Page 72 of Cross Check My Heart
After that, I think that I remember seeing my dad and…shit.
Sitting up too quickly, I’m met with a wave of dizziness and the weight on my leg moves. After waiting a moment for the wave to pass, I look down to see what the weight on my thigh is. Dominik is in a chair that he pulled up to the side of my bed as he rests on top of me. I smile down at him as I reach out to run my fingers through his hair. The moment my hand touches him, Dominik sits up faster than I had expected.
“It’s a good thing I didn’t use my other hand.” He stares wide eyed at me, his mouth dropping open before he snaps into action. Standing up quickly, he checks me over.
“Shit. I’m so sorry, are you okay?”
“Physically? No. Emotionally? Also no, but at least you’re here.” I half laugh out and cringe. “So umm…I was a bit out of it.”
He ducks his head, chewing on his lower lip as he paces toward the door.
“What do you remember?” I tell him everything I could recall, up to where it gets hazy. “That’s where it starts getting jumbled and fuzzy. I remember you and my dad showing up, but nothing specific and then just nothing.”
When he doesn’t look at me right away, I start to worry.
“Did I do something wrong? Or say something offensive?” Dominik finally peeks up at me, but for the life of me I can’t read his expression. He reaches up to grip the back of his neck as he lets out a low laugh.
“No. I mean, no one is offended or hurt.”
“Dominik, what the hell happened then? Why does it feel like you’re walking on eggshells or something?” He sighs, moving to sit back in the chair next to me.
“Garrett texted me that you were okay, but after the game when I called him he told me to get your dad and come to the hospital.” I blink at him, waiting for him to continue. Clearing his throat, a faint blush surprisingly spreads across his cheeks.
“So I…uh…your dad and I came together. I used Garrett as my reason for coming to the hospital and let your dad be the one to go check on you once we got here.” The smirk he throws at me tells me all I need to know.
“I said something about us. Didn’t I?”
“Yeah, ya did.” Groaning, I fall back onto the bed only to flinch at the pain that courses through my body.
“My dad knows?” He takes my non-injured hand into his and strokes his thumb along my knuckles.
“Well, see I could have deflected and come up with something when you told Paige I’m built like a god and then told him that I call you Sunshine. But it was kind of hard to think of something when you told him that I call you good girl.”
My mouth dries and all I can do is shake my head as I gape at him. He just nods while fighting to hold back a smile. My voice is barely above a whisper when I finally talk.
“Was he mad at you?” That damn near perfect smile spreads across his face.
“Mad is a bit extreme. He wasn’t thrilled, but he understands why we kept it a secret. He said he’d swing by your place tomorrow when we get you home to check on you and talk if you’re up for it.” I can only blink at him as I process the fact that he’s not mad.
Dominik must see the disbelief spreading across my face as he gently lifts my hand to his and kisses it before saying, “He justwants you to be happy. Yeah, at first, he was a little pissed. He thought that this was just like a one-night stand where I took advantage of you. I thought for sure that he was going to kick my ass for a solid minute. But I simply told him the truth.”
“The truth?” The way he’s looking at me has my heart skipping a beat. When he answers me, his gaze doesn’t leave me. His unwavering attention holds me captive.
“I told him that while it might have started out with details he does not need to know, somewhere over the past few months… At some point, you turned into more than just the hot neighbor I wanted to keep seeing because of a fun weekend. You became the person that I wanted to talk to about my day and hear everything about yours. You’re the first person I’ve been able to open up about my family, not just the bad shit but the good and happy memories that I forgot about because of the grief.” I squeeze his hand gently.
“I’ve never felt like this with anyone before. You make me feel everything just by simply smiling in my direction. You’re so freaking smart, witty, and on top of everything else, you care about everyone you meet. Even when you shouldn’t, you still try to find ways to make sure no one suffers. You actually see everyone around you.” I’m blinking quickly to hold back tears while he continues.
“It’s not a moment that I can pinpoint, but somewhere over these past few months, you became someone I admire. After being around you, I find myself asking how I can learn from you and be someone you deserve to have in your life. I admire everything about you. I love the way you laugh, the way you think and how you manage to find joy wherever you can. I love you.”
Those three words make my breath catch in my throat. The three words I have been forcing myself not to let form into a complete thought for fear that I would ruin things between us.But he said them, on top of so many other reasons to back up his words. As if he knew I would need to hearwhyfirst.
I choke on a sob while pulling my hand from his to cup his face in my palm and tug his face toward me. Just before our lips are about to touch, I pause long enough to whisper,
“I love you, too.”
Dominik stayed the whole night by my side. Whether that’s because he paid someone to look the other way while he stayed or because no one noticed, I didn’t ask.
The nurse was going to get my discharge papers since I had no issues overnight. The biggest concern was that I hit my head so soon after my concussion. But since I made it through the night with no issues, I get to go home. She was waiting for the police to see me to finish processing my paperwork, but it sounded as if it was more so she could interfere if needed. She definitely gave off ‘mama bear’ vibes.
