Chapter 4 - Wine bottles and movies

I hadn’t seen Dominic since my shift at the pub, and I was thankful for it. Instead, I got to know his sister a little more. I had lived with Kat for over a week and spent only a few hours with her daily. She had a busy lifestyle, which suited me because it gave me time to think about what I wanted to write during the day. But we had a great time talking about nothing and everything when we were together in the evenings.

It was late afternoon Monday, and I had prepared a surf and turf dish that I hoped Kat would like. She returned from work, and I called her from the kitchen to tell her I was there.

Kat almost hovered off the ground, following the smell of our dinner, and I laughed when I saw how cheery she was.

“Well, you look like you had a good day.”

Kat sat on a bar stool and leaned over the kitchen island, grinning from ear to ear.

“More like I had good news.” She said as she drummed her fingers over the marble countertop.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, but first… Wine!” Kat shouted with joy and shot up from her seat.

It startled me and left me wondering what on earth my roommate had heard to warrant such a display of happiness. I decided to lean into it and let her cheery mood become mine.

Something about Kat made me want to do everything I could to ensure she would always be this way—happy.

Kat returned with a wine bottle, and I pulled out two glasses. She quickly uncorked the wine and set it aside to breathe, but she just looked at the bottle and scowled.

“Ah. Fuck it.” She poured the red liquid into the glasses and handed me mine.

“What are we drinking to?”

“To my brother, who finally found some sense and dumped that gold-digging Barbie’s ass.”

I lifted my drink and gave Kat a tight smile before swirling and drinking the wine. I didn’t know what to think, but Kat wasn’t finished with her toast. She raised her glass again and giggled.

“And to the next one. May that one be quick and painless, or finally be the one that kicks my brother’s ass.”

I silently drank and watched Kat laugh almost sadly, and when she lowered her wine glass to the counter, her cheery mood slowly vanished. I stretched my arm and rubbed her shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

I usually didn’t bother asking those questions because, most of the time, I didn’t want to know the answer, but that wasn’t the case with Kat. She had crept inside my heart in the brief time I had gotten to know her. My new roommate had this joyfulness that brought her to life; I couldn’t picture her without that spark.

“It’s nothing. It frustrates me to try to figure Dom out. I blame it on our parents for setting a bad example. Our mother had boy toys all her life, and our father pretended he didn’t notice and drowned himself in his work instead of dealing with his failed marriage. Dom did his best to shelter us from our parents’ absence, but I think he took the bulk of it. I know Dom has baggage, but he wasn’t always like this. He was caring and loved deeply, but it all bled out when….” Kat shook and head and exhaled, “Well, let’s just say he wasn’t always the playboy we now know.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I answered.

I knew what strain baggage could do to a person. I was a walking and breathing example, and I didn’t know if I would ever be rid of it. Everyone coped differently; maybe that was how Dominic managed his—whatever the trigger was.

For me, I had one rule I tried to follow as best I could, and that was “no attachments.” I could leave tomorrow morning and not feel a thing. I had also become an expert at ignoring things and minding my business—something more challenging now since Kat liked to share her life with me and expected me to do the same.

“Hopefully, the next one won’t be as bad as Joanna.” I tried to cheer Kat up.

“Pft. You don't know what women are ready to do to get Dominic’s attention. Men included. My brother leads a very lonely life, and I often wonder if this is the price to pay when you have wealth and status,” Kat replied sadly. “It’s the reason I didn’t follow in the family business. I saw what money did to people and how it twisted my mother into a shallow and insensitive person. I witnessed my father work tirelessly until it killed him. I didn’t want that for myself or anyone, but Dom… well, he has a mind of his own, and pride often gets the better of him.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I had avoided personal questions all my life and didn’t feel equipped to support my new friend, so I did the only thing I thought would cheer Kat up.

“You know what? After dinner, you and I are having a movie marathon. We will not leave the couch unless it's to go to the bathroom or to get something to eat. Deal?”

Kat looked at me through her long dark lashes and etched a smile on her plump lips.

“Can it be cheesy, sappy love movies?”

I would have preferred watching Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings universe, but if that’s what she wanted and would make her feel better, I’d Nicholas Sparks the shit out of Kat.

Sure. “Anything you want.” I laughed and went to prepare our dinner plates.

Kat devoured her food, and we talked and drank wine throughout dinner. She told me about her upbringing and how she and Dominic were close, then asked about my family. I deflected the question, preferring not to go into the details. I was trying to cheer her up, not bring her down. It worked, and we soon opened another bottle and continued talking.

