by Bryce Oakley
Domino nodded, staring off into space.
The air was heavy with tension between them, but not the good or fun kind. Domino was upset, and she was the type of person who lightened or darkened a room depending on their mood. "Why don't you go surfing and clear your head?" She suggested, trying not to sound like a know-it-all.
Domino's eyes refocused, as if she had come back to earth. "Wanna come?"
"I don't... that's not... I'm not like, a beach person," Sabrina admitted.
"Oh come on, I went to The Organizer Store with you. Indulge me," Domino said with a grin. "Besides, you'll get to meet Meg." She checked her watch and her eyes widened.
Sabrina looked around at her mess. "I've got a lot of work to do," she said.
"The pasta sauce isn't going anywhere," Domino said, stepping up to her and holding out a hand. "You don't have to surf or anything, but the fresh air will do you some good, I think."
Sabrina stared at Domino's hand. "So, just sitting on the beach, then?" It felt irresponsible to leave her work, but technically, she’d just be getting to know the client a bit better.
Domino's smile turned mischievous. "Sure, if that's what you think will be fun."
“I’ll go on one condition,” Sabrina said. “Can I put the pictures on Instagram?”
Domino laughed. “Sure, why not? I can even take a few of you surfing.”
“Deal,” Sabrina said, envisioning the blog post now. She paused, Domino’s words sinking in. “Wait, surfing?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Domino
"Okay, now we're going to do it just like how we practiced. You're going to paddle as hard as you can," Domino said, watching Sabrina's wide-eyed expression.
Sabrina sat on a board between Domino and Meg, staring down at the water. She occasionally tried to pull her legs out of the water, tipping from side to side on her board. "And you're positive we're not about to be eaten by sharks?" She asked, her back stiff and straight. "I heard they think surfers look like seals."
Meg laughed. "No, we're not going to be eaten by sharks," she said good-naturedly. "Don't you ever watch Shark Week? Sharks are super nice. They only kill people on accident."
Sabrina audibly gulped. "Like when they think we're seals?"
Domino tried to smile good-naturedly. "I won't let a shark attack you," she said with a hand over her heart.
She watched Sabrina with curiosity, how her long dark hair curled as it dried from the paddle out. Dom had requested a spare wetsuit and bikini from Meg, since she and Sabrina were similar in size, and had let Sabrina borrow one of her longboards.
It had taken ages to convince Sabrina to even get on the board on the sand, practicing how to move her arms in a paddle, then popping up.
Yet Domino had felt the most carefree she had in awhile.
Meg had given her a few curious and knowing looks, of course, but Meg was much more subtle than Zoey, who would have loudly asked if Domino had boned Sabrina yet. Full of class, that Zoey McCarren.
A wave rocked Sabrina's board, and Domino could see that she was gripping it with white knuckles.
The three o'clock sun was lower in the sky, creating long shadows over the water of the surfers around them. They were lucky that the water on the north side of the pier wasn't as crowded. The south side had much better waves, but to get Sabrina started, she had taken the calmer, quieter side.
The water was cool, even through Domino's wetsuit, and the noise of the people on the beach and pier was minimal. It had been a foggy morning on the water, but now the sun shone, breaking apart across the ripples in the water.
The sound of the crashing waves was her favorite. The gentle roar, the build and fall, the lap on the shore. It made her feel at peace with the world. Nothing could go wrong when that was the soundtrack.
Domino watched Sabrina watch the water, trying not to stare at how the wetsuit curved over her breasts or hugged her hips. She was definitely not staring at how round her ass looked on the board in front of her.
She had the strange realization that she felt the same peace around Sabrina. Sabrina had made her life so hectic –– she had never saved anyone from a bar before, much less taken a girl home that wasn't trying to sleep with her...
Sabrina always caught her off-guard, but she liked it. She liked that constant surprise.
"I'll take this one," Meg said, glancing behind her at the swell and rise of a wave forming behind them.
