Page 12 of Untouchable

That was the question she kept asking herself. And as much as she wanted to give him that space, she didn’t want to leave because a part of her thought maybe he needed her here, too. Maybe he shouldn’t be alone right now, going through this, living with this pain by himself.

Although she attempted to make it not so, she knew Dominic was also trying. It was just a difficult situation that made everything awkward, no matter how hard they tried to ease the tension. Meals were eaten in silence, and when either of them did strike up a conversation, it was short.

But the idea of going back home was starting to sound better because maybe she was intruding.

As they sat at the dinner table, the only sound was the silverware clanging against the china. She glanced up as she brought her fork to her mouth and watched Dominic, who seemed distant, as if he were thinking. She went through the motions of chewing and swallowing, trying to push everything away. She reached for her glass, brought it to her mouth, and took a long drink.

“So … today really turned out to be beautiful,” she said after she set her glass down.

He nodded. “It was nice weather. We should have gone on the boat.” He didn’t raise his gaze to her when he responded.

She cleared her throat. “I was thinking about going back home.” He did look at her then. “I wouldn’t expect you to drive me back or anything. I can take the bus.” He carefully set his fork down and leaned back. She shifted in her seat, acutely aware of the thick tension. “I just think now isn’t the best time for me to be here. Things are just … weird. I hate to put it like that, but I want to be honest.”

“You hate being here?” His voice was calm and neutral.

She shook her head. “I don’t hate being here. I just hate this weirdness between us. It isn’t anyone’s fault. I know things are bad right now, and I just think maybe you need some time to yourself. I feel like a burden.”

When he ran a hand through his short, dark hair and breathed out, she felt guilt that she’d opened her mouth. Hereshe was, making things more stressful when he already had enough on his plate.

“Are you done eating, Chloe?”

She glanced down at her plate, a little shocked at the abrupt change of topic. “Yeah.” Grabbing her plate, she was going to clear her spot when Dominic was right in front of her, holding his hand out for it. She looked up at him, surprised.

As he took their dishes to the sink, she watched him. The plain white tee he wore stretched across the wide, muscular expanse of his back. The sinew and tendons were easily discernable beneath the thin material, and she couldn’t help the warmth that blossomed inside of her. She scowled at why she felt this way, especially at a time like this.

“Join me outside and watch the sun set?”

For a second she didn’t move, still surprised he’d changed the subject so quickly. “Yeah. Okay,” she finally said.

He grabbed a couple beers, and she followed him out the back door. The sun was already starting to dip below the horizon, the pinks, yellows and oranges meshing together to create a cacophony of colors that painted everything like a piece of art. The air was thick and hot, but the beauty of her surroundings helped to stifle the uncomfortable feeling the heat created.

They sat around the firepit, and Chloe stared at the cold, black ash. She remembered when everyone had been sitting around it just a few short weeks ago, the flames between them, how it could have been a happy memory, but then it turned dark.

Now it was just the two of them.

Chloe looked up and saw Dominic watching her. “Hey,” she said softly, trying to make light of the situation. Dominic smiled back, but it didn’t seem to reach his eyes.

“I’ve been rude, Chloe. I’m really sorry.”

“What?” She heard the shock in her voice. “You haven’t been rude.” He nodded before she even finished. “After everything that happened, I wouldn’t expect you to be all cheerful.”

“Yeah, but you went through your own shit.” His voice got harder after he said that. “Come here, Chloe. Sit next to me.”

She made her way over to him and sat down. They hadn’t started a fire, and the only thing that made any kind of light was the silvery moon above them.

After that, they were quiet for long moments, but it was more of a reflecting moment of silence, one that had her relaxing and feeling more herself. She hadn’t felt like that in far too long.

“The sky is so clear tonight. I bet you could count every star.” She elbowed him in the side. He made a mock grunt and grinned over at her. “I remember when you were a little girl and you used to tell me you were going to count every single star in the sky. Do you remember that?”

She smiled as that memory came to mind. “Yeah.” Chloe rested her head against the back of the chair. She stared at the twinkling, bright stars. “I actually tried one time, but the next thing I remembered was waking up in my bed and it was morning.”

They both laughed, and she turned to look at him. He stared at her intently, and Chloe could see the way his jaw worked under his skin, a light dusting of stubble across it.

She wondered what he was thinking about to have a look so brooding and almost haunted. How she wished she had the courage to reach across the distance that separated them and run her finger between his eyes, smoothing away the small crease there.

Chloe turned her attention away from Dominic and looked back at the stars. It wouldn’t do any good thinking those things. She needed to push away the emotions that threatened to consume her.

“I’m really glad I came here. Even though everything happened the way it did, I’ve always felt like this is home. Still do.” She changed the subject quickly. This wasn’t about any of that. She was a firm believer in things happened for a reason, and the ugliness she’d experienced with Jake had made her stronger, even in these short seven days. “You’ve always been there for me when no one else was, not even my parents.” She said it almost absentmindedly.

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