Page 36 of Gemini
I sat there in shock, listening to the man apologize on the other end, trying to talk Dom down. His voice grew quieter until I heard another door slam somewhere outside, making me flinch.
Taking a slow breath, I sank further into the water, my body still throbbing, the heat of embarrassment starting to rise. I was lightheaded and wanted to sleep—to try to forget what just happened.
Maybe I did fall asleep for a moment because I heard the door open again and it startled me. I looked over and saw Dom staring at me as he closed the door behind him.
“Sorry,” he signed.
Shifting around, I found it hard to meet his gaze. “It’s okay.” I practically slurred.
He went over to his phone on the counter and typed. “Let’s finish cleaning you up. Then you can sleep.”
My face burned a little. “Sounds good.”
I didn’t make a single sound of protest as Dom returned to kneel by the tub. He took the 2-in-1 shampoo and quickly lathered up my hair, making sure to wash out the blood. I didn’t know what to say, or if I should say anything about what just happened so I decided to remain silent. I could always just blame it on the pill later.
It suddenly occurred to me as he rinsed out my hair that I didn’t have my phone on me and had left my bag in my car. If someone found it in the morning, they’d definitely be suspicious. As Dom rinsed my hair one last time and started to move away, I reached up and grabbed his wrist.
“My car…it was at work...”
He grabbed his phone to type out. “It’s safe. Had someone bring it back here.”
“And my bag?”
“Still in your car. I’ll grab it after we get you settled.”
I nodded, thanking him softly. That was a relief at least. In the morning, I would check my phone and call in sick.
Dom opened the drain to the bath letting the water out before he wrapped me in a towel and lifted me out of the tub. He carried me out of the bathroom and across the living room, down another hall, kicking open a door to the left. The room was dark and cool inside with a blackout curtain over the window. He took me over to a bed and set me down. He came back with another towel and sat by me to dry out my hair.
I watched him carefully, my eyes half-lidded, my body swaying a little, wondering what he was thinking. “You’re notmad about what just happened, are you?” I blurted, unable to take the silence any longer.
His movement slowed. He dried out my hair as best he could before he took his phone from his pocket and typed.
“About Jake coming and interrupting? Yes, fucking pissed. Otherwise, no…why would I be?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe…” I almost wanted to say we shouldn’t have. After everything that happened between us. It would only complicate things. But I wasn’t in the mind to care about that. Not right now. I laughed a little instead and said, “I’m still mad at you and Lez.”
Dom smiled. “That’s okay,” he typed. “You went through some awful shit tonight. Most of the guys here wouldn’t have taken that beating like you did.”
I snorted. “Yeah, right.”
“It’s true.”
I sat for a moment thinking, then said, “You don’t regret what just happened?”
He shook his head.
“Or feel guilty?”
He hesitated. Then signed, “No.”
I knew I shouldn’t get close. Getting close to them again was asking to be hurt again. But for tonight, I was desperate for comfort. I pulled him in and kissed him, liking the way his mouth felt on mine. He wrapped his arms around me, and I liked that too. His kiss was tender like before, but a part of me wished he would deepen it. As I flicked my tongue against his lips in hopes he would, he pulled back.
He put his hands together and placed them against the side of his head in a gesture of sleep, then he pointed to the bed.
I sighed and started to slide myself further up the bed. As he slipped the covers over me, I took his hand. “Will you…stay?”
He clasped his other hand over mine and nodded. When I let go, he typed on his phone, “I’ll go grab your bag first and be right back, okay?”
