Page 163 of Ominous: Part 1

Naturally, he follows, and my boots clomp along the wooden floors while at one point, his sneakers squeak, maybe from pool water or perhaps the cleaning crew.

I’m content to walk in silence, even knowing his dick is nice and hard because of me. I don’t feel guilty forthat,and nothing in me wants to break the quiet. But as we head down the narrow, dark hallway of the library that’ll lead to the visitor lot, Dom must not feel the same way.

He brushes his shoulder against me, and I stiffen before discreetly moving away. I focus on the sliver of lamp light from the rectangular pane in the door leading outside, straight ahead.

“Why do you do that?” he asks quietly. I’m surprised he doesn’t appear to be mocking me, but I still don’t look at him.

“Do what?” I feign ignorance even as my palm grows sweaty over my phone and I walk a little faster, trying to outpace Dom’s long-legged stride.

“I mean, do I stink or something?” Dom pulls at his jacket, like he’s fanning himself.

I roll my eyes but a smile forms anyway on my lips. “I like my space.”

Dom drops his hand and scoffs. “Didn’t seem like it in there.”

I ignore his quip.

He keeps pushing. “And Eli doesn’t give you any. You already made up, huh?”

We reach the narrow door and I turn to the side, pushing it open with my elbow, cool air giving me a much-needed breeze as I look at Dom, following behind. “Stay out of my relationship with Eli.” I don’t move from the doorway as we lock eyes.

He narrows his. “Relationship? That’s what you’re doing now?”

“Oh, no. With the shit you have going on with Luna.” I shake my head. “Don’t talk.” I want to tell him what Eli told me, but I’m worried he already knows, and if he doesn’t, I’m not really sure I want to be the one to cause more tension between him and Luna. Besides, it’ll just makemelook bad.

He rolls his eyes. “Luna and I don’t reallydate.”He shrugs, glancing at the ground. “I don’t know, we just fuck around because we’ve been friends so long, I guess.”

Kinda like what you do with Eli?

I study him a moment, then, wanting to change the subject far away fromLuna,I jerk my chin toward the lot, see Sebastian opening the door to myslow, baby Sentra, a truck idling beside it. “You wanna meet my brother or you want to stop stalking me?” I glance back at him and watch as he cocks his head, bottom lip pulled between his teeth. He doesn’t look at all like I’ve pissed him off with those words.

He looks… like he wants me.

Cool. Exactly what I wasn’t going for this time.

“I don’t need to meet your brother,” he finally says, stepping closer to the doorway and knocking it further open with his shoulder, jostling me so I concede a step. He cuts his eyes over my head a second, in the direction of my car. “I already know him.”

Sebastian dropsthe keys into my upturned palm, but he’s not looking at me. His friend in the truck is listening to something twangy, window rolled down and a vape cloud pouring out the driver’s side window. He’s got a hat pulled down low, so I can’t see his face as we stand in front of my car, but I can feel his eyes on us.

Or, maybe like Seb’s, just on Dom.

I curl my fingers around my keys, holding them by my side but discreetly slipping my house key between my index and middle finger in case I need a weapon.

Dom is far taller than Seb, but my brother is used to being one of the shortest people in the room, and it doesn’t seem to bother him at all. In an off-white muscle tank, a cigarette tucked behind his ear, almost hidden by his wispy blond hair, he stares right up at Dom without backing down.

“You dealing to my sister?”

I roll my eyes. “Your sister can speak for herself and—”

“I don’t deal. I buy. Some of us have the money,” Dom puts a hand over his heart, “and some of us just wish we did.” He drops his hand but not his smirk.

His words make me bristle. Seb and I live in the same fucking house.

“Fuck off, Dom,” I snarl, and Seb glances at me with surprise, like he can’t believe I’m sticking up for him.

I ignore the flush of heat rising up my chest as I turn toward Dom, so my shoulder is next to my brother’s.

Without taking his eyes off of Seb, Dom smiles lazily. “I’m just curious how you even have the money for dope. Or do you just suck King’s dick?”