I know asking what’s wrong is pointless, but the tension rolling off him has me on high alert.
“Are you…safe?”
He runs his finger along my nose and peers down at me with pure adoration.
“Safety is an illusion, baby.”
“God, Sean, just for once, can you lie to me?”
“I hate the ground you walk on.” He deadpans before glancing over my shoulder at Dominic who speaks up behind me.
“When?”
“Now.”
“Fuck,” he says, his eyes trail over me and then back to Sean. “Get her home.”
Sean nods and grips my hand, and I shake my head walking toward Dominic. Just once, I hope he’ll make an exception and let his temper take a backseat, and he does. I rise up on my toes as he pulls me to him and kisses me for long seconds, practically lifting me off my feet with the sweep of his tongue. When he pulls away, I’m dazed.
“You gotta go, baby.” The term of endearment from his lips instills dread into me. I glance back at Sean as emotions take over and I see it, the worry I’ve gotten glimpses of since the moment we met.
They’re scared.
It’s written in the rigidity of their posture as well as their expressions.
“It’s okay,” Sean says softly, pulling me to him, uncertainty in his tone. “But we have to go, Pup. Right now.”
“Okay,” we move past Dominic, and our fingers brush. He doesn’t look back. He just stands in the middle of the garage, his eyes cast down, and I watch him just seconds before he erupts, the jarring sound of metal hitting the bay doors as Sean rips me from the building and pulls me into the car.
All the color drains from my face as Sean ushers me inside.
“I don’t care, do you hear me, I don’t care what it is, give me something.”
He tears out of the parking lot and I wait, knowing he can feel the anxiety pouring from me.
“Sean, plea—”
“Somebody couldn’t keep a secret.”
IT’S BEEN DAYS OF SILENCE, days of unanswered texts. I’ve gone from worried, to confused, to angry, and all I want at this point is just a little fucking acknowledgment. Pulling up to the garage, I take a steadying breath. My leaping heart has taken an unexpected nosedive from the place it was seventy-two hours ago, and all of that is due to their deafening collective silence.
I’ve been patient, given them enough space to handle whatever took them from me without ample explanation.
I don’t have to have answers, but I do have to lay eyes on them. I know what they do behind the scenes is dangerous, but their silence at this point is just cruel. I haven’t slept at all, and just finished another shift Sean didn’t show up for, but thanks to the gossip mill at the plant, I did hear that he called in. I’ve been tempted more than once to call Layla, but that’s not how this works.
Calling for a simple proof of life check for the sake of my sanity would have been the next step if I didn’t see several cars outside of the garage, including the two owned by the men I came to seek answers from.
Hood business. All of the last few days had to have been filled with it because the parking lot is more crowded than ever. Virginia is here, so is Alabama. But it’s not a meetup. That was last week, which means there won’t be another one for at least two. Unless something is really wrong.
Exiting my car in sheer panic, I feel the boom of bass and can’t help my relieved grin when I hear the mood on the other side of the door—voices mixed with laughter.
They’re okay. You’re okay.
I have to believe that hood business is what’s kept them away because the alternative is too painful. I haven’t let myself dwell on that. Nothing about our last interaction indicated that was even a possibility. But if they’re ghosting me, I’m not going to give them the satisfaction of doing it without an explanation—especially after how close Sean and I have become this summer both as friends and lovers. And Dominic, well, I can’t even pinpoint which feelings exist due to lust or intrigue or the culmination of both but that last night we spent together, it was love I felt, that I wanted to admit.
Because I truly love them both.
And if they’re okay, I’m okay.
Gnawing fear eats at me as I approach the door with shaky resolve. It’s when I reach it, that I hear the out of place melody blaring through the garage and I know they were expecting me.
“Afternoon Delight” carries through the air, out of the doors as my chest churns and dread fills the pit of my stomach.