Dom and I headed back up to the penthouse and I pulled out a phonebook from the coffee table. We began working through the long list of divorce lawyers in the Las Vegas area, with no luck. Apparently since we live in California, we have to see a California-based lawyer to annul our marriage. "I don't want to leave so soon", I said sadly, sitting back on the couch.
Dom thought for a minute. "We don't need to leave for L.A. today", he said. "Just because we're married doesn't mean we have to act like it." I looked at Dom, unsure about his plan. "Are you okay with that?" I asked. Dom shrugged and put his arm around me.
"Why wouldn't I be, Mrs. Howard?" he chuckled. I smiled and pushed him away. "Are you going to be calling me that all weekend?" I asked. Dom moved closer. "I kind of like the sound of it. Isabelle. Howard." I had to admit, I liked the way it sounded too. I stared into Dom's eyes, eyes that I have always seen before, but never realized how nice they were. We moved our faces closer-
"Guys? Paul is missing!" Dom and I jumped apart. Lucinda and Tom were standing in the entrance to the kitchen. "His bed hasn't been slept in since yesterday morning. The maid fixed it. Where could he be?"
Tom's bedroom door opened and Melrose and Aurora came out, looking nervous. "Lucinda! We.." Lucinda held up her hand.
"You slept with Tom. I know, it's okay." The girls looked unsure as they went to their rooms. Lucinda turned back to us. "Well?"
I sighed and took out my cell phone, calling Paul. After a few rings, there was an answer. "I'm bird-watching!" Paul said excitedly, and then hung up. I smiled. "Paul's okay", I said. "He's at the pool trying to pick up women." Lucinda looked relieved and her and Tom left.
"After all of the craziness from earlier today, I just want to relax", I said. "Want to come to the pool with me?" Dom shook his head. "I need to get some things and it might take the entire afternoon", he explained. "I'll see you later tonight."
By the time I changed into a swimsuit, everyone else had left the penthouse. I went down to the pool and looked around for Paul. I laughed when I saw him sleeping on one of the pool chairs. Matt was sitting next to him, taking a picture of Paul with his iPhone.
"I'm going to send this picture to all of the women he got numbers from yesterday", Matt cackled, saving the photo. "You're cruel!" I said, lounging on a chair. While Paul slept, Matt and I blissfully swam and tanned in the sun for the rest of the afternoon.
Once it began to get dark, we woke up Paul and left the pool. When we were about to go on the elevator, Matt's phone rang and he answered it. "You're finished?" he asked. He smiled wide. "Perfect, we're leaving now." He hung up and faced me. "I need to go somewhere with Paul. You go upstairs and I'll meet you later." He grabbed Paul by the arm and walked away, Paul asking "Where are we going?" That was odd.
I entered the elevator alone and went to the penthouse. The place was empty, although I could hear noises coming from the kitchen. I went inside to investigate and found Dom pouring popcorn into a large bowl. He turned around and smiled.
"How was your swimming?" Dom asked, offering me the bowl. I grabbed a handful. "It was fine", I answered. "Me and Matt had a nice time, although it would have been more fun if you were there." Dom chuckled. "Why don't I make it up to you, right now?" He walked out of the kitchen. Amused, I followed him.
Dom turned on a light in the living room. The coffee table was piled high with DVDs and movie treats. There were even more giant bowls of popcorn prepared. Dom's briefcase of candy was sitting on the sofa. "I declare tonight 'Movie Night'!" Dom said, sitting on the sofa and opening a soda can. He patted the space next to him. "Can't start without you."
I smiled and sat next to Dom, helping myself to more popcorn. "Was this what you spent all afternoon getting?" Dom nodded. "We never spent any time with just the two of us. We're usually with the band or your friends. I figured we can take a break from the Strip tonight and hang out, unless you wanted to go out."
"Are you kidding? Who needs nightclubs?" I looked through the stack of DVDs. "What shall we watch first? A comedy or a horror film? Or…" I picked up a DVD. "This?" Dom opened his eyes in horror. "No!" he said. "You know how I get when I see 'Marley and Me'!" I giggled and put the DVD away, settling on 'Spiderman'. "As much as I'd love to see you blubber like a baby every time you see that movie, we'll just watch this."
