Chris
Dom rested his elbows against the concrete shower stall, looking over at me, any animosity that he might've held since i showed up at his door ready to fight was long forgotten. "So, you and your girlfriend coming to the party tonight?" His eyebrows wiggled suggestively, making me laugh.
I twisted off the faucet, taking a dry towel and securing it around my waist. "I haven't talked to her about it, I'm not sure." I shook my head, running my fingers through soaking wet hair. "I don't– I don't think I can be around her tonight." I lowered my voice, trying to make sure this wasn't overheard.
The moment that we shared before my game was just as much of a mood booster as it was confusing.
I knew from the start that i would do anything and everything to soak up every single moment with Sloane. I only had six months of her pretend love after all. Everything that has happened and will happen is fake. I knew that.
Whatever happened before the game really didn't feel fake and i wasn't sure what to do with that.
She wanted to hold me. She wanted to kiss me. And as much as i wanted her to want that, I'm just not sure what to trust.
I need to know that she wasn't just shaken up about last night before i let myself believe she had feelings for me, too.
Dom laughed, interrupting my train of thought. "Why?"
I shot my best friend an exasperated look, my eyes widening. "Did you not see that kiss? I mean, fuck. She asked for it, Dom. I offered the cheek and she wanted me to kiss her. On the fucking mouth. And she–" i cut myself off. I could go into great detail about the difference between this kiss and the previous ones that we have shared, but Dom would never understand.
Only I could notice the subtle differences. Like the way her eyes flickered to my lips or the way her pupils dilated when I said 'now or never'. I noticed these things. I felt the way her body pressed up against mine or the way her fingernails gently scraped against my scalp.
I especially noticed the way her mouth moved against mine with a gentle curiosity. She wasn't scared or holding back. She wanted the kiss.
Dom raised his eyebrow at me, a small smirk forming on his lips.
It was so easy for people to see the two of us interact and assume there was something more, but there never was. The two of us behaved as all best friends behaved, it was just me who desired something more.
So people like Dom and Cami and basically everyone else who has spent more than an hour with the two of us could make any assumptions that they wanted, but we were just friends.
Dom twisted the faucet off, wrapping a towel around his waist. "Trust me, I saw the kiss. Everyone saw the kiss. You're both stupid."
I followed Dom towards the lockers, grabbing a pair of sweats and stepping into them before yanking off my towel. "Oh, fuck off." I fluffed my hair with the towel, trying to wring out the excess water.
Dom pinned me with an annoyed look, rolling his eyes while he followed my lead and pulled on a pair of sweats. "So, I ask again, are you going to the party?"
I grabbed my phone, bringing up the unopened text from her.
Sloane: Are you coming home first or should we meet at the party? Tell Dom I have Cam with me.
I ignored the way my heart swelled when I read 'home', but couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my lips.
Dom cleared his throat, quirking an eyebrow.
"Sloane just texted, Cam's with her. I guess they're already back at her apartment. And we're going?" I groaned, pulling a shirt over my head. "Dom, I'm serious. I can't– you can't let me drink tonight. I'll get too handsy."
My friend laughed at the ceiling, droplets of water flinging from his dark brown hair. "You're dating her, remember? You'll have to be handsy. It's what couples do."
"Not us."
"Definitely the two of you. I meant it... everyone saw that kiss."
I blew out a slow breath, my cheeks puffing out as i exhaled. "I'm serious. I can't drink."
Dom saluted lazily, getting himself ready to go. "We'll see about that."
I walked into our apartment, Dominic trailing closely behind me and promptly slamming into my back when i skidded to a stop.
"God, what the fu—"
Fuck.
I froze.
Sloane stood in the living room of our now shared apartment, laughing at something Cami said while Dodger rested peacefully at her feet. The damn dog was so obsessed with her that he didn't even spare me a glance when i pushed through the door.
