Double Dom Fantasies

by Cassidy Browning

“She’s here. Yes, safe and sound. That sweet, hunky contractor brought her back,” she said into it, making Sami turn and stare at her.

  “Okay. We’ll join you out there. I’ll bring snacks.”

  “Fuck!” Sami jumped and turned around to see that Dennis held his phone to his ear, too. He gave them both an apologetic smile. “Excuse me. I had no idea all that shit was going down at the diner. I’d better get over there.”

  “All what shit?” Sami watched him run back to his truck, apparently without hearing her. She turned to Lucy, who was holding the door open for her.

  “That nasty little inspector man apparently showed up at the diner this morning and is threatening to shut it down if your sweet little friend doesn’t get all kinds of things fixed by tomorrow,” Lucy said. “We told you that this morning. Susan! Roy! We’ve got to go. Buffy’s back!”

  There was a scuffling sound, and three people appeared in the doorway of the living room. “I’m glad you’re safe,” Susan said, handing Lucy her purse and pulling on a sweater. “Do you need to do anything before we head out to Grandpointe?”

  “We’re going to the diner?” Sami’s head swam as Roy, Greg, Susan, and Lucy swarmed to the door and apparently stood waiting for her to join them.

  “Yes, dear.” Lucy spoke slowly, apparently wondering if she’d hit her head sometime during the day. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, but there’s a lot of work to get done tonight, and since they’ve all been out looking for you all day, not much has gotten done.”

  “Who’s been looking for me?” Sami allowed herself to be led out. Susan locked the door behind them, and they piled into Greg’s SUV. That would explain why Carly had suddenly decided to give up the diner, Sami thought. If Lou was closing her down, the guys might easily take that opportunity to convince her to leave and start over with them. Was that why Carly had said she’d call back later when she’d decided what she was going to do?

  It wasn’t surprising that Crash would go for Carly. Guys had always dumped her and made a play for her gorgeous friend, ever since boys had started noticing them. Carly had admitted she liked the guys, that they were different from most good-looking men. And she had told Carly she didn’t want them. She really couldn’t blame any of them.

  “Everyone,” Roy told her, turning around from his spot in the front. “The guys, Carly, Allie, Brad, and Karl. Well, Brad took off work early to help, I think. Do we need to stop for food?”

  Chapter 19

  As soon as he saw her walk through the door, Crash ran over to Sami. “You’re here! You’re alive. You’re okay. Where the fuck have you been?” With each question his voice rose from its initial surprised tone until he was almost yelling. He looked her over as he spoke, half expecting her to be covered in blood or missing a limb or something.

  Sami stepped back from the sudden verbal assault, but he followed, staying right in front of her, his anger growing at the way she casually glanced around.

  “Of course I’m okay,” she said. “Why wouldn’t I be? What’s happened here? It looks like a battleground.”

  “Why aren’t you hurt? There was blood, and it was torn. We drove around looking for you for hours. I thought you were dead. Do you know how that made me feel? Do you even care?”

  He felt AJ grab his arm, pulling him back a step so that he wasn’t in Buffy’s face. “Slow your roll, buddy. You’re acting like an ass and causing a scene. Besides, you aren’t making any sense.”

  Crash scowled at him. He didn’t need to be told he wasn’t making any sense, but he had to know what had happened. He took a step back. “Fine, then you talk to her. Maybe she’ll tell you why she disappeared.”

  That seemed to get Sami’s attention. Her face whipped back toward him, flushing a deep red, and she stepped forward, jabbing a finger into his chest. “Why I disappeared? What the fuck! Explain this morning, asshole.”

  AJ reached in and turned Buffy to face him. “What are you talking about? We’ve been here all day helping Carly. What did you think we were doing?”

  “At least we were when we weren’t out looking all over this damn town for you,” Crash added petulantly.

  Sami glared at him over AJ’s shoulder. “You were so worried about me that you left a note saying, ‘Thanks but gotta go’? Excuse me for being a little skeptical about your concern.”

