FAT and in Love

Chapter 84: Neck, Shoulders, Back

After setting the GPS on my phone, I lend him my phone so he can follow the directions.

Before I know it, we've pulled up in front of my apartment.

I feel giddy that he's here.

"Yay, now you get to see where I live. It's not as big as your house, of course, but... you know. It's kind of a ranch like yours. Welcome to my humble abode."

I get out of the car, and Dominic says nothing.

There are no street lights on my street, and the lot is pretty spacious. The closest neighbor to me is a few yards away, and I like that we're spaced out.

Dominic's head is on a swivel again, and he has looked everywhere else except at the house.

"Do you seriously live here?" he asks in a deadpan tone.

"Yup! Total peace and quiet," I respond cheerfully.

I wonder why he's asking that and looking back at him; he doesn't seem impressed. Why would he seem impressed? Next to his house, everybody else's must look like kennels.

It feels good to be home, and as I walk in, I feel a sense of pride, knowing the layout like the back of my hand and feeling confident in my domain.

However, as he enters my home and closes the door, I notice how imposing he seems within the confines of my surroundings. For some inexplicable reason, him being in my house makes him appear three times larger than usual. He's like a freaking goliath.

He looks out the window and then looks at me and looks completely lost.

"So no roommates?" he asks warily as though he's on the run from the feds.

"Nope. It's cheap enough that I can pay it on my own, and when I make money from my stories, it covers that and some food. I have Arturos to thank for that because--uh."

Oh shit!

I didn't mean to say that. I turn away from him and close my eyes tightly, wishing that he would just ignore what I just said.

"You spoke to Arturos?"

"Um..."

"I didn't know you guys still spoke to each other."

"Well... uh.... Do you want something to drink?" I ask him, trying to change the subject.

I go into my kitchen, and I look over at him as he walks slowly up to me and ends up right beside me. He's studying me intently. I can tell he's not going to let this go.

"Yes?" I ask as he blocks my way.

"You're just going to gloss right over that?"

"Gloss right over what?"

He rolls his eyes and then takes a seat at the small table in the kitchen.

"So when was the last time you talked to him?"

"..... Yesterday......"

Dominic's head swiftly jerks up to gaze at me, his eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Yesterday?" he asks with a firm expression.

"Yeah, actually, I ran into him and his girlfriend at the aquarium, and I hung out with them for the day."

"So right before you called me, you were hanging out with Art and his girlfriend?"

"That's correct."

Dominic looks towards my sofa in the living room and then back up at me. He shakes his head in disbelief and closes his eyes for a moment, as though trying to process what I just told him.