In Love With Him

Chapter 63

Dominic POV

I sat in the living room, elbows on my knees, fingers laced together tightly like a man preparing for execution. The sound of light footsteps and laughter echoed down the stairs — Kennedy and Amber. Unlikely friends. But somehow… they were getting along.

That was the deal.

My deal with the devil.

Amber had actually kept her end of the bargain. She hadn’t bullied Kennedy at school all week — not once. In fact, she’d done the opposite. She smiled at her. Sat beside her in class. She even made her laugh. Laughed with her. That laugh — Kennedy’s laugh — it was the only thing that made this sick arrangement remotely bearable.

Still, I couldn’t breathe right. My chest felt tight, my head heavy. Tonight was Friday. The night Amber picked. The night I had to follow through with my side of the deal. If I didn’t… she’d tell Kennedy everything. And she wouldn’t stop there — she’d destroy her at school again. Rip her apart, just to spite me.

I couldn’t let that happen.

The sharp sound of heels on hardwood broke through my thoughts. Amber came clicking down the stairs, a grin plastered on her face like she’d already won. She stopped at the bottom step and turned toward me.

“See you later, Dominic,” she said, her voice dripping with meaning.

She winked.

My jaw clenched tight enough to crack a tooth. I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t.

Then came the warmth.

Kennedy flopped onto the couch beside me, her thigh brushing against mine, the scent of coconut and vanilla wrapping around me like a blanket. Everything inside me knotted up and relaxed at the same time.

“That was… interesting,” she muttered.

Panic sparked in my chest. I turned my head slightly. “What was?”

She gave a soft chuckle and waved her hand. “Oh, nothing. Girl talk. I’m just not used to it.”

Girl talk. I prayed Amber didn’t say anything else.

I forced a smile and grabbed the remote, flipping on Euphoria. Season two. Episode one. Perfect distraction. Maybe.

She shifted closer, her head gently coming to rest on my shoulder. Her hand found my arm — soft, delicate fingers wrapping around my bicep — and she began tracing slow, lazy circles with her thumb.

My body betrayed me immediately. Blood surged straight to my d**k. I tried to focus on the show, on the music, the lights — anything but the warmth of her touch or the way her breath lightly hit my collarbone. I casually pulled one leg up, adjusting just enough to keep things hidden.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed her shorts — short, soft, bare skin visible all the way up her thighs.

My hand inched over. I didn’t think. I just… moved. Slowly. Gently. My fingertips brushed the top of her thigh.

She inhaled sharply — not in fear. Not in protest.

She didn’t move away.

Instead… she leaned in closer.

Her inner thigh was hot beneath my palm. My fingers slid higher, each inch like crossing some invisible line I wasn’t sure we’d come back from. Her breathing shifted, and when I glanced down, I saw her biting her lip.

She wanted this. Just as much as I did.

I was just about to slide my hand beneath the hem of her shorts — right to where she burned — when the front door burst open.

We both jumped apart like we’d been caught committing a crime.

“MARTY! FINN! JESUS CHRIST!” Kennedy yelped.

“KENNEDY!” they shouted in unison.

They stormed into the living room like lunatics, faces red, out of breath, carrying some urgent news like the world was ending.

“Come on! You’re not gonna believe it!” Marty gasped.

“Upstairs! Now!” Finn added, grabbing her arm.

Before either of us could say anything, they pulled her off the couch and dragged her up the stairs in a whirlwind of chaos.

And just like that… she was gone.

I sat there frozen, pulse still thudding in my ears, my hand tingling with the memory of her skin. My breath caught in my throat as I tried to process what the hell almost just happened.

She didn’t pull away.

She leaned into it.

She let me touch her. She wanted more. She… felt it too.

My body still ached with the ghost of her warmth, and my heart ached even more.

Then my phone buzzed.

I looked down.

A text from Amber.

Amber: This is for you tonight, daddy 😉

Attached was a photo — her in black lace lingerie, posing on her bed, one leg c****d to the side, lips parted in some exaggerated pout.

