Come On Over (8 page)

"You
guys go ahead," Dominic says, making his friends turn to him. "I'll
be right there."

"Where
are you going?" Shanti asks, frowning, and Dominic shrugs nonchalantly.

"Just
gonna say hi to Isaac," he says. "And give him your number."

Shanti's
brown eyes go wide, gaze flicking nervously over to the counter where Isaac is
currently in the middle of writing something down.

"Son
of a―" she says, but she doesn't get further than that before
Dominic is heading away from the group.

"Be
right back!" he says over his shoulder, while Jemma restrains a flustered
Shanti from gong after him.

Dominic
snickers to himself as he makes his way over to the counter, and he smacks
Isaac in the shoulder, making him look up.

"Hey,"
he says. "I got something for you."

Isaac
looks at him with a mix of suspicion and anticipation, while Dominic whips out
his phone and scrolls through his contacts, finding Shanti's name. Then he
holds up the phone in front of him, and Isaac frowns at the screen.

"Shanti?"
he asks, nonplussed, and Dominic lets out a small, suffering sigh.

"The
girl you've been ogling since we got here," he says, and Isaac straightens
a little, glancing over Dominic's shoulder to no doubt get a glimpse of said
girl.

"I
wasn't
ogling
," he mumbles, but
Dominic waves it off.

"It's
fine," he assures him. "She was ogling you, too. Now, you want her
number or not?"

He
swears Isaac preens a little at those words, clearly trying very hard not to
look over at Dominic's friends again, as a small smile tugs at his mouth.

"Really?"
he says, but pulls himself together when Dominic raises his eyebrows at him.
"I mean yeah, sure. Thanks."

Dominic
obliges, and soon enough, Isaac has saved the number onto his phone.

"You
didn't have to do that," he says, but he clearly appreciates it. Dominic
points at himself, putting his own phone away.

"Wingman,”
he says, as if that covers everything, which it kind of does. Isaac nods.

"Uh-huh,"
he says absent-mindedly. Then he nods at the rest of the group. "Speaking
of which, what's up with you and Buzz cut, over there? Couldn't help but notice
some tension. You
hittin
' that?"

Dominic
glances over his shoulder; Killian is in the middle of an animated conversation
with Jemma, while Annie and Shanti are busy watching something on Annie's
phone. He turns back to Isaac.

"Dude,"
he says, eyes narrowed but with a small smile on his face. "That's so
crass."

Isaac's
eyebrows go up in a rather impressed expression.

"So,
that's a yes?" he says, grinning, and Dominic punches him lightly in the
arm.

"I
don't kiss and tell," he says, but Isaac looks positively gleeful.

"Well,
look at you," he says. "Getting busy."

"Yeah,
don't get too excited," Dominic says, swatting Isaac's hand away as he
brings it up to start poking him. "We've barely hooked up."

"Better
than nothing," Isaac says, only giving up his poking once Dominic actually
slaps his arm. "He'll be begging before you know it, you
dog
, you."

Dominic
raises his eyebrows at him.

"Wow,"
he says sarcastically, vaguely thinking of how this is twice in one day now
that someone else has assured him of his future hook-up success with the grumpy
artist. "Okay. I'll get right on that."

"I
think you mean, get on
him
―"

"Yeah,
I'm going now," Dominic says resolutely, turning around to leave.

"Onward,
my friend," Isaac says dramatically from behind him, using a small towel
as a whip to urge him on. "On to glory!"

Dominic
doesn't turn around, just gives him a middle finger over his shoulder and walks
away to the sound of his friend laughing. When he reaches the rest of his
group, they all look up.

"Good
to go?" Jemma asks, and Dominic nods as they all start making their way
outside. He looks at Killian when the rest of them aren't watching, getting a
quick full-body glance from the guy as he does, before Killian turns away again
with a tiny smile. It makes Dominic feel a bit more excited than he'd like to
admit.

They
start heading down the sidewalk outside the coffee shop, and Dominic glances
through the giant windows, only to find Isaac standing inside, giving him two
thumbs up with a giant, shit-eating grin on his face. Dominic just huffs a
laugh, before flipping off his friend once again, for good measure.

Chapter 5

String lights

What the hell?

Seriously,
what the hell?
This is the second
time in three days that Dominic is at the art building, only to find a total
and honestly disappointing lack of Killian. He would assume that the guy is
busy working somewhere else, despite how unlikely such a scenario would be,
considering that he has been a seemingly constant presence at this place for
the past two weeks. Then again, Killian must live somewhere, right? He's
probably just busy.

Or,
Dominic thinks, maybe he's
suddenly
weirded
out by Dominic's blatant flirting
and kissing and general creeper-behavior, and―

No,
that would make even less sense. He flat-out challenged Dominic to make that
move, the other day, and his flirting has been just as heavy, if not even
worse. Either way, Dominic has never been one for obsessing or
angsting
over a guy, and he's not about to start now. He
knows what he's about, and he has the confidence to back it up.

