Page 59 of The Blame Game

A part of him knew what it could be but he’d been doing his damndest to avoid thinking about it.

“Are you out of the game tomorrow?”

“Not that I’ve been told.”

“You should be.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll let you know if that happens,” he snapped.

“Hey, guys, are we going to watch a movie or not?” Matty asked, sitting on the end of the bed, remote in hand.

“I don’t know, are we?” Dom asked since apparently no one was bothering to ask him if he even wanted to.

“Yes.” Dustin said, kicking off his shoes and getting comfortable on the bed.

“It’s my turn to pick,” Matty said, selecting some stupid action movie before anyone could protest. Dom was about ninety-eight percent sure that wasn’t true but he was too tired to argue.

So he changed into sweats and rubbed a little of the salve on his back.

“What’s that?” Dustin asked as Dom tossed the tin in his suitcase.

“Something I got from a PT,” he said vaguely. “It helps a little.”

Dom grabbed the ice pack he’d used earlier from the mini fridge freezer, then settled on the bed beside Dustin.

He carefully propped himself against the pillows with the ice pack strategically placed where he needed it most, remembering when Shea had done it for him.

Matty hit Play, then stretched across the foot of the bed on his stomach, arms bent, cheek resting on his hands.

“Dude, move it. I can’t see over your giant ass,” Dom grumbled, prodding at Matty’s hip with his foot and immediately regretting it when pain flared again.

“Well, stop staring at my ass!” Matty teased.

“It’s the size of a planet. It’s pretty fucking hard to avoid,” Dom pointed out.

They squabbled for a few moments until Dustin told them both to shut it and they watched the movie in silence for a few minutes.

“So what do I owe the pleasure of this evening’s activities to?” Dom asked drily. “We haven’t done this in a long time. The three of us.”

Truthfully, with both Dustin and Matty in happy relationships, they usually disappeared into their rooms to Skype with their husbands.

“We’re worried about you,” Matty said.

Dom snorted. “Why?”

“Because you’ve been isolating yourself,” Dustin said. “More than usual. And that’s saying something.”

“I haven’t …” Dom hesitated. Goddamn it. “I guess I have a little bit. Sorry.”

After that, a big explosion on the screen distracted them all and, thankfully, they got sucked into the movie.

He was yawning partway through though—action movies never his favorite—and as the pain faded a little, tiredness crept in.

He nodded off a few times and then he must have actually slept because he woke when the bed jostled and the door closed.

“Sorry.” He rubbed his eyes and squinted at Dustin. The credits were rolling and the foot of the bed was empty so Matty must have left. “Didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“It’s fine. Matty had to call Antoni.”

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