Roll the Dice

twenty-four. to shoot crap

"Sorry" was all he said before taking a step back, eyes tracing his feet on the ground.

What the fuck was going on?

I bit my tongue to keep myself from saying anything-if there was anything serious going on in his life, an extra fact or two about Guys and Dolls wouldn't be helpful at all. But as we started up our fast pace again, puffing out our breaths in sync, it still felt as if I had a duty to poke him until he spilled. Out of all people, I knew that it was better to let things out than to keep them bottled up inside.

But that would be cruel, so I kept by his side (even though his pace was a little slower than the pace I was supposed to go at--not that I had any particular objection to that since I was a lazy butt who probably shouldn't even be chosen to represent my school at meets) in silence.

We hit the last bit of the woods just before the parking lot. The shade felt divine, I realized, as I felt the sweat all over my body practically evaporate on the spot. Glancing over to Dom, I raised my eyebrows, pursing my lips a little.

And nothing.

He didn't even look at me.

With a little huff (that he probably couldn't hear anyway since we were both breathing rather heavily at this point), I swung my gaze back to the path in front of me, clamping my teeth together. Good Lord, there was something wrong with him.

A couple steps before we could jump onto the pavement and race over to our cars, Dom stopped abruptly, putting his hands on his waist and bending over. I'd gone a couple steps before him, so I turned back and rushed to his side, gingerly hovering my hands over his arm. "Hey, what's up?" I ventured.

He got back up as suddenly as when he bent over. "I'm fine," he said gruffly, eyes focused on his car on the other side of the parking lot. (I'd teased him about his faraway parking spot when we first started off, and now that I thought about it, he hadn't even said anything in response.) "We should head off for breakfast."

I was supposed to have breakfast with him when he was in this sort of mood? Yes, it was completely true that I savored every moment I could have with him-and now, I felt even warmer inside from just standing next to him--but I had to draw a line at some points. And this was the line: I was not going to have a meal with someone who had something on his mind and didn't want to share it with me.

"Tell me, Dom," I burst out, after we stood there for another few pregnant seconds. "Tell me what the fuck is going on with you."

Dom sent me a startled look with those dark eyes that would usually tranquilize me. But not today--they were too confused and murky to have much of an effect on me (other than eliciting something like pity). "What?" he said, as if there was absolutely nothing wrong.

"No." I turned so that I was facing him squarely, staring up into his eyes. (I wanted to have a victory dance for the sole reason that I was looking at him without swooning or being lost in the moment, as I was after our...kiss.) "No, there's something."

He shrugged off-handedly, glancing to the side where his car was awaiting him. Rude bastard. "There's nothing." He paused, then turned his eyes back to me. "Come on; our breakfast's waiting for us."

I shook my head. "No, I'm not moving until you tell me what's wrong so I can fix it or get the hell away from you."

Dom cracked a little smile, but otherwise, he showed no other reaction. He still held my gaze steadily, and I was starting to regret my decision to look at him. I wouldn't be able to look away now, because he had me, and he didn't even have to know it. After a little pause, he shrugged again. "I don't know. This might fuck up everything."