“You don’t listen."
“Oh, I do… I just don’t always follow instructions,” I teased.
That managed to pull something out of him—not a full smile, but something close.
“Yeah, I can see that,” he acknowledged, his demeanor shifting minutely, an unspoken connection forming.
Leaning forward just a little, I rested my arms on the table as I probed deeper. “So, what happens when someone says it anyway… even after you told them not to?”
Domino’s eyes dropped to my lips for a split second before returning to my eyes.
“Depends who it is. Only certain people are allowed to call me that.”
“And if it’s me?” I challenged, my heart racing at the thought of crossing that boundary.
There was a brief moment of silence, then, “That’s what I’m figuring out right now.”
My stomach did a slow, unexpected flip.
I pressed my lips together, trying to keep my racing thoughts in check. “Why is it that only certain people can call you that?” I asked, my voice edging into defensiveness.
Because if there were rules, I needed to know where I stood in his eyes.
“Because Domino is what I am out there,” he explained, nodding toward the dark stretch of land beyond the property. “Damari is who I was before all of this.”
“So why tellme?” I pressed, intrigued, and a touch suspicious.
He met my gaze, unblinking. “Because you don’t look at me like everybody else. You don’t see a threat first.”
My voice dropped. “Should I?”
A slow, dangerous smile curved at his lips as he licked them, an almost predatory glint in his eye. “Probably.”
A fragile moment filled with the unspoken possibilities fell between us.
Then, almost to myself, I murmured, “Damari sounds like somebody who could’ve had a normal life.”
He let out a low, almost hollow laugh; the kind that hinted at deep-seated truths.
“Maybe,” he shrugged, a veil of resignation coating his tone. “But Domino is the one who survived.”
I nodded slowly, digesting his words. “So that’s why they call you that? ‘Cause when you move, everything falls?”
“Exactly.”
I briefly peered out at the pool, then back at him. “Well…Damari, I hope you never point that fall at me.”
“If I ever do, it won’t be to hurt you… not in the way you expect, at least.”
Our eyes locked, something unspoken burning between us.
And in that moment, I knew learning his real name wasn’t just intimacy; it was access.
“You mind if I smoke?” he asked, lifting the blunt between his fingers.
I glanced at it, then back at him.
“This your territory,” I replied, tilting my head slightly in acknowledgