I waved a hand dismissively. “Whatever. How’d you guys end up in one? I didn’t even know you were interested in motorbikes, Morgan.”
My brother laughed at me. “Oh, you think it was like, ‘wow, cool bikes, can we ride with you?’” He stared at me in stupefaction as if I was the most clueless thing in existence. I squirmed a bit in embarrassment, but I persisted because I truly wanted to know about that period of their lives.
“So what was it like?”
Dom shrugged. “We needed cash, and working for the Lost Boys seemed a glamorous way to get it… we were young, stupid, and reckless.”
“Desperate too,” Morgan added, his face somber. “Dom to leave, and me to get you back.”
I opened my mouth to say something but found that I was too choked up to speak. I stood up, excused myself and ran to the bathroom. I shut the door and sunk to the floor, letting a few tears out. Morgan’s words had brought back those days in stark relief. If Morgan had been desperate to get me out, I’d been no less frenzied to leave Eugene in my rearview.
I made sure not to stay too long; I didn’t want them to think I was freaked out.
After I washed my face, I went back to the living room, a smile pinned on my face. Morgan stayed late, only leaving when Dom told him it was past our bedtime. Living next door meant that he didn’t have to drive, but still, he’d barely had anything to drink because he was always on duty.
That old spark of resentment was back, and I realized that it annoyed me because it reminded me of Eugene and Morgan feeling he had to be forever alert in case something popped off. His whole stance with Dom reminded me constantly of that. Dom said they were friends but then worked him for all hours of the day and night. Morgan didn’t have a life that didn’t revolve around being Dom’s ‘bodyguard.’
He stood to escort Morgan to the door and I crossed quickly to the bedroom, closing the door behind me. I considered locking it but only for a moment. I didn’t want Dom asking me why I was upset. I stripped and put on the fluffy soft robe that was hanging behind the bathroom door before filling the tub with hot water. Dom had it all: bath salts, scented candles, even soft jazz emanating from speakers on the wall.
Might as well take advantage.
I closed the door, slipped out of my robe and sunk into the water with a battered copy of the Count of Monte Cristo to keep me company. I did my best to relax and enjoy the ambience and the bath, shut my mind down and stop thinking about Dom. It was harder than I thought it would be.
A soft knock on the door startled me and before I could say a word; the door opened and Dom poked his head in the room. He grinned at me. “I was wondering if you needed anything. Wine? Coffee? Chamomile tea?”
I opened my mouth to ask him why he cared but changed my mind mid-thought. “Uh, yeah. I’ll have some wine.”
He nodded, his head disappearing from the gap in the doorway. He very considerately closed the door behind him, so the cold air from the bedroom didn’t harsh my mellow.
He was back quite quickly with a glass of sparkling white wine in a tall glass. He also had a bowl of grapes. It was all very Cleopatra.
I thought he’d hand me my wine and go away but no. He sat himself on the side of the bath and began to feed me grapes. I refrained from rolling my eyes. “This is a little cheesy.” I could not resist saying it.
“Yeah, but since we’re still on our honeymoon, it’s allowed.” He bent his fingers to make quotes around the word honeymoon. I cocked an eyebrow.
“I thought this wasn’t The Notebook.”
He cocked his own eyebrow right back. “Hmm, so that’s what you were upset about.”
I blushed, embarrassed to be caught out. Only the heat of the water saved me since my skin was already flushed. “I’m not upset.” I don’t even know why I said that. Clearly he had noticed that I was. Which was a mind fuck in itself. Why was he so attentive to me?
“Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make light of what we have. I was just…being a guy. Insensitive and stupid.”
The apology surprised me, as did his candid confession. “It’s fine. I was stupid to get upset.”
“No, you weren’t. This thing that’s happening between us – it’s important to me too.”
Great, now he knows that I’m falling for him or whatever. I looked away, not really ready to have this conversation. I took a sip of the wine and he offered me a grape. I opened my mouth and let him put it on my tongue. I caught his eye and we eyeballed each other as I chewed the fruit slowly.
He put another grape between his teeth and slowly bent down until our noses were touching. I opened my mouth and snagged the grape from his mouth. Our lips touched briefly, not really a kiss, just a brush of skin on skin. Still, I shivered. He pulled back and looked at me, a question in his eyes.
I didn’t know what the answer was. If I let him in, I was scared he would break my heart. But would pushing him away hurt any less? I didn’t know. I slid forward in the big bath, leaving space for him to slip in behind me.
He stripped pretty fast and then his legs were settling on either side of me and he was pulling me back to lie against his hard chest. He ran his nose back and forth against my hair. “Tickles,” he murmured.
“Well