Though Domino and Meg weren't ones to "claim" waves when it was just the two of them –– surfer bro culture had made them inherently aware of the things they disliked assholes doing around them –– she had the thought that Meg was letting Sabrina know to watch her.
Domino hooked a foot around Sabrina's leg, keeping the pair of them together as their boards drifted in the water. Sabrina jumped at the touch, but then laughed once she realized it was Domino's foot and not a shark.
Domino had seen a few sharks while she was surfing, but none of them had ever bothered her. In fact, she considered it an honor that they'd even come close to her, given how awful humans were to sea creatures in general.
"Okay, now watch how Meg paddles, gets just over the crest of the wave, and then pushes up using her arms, sliding her legs under her, anchoring her weight onto her feet as she drops in. It's just one smooth motion. She lets the wave guide her movements," Domino explained, watching Meg flawlessly drop into a wave and ride it toward the shore.
"Oh, yeah, how hard can that be?" Sabrina asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She shivered, watching Meg fall off her board.
Meg surfaced a moment later.
"Are you warm enough?" Domino asked.
Sabrina laughed, shaking her head. "Not one bit."
"You know what might really warm you up?" Domino asked, her voice dropped lower as her eyes flicked to Sabrina's lips, watching the woman lick them. Domino imagined they tasted salty and warm. Her stomach clenched with the idea.
Sabrina arched an eyebrow. "And what might that be?"
"Trying to catch this next wave," Domino said with a smirk. She leaned forward. "Come on, I'll paddle with you, and then you can catch it."
Sabrina looked as though she might burst into tears for a moment before her expression hardened with determination. She nodded. "I'll... try it."
"Atta girl. Come on, paddle paddle," Domino commanded.
Sabrina paddled frantically, and Domino held back from cracking up as she watched Sabrina flail around. She was making progress, though, and that's what mattered.
"Okay, almost there, wait for it," Domino called to her, glancing over her shoulder. She felt the wave begin to swell under her. "Now, push up."
Sabrina did as Domino said, using her arms to push herself up while sliding to her knees, then balancing her weight into her hips as she moved her legs under her.
For one glorious moment, Sabrina was standing, her arms outstretched. The sun illuminated her, silhouetting her with a brilliant light glowing behind her. She looked like an angel, mythical and fantastic.
Domino whooped, throwing up her hands in celebration.
Sabrina toppled almost immediately, falling in a way that made a terrible smacking noise on her board. Though she wasn't that close to her, Domino heard Sabrina gasp loudly, then slip under the water.
Meg appeared, looking concerned. "Ouch, that sounded terrible," she said, and they both stared at the water, waiting for Sabrina to surface.
Domino saw the leash that tied Sabrina to her board float to the surface. Her instincts kicked in immediately. She untied her own leash, tossing it in Meg's direction. Then, she dove underwater.
The saltwater burned her eyes as she looked around for Sabrina. The light illuminated the wave above them, jockeying her around as she twisted and turned, unable to spot her.
Panic coursed through her veins, and then a hand circled her arm. She twisted in the water, seeing Sabrina giving her a strange look. Domino reached for her, wrapping an arm around her, and then th
ey both kicked the last few feet back up to the surface.
Domino gasped for breath once she broke the surface, still holding on tightly to Sabrina.
"Are you okay?" She said immediately, pushing Sabrina's wet hair back from her face.
"Yeah, are you?" Sabrina asked, her eyes wide with worry.
"I thought you weren't coming back up," Domino said quickly, still holding Sabrina tightly to her. She couldn't bear the thought of letting her go after the panic that had struck her so immediately.
"I think I came up as soon as you went in. I was right behind you," Sabrina explained, wrapping an arm around Domino's neck as they tread water.
A wave crashed over them and they ducked beneath it, holding onto one another as the wave swirled their bodies around, pushing and pulling them as they tried to surface again.
"I was so worried," Domino confessed as they broke the surface again, staring into Sabrina's eyes. She was so close that Domino could feel the warmth of her body through her wetsuit. Domino put a hand to her cheek. "You're sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine," Sabrina said in a near-whisper. Her eyes flicked down to Domino's mouth.
