Page 32 of Breaking Free
Renzo shakes his head and looks down at Violet, who looks a little sheepish. Everyone is quiet and awkward, then it hits me.
“Do you know?”
She puts her hand on her chest. “I do know, but I swear I haven’t told anyone. Not even Dex. Zo told me a while back, before he and Ronan were even together.”
“Ah,” I say. “The infamous drunken hookup.”
Violet bites down on her lip.
Renzo actually looks like he feels bad. “I’m sorry, bro.”
I shrug. “It’s fine.”
Violet touches my arm. “My lips are sealed.”
I smile at her. “Thanks.”
She moves past us, taking the beer to Dex and introducing herself to Dominic.
“Let’s go play whatever they’re playing over there,” Ronan says, gesturing to the dining room table.
As I walk over, I catch Dominic’s gaze. He doesn’t look away from me as Jay talks to him, but I eventually break the eye-contact, aware now of the eye-fucking problem I have.
After finishing the game of chandelier, which is just another version of beer pong, some of us start munching on chips while a couple guys jump on the Playstation and play Madden. Someone announces a game of king’s cup, and it’s not until then that I notice more people are here. Some of the football guys invited some girls over, and there are a couple other guys who are probably just friends of friends.
I’ve done a pretty good job of ignoring Dominic, even though it’s the last thing I want to do. The alcohol in my system has me feeling brave, horny, and stupid. I want to call him to my bedroom, regardless of who’s here.
I watch over the top of my cup as he laughs with Jay, and all I can think about are Renzo’s words.Those two could hit it off.
I down the rest of my drink and find myself talking to Liv and her friend, Naomi. Naomi’s a petite brunette who flirts with me instantly. She’s cute, and obviously not my type, but I go with it. I flirt back, smiling and making her laugh with stupid jokes. Liv eventually leaves us alone, and she starts touching my arm as she asks me about myself.
She seems like a nice girl, but I have zero interest in doing anything with her. It’s just what I should do, right? People might think it’s weird if I’m not trying to talk to any of the girls here and instead brood in the corner, staring at the hot new running back.
And just like that, as if he knew I was thinking about him, Dominic appears, walking up behind Naomi, his eyes trained on me.
She notices when my gaze moves over her head, and turns around and spots Dom. He grins at her. “Can I talk to him for a minute?” he asks.
“Oh.” She looks surprised, her eyes finding mine. “Uhh.”
“What do you need?” I ask him.
He puts one hand in his pocket while his finger rubs his bottom lip, his piercing gaze pinning me in place. I can tell he’s mulling over his thoughts and trying to decide what he wants to say. I probably should’ve just let her leave us, because now I’m afraid of what he might say.
“Did you hook up with somebody up at Grand Valley? You look familiar.”
I clench my jaw and his lips twitch, fighting a grin.
“If I did, it wasn’t too memorable.”
He laughs then, his eyes going to the floor briefly before he looks back up at me and wets his lips. “Interesting.”
I glance at Naomi, who’s watching us with confusion marring her face. I have to turn this around.
“Why? Was it your girlfriend or something?”
Dominic chuckles and Naomi finally excuses herself, worried she’s about to get caught up in a fight over some chick that doesn’t exist.
“Real funny,” I say once she’s gone. “What’s wrong? Jealous?”