Beginnings and Endings [complete]

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

To say I was speechless would be an understatement; shocked didn't cover it; suprise wasn't even worth registering. He stared at me expectantly, waiting for an answer, as if my red cheeks weren't enough.

My heart thumped like it was going to explode in two different directions. One half was screaming yes, forcing me to throw myself at him in a bone crushing hug squealing in happiness to the point I almost couldn't resist. Happiness was fighting confusion though. Me? Dominic Wood had feelings for Adrianne Reed? It sounded impossible, but here he was looking at me hopefully for a positive reply.

"Um..." My cheeks turned redder and I forced out a chuckle to break the awkward silence. "I, erm...I don't know w-what to say..."

One corner of his lip lifted slightly, and I felt my cheeks burn hotter at the notion. I saw him open his mouth to say something, but as dread settled in my stomach, one of the volunteers rushed into the hall and announced the next session, calling for us to take our notebooks and pen.

Dominic got up immediately, and suddenly one side of my body felt so cold without him there. He held out a hand silently to me, but I grinned brilliantly at him - or so I hoped - and said, "Share?"

His thin lips parted to form a grin and he nodded at me and left. I watched him leave, a smile on my face, the happiness building up almost unsurpressed. Suddenly Mel and Daniella came into my view, eyeing me reproachfully.

Making sure my smile didn't disappear, I walked up to them. "Hey guys," I began, but Mel cut me off with an explosion. I expected the worst from a hotheaded blonde like her, but she exploded with random, useless things that would make no impact on my life whatsoever like she missed me.

And I missed her too. You know, in a non-lesbian way.

She was talking about Beyonce and Jay-Z as she sat down, Daniella inserting a comment here and there, when Dominic came back into the hall.

My ears still opened to Mel's story of the latest scandal involving the couple, I watched as his dark eyes scanned the hall until they met mine. I motioned for him to sit next to me and then pushed all my attention back to my besties.

Though while the topic changed from R&B singers to Taylor Swift and her latest boyfriend, I felt an air of disappointment around Dominic, and I couldn't help but feel bad. So when my uncle came in and began explaining what to do next, my attention went back to him.

"So there will be 190 questions for you to answer..." he began, and the rest ended with groans.

"One hundred and ninety? You've got to be kidding!" someone whined, making cringe and glare in their direction.

"Why not make it 200?" someone added sarcastically.

I sighed as the objections continued, chanting a message in my head - silence is golden, duct tape is silver - and imagining all the things I could do to shut them up when Dominic nudged my arm.

He was resting backwards with all his weight on his elbows, but he leaned forward to whisper in my ear. Avoiding my eyes, he asked me, not without a substantial amount of bitterness in his voice, "You don't like me, do you?"

You dense asswipe with crap for brains, I cursed suddenly. You really are an idiot, Dominic. That's why girls are the complex ones. But I couldn't tell him that I did - not just yet. Play hard to get when you're not sure, I told myself over and over again, trying to control myself from planting a kiss on his cheek then and there, something I have never done before to any guy.

Instead, I bit my lower lip, and said, "I'm not entirely sure yet..."

"What?" he asked immediately, stopping me in midsentence. Whether he didn't hear me right or he was just surprised, I didn't know, but I smiled at the hope. It'd be worth it later on, I promised him silently.