The world seemed to slow for a moment as Domino warred with herself about leaning in to kiss Sabrina. She wanted to –– she felt as though she had never wanted to kiss anyone more than in that moment, but also, if she started kissing Sabrina, it would be impossible to stop. Would her lips taste salty or sweet?
They were treading in open water, literally, and Domino worried about the implications of kissing someone she worked closely with. It was the same reason she had never tried anything with Zoey or Meg, despite them being attractive, funny women that she cared about deeply.
"Uh, guys, a little help," Meg called, and Domino glanced over to see Meg holding both of their boards by the leashes, the boards smacking her in the legs and the water jostled her around.
Domino cleared her throat and begrudgingly let go of Sabrina, swimming over to Meg. She grabbed ahold of the side of her board and climbed on.
"Are you both okay?" Meg asked, looking between the two of them.
Domino nodded and watched as Sabrina nodded, then began laughing.
"That was so fun," Sabrina said, climbing onto her board. "Apart from the moment I got the wind knocked out of me. Did you guys see me? I stood up!"
Domino couldn't help but grin at Sabrina's enthusiasm.
Meg snorted in laughter. "One second of standing and she's hooked," she said, turning to Domino with a smile.
"You gonna come surfing with us every morning? We get here right before the sunrise," Domino said.
"Yeah, you should come," Meg said with a warm smile.
Domino grinned at Meg. Out of everyone she knew, Meg was the kindest. She was glad that Sabrina was meeting Meg before Billie.
Whoa, that was a weird thought. Meeting Billie? Where had that plan come from?
"Absolutely not," Sabrina said with a grin, climbing back onto her surfboard. "That seems like prime shark bait time."
Domino climbed back onto her own board. "You are more likely to be killed by a vending machine than a shark," she said, shaking out her hair.
"I appreciate your false equivalence argument, but I'm not convinced," Sabrina said, her spine straightening. She rung out her hair, pushing it back over her shoulders.
"A few more and then we'll head in?" Domino suggested.
Sabrina nodded.
"Your turn, Domino. Show this brave lady how it's done," Meg encouraged her with a laugh.
Domino grinned, watching over her shoulder for the next wave. When the time came and the swell looked right, she paddled as hard as she could, getting into place.
She glanced back one more time to make sure her timing was right with the cresting of the wave, but she couldn't help sneaking a look at Sabrina. Sabrina's dark eyes were wide in wonder and amusement, her mouth open in an almost-laugh.
Domino almost missed the wave, but at the last moment, she looked away from Sabrina, and focused.
* * *
She sat with Sabrina and Meg on the patio, beers in hand.
"I really thought you had knocked yourself out," Domino said.
"I was really worried," Meg admitted. "I was honestly shocked that you just popped out of that water."
"I was on the diving team in high school. It'll take more than one little fall to drown me, I'd hope," Sabrina said, sipping at her beer.
"You were on the diving team?" Domino asked, surprised.
"Yep," Sabrina said with a shrug.
"But you don't like water," Domino said, wrinkling her brow. "It was like pulling teeth to get you in there today."
"Correction: I like water, but I do not appreciate open water," Sabrina said with a shudder.
"I hear you. Have you ever seen a picture of a Giant Squid?" Meg said, her eyebrows raised.
"Seriously," Sabrina agreed, nodding with enthusiasm. "Things like that just... live in there."
"Hey, I thought you were on my side," Domino said, nudging Meg with her elbow.
"Don't get me wrong, I'll still brave it, but it really freaks me out to be out on the water in the dark," Meg said, sighing. "I only do it because it's the absolute best time to surf."
"Why is that?" Sabrina asked, leaning back in her chair and she rested her feet on the railing in front of her. Her toenails were perfectly decorated with a nude hue.
"Bros," Meg and Domino said in tandem, then cracked up laughing.