After cleaning off our plates, we put everything in the sink and jumped on the couch to start our movie marathon. Kat had total control over what we watched, and it felt surprisingly good spending time with her and seeing her reactions to movies she must have seen a thousand times.

Kat was a hopeless romantic. It was plain to see. I loved how she covered her eyes with her hands during kissing or love scenes but peak through her fingers to see what was happening. I found her adorable.

Eventually, Kat fell asleep somewhere during the third movie. Her head was in my lap, so I stayed still, refusing to wake her. I turned the TV off, and we stayed in the comfort of the living room darkness.

Finally, with my head growing heavy from the wine, I shut my eyes and drifted to sleep.

It was the clatter in the kitchen that woke me up. Kat still had her head on my lap, but her body had been covered with a blanket, and I had a suit jacket draped over me. The coat smelled of pine and spices, and I remembered Dominic smelling like that. That scent had haunted my dreams ever since I had met the man. But what was he doing here?

I moved off the couch, taking precautions not to wake Kat up and trudged to the kitchen. My head still felt heavy from all the wine I had drunk, and when the sunlight hit me, I used a hand to shield my hurting eyes.

I thought I looked like a vampire, cowering before the sun.

Dominic had cleaned the counters and island and was now doing the dishes. The scene felt surreal because I couldn’t picture Dominic doing such trivial things.

I tightened my grip on his suit jacket and cleared my throat to let him know I was there. I waved awkwardly when he turned around and sat on a dining room chair. I didn’t know what to say, and I felt silly.

“I made some tea and coffee since I didn’t know what you liked,” Dominic said to cut the silence.

He flipped the dishrag over his shoulder, and I stared at him, taking in his appearance. Dominic hadn’t shaved and sported a two-day-old beard which enhanced the squareness of his jaw. He had undone his tie and unbuttoned the top of his white shirt. His honey-brown hair curled slightly around his ears and face, making him look more carefree than usual. His distinct blue eyes weren’t cold or severe and didn’t give off the regular tense and sexual vibe. They seemed lighter than before.

If I hadn’t met Dominic in the past, I would have thought the man before me was a completely different person.

“So? What will it be?” He asked with an arch in his brow.

“Coffee, please.” I quickly answered.

He nodded, went to the coffee pot and poured me a hot cup of joe. He gestured toward the sugar, and I shook my head. I took it black, like my soul, I grumbled mentally.

Dominic brought my cup and returned to finish the dishes.

“You don’t have to do that. We have a dishwasher.”

“It’s fine. I find it soothing. You’d think buying and selling properties or owning lands and nightclubs would be easy, but it’s far from it. Doing this and seeing immediate results calms me.” Dominic chuckled but quickly hid his smile.

I pretended I didn’t see it and blew over the steam from my cup.

“So, what are you doing here this early? Don’t you work?”

“Katherine wasn’t responding to my texts last night, so I decided to come by and see if she was alright. Based on the empty bottles of wine and the DVD cases lying on the ground, you two had an eventful night.”

I saw Dominic differently, and I thought he was sweet. I felt slightly embarrassed by the thought and chugged the content of my cup down. I got up and put it in the dishwasher before heading for my room, but I stopped in the doorway and hesitated on what I wanted to say to him.

Dominic and I had a weird start, and I wanted things to go smoothly between us—for Kat’s sake. He was her brother, after all, and I wanted us to have a good friendship since I planned on living here for a while.

Perhaps, if I showed him some sympathy, his attitude toward me would improve from the complex but weirdly sexual tension he’d given me since we first met.

“Hey. Kat told me what happened last night. I’m sorry it didn’t work out between you and Joanna.”

Dominic stopped wiping a plate and gently placed it on the countertop before turning around to face me.

“I’m not sorry. And lying doesn’t suit you, Olivia.”

I looked at him and defensively crossed my arms over my chest.

What now? “Excuse me?”

“You don’t have to do that with me. I like you better when you’re bold and honest. I already have people licking my ass all the time. I don’t need another one, even if that person is as gorgeous as you.”

Why you little… “There it is. An insult and a compliment. I was wondering where Dominic Moore went for a moment. I thought he was too nice to me all of a sudden.” I scoffed. That’s what I got for trying to be friendly. “Don’t worry. It was my mistake, and it won’t happen again,” I told him as I stomped to my room and shut the door behind me.