by Smith, Megan
I looked over my shoulder. “Yeah, well you deserve it. Why didn’t you come out here earlier?”
He started grinding his hips into my ass. “That’s why.”
Thank God I was already flushed from dancing, because if not, it would be downright embarrassed. I looked to the side and saw that Hailey was dancing with Zeke. He was whispering something in her ear, and she threw her head back laughing.
“This is dangerous, you know.” Hunter said just loudly enough for me to hear.
I froze for a second, and then spun around so I was facing him. I was waiting for him to pull away, but he put one arm around my waist, put his knee between my legs and he started to move to the beat again.
We danced like this for what seemed like forever. I was so lost in him that nothing else mattered to me. I forgot all about my problems with Dominic. I forgot about Hunter caring what my brothers thought. This right here was what I wanted more than anything; I just wished he was mine forever.
Hunter moved the hand that was on my hip to my lower back, and then ever so slowly, started to move it down to my ass. I moved closer to him, if that was even possible, and buried my face in his neck. As I placed a kiss on Hunter’s neck, I heard him suck in a breath. I pulled my face back and looked at him, but he was not looking at me. He was looking past me. I turned my head to see what he was looking at, and that was when I saw Dominic glaring at me.
“Shit!” I said as I let go of Hunter, and spun around to face Dominic.
Dominic walked over to me and grabbed my arm tightly. I knew I would have a bruise by morning. “Ow! Dominic, you’re hurting me. Let go.” I tried to yank my arm free.
“What the fuck do you call that, MacKenzie?” He seethed through his teeth while still glaring at Hunter.
“We were just dancing. Relax and let go of my damn arm.” I said, trying to pry his fingers off me.
“Let her go, Dom.” Hunter demanded.
“You said you needed a break. I give you your space, and this is what you fucking do?”
“I wasn’t doing anything.” I said.
“Bullshit. We’re leaving.” Dominic stated, and reached for my hand.
“I’m not leaving with you like this. Calm the hell down. You have no right to be pissed off. I found fucking panties in your room. You didn’t find boxers in mine.” I yelled back at him.
He didn’t respond. He just pulled me towards the front door. I looked back at Hunter who was following me, and shook my head no. I didn’t want them to fight, and I knew that was where this was leading. When we made it outside and around the corner into an alleyway, Dominic pushed me up against the wall hard and crushed his lips to mine.
He groaned as he tried to deepen the kiss, and once his tongue swept into my mouth, I knew he had been drinking. I could taste the alcohol in his mouth. He fisted his left hand in my hair while his right hand reached down to the hem of my skirt. I squeezed my legs closed and pushed back on his chest, trying to get him to stop. Finally breaking the kiss, I yelled, “Damn it, Dominic, what the fuck?”
Dominic dropped the hand that was on my upper thigh, and took a few calming breaths before he spoke. “You have no idea what you do to me. We need to get the fuck out of here.”
“Hailey is in there. I’m not leaving without telling her first.” Did he really think I was just going to leave with him?
“Fine, we’ll go in and tell her we are leaving. And you’re going to tell that prick to stay the hell away from you.”
“I’m not telling him to stay away from me. He didn’t do anything wrong. We were just dancing.” I said following behind him back into the bar.
He stopped right before he got to the door. “He wasn’t doing anything? You’re kidding, right? He had his hands all over you, Kenzie.” He ran his hands through his hair and pulled on it. “I know he has feelings for you. I’ve known for a long time. He will never pick you over your brothers. He’s just using you.”
I didn’t respond to him. I walked past him and opened the door to go tell Hailey I was leaving. I knew Dominic was right. Hunter would never be disloyal to my brothers. I was pissed at Dominic for bringing that up; I was pissed at myself for even thinking that tonight would mean anything to Hunter. I was only asking for more heartache.
Finally making it to Hailey, I told her I was leaving and asked if she could grab my things from Hunter’s and bring them back with her. She told me she would, and that she would see me in the morning. As I was heading back to Dominic, Hunter stepped in my way.
“Where are you going?” He asked with a slight panicked look on his face.
“I’m leaving with Dominic. Tonight shouldn’t have happened. You know that, Hunter.” I tried to step around him, but he stopped me.
He just stared at me as if he wanted to argue with me, but he didn’t say anything. That just pissed me off even more. I wanted him to tell me I was wrong, but he didn’t, he never would.
“You need to stay the hell away from me, Hunter. You can’t keep playing these head games with me. One minute, you are flirting and acting like you want me, then the next you are pushing me away. I’m tired of the back and forth.” This time when I moved around him, he let me.
As Dominic and I made our way back to campus, neither one of us said anything to each other. I was pissed at myself for letting Hunter get to me. I was pissed off at Dominic for not being the boyfriend he used to be. When we pulled up to the dorms, I got out of Dominic’s car, slammed the door shut and ran right to my room, locking the door behind me. Dominic tried knocking, but I didn’t answer and eventually, he left.
CHAPTER TEN
The next morning when Hailey came home, she was pretty quiet; I didn’t have much to say either. What would I have said? I freaked out because I was losing Dominic, and he pointed out the fact that Hunter would never want me. I wanted to know what happened after I left, but what would it have changed? Nothing. I just needed to get over Hunter, concentrate on Dominic and hope things would work out.