Despite
the disappointment, Dominic still uses the time at the art building, figures
that he might as well, as long as he's here. The main room is completely empty
for once, and Dominic sits at his usual round table in the corner, clicking
through some photos he took yesterday. He honestly felt a little inspired after
that trip to the coffee shop, and he was hoping that it would have a positive
effect on his work. So far, however, no such luck.

With
a theme like
heart,
he can think of
several things he loves, things that are close to his heart and which mean a lot
to him. His family, the family dog, even. Maybe he should take a picture of
her―a happy American bulldog might be cute enough to distract from the
complete lack of originality in the only photos Dominic can actually come up
with. He’ll have to remember to stop by at home and snap a few pictures, when
he gets the chance.

Dominic
groans tiredly, tilting his head back and glaring up at the ceiling, then
frowns as he notices that there are actual pictures up there. Some are attached
to the surface, drawn on paper, while others have been painted directly on the
ceiling, depicting anything from flowers to mountains to fairies and hearts,
and he smiles a little. He loves this place.

He
jerks to life when he hears the front door of the building open, and tries not
to look too expectant as he glances over at the doorway that leads out into the
front hallway, a corridor lined on both sides by sculptures and paintings done
by past students. The sound of footsteps echoes slightly off the walls, before
the person causing them comes into view, and Dominic does his very best not to
slump in disappointment.

"Hey,"
Jemma says, seemingly a little surprised to see him. She looks around the
uncharacteristically empty room as she makes her way over to him, the wedge
heels of her sandals tapping softly against the floor, the acoustics more
muffled in here. "What's up?"

Dominic
tilts his head back again with a heavy exhale.

"Not
much," he says, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly as Jemma comes to
stand beside him. "Just... pretending to know what the hell I'm
doing."

Jemma
glances at his laptop screen. The look on her face tells him that she thinks
whatever he's working on looks just fine, but she seems to get the point. She
smiles, before looking around the room again.

"You
seen Killian?" she asks, and Dominic nearly jumps.

"What?"
he says, much too quickly. Jemma turns to him, and he fumbles to save face.
"I mean, no, why would I― Why would I have seen him?"

Jemma
raises her eyebrows, a flat, amused look on her face.

"Because
he's usually here, this time of day," she enunciates slowly, clearly
confused and entertained by Dominic's unreasonably flustered reaction.
"And you are, too. Thought I should ask."

Dominic
swallows, scratching the back of his head. He shrugs casually, folding his arms
over his chest.

"Uh,
no," he says. "Haven't seen him."

Jemma
looks like she has a few more comments about that, but she thankfully keeps
them to herself.
For now.

"Well,"
she says, with a sigh. "I just heard from Kim, apparently there's this thing
tonight, like a party. I was gonna invite him, but I guess I'll just
text."

"A
party?" Dominic asks, perking up a little, and Jemma lifts one shoulder in
a half-shrug.

"More
of a get-together," she says. "Most people have gone home for the
summer, it'll just be us and a few others. You game?"

Dominic
thinks about it for a moment, briefly considering saying no in favor of working
on his project at home―and maybe getting a bit of relief for the sexual
frustration he has found himself suddenly dealing with lately. Then it occurs
to him that the source of said frustration might actually be at this
get-together tonight, and his mind is quickly made up. Perhaps even a bit too
quickly, considering how he has tried to convince himself that he doesn't
actually care.

"Sure,"
he says with a casual shrug. "Sounds fun."

Jemma
keeps her eyebrows raised, now with a small smile on her face, again as though
she's thinking something she’s not telling.

"Great,"
she says. "It's over at Marcel's dorm, across the pond. I'll text
you."

"Sure
thing."

Jemma
straightens to leave, hitching her bag up on her shoulder. She's halfway to the
exit when she remembers something and turns around.

"Oh,
and you should invite your friend from the coffee shop," she says.
"I've got a feeling Shanti might appreciate that."

She
gives Dominic a pointed, wicked smile, and he returns it.

"Will
do," he says. "Later."

Jemma
gives him a small wave as she leaves, allowing Dominic to continue his work in
peace. Not that he's really getting anywhere, but at least it makes him feel
like he's getting something done.

The
art building is incredibly boring and uninspiring when Killian isn't here, he
realizes. He's not happy to admit it, but the guy has been somewhat of a
fixture at this place ever since the class first started, so it feels a bit odd
for Dominic to be here without him.

That
might be where he draws the line. Being attracted to the guy is one thing,
checking him out and drooling from afar, but actually missing his presence is
another thing entirely. It’s a bit too close to attachment-territory, and
Dominic is just not up for that.

In
sheer protest, he gathers up his things and leaves the art building, heading
back home.

It's
about a block away from the college that he digs his phone out of his pocket
and checks the time; it's just past five o'clock, so Isaac's shift should be
over by now. He pulls up his friend's contact information and calls him,
bringing the phone up to his ear.

"
Yo
," Isaac answers on the second ring, and Dominic frowns.

"That
was fast," he says, shoving his free hand into his pocket as he makes his
way down the sidewalk, the dark asphalt practically radiating heat from the
still brilliantly shining sun above. Isaac grunts.

