After our little kitchen moment—where I basically unleashed all my personalities at once—I avoided him for the rest of the day.
It helps that my family’s been blowing up my phone. The group chat got so overwhelming, I muted it. By some miracle, I managed to keep them from coming over, claiming I was resting. When really, I just didn’t have it in me to pretend I’m okay. I can fake it over the phone. But in person? That’s a whole different level of draining.
It should bother me more that Dominic is still here, but the truth is, I’ve never felt safer. I could get used to this feeling—and that’s the problem. Letting myself rely on him is dangerous. I used to rely on him for everything. Somewhere along the way, I lost the ability to exist without him. I didn’t know who I was without his presence, and realizing that was terrifying. I felt stunted.
When everyone in college was exploring themselves, testing their boundaries, I was crumbling—trying to piece together a puzzle with too many missing parts. I swore I’d never let it happen again. I told myself I’d never mold to someone so much that I disappeared.
But the longer Dominic is here, the more I want to lose myself.
CHAPTER 30
Elyse
ENJOY THIS TIME
18 YEARS OLD
“Do you think anyone’s going to notice we disappeared?”
Dominic shakes his head as he continues driving. “Who cares? We graduated, we’re done.”
He’s right, but a flicker of guilt still pricks at me. We’re supposed to be with our class, celebrating at the senior party hosted by our school. Instead, we snuck off together.
Scottie is really the only person I care about hanging out with, but she was the one practically pushing me out the door.
“If I had someone to go sneak off and have sex with, do you really think I’d be hanging out with these people?” she’d said while looking around the packed gym with her nose scrunched.
I couldn’t really argue with her, so while the chaperones weren’t paying attention, we slipped out the non-working emergency exit and drove straight to Sullivan Ridge House.
Dominic isn’t usually one to break the rules, but after prom, I think he’s trying to make it up to me. I had no ideapart of the deal with us getting to spend more alone time together included both sets of our parents chaperoning prom.
Even though I’m not a big drinker, I’d hoped to have at least one drink—preferably through a flask that matched my dress. We didn’t even get to go to the after party at the Benton’s house. Despite embarrassingly winning prom king and queen, the night was pretty much a bust.
Tonight, though, it’s just us and the beginning of our last summer before reality kicks in. Thinking about the fall, and starting college, terrifies me, and I’m doing everything I can to enjoy this time while we still have it.
Dominic pulls up alongside the house. The cloudy night sky only emphasizing how much darker it is out here without any lights to speak of. He guides me inside, more by memory than by sight.
Using our cell phones, we light our usual candles and get settled on the pile of blankets I brought over earlier, just in case.
We’ve never spent a full night together and I can’t help the warmth that stirs low in my belly thinking about sleeping in Dominic’s arms.
I wrap my arms around him, bringing his lips down to meet mine. Slipping my tongue in, I instantly deepen the kiss. He opens up, taking more of me as his hands skim down my sides, and he crawls on top of me.
“We have all night, we don’t have to go fast.” He kisses along my jaw and down my neck, sending waves of heat down my spine.
My thighs fall open, making room for him. “Exactly,” I giggle. “We have all night. Think about how many times we can go.”
He laughs against my lips. “Querida mía, don’t set me up for failure.”
We continue making out, Dominic trying to go slow whileI do the opposite. He slides the straps of my graduation dress down slowly, revealing the swell of my small cleavage. My back arches, aching for him to go faster.
When my breasts are finally free, the sound of a car door slamming brings everything to a screeching halt.
Dominic slides my dress back in place like it was never down to begin with. He scrambles off me and crawls over to the window.
“Shit,” he hisses. “Cops.”
What!
