Page 93 of Torrid Love
“I felt weird sharing because he’s my brother’s best friend.”
“You didn’t want more than a summer fling?”
“Alex was chasing after his own dreams. He had his sights set on Tokyo. It was right at the time I found out I got the job on Risen Slayers. It was perfect in many ways. What we shared was really meant to only last a season. It was never supposed to be forever. We didn’t have the deep connection you and your best friend share.” She pauses. “From your question, should I assume you want more with Rod?”
“I’m not sure of anything right now,” I confess.
Her answer doesn’t come immediately.
“You’re not sure or you’re unwilling to be honest with yourself?”
Damn her for asking the right questions.
Another beat of silence stretches between us.
“You need to tell him, Dom. He deserves to know. It’s been too long.”
No, we’re not talking about my infatuation for my best friend.
“That’s part of the problem. I’m not sure how he’ll react when he finds out I waited eight long years to drop a bomb-like revelation I’ve worked really hard at hiding from him.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Elsa counters. “Someone broke your trust… and his.”
“But I never told him. What if he hates me for it?”
“Rod hating you is like saying the earth is flat. Both are impossibilities. You were young and someone with a black heart manipulated you to silence you. Only a dickless coward without balls would do that to a seventeen-year-old girl. No way Rod would hold that against you.”
Maybe not, but he’d kill the guy who hurt me with his bare hands.
CHAPTER 21
Roderick
I came back from my morning meeting ready to call Dom so we could meet up at the end of the day. I didn’t expect the delivery guy entering the building at the same time as me was here for her—flowers and gifts from fucking Joel Banner.
Great.
When I told Marissa I would take the gigantic bouquet to Dom’s studio, my first instinct was to dump it in the garbage at the back of the building and dispose of the two boxes. I didn’t. Not because I’m not that kind of bastard, but because I don’t want to give Dom any more reasons to distance herself from me. So, like a good boy, I placed the crystal vase on her desk along with the boxes. Not sure what’s in them, but from the delicate packaging and weight, I suspect it’s expensive. Then I went back to my desk and sat there and ruminated on how amazing a date it must’ve been for Joel to go out of his way like that. I could’ve been stuck in that headspace forever, but replaying the conversation I had with Loki and my brother was the catalyst I needed. I put my CEO cap on and put in an honest day’s work. I didn’t stay longer than I had to. At seven, I waved the remainder of the staff good night and drove to Dom’s favorite Nashville-style hot chicken restaurant.
As I approach her house, I pull over and text her.
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Do you hate Auburn yet?
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More than words can ever express. He has an inflated ego, but he doesn’t even master the basics.
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Did you make any headway?
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What a waste of time. I scrapped everything. I went back to the raw footage. I might have to get some scenes reshot. In other words, I have to redo the video from scratch.
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