Come On Over (9 page)

Dominic
huffs a laugh.

"Yeah
alright, Princess," he says. "Simmer down, and let's get some
drinks."

Annie
smiles toothily, plants a kiss on his cheek, and heads back to the patio deck,
which seems to have turned into a kind of dance floor. Dominic turns to Isaac,
who's discreetly scanning the area, hands in his pockets.

"Leprechaun?"
Isaac mutters, meeting Dominic's eye.

"Buzz
cut," Dominic clarifies, resisting the urge to point out that what Killian
has is in fact an undercut, and Isaac nods in understanding. "But enough
about me. Go, your maiden should be here somewhere."

He
nudges his friend pointedly, and Isaac grimaces at him, but does as he's told.
He has clearly already spotted Shanti up on the deck, and he heads in that
direction.

"Wish
me luck," he calls over his shoulder, and Dominic just smiles.

He
takes in the scene as Isaac wanders off, notices the string lights woven
through the trees around the patio deck, creating a kind of magical atmosphere
as they shimmer and reflect on the surface of the pond nearby. Jemma was right,
there aren't that many people here, only the ones Dominic has gotten to know so
far, along with a couple of others. Kim is pressed up close to some pretty,
blonde girl, whom he assumes is her girlfriend, and a few other strangers seem
to have just swung by to take part of the festivities. On the deck are large
speakers, blaring music that sounds happy and a little too indie for Dominic's
taste, but it puts him in a good mood, and he smiles a little as he makes his
way up there.

He's
got a good feeling about this.

Dominic
quickly learns that everyone dances differently. Annie has some
twirly
, fluid thing going on, while Jemma does a lot of hip
shakes, and Marcel is in the middle of something that Dominic swears looks an
awful lot like
krumping
―it doesn’t seem to
matter that it’s completely out of time with the music. Kim is doing some kind
of twist, and Shanti isn’t dancing at all, instead sitting with Isaac over by
the edge of the patio deck, the two of them seemingly deep in conversation. Or
maybe they’re just staring at each other; it’s hard to tell at this distance.
Regardless, they look like they’re having a great time, and Dominic hasn’t seen
Isaac smile like that in a while, his gaze skimming over Shanti’s face whenever
she glances away, as though he wants to take in as much of her as possible.
It’s actually rather adorable, and it makes Dominic happy to see.

Killian
is there―to Dominic's satisfaction―and to no one’s surprise, he
isn’t dancing. Jemma tugs him up on the improvised dance floor every now and
then, but she only gets him to twirl her and dip her once or twice, at best.
Not that it isn’t still hugely entertaining to watch―Killian might
actually be good at it if he tried, seeing as how he seems to have a good
ear
for the music and its beat. Dominic, in the meantime,
has always had two left feet, and his attempts at keeping up with anyone are
mostly for the purpose of entertaining his friends, who seem insistent on at
least making him try. He catches a glimpse of Killian’s face every now and
then, and if he didn’t know better, he’d say the guy was amused.

By
the time the party is well underway, and the string lights above blend together
with the glow of fireflies, Dominic is pleasantly tipsy, both from drinking and
from the general atmosphere. There is laughter filling the balmy air, weaving
together with the loud music that reverberates through the wooden floor, and it
has reached the point where he honestly couldn’t care less about just how
terrible of a dancer he is, spinning around with Annie while the others laugh
and do moves of their own.

Isaac
and Shanti are sitting a bit closer together now, but from what Dominic has
seen, no move has so far been made. He's not surprised; Isaac has always been
quite the gentleman, and it wouldn't be unusual for him to let Shanti make the
first move. She is shy though, so Dominic vaguely wonders how long that might
take.

"Can
I ask you something?" Jemma says, sliding up next to Dominic as he leans
against the railing of the patio deck a while later, taking a break from the festivities
and gazing out over the grass. It's illuminated rather nicely by the lights
around them.

