Dom looked up to find Henry staring at him, eyes dark and expression telling Dom exactly what he meant by that.
“Okay.” He picked up his cue, then started to gather all the balls into the triangle again. “Who wants to break?”
Henry laughed and gestured for Dom to go first. “You need all the help you can get.”
“Nah,” Dom said as he leant over the table. “I just needed the right incentive.” He smacked the white into the triangle of balls and whooped in delight as he sunk a stripe.
Whether Henry let him win or Dom miraculously improved, he couldn’t decide. As his last ball disappeared into the pocket, Dom raised his arms in triumph. “Yes!Finally.”
Henry rolled his eyes, but Dom noted he didn’t look all that bothered about having lost.
Maybe he likes the idea of you taking control.
Dom immediately pushed that thought to the back of his mind. At least while they were in public, anyway.
“So,” Henry said, setting his cue on the table and lowering his voice. “What did you have in mind for later?”
“Hmm.” Dom tapped his chin with a finger. “I need to give it some serious thought.” That made Henry laugh, and Dom walked over to stand beside him. “But first, why don’t we go get some lunch?”
“Yeah, I could eat.”
They chose to get a sandwich at the coffee shop inside the sports area, and as they queued for their drinks, Dom marvelled again at how easy this all was. Maybe knowing this was a time-limited experience took some of the pressure off? He didn’t have to worry about what this was between them because after this week, they never had to see each other again.
That thought wasn’t as comforting as he’d thought it would be.
Because maybe you like him a little more than you’re willing to admit. That’s why it’s easy between the two of you.
Dom huffed to himself. He was being ridiculous. Two days. That’s all it had been. Holiday flings were like that, though. He needed to remember that this would all feel different once they got back to real life.
“You okay?” Henry asked, giving him a quizzical look.
“Yeah, just thinking.”
“About tonight?” Henry raised his eyebrows. “I know I am.”
That brought a smile to Dom’s face, and he forced himself to be in the present, to enjoy Henry’s company instead of worry about something that was days away yet. “I know exactly what I’m going to do with you,” he murmured, just for Henry’s ears.
Henry nudged him, playfully. “Oh yeah?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Can’t wait.”
* * *
“Well.”Henry smiled ruefully as he leant on the wooden railing next to Dom and sighed. “As pretty as this all is...” He gestured to the fairy lights sparkling in the dark surrounding the outdoor pool. “It’s not what I imagined when you won our bet.”
Dom knew he was taking a chance suggesting this, but swimming at night here was something he loved, and he wanted to show Henry. Hopefully it wouldn’t backfire and ruin their evening. “It is pretty though, right?”
White trees dotted the outside of the pool and along the banks either side of the slides. With the lights illuminated in the water, it had a magical feel, and Dom loved all of it.
“Yes,” Henry grudgingly agreed. “It is.”
“You can’t come here without going in the pool, and at night is the best time.”
Henry snorted. “This is day two. We have a whole five days to come here. Why tonight when we could be naked—”
His mouth snapped shut as a family with small children walked past them, kids yawning loudly.
