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Of course, Shiloh had laughed himself to tears over that, and he’d been calling Dom Gramps for the last twelve months until Dom started actually pouting about it and took Sarah up on her offer for a salon day. He’d been coloring his hair black ever since.
Whenever Shiloh pet his hair after that, which was still coarse and thick, Dom felt like he was melting. “You don’t look old to me,” Shiloh tried to soothe. “He just wanted the aesthetic without the saggy balls.”
Dom scoffed. “How would you know the state of my balls?”
“Because you walk around the house naked for at least five minutes after your shower whether I’m there or not. And anyway, I think your grey hair was nice. It suited you.”
Dom rolled his eyes and shoved at him. “That’s because everything you see is grey. The black makes me stand out less.”
Shiloh only smiled at him and shrugged. “My point stands. And I don’t think there’s anything you could do to make people not notice you. You’re one of the most beautiful men I have ever set my eyes on. Even if they’re kind of shit.”
And like everything that tumbled from his best friend’s lips, those words wrapped around his heart and squeezed, making him feel a rush of love he knew would never be returned.
He’d been pining since he was eleven, and he was pretty sure that was going to remain his state of being until the day he was dead and buried.
“…matchingcostumes, Dom?” Sarah’s voice cut into his thoughts, and Dom startled back to the present. He stared at the bowl he’d laid on the scale, then the pile of flour he was meant to be measuring. “Neither of you even dressed up last year, and now you’re coming as a bloody couple?”
Dom let out a long-suffering sigh and didn’t ask her to repeat what he’d missed. “It’s no worse than anything else we do. This is just…how it is, okay? I can handle myself.”
She gave him a flat look, and he turned away, not in the mood for another one of her lectures about how he needed to properly move on from his pointless crush because it was never going to happen. He didn’t need the reminder that he wasn’t good enough, or fit enough, or smart enough for his gorgeous, genius best friend.
Thathappened every single morning when he looked in the mirror.
Not that he thought he was ugly. He rather thought his greys gave him character like Shiloh always said every time Dom complained about them. His dad’s dark locks had lasted well into his sixties, but his mum had always had streaks of iron in her curls, which he’d loved. And well, his face was alright, he supposed—just shy of plain with his big jaw and his furry brows that he couldn’t seem to tame no matter how many times Sarah convinced him to have a wax and a trim.
He was just…a lot. Big in his body, massive hands, a little…maybe not thick, but it had always taken him a bit longer to catch on to things than anyone else. He ran on instinct—the desire to protect those he cared about and make everyone laugh. Of course, Shiloh had always been at the top of the class, and he knew his best friend deserved someone who could keep up with him when he wanted to talk about all those ancient philosophers and old wars and rising and falling dictators and things.
Shiloh had tried to tutor him for years, and he entirely credited him for being able to pass two A-levels, which he considered a triumph. He wasn’t overwhelmed with university acceptance letters the way he was certain Shiloh had been, but he’d gotten a couple, and that was something. But it wasn’t goodenough.
“You know what? We’re going to fix this before Shiloh and Jules get back. I’m going to find you a date for the party,” Sarah said.
Dom blinked at her. “Sorry?”
“You heard me,” she scolded. “I want you to bring a date, and I know you won’t do it on your own, so now I need to get involved. It needs to be someone who isn’t Shiloh. I don’t care if you go through with this ridiculous plan to match with him. I want you to find someone you connect with. I want you to think about yourself for once—even if it’s just your dick. I mean, seriously, how long has it been since you’ve gotten laid?”
He hated her tone—that sort of smarmy teacher’s tone she had developed after coming back to teach the little snot-nosed kids they’d once been. She used her tone on him too often, and it was because it always worked. Like right now when he didn’t argue after she snatched his mobile off the counter and tapped in the password she absolutely should not know.
“That’s not your business,” he finally snapped.
She gave him an apologetic look, but he could tell by her expression she was not going to give up. “Fine. I can tell from your shit mood that it’s been a while. So let’s think. An app would be the best bet since there’s no real fresh meant in Benld…”
He swallowed thickly, then shook his head. That had been the man who called him old, and he wasn’t looking for a blow to his ego. “Absolutely not. You remember what happened last time I tried that.”
She glanced up at him and shook her head with a sigh before switching to another. “That’s fair. Every one of those you’ve brought round were total wankers.” She hummed, then tapped on an icon he couldn’t see from where he was standing. She wouldn’t exactly have a shortage of conversations to peruse. It had become sort of a hobby, trolling the apps and flirting. He just rarely pulled the trigger because, well…
None of them were appealing.
None of them were Shiloh.
“Ooh, wait. There’s Gary…” she started, and he groaned. He didn’t need to search his memory forfuckingGary.
Gary was a fucking weirdo who worked at the phone accessory stand on the pier, and he’d been trying to chat Dom up for months. The only reason he was in Dom’s DMs was because the man was persistent, and well, Dom supposed Gary was a sure thing if he ever got desperate enough. And all he could do was pray it never got that bad.
“Pass. He once told me he gets tingles when he lets his dog lick his feet,” Dom said with a shudder.
Sarah’s eyes went wide. “Fuck’s sake. Alright…” She scrolled a bit more. “Dan. Oh, he’s fit. Oh, and he’s good at flirting. Is that a sext he sent you last week?”
Dom flushed and tried to take the phone, but she danced out of reach. “Once again, none of your business. And our names areDanandDom,” he pointed out. “So obviously that’s a no go.”
