[Dedicated to Bayan, a fantastic friend and one of the best listeners I've ever met. Bay, it's always so easy to talk to you about anything, and besides, now I have another person to laugh with about my high school's ridiculousness. <3]
"Nice place you've got here," I remarked to Dom as I reclined in the beach chair beside the pool. And then, immediately after, I sneezed.
Dom pushed his sunglasses up his forehead, glancing at me with a raised eyebrow. "Bless you. And thank you."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "What?"
"Why do you have a cold in the middle of the summer?" Dom sat up in his own beach chair, slinging a towel, which had been draped over the back of the chair, over his shoulder and grabbing a pair of goggles. "And by the way, I didn't really think that you would insist on coming here even though our relationship is strictly confined to educational purposes."
Even though I pouted playfully, I really did feel the sting. And Dom still looked at me this way after these few weeks? To cover up the evidence of how I truly felt, I crossed my arms over my chest. "You wound me."
Dom stood up, drawing my attention back to the fact that he was, in fact, shirtless. I bit my lip and took in a sharp breath, extremely aware of how my entire body felt a whole ten degrees warmer (despite frying in the sun for an hour or two now). One would think that I'd be used to seeing him like this now, but I blamed my hormonal rushes on his abs. God, they were perfect.
I frowned as I glanced back up at the azure sky sprinkled with cirrus clouds. I really needed to stop with these pervy thoughts if I wanted to further associate with Dom in our "educational" endeavor.
"Well," he said, casually strolling to the pool and bending over to put his towel and sunglasses just a couple inches away from the poolside, "I only try to tell the truth."
His ass was magnificent. And so were his tanned, muscled back, in fact.
Dom lowered himself into the pool, giving me a fantastic opportunity to observe (or rather ogle) his biceps. He was incredibly tan already, which was unfair since I myself mostly burned and tanned rather minimally. Besides a tank top tan line, Dom looked absolutely perfect and glorious in the morning sun.
Fate liked me today, so the weather was fairly balmy in contrast to the scorching heat and high humidity from the day before. I stretched in my beach chair, taking care to pull down my cover-up – there was no need for Dom to see something that would probably horrify and scar him forever.
Clearing his throat, Dom looked at me expectantly as he pulled his goggles over his head. I straightened my back quickly – oh God, I must have been staring in silence for way too long.
"That's mean," I sputtered out quickly. I reached for my lemonade glass on the table next to me and took a sip. "I feel like you should be more grateful, especially after our 'field trip' from the other day."
Dom placed his goggles over his eyes and grinned at me. "You're reclining in a beach chair next to the swimming pool in my backyard. I don't know how that isn't personal in any way, and this has nothing to do with the museum."
And with that, Dom ducked his head underwater and pushed off the side of the pool into a tight freestyle stroke. With a little smile on my own lips, I sat up, pushing up my own sunglasses, and licked my lips. Oh my. And right after, I broke out into a series of coughs that just kept pushing themselves out of my throat.
By the time Dom got back to my side of the pool, I'd finished successfully hacking out my lungs out and drunk the rest of my lemonade. Dom popped his head out of the water, exhaling loudly. "What's up with you?"
I sniffed a little, resisting my urge to wipe my nose with my hand – because that would make an absolutely great impression on Dom, especially after I basically invited myself over to his house. "I think..." I coughed again. "I have a cold."
Dom's face twitched into a little smile. "Again, you can get a cold in the summer?"
I coughed again, this time glaring at him defensively. "It's totally possible." I reached for my lemonade glass before realizing that I'd already emptied it. Rolling my eyes at Dom, who was stifling a laugh, I continued, "I was sitting under an air vent for about five hours two days ago."
"Overexposure to air conditioning?" Dom leaned his elbows on the side of the pool.
"Again," I said, crossing my legs, "stop being so mean."
We stared at each other for a couple more seconds before Dom coughed awkwardly and headed back for a couple more laps. I wiped some sweat off my forehead, sighing. Why was I such an awkward person? I was so bad at this – seriously. But then again, I did come over to Dom's place for a particular reason.
With that thought, I pulled my beach bag a little closer to me and reached in. I felt around for a particularly thick book, and I pulled it out, feeling a little giddiness as I began to open it. Dom was so going to hate me for this, but that was the reason I kept going on with this Guys and Dolls scheme, wasn't it?
After a couple more minutes of Dom swimming, I stood up, again pulling down my cover up while also feeling extremely conscious of the fact that I was wearing my favorite swimsuit underneath. I put the book down on my chair. Did I really think I was actually going to go swimming in Dom's pool? I put my hands on my hips – well, it was retro-themed and polka-dotted and cute (or sexy, depending on whether Dacey or Cara was interpreting the situation) as hell.
Dom finally stopped, panting a little, and took off his goggles. "What's up?" he said as he propped his elbows on the pool side, stretching his abs a little. I shifted my weight to my other foot, and I couldn't help smirking – the view of Dom from the pool deck was fantastic.
And I was supposed to focus while he was looking like that?
"I kind of have a little present for you." I crossed my arms over my chest.