  “What happened to my jersey? Why was there blood on it?” Crash challenged her.

  “Your jersey? Is that what this is all about, some fucking jersey? Well, don’t you worry about that. I’ll pay for it, and then you can stuff it up your ass.”

  AJ held up a hand. “Would you two please quit sniping at each other for a minute so we can talk about this? What made you think we were leaving you?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Sami threw up her hands. “Maybe the fact that you raced over here to meet Tammy? Offering to move Carly to your place and take care of her? Or the fact that you immediately jumped out of bed and started packing?”

  AJ stared. “Packing? But we were—”

  At the same time Crash couldn’t stop himself. “So because we weren’t there you called Dennis to come take you out for the day?”

  Sami’s eyes narrowed at him. “I don’t need this shit.” Spinning on her heel, she stomped away from them across the room.

  Not wanting her to have the last word, Crash yelled, “I don’t give two shits about the jersey—just like you don’t give two shits about us.”

  She lifted her hand in a one-fingered salute without even looking in their direction. Crash fought down the urge to run after her. Instead, he turned to a stunned AJ, said, “Fuck it,” and escaped in the opposite direction.

  * * * *

  “I can’t believe he had the nerve to yell at me like that.” Sami fumed as she stomped away from the guys. Hearing Crash’s comment behind her she raised her hand above her head and flipped him the bird.

  Tears were beginning to cloud her vision, and she was afraid she might run into something when his last words finally sunk in. “Just like you don’t give two shits about us.” What right did he have to say that to her? She spun around to confront him but saw him slamming through the back door with a confused-looking AJ trailing behind him.

  “They’re the ones who dumped me,” she muttered to herself. “How could they be so mean? I really thought we had something after last night. Just goes to show what an idiot I was to believe them.” She turned back to the front, wiping her eyes, but then stopped short so as not to run into Dennis, who was suddenly standing in front of her with a worried look.

  “Are you okay?”

  She sniffed. “Not really. I need to get out of here.”

  “Do you want to go back to Clifftop? Maybe one of the guys—”

  “No!” It came out more forcefully than she’d intended and she forced herself to smile a little ruefully. “I mean, I don’t really want to be at Clifftop right now. Is there a hotel or someplace I could go stay?”

  “I have a spare room,” he said. “I don’t live too far away. You’re welcome to go hang out at my place if you want.”

  “That would be great. I’m sorry to bother you, but I don’t know where else to go right now.”

  He nodded, glancing around the room. “Okay, I’ll run you over there, and then I need to come back here and work, if you don’t mind.”

  * * * *

  “I don’t think I can do this,” Crash snarled as he followed AJ out the rear door with another armload of old tiles. Slamming them into the dumpster, he grunted in satisfaction.

  “Do what?” AJ’s voice was tired.

  “Work with him. I just want to punch him in the head and watch him bleed.”

  They could both hear Dennis’s voice floating out from inside the main room, issuing directions. He’d just gotten back from taking Buffy to his house, as if it wasn’t enough that they’d spent the day together. Now she was moving in with him?

  “He just took over,” Crash grumbled, scowling in t
he direction of the sound.

  “Well, of course he did. This is what the man does for a living, after all. He’s the professional. Who else would be in charge, you?” AJ answered reasonably.

  “No, not me, you dick. But that’s no reason for him to be an asshole.” Crash tossed another armful of trash into the dumpster. “We could have handled it perfectly well without him. We’ve got you, me, Karl, and Brad, after all. Between us we could probably pick up the whole damn building. So tell me, why do we need him?”

  “Because, you idiot, it takes more than brute strength to fix things. If all we had to do was tear the place down, sure, we could do just fine without him. I am assuming, however, that you would like to be able to eat here again in the near future?”

  “Yeah, of course. So?”

