CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Just Talkin'

I followed Dom into the kitchen and watched him as he took a seat at his kitchen table. He patted the table next to him so I took a seat next to him.

"Why'd you want me to come here with you?" I asked. He shrugged and smiled a little.

"I was hoping we'd be able to talk about things that need to be talked about without anything interrupting us." I nodded and smiled a little. I looked around and sighed a little. "What's wrong?"

"I need to use the restroom." He nodded and stood. I stood up and he pointed me in the direction of the bathroom. I walked down the hall and closed the door behind me. There was a bra hanging from the back of the door. I shook my head and looked around the bathroom. I didn't really need to use it, I just wanted to snoop around a bit. I opened the cabinet over the sink and there was a box of condoms. I pulled it out of the cabinet and it was unopened. I smiled a bit then looked at the front. These were too small to be Dom's. Nah, he probably kept his in his room, if he even used them. It was real cute how he asked if I had some type of disease. He's most likely slept with more people than me. Duh, I knew that was true. I've slept with only four people in my life. The knock on the door scared the shit out of me. I dropped the box and the door opened.

"Are you okay? You weren't..." He stopped when he saw the box of condoms. "Um... what are you doing?" He said chuckling.

"Sorry." I said apologetically. "These aren't yours." He nodded and smiled a little. "Whos are they?"

"Probably Mike's." I looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Who's Mike?"

"My boyfriend of course." He said in a girly, giddy voice. I chuckled and shook my head. "Nah, he's my roommate." I chuckled again and shook my head. He put his hands around my waist and kissed my cheek softly. "Let's go talk." He took my hand and led me back into the kitchen. He sat me down and then sat down in next to me.

"So..." I started. There was a noise from the door and Dom stretched his neck to see who it was. It was obviously his roommate, so why look? I shrugged it off and the door opened. A guy with a woman wrapped around his waist. I leaned back in my chair to see this. Dom looked at his watch and then back at the guy. The guy didn't even know we were there, he just went straight down the hall and into a room, closing the door.

"Yeah..." Dom said. "That's my roommate. You might know him. Mike Anderson." I smiled a little and nodded. "You don't like him?"

"Nah. Not really." He nodded and smiled a little. "Dom, we really need to talk." He nodded again. I knew he agreed. I smiled a little.

"Letty. I love you."

"Um. Dom, I love you. We at least know that much about each other." He looked at the table. It seemed to be quiet until I heard thumps and moans coming from his roommates room. Dom looked up at me and chuckled a little.

"I usually leave when they start that."

"Is she a regualr?" I joked. He laughed and put a hand on my shoulder.

"How about we go for a walk." He said motioning to the door. I nodded a little and he smiled. He stood but before I could, he reached out a hand to me. I took his hand and he helped me. I smiled and he put a hand on my hip. We walked toward the door. He opened it and I stepped out. He let my hand go and grabbed his keys and locked the door. He stepped out and pulled the door closed. "You hungry?" He offered.

"Yeah. I am but I'd probably just go home and make something for the kids as well." He nodded and looked at his watch. He pulled out his cell phone and handed it to me.

"Call Joe. See if he'll make something for the kids." I took the phone and nodded.

It didn't take much for me to get Joe to take care of my kids for the evening. He owed me one for covering for him one night.

"What did you owe that guy money for?" Dom asked as we walked along the sidewalk toward a destination I was unsure of.

"Honestly?" He nodded. "Back after the whole thing with DJ... I got into drugs real bad and I guess I didn't pay off all my debts."

"So, you used to be a druggie?" He asked. I chuckled a little and nodded.

"I got into it with Kendra. It wasn't healthy for either of the boys to have a mother like that. We tried to get out. It wasn't so easy for her. She had guys trying to kill her. I told her to leave, it wasn't smart for her to stay here. If anybody came looking for her, I didn't know where she was."

"So she left James with you?"

"More like abandoned him. She left him with me, she said I was the only one who could love him. So, she pretty much said screw him and you and I don't love either of you." I thought about what I said. "I mean don't get me wrong, I love James, it's just... he used to be a big handful."

"I heard about when Kendra got raped."

"How'd you hear about that?"

"Mari told me." I shrugged and nodded a little.

