Just hearing him loosened something in me. Familiar. Steady.
“Hi,” I said, and my voice wobbled in a way I didn’t mean.
A pause.
“Hey,” he said softly. “What’s wrong?”
I swallowed. “Nothing.”
He didn’t bite. He just waited, patient as ever, and the silence made me want to scream.
“I met someone,” I blurted.
The words landed like a plate shattering.
On the other end, Dominic went very quiet.
“Okay,” he said carefully. “Tell me what you mean by that.”
I closed my eyes hard. My heart hammered.
“I mean—” My voice shook. “I mean she’s been around at shoots. She’s… kind. And funny. And she makes me breathe. And I haven’t—” I stopped, because my throat was closing. “I haven’t done anything. Not really.”
Not really.
What abullshitphrase.
Dominic didn’t speak for a long moment.
When he did, his voice was gentle in a way that hurt.
“Did you kiss her?”
My mouth went dry.
“Yes,” I admitted, barely audible.
A longer pause.
Not anger.
Not shouting.
Just a silence that felt like distance being measured.
“Okay,” Dominic said again, and his voice was different now. Not cold. Just… braced. “Thank you for telling me.”
I flinched at the kindness like it was a blade. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” I said, too fast. “I don’t know who I’m— I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m not trying to?—”
“Flash,” he interrupted softly. “Stop. Breathe.”
I did, shakily. “I need you to be honest,” he said. “Not efficient. Honest.”
I swallowed hard. “I’m trying.”
“I believe you,” he said, and the faith in his voice made my eyes burn. “But trying isn’t the same as deciding.”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