"Bros?" Sabrina asked, tilting her head.
"Yeah, the kind that claim waves, or worse, steal your wave, or even worse, sissy out of a wave and then yell at you as though it was your fault," Domino said.
"So, let me get this straight. Y'all surf in the dark just to avoid... men?" Sabrina said, looking between her and Meg.
"Well, when you say it like that, it sounds awful," Meg said, shrugging.
"But essentially, yes. I do many, many things in my life just to avoid men," Domino said with a grin.
Meg clinked her beer can to Domino's. "Same," she said.
Sabrina grinned. "That's awful that you have to inconvenience yourself just because of jerks, though," she said, rolling her eyes.
"It isn't so bad. That early, you greet the day doing what you love," Domino said, smiling to herself.
"Is that how passionately you feel about music?" Sabrina asked.
Meg looked over at Domino. "Well, I do. What about you?"
Domino looked down at the can in her hand. "I don't know. I think I used to," she said.
Sabrina stood, gently touching Domino's shoulder as she walked past her to go back into the house. "I'm going to continue on this pantry or it's going to drive me crazy," she said.
Domino considered the shoulder touch, glancing over her shoulder. Was Sabrina trying to give her some secret message? Was she trying to remind Domino of their conversation earlier? Was she merely wanting to be affectionate?
A silly smile crept onto Domino's lips as she watched Sabrina walk inside.
"Uh oh," Meg said, following Domino's gaze.
Domino looked back to her, pursing her lips. "Care to share, Meg?" She said, trying to look very serious.
"Nothing," Meg said, sipping at her beer. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was drying with beach waves, making her look even more sun-kissed.
"I've got a question," Domino said slowly, not sure how to approach the subject of writing together. "And feel free to tell me no, or that you don't want to, or that you're not comfortable, or that I'm making you feel pressured, or––"
"Dom, out with it," Meg said, reaching to touch Domino's arm.
"You know how I've been having a really hard time writing this album?" Domino said.
"Oh, honey, you know we're all trying to be as patient as possible. If we're––" Meg began, but stopped once Domino shook her head with her hands up in surrender.
"No, it's not that. I'm trying to ask if you'd like to write with me," Domino said.
"Me?" Me
g asked, blinking in surprise.
"Yeah. I know when we were going over the demos for Heart's Content, you always had fantastic input, and I feel that maybe you would be a really good change of voice for the album. I want it to be more about us, not just Billie and I," Domino said.
"Wow, this is honestly the most mature conversation we've ever had," Meg said.
Domino laughed. "I know, it's gross, right?"
"Of course I'll try to write with you. I don't know how much help I'll be, but maybe I could bring over my drum machine tomorrow and we could give it a try?" Meg said, her cheeks reddening.
"That'd be awesome," Domino said, grinning.
"You're sure?" Meg asked, biting her lower lip.
"What's not to be sure about?" Domino asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.
"It's just always seemed like writing the songs was you and Billie's thing. I don't want to take that from the two of you just because you're..." Meg's voice trailed off.
"Just because we're not getting along right now?" Domino asked.
"Um, well, yeah," Meg said, shrugging. "But I'm psyched about the opportunity to write together, regardless."
Domino grinned. "I'm glad," she said. She glanced over her shoulder to see Sabrina sitting on the floor of the kitchen, happily in her own world, labeling bulk food containers. She shook her head, looking back down at her beer with a grin she couldn't get rid of.
"You know," Meg said. "And I'm just putting this out there. She's very cute, and very sweet, but you don't have to sleep with every woman you meet."
Domino's jaw dropped. "What makes you think I'm trying to sleep with her?"
Meg stared at her with a serious expression, as though she was saying, Yeah, right.
"I can have female friends that are just friends," Domino said defensively.
"Name one female friend outside of Zoey and I that you haven't slept with," Meg said, sighing.
Domino thought for a moment, flipping through her mental rolodex of faces and names. "Easy. Sabrina," she said, gesturing back to the gorgeous woman organizing her pantry.