucking difficult, Quinn?”
She handed me the bottle of tequila. “I don’t know, honey.”
I was sick to my stomach at the thought of never seeing Brooke again. I was pissed and miserable, and fuck if I wasn’t broken.
“She’s running again.”
“Yep,” Quinn said as she took the bottle back from me. “But there’s nothing we can do until she decides she’s ready to come back. That girl is really fucking stubborn.”
I grabbed the bottle and took a long swig. “I don’t know that I want to do anything. This seems to be a pattern in our relationship right now, and I don’t think I can be the one to constantly fix it.”
She looked at me incredulously, so I continued.
“I’m mad. I told her how I felt and I put myself out there over and over again for her, but it wasn’t enough. She wouldn’t listen to me at all. It’s like she wants me to hurt her, and if she expects it, it won’t be as bad. I can’t keep doing this over and over, Quinn.”
Josh opened up the door from dropping her off at the airport. She’d argued with him that she could take an Uber, but he wouldn’t let her.
“She’s gone.”
I stared at the textured glass of the bottle, unwilling to say a goddamned word. Brooke had made her choice; everyone else just had to live with it.
“I tried, Dom.”
“Just drop it, Josh. I’m through trying.”
He came in and sat down next to me and Quinn on the couch. “I don’t get you. You two have been fighting for months now, but when you’re this close, you give up?”
He was pissed, but so was I.
“Here’s the problem with that. I’m no closer to being with your sister than I was last March. We fight, but we never quite make up. Our timing isn’t right, and honestly, I don’t think it will ever be. At least not until Brooke gets whatever bullshit she has going on in her head, about not letting me in, out of it.”
I stood up, taking the bottle of tequila with me. They watched me walk out the back door and onto the deck, but neither of them tried to stop me. I was glad because I didn’t want to talk about relationships or feelings anymore. And I sure as hell didn’t want to think about it. Thinking would only lead to bad decisions. By the time the bottle of tequila was gone, I didn’t feel much of anything except for the rage burning just beneath the surface.
The sound of the waves and the effects of the alcohol must have lulled me to sleep because the next thing I felt was my head pounding like someone was jackhammering behind my eyes. I groaned, trying to figure out what the god-awful noise was that woke me up. My phone was singing the idiotic song my little brother put on as his ringtone the last time we hung out. As much as I wanted to throw the phone into the ocean, I resisted.
“What?” I grunted into the phone as I answered.
“Nice greeting, asshole.”
“I’m hungover as fuck and not really in the mood to deal with your ass. What do you want, Matthew?”
“What day are you guys getting
back to Austin? I want to move my shit in as soon as possible. Mom is driving me nuts.”
Matt and I had always been close growing up, but I really hoped we were able to pull this off. I never should’ve let my mom talk me into letting Matt move in with me when she found out Drew was moving out.
“We’ll be back in a few days—Sunday by the latest. We drove in, so it’ll depend on how fast we get packed and out of here.” I cracked open an eye and immediately regretted the decision. “What’s Mom doing now?”
He sighed. “Same shit she did to you. You can expect some calls, questioning if you’re actually going to take care of her baby boy.”
“She should realize by now if I haven’t killed you yet, I don’t plan on it.”
“I told her that. She didn’t appreciate it as much as I do.”
I grunted out a laugh. “I’ll call you when I have a better idea of when we’ll get back. It’s only an hour drive for you to get into the city, so it shouldn’t matter when we get closer. Tell her that her baby will get there before dark, and she doesn’t need to worry.”
“Fuck off.”
I ran a hand down my face. “Oh, you’re going to be a bundle of fun to live with.”
He snorted. “I’m sure you’ll be just as awesome.”
“Drew’s never complained.”
I could see him shaking his head now.
“I’m sure that’s because he just stared at your ass all the time while you worked out in the living room.”
I grinned. “Nope, I’m not his type.”
Matt laughed, and I could hear a car door slamming in the background. “As stimulating as this conversation was, I’m at work now. I’ll see you in a few days, Dom.”
“Later, little bro.”
I slumped back in the chair, exhaustion hitting me quickly. Apparently having a conversation with Matt was too draining on my sensitive sensibilities. The offending bottle of tequila was lying on the ground next to me, and I wanted to chuck it out into the ocean too, so I didn’t do something stupid like start drinking again. The sliding glass door opened behind me, and Drew stepped out onto the deck in only his boxers, holding two cups of coffee.
“If that’s for me, you might get your wish, and I’ll finally kiss you.”
He chuckled and looked me up and down in an assessing way. “You aren’t my type.”
“Funny, but I just told Matthew that.”
The scent of the coffee hit me, and I wanted to make grabby hands like a toddler at the cup. Drew smirked before handing me one. He sat down on the second lounger and leaned back, careful not to spill any of the liquid lava on himself.
“Did you really sleep out here last night?”
I glared down at the almost empty bottle next to me. “I don’t think there was much of a choice.”
“Are you ready to talk, or are you still being a stubborn asshole?”
“Stubborn asshole,” I answered as I took my first sip of coffee. Holy hell, that’s good. “I would sell my soul for a donut right now.”
“Fresh out,” he said dryly. “Also, don’t let your momma hear you talking like that, or she’ll skin you alive.”
I grinned. He wasn’t wrong. Sofia Torres was a tough woman and a staunch catholic. Any jokes about my condemned soul wouldn’t be appreciated.
Drew gave me a pointed look. “Eventually you’re going to have to talk about this, Dom.”
I took another sip. “That time isn’t now, though. We’ve got one more full day on this gorgeous beach. Are we really going to waste it talking about my issues? Or can we go out and enjoy the sun and the surf?”
