Keeping Dominic (The Golden Boy Series Book 1)

by Alyson Reynolds

  I set the makeup brush down and looked in the mirror. Something about her bold statement rubbed me the wrong way. My hair was curled in huge beach waves down my back, and two perfect smoky eyes stared back at me. I was ready to go and looked hot as hell, but I wasn’t nearly as excited about going as I’d been a few seconds ago.

  “How do I look?” I faced her.

  “Stand up. Let’s see the whole picture.”

  We both stood up and she came over, tugging on a few places to get the fabric to lie correctly. She handed me a gold clutch that was on the corner of my bed.

  “Perfect. You’re going to knock him dead.”

  I smiled, but it was forced. Quinn watched me carefully as I switched out purses, making sure I had my ID and extra cash.

  “B, are you okay?”

  Our eyes met, and I was afraid she could see everything I was trying to hold in. I was jealous. Of her stupid ass comment. Of Dom and any other girl he decided to be with. Which is absolutely ridiculous. I set my jaw. “I’m great. Austin will be here any second.”

  She followed me into the living room. “B, I didn’t mean anything—”

  A knock on the door cut her off. I plastered a smile on my face as I went to open it.

  Thank goodness.

  “See you later, Quinn. Thanks for helping me get ready.”

  I pulled the door open and beamed at Austin. His eyes widened slightly as he took me in. He looked pretty damn great himself in a light blue polo and ripped jeans.

  “Hey, gorgeous, ready to go?”

  I didn’t even glance back at Quinn. “Absolutely.”

  ***

  Austin took me to my favorite little Mexican place on Campus Corner. I absolutely loved being on campus. All the little bars and shops made it feel like a tight-knit city square like you’d find in Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls. Dom and I spent most game days tailgating down near the bars on the strip. The owners of La Luna knew Dom and me by name because we frequented it so often. I shook off that thought and gave Austin a coy smile over my menu.

  “So, Mr. Baker, what made you decide to finally grow a pair and ask me out?”

  His husky laugh boomed across the table, and I smirked. “I decided it was time to quit fucking around and take what I wanted.”

  “And I’m yours for the taking?” I raised my perfectly arched brow and tried not to smirk.

  The look he gave me told me he knew exactly how much I’d wanted him to ask me out. While I’d made it no secret that I liked Austin, I hadn’t exactly been pining away for him. In the past three years I’d gone on tons of dates—some better than others—but none of them were great, or someone I’d want to keep around long-term.

  One night a few months ago, the girls and I had spent an evening naming out all the guys I’d gone out with since freshman year and came up with a list of thirty-two names. And that was only the ones we could remember. The guys had averaged two and a half dates each. Not exactly a shining record for any of them, but a few had actually lasted a few months.

  Austin put his menu down and leaned over the table. “I’ve wanted to ask you out for a while now, but there’s always been something holding me back.”

  I set my menu on the table and played with the straw in my drink. “Like what?”

  “More like who,” he mumbled. “I had to get approval from your brother. He finally gave in and told me it was your mistake to make if you said yes.”

  My eyes darted up to meet his hazel ones. “Was it a mistake saying yes?”

  He reached out and took my hand in his. “Not from where I’m sitting.”

  My face flushed, and I wanted to lean over and kiss him. But something about doing that also felt wrong. I’d wanted this for so long, but now that we were sitting at dinner together, I couldn’t get my thoughts from wandering to another guy who was taking up too much of my head space right now.

  I needed to change the subject. We didn’t need to discuss—someone.

  “What are your plans for the summer? Have you decided if you’re going to Padre?”

  For one month of summer break, our group of friends was going to rent a beach house. One whole month of sand and sun. I was pumped to hit the beach with my girlfriends. It was amazing how much I missed living near the coast. Austin was the only one in our group who was on the fence about going.

  He grinned at me. “I think Padre is sounding better and better each day. Sun, sand, and staring at you in a bathing suit every day for a month.” He leaned back in his chair. “I told Josh I was going last week.”