It should’ve turned me on.

Hell, a few months ago I would’ve been out the door already.

But now?

I felt sick.

My stomach twisted.

I didn’t want her. I didn’t want this.

All I wanted was Kennedy.

The girl upstairs.

The girl who smelled like coconut and vanilla.

The girl I was supposed to protect… not want the way I did.

But tonight — I had to go. I had to do this.

Because if I didn’t… I’d lose her.

Not in the way I wanted her, but in every other way that mattered.

And that was something I couldn’t risk.

Even if it meant breaking myself piece by piece.

---

Kennedy POV

I was going to kill them.

Marty. Finn. Both of them. If I could’ve thrown them out the window without getting grounded until I was thirty, I probably would have. They had the absolute worst timing in the history of mankind.

Because I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t very turned on just moments before they barged in like wild banshees. I still felt warm all over. My heartbeat hadn’t slowed. My thighs still tingled from where Dominic’s hand had been.

The feel of his calloused but gentle fingers slowly working their way up my bare thigh… It had made every part of me buzz. I hadn’t meant to react, but I had — I leaned into it. I moved, shifted just slightly, so he could go higher. So he’d know I wasn’t going to stop him.

And that moment — that single breath before it all crashed down — his fingers were right there. Inches from finding out what it would feel like. If it would be like Amber described. Warm. Electric. Floating.

His touch was careful. Gentle but confident. Like he was asking for permission without words. And I gave it.

Then bam.

The damn front door burst open and everything exploded.

I hadn’t even had time to think or breathe before Marty and Finn dragged me upstairs, shoving me into my room like I’d committed a felony.

“What the hell you guys?!” I snapped, stumbling over my own feet as they slammed the door shut behind us. “What is going on?!”

They were both out of breath like they’d sprinted a marathon.

“Liam is telling everyone you’re his girlfriend!” Marty gasped.

I blinked. “What?”

They nodded like bobbleheads, eyes wide, waiting for my reaction.

“Come again?” I asked, more confused than ever.

Finn repeated it slowly, like I was an i***t. “Liam. Thinks. You’re. His. Girlfriend.”

My eyebrows scrunched together. “Um. No, I’m not.”

Marty flopped on my bed dramatically. “Well that’s not what he’s saying.”

Finn crossed his arms. “He told people you two made out in his car last Friday.”

I froze.

I hadn’t told anyone about that. Not even Marty or Finn.

I swallowed. “We didn’t really. I mean… we almost did. But I turned him down.”

Marty raised an eyebrow. “Since when do you turn down Liam Carson?”

“He wanted me to give him a blowjob, in his car,” I said bluntly, the memory making my stomach twist. “And I panicked. I said I didn’t feel well and left.”

Finn’s face scrunched. “Gross.”

“Exactly.”

They both stared at me like I’d grown a second head.

“But…” Marty started, confused. “You’ve had a crush on him since, like, forever. Second grade. When he wore that stupid ‘I <3 Green Day’ shirt every week and you swore he was going to be your husband.”

I groaned and flopped next to her, covering my face. “I know. I know. But I don’t know… I guess I just don’t feel the same anymore.”

Finn tilted his head. “What changed?”

Everything, I wanted to say.

But instead I sighed. “Now that I actually know what he’s like… I don’t like him that way. He didn’t notice me until the bonfire and I was dressed... like that. And now he acts like he’s doing me a favor by breathing near me. And he's a bad kisser and very handsy.”

Marty laughed. “Gross again.”

Finn just nodded, surprisingly serious. “You deserve better. Liam’s a walking ego with a jawline.”

A pause settled between us. A beat of silence where I could finally hear my own thoughts.

The truth was… I didn’t just not like Liam anymore.

I liked someone else.

Someone who made my heart race without trying. Who made me feel safe and seen. Who made my skin light on fire just by sitting next to me.

Someone I shouldn’t want. Someone who, just moments ago, had his hand between my thighs and made my heart thud in my ears.

Dominic.

God help me.