“Why the hell are you talking to him at three in the morning?”
“Because I worked until two.”
She rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palms. “Fuck, Coop, are you still seeing him?”
“Yes?”
“Will you stop asking your answers, please?”
“Sorry.” Trey felt like he’d been put onstage in the middle of a play, but no one gave him his lines. Getting caught was bad,especially if Danielle hated the guys of XYZ as much as Bobby seemed to. “I really like him, and he really likes me.”
“We’re going to be competing against each other at Unbound. Same category and everything.”
“We’re well aware, thanks.” Trey wanted to win to say fuck you to his old man. Dominic wanted to win so he didn’t have to quit his dream and get a real job. They’d put themselves into an impossible situation, and God only knew if this fledgling . . . whatever it was would survive one of them beating the other.
She moved closer, into the dim light of his desk lamp, and stared at him. “You really do like him, don’t you?”
“It probably sounds crazy, since we’ve only known each other for a few days, but I really, really do. When we play music together? Fuck, Dani, it’s like no music I’ve ever played. He’s a violin prodigy. Just crazy talented.”
“He’s also gorgeous.”
“That too.”
“He didn’t play his violin last night. Friday night. Whatever night.”
“He said he doesn’t play it with the band. Actually, he told me that he hadn’t played onstage in front of a live audience in years.”
“Why not?”
“No idea.” Trey didn’t like the tension that pulled at Dominic when that subject had come up, and it was way too early in their maybe-relationship, definite-friendship for him to ask. It had to be crazy personal to put someone off playing their favorite instrument for multiple years.
Danielle stared again. She had Resting Bitch Face a lot of the time, but right then she was definitely thinking. Hard. “Bobby will shit a brick if he finds out. You know how he is about loyalty.”
“Me seeing Dom isn’t being disloyal to us. He can’t get any information out of me that might hurt our chances at Unbound. He knows I’m not publicly out, and he’s too genuine a guy to use that against me.”
“Are you sure you aren’t getting attached because he’s the first guy you let fuck you?”
He rolled his eyes. “Have you ever known me to get moony over a guy for any reason whatsoever?”
“No.”
“Exactly. I want to be with Dom because . . .” He glanced at the laptop. “Because being apart from him right now feels strange. Itchy. Like I can’t sit still. Please keep this a secret. Please.”
“Fine. But only until we beat XYZ’s asses, and they’re no longer a threat.”
“Deal. After that we won’t have to hide it.” If they were even still together. Everything was still so uncertain, but Trey was positive about one thing: He needed Dominic Bounds in his life, and he’d do whatever it took to keep him.
For as long as humanly possible.
EIGHT
Dom managedto get his suitcase in his room and his violin case safely stowed away on its shelf before Lincoln sauntered in and flopped down on Dom’s bed.
“Okay, spill,” Lincoln said.
“Spill what?” Dom hefted his suitcase onto the bed next to Lincoln and unzipped it. He had plenty of laundry to do and no real energy to deal with his best friend. He needed a nap, too.
“You don’t run off to home base unless something’s up, and you’ve been different since Thursday. Is it that gig you wouldn’t tell me about?”
