Off Screen Soulmates | Dom Sherwood

Chapter nine: Movie Nights

My apartment feels like a sauna compared to outside. I slide my jacket off and throw it over the arm rest on the couch, Dom does the same with his. I'm hit with deja vu. It wasn't that long ago when Dom was in my apartment, it lead to a surprising kiss. But I knew there wasn't going to be a repeat of that and a small part of me was disappointed. 

"Take a seat on the couch, I'll just go get the first aid kit," I direct him politely. 

I return from the bathroom with a first aid kit and a damp cloth. Dom is sitting on the sofa, waiting for me. I sit down on the coffee table in front of him and immediately start wiping off the dry blood with the cloth from his wounded knuckles.

"You know you don't have to do this," Dom tells me as his eyes watch the blood fade from his hand.

I begin digging through the kit for antiseptic cream and a bandage. "I know," I merely reply.

His hand looks considerably better now that it's no longer blood-stained, but it'll definitely be bruised in the morning.

I'm trying to stay focused as I tenderly apply the white cream onto his skin, but I suddenly notice how close we are to each other and I never thought mending someone's injury could feel so intimate. It was one sided of course. I subtly shuffle back so our knees aren't touching anymore.

"Have you decided about coming to England with me after filming?" He questions.

I look up and meet his eyes, surprised. "You still want me to go?"

"Yeah, why not?" He asks, confusion written on his face.

"Well, I mean, wouldn't you rather go with Olivia?"

"Nah," he answers. "That didn't work out."

I wait for him to explain further but he doesn't so I resume with fixing his hand. "Um, I don't know because Will has invited me to go to St Lucia with him."

I swear I could feel him tense up.

"You told me nothing was going on between the two of you."

I'm wrapping his hand with bandages now. "There isn't, friends vacay together too."

"Well England's better," he mockingly says.

I snicker. "I believe you."

"Come on, with our love of tea, our football and bangers and mash," He jokes.

"What the hell is a banger?" I laugh puzzlingly.

"It's what you Americans would call a sausage."

"I think that's what the rest of the world calls it," I respond before I finish with his now bandaged hand. "Done," I announce.

Dom examines it. "Could have been a nurse.

"But then I wouldn't have you to annoy me."

Dom grins at this comment and then he stands. "I guess it's time for me to head back to my own apartment."

"It's already midnight, you can just stay here if you want," I suggest. Should I have suggested it? After what transpired last time he stayed over, I don't expect him ever wanting a repeat of that. I certainly don't want him to think I want something like that to occur again, even if I secretly did.

The truth is, I'm still feeling grossed out by the events of tonight. Being groped by a stranger had me feeling uneasy and I didn't want to be alone. I think Dominic sees the anxiousness on my face.

"That'd be great, we can have a movie night," Dom says with a smile.

"I'll make the popcorn." I toss him the TV remote. "You pick something."

I make my way into the kitchen and grab a bag of popcorn and then set it in the microwave. I hear it popping as I get cans of coke out of the fridge. When I enter the living room with a glass bowl of popcorn and our drinks, I see Dom sitting comfortably back on the couch watching the starting credits of the movie. I set the cokes on the table before sitting next to him. I place the popcorn between us.

"Let me guess, Fast and the Furious?" I question, knowing it's his favorite movie franchise.

"Nope, I picked your favorite," he replies.

I instantly light up as I see Alicia Silverstone on the screen. "Clueless!" I exclaim.

Dom chuckles at my reaction. "Can't be that bad if it has Paul Rudd in it."

I kick my boots off and sit cross legged. "I can't believe you've never seen it before, it's one of the most iconic movies."

He shrugs. "Some would say Vin Diesel movies are iconic."

I give him a look that says 'come on dude'.

And so, we sit on the lounge for the next ninety-seven minutes munching on popcorn and laughing whilst watching the film. Dom mocks parts of the movie but when I glance at him, his eyes are glued to the screen and he sits forward in anticipation when Josh and Cher are about to kiss on the staircase. It made me smile to see him liking my beloved movie.

"Okay," Dom starts when the credits roll. "Are we just going to ignore that Cher and Josh are step siblings."

"EX step siblings," I remind him, feeling defensive of them.

"Still weird."

"Clary and Jace can relate," I retort. I'm talking about our character's own sibling plotline.

Dom puts his index finger up as if he's really offended about my comment. "They're not at all related. Valentine was a bullshit artist." 

"Alright," I say, picking up the remote. "Let's watch your favorite movie and see if I can ruin it for you." I scroll through Netflix and click the first Fast and The Furious movie.

"You can try but you won't succeed."

"You underestimate me."

We both laugh as we settle in for the second movie. It was just before two in the morning, but we didn't care. We don't finish watching the movie because an hour in, we both start drifting off to sleep.