I maneuver around him, giving a shy wave to the guys who are staring at me. There is complete silence as I head toward the same seats we had yesterday.
“We’re preparing for takeoff.” The announcement comes through the speakers.
Noticing that everyone has already changed out of their formal attire, I quickly glance down at the clock and realize I was only ten minutes late. Dominik is standing behind me, practically glued to my back, and I turn to face him.
“Did the flight time move up, or is my watch wrong?”
“I tried calling you. Our departure time got moved up. We’ve been waiting half an hour for you. I was worried sick, Zo.”
Oh, crap.
“Shit. I’m really sorry. My phone died, I swear.” I flash him my dead phone, and he nods.
“I believe you, but being away from home and not knowing where you went was fucking stupid.” He leans down, his lips a ghost above my ear. “You ran off on me before I even woke up and never came back.”
Inching back so I can look at him, I smile. “You said you were coming to find me, so I hid. Guess I won this round.”
Dominik flares his nostrils and clenches his fists, keeping his eyes on the headrest in front of him. That just makes me smilewider, seeing him worked up like this. I might be enjoying it a little too much.
He doesn’t say anything as we both fasten our seatbelts. The flight attendants walk by, smiling and checking everyone over before they retreat to their seats and the plane prepares for take-off.
I recline, fixating on the minuscule airplane window, and shut my eyes as we speed up, propelling into the sky.
I must have passed out because when I open my eyes next, the entire cabin is shrouded in darkness. Dominik is sitting motionless, eyes closed and hands resting in his lap. He too must be passed out. It’s no wonder we’re so tired since we got very little sleep last night.
I shift in my seat, trying not to rouse the sex demon inside me by thinking about last night.
“We need to talk,” Dominik says, startling me with his deep, whispered voice.
“No, we don’t.”
This is exactly why I took off early this morning. He probably wants to dissect everything, talk about our feelings, and I just have no interest in doing that. Even though last night woke something carnal inside me, it still doesn’t change the past or everything that happened after I discovered Dom’s secret. Boston was one giant lie. Another thing that was never mine.
I get angry when I remember Dominik was keeping tabs on me. He was stalking me, taking photos of me without my knowledge, and monitoring me. He lied to me and hid so many secrets. Everything about us has always been a lie.
Last night was amazing, but it didn’t change anything. What I loved the most was how I didn’t think about anything else when I was with him. My life outside the bedroom, our expectations, my past, my family, my brother... I even forgot my own name attimes. It was perfect. And it’s exactly what I’ve been craving for so long.
I’m tired of existing inside my head. Tired of feelings, memories, worries. I crave total oblivion. I want to forget who I am, and I think Dominik can help me achieve that. Why can’t he help me do that? Why can’t that be enough?
What if we just stay paused?
“Stop being so fucking stubborn,” Dominik grits out.
“I don’t want to talk. There is nothing to talk about.”
“We can’t just ignore everything and go back to the way things were. That’s not how it works.”
I turn to face him. “No, we can’t go back and forget everything you fucking did. And I don’t know where we go from here, so I don’t want to move, okay? I just…don’t have answers.”
“What does that mean?” His forehead wrinkles, and I wish I could read him the way he seems to read me, but Dominik is a closed book. Impossible to decipher.
I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
“Well, I can’t ignore it. I can’t pretend anymore. Nor do I want to.”
“So, what? You’re going to tell Aaron everything?” The tightness in my chest intensifies as all the things I’ve tried to avoid come bubbling up.
“If that’s what it takes to have you,” Dominik says, his expression completely serious.
