I slapped his ass playfully. Then I realized--
It wasn't Dom.
xx
The guy turned around. My mind was screaming MAYDAY MAYDAY. I felt my cheeks burn; I knew they were almost to their brilliant shade of embarrassed. I looked at him....he looked oddly familiar...
"NIK??!" I half-screamed, half-whispered in shock. It was Dom's brother—but more importantly, my ex. "What--What are you doing here??" I stammered.
He chuckled. Then he frowned. "Hey, Veto," he said coolly. I flinched at my old nickname. "Where's Dom?" he asked, like I would have known.
"I'm not sure...I figured he'd be down here. He wasn't up in our hotel room..." I was starting to get worried. Or, if he was okay, and just didn't tell me where he was going, irate.
Nik and I waited around, making small talk. One of the many things I still haven't mastered in my twenty years.
"...So then I was like, why did he do that? The bear was right there!" Nik said, laughing so hard the cheap wine in his Styrofoam cup spilled on his black, Ryan-Stiles-like shoes. I chuckled along, even though I had missed the story line. I'd been thinking about Dom—and how he would feel about all of that.
Then it happened. He leaned in for a kiss. I freaked out and backed away. He looked hurt, but he knew that I was over him and that I was in love with, of all people, his brother. Upset, I ran down the hall, up the stairs, and into our hotel room.
Ignoring my trouble to catch my breath, I went into the bathroom and on impulse started to fill the sink with cold water. When it was full, I took a deep breath and stuck my head in. I let it all consume me, leaving me numb. Eventually I ran out of breath and was forced to take my head out. Once I did I immediately felt a little better.
I grabbed for a towel to dry my soaking-wet hair—but just enough that it stopped dripping. I flipped my head up; I felt so fresh, so new.
I walked out to lie on the bed and when I got there—there was Dom.