  I smiled back and raised my margarita glass in cheers. “To an amazing month by the beach.”

  He clinked his glass against mine. “I’m already looking forward to it.”

  The waitress came and took our order. We switched subjects and talked about finals and the end of the year. Austin and I had always been friends, even when I wanted more, so being around him was easy, but now there was just an undercurrent of awareness surrounding us. The air wasn’t crackling with sexual energy like I thought it would. I couldn’t place my finger on what was going on exactly. Maybe Quinn had messed with my head more than I thought.

  When left the restaurant, Austin took my hand, intertwining our fingers together, leading me toward where we’d parked. We passed by one of the bars that was our favorite, and he tilted his head in question. I bit down on my lip. It was highly possible that some of our friends were inside, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted that intrusion on our time. He flashed a smile and tugged me behind him, mistaking my hesitation for acceptance.

  If I’d been with Dom that wouldn’t have happened.

  I shook my head at the unwanted thought. Not this again. It had taken me longer to shake the weirdness of Quinn talking about Dom than it should’ve, and I didn’t want to have to start all over again. I followed Austin through the dimly lit bar and let him order me a drink. Since it was only nine, the place wasn’t busy yet. In a few hours it would be packed, and getting a drink would be almost impossible. Austin leaned forward and was chatting with one of the bartenders when I saw our friends sitting at one of the small round tables.

  I put my hand on Austin’s arm to get his attention. He glanced back and cocked his head to the side.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m just going to say hi,” I said, motioning over to the corner.

  A shadow crossed over his face, barely even long enough for me to notice, but his smile was back in place seconds later. “I’ll be right over as soon as our drinks are done.”

  I hesitated. “We don’t have to sit with them if you don’t want to.”

  “No, it’ll be fun.” He squeezed my hand where it rested on his arm with the free one. “Maybe they’ll start seeing us as a couple.”

  Oh, wow.

  I’d wanted that for so long, but now it seemed so odd to use the ‘c’ word. Austin was fun to be around. He had a great sense of humor, and we liked a ton of the same stuff, not to mention the guy was smoking hot, but I never expected us to actually be seen as a couple—at least not this soon. Something about it seemed…wrong.

  I smiled, trying to shake the weird feeling that was following me around. This was supposed to be an amazing night, one I wouldn’t forget. I just needed to remind myself of that.

  Why?

  Why did I have to remind myself of that? Shouldn’t it be stamped in my head?

  As I approached the table, I was surprised to see Quinn and Dom with their foreheads practically touching. My heart skipped a beat. They’d both told me they had other plans, but somehow they’d made their way out to O’Connell’s. Together. My eyes met Dom’s across the table, and for once, I didn’t know what was going on in his head. The look on Dom’s face surprised me. He looked pissed off.

  At me.

  Chapter Four

  Dominic

  I can’t believe the bastard actually brought her here just to piss me off. It wasn’t a secret that I didn’t like Austin, but for Josh’s sake, I
tolerated the guy. If he was going to start pulling this shit, all bets were off. Their date was something I could try to pretend wasn’t happening when I didn’t know where he was taking her, but for Austin to bring her to the bar he knew we were all hanging out at was completely disrespectful.

  Quinn nudged my side to get my attention. “You going to drink that beer or brood into it?”

  I gave her a look and wrapped my hands around the glass. “I can’t believe he brought her here,” I mumbled.

  She pursed her lips. “I can. Austin is a prick. Josh might be oblivious that you have a thing for his little sister, but the rest of us have known for a long time.” She bumped me with her shoulder. “If you want to make her jealous, I’m totally game.”

  I laughed for the first time since that stupid text message. “Don’t tempt me.”

  Quinn winked and took another sip of her tequila. “I’ve always wanted to know what you kissed like, so it’s not like it would be a hardship for me.”

  My mouth dropped open, and she started laughing.

  “Oh, it’s just a kiss, Dom. It’s not like I asked you to have sex with me. Have you really never thought about what it would be like to kiss one of your friends?”

