Relief flooded me. “Oh, I totally get it. I feel the same.”
He held on to my sleeve the entire way onto the bus, and I couldn’t have wiped the grin off my face even if I’d tried. Toanyone else, it’d just seem like he was impatiently tugging his friend along.
Only we knew how much he wanted to take my hand. Just as he had last night. But this was as close as he could get without arousing suspicion.
We had a secret. Dominic and I were together, and no one knew.
Not even Max. The person he shared everything with.
It shouldn’t have been as exhilarating as it was.
Amy and Max were at the back of the bus, sucking face as usual. Dominic made a beeline for them, but I hesitated. Should I join them? Or was that too suspicious?
When he realised I wasn’t behind him, Dominic scowled over his shoulder. “Come on, Shadow, before the bus moves and you go arse over tit.”
My pulse picked up. To anyone else, it sounded like an insult Dominic would usually throw at me. But I could hear the concerned undertone.
I practically skipped down the rest of the aisle. Dominic stood aside, letting me take the window seat and dropping into the one beside me.
There was a slurping noise as Max extracted himself. He blinked in surprise to find me sat in their row, before a dark scowl appeared. “Are you lost, Ryan? Your seat’s up there.”
My temper flared, but Dominic subtly spread his legs, nudging his knee against mine as he spoke. “Didn’t realise there was assigned seating.”
“I think it’s nice that Ryan’s sitting with us,” Amy said, smiling at me kindly. She really was too nice for my twin. “Isn’t it, Max?”
With both his best friend and his girlfriend encouraging it, Max had no choice but to accept it. Didn’t stop him alternating between glaring at me and out of the window.
I was finding it hard to give a shit. To be honest, I couldn’t concentrate on anything other than the fact that Dominic’s knee was still pressed against mine. It was the tiniest amount of contact, but it couldn’t get better than this.
Then he casually dropped his hand onto his thigh and stretched his fingers wide until our pinkies touched.
Nope. I’d been wrong.
This was better.
19
Ryan
I walked out of my lesson to find Dominic leaning against the wall. His arms were folded casually over his chest, one foot kicked up behind him. Just like always, there was a scowl marring his brow. I used to think Dominic was just perpetually pissed off at the world. Now, I knew it was just his resting face.
Until he saw me, that was. That was when the scowl melted, to be replaced by the most beautiful smile. One I’d only ever seen aimed in my direction.
“Hi,” I said softly as I stopped in front of him. This wasn’t the greeting I wanted to give him, but we were in public. “Fancy seeing you here.”
His smile deepened. “Where else would I be?”
We probably looked like fools with how we were grinning at each other. “In your own lesson?”
“Nah.” Dominic shoved off the wall and I fell into step beside him. “I’d much rather wait for you.”
My hands twitched with the need to grab him, but I settled for nudging him with my shoulder. “Not sure your exam results will thank you.”
“Good thing I don’t care about them.”
It wasn’t the first time Dominic had alluded to that. In the three weeks since Amy’s party, he’d been waiting outside the door after every one of my classes. Whenever I studied, he’d keep me company but never do any revising of his own.
I chewed at my lip as we walked, wondering if I could say something.You’re boyfriends, remember?
