Page 120 of 4th Degree

Smiling, he presses a kiss to the side of my neck and rights the straps of my sundress. He can say he jumped me when I walked in here because I looked distracted, but it’s more likely that it was the dress. I recently discovered it as his kryptonite and have enjoyed tormenting him with it.

“Fine, keep your secrets,” he says, lifting me off the desk. I move right into his arms.

“I just had a nice conversation with my professor,” I admit quietly. “About…medical school.”

He tips my chin up with a finger, his eyes shining with surprise and delight. “Yeah? That’s amazing.” He’s still smiling when he leans down to kiss me. “I want to hear all about it later.”

My brow furrows. “Later? I thought we were going out to dinner.”

When he steps back and takes my hand, he’s grinning. “We are. But I’ve got some surprises of my own before that. Now go freshen up, we’re late.”

I don’t understand until he leads me out of the gym, and into the pizza shop next door.

Sitting at one of the tables is Maria and my mom, Joey standing behind them in his work uniform.

“What is this?” I breathe.

With his arm wrapped around my waist, Dominic gestures toward my family. “I wanted to surprise you. Dinner and your monthly movie.”

“We’re all going to the movies after this?”

He nods. “Joey’s shift ends in an hour, and then we’re all going over to the theater. If your mom gets tired, Maria might take her home, but I wanted to get everyone together for a little bit.”

My eyes fill with tears. How does he always know what I need? How is it possible for someone to be this perfect for me?

Dominic sees my reaction and nuzzles into my neck, his lips brushing a kiss to my skin. “Happy?” he murmurs.

My nod is immediate. “Perfect,” I whisper, turning my head to catch his lips with mine.

He wastes no time taking over, and I sink into him with a content sigh.

“Hey, lovebirds, get a room! You’re ruining everyone’s appetite.”

I break away with a huff of laughter.

“Remind me to annoy the crap out of you when you get a girlfriend,” Dominic grumbles, guiding me over to my family’s table. “If you ever get a girlfriend,” he adds with a playful glare as he drops into his seat, Mom and Maria laughing.

Joey quirks an eyebrow in our direction. “Says the forty-year-old bachelor who couldn’t find a girl to date him until my sister took pity on him.”

I smack him upside his head with a glare of my own. “Watch it, hotshot. You’re not so big that I can’t still beat you up.”

“This is familial abuse,” Joey says dramatically, rubbing the back of his head. “I liked you better when you two weren’t dating.”

Dominic pulls me down into his lap and wraps his arms around my waist. “No, you didn’t.”

Joey sighs, dropping his hand. “No. I didn’t.” He begrudgingly adds, “I guess it’s kinda nice to see Skylar happy.”

I hide my smile in Dominic’s neck, who presses a kiss to my temple and squeezes me even tighter. I catch Mom’s adoring smile from behind my hair.

“So we’re decided on the movie we’re watching, right?” Maria asks. “The newest Liam Neeson movie?”

Joey lets out a groan only a teenager is capable of. “Nooo, come on, his movies aren’t good anymore. He’s so old.”

Maria and my mom exchange a look. And it’s Mom who says, “That’s exactly the appeal, my sweet summer child.”

I burst out laughing at the look of disgust on my brother’s face. “Ewww, Mom!”

The restaurant echoes with our laughter, the sound of it filling me with a warmth that’s become entirely familiar these days.

---