Page 59 of Cruel Promise
She’s wearing a figure hugging, white dress that stops just below her thighs, a few inches shy of indecent. The shimmery material contrasts with her rich dark skin and highlights her thin waist, flared hips, and toned thighs. Her dark brown locs are twisted into an elegant bun with a few jeweled pins added as embellishments, and she’s wearing strappy, white stilettos that I would one-hundred percent fall flat on my face in.
Her legs are long and lean despite her small stature, so basically, she looks amazing. And here I am in a pair of leggings and an oversized t-shirt with my hair haphazardly thrown into a messy bun, half of which has fallen out of my scrunchy and hangs in loose curls around my face.
How the hell am I supposed to compete with that?
I can’t.
She hasn’t noticed I’m here. I’m all but invisible with the way she and Dominique look at one another. Like they’re eager to leave. To be alone.
“Yeah,” Dom grunts, and retrieves his jacket from the sofa before moving for the door.
He’s about to leave and something dark and vicious swirls in my stomach, making bile rise in my throat as he places his hand on the small of Tamara’s back. Dominique pauses just outside the door and turns to look at me over his shoulder.
“I’ll uh,” His throat works to swallow, his discomfort obvious as he says, “I’ll see you later.” The question in his gaze surprises me.
Is that what he thinks? That he’ll go out with a girl like that and still show up at my room later tonight?
When I don’t respond, he adds, “Coach will have my balls if I try to bail, but Aaron should be back soon. Do you need us to wait until he gets here?” He glances at the clock. It’s obvious he doesn’t have time to wait. Not that I want him to. Gah. Can you imagine? The three of us awkwardly sitting in the living room until my brother gets home?
No, thank you. This was bad enough.
I wave him off, shoving down the emotions that clog my throat. Screw him. Deacon was right. Dominique is having his cake and eating it, too.
Tamara’s been on his arm at every major Suncrest U event since Dom’s freshman year. I’m an idiot, and I should have seen this coming. She’s endgame material. He wouldn’t keep her around if there wasn’t something there. I made a mistake thinking that because I never saw her around, she wasn’t important. I was wrong. My chest burns like someone is pressing hot coals to it. I can’t drag enough air into my lungs, but I somehow manage to force out one word.
“Nope.” I blink hard and cough to clear my throat. “Have fun.”
Dom’s mouth twists into a grimace. I don’t sound convincing, but what does he expect me to say? Yes. Stay with me, but make her go away? Skip dinner or take me instead?
It’d never happen, and even if it would, I’m not desperate enough to ask. Forcing a smile, I pretend everything is okay.
Dominique Price is a free man. He can go on dates with whoever he wants without talking to me or considering my feelings about it. We’re not in a relationship. What we have is an arrangement.
As long as he doesn’t sleep with her, he’s not breaking the rules. The reminder should offer some level of comfort, but it doesn’t. We agreed not to sleep around with other people, but what if he changes his mind? How would I even know?
And there’s a lot two people can do outside of explicit sex. The thought shoots ice into my veins.
Look at her. Of course, he’d want to screw around with her. Who wouldn’t? I’m not into girls and even I’d consider experimenting if it was with someone who looked like that.
Will he tell me before it happens? Should I expect a late night message from Dominique letting me know the deal is off and that he’s fucking her instead? Maybe he’ll fill me in after it happens. A belated courtesy if he gives me one at all.Fuck. I’m going to be sick.
Tamara watches our exchange before meeting my gaze. Her head tilts to the side, almond eyes openly curious. “Oh. Hi,” she says with a laugh. “I didn’t see you there. I’m Tamara.”
I give her a small wave because what else am I supposed to do here? “Kasey. Nice to meet you.”
“You too. Do you live here too, with…” she trails off, leaving me to fill in the blanks as she looks at Dom, expecting one of us to answer.
She’s good, I’ll give her that. With one question, she can determine our situation without being obnoxiously obvious about it. Only curious.
“No.” Dominique doesn’t elaborate, but my nerves force me to fill the silence.
“Aaron is my brother,” I tell her, realizing I gave her the answer she wanted, confirming I’m no one to Dominique.
Pointing down the hallway, I take a few retreating steps. “I forgot a few things in the guest room.” Screw waiting for my brother to get home. I need to get out of here. “But it was nice meeting you.”Not.
Dominique looks at me like I’m acting weird, but I ignore him and make my escape, turning the corner to the hallway before pressing my back to the wall and sucking in a desperate breath.
Tamara says something to him I can’t make out. But Dominique’s voice is deep, allowing me to hear his reply.
