Page 24 of Kingpin
“I was in the hospital,” Dominic replies without hesitation. “I had a concussion.”
“Oh my gosh. What happened?”
He looks me in the eye, seemingly thinking about his response, but eventually gives it in the form of a whisper.
“Some guys tried to move in on my dad’s casino. Dad wouldn’t budge, of course, so they tried to come after me. Roughed me up a little. No big deal.”
“Are you serious?”
“Ain’t I always?”
I feel my heart start to race like something bad is happening right in front of me.
“That’s crazy, Dominic,” I say, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. “Well, are you okay, at least?”
“Fuhgeddaboutit,” he says with a smile.
“What do you mean, forget about it? I can’t just forget about it. What did they do to you that gave you a concussion?”
I hear Dominic sigh and he looks at me sideways.
“Alannah, the last thing I want you doin’ is concerning yourself about me. Sometimes things like this happen, but I survived and I’m here now. I’m here with you, so everything’s good.”
“We’ve been close for four years, Dominic, you can’t expect me not to worry.”
“I didn’t know you cared so much all of a sudden.”
“Well, I do,” I snip, my emotions starting to get the best of me. “And it’s notall of a sudden. I do care about you, maybe more than you realize.”
Just as the words escape me, the music stops and it’s silent. All these people surrounding us and it couldn’t seem quieter than it does right now, with all this air and tension between the two of us.
Dominic and I look each other in the eye like it’s a staring contest, like we’re trying to see who’ll turn away first, but neither of us budge until we’re interrupted by a voice.
“Alannah,” he says quietly, almost like it’s a question. It’s Marcus, and he looks scared and angry at the same time—angry because I’m dancing with someone else, scared because that someone is Dominic.
Both of us look over at Marcus just as the music starts up again—this song’s more upbeat and happy, the opposite of my mood—and I clear my throat to try to make it seem less awkward. It doesn’t work.
“Umm, hey, Marcus. I was looking for you. Where’d you go?” I ask, barely able to look him in the eye.
“I was talking to Julia and Janelle, but when that last song came on I was hoping we could dance together, but I couldn’t find you,” he says. He makes sure to only look at me, and Dominic makes sure to only look at him.
“Umm, yeah, sorry about that,” I begin. “I needed to talk to Dominic, but umm, we can dance together now if you want.”
Marcus smiles at first, but it fades as he tries to figure out how to get between Dominic and me, because Dominic hasn’t budged. It’s awkward again.
“Dominic,” I say, stealing his attention.
“There’s something I need to talk to you about,” he replies, finally ending his death stare at Marcus. “Something I need to tell you, and it’s important. I’m gonna go for now, but maybe after this thing is over we can meet up.”
I clear my throat again. This has to be making Marcus feel uncomfortable.
“Umm, actually, there’s something I need to tellyou. It’s really important, too. So, that’s a good idea. We’ll talk later.”
“Okay.” Dominic steals another glance at Marcus before walking away.
The next couple of hours is spent switching between dancing with Marcus and dancing with my girlfriends, but always thinking about Dominic. Seeing him for the first time tonight in almost two weeks seems to have put a spell on me, and it takes a lot of effort just to not talk about him throughout the night.
When it’s all over, Marcus insists on going to an after-party, but I insist on going home. I can see it pisses him off, but I really couldn’t care less. He drops me off in the driveway of my house and I never look back as he drives away. I quietly make my way inside, where my parents are already asleep, and I call Dominic.