Hailey had made plans to meet up with Zeke from the bar last night, and she asked if I wanted to go along. I told her I was not in the mood to go out, and that I was going to spend a quiet night in bed reading. She warned I had until Monday to sulk, and that would be it. If I was not over my shit by then, she was calling my brothers. I promised her things would be ok. I just needed a little time by myself.
On Monday afternoon, I received a phone call from the library offering me a job. The only downfall was that it was from 6 p.m. until midnight, Monday through Thursday. I accepted the job because I needed time to myself and the distraction would be good for me. I’d start next Monday.
When Hailey came back after her last class, I told her about the library job, and that Logan would be the person training me. She smirked and told me to watch my back. She had not talked to him since that day in the library and I was surprised. She kept going on about him since that first time they met.
The rest of the week passed uneventfully—classes, homework, and only a few minutes with Hailey as she spent most of her time at Hunter’s.
Saturday night, I got my first text from Dominic. I guess our taking a break was not bothering him as much as it was me. I finally caved, and responded to his text that we needed to talk. I didn’t trust him one hundred percent but I still missed him. I missed him holding me. I missed him being sweet and caring. I even missed all the football talk. I finally gave up on him texting me back, so I plugged my phone into the charger and fell asleep.
The new text message alert on my phone woke me from a deep sleep. Sitting up, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes only to see that I actually had two new messages. The first was from Mason, letting me know that he would be staying at Hunter’s in two weeks. The second one was from Dominic. It came in around four this morning, and made no sense whatsoever.
I quickly sent Mason a text back letting him know that I had a new job, and that I would have to let him know what my schedule was like. I also let him know that I would make ti
me to have dinner with him, Cooper, and Jackson when they came. I didn’t want to tell him I wasn’t speaking to Hunter. I then sent a text to Dominic to come over whenever he woke up.
I was drying my hair when I heard someone knocking; I turned the dryer off and went to see who was at the door.
“Hey, I didn’t think I would see you till later.” I said to Dominic, opening the door wider so he could walk in.
“I’m actually surprised I’m up this early too. So, you wanted to talk?” He walked over to my bed and sat down.
“Yeah, I think it’s about time. What do you think?” I said, taking a seat next to him.
“I don’t really want to talk right now.” He looked up at me with regret in his eyes. “Can I just hold you for a little while?”
I moved to lean against my headboard, and he did the same. He pulled me so I was cuddled into him, with my head resting on his chest.
“I miss this, Kenzie. I miss you. Being here at school is so different from being at home,” he said, as he kissed the top of my head.
I nodded my agreement, and he continued, “What you found in my room was Brittany’s. I told my roommate he needed to keep his shit on his side of the room. I explained to him what you found, and he asked me to apologize to you.” He grabbed my chin, and made me look up at him. “I can’t lose you, Kenzie.”
“I miss us too; we worked when we were at home. Things are so different here, and I’m trying to trust you, but it’s hard. When I walked in, and saw those panties sitting on your side of the room, I didn’t know what to think. I knew you couldn’t be that stupid to leave them there in plain sight.”
“I know that I wouldn’t have known how to react if I found some guy’s boxers in here either. Can we just put it behind us and move on?” He whispered the last part to me.
I watched, as his eyes grew heavy. “I’m trying, Dominic, but you can’t keep screwing up all the time. I’ve cut Hunter out, so you don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“I love you, baby.” He blinked once, twice and then he was asleep. I put my head back down on his chest, and listened to his breathing. I laid there, thinking for a long time, before I finally fell asleep.
When I woke up, I lifted my head and looked at Dominic. He was still sound asleep. I must have slept for a few hours because now it was dark outside. I tried to get up without waking Dominic, but when I sat up, he grabbed my arm.
I turned to look at him and he smiled at me. “You’re so beautiful.”
Blushing, I shook my head, and turned away from him. “I’m not.”
“You have no idea the feelings I get when I look into your pretty blue eyes.”
This is the Dominic that I loved, the one who knew what to say to make me feel beautiful. This is the relationship with him that I wanted, not the one we seemed to be having lately.
“I love you. I’m sorry things have been so messed up for us lately.”
I smiled at him and said, “Me too.”
“I’m starving. You want to head out to grab something to eat?”
We drove down to The Raven. This was becoming a favorite place of mine. The burgers there were to die for.
I was surprised to see Hunter, Hailey and Zeke sitting at one of the booths.
Dominic stopped when he noticed them. He turned his head to look at me. “You want to go somewhere else?”
“No, we’re already here. I’m starving and I can’t avoid him forever. He’s practically family.” I knew that with my brothers coming into town, I would not be able to avoid him while they were here.
“Alright, I guess you’re right, I still don’t like it though.”
I leaned in, placed a kiss on his lips and said, “You don’t have anything to worry about, I promise.”
“I know. That still doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
Dominic kept walking but I stopped to say hi.
“Hey, sweetie.” Zeke said.
“What’s going on?”
Hailey looked at me, trying to gauge my mood. “I’m fine,” I said.