"Yeah. James witnessed that. He never wanted to say anything about it or anything at all. And I do believe it was the day I met you again... at Mike's party, that was the day he started to talk. Yeah, I bought him chocolate icecream." Dom smiled and put an arm around my shoulder.

"I'm sorry about the comment I made earlier."

"Which one?"

"The one about getting tested. I didn't mean it, I was just upset."

"Once I got downstairs, I wondered why I didn't ask you the same question." He looked down at the sidewalk. "But I didn't, that's the important thing." He nodded and looked at me.

"I have a question."

"Go ahead." I said taking my eyes off the sidewalk and looking up at him. The sidewalk was uneven and I've tripped once already.

"Where is DJ?" He asked. I looked back down at the sidewalk.

"I'm scared, if I tell you... you won't want to see him anymore."

"That's not true."

"Well, I'm not going to tell you. You'll have to find out tomorrow."

"Aww come on."

"No. You'll have to wait. Think of it as a surprise." He nodded and smiled. "So where are we going? My slippers are getting dirty."

"Oh boo hoo." I hit his shoulder playfully and he smiled. "We're getting something to eat. I'm starving. I haven't eaten since breakfast time."

"What time is it?"

"It's about eight. Why?" I shrugged and he smiled.

"Just wondering." His arm slipped from around my neck to around my waist and he pulled me close to him. He kissed the top of my head. I rested my head on his shoulder and he smiled. "We fight alot." I said bluntly. I felt him nod.

"I know."

"It's not healthy you know."

"I know."

"Especially around the kids."

"I know, Letty." He said, sounding more irritated.

"We should do something about that."

"How about no more fighting. No arguing or anything. If we need to argue or fight then we leave the house. We don't do it in front of the kids. How's that?"

"Sounds good." He smiled and led me up the sidewalk to a small cafe/diner. "This place is small."

"Oh but the food is amazing." He led me over to a booth in the corner. We were sitting there for a few minutes before a man in a uniform dress came out from behind the counter.

"Is this a gay diner?" I whispered to Dom over the table. He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Hello." The guy said in a girly voice. "I'm LuLu and I'll be your waitress today. Can I get you something to drink?"

"Corona." Dom said. The guy nodded and looked at me.

"Pepsi?" I asked. He smiled and I smiled back, holding back laughter.

"Pepsi it is. I will be right back. Don't you move your little tushy's." He walked away and I broke into laughter.

"Dom. What the hell kinda place did you take me to?" I questioned laughing.

"Oh, that's just some crazy guy. I don't know what's up with him." I sighed and wiped the tears of laugher from my eyes. The same guy, wearing a pair of jeans and a tshirt came out with our drinks.

"A corona for you." He said putting a bottle of beer down in front of Dom. "And a Pepsi for the lady."

"Thanks." I said softly. He smiled and nodded.

"Can I get your guys something to eat?"

"What's good to eat?" I asked.

"Bacon cheeseburger. It's the best."

"Oo. Then I want one." He nodded and looked at Dom.

"I'll take one too. Extra bacon." The guy smiled and turned away.

"Wait. Can I ask you a question before you leave."

"Yes ma'am." I smiled and looked at him.

"What was up with the whole dress thing?" I asked. He shrugged and smiled a little.

"My girlfriend was running late. I decided to cover for her."

"That's sweet of you." He smiled and nodded.

"I'll be back out soon with your food." I turned back toward Dom when he walked away. Dom smiled and licked his lips.

"Your going to like what you got. It's so good."

"What made you want to come here?"

"Good food." I nodded and smiled a little. He stood up and scooted into the booth with me. He put an arm around my neck and I smiled at him. "Your so hot." I chuckled and shook my head a little. "I love you." He said. It was blunt.

"I love you too Dom. We've said that, like a million times to each other today." He nodded and smiled a little.

"Will you marry me?" My face dropped whatever expression it had and went to a blank one.

"What?" I asked, unbelieving he'd just asked me that.

"Marry me, Letty."

"But I'm already engaged."

Ugh. I had to end it. Sorry. I keep telling my head to continue but it doesn't wanna. UGH. I wanna finish but I have to go get ready to leave and I wanted to post this before I left. So I do care... because I wanted to post before I left. How nice am I? Seriously. I'm not sure how long this ended up to be. Hopefully longer than the last chapter because I did promise that. And I still need advice on Mari's name. Thanks for reading... and REVIEW.