"You're
lucky," he says. "Had my phone been just a little bit further away, I
wouldn't have picked up at all."

Dominic
imagines Isaac lying stretched out on the couch in his studio apartment, most
likely having just come home from his work shift at Bobcat.

"Or
you could just admit to the passionate, tender feelings you've been harboring
for me all these years," Dominic says casually. "You know, the real
reason for you actually making an effort to answer my calls."

Isaac
lets out a tired, exaggeratedly sad sigh.

"Sorry,
bro," he says. "Even if I did suddenly start liking dick, you
wouldn't be my first choice."

Dominic
exhales sharply.

"Ouch,"
he says. "I thought we were friends."

"Exactly,"
Isaac says. "I make a point of not fucking my friends."

Dominic
cocks his head, even though Isaac can't see.

"Fair
enough," he says. "What are you doing tonight?"

Isaac
lets out a heavy, exhausted exhale.

"Nothing,"
he says. "Sleeping? Putting in some long overdue
Minecraft
-hours?"

"I'm
serious."

"So
am I." Isaac sounds slightly offended, if exaggeratedly so. "I have
been seriously neglecting that recently, I've got some catching up to do."

Dominic
rolls his eyes.

"Well,"
he says, "if you'd prefer the company of humans, there's a party tonight.
A small one, a get-together kind of thing. You're invited, if you wanna come."

Isaac
lets out a soft groan of hesitation.

"I
don't know, man," he says. "I think I've had enough of people for one
day. Some hipster was two seconds away from throwing his soy-latte in my face
today when I told him we were out of vegan scones."

Dominic
huffs a laugh at the image, not doubting for a second the accuracy of it.

"Fine,
your loss," he says a bit too casually. "I mean, Shanti is probably
gonna be there, so... But I'll tell her you said hi."

Silence.
Dominic can practically see Isaac look up at the ceiling, covering his teeth
with his lips as he presses them together, like he does when he's deliberating,
and it brings a small smile to Dominic's face. Eventually, he hears his friend
sigh on the other end of the line.

"I
guess I could come by for a little bit," he says, and Dominic tries not to
laugh. "When and where?"

"Eight-
ish
?" Dominic guesses. "It's at one of the dorms.
I'll come by and get you."

"Awesome,"
Isaac says, with the tone of someone about to pass out from exhaustion.
"Later."

"Bye."
Dominic barely has time to say the one word before the call is cut off, and he
imagines Isaac dropping the phone to the floor and succumbing to a nap. It's a
freaky talent of his, always has been; it's like he can fall asleep on command,
anytime, anyplace.

Dominic's
one-room apartment is surprisingly cool when he enters through the front door
and tosses his keys in a little bowl on the side table in the hall. The sun has
thankfully passed by his windows by now, the worst of the heat gone with it,
and considering the sad lack of air-conditioning in this place, it's a relief.
Sleeping in is nearly impossible in the mornings, the glass of the windows
practically soaking up the sun's rays and turning the tiny apartment into a
greenhouse before lunch. On the bright side, it usually at least makes Dominic
get up at a reasonable hour.

Dominic
kicks off his shoes and dumps his shoulder bag on the worn little couch in the
middle of the room, not too far from the bed in the corner, and flicks on the
old fan standing by the window. It buzzes to life, circulating the reasonably
cool air and bringing down the temperature by another fraction or so, and
Dominic heads to his tiny kitchen for a glass of water.

A party,
he thinks to himself, as he empties
the glass with a satisfied sigh and puts it in the sink. He makes his way to
the bathroom to take a shower, stripping off his clothes as he goes.
A party where Killian will most likely be.

He
quirks a small smile. This should make for an interesting night.

Marcel's dorm
isn't hard to find. Like Jemma said, it's across the pond, literally, as in
within a five minute walking distance of the art building. Despite never having
been there before, Dominic easily finds the place, drawn by the loud music and
sounds of voices, and he rounds the corner of the dorm building with Isaac to
find a patio deck out back.

"Hey!"
Annie calls happily as she spots the two of them. She leans over the wooden
railing of the deck, strawberry blonde hair hanging loosely on either side of
her face. "You made it!"

Dominic
doesn't get a chance to reply before she has skipped down the few steps and
hurried over to him on the grass, throwing her arms around his neck. Isaac
watches a little apprehensively, before Annie gives him a hug too, much to his
surprise.

"Started
without us, huh?" Dominic asks pointedly, with a smile, and Annie gives
him a tipsy grin.

"You're
late," she reprimands him, narrowing her eyes. "But lucky for you,
there's lots of means for you to catch up, so worry not. Also, lucky for you,
there's a certain leprechaun who's looking for you."

Dominic
raises his eyebrows and gives her a tired, doubtful look.

"Leprechaun?"
he asks flatly, and Annie cocks her head dismissively.

"Irish,"
she says, waving her hand. "I work with what I've got. Either way, he's
looking for you." Another doubtful look from Dominic, and she rolls her
eyes. "Fine, maybe he hasn't explicitly stated as such, but I know these
things. Call it woman's intuition."