Page 31 of Endgame

‘You want to see this one in the dark, Aari,’ he suggested, then sat next to me and tapped the play button on the screen.

The next two hours flew by. My eyes were glued to the screen. The film was phenomenal, with absolutely no let-up.

‘You barely touched your food!’ Dominic said with a laugh. The plate beside him had a roughly piled pyramid of chicken wing bones. Most of the mac and cheese was gone, but he had had the decency to leave me with two prawns and a tiny bit of salad.

‘That was amazing! Do you have any more recommendations?’

‘No, THAT was amazing. Do you have any more?’ Dominic pointed to the food on the table. ‘You can cook for me any time. Especially if you continue not to eat so I don’t have to share.’

‘Thanks. What are we watching next?’

‘Nothing, yet. Let’s tidy and take a bathroom break? I need to flip through the movie database in my head for a minute to find you something. What’s for dessert?’ Dominic asked, starting to clear up.

‘Chocolate brownie ice cream. Ben and Jerry’s. I thought you might like a bit of home,’ I explained as I followed him to the kitchen with the rest of the dishes.

‘Yummy. Let’s get two spoons and eat it straight from the tub. First, bathroom.’

I pointed him in the direction of the bathroom and finished clearing up. When he returned, the dishes were in the machine and the macaroni cheese bake dish was soaking.

‘So, it’s not as “everything” asTrain to BusanbutParasite’s fantastic and won a bunch of Oscars?’ he offered.

‘Let’s do it.’ I returned to the living room with the tub of ice cream and two spoons.

‘I’ve never seen you this relaxed. I like it. A lot. You’ve kept this part of you carefully hidden, Ariella.’ He moved the coffee table away and rearranged the cushions closer together so we could share the ice cream tub.

He was right.Parasitewas noTrain to Busanbut I was still gripped by the funny, then devastatingly violent, social satire. By the time it ended, I was emotionally exhausted.

‘Wow,’ was all I could manage.

‘I’m demanding from now on that we have more movie nights.’

‘Done,’ I agreed enthusiastically as I stretched through a yawn.

‘I better head out, it’s one thirty.’

‘It’s a miracle I’m still awake.’ I got up with Dominic to walk him to the door.

‘See you soon?’ he called back as he walked out of the door.

‘For sure. I had a fantastic time tonight, thank you, Dom!’

‘Can we keep this girl please?’ he teased.

‘I’ll try. See you soon.’ I waved him goodbye.

It had been a great night – it was nice to have someone else to just hang out at home with. I’ve been missing that. Just asI put the spoons away, the doorbell went again. I saw Dominic through the peephole and opened the door.

‘What did you forget?’ I chuckled, rolling my eyes. Dom’s lips were suddenly on mine and, before I could make sense of what was going on, I was kissing him back and pulling him inside. Dominic Miller is an intoxicating kisser and, for a moment there, I forgot everything. He slammed my front door shut before pinning me against the adjacent wall with his body.

His kiss was unrelenting, with my lips matching his every motion. I’d felt the tension between us slowly build all night, and knew exactly when his energy shifted during the second film.

‘You were so different tonight,’ he whispered, before re-engaging our kiss. I felt his hands travel up my body and undo my shirt’s top button. Just as he started with the next button down, I gasped and clutched my shirt together. Dominic disengaged immediately to lean his forehead against mine. His eyes may have been closed, but I could feel his frustration in the silence that descended between us. A heavy sigh followed after a little while as he pulled away.

‘I can’t begin to tell you the hatred I have right now for Caleb Black.’

Dominic refused to look at me, so I adjusted my head so that my eyes would meet his. ‘I’m sorry, I really am.’

‘You need more time,’ he whispered, bringing his forehead back to mine. ‘Until you deal with your Caleb problem, you’re going to be stuck, Aari.’

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