We got comfortable and began the film, passing each other snacks and drinks. During the middle of the movie, Dom wrapped his arm around me. I moved closer and rested my head on his shoulder. "You're still wearing your ring", Dom commented. I looked at the shimmering jewelry. "It's very beautiful", I said. "I don't want to take it off." Dom smiled. "You'll let everyone think you're married?" I shrugged. "Maybe it'll help me out in the dating field. Married women can be more desirable than the single ones." Dom laughed a little, then grew silent.
"Do you regret it?" he asked a little later on. "Hmm?" I asked. I was focused on the movie. "Do you regret getting together last night?" I looked at Dom. He had a soft expression on his face, waiting for my answer. I thought about all that had happened last night, and the entire weekend. Dom was behaving differently than usual. The flirting, the jealousy, this 'Movie Night'. This was all new. Yes, getting married was a mistake but that didn't mean we couldn't be together. But then, there was the fear that if Dom and I ever began dating and then broke up, our friendship would be ruined. Was I willing to take that chance with Dom?
As I was thinking about this, Dom leaned forward and kissed me softly on the lips. "I don't regret a single second", he whispered, pulling me closer. We both continued kissing, spilling all of our snacks on the ground as we moved around. I struggled to realize what was going on. Part of me wanted to be with Dom. The other part was too afraid to move forward in fear of hurting both of us.
"Wait", I gasped as Dom kissed my neck. "We can take things slow if you want", Dom said, gently stroking my cheek with his thumb.
"No", I said, pushing him away. "I don't think this can work." Dom looked hurt. "But why?" he asked. "I thought we would be great together. I really care about you Isabelle." Tears formed in my eyes.
"It's just not worth it!" I cried, running to my room. I shut the door behind me and slid to the ground, letting the tears fall. Dom knocked on my door. "Isabelle", he pleaded. "Please, I want to be with you, so bad! I'm sorry that I never showed much interest in you before. I just can't stop thinking about you now! Please, please open the door."
I almost opened the door then, but my fear overcame me and I stayed still. Dom was all I could think about, the only person I wanted to be with. The thing was, we would never last. I'd rather spend the rest of my life being friends with Dom than risk such a great friendship by dating him.
"Dom", I sighed. "You know it would never last between us. We are going to go back to L.A., sign the divorce papers, and continue being friends like before." There was no answer. I stood up and opened the door. "Dom?" Dom was gone. Lying on the ground was his wedding ring.
Sunday Morning
For once I actually woke up before noon, even though I barely slept last night. I quietly fixed myself some breakfast and sat in the living room. While I ate, someone coughed behind me. I turned around and who else would it be but Dom. He looked like he didn't get much sleep last night either.
"I talked with a friend of mine last night", Dom said quietly. "He's a divorce lawyer and he said he will meet us tomorrow afternoon to sign the papers."
"Cool" was all I could manage to say. Dom sighed and walked back to his room. "Wait..." I called out to him, but he already closed the door.
Two hours later, everyone was awake and packing their bags. "What an insane weekend!" Tom said, looking at Lucinda lovingly.
"Tell me when you're planning another weekend trip!" laughed Paul. I just smiled and gathered my things. Later, we were piling unto the party bus. "Have a nice time?" Edgar asked us. "We sure did!" Matt said. He gave me and Dom a concerned look. The entire drive back to L.A. I just sat on a seat, looking outside. Dom did the same thing on the opposite side of the bus. After a while, Lucinda sat down next to me.
"Don't be such a party pooper!" she said, tugging on my arm. "This is your last chance to have some fun before the work week. Enjoy yourself!" I shook my head. "I'm all partied out", I sighed. Lucinda stared at me. "You have the perfect guy for you sitting fifteen feet to your left and you're not even taking the chance to make something happen between the two of you." She stood up and walked away.
