Whatever it might be.
Goddamn motherfucking shit.
Can someone please just give me an escape pod from my head?????
“Sarah. Thank God. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
I jerk to a stop right outside of the Student Commons and look to my left.
“Dominick?”
Okay, maybe I’m really out of it, but I could swear Dominick is jogging my way across the quad. I blink hard. But yeah, it still looks like Dominick—decked out like always in his blue scrubs with the black Henley underneath, the strap of the leather carrier bag he always takes with him slung diagonally across his chest.
“Sarah.” Dom catches up to me and immediately envelops me in a hug.
I don’t respond at first. Even with his arms around me, the fog persists.
“Sarah?” He pulls back and shakes my shoulders slightly. “Sarah?” The worry in his voice is the only thing that finally pierces through the haze. “Are you all right?” he asks.
Then he pulls me back into his arms. “Christ, it’s obvious you aren’t.”
“No, I’m fine,” I mutter, blinking.
Dominick’s here. On my campus. How is he here? How is this possible?
“What are you doing here—?”
“I had to see you,” he cuts me off, his hand on the back of my head, pressing me even more firmly into his chest. “Dad wasn’t supposed to go to your room last night. He said he wouldn’t go without me. I came as soon as I heard he did. I’m so sorry if he scared you.”
As soon as he says the words, my whole body starts to tremble. It’s like him saying it out loud has finally given me permission to feel it.
Fear.
Yes. That’s exactly what I felt last night. I was too confused to even know what to call it. But the whole thing was terrifying. I was afraid.
But I was also turned on by it all. I was wet. So I…liked it. That meant I wanted it… Right?
I press my face into Dominick’s chest. I’m still so confused.
But everything feels better in his arms.
The tilting world seems to settle back on its axis.
Impulsively, I reach up on tiptoes and kiss him.
I open my mouth to him, but Dominick surprises me. He pulls back.
Crap.
That was the wrong thing to do—trying to kiss him when he just came here to check on me. Besides, Dad said we aren’t supposed to sneak around anymore. Technically, kissing Dom isn’t sneaking around, but it could be construed that way and—
Then Dominick’s lips land on mine and all my thoughts still again.
Blessed quiet in my head.
Dom’s tongue doesn’t seek entrance and he doesn’t press for more. It’s just a gentle, sweet, soft press of his lips. And that’s it.
After a short moment, he pulls back. Then he leans his forehead against mine.
And I don’t care if anyone sees us and makes the connection that he’s my new stepbrother. I barely talk to anyone on campus anyway. Having him so close is everything.
“God I’ve missed you,” he whispers, his eyes slipping closed. “These shifts at the hospital have been hell, knowing I’m not keeping my promise of protecting you.”
I frown. “Protecting?”
The line between his eyebrow deepens but then he opens his eyes and he smiles at me.
“But I’m here with you now. Come on.” He looks around us at students streaming past and the general commotion of the quad. “Let’s get out of here and go somewhere quieter.”
I nod. I have a class in an hour, but with how little I was able to focus on my morning lectures, nothing sounds better than skipping and spending time with Dominick.
“Do you want to get some coffee or something to eat?” I touch his arm, noting the dark circles under his eyes. “I can only imagine how exhausted you must be. Have you been eating? You’ve got to remember to take care of yourself, not just your patients, Dom.”
His smile widens and his eyes soften as he looks over at me. Then he does the last thing I expect. He reaches over and intertwines his fingers with mine.
Oh my God, he’s holding my hand.
Such a simple gesture.
After all the things we did last Saturday, it should feel like the least intimate thing in the world. And yet it makes my heart sing in a way that all the erotic and sexual things I experienced in that room and with his father last night pale in comparison.
“First of all, I want you to know that what happened last night won’t happen again. Not without me there.” He looks up at me, eyes widening as he rushes on, “And only if you want it to.” Then he breathes out and looks down, grimacing like he’d practiced some speech but it came out wrong. “How are you? With everything that’s happened? Just say the word and it all stops.” He swings our arms back and forth slightly as we walk. I think he’s leading us toward a small coffee shop on the corner, but I’m not sure.