  “So, in that case you might just want to simmer down and listen to the man. That way we get things fixed up so that jerk Lou will let Carly open the place back up. Besides, if you try being reasonable for just a minute, you’ll figure out that you’re just jealous that Buffy is staying at his place. That’s what’s got you all fired up, not that he’s directing things. Try growing up for a few minutes and see what happens instead of blasting around here like a friggin’ hurricane.”

  “You’re damn right I’m pissed. I don’t get why you aren’t.”

  AJ shrugged. “I am, but what good is it going to do me to act like a spoiled three-year-old? I don’t understand what went wrong, and that bothers me a lot. I just don’t get why she would spend the night with us last night and then run off to him without telling anyone where she was going. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

  “I know, and that’s part of why I’m so mad. I just can’t figure it out.” Crash paced, his blood boiling and his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.

  “It really seems out of character for her,” AJ agreed, leaning on the wall. “It’s obvious that she’s made her decision, and I’m sure she has her reasons. I guess you just never know about people. It’s hard, but we need to be adults about this and honor her choice. Besides, it isn’t like this is the first time either of us has been dumped by a pretty girl. Hell, I managed it twice this week alone.” His voice was bitter by the time he finished, and he stared down the alleyway as if he couldn’t bear to look toward where Buffy was.

  “I know, you’re right,” Crash agreed glumly. “I guess we should have expected it.”

  AJ shook himself. “I suppose, but it still hurts. Like you were telling me when Tammy dumped me, though, there will be other girls.”

  “Not ones like her, damn it.” Crash punched the side of the dumpster, causing a loud, thundering boom. “We’ll never find someone like her again, and I don’t want to. I want her. I really thought she would be willing to put up with both of us.”

  “Well, it seems like she wasn’t, now doesn’t it? There’s nothing we can do about it right now anyway. Screaming at her like a maniac didn’t help things either. Don’t do that again.”

  “I know.” Crash hung his head and cracked his knuckles, something he always did when he was embarrassed. “But I couldn’t help it. I was so worried about her. Then when I saw she had just been out gallivanting with him, I got so pissed I couldn’t see straight. I want to sit down with her and talk this through, but when I open my mouth it’s like it’s my father in there yelling his fool head off.”

  AJ gave him a look that suggested he was considering having Crash committed. “So try not opening your mouth for a change, and see what happens. It probably doesn’t matter now, anyway. I don’t think we’re going to get the chance to talk to her again.”

  Crash looked miserable. “You don’t think so?”

  “No, I don’t. She’s gone, dude. We obviously came on too strong last night, and then with your freak-out on top of that, she’ll probably leave Clifftop without a second thought about us, and we’ll just have to move on.”

  “I don’t want to move on. I want to beat Dennis to a pulp and then make her see reason. Show her that we are the best ones for her.”

  “I don’t think giving him a beat down is really gonna help.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Crash grumbled. “It might help my mood.”

  AJ nodded glumly, looking around. “Looks like that’s most of this stuff, but I think that back storeroom is still crammed full of shit. Come on, let’s start working on that.”

  He paused at the doorway. They could still hear Dennis issuing directions inside. AJ gave Crash a stern look. “No beating anyone to a pulp, do you understand me? Now stop growling. You’re going to scare all of the nice people trying to help get this place back open.”

  “I’ll try,” Crash grumbled. “But I’m still so damn pissed.”

  “Me, too,” AJ admitted. “But if I can deal with it, so can you. You think I like getting dumped over and over again? Many more times this week and I’ll have the world record.”

  “Yeah, but you’re used to it. I, on the other hand, am more sensitive. Just ask me, I’ll tell you.” Crash smiled in an effort to pull both of them out of their foul moods. “Besides, I’m starving, and you know that always makes me grouchy.”

  “Really? Grouchy? That’s what we’re calling it today? I always thought that was just your charming personality.”

  They paused at the door to the storeroom. It was, indeed, crammed full of shit, as AJ had said. Crash let out a huge sigh as he bent down to collect a load of the rubbish. “They don’t even have any cookies or pastries or anything left. I may die.”