  “No.” I stared at Brooke standing at the bar with Austin, her hand resting lightly on his arm as they spoke. “I can honestly say I’ve only thought of one girl I’d like to kiss.”

  Her eyes softened. “We just need to make her realize what an idiot that guy is. She has feelings for you. I think she’s just too scared to lose you to act on them.”

  I regarded her skeptically. “Sure, and I’m secretly a millionaire.”

  I could practically see the scheming wheels in her head turning.

  “Just follow my lead, Mr. Torres.”

  She leaned in closer until our foreheads were almost touching. A small, mischievous smile played on her full lips, and from this close, I could see the little flecks of blue in her bright green eyes.

  “You’re trouble, Quinn Pierce.”

  “Always,” she teased.

  “Hey, guys,” Brooke said softly. Her eyes flashed with hurt as she took in how close Quinn was to me. “I just wanted to come say hi.”

  I tried not to glare at Brooke. Quinn rested her hand on my knee under the table and squeezed. She was up to something. Normally she wasn’t so direct with her attempts to get Brooke to notice me.

  “Hey,” I choked out. “How’s your date?”

  Josh smiled at Brooke. “Is Austin being nice, or do I need to kick his ass?”

  Definitely kick his ass.

  She huffed. “He’s never been a jerk or lied to me.”

  “Give it time,” I mumbled.

  Her head whipped in my direction. “What was that?”

  “Nothing, just talking to Quinn.” I rested my arm on the back of her chair and leaned back. “I’m sure Austin is exactly the type of person you think he is.”

  “Drop the sarcasm, Dom. It doesn’t suit you.” Brooke glared at me. “I thought you had a date with your O-chem book anyway. You were too busy to hang out with me earlier.”

  I smirked and held up my glass. “I guess it doesn’t matter, does it? You found a replacement pretty fucking quick.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “What the hell is your problem, Dom?”

  I shrugged. “You’re the one bringing in that asshole. I’m just over here drinking my beer.”

  Quinn tried to hide her laughter in my shoulder, but Brooke still saw it. Josh’s gaze darted between the three of us like we’d all grown another head. Jared and Drew were both oblivious because they were watching some soccer game on the big screen. At least they weren’t witnessing the spectacular asshole I was making of myself.

  “Look, maybe you and Austin should go find a table somewhere else so you can have alone time,” Josh said slowly, looking between me and his little sister.

  Quinn smiled and cocked her head to the side, putting a hand on my shoulder and running her fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck. Brooke scowled at Quinn’s hand but didn’t say anything. I was afraid that my skin would start burning from where she glared at her touching me.

  Maybe we were being a little…hostile toward one another. But Austin started it by bringing them here on their date.

  Asshole.

  Quinn leaned in closer and her breath tickled the hair on my neck. “Want to test my theory?”

  I arched a brow and whispered back, “I thought we already were.”

  She grinned and waited until she knew we had all of Brooke’s attention. Her lips brushed along my neck softly, and I stifled a groan. That was the most action I’d had in over a year.

  Which really fucking sucked when I stopped to think about it. I’d turned into a pathetic, pining idiot.

  Brooke made a choked sound in the back of her throat and whipped around, nearly knocking the drinks out of Austin’s hand as he walked up behind her. She grabbed his arm and tugged him away from our group of friends. “Come on. Apparently we’re not welcome to join our friends.”

  Austin gave her a confused look but stumbled behind her to find a table. I made the mistake of looking over at Quinn. The smug look on her face made me start to chuckle. She pinched my side to make me stop.

  “Don’t ruin it. She’s jealous as hell, but if she catches on, she’s going to be pissed at both of us.”

  I snorted. “She’s already pissed at us. Has anyone ever told you that you’re an instigator, Ms. Pierce?”

  She grinned. “All the time. Now wrap your arm around me and make it look convincing.”

  “What are you two up to?” Riley asked, leaning forward so no one else could hear her.

  “Nothing,” Quinn said innocently.

  Riley’s eyes widened. “I don’t believe you for a second, but if it gets Brooke’s ass in gear, I’m not going to question it.”

  “I don’t know why you two are so convinced this is going to work—”

  “What’s going to work?” Josh asked, turning back from Jared and Drew.

  “Making Brooke—”

  I cut Riley off. “Just an experiment for one of my classes that I don’t think will work. I’m skeptical, but maybe it’s worth trying.”

  “Okay,” he drawled. “And we’re talking about this in a bar?”

  “Yep,” Quinn chirped, taking a sip of her drink.

  Josh pinned his sight on me, but I avoided eye contact by taking a drink. He knew there was more to the story. Unless I came clean, he’d never know the whole story, though. Josh wouldn’t push. I wasn’t sure this was a good idea, but it was already happening. The wheels were in motion, and now I was just along for the ride.

  I had a nagging feeling that somehow this was all going to blow up in my face. Brooke wasn’t the type to take things sitting down, and with the unspoken competition between her and Quinn, this was going to end badly. I could feel it in my bones.

  ***

  I had my earbuds shoved in and was trying to concentrate on the sketch due tomorrow for my art class. My professor had been lenient, giving me an extra weekend to work since I hadn’t been able to finish a rough outline in class. Professor Winsett was one of my favorite teachers. She loved all of her students and honestly wouldn’t care about when our pieces were due if it weren’t for the university requiring her to come up with some sort of syllabus.

  The still life I’d started in class was finally coming together as I adjusted the shading in one of the glass vases. Thank goodness I’d thought to take a picture before I left the classroom yesterday or I would’ve had to walk over to the art building in the monsoon that was going on outside right now. It was early for storm season to start, but it seemed like every year the first week of April was dreary as hell. Luckily, at least there wasn’t a tornado watch with this one.

  My pencil raked across the paper in short, deliberate strokes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brooke walk into my room. She lay on her stomach across my bed and watched me sketch. I didn’
t want to stop now, not when I was so close to finishing. She knew the drill when I was drawing anyway. We had an unspoken agreement that we didn’t talk while I was working on any art piece. She could chatter my ear off any other time, but nothing could interrupt me when I was lost in a drawing or painting.

  It took me a few more minutes, but I finally pulled my pencil back, satisfied with how the piece looked. Professor Winsett would just be happy I finished something so she could give me a grade. Lately I’d had a hard time concentrating.

  Except on pieces I shouldn’t be working on.

  The charcoal drawing of Brooke came to mind. I pulled out my earbuds.

  “Did you come over here in the rain?”

  She glanced up from her phone. “No. Riley and I were over at Josh’s before it started. I got bored, so I came over here.”

  “Gee, thanks.” I rolled my eyes. “I feel so loved.”

  “Whatever.” She jumped up and came to sit down in my lap. “You know you’re my favorite. Are you still pissed off at me?”

  This was the part of our friendship I both simultaneously hated and loved. Brooke felt comfortable enough to sit on my lap, cuddle and sleep in my bed with me. It was the worst kind of torture because my fingers itched to touch her and make her realize I didn’t just want to be her friend, but she made it clear she didn’t want that kind of relationship with me. I took in a deep breath, inhaling her sweet vanilla scent and further torturing myself.

  “I wasn’t pissed off at you.” I rested my hand on her thigh and fought back the need to run my hands farther up her soft skin. She was wearing cotton shorts and a tiny tank top. Despite the fact it was only April in Texas, it was warm enough for summer clothes. I couldn’t decide if I liked it or if I wanted her swaddled up in a huge sweater to hide all of her delicious curves.

  “Aren’t you going to ask about my date with Austin?” She pouted.

  I pushed her off my lap and twisted back to my desk so I could pick up the sketch.

  “Not a chance in hell. I can’t stand the guy and I think you could do a million times better than him. Frankly, I don’t know why you’re wasting your time on such a jerk.”