Breaking Free by Isabel Lucero
22
From the whitechaise lounge chair at the side of the pool, I watch as Dex carries Vi on his shoulders, playing chicken with Jayden and a girl named Tiffany. On the other side, Ronan, Renzo, Tim, and Deshawan play a game of basketball with the poolside hoops.
Dominic hasn’t shown up yet, and my stomach is knotted up with nerves waiting for him to strut back here. Next to me, Shea and his girlfriend, Shannon, are basically dry humping, moaning with every kiss, so I get up and head to the shaded area to grab a drink from the cooler.
As I watch the scene in the pool, the door behind me opens. I glance back, expecting to see Dex’s dad, but instead, Dominic’s hulking figure emerges.
He grins. “Waiting for me?”
“Maybe.”
“This house is crazy,” he says, closing the door.
“Dex’s dad owns a billion dollar company.”
“Yeah, looks like it. Jesus Christ. I’ve never seen so many nice houses in one place until I drove up here.”
“Hey! Hernandez,” Tim yells from the pool.
He raises his hand and starts walking over. I take a breath and try to remind myself not to stare at him too closely when he takes off his shirt to get in the pool.
After a few minutes, Dex gets out and grabs the inflatable volleyball net and ball, and we divide into teams and play a couple games. Me and Dominic end up on opposite teams, which sucks because now I have a perfect view of his muscled body glistening with water. How am I not supposed to stare?
When we stop for a break, Dominic climbs out, and his shorts are plastered to his thighs, making a certain part of him very visible. My eyes linger for a second before I meet his gaze. He winks and I turn away, thankful nobody was paying attention.
“I’m starving,” Renzo complains.
“I ordered pizza,” Dex says. “It’ll be here soon.”
“Dude, we need to go back to Toast. I want to try that bull again,” Tim says.
“Your ass could barely hold on the first time,” Shea replies with a laugh.
“Exactly. I’ll try it sober this time.”
“These two did pretty good,” Shea says, pointing at Jay and Dominic.
“We were so fucking drunk,” Jay says. “I don’t know how we stayed on for as long as we did.”
“Which was only a few seconds,” Dom adds.
“When do you turn twenty-one, Campbell?” Dominic asks me.
“In a few weeks.”
“Let’s plan to go then,” Dom says, looking at the rest of the guys. “We can get Campbell drunk.”
Everyone agrees to go out on my birthday weekend, then we start talking about different topics, the conversations breaking up into groups.
Dominic stands next to me as I sit in one of the chairs and asks me if I’ve seen some movie. When I tell him I have, we make fun of the plot, but then he says, “The guy was hot, though.” I almost agree, but instead laugh.
Jay’s nearby and says, “Well, it looks like you two kissed and made up.”
“What?” I question.
He laughs. “Don’t even act like you weren’t being standoffish and weird around him.”
“I guess I was just in a mood. I don’t know. It’s not a big deal.”
“I’m pretty charming,” Dom jokes. “It’s hard not to like me.”
I shake my head, but refuse to look at him because I may blush.
Dex’s dad comes out wearing an expensive looking suit, carrying pizzas. “Dex, I gotta get back to the office. Someone’s threatening to quit.”
Dex takes the pizzas from his dad. “Who? Why?”
His dad shakes his head. “One of the secretaries, and I don’t know why.”
“Okay.”
He says bye to everyone before rushing off, his phone already to his ear.
The rest of us sit around and devour the pizza. I find it’s not too hard to be around Dominic. Yeah, my eyes keep finding their way to him, and yes, I can’t stop thinking about how much I want to kiss and touch him, but at least I’m not acting it out. At least nobody’s caught me staring when I shouldn’t be.
“I hate that I have to go to work,” Dom says.
“Yeah, because Dex has an inflatable beer pong table, and when the sun goes down, we’re gonna play that in the pool,” Tim says.
“Just rub it in my face, asshole,” Dominic says with a laugh, standing up and stretching.
It’s really hard not to stare at how his muscles flex, but I glance at him briefly before taking a sip of my Coke. Renzo waggles his brows at me, but I ignore him.
“I gotta head out,” Jay says. “We’re gonna go watch a movie,” he says, gesturing to Tiffany. “I might come back later though. I’ll text you,” he tells Dex.
“Okay, cool. We’ll be here.”
“I’m gonna grab another drink,” I say, crushing the empty can in my hand.
“Can I use your bathroom before I leave?” Dominic asks Dex.
“Yeah, if you go through the door, cross the kitchen, turn right, and then to the left the hall will lead to the bathroom.”
Dominic raises his brows before laughing. “Okay, if I’m not back in ten minutes, send a search party.”
“Trev, will you show him?” Dex says as I’m heading to the cooler.
“All right,” I reply, trying not to show my excitement at a chance alone with him.
Inside, I toss my can into the recycle bin as we’re in the kitchen, then make my way to the bathroom.
“See, I told you there’s something up with us and bathrooms,” he says from behind me.
In the hall, I spin around and push him against the wall, slamming my mouth to his in a desperate kiss.
He’s taken by surprise at first, then he grabs a hold of my ass and brings me in closer, massaging my tongue with his.
When we separate, he says, “As much as I enjoy pliable Trevor, I kinda like you like this, too.”
I smirk. “I was dying to do that.”
“I’m glad you’re willing to show me how much you want me now, instead of fighting it.”
I roll my eyes. “Go to the bathroom.”
“Come with me.”
I almost go with him, but decide it’s too risky. “I can’t. Anybody could come in.” He nods his head slightly, like he knew that would be my answer. “But maybe I can go by your job later. Everyone will be here. I can wait for you to get off.”
He smiles. “Okay. Now kiss me again.”
