chapter six

SOMETIMES IT'S REALLY CONFUSING—being in dominic's situation. he was happy with rafe, but there was something about jj that tugged at his heart strings. it wasn't like he cheated on rafe by kissing jj since they're in an open relationship, but he still felt horrible that it happened. he barely slept that night because he was too scared that rafe would see the present jj had left under his ear. his hair was a decent length so that it covered the mark, but he wasn't sure how long he could actually hide it.

why was he trying to hide a hickey when rafe was always covered in them from the random tourons that he hooked up with? it wasn't like he had sex with jj anyway. he simply kissed the boy and let him leave a mark on his neck. it was no big deal, really.

"good morning." rafe yawned from next to the boy. "how did you sleep?"

"good." dom lied, letting his hair fall in his face as he rolled over to face the older boy.

"you always look so wrecked the morning after sex." rafe commented with a slight smirk on his lips. it made dom blush and he covered his face with his hands. "you are so beautiful." rafe added, pulling the boy's hands from his face. he brushed dom's hair away from his eyes and pressed a soft kiss to the boy's forehead. 

dominic absolutely loved the affection that the older boy gave him, but it had been over a year since they started being in whatever kind of relationship that they had and he had just started to be affectionate then—after dom started hanging out with jj. it was odd and dom didn't really know what to think of it, so he didn't ever say anything.

"there's a party at topper's tonight. are you going with me?" rafe questioned as he climbed out of the bed. he grabbed his boxers from the floor and slipped them on before turning to look at the younger boy.

"yeah." dominic nodded. he had completely forgotten about the party. topper had been talking about it for weeks, so dom had no idea how it had slipped his mind. his parents liked to spend time on the mainland during the summer, so he took the opportunity to throw a party during times that they were gone.

sadly, dominic did not have that luxury. his parents were home every night and he found it to be quite annoying. the latest they had ever stayed out was midnight and no one threw a party and ended it at midnight (or any earlier than that). it was considered lame and he did not need that kind of reputation. his parents knew that he went out and partied. they simply wanted to make sure he made the right decision when it came to drinking and driving (which he thankfully had never done) or finding somewhere safe to stay after he was done partying—whether it be his own house or someone else's.

"i'm gonna shower." rafe stated. "wanna join me?"

dom yawned, "can you bring me home after? i've got to make an appearance so that my parents know i'm still alive."

a small chuckle left rafe's lips since he completely understood. he knew how his parents were, yet the older boy always respected them—which was one of the many reasons why dom liked rafe so much. their families had always gotten along, but had never started doing dinners and other group activities until the two boys started dating. dominic had a feeling that rafe's father knew the relationship was an open one, but his parents were unaware of their situation. his parents would probably have strokes if they knew their son's boyfriend was sleeping with other people at the same time as him. it was one of the reasons dominic chose not to sleep with other people. he knew what his parents would think. but there was something about jj that made dom weak at the knees and their shared kiss was one of the best ones he had ever experienced and he wanted it to happen again.

after speaking to his parents for a few minutes he made his way to his room to figure out what he was going to wear to the party. as a kook, appearance was everything and he absolutely hated that. he preferred sweatpants and hoodies all the time, but if he were to dress like that he'd get tons of confused stares and questioning looks. he'd be surprised if his parents even let him leave the house looking that way.

dominic tossed his picked out outfit on his bed before looking at his phone, quite disappointed that he hadn't received a text from jj. it was nearly two and he knew the boy had to be awake, but maybe he was busy? or maybe he simply thought dom wasn't a good kisser? no, there was no way he thought that. he wouldn't have made the sex comment if that was what he thought, right? he really wasn't sure.

the day had gone by faster than dominic had wanted as he entered topper thornton's house. rafe gave the younger boy's hand a reassuring squeeze before he let go and made his way outside to where topper and kelce sat, talking to a group of tourons topper had invited. dom rolled his eyes at the sight and made his way over to the drinks where he spotted rafe's little sister fillling up her plastic cup.

"hey, sarah." dom sighed, reaching for the titos. he filled his plastic cup three fourths of the way with the liquid and sarah let out a chuckle, watching as he added a splash of lemonade to it.

"rough day?" she raised an eyebrow before looking at his freshly bandaged arm. "i heard about your accident. are you okay?"

dominic nodded, "i'm fine. it looks worse than it actually is." he let out a small chuckle, "all because i didn't want to run over a squirrel."

sarah smiled, sipping her drink. "don't beat yourself up over it. i would've done the same thing." the boy simply let out a small chuckle and sarah watched as his eyes trailed out to where rafe had his arm wrapped around a girl's waist. "why do you put up with that? do you not want to be exclusive?" dom furrowed his eyebrows, unsure of how to answer her question. he'd never actually been asked if he wanted it to be serious. he didn't really have time to give her a response before she spoke again. "can i ask why you're actually in an open relationship with him?" dom could tell it wasn't meant to sound rude. she was simply trying to make sense of the situation.

dominic pursed his lips, not entirely sure how to answer. "i guess it's easier saying we're in an open relationship so that he can put a label on us if he needs to get out of a sticky situation, you know?"

there was a small silence before the blonde girl spoke again. "but do you feel the same way about your situation?"

that was like a punch across the face. did dominic feel the same way? did he like being in an open relationship with rafe? he knew he had feelings for the boy, but was it enough that he should be upset over him hooking up with other people?

instead of answering, he chugged his drink and sarah raised an eyebrow. "that answers my question." he frowned at the girl before filling up his cup and took a small sip that time. "i was gonna ditch and go hang out with a friend." she commented. "do you wanna come?" she glanced over her shoulder, looking at their boyfriends, seeing how occupied they were. "i promise it'll be more fun than this."

a sigh fell from dominic's lips as he started to chug more of his drink. he shrugged his shoulders once he had finished and sarah only gave him an impressed facial expression, knowing she could not drink that much that fast. dom gave her a smile and nodded, "i don't doubt it. let's get out of here."

a laugh left sarah's lips as she reached for his hand. "i'm driving."

BYEEE i love this
story sm