Breaking Free by Isabel Lucero

14

As soon asI get home, me and everybody else that was with us at the bar, take a shot. I turn up some music, pull out the alcohol I’ve collected from people bringing stuff over when I have parties, and tell everyone to make themselves at home.

My place isn’t ever really a mess, but now that I know Dominic is coming, I find myself searching every square inch to make sure it looks decent. I head to the bathroom to make sure it’s clean, then stop in my room to look over the bed.

Why am I even doing this? Why am I assuming he’ll see my bedroom?

I shake my head and march back to the living room. He’s just another guy.

“So, I hear you’re looking forward to a certain someone showing up,” an inebriated Ronan says when I enter the kitchen.

I glare at Renzo who pulls Ronan into his side and kisses his temple. “I tell him everything.”

I roll my eyes and glance around to make sure nobody else is paying attention. “What do you want me to say? Yeah, he’s hot.” I barely whisper the last two words.

“And you like him,” Renzo says.

“I wouldn’t say that,” I mumble, reaching around him and into the fridge.

“Ooh, is this hate fucking?” Ronan asks.

Renzo chuckles. “Not sure they’ve even gotten that far yet.”

“I really hate that you two know about this.”

“Nah, you need us,” Renzo says. “We’re your only outlet. Look, I know I give you a hard time, but if you like him.” I pin him with a look. “Or think he’s hot,” he amends, rolling his eyes. “Then just do whatever you wanna do. But watch the eye-fucking. It’s easy to notice.”

I groan. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Dom’s on his way,” Jay says, popping over my shoulder. “He just texted me.”

Renzo meets my gaze before his eyes bounce to Jay and back. “Y’all are friends, too?”

Jay laughs. “Too? I’d hardly say Trev has even been nice to the guy,” he jokes, bumping my arm. “I told him not to worry about him taking his spot on the team. But anyway, Dom’s cool. Nice to look at, too, yeah?” he says with a wide grin and a wink before walking off.

Ronan and Renzo wear matching expressions as they look at me—brows raised, lips slightly parted. Renzo speaks up first.

“Um, do I really need to say it?”

“What?” I ask, annoyance creeping into my tone.

“Jay and Dom could totally hit it off. You know Jay’s flirtatious and to the point. If he doesn’t know you’re into this guy, he could make a move.”

My eyes find Jay who’s resting his arm on Bryant’s shoulder as he talks to Shea and Liv. All eyes are glued to him, everyone entranced by whatever he’s saying. He has that way about him. People love being around Jay. He’s just a positive and good-hearted person. I have no doubt Dom could be into him.

“I’m not worried about it right now.”

“Who’s the new guy,” Violet says as she pushes her way between us to get to the fridge.

We all look toward the door and I find Dex and Jayden talking to Dom. Renzo looks like he doesn’t know what to say, which is weird for him. He’s always running his mouth.

“That’s Dominic,” I answer. “He transferred from Grand Valley.”

“Oh, football player? I mean, he has the size,” she says, holding a beer.

Renzo gazes down at his sister. “You’re drinking that?”

She makes a face. “No, it’s for Dex.”

“Yeah, he’s on the team,” I tell her.

“He’s hot.”

“Yeah,” me, Ronan, and Renzo all say at the same time.

I don’t even realize my slip until I notice three pairs of wide eyes staring at me. “I mean, what?”

Renzo shakes his head and looks down at Violet, who looks a little sheepish. Everyone is quiet and awkward, then it hits me.

“Do you know?”

She puts her hand on her chest. “I do know, but I swear I haven’t told anyone. Not even Dex. Zo told me a while back, before he and Ronan were even together.”

“Ah,” I say. “The infamous drunken hookup.”

Violet bites down on her lip.

Renzo actually looks like he feels bad. “I’m sorry, bro.”

I shrug. “It’s fine.”

Violet touches my arm. “My lips are sealed.”

I smile at her. “Thanks.”

She moves past us, taking the beer to Dex and introducing herself to Dominic.

“Let’s go play whatever they’re playing over there,” Ronan says, gesturing to the dining room table.

As I walk over, I catch Dominic’s gaze. He doesn’t look away from me as Jay talks to him, but I eventually break the eye-contact, aware now of the eye-fucking problem I have.

After finishing the game of chandelier, which is just another version of beer pong, some of us start munching on chips while a couple guys jump on the Playstation and play Madden. Someone announces a game of king’s cup, and it’s not until then that I notice more people are here. Some of the football guys invited some girls over, and there are a couple other guys who are probably just friends of friends.

I’ve done a pretty good job of ignoring Dominic, even though it’s the last thing I want to do. The alcohol in my system has me feeling brave, horny, and stupid. I want to call him to my bedroom, regardless of who’s here.

I watch over the top of my cup as he laughs with Jay, and all I can think about are Renzo’s words. Those two could hit it off.

I down the rest of my drink and find myself talking to Liv and her friend, Naomi. Naomi’s a petite brunette who flirts with me instantly. She’s cute, and obviously not my type, but I go with it. I flirt back, smiling and making her laugh with stupid jokes. Liv eventually leaves us alone, and she starts touching my arm as she asks me about myself.