“You win—for now—but you know—”
I watched the changing tide, unwilling to think about what kind of metaphor it was to my own fucked up life. “I will when I’m ready.”
***
The drive back to Austin wasn’t as exciting as the drive into Padre. We were all exhausted and cranky about leaving. It didn’t matter that we still had a month and a half of summer left. None of us wanted to go back to our everyday lives. I would be joining the construction crew at the company my uncle owned. Josh and Jared were going to take an interim class, and Drew was going home to start looking for jobs. The girls weren’t real forthcoming about their plans for the rest of the summer, so I assumed that meant they’d be spending a lot of time at the pool.
My anger hadn’t subsided since my argument with Brooke and I needed more time to prepare myself before seeing her again. It pissed me off that she’d run, and I tried to keep myself from thinking about it so I didn’t lose my mind. Luckily, my uncle kept me busy. He allowed me to work long hours and throw myself into helping him design the houses he was building. Matt started working there too, and eventually we fell into a routine that worked for us.
To my surprise, Matt wasn’t all that bad of a roommate. He cleaned up after himself and he wasn’t going wild with the freedom like most freshmen did. But most freshmen also didn’t work their ass off to get the scholarships he did either.
Each week passed by faster than the last, and before I knew it, school was starting in a week. Josh still hadn’t mentioned Brooke coming back and I didn’t ask. Just the thought of seeing her around campus made my stomach tumble. My anger had turned into self-loathing. We’d both made mistakes, but at the same time, I didn’t know if we could fix the cracks between us. It terrified me that our entire relationship was a landmine of issues that would detonate one after the other if we weren’t careful. Not only that, but two months was the longest I’d ever gone without talking to her.
Brooke was my best friend. And I was feeling lost without seeing her each day.
Each night, I found myself holding on to my phone, my finger poised above her name as I lay in bed. It was only my stubbornness that kept me from pressing send on the call. Or maybe it was the fear she wouldn’t answer.
Whatever it was, instead of calling, I counted down the days until I could talk to her in person, praying she was actually coming back this semester.
Chapter Twenty-One
Brooke
It killed me not to call every day. I’d resorted to hiding my phone, locking it away so I wouldn’t give in just so I could hear the sound of his voice. I was still pissed, but I missed him. The more I thought about it, I realized I wasn’t as right as I thought I was. Talia could’ve been the one to kiss him, but I didn’t stick around long enough to listen to his explanation. And of course now, two months had passed so I’d look like a fool if I called to ask. Dom was really good at holding a grudge when he felt wronged, so he’d probably blame me for the whole argument.
Honestly, I didn’t blame him.
My feelings for Dom terrified me. Opening up and allowing him to see me as more than just a friend made my stomach tie up in knots. But losing him made me physically ill.
At least today I had the distraction of seeing Hannah. She and Chance were coming up to spent the weekend with her parents before school started, and I was excited to spend some time with her before I left for Austin. When the car pulled into my parents’ driveway, I squealed and ran out to tackle hug her. Poor Chance got the same treatment too.
Her arm wrapped around mine tightly as we walked back to the front porch. We both had huge smiles and couldn’t stop talking a mile a minute. Chance chuckled, trailing behind us slowly. It didn’t take long for us to get settled in and the heavy hitting questions started. Hannah had been the only one I felt comfortable with talking about the Dom situation. All my other friends from Austin knew us both, so they couldn’t be impartial. I loved Brooke, Quinn, and Riley, but they weren’t great at not taking sides or subtly suggesting that Dom wasn’t doing well and maybe I should call.
It was exhausting.
“You leave tomorrow to go back?” Hannah asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
I smiled weakly. “Wednesday, so two days. Then I’ll have a few days to get settled in before classes start.”
“Are you ready?”
“Yes and n
o. I’m anxious to get back into a routine, but I’m not ready to see a certain someone.”
She patted my leg softly. “It’s all going to work out the way it’s supposed to, Brooke.”
Her gaze moved to Chance, and they shared a smile. They’d gone through their own rough patch and he was no stranger to running away himself. His reasons were a lot better than mine, though.
“I hope you’re right. I’m afraid I’m going to tuck tail and run the first time I see him.”
She studied me for a second and cocked her head to the side. “You’re stronger than you think, Brooke. I’ve never known you be scared of a boy or a relationship before. Is that because this is the real thing?”
Why was Hannah so freaking astute?
She knew how to read me like a book, and I hated it.
I studied the edge of the trees lining the side of our property. “Maybe.”
Her lips pursed and she gave me a pointed look. “There’s no maybe about it. You’re head over heels in love with him, aren’t you?”
I wanted to deny it, wave it away like it never happened, but God help me, I was in love with Dominic Torres. And I didn’t know what to do about it.
***
I looped my arm through his, leading him to the sidewalk. Whether he wanted to or not, we were spending the afternoon together. I didn’t want to be alone, and Dom was going to keep me company.
“Brooke, are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been out of it lately.”
I was quiet while I considered how to answer his question. Was I okay? No. God no, but I didn’t want him to know just how messed up I was over this Austin thing. Why did it bug me so much that he’d started dating yet another dumb bimbo with huge boobs, no brains?
I sighed. “I’m…okay. Not great, but I’ll figure it out.” The set of his jaw told me he didn’t like that answer, but I didn’t have anything else for him. Emotionally, I was drained. “Just…thank you. Thanks for walking with me. I’m not ready to go back to the apartment yet.”
Leaves were starting to turn, and soon they’d be falling, signaling the beginning of fall. I loved everything about fall—football, pumpkins, Thanksgiving. Everything seemed better in the crisp autumn air.
Keeping Dominic (The Golden Boy Series Book 1) Page 15