Domino arched an eyebrow, stretching his arms and yawning—still performing—and said casually, “Overslept. Long night.”
After he said that, his gaze flicked in my direction, a bold and teasing glint in his eyes. I met it with a practiced eye-roll, then I stood abruptly, grabbed my plate, and pushed my chair back with a sharp scrape against the floor, causing a few heads to turn.
“I’m going outside. I need some fresh air."
My father glanced between the two of us. “Something in the air I should know about?”
“Nope!” I chirped sweetly, turning on my heel and walking away, not sparing him a backward glance.
I could feel Domino's eyes boring into my back all the way to the patio.
Outside, the patio greeted me with its serene atmosphere. A light breeze rustled through the tall hedges, and birds chirped somewhere off in the distance.
Too damn peaceful for how mad I was.
I set my plate down on the table, the world around me falling silent… until I heard the door creak open behind me.
“I said I needed fresh air!” I snapped without turning around.
“Didn’t know I was the pollution,” Domino responded, stepping out with an infuriating calmness.
I peered over my shoulder and shot him a sidelong glance. “You’re definitely clouding up my space.”
A chuckle escaped him as he moved closer. “You mad atme?”
“Nope!” I replied, jamming a piece of bacon in my mouth with more force than necessary. “Why would I be mad at you? Because you let some girl scream outside my damn window, interfering with my beauty sleep?”
He shrugged, the indifference in his posture outright maddening. “I didn’t know you were watching,” he admitted, a hint of mischief in his voice.
“You did know! You looked right at me!”
“So what if I did? That supposed to mean something?” His response was effortless, as if it didn’t matter one bit.
I stood abruptly, my plate forgotten. “Nah. Just didn’t expect the King’s little weapon to act like a damn middle school boy trying to get attention.”
Domino licked his lips slowly, jaw flexing in a way that sent a shiver down my spine.
“Watch your mouth.”
“Or what? You’llfuckme like you did her?” I shot back, my voice rising to a nearly challenging level.
The silence was heavy.
Domino’s nostrils flared, and for a moment, he remained silent. His eyes locked onto mine as if weighing whether to kiss me or kill me.
Finally, he lowered his voice, making it low and fierce. “You keep barking like that, somebody’s gon’ bite.”
I stepped forward. “Then bite, Domino… or shut the hell up.”
I sat back down, trying to refocus on my food, but still too mad to eat. My nerves were jittery, and my petty was boiling over.
"Can you go? I need to make a phone call.”
He paused mid-stride, turning just enough to cast a penetrating glance over his shoulder. “To who? Your mean-ass boyfriend?”
“Yeah. He misses me and wants to see a lil’ somethin’,” I taunted, taking a leisurely sip of juice, just to drive the knife in deeper, savoring each second of his visible discomfort.
Domino turned all the way around, jaw flexing like he was chewing on a bullet. “You really trying to play with me, huh?”