"Sure,"
he says, turning to his classmate. Jemma narrows her eyes in thought. She looks
about as reasonably intoxicated as he feels.

"The
other day," she says. "In the art room. What went down there,
exactly?"

Dominic
hesitates, nonchalantly purses his lips in consideration and glances up at the
dark sky. It's not quite pitch black yet, still dark indigo.

"Why
do you ask?" he says smoothly, realizing that Killian apparently hasn't
told Jemma about what happened, and Jemma nudges his arm as he turns back to
her.

"Because
I know sexual tension when I see it," she says. "And you boys are
thirsty."

She
adds an exaggerated twang to the last word for emphasis, and Dominic chuckles.

"Thirsty,
huh?" he says, and Jemma hums in confirmation, taking a sip from her cup.

"You
can tell me all you want that nothing went down in there," she says.
"But a hot
makeout
sesh
tends to leave a mark. And it was all over you both."

Dominic
looks at her, and she gives him a pointed eyebrow-raise.

"Fair
enough," he says. "So something did go down. What about it?"

Jemma
smirks a little, clearly entirely too pleased at that information, and at being
right.

"Well,"
she says. "I'm no genius on the matter, but I'm thinking it would be in
both of your best interests to repeat the process."

Dominic
gives her an impressed nod.

"Well,
aren't you an eloquent drunk," he says, and Jemma tilts her head with a
raise of her cup.

"I
have my moments," she says. "But the point still stands. You two have
been eye-humping each other for days, it's time to do something about it."

She
pointedly looks over her shoulder, and Dominic follows her gaze. Killian is
moving away from the patio deck to sit down on the grass against a tree, bottle
in hand, and Dominic is met by a pair of knowing, dark brown eyes when he looks
back at Jemma. She's got a sneaky look on her face, and she cocks her head in
Killian’s direction.

"Go
get '
im
, tiger."

Dominic
doesn’t need much more incentive than that. He attempts a kind of casual
saunter as he makes his way over to Killian, who only looks up and notices him
once he's already there.

"Hey,"
Killian says, quickly eyeing him up and down in a way that might pass for
less-than suggestive, but Dominic isn't an idiot.

"Hey,"
he says, with the same casual tone. He gestures at the ground. "You
mind?"

Killian
hesitates for barely a second. Then he shrugs, and Dominic takes it as
permission, instantly reminded of their first proper interaction, before he
sits down on the grass to lean his back against the tree. In order to enjoy the
backrest, he needs to sit rather close to Killian, their arms touching and
making tiny, hot currents run across Dominic's skin. He is once again reminded
of just how good Killian smells, and has to refrain from leaning in and running
his nose along his neck to really breathe it in. Thankfully, he's not quite
drunk enough for that yet.

"So
Jemma put you up to this, huh?" Killian says, cutting the bullshit as he
hands over the bottle in his hand. Dominic takes the drink, unfazed by the
question.

"Annie
had a little to do with it, too," he says. "Even Isaac pitched
in."

Killian
raises his eyebrows.

"Damn,"
he says. "I'm impressed. So many people making an effort to get you
laid."

Dominic
cocks his head, taking a sip from the bottle. It's white wine, good, but cheap
by the taste of it.

"The
power of friendship," he says. "Probably didn't need their help,
though."

Killian's
dark green eyes narrow.

"Yeah?"
he says. Dominic licks his lips to catch the last of the wine's flavor on his
tongue, before handing Killian the bottle.

"Yeah,"
he says, Killian slowly taking the bottle from his hand, his gaze briefly
darting to Dominic's mouth. "I can be persuasive."

Killian
doesn't immediately reply, just watches Dominic's face, while Dominic does his
best to keep his intoxicated body under control and not let it do something
rash.

"Is
that so?" Killian eventually says, his voice slightly lower and the look
in his eyes just a little bit daring, intrigued, making Dominic's self-control
stutter.