Sunday Afternoon/Evening
We returned to L.A. in the late afternoon. After saying goodbye, everyone got into their cars and left. Lucinda left with Tom and the guys to the Muse mansion. While unpacking, I found the wedding album. I sat on my bed and began looking through it. Whoever took these pictures did a wonderful job. No one looks drunk or ready to pass out. We looked like we had a wonderful time. I stopped at a page that had a picture of me and Dom slow-dancing. The looks on our faces seemed so real, like we were actually in love with each other. My heart ached at not remembering that night at all. I sighed and closed the book, placing it on my nightstand.
Monday Morning/Afternoon
"Can someone please readjust the raven on Brandon's shoulder?" I ordered. One of the interns walked up to Brandon and fixed the fake bird. "That's good thanks", I said. I shot a few more photos. "Now give me a really serious look, like you're in deep thought."
Brandon chuckled. "How can I be in deep thought when I have this thing on my shoulder?" He wiggled the bird around, a few feathers falling down. We laughed. "It goes with the theme so deal with it", I teased. I checked my camera. "I think we have enough."
"Thank goodness!" Brandon said, taking the raven off and tossing it to me. I caught it and placed it on the props table. "How's that food poisoning?" I asked, walking to the microwave and taking out a plastic container. "It was pretty brutal", Brandon answered. "I could barely get out of bed or eat anything besides bread and apple juice."
"Here", I said, handing him the container. "This is home-made chicken soup. It's my grandmother's recipe and it's guaranteed to cure all stomach problems." Brandon smiled and opened the container, taking a sip of the broth. "Delicious!"
After Brandon left, I stopped by Steve's office. I hadn't seen him since he sent me home on Thursday. "What happened to you?" he exclaimed, looking at my hair. I had forgotten about my dye job. "Just a little mishap", I explained. "I think I might keep it."
"Okay then", Steve said. "I'm a little busy but why don't we have lunch later and you can tell me all about your mini vacation?"
"Sorry Steve, I can't. I have to meet with a divorce lawyer during my lunch break." I left before I was forced to explain.
I met with Dom and the lawyer at a café across the street from the Strobe building. They were chatting when I got to them. "You must be Isabelle", the lawyer said, shaking my hand as I sat down. "Dom just finished explaining the entire situation to me, and it can be easily fixed. Since the both of you were intoxicated, the marriage can be annulled and it will simply disappear, like you were never married." He placed the forms in front of me. "Just sign on these lines here and you will be single again."
I looked up at Dom, but his face was expressionless. I quickly signed the papers and he did the same thing. "I will go over to my office now and fax these to the State", the lawyer said. "Have a nice day." The man left and it was just me and Dom, sitting in awkward silence.
"Hey", I said. Dom looked up and gave me a small smile. "Hey", he said in return. I squirmed a little in my seat. How was I supposed to do this? I took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry about Saturday night", I said. Dom looked sad as he remembered back to that night. "I'd love to be with you, I want nothing more than that. I'm just scared. I'm scared that if anything happened, if we broke up or whatever, our friendship would be lost." Dom gently took one of my hands.
"I'm scared about that too", he confessed. "The last thing I want is for us to not be friends anymore." He paused for a second. "Matt and Chris, they're my brothers. You are my best friend and I love you for that. Lately, I've realized that I want to take our relationship to the next level. It's a huge step and it's very risky, but I think we can do it. No matter what happens Isabelle, you will always be my best friend." He leaned forward and kissed me. This time I didn't stop him. We both stood up, still in each other's arms.
Dom broke apart from me. "So what do you say?" he asked hopefully. "I thought the kiss was an appropriate answer!" I laughed. Dom joined in and hugged me tight. "You make me so happy Isabelle", he whispered into my hair. "You're amazing Dom!" I replied. I looked at my watch. "I still have an hour until I need to be back at work." Dom thought for a second.
"Want to come back to my place?" he offered. "I can make you a vanilla bean Frappuccino and some food." I considered his offer. "Is anyone else home?" Dom shook his head. "Matt went out to buy some gear while Tom and Lucinda are at the beach, why?" I smirked and kissed his nose.
"Because I'm in the mood for something else."