Page 75 of The Blame Game

Dustin nodded, squeezing his arm. “Okay. Take care.”

But Dom didn’t take the car home. He took it to Shea’s.

He texted him on the ride there and Shea merely responded with an, I’ll let you in.

Shea met Dom at the front door and they rode the elevator up to Shea’s floor in silence.

Inside, the apartment was dark and quiet except for the low hum of the heating.

Shea tilted his head, gesturing for Dom to follow him.

They ended up in what Dom assumed was Shea’s bedroom. The sheets were rumpled and Shea was dressed in pajamas.

It hit Dom exactly how late it was.

They stared at each other for the longest time, Dom’s breath tight in his chest as he wondered what to say. How to apologize. How to make this right.

Shea was the first to break and he wrapped his arms tightly around Dom.

“Fuck, you scared me,” he murmured, his breath warm against Dom’s cheek.

“I’m sorry,” Dom whispered, settling a hand against Shea’s back. He could feel the quick, hard thump of Shea’s heart, beating against his chest. “I didn’t mean … it wasn’t …”

“I know.” Shea lifted his head, his gaze worried. “But now I know how you felt the night of the fire, I guess.”

Dom managed a ghost of a smile. “Guess we’ve both had brushes with …”

He trailed off, unable to finish the thought, his grip tightening on Shea’s body.

“Yeah. Let’s not try to one up each other again, okay?”

Dom laughed a little brokenly, feeling oddly hollow and like nothing was quite real at the moment. “Yeah, okay. Thank you for saving my life. I don’t know how to adequately thank you for that but I know you did and I’m grateful.”

Shea’s face spasmed and he closed his eyes. “Don’t. You … just don’t.”

Don’t what? Dom wondered. But he was afraid to ask.

“Fuck you scared me last night,” Shea rasped. “How much do you remember?”

“None of it,” Dom admitted.

His arms were still around Shea and he should let go but he didn’t want to. It felt impossible to even lift his arms, so he held him close instead.

“None?” Shea sounded surprised. “You don’t remember any of it?”

“I mean, I remember going back to my room after I got the meds from Dr. Strickland but the rest? Totally blank.”

Shea softened. “Ahh. Well, that’s maybe not that surprising, all things considered.”

Dom licked his lips. “You know I wouldn’t have … if I’d known what combining all that would do …”

“I do know that. Although, you were … you were in a weird mood that night, Dom. Emotional.”

He frowned. “I was?”

“Yeah. You were talking about your future after hockey and …”

Dom pulled away, passing a hand over his face before he turned away. “Ugh. I bet I got all up in my head about it, didn’t I?”

---