trouble | dominic sherwood

xxxx. i'll shut up

"I'm starving," she told him as they rode in the limo back to the hotel, that premier now over.

"What are you in the mood for?" Dom asked her, looking down at the redhead tucked under his arm, her legs thrown over his lap.

It was just the two of them in the limo, as everyone else had decided on going to an after party. Tara had decided that the premier was enough for her and had told Dom as much, then he agreed to go back to the hotel with her without even making an appearance at the party. Everyone in the cast had wished them safe travels, Matt going as far as pressing a kiss to the top of her head as she held him close. So here they were, partway back to the hotel, all tangled together on the seat despite all of the room around them.

"Nuggets," she told him, pouting a bit. "And a vanilla milkshake. From Mickey D's."

He leaned forward and told their driver to go ahead and pull through the first McDonald's he saw, so that they could get some food. He scribbled their orders down on a piece of paper and passed it forward so that the awkward conversation about what to order wouldn't happen, especially in a limousine.

"Thank you," she told the blond as he settled back down under her legs, one hand resting on her thigh and the other on her shin. "For everything, not just for telling Mr. Taylor to order me nuggets."

"What are you talking about, Tar?" he asked, making her wince at the ugly nickname.

"I'm talking about the fact that you've been helping me since our first conversation. Yes, I still used drugs up until... up until the attempted rape," she said, almost shocking him because of the wording she used. "But you made me want to stop using drugs and you were there to talk me through some of the lower points. You didn't care what the media said about me, which made me feel a hell of a lot better about every shitty thing they published, which I know sounds dumb. And when Taylor called you that night, you flew to New York to check on me. And brought me back with you so I could recuperate with someone I trust and love. So thank you for being patient with me and for caring about me."

"You're welcome, Tara. You changed my life. Nothing about you was like what the media said and that's part of why I care so much about you and protecting you. But the strength you have is incredible. You're so many great things and you helped me grow, too. I'm not oblivious, I guess, as I was before I met you. I'm so much more aware of the not as amazing things that happen in the spotlight and in Hollywood. Wait, you said... you love me."

"What?" she asked, her eyes widening as she looked at him in shock, having not even realized she had slipped up.

"You said I'm someone you trust and love," he said quietly, staring at her intently as he squeezed her thigh under his hand.

"I mean," she said, floundering to find something to cover up her flub. "Whatever. I said it. I love you. But I'm a whole lot of trouble and probably not worth the time you spend on me, so I get it if you don't feel the same way or if you don't want me back."

"You're absolutely worth my time. I wouldn't want to spend it on anyone but you."

She looked down at her tangled fingers, "Why?"

"Because I love you," he said, as if that simple sentence was the answer to everything. "And not just as friends, so don't even try to quote Juno. I don't think we've simply been friends for awhile."

"There's a lot about me that wouldn't make a girlfriend," she told him, pouting her lips and looking up to his mismatched eyes. "I don't exactly know how to be a girlfriend. I'm not sure when I'll be ready to have sex with you. I go to therapy and I have no idea what I'm doing with my life and a lot of horrible articles get published about me. And-"

"Oh, keep quiet," he says, rolling his eyes. "I know exactly who you are, Tara Louise Sparks. So stop trying to talk me out of wanting this with you."

She lets out a sigh, one that's happy despite all the meanings attached to the word, and lifts her hands to cup his face, "Okay. I'll shut up. But only if you do something for me."

"What?" he asked, smiling down at the beauty in his lap.

"Kiss me," she whispered.

And then, for the first time, their lips met. She wasn't sure if she had been the one to close the distance or him, but she didn't care. Their first kiss was perfectly imperfect, as some first kisses are. He didn't move his hands from her legs, not wanting to spook her, but her fingers tangled themselves in his hair and when she let out a breathy moan, he pulled himself away from her lips. They didn't pull too far apart, his forehead resting on hers as their breath mixed between them.

"I guess I can learn how to be a girlfriend," she admitted. "If every kiss is like that one."

He laughed, moving his hand from her thigh, stroking her hair, "I can arrange that."

"Mr. Sherwood, would you guys like your food or..."

At the interruption from their driver, they pull apart and their laughter fills the limo. They had forgotten where they even were. He leaned forward and took the bag of food, along with their shakes, from the older man. Mr. Taylor slid the divider window right back up to give the new couple their privacy. Dom was amazed when she kicked off her shoes and climbed all the way into his lap, tucking her legs under her as she ate the fast food in the beautiful black dress that Kat and their designers had helped her pick. He couldn't imagine being here with anyone else and for that, he was so thankful that Instagram existed.

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hello this makes my heart warm

count | 9 chapters left

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