Dom ran his hands through his dripping dark hair, raising his eyebrows at me. It was sort of cute how his goggles left pale imprints around his eyes, somewhat reminding me of an owl, but not quite. "Is that a good thing for me or for you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" I daintily stepped across the pool deck to approach him after grabbing the book and hiding it behind my back. After I settled myself, I sat down, dangling my legs into the pool and meeting Dom's eyes. "I usually try to do what I think is good for you, however unbelievable that seems."
And then I let out one cough, clamping my mouth shut so that Dom wouldn't be assailed with my germs.
Dom let out a loud scoff and hauled himself out of the pool, shaking water all over me in the process. He wiped his forehead with his towel and took off his goggles to replace them with his Ray-Bans. "If it's anything about that musical, I think it'll bore me to tears."
The thought of Dom crying was comical in itself, but the sad part was that he still harbored such an irrational hatred of Guys and Dolls. I didn't know how many more times I'd have to hear that before I would stop feeling so personally offended. Playing with the spine of the book behind my back, I took a moment to contemplate the answer – which was probably that I'd never stop feeling attacked whenever Guys and Dolls came into the picture.
My gaze returned to Dom, and my lips tightened. "Funny."
He held up two hands. "Sorry; I didn't mean for that to sound the way it did," he said, even though the little smirk on his lips said otherwise.
I turned my face away because just then, my lungs decided to act up, and instead of bending over to cough for at least ten minutes, I spluttered and pushed myself back up.
"Sorry for that," I said once I'd turned back to Dom's curious eyes. "But anyway, you better wipe your hands dry before I can entrust you with this present."
Dom rolled his eyes and did accordingly. "Why would it matter? And are you sure you're okay?"
While Dom was distracted, I wiped my nose with my knuckle and straightened up. "Of course I'm fine." When Dom turned back to me, I plopped the book in his hand and observed his countenance, which remained straight the entire time. "Surprise!"
There were a couple seconds of silence.
Then Dom opened his mouth, still keeping his eyes firmly on the title. "The Makings of Guys and Dolls?"
I nodded. "Look." I opened the book in his hands even though I was a little worried that he would drop the book into the pool. I wouldn't be too paranoid to expect that from him. "Cast pictures from the movies! And little anecdotes about filming and everything!" I poked his still wet shoulder. "If this doesn't make you enthusiastic about the musical, I don't know what does."
Dom stood up abruptly and padded over to his beach chair, placing the book there. I watched a little of a downfallen pout, but soon enough, Dom came back over and plopped himself down next to me. (I supposed it was a little sweet that he'd guaranteed that my present to him wouldn't get damaged by water, but again, he could have been a little more grateful.)
"I think you could give up now." Dom pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. "And plus, I'm a little confused about one thing."
I scoffed. "I'm shocked that you'd think about me that way." I turned my head to face Dom fully, then completely aware that we were extremely close. As in extremely close. (Our knees were almost touching.) Or not so much. My mind was going a little insane nowadays. "And ask away."
"Do you like the movie more than the musical or something?" Dom splashed his feet in the clear blue pool water, splashing some droplets on my knees. I smiled, pulling down my cover up, before realizing exactly what he'd said.
Then my smile melted away.
"Is that a bad thing?" I scooted away from him defensively. "I mean, Frank Sinatra is legendary. Even though the musical version has 'A Bushel and a Peck', a totally cute song that the movie doesn't have for some absurd reason, no actor or singer can really outperform him."
Dom raised an eyebrow at me. "No need to get defensive about it."
When there was a little silence between us, I spoke up again. "Read the book, okay? I expect you to thoroughly understand the character of Miss Adelaide by the next time we meet."
"Miss Adelaide?" Dom wasn't even looking at me as he splashed water over his very tan knees. "And no, you don't have the authority to give me homework."
I let out an extremely long sigh. "Nathan Detroit's fiancée?"
When Dom's expression didn't change, I turned my head away violently to sneeze in the other direction. Once I'd recovered from all the mucus, I looked back to him. "She's the show girl. She's been engaged to the crap game runner for fourteen years, and she believes that she has a cold because of the distress and everything."
I watched Dom expectantly for a couple seconds before he shrugged. "This sounds a little familiar." Then he looked up at me. "Why does her fiancé need a grand from the other gambler dude?"
I chose to overlook the fact that I'd probably explained this a hundred times before. "Nathan runs the crap game, and he needs a grand to rent out the Biltmore Garage to hold the crap game. And he figured that he'd get that money from Sky Masterson" – I sent Dom a pointed look – "since Sky likes to make crazy bets for ridiculous amounts of money."
Again, Dom didn't respond.
It was getting exhausting to attempt to maintain a conversation for so long.
After a couple moments of silence, aside from the sound of the wind blowing and the water splashing as Dom seemed to practice his butterfly kick from the side of the pool, Dom looked up from the water. "So there's no real reason that you demanded to come over?"
I tugged down on my cover up again, feeling self-conscious as Dom's gaze coolly passed over my body. "Of course I have a reason. It was the book, remember?"
