Chapter Eleven
Brooke
I was relieved when Caroline suggested lunch that it was only the two of us. The last thing I wanted was Talia tagging along. I loved my friends. But it was annoying as hell that they went out of their way to include Dom’s girlfriend. Maybe I was just salty.
There was no maybe about it. I was.
As we waited for the waiter to bring our drinks—both sparkling water—Caroline started playing with her fingers. It was an old nervous habit she’d never been able to break. I always knew when she wanted to discuss something important when she did it. She jumped when I reached over and placed my hands over hers.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of your company for lunch?”
“Do we have to have a reason to eat a meal together?” She answered my question with a question. What was going on with her?
“Not at all.” I glanced down at her hands pointedly. “But I have a feeling there is one.”
She lowered her eyes.
“You know you can tell me anything, Care. What’s going on?”
“I got a text from Landon last night.”
I scrunched up my face. “It’s been months since you’ve heard from him. Why now?”
“That’s exactly I thought.”
“Did you text him back?”
She shook her head quickly. “God, no. I can’t get all that started again. We’ve been doing the hot and cold thing for way too long. I’m sure he just couldn’t find a girl to screw last night.”
The bitterness in her voice was hard to hear. Caroline deserved better than her asshole ex. He kept stringing her along, and no matter how much we talked about how she needed to move on, she always seemed to go back to him.
“Sweetie, don’t you think it’s time you move on? We can find you a great guy here to move on with.”
She blanched. “You mean a one-night stand?”
I backtracked. Oh, goodness, this wasn’t going to be pretty. “No, not at all. I meant maybe just a guy to hang out with during the summer. It could be fun.”
Her expression ranged from skeptical to pissed off at my suggestion. “I’m not getting over Landon by getting under another guy.”
The waiter chose that second to bring our drinks. To his credit, he only raised an eyebrow as he set down our drinks. Caroline flushed bright red and stammered out her order as quickly as possible. I stifled my giggle while he stood there, but as soon as he walked away I burst out laughing.
“Stop it. That’s not funny.” She hid her face in her hands. “Oh my God. This shit only happens to me.”
“Not true,” I said, wiping at my eyes. “Remember Quinn and the bartender incident?”
Caroline finally started laughing. “She brings that on herself, though. I just say stupid things at the wrong time.”
I sat up straighter. “I have a pretty valid case of word vomit too.”
“You get too honest when you drink. Well, I take that back, it’s not only when you drink. It happens all the time.”
“See, you aren’t the only one who says stupid shit.”
She finally relented. “Fine. I get it, but I’m still not sleeping with some guy just to get over Landon.”
“I never said that.” I rolled my eyes. “Just keep an open mind. I’m sure somewhere on this island there’s a nice guy you might actually have a nice time talking to. Maybe he’s even a good kisser.”
“Doubtful. In my experience, intellect doesn’t often come with a hot body and the ability to make a girl come.”
My gaze flicked up to the movement past Caroline’s shoulder. The waiter cleared his throat a few times as he set our food down on the table.
“I see I have impeccable timing again,” he said, looking at Caroline with interest.
This time I couldn’t hold back my laughter.
***
Music pulsed through the club, causing everyone to sway to the hypnotic beat. We’d been drinking for hours, and now I was unsteady on my feet. Quinn was dancing with some random guy she'd met up with at the last bar, Riley and Josh were cuddled up in a corner, and Austin was getting us more drinks from the bar. The last thing we needed was more alcohol, but for once, it was keeping me from thinking about Dom.
An arm wrapped around my waist while I stood next to our table. I looked back, expecting to see Austin, but instead Dom stood behind me. I cocked my head to the side, and he grinned.
"Can we talk?" he slurred.
I let him lead me to the top level of the club. There were patios far enough away from the music you could actually hear, but close enough that the colorful lights still bounced around the area. Dom swayed as he neared the wall, and I gripped his arm tightly so he didn't fall.
"What's up?" I asked, standing closer to him than I'd been in over a month. The spicy scent of his cologne filtered into my senses and caused me to shiver.
"Are we okay?"
I stared at him for a few seconds. "I think that's up to you. I wanted us to be okay, but you've been so mad at me. Are you ready to listen to my apology?"
He leaned in closer. Damn it, Dominic. His lips were only inches from mine and if I moved any further, we’d be kissing.
God, I want to kiss him.
"I think you need to grovel." His husky words were teasing, more like my old Dom, but the tone wasn’t one he’d ever used with me before.
I swallowed hard. "Here?"
His eyes flashed and he smirked. My panties were going up in flames. Holy hell, Dominic was hot. Hotter than I ever realized.
"Are you even going to remember this in the morning?" I teased. "Because if I grovel—if I get on my knees for you—you better fucking remember it."
My throaty words made him shiver. "Brooke, I think it's time we put all of this past us. I miss you."
"Dom, I want—"
My words were cut off as his mouth slammed down on mine and his fingers tangled in my hair. I groaned into his mouth. His tongue tangled with mine, and I grabbed at the front of his shirt to pull him closer. A niggling feeling made me pull back, but when I did, I wasn't kissing Dom. Austin was there—his lips swollen and a cocky grin on his face as he looked back at me.
What the hell is going on?
Was I actually so drunk I imagined I was with Dom instead of Austin?
"I think we should go back to the house." He pressed his hard length against my leg, and I blanched. As I tried to pull away, his grip around me tightened.
"Austin, let go." I shoved at his hard chest, but he didn't budge. He stared down at me with that stubborn, mulish expression on his face. "I'm not ready for that."
"You always say you aren’t ready, but the way you kissed me says you are."
I was horrified as I looked into his eyes. They were so cold and unmoving—almost frightening. He pushed me against the half wall, and I could see the ground below. It would probably kill me if I fell.
“Come on, Brooke, you know you want to fuck me.”
I sat up quickly in bed, my body covered in sweat and breathing hard. Austin was next to me, fast asleep and totally oblivious to my terror. I shoved my hand in my mouth to cover the sob that broke through. The sheet was tangled around my legs, and it took me a few seconds to untangle myself so I could go downstairs without waking him. Being in this room after that dream was suffocating, and staying there with Austin was terrifying, even if I knew it wasn’t actually him. I couldn't shake the dream.
My bare feet padded on the floor lightly as I went into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. I flipped on the light and saw Dom sitting at the table. I jumped back, knocking the counter behind me hard with my arm and causing the stupid pineapple sitting on the kitchen island to fall to the ground.
My hand flew up to my heart. "You scared me! What are you doing here sitting in the dark? It's creepy."
Dom looked up in surprise but quickly recovered when he saw it was me. He shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. Why are you up?"
I was amazed he'd actually spoken to me without his normal ire. It was a start, I guess. "Bad dream," I mumbled as I reached for a glass out of the cabinet.
Concern etched his features. "Are you sure everything is okay? You're acting weird."
I shook my head. There was no way in hell I was talking to Dom about my dream. "I'm fine. I just needed a drink to help clear my head."
He ran a hand down his face. "I know we're still not really talking, but if you want to talk about it—"
"I'm fine. Thanks, though." I set the glass back on the counter and headed for the stairs.
"I miss you, B."
Tears filled my eyes. I didn't want him to see, so I ducked my head away from the light. "I miss you too."
I waited a few seconds to see if there was more. When he didn't say anything else, I left. Because what else was there to say? I couldn’t come clean now, not with both of us in relationships. Maybe Dom and I would figure it out one day, but obviously that wouldn't be happening any time soon.