  “Sorry, dude, but perhaps you noticed that Carly doesn’t have a kitchen left anymore either. Just hang in there, and maybe Susan and Lucy will be back with dinner soon.”

  As if summoned by magic, the bell on the front door tinkled. There was a rush of air along with the sound of female voices, including Lucy’s cheerful prattle. Crash’s head snapped up, and he dropped the load he was about to carry out. He nearly knocked AJ over as he leapt toward the front room of the diner. “I think I hear plastic bags.”

  Chapter 20

  “Hey, guys, can you come join us for a minute?” Dennis called from the doorway.

  AJ and Crash paused in loading up the last of the trash in the kitchen to nod at him. Then Crash turned back to his work, muttering in a low voice, “But I’m enjoying my new career as a garbage man so much.”

  AJ punched him in the shoulder and added what felt like another couple hundred pounds to his armload. He picked up the box he’d been filling for himself, and they emptied their loads into the dumpster before joining Karl, Brad, and Dennis in the alleyway behind the diner. They were standing around the fryer, water heater, and shining new refrigerator waiting to be taken inside and installed.

  “These are great.” Dennis smiled at them, putting a hand on Crash’s shoulder as he came to stand next to them. “Did you guys really pay for all of these?”

  “Yeah,” AJ said. “We figured it was the least we could do to thank Carly for slaving away to feed the beast here.” He was making an attempt to be friendly, but his face felt frozen in a scowl. On Dennis’s other side, Crash was clenching and unclenching his fists. AJ realized that something bad was about to happen. He’d been friends with Crash for many years and knew the signs. He took a step to try to get between them, but it was too late.

  “That is awes—” Dennis never got to finish the word as Crash grabbed him by the arm and spun him around. Crash’s fist thudded into Dennis’s stomach, expelling the air from his lungs and leaving him gasping as he dropped to his knees.

  Before Crash could do anything else, AJ and Karl each grabbed an arm and pulled him away from his victim. AJ yelled into Crash’s face, “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “I had to.” Crash stared belligerently at Dennis, who was still on the ground, trying to catch his breath. “I just couldn’t stand it anymore. He spent the afternoon doing who knows what with Buffy while we tore this town apart looking for her. And now she’s at his place.”

  Dennis wheezed.
“It’s not like that. I didn’t touch her and I’m not going to. Nothing happened this afternoon, I promise. I didn’t even see her until I found her here when she saw Lou and we called the police.”

  Crash stared at him, apparently beginning to calm down now that he’d expressed his feelings. “You weren’t with her all afternoon?”

  “No. I was driving past and saw Buffy outside. She said she saw someone prowling around in the building, then we heard a car start up back here. I was too late to see who it was for sure. After we talked to the cops, I got her a sandwich and took her out to Clifftop. I think she said something about getting her nails done, but I’m not sure.”

  Crash relaxed, and AJ and Karl let go of his arms, although AJ made sure to stay close to his friend in case the conversation took a less friendly turn again. He put a hand on Crash’s chest as he turned to look at Dennis. “Why is she at your place now?”

  “She asked to go to a hotel,” Dennis said as Karl helped him to his feet. “I just offered her a place to stay. Nothing is going to happen, man.”

  AJ nodded, but Crash just snorted.

  “It’s not really any of our business, anyway,” AJ said to Dennis. “But thanks for taking care of her. We won’t bother you again about it. Sorry about Crash. He has some impulse issues.”

  “Sorry.” Crash seemed to be making an effort to control himself. He took a step back, turning his face to the side as if he couldn’t look Dennis in the face. “I shouldn’t have gone off on you. Like AJ said, it isn’t any of our business.”

  “Not a problem.” Dennis rubbed his stomach ruefully. “Hopefully I’ll eventually learn to breathe again. That’s a hell of a punch you’ve got there. I think I taste my spleen.”

  * * * *

  Once the new appliances had been installed in the kitchen, Karl called everyone to join him in the main room. When they had all assembled and gotten something to drink, he began, “Okay. Now, what are we going to do about Lou?”