Page 48 of Rat Park
“You know, I was thinking. I’ve never seen your apartment, not even when you moved to a bigger place.”
“Bigger is a bit of an overstatement. There’s not much to see.”
“I want to see it, though! Let’s have a movie night tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? Don’t you have—”
“Please?” And there were those eyes and that lip again. Dominic looked away.
“Fine,” he said through a sigh.
“Whoo! I’ll bring the movies, you bring the popcorn,” Flor said, hopping out of the car quickly, as if Dominic were about to take the invitation back.
Dominic made sure Flor got safely inside the house before pulling away.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Dominic tried to clean up his apartment before Flor arrived the next day, but there was only so much you could do with a shithole like his. It was a little larger than the first place he had stayed in straight out of prison, but not by much. At least it had a separate bedroom, small but protected from cooking smells. The kitchen and living room were open-plan, with a tiny bathroom attached.
Dominic tried not to feel self-conscious as Flor looked around when he arrived.
“This is nice,” Flor said, throwing Dominic a look when he snorted. “It is! A bit bare, though,” Flor added, and Dominic turned to look at the space too.
There was nothing personal in it, no photographs or even art, but it had everything Dominic needed. A couch pointing at the TV with a coffee table between, the cosy kitchen that had just about enough room for two people to squeeze into. Beyond it, if Flor cared to look, the bedroom was equipped with a bed covered with a plain, deep blue duvet, a bedside table, and a wardrobe crowding beside it.
“You’ve got a DVD player?” Flor asked.
“Yeah. Came with the TV.” Dominic nodded.
“Great. I brought a comedy and then a horror—”
“I don’t like horror.”
“Really? I didn’t know that.”
Dominic shrugged.
“Well, the comedy is really funny. It’s a political satire but I swear it’s better than it sounds. It’s calledIn the Loop, have you seen it?”
“No.”
“Great! Let’s watch that, then.”
“Okay.”
“You got any popcorn?” Flor asked teasingly, as if he didn’t expect him to have listened. Dominic walked to the kitchen with Flor in tow, taking out two small boxes and a bag.
“I got this,” he pointed at the bag. “It’s pre-popped, toffee covered. These are unpopped,” he gestured to the boxes. “One sweet, one salty. I don’t know what you like, so…”
Flor stood beside him in the tiny kitchen, staring at the offerings before looking at him with an expression Dominic couldn’t figure out. It was more serious than the moment warranted, almost intense.
They stood there in silence, Dominic waiting for Flor to pick one of the flavours, to make a joke about him going overboard, to say something to break the sudden tension that had stilled the air.
“What?” Dominic had to say eventually, the hair at the back of his neck standing up, sensing a storm coming.
Flor just looked at him for a moment longer, forced into proximity by the kitchen counters. There was a second of complete, breathless stillness, and then Flor leaned forward. The movement was slow, telegraphed. Dominic knew what was going to happen before it did, all his muscles locking, but he still startled slightly as Flor’s lips pressed against his. Soft, like the moment when sunlight hits your skin and you remember how to be warm again.
Dominic closed his eyes and thought,Please, God. No.
