Trying Not to Love You
Page 22

I quickly sent Mason a text back letting him know that I had a new job, and that I would have to let him know what my schedule was like. I also let him know that I would make time to have dinner with him, Cooper and Jackson when they came. I did not want to tell him I was not speaking to Hunter. I then sent a text to Dominic to come over whenever he woke up.
I was drying my hair when I heard someone knocking; I turned the dryer off, and went to see who was at the door.
"Hey, I didn't think I would see you till later." I said to Dominic, opening the door wider so he could walk in.
"I'm actually surprised I'm up this early too. So, you wanted to talk?" He walked over to my bed and sat down.
"Yeah, I think it's about time. What do you think?" I said, taking a seat next to him.
"I don't really want to talk right now." He looked up at me with regret in his eyes. "Can I just hold you for a little while?"
I moved to lean against my headboard, and he did the same. He pulled me so I was cuddled into him, with my head resting on his chest.
"I miss this Kenzie. I miss you. Being here at school is so different from being at home," he said, as he kissed the top of my head.
I nodded my agreement, and he continued, "What you found in my room was Brittany's. I told my roommate he needed to keep his shit on his side of the room. I explained to him what you found, and he asked me to apologize to you." He grabbed my chin, and made me look up at him. "I can't lose you Kenzie."
"I miss us too; we worked when we were at home. Things are so different here, and I am trying to trust you, but it's hard. When I walked in, and saw those panties sitting on your side of the room, I didn't know what to think. I knew you couldn't be that stupid to leave them there in plain sight."
"I know that I wouldn't have known how to react if I found some guy's boxers in here either. Can we just put it behind us and move on?" He whispered the last part to me.
I watched, as his eyes grew heavy. "I'm trying Dominic, but you can't keep screwing up all the time. I've cut Hunter out, so you don't have to worry about him anymore."
"I love you baby." He blinked once, twice and then he was asleep. I put my head back down on his chest, and listened to his breathing. I laid there, thinking for a long time, before I finally fell asleep.
When I woke up, I lifted my head and looked at Dominic. He was still sound asleep. I must have slept for a few hours because now it was dark outside. I tried to get up without waking Dominic, but when I sat up, he grabbed my arm.
I turned to look at him and he smiled at me. "You're so beautiful."
Blushing, I shook my head, and turned away from him. "I'm not."
"You have no idea the feelings I get when I look into your pretty blue eyes."
This is the Dominic that I loved, the one who knew what to say to make me feel beautiful. This is the relationship with him that I wanted, not the one we seemed to be having lately.
"I love you. I'm sorry things have been so messed up for us lately."
I smiled at him and said, "Me too."
"I'm starving. You want to head out to grab something to eat?" He asked, stretching out on my bed.
"Yeah, I haven't been eating too well lately," I admitted to him. I never could eat right when something was bothering me.
"Baby we talked about this. You are too skinny now as it is. You need to eat."
"You know how I get. I'm starving now, so let's go."
We drove down to The Raven. This was becoming a favorite place of mine. The burgers there were to die for. When we arrived, Dominic asked to be seated by the windows. This was my favorite place to sit, and I loved watching all the people passing by. When we followed behind the waitress, I was surprised to see Hunter, Hailey and Zeke sitting at one of the booths.
Dominic stopped walking when he noticed them too. He turned his head to look at me. "You want to go somewhere else?"
"No, we're already here. I'm starving and I can't avoid him forever. He's practically family." I knew that with my brothers coming into town, I would not be able to avoid him while they were here.
"Alright, I guess you're right, I still don't like it though."
I leaned in, placed a kiss on his lips and said, "You don't have anything to worry about, I promise."
"I know. That still doesn't mean I have to like it." I knew it would be a while for him to get over what he saw and I knew I would be hearing about it again.
We continued to walk to the booth that the waitress sat us at, which happened to be right behind where they were sitting. Dominic kept walking but I stopped to say hi.
"Hey sweetie." Zeke said.
"What's going on?"
Hailey looked at me, trying to gauge my mood. "I'm fine," I said.
"Well since you're here and Zeke has to get back to work, let's go get our nose pierced." Hailey said practically bouncing out of her seat.
I looked over her head to Dominic who just shrugged his shoulder at me. I guess that was my answer.
"Alright, but we have to eat first. We're starving."
"Of course, we were just heading out. Zeke has to get back to work so Hunter and I will go take a walk. Text me when you're done." She stood up from the booth, gave me a hug and whispered in my ear. "He's a mess."
I nodded, and looked over at Hunter, sitting at the table with his head down. I think this was the longest we had ever gone without talking.
I took a few steps towards him and placed my hand on his shoulder, "Hey."
He looked up at me and my heart broke. He looked like shit and I could not fix it. We both knew nothing would ever come of our relationship, which is why I needed to stay with Dominic.
I started to move my hand from his shoulder, but he reached up to grab it. "I'm sorry." He said it just loud enough for me hear him.
"I know. Everything will be fine. We just need time." I winked at him and walked to my booth. I hated to see him like this but he chose them over me and now I am choosing Dominic over him.
Hailey, Zeke and Hunter left as I sat down to eat with Dominic. I ordered my favorite burger while he ordered wings. "So, you're going to get your nose pierced?" He asked while taking a drink of his soda.
"Yeah, Zeke is a friend of Hunter's. He's the same guy that has done all of Hunter's tattoos."
Staring at me for a minute, he picked up another wing and started to eat it. We really did not talk much after that. When the check came, he paid it while I sent a text to Hailey letting her know that we were ready.