Always

Chapter 2

I was destined to fall victim to the cliché.

Had it been serious?  As serious as it could be for a thirteen year old experiencing her first real crush.

Had I moved on?  Well, depends on the definition of moved on... 

Was I secretly still writing about him in my diary?  No.  

Did I still find him drop dead sexy?  Of course!

Which is why although I had put that crush behind me, I couldn't help the faint turn in my stomach at the sight of him.

The smirk that had been on his face was wiped clean as his eyes widened in utter shock as realization dawned on him.   He was standing by the door with a dumbstruck expression as his bewildered eyes looked me up and down several times in disbelief.

My own eyes betrayed me as I discretely did the same.

His boyish athletic build had been replaced with lean, hard and defined muscles.   His shoulders were slightly broader and masculine and he had grown a whole head taller just like Mikey.   His chocolate brown hair was shorter on the sides and slightly longer on top, lightly tousled from running his hands through it often like he always did.  His facial features had matured, his jaw line was sharper and his big brown eyes held an older appearance to them.  He also sported a five o'clock shadow as if he hadn't bothered to shave for several days.

Dom had grown into a man and I silently cursed him for getting hotter.

What the fuck?  How was that fair?

"Sam?"  His voice was coated in shock and uncertainty as his eyes continued to roam up and down my body.  If I was being honest, his reaction actually made me want to pat myself on the back.

"The one and only,"  I didn't miss a beat, I never did with him.  "Now please tell me you did not just call me one of Mikey's hit it and quit it buddies."

His mouth opened and closed several times in a matter of seconds.   It was quite impressive actually.

"You— You look different," he justified.

"Yeah a year can do that to a person."

"You're—" He paused, searching for the right word.  "Taller."  He actually sounded awkward, it was the strangest thing to experience.  Dom never faltered and he was most definitely never awkward.

"Grew a whole inch.  I now stand at an impressive five feet, four inches."  I had zero control of the sarcasm when I was around this guy.  It used to be my defense mechanism to hide my giant crush but now it was practically second nature.

He must have realized he was blatantly staring because he seemed to now be trying to find something else to concentrate on that wasn't my bodily features.  "Your hair is longer."

Pathetic.

"I let it grow out."

"It's uh— lighter."  He added, obviously trying to justify himself for mistaking me for a hookup buddy.

"Only if you squint your eyes and tilt your head."  I demonstrated, sarcastically.

"Uh..."

I rolled my eyes at him in amusement.  "Save it, Dom.  I'll just take the apology now."

That must have snapped him out of it because his eyes finally focused on mine and he raised his brows in amusement, smirking in his usual Dom-like way.

And he's back, ladies and gentlemen.

"If you're asking for an apology then you really have changed.  Don't tell me you've gone soft on me Sam."