Page 22 of Flock
“Where did you go and what are you thinking about?” Sean whispers from beneath me, his fingers brushing my arm, launching shivers in their wake.
I glance over my shoulder. Our lips are only inches away when I answer. “Nothing, it’s been a long day.”
I feel him tense slightly as our eyes dance over each other in a dare. If he kissed me tonight, I would return it. That much I know. But the electricity surrounding me is enough. I’m drowning in testosterone, unsure where it’s all coming from. For the first time ever, I’m being a little reckless with my signals, and I’m not sure I care. Sean is the first to look away, but his finger runs down my arm, and I sense he got my message. It’s then I know, if he makes a move, it will be in private. I turn to scan the garage as they land in natural conversation, calling each other out like only family do, while Dominic skillfully rolls a blunt in his lap. I’m entranced while he soaks the paper with precise licks of his tongue, his eyes cast down, dark lashes flitting over his sculpted cheekbones. When his cloudy eyes lift to mine, and he runs his tongue carefully along the blunt seal, my lips part.
Fuck me.
Sean pulls me tighter to him, causing my legs to shift and Dominic curses, trying to save the weed spilling from the magazine resting in his lap. His eyes narrow on a laughing Sean. I sink into Sean’s hold, a wall of hard muscle behind me as Dominic’s tongue darts out again, skillfully re-wetting the paper.
Once it’s lit, the music is turned up, and the conversation gets louder. From that moment on, I get high, but I’m not sure from which part of contact. Probably all three.
Chapter Nine
Iwake to the gentle caress of knuckles that sweep away the hair covering my face. I open my eyes to see Sean squatting before me, his hazel eyes filled with tenderness. I have no idea when I dozed off, but I catch the small amount of drool that threatens at the corner of my mouth as he gazes down at me.
“I’m going to let Dominic drive you home, and Tyler’s going to follow in your car.”
“What time is it?”
“A little past three.”
“Shit, I was out that long?” I straighten up, running my hands through my hair. I’m trying to collect my wits when I get an inkling of being watched, and glance up to meet Dominic’s stare. He’s observing our exchange closely. I reply to Sean with my eyes still on Dominic. “Why is he taking me?”
Sean follows my line of sight. “I live just a few miles away, and I need to close this place down,” he replies gruffly.
I switch my gaze to him. “You don’t sound happy about it.”
He gives me that beaming smile of his, as if he’s shaking off some irritation. “I wanted to take you.”
“So, you take me,” I say hoarsely, clearing the rest of the sleep from my voice. “You don’t work here anymore, right?”
“It’s just tonight,” he says, his jaw tightening.
“Okay.” I stand. “But I can drive myself.”
“Just let Dominic take you,” Sean says insistently. “You were out for a while. That’s some potent shit you inhaled. Just to be safe.”
I feel slightly uneasy. My brain is still a bit cloudy from being inside the garage bong for so many hours, so I nod. I haven’t mastered the mountainous roads, especially after nightfall, and I decide not to risk it.
Once outside, the fresh air hits as I follow a silent Dominic to a sleek black old-body Camaro.
“Nice,” I say as he opens the passenger door. I glance over and meet Sean’s watchful gaze from where he’s standing in the doorway of the shop. I smile and wave goodnight, and see his gaze drift from Dominic to me before he feigns a smile back at me. I’ve seen enough genuine smiles from Sean at this point to know the difference. He’s pissed. I glance over to Dominic and see his unforgiving stare on Sean before he ushers me inside his car and shuts the door. I’ve barely registered the exchange when Dominic slides into the driver’s seat and starts the Camaro. Loud music blares, making me jump in my seat as the engine’s purr tickles my senses. Dominic doesn’t bother to turn it down, but does the opposite, cranking it up to ears-bleeding volume, ruining any chance of conversation.
Prick.
Screeching guitar fills the cabin of the car as I shift my gaze over to him while he backs out of the driveway, his hand on the gear shift. He doesn’t bother checking the rearview to look for oncoming traffic and whips us out like he owns the road.
Wide-eyed, I look back to where Sean was standing and see he’s gone.
And then Dominic floors it, tearing out like a bat out of hell, his speed reckless. The transition is smooth as he switches gears and floors it down every straightaway. It’s the scariest fifteen seconds of my life until I decide to let the crippling fear go and embrace the ride. By then I’m caught up, wrapped in the exhilaration, my heart pounding as I throw my head back and a loud laugh escapes me.
I look over to where Dominic sits, controlling the car like an expert, knowing the give and take of every inch of the pavement, hugging the yellow lines like he’s memorized every one of them. He doesn’t so much as look my way, but I swear I see his lips twitch at the sound of my laughter. It curbs as I study him in the dim light of the cabin, the music pulsing through me, along with the feel of the motor dancing beneath me. Dominic is in his element, in complete control as he drives on through the pitch-black night. I can faintly see my own headlights behind us before they flutter out.
“Bundy” by Animal Alpha blares out of his speakers, a contrast to the eerily quiet night amongst the evergreens surrounding us. I place my hands on the dash, the feel of the stealthy car eating the road a lot like flying. Soaking in every moment, I swear I feel a shift in the air as I rock myself a little to the devilish beat. If driving this way is to intimidate or scare me, he’s failing miserably, much to my surprise.
In the space of a song, I let go, without a care for his perception. I let myself enjoy these few minutes of not being in control, of leaving my fate in someone else’s hands. Since I’ve been in Triple Falls and felt the space between my mother and me, I’ve realized my role in her life has been more of a reversal than I wanted to admit. I admit it to myself now, that I’ve been more like the parent than she has in the last nineteen years. I’ve been stricter on myself than she ever has been on me. I’ve willingly never given her a reason to worry. I’ve pulled the wine out of her hand, and ground out her ash-ridden cigarettes, and covered her with a blanket more times than I can count. I saved my virginity for someone I thought loved and respected me while secretly shaming her for her blatant promiscuity during my younger years. From the stories she’s told me, she was the original party girl, and daily, I bore witness to the aftermath of her life choices. I’ve lived the opposite of her decisions, which I know gave her relief. But in this moment, just for a few minutes, I let all that go. With the wind in my hair, I close my eyes and just ... fly.
And it feels fucking liberating. So much so that I find myself disappointed when the car begins to slow and Dominic turns onto the isolated road that leads to my father’s estate.
