Dominic let’s out a low tsk, eyes flicking to the unfastened seatbelt. “Ellie girl, I'm driving. It's not safe if you're not buckled up.”
I ignore him, brushing my nose against his neck and breathe him in. His cologne mixes with a scent that's clean, yet spicy, pure Dominic. Indescribable, but completely addictive.
“What if I don't want to be safe?” I murmur, my lips brushing his skin. “What if I want to be reckless?”
He exhales, long and drawn out, before pulling the car to a stop and putting it in park. His hand finds my hip, and before I know it, he's tugged me across the console and onto his lap. My legs straddle him, arms looping around his neck.
“You're a bad influence,” he teases, his lips trailingfeatherlight kisses along my neck, up to my jaw, and finally capturing my mouth with his. His kiss is gentle, but mine isn't. I deepen it, slipping my tongue against his, and he moans, pulling me tighter.
My hips instinctively roll against him, the heat between us building until it's almost too much to stand.
“Mmm-mmm.” Dominic pulls back, his forehead pressing against mine as his hands cradle my jaw, holding me still. “I'm not fucking you in this piece-of-shit car, in the middle of a field, surrounded by manure.”
I whine, not caring at all how desperate I sound.
A sighing groan escapes my lips as I roll my hips again. “But I’m so horny. I want you.” I kiss up his jaw. “We’ve never had sex in your car.” My whisper in his ear forces the skin right below it to scatter in goosebumps. I dust my breath over the area and watch the goosebumps spread.
Dominic practically squirms like he can’t stand it, but the growing hardness between his legs says otherwise.
“You make saying no to you very hard,” he rasps.
I giggle, swiveling my hips playfully. “You're definitely hard.”
He throws his head back against the headrest, huffing. “What am I going to do with you?”
I take it as a challenge, letting my hands drift down his chest until they reach the waistband of his jeans. “We could…” My words trail off as my fingers find the button on his fly.
Before I can make any real progress, he captures my wrist, stopping me.
“We're almost there, Ellie,” he says. The gruffness in his tone is filled with both desperation and resolve. “Just a little longer.”
His restraint makes me grin. I know he's hanging on by a thread, and sometimes I make it my mission to drive him wild— but I never push too far.
Taking pity on him, I climb back into my seat, bucklingup as his shoulders sag. I can’t tell if he’s relieved or frustrated. Likely both.
I figured we’d have sex pretty quickly after our relationship shifted from friendship to something more, but Dominic had other ideas. He wanted to wait—not because he didn’t want me, but because we were both virgins, and he wanted it to be special for me. It was very sweet, yet incredibly excruciating.
Somehow, by sheer willpower—and maybe a few well-timed interruptions—we made it nearly two years before giving in. And when we finally did, it was everything I’d hoped for. He made it special, just like he promised. Every time since then, he’s treated me with a level of care I’ve come to realize is rare. If my friends’ stories are anything to go by, I got lucky—because all my firsts belong to him. And I wouldn’t change a single one.
As the car continues on its journey, I glance out the window, the fading sunlight casting golden streaks across the hills. It doesn’t matter how many times we make the drive, the view never gets old. The hills look as if they go on forever, like it’s just us and them—our own little world. Sometimes it’s like life is spinning too fast, change is on the horizon, it’s inevitable, but then we come here, and I can breathe again.
“We’re here,” Dominic announces.
The car rolls to a stop, the tires crunching over gravel as Dominic kills the engine. A soft silence settles, broken only by the distant rustle of leaves in the breeze and the faint hum of crickets.
I stare out the windshield at the dilapidated house. It looks even more haunting in the fading light, the last rays of the sun catching the jagged edges of broken windows and highlighting the overgrown vines that cling to its stone facade. Despite its decay, there’s something magical about it too.
Dominic opens his car door, and the creak of the hingesechoes in the quiet. He holds my door open, the cool spring air kissing my skin as I step out.
“Still as creepy as ever,” I say, squinting up at the house.
“Creepy?” Dominic smirks, walking around the car. “More like mysterious.”
I laugh, the sound bouncing off the empty space around us. He grabs a blanket from the back seat, slinging it over his shoulder before offering me his hand.
“Come on, Ellie girl. Let’s see the view before we lose the light.”
Sometimes, we come here to escape our parents; other times, we come just for us. For talks, for silence, for the freedom of being alone together. This long-abandoned house has become our unexpected sanctuary.
