Page 15 of Carver
He sighs. Dom’s muscles ripple under my hand as I set it on his thigh under the table. His body prepares for major flight mode.
“I cut it.” Duh, but I leave it at that. It sounds like an accident.
Dravin steps over to the counter, tugging Kael with him playfully. Their obvious connection sends warmth surging through me. It’s not the kind of warmth that the love of my family gives or the way I feel about Elowen. The burn is deeper, hitting all the wrong places for sitting in front of people I barely even know.
I don’t remove my hand from Dom’s thigh. His body heat ignites sparks in my fingers that fly up my wrists and arms and explode in my chest. My body is dry tinder. I miss his hands on my body. I miss his mouth. I miss the way we were always fire, aching for each other long after we’d memorized each other’s bodies. That warmth pools low in my belly until my thighs start to pound.
“Let me make you something. A sandwich or a smoothie? Are you hungry? Thirsty?” Dravin’s obvious need to take care of Kael is adorable. So is the kiss she brushes over his temple as she skirts past him, grabs a bagel that’s already sliced and stuffs it into the toaster. “I’m okay. I’ll just get some water.”
They join us at the table a few minutes later.
I had a lot of friends in high school, but most of them have moved away. That happens with small towns. There isn’t a ton of opportunity. I’ve also had a secret to keep. It’s been weird, changing my whole family’s lives, but they understood. Visitors had to be planned carefully. We got used to the routine and it worked for us, but I haven’t been as social as I was in the past.
It’s almost strange to sit down with friends again.
Maybe because I don’t know Dravin or Kael and Dom and I haven’t gone anywhere together in so long.
Even before the accident, he preferred to be alone, or with me and my family, but he pretty much drew the line there.
“I’m not sure how many weeks you’re going to be here yet,” Dravin says, glancing sidelong at Kael as he talks to Dom. I don’t miss the guilt there. This is the first time he’s putting this out there. “But I’d like to put something to you. You could stay, if you’d like. Prospect with the club. We’d be happy to have you.”
In my mind, I see myself rocketing out of my chair or falling out of it and having to pick myself up. I don’t do anything other than curl my hand like a claw into Dom’s leg. He remains motionless. Blank. He’s good at emptying himself out, going so deep inside himself that even he gets lost.
I can’t speak for him.
If I open my mouth, the only thing that I’ll ever say to him is that wherever he needs to go to find peace and happiness, I’m there.
“I do appreciate the offer,” Dom forces out after a tense few moments of silence. “But I have my property and sculpting.”
“You could rent it. We could help you find a shop space here.”
Dom doesn’t bring up my family. He doesn’t mention me at all. He doesn’t use me as a reason or as an excuse, but his eyes fix on me.
Kael nervously takes a bite of her bagel. She chews quietly, but it seems loud in the silence. “You know what language books I got you? Actually, let me get the bag. We can look at everything.”
She’s amazing. She works miracles. We know the offer is out there, but she cuts through the tension of having to make a decision. Dom doesn’t even have to say that he’ll consider it.
She unpacks the bag onto the table, fanning everything out.
“Latin? It might be hard to find movies in that.” I know exactly how Dom likes to learn languages. There might be easier ways, but it works for him. He already speaks Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, and German.
Kael pushes the Dutch books over. “I also got these.” She polishes off the rest of the bagel, then swallows quickly and chugs water since she’s clearly had an idea. “The VP at the club—his wife teaches classes here in Hart. College level. She might know of something online where you could learn Latin, or at least practice it. If you don’t like apps. Maybe you can even get credits for it, since you’d likely have to pay.”
I’m so sure Dom is going to say no, but ever since I’ve known him, one thing has remained true. He’s never lost the ability to surprise.
“I’ll have to check it out. I can look it up. I brought my laptop.”
The laptop in question is now ancient, but I remember when Dom bought it. He’d sold his first sculpture ever on the website we’d struggled to put together. It wasn’t a lot of money for the time and effort he put in, but the stone was just randomly lying around, and he’d used his grandfather’s tools. His father and uncles didn’t pay much attention to what he did in the workshop—fucking aroundas they called it, with those stones. I don’t think they even knew he sold it. He got eleven hundred dollars, which sounds like a lot, and it was to teenage kids. With the cash, Dom bought himself his first laptop. He kept it in his locker at school to make sure it was safe.
He’s upgraded it over the years, so it’s not obsolete. He’s still so careful with it that it looks brand new.
Dravin checks out the stack of books. “TheIliad.” He slides another spine closer to read it. “TheOdyssey.”
“Yeah, well…” Kael shrugs. “The library didn’t have much in the way of Latin books, but I thought you might enjoy Greek mythology.” She taps her chin thoughtfully, “Wait. I should have got ancient Greek instead of Latin. Or regular Greek.”
“I’m sure I’ll enjoy these.” Dom smooths his hand over the covers of the books almost reverently even though they’re not old and they’re quite beat up from lots of loving.
Those are two classics that I haven’t got him yet.