Immediately, I turned my face away from Dom, instead choosing to concentrate on the other side of the pool. Dom had quite an impressive backyard, actually, and if I weren't so focused on the pool a couple minutes ago, I would have gotten up to enjoy the hydrangeas. I frowned – well, that would make me look incredibly creepy...if I didn't already look creepy.
I had a sudden urge to facepalm myself, but fortunately for me, I really couldn't be compelled to further humiliate myself, especially since I felt Dom's gaze on the side of my head.
"Hm." Dom must have fidgeted a little, because he had somehow splashed some more water on my knees. "That was all?"
He was such a walking lie detector – except for the fact that he wasn't walking right now, of course. I looked up from the calm blue waters, putting on my brightest smile, which faltered a little once I met Dom's steamy eyes. "A little favor?"
Dom raised his eyes. "Well, from my perspective, everything we've done so far is a product of my attempts to humor you and" – he waved his hands helplessly – "your crazy ideas."
I pouted.
"Well, don't take it personally." Dom reached a finger out at me like he was going to poke me, but he quickly retracted it like he was afraid he was doing something wrong. "It's like trying to convince John Adams to be swayed by his political party's ideas when it came to the unofficial naval battle in his one and only term."
When he caught me blinking blankly at him, he rolled his eyes and groaned. "Please tell me that you paid even the slightest attention in US History."
"Of course I did," I responded so calmly that I freaked myself out. "I just delete everything from my head the moment I finish my final exams."
Dom let out a sigh before slipping into a silence again. When I looked at him inquisitively, he sighed again and rolled his eyes to the sky. "Of course," he repeated. He turned to me, looking a little horrified. "Why do I remember that in the first place?"
"Because you're a nerd at heart." I saw the opportunity in the moment, and I pounced on it, pointing a finger at him. "And that's exactly why I thought you would appreciate the genius of Guys and Dolls."
"I set myself up for this one," Dom muttered with his eyes still firmly focused on the sky.
There was a little more silence.
Then I remembered the other reason I'd dragged myself up this morning, stuffed my ass into a swimsuit, attempted to make myself look presentable, and grabbed a book from the bookstore. I poked Dom's arm (his very tanned and muscled bicep, to be exact, but if I got into the details, I wouldn't be able to carry out the task at hand).
"Hey, I do have another reason for forcing myself on you."
Dom's face looked so comically shocked that I took three seconds spluttering before I could actually speak.
"That came out wrong," I breathed out, "and I totally did not mean to say it that way. I mean that I did have a reason for forcing you to receive me this afternoon and for making you do all sorts of other stuff, and um –"
Dom held up a hand. "I get the point."
Now that we'd gotten over the initial distress, Dom looked vaguely amused instead of insulted. So I decided to put my idea out there for good measure before I could embarrass myself more.
Out of all the ways I could have humiliated myself, I chose to do this. I shook my head a little.
"You need to help me set up Cara's birthday party," I said in one whole breath.
Dom frowned. "Excuse me; what?"
"Cara," I repeated slowly, "my best friend. Her birthday party's going to happen in a week, and I'm going to need your help to set it up." I paused, putting a finger on my chin. "Well, your help and your soccer gang's help. The guys you were playing soccer with the other day in the park?"
The guys who all had magnificent torsos, I wanted to add, but I wasn't going to go on about abs when there was a mightily fine set right next to me.
"What?" Dom crossed his arms over his chest. "Wait, what?"
"Cara's birthday party," I said, exhaling slowly. "And yeah, it would be super nice if you could bring along Evan." When I caught Dom's blank eyes, I sighed again. "You are incredibly slow today. Your friend who actually appreciates '50s culture? Yeah, it would be nice to have a discussion with someone who could add to the conversation. And I'm not, like, specifically requesting his company or anything. Having all your friends over would be awesome."
After watching Dom gape for a couple more seconds, I continued hurriedly, "Oh, and please do remember to bring presents. Cara does get a little cranky when she feels like she isn't being treated like a princess on her birthday."
→
Bonjour, tout le monde!
(I thought I needed to spice up the greetings to my fullest extent, which happens to only include French. Sorry.)
I don't even have to tell you about how #Dottie is heating up a little more now—a little ironically, however, at the pool. I'm sorry. I'm horrible. So I'll bring back one thing from last chapter: #progress, right? At least Dom vaguely knows what's going on. And Lottie...well, the book may mean one thing for her and another thing for Dom, but what do you think? (I personally love the character of Cara, by the way, so next chapter will be fun!)
About the namesake of this chapter: Vivian Blaine played Miss Adelaide in both the original musical and in the movie. She's a brilliant and hilarious actress who brings Miss Adelade's bubbly personality to life. There's a picture of her attached above :)
Again, a reminder that the date of the next chapter's update can be found in my bio under the "Book Statuses" section! Usually, I try to update every five days, but I'm doing a 5K on Saturday, so everything will have to be a little delayed (and I do have stuff on Sunday, but...).
I hope you guys enjoyed this little bit of #Dottie, and have a lovely day!
Anne xo