I tried to organise my thoughts for a few seconds before I finally just gave in and blurted out the most important question. “You want that? An ‘us’?”
He shot me a quizzical look. “I would’ve thought that was obvious given what happened earlier.”
The tips of my ears were burning again. “Well, it’s not like you end up in relationships with everyone you hook up with. Besides, it was my first time doing…well, that. It’s not like I know what comes next.”
“Sorry,” Dominic said, squeezing my hand lightly. “I keep forgetting that this is all new for you.”
“It’s kind of new for you too, isn’t it?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess. Can’t say I ever thought I’d do anything with a guy before you.”
“It doesn’t…bother you?” From how confidently he was holding my hand, I suspected not, but I needed the reassurance. “Being with a bloke?”
“Nope. Not if the bloke is you.” He shrugged. “Like I said, it’s not something I’d considered before but recently, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.”
“Same,” I replied honestly. “I don’t know what that means though. Are we, like, bisexual? Gay?”
“I’m not sure we need to label it. I like you, Ryan. I want to explore this with you, no one else. That’s good enough for me.”
When he put it like that, it seemed so simple. “It is for me too.”
We grinned at each other in the moonlight, like neither of us could quite believe this was happening. Our feet had carried us to the railway tracks, and despite the late hour, we both knewbetter than to walk along them. Instead, we made our way along one of the ditches on either side.
“So, what now?” I asked. Now that we’d started this conversation, I didn’t want it to stop until everything was out in the open. “What next?”
“The beauty of this is that it’s up to us. We can do whatever we like.”
“It’s that simple?”
“It is if we make it that way. So, Shadow, what do you want?”
“You,” I said instantly, not even caring about the speed at which I answered. “Us. I want that.”
The soft smile he gave me had my fingers itching for a pencil. “Good. Me too. Just us, though. I don’t want you with anyone else while we’re doing this.”
I snorted. “Like that’s going to happen, Dom. You’re the only person I’ve ever been with in any way.”
Dominic’s eyes took on a possessive gleam. “Damn right I am, and that’s how it’s going to stay until we decide otherwise. Got it?”
I used the hand not in his to rearrange myself with a muttered curse. Dominic’s possessiveness was evidently hitting all the right buttons. “Got it, and the same goes. I won’t share you, Dominic. Not like that.”
My heart ached even as I said it, because we both knew I would be sharing Dominic. Not in the same way, but he’d never be fully mine.
A part of him would always belong to Max.
“Of course,” he said. “Shadow, no one else exists for me right now. Believe me, I’ve tried.”
The image of Gabriella in his arms flashed through my mind. “I know.”
Cool lips pressed against my temple. “Forget about her. I already have. It’s just you for me now.”
I bit my lip to try and contain my smile. I failed. “Fuck, this is surreal, Dom. I can’t believe we’re doing this.”
“Me neither,” he confessed. “After the gym, I thought…”
His voice trailed off but his words lingered in the air regardless.
I thought this was over.