Her head was tilted towards the ceiling, brown hair tumbling over her shoulders and down her back, the highlighter on her cheekbones glistening in the soft light coming from a lamp in the corner and my ribs tightened around my lungs.
She wore a black top with a plunging neckline, the fabric was thin and showing off entirely too much of that silky skin. I watched as she laughed, her breasts swaying slightly as her body shook. She wasn't wearing a bra.
Fuck.
I closed my eyes, a hand scrubbing down my face as I staggered forward, Dom's hand pushing against my back.
"Just friends, my ass," Dom snickered, pushing past me and making his way over to his wife, pulling her into him and planting a kiss that was entirely too intimate for me to still be watching.
I shifted my eyes away from them and back onto Sloane, drinking in everything about her. She smiled sweetly at Dom and Cami, her eyes averting their public display of affection when his hand reached down to cup her ass. Not that it surprised either of us.
I didn't miss the way her eyes lit up when they landed on me. I could tell she was happy to see me, maybe a little nervous, too.
After the kiss we shared at the field today, i was a little nervous, too.
Nervous about what it meant and how to act around her. I wasn't sure if that was her way of hinting that she was open to exploring something more with me or if she was just really falling into the role.
I kept telling myself not to worry about it, knowing that even if i tried to infer the meaning behind her actions, i was going to follow her lead regardless. I wouldn't do anything without knowing it was 100% something she wanted, too.
Sloane made her way over to me and i kept my eyes glued to her face, knowing that if my eye line dipped just below her neck, i would seriously regret my choice of no underwear under my sweats.
"Hey, you."
I cleared my throat as she got closer, the intoxicating smell of lemon and jasmine invading my nostrils. She always smelled like summer. "Hey, Pip." I replied with a rough voice.
Even though her top was a threat to my willpower, I was grateful she'd gone with a pair of jeans instead of a skirt. Her legs have always been my weakness and I wasn't sure what I'd do if they were exposed all night.
It was bad enough that those jeans were painted on her like a second skin. I was already feeling way too protective of her. I couldn't handle the way she'd capture the eyes and attention of everyone at this bar.
Her eyes trailed down my body and i prayed to whoever i could that she didn't notice the semi i was sporting from just looking at her. "Are you wearing that?"
I laughed, looking down at my t-shirt and sweats. "No. Definitely not."
She grinned, her hands clasping together. "Good, I put something on your bed."
I raised an eyebrow at her, laughing at her scrunched-up face like she weren't sure i would approve of whatever outfit she laid out.
Honestly, she could've put a banana costume on my bed and i would wear it proudly knowing that she was smiling because of it.
"I'll go get changed."
Her smile widened before i turned away, making my way across the apartment and to my room.
I loved little domestic moments like this. Coming home and seeing her, her picking out my outfit before an event we were attending together. I loved it because it felt normal and real.
Though, i laughed when i saw the outfit on my bed. I should've seen it coming. How many times in the past year had she shown me a picture of this orange, white, and black shirt, telling me to add it to my closet.
She'd laid it out on my bed with a little note scribbled in her perfect handwriting.
I smiled down at the card and set it on the nightstand next to my bed, making a mental note to add it to the small box of things I've kept from her over the years.
I wasn't even sure she knew about it. Not that it was a secret... But I'd always been worried that she would see it and come to the conclusion that i was in love with her, freak out, and never talk to me again.
So.... Maybe it was a secret.
It started out small; little notes that we'd passed to each other in elementary school because of course we had basically all of the same teachers growing up.
Then it was receipts and ticket stubs from all the restaurants we'd eaten at and all the movies and baseball games we'd gone to.
I saved our prom tickets, her corsage (granted the flowers were crisp and slowly chipping away), the program from high school graduation where she'd drawn innocent little hearts around each of our names, the program and ticket stub from her college graduation.
I saved anything and everything that reminded me of just how much i loved her and just how much i cherished the friendship we had.
For now, i stuck the note on my nightstand, quickly changing into the clothes she bought for me.