“Well, since you’re here, and Zeke has to get back to work, let’s go get our nose pierced.” Hailey said practically bouncing out of her seat.
I looked over her head to Dominic. He shrugged. I guess that was my answer.
“Alright, but we have to eat first. We’re starving.”
“Of course, we were just heading out. Zeke has to get back to work so Hunter and I will go take a walk. Text me when you’re done.” She stood up from the booth, gave me a hug and whispered in my ear. “He’s a mess.”
I nodded, and looked over at Hunter, sitting at the table with his head down. I think this was the longest we had ever gone without talking.
I took a few steps towards him and placed my hand on his shoulder, “Hey.”
He looked up at me and my heart broke. He looked like shit and I couldn’t fix it. We both knew nothing would ever come of our relationship, which is why I needed to stay with Dominic.
I started to move my hand from his shoulder, but he reached up to grab it.
“I’m sorry.” He said it just loud enough for me hear him.
“I know. Everything will be fine. We just need time.”
Hailey, Zeke and Hunter left as I sat down to eat with Dominic. I ordered my favorite burger while he ordered wings.
“So, you’re going to get your nose pierced?” He asked while taking a drink of his soda.
“Yeah, Zeke is a friend of Hunter’s. He’s the same guy who has done all of Hunter’s tattoos.”
He stared at me, but picked up another wing. We really didn’t talk much after that. He paid the bill, and I sent a text to Hailey letting her know that we were ready.
We met Hailey and Hunter outside and walked the few blocks down to Ocean Mystique where Zeke worked.
Hailey and I went to the back of the shop were Zeke set everything up for us. Since the room was small, Hunter and Dominic waited out front. Hailey was very nervous after she saw all the stuff lying on the tray and made me go first.
I hopped up on the table. Zeke walked over to me and asked which side. I pointed to my right. He took his marker, and made a dot where the stud would go. He handed me the mirror. I smiled and said, “Perfect.”
He went back over to his tray, grabbed the needle and the clamp, and then turned around back to me.
“Now the only thing that is going to happen is your eyes will water, and you will feel some pressure.”
I nodded, understanding what he was telling me. He placed the clamp on my nose, and then said, “Now take a deep breath in.” I did, and I felt the pressure of the needle going through my nose. “Now let it out.”
He turned back around to his tray and fit the stud through the piercing.
“You’re done, quick and painless.” He handed me the mirror so I could check it out. I loved it.
“I want my tongue done, too.”
His eyes shot up to mine as if I said something crazy.
“What?” I asked, shrugging my shoulder
“You sure? That one will hurt, and your tongue will be swollen for a few days.”
“I’m sure.”
Zeke walked out of the room to grab the bar bell, and when he came back, we did the same basic procedure all over again. When I was all done, I hopped off the table.
“Your turn.” I said, smirking at Hailey.
When he finished, we walked out to the front of the store so we could pay and get the aftercare instructions.
I grabbed my wallet from my purse, but Zeke shook his head. He nodded over my shoulder. Hunter winked at me. Great. That’d piss Dominic right off. I turned back and handed Zeke some cash as a tip so it’d look like I paid.
I put my arms around Dominic and asked him what he thought.
“Looks cute. I like it.” Then he leaned in to kiss me.
I pulled back a second later and said, “No getting carried away.” I stuck my tongue out at him and took off running and laughing out of the store.<
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I heard Dominic groaning as he came up behind me. He put his hands on my hips, “Baby, that is fucking sexy.”
We said our goodbyes to Hunter and Hailey as they took off on Hunter’s street bike. How the hell did he get that down here? I got a little jealous of the fact that he was riding with her; he never let anyone ride with him but me.
On the way home with Dominic, I decided to tell him about my brothers’ visit. Because everything seemed to be going better for us again, I didn’t want to start of hiding stuff from him.
“Babe, you know that I don’t care about you hanging out with your brothers, but I have a problem with you being with Hunter.”
“And I have told you a hundred times, you have nothing to worry about.” I said, squeezing his hand as we were walking back to his car.
“It’s not you, it’s him. Just don’t go anywhere alone with him, alright?” He said, squeezing my hand back.
“Promise.” I was making a lot of promises lately. I prayed that I could keep them all.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Everything was finally feeling back to normal with Dominic and me. We were spending a lot of time with each other. Cooper and Mason kept postponing their trip because of Jackson. Chloe was having some blood pressure issues with her pregnancy, and he didn’t want to leave her until he knew she was ok. Finally, after the third time rescheduling, Jackson just told Cooper and Mason to go without him.
We had a whole weekend of shit to do while they were here. They were going to call me when they finally made it to Hunter’s, and then we were all going to meet at Raven’s to get something to eat.
I needed to do some studying since I wouldn’t have time this weekend. Hailey was spending more and more time with Hunter and Zeke lately, but she was here today. I guess she was excited to see Mason, even though she wouldn’t admit it. She jumped in the shower since we still had a little while before we would meet up with everyone.
When she walked out of the bathroom, I heard her sniffle. I looked up and her eyes were all red and swollen.
“Hails, what’s going on? Why are you crying?”