She seems like a nice girl, but I have zero interest in doing anything with her. It’s just what I should do, right? People might think it’s weird if I’m not trying to talk to any of the girls here and instead brood in the corner, staring at the hot new running back.

And just like that, as if he knew I was thinking about him, Dominic appears, walking up behind Naomi, his eyes trained on me.

She notices when my gaze moves over her head, and turns around and spots Dom. He grins at her. “Can I talk to him for a minute?” he asks.

“Oh.” She looks surprised, her eyes finding mine. “Uhh.”

“What do you need?” I ask him.

He puts one hand in his pocket while his finger rubs his bottom lip, his piercing gaze pinning me in place. I can tell he’s mulling over his thoughts and trying to decide what he wants to say. I probably should’ve just let her leave us, because now I’m afraid of what he might say.

“Did you hook up with somebody up at Grand Valley? You look familiar.”

I clench my jaw and his lips twitch, fighting a grin.

“If I did, it wasn’t too memorable.”

He laughs then, his eyes going to the floor briefly before he looks back up at me and wets his lips. “Interesting.”

I glance at Naomi, who’s watching us with confusion marring her face. I have to turn this around.

“Why? Was it your girlfriend or something?”

Dominic chuckles and Naomi finally excuses herself, worried she’s about to get caught up in a fight over some chick that doesn’t exist.

“Real funny,” I say once she’s gone. “What’s wrong? Jealous?”

“Jealous? Of a woman?” He shakes his head. “Nah. I don’t need to be jealous of someone who does nothing for you.”

“How do you know? I could fuck her if I wanted to.”

His lips pull up on one end and I hate how it highlights his dimple. “Sure,” he says with a shrug. “You’d just be thinking about me in order to keep your dick hard.”

I take a breath. “You’re not the only guy in the world.”

He shifts his stance. “Oh, and how many guys have you been with? Because based on your over excitement the first time I touched you, I’d say not many.”

My face burns with fury and I imagine what it would be like to punch him in the face. Before I can act on it, I notice Jay making his way over. Dominic must be aware too, because he quickly switches subjects.

“Nice place, man. Not many college kids live in actual houses.”

Jay jumps right in the conversation. “Rich kids do. His parents own the house and rent it to him for a good price.”

I still feel too mad to fake being nice. Dom just gives me a grin. “Rich boy, huh?”

“To be fair, a lot of people around here are well off,” Jay adds. “My family does pretty decent too, but I think I’m the only one out of our close-knit crew who didn’t actually grow up here.”

“I’m gonna take a piss,” I say before walking away.

I end up going to my room and trying to tamp down my frustration. I shouldn’t allow him to fuck up my whole mood, but God he’s infuriating.

I’m not sure how long I’m gone for, but when I get back to the living room, it’s cleared out some. Dex and Violet wave as they walk through the door, and I spot Jay, Zo, and Ronan in the living room, watching two other guys finish their game on the Playstation.

Dominic sits on my couch, his arms spread across the back, eyes on me.

“Hey, we’re heading out,” Renzo says. “Got an Uber coming.”

“Oh, all right.”

“You good?” he asks quietly.

“Yeah.”

“Maybe there’s some hate-fucking that needs to happen,” he whispers. “I caught a glimpse of some tension earlier. Jesus.”

I shake my head. “He’s annoying.”

He smiles. “Okay, well, have fun.”

Him and Ronan say bye to everyone, then Jay walks over to me. “Hey, I’m meeting someone in like twenty minutes,” he says, looking at his watch. “Need me to come back tomorrow to help clean up?”

I wave him off. “It’s okay. It’s not too bad.”

He points at Dominic. “You need a ride? I’m heading back toward campus. Where do you stay?”

Dom stands up. “Nah, I’m good. I didn’t drink, and I got my car,” he says, pulling his keys out.

“Cool. See y’all later,” Jay says.

The guys on the Playstation—Shea and Deshawn, finish their game and say their goodbyes, letting me know they’re walking down to the twenty-four hour diner a couple blocks away.

And now it’s me and Dominic. He swings his keys around his finger, watching me. I’m still annoyed with him, but I also don’t want him to leave.

“You said you wanted me here and then did your best to pretend I wasn’t,” he says. “You start flirting with girls you have no interest in, because that’s your M.O., right? Do the exact opposite of what you want to do.”

“You don’t fucking know me, Dominic. I tell you what I did one time, and now it’s my M.O.? Fuck off. You don’t know what it’s like to be in my shoes.”

“Oh, to be the popular rich kid who lives in a three bedroom house before he’s twenty-one? To have gay and bi friends but is still too afraid to come out? To want dick but be too much of a pussy to act on it? No, I don’t know what that’s like.”

My resolve snaps, and I rush forward, shoving him back. He stumbles, but rights himself, standing taller than me by a few inches. “What do you wanna do, Campbell?” he asks, chest heaving. “You wanna fight me?”

He crowds me, bringing his body closer to mine while his head angles downward to study my face. I take a step back, my fists balled at my sides. His hand shoots out and grabs my throat, forcing me to look at him.

“Or do you wanna fuck?”

His large hand squeezes my throat but his eyes are full of desire. He has no intention of fighting me. I know what he wants. I want it too.

I don’t say anything, I just press my lips to his in a viscous kiss.