𝑻 𝑯 𝑬 𝑵 𝑨 𝑵 𝑵 𝒀 (18+)

fifty-seven

                                A M A R A

"Dominic," David snapped his fingers but I didn't bother to look at him. I was too busy taking in the man in front of me. The one with expectant eyes waiting to be invited inside or regretting coming over in the first place. "His name is Dominic."

Harry hummed behind me and the room fell silent.
I watched Dom's eyes scan the room in confusion before they landed on Harry, and then back to me. He let out the breath he was holding and cleared his throat, "can I come in?"

I wanted to tell him no. Now wasn't the time, I barely had any furniture up and I wasn't in the mood to hash out the things I left behind. But I didn't. Instead, I stepped off to the side and watched him walk in. Dan and David were practically pink from laughing but I'd never seen Dom so serious before and he hadn't stopped looking at Harry since he'd gotten here.

"Harry, this is Dominic my uh—"

"Yeah, I'm figuring it out," he awkwardly laughed to himself. "It's nice to meet you," he extended a hand out and Dom took it without hesitation. The encounter lasted longer than it should've but his ability to be cordial when he was clearly unamused had always been admirable.

"We should probably get out of here. Dom, I'll see you and the kids tomorrow right?" David opened up the calendar app on his phone and shook it.

"Yeah, I'll be there," he answered with an eye roll.

"I'll see you Mar, Dominic—" Dan was next to depart, leaving Just Dominic and Harry standing in my living room. He looked at me and then back at Dominic before scratching the back of his head. He was worried about leaving the both of us alone and if I had been a messier person I would've told him to stay as my buffer. An appropriate distraction to the war raging on in my head.

"Are you gonna be good Mar?" He finally asked and I heard Dom scoff. I smiled and shook my head, "I'm fine you should go you've done enough to help me today. These past few weeks actually, thank you."

He smiled softly and licked his lips, "Enough with the thank you's. Call me if you need anything?"

I nodded.

"He seems nice," Dominic deadpanned as the front door closed. I turned on my heels and smiled, "He is. Can I get you anything? I don't have much but there's water and pizza in the kitchen." I wasn't good with awkward pleasantries, that was abundantly clear. The man had seen more of me than I had of myself and I didn't just mean physically yet tonight we were reduced to awkward pauses and quick glances.

"Uh, no thank you." He smiled stiffly and put his hands in his pockets. I scanned over his outfit and chewed on the inside of my cheek, "thanks again for the gift. Zar said that you were pretty dressed up when you dropped it off." I paused and he tilted his head at me, "Where did you go?"

I felt desperate and my attempt at finding out what he'd been doing these past few weeks was even more pathetic. It was my choice to leave but even so, there was nothing rational about my decision.

"I grabbed a few drinks with Gina," he answered flatly.

"Oh," and I swore my heart stopped beating. "Did you two have fun?"

"Yeah, I had a great time with Gina, Dan, David, and Tiff." He took a step closer, "it wasn't like that."

"Doesn't really matter, you can do whatever you want," I lied and I hoped he could see right through me.

"It matters to me because you are the only person that I want Amara." He'd gotten so close that I hadn't noticed his arm wrapped around my waist or his thumb pressed against my cheek.