"Yes,"
he says plainly. Killian brings the bottle to his lips and drinks, his
adam's
apple bobbing as he swallows, drawing Dominic's
attention to it for about a split second. "I don't even need cheap-ass
wine to get my way."

Killian
raises his eyebrows as he lowers the bottle.

"Don't
blame me," he says, gesturing at it. "Got this from Marcel. He's more
of a quantity than quality kind of guy, you know."

"So
you admit to using sub-par wine to seduce me," Dominic says in mock
offense. "I'm hurt."

The
look on Killian's face shifts, and that smirk from the other day creeps into
his expression, drawing Dominic in and warning him off, all at the same time.

"Who
said anything about seducing?" he says in a low voice, leaning in closer
until his face is only inches away from Dominic's, eyes full of wicked
promises. "I thought you were supposed to be the persuasive one."

Dominic's
gaze flicks to his mouth. His lips are just slightly parted, a single drop of
wine lingering there and really testing Dominic's self-discipline.

"I'm
flexible, too," he says, his tone matching Killian's, and he looks up to
meet his eye. For several seconds, neither of them says another word, and
Dominic can feel his pulse speed up, can feel his fingers itching to touch
Killian's face. He wants to lean in and taste his mouth and bite his skin.

After
an agonizing amount of time, Killian pulls away again, slowly, but there is
nothing definitive or dismissive about the gesture. Instead, he licks his lips,
keeps his eyes on Dominic's as he gets up from the ground.

"Well,"
he says, spreading his arms where he stands, in a challenging, beckoning
gesture. "I don't know about you, but I've got a bottle of wine, and some
bad ideas. You in?"

He
wiggles the bottle in his hand pointedly, and Dominic can't help but smile. He
gets up as well, keeping their gazes locked, no words needed for Killian to
understand his reply.

It
seems that in a pinch, pretty much any kind of secluded location will do, and
the two of them end up just around the corner of the dorm building, hidden from
view by both party-goers and passers-by thanks to the trees surrounding this
particular spot. It’s still rather close by, but Dominic is already impatient,
and he blames his current cocktail of wine and hormones for what he does next.

He
wastes no time, practically slamming Killian against the wall and pressing
their lips together, earning a deep, rumbling moan of pleasure in return. It
tastes like wine and summer, the kiss instantly eager and greedy, and when
Dominic pulls away for just a moment, Killian is already breathing heavily, the
corner of his mouth curving into a smile.

"Straight
to the point," he says. "I like that."

Dominic
says nothing, just hums in agreement as he moves back in and claims that mouth
with his own. Something about the low, hoarse tone of Killian's voice sets off
a spark inside, and he's torn between fueling it and putting it out. The way
Killian groans softly as he smoothes his hands down along his sides, however,
leaves Dominic with barely any self-restraint. There is no way in hell he's
putting that spark out―this guy has already thrown gasoline all over it,
with just a look and a sound.

Killian
is still holding the bottle in his hand, but Dominic barely notices, because
Killian's free hand is pulling through his hair and grabbing onto it, while
Dominic slides his tongue into his mouth and moves his own hands down to his
ass. The kiss is burning and impatient, which is why Dominic is taken very much
by surprise when Killian suddenly pulls away.

He
opens his eyes, confused and breathing heavily. He watches Killian for a
moment, waits for him to give some kind of explanation, but the guy just licks
his lips in thought, and Dominic shakes his head a little, for lack of anything
else.

"What?"
he says, thankfully not sounding quite as breathless as he feels. Killian's
eyes flick away, before finding Dominic's brown ones.

"I
just, uh," he starts. He doesn't sound uncomfortable or nervous, but rather
like he would just rather not say what he's thinking, like it's a nuisance.
"I don't really do the whole... dating thing."

He
looks pointedly at Dominic, who takes a second to react.

"Okay,"
he says then, frowning, honestly confused. He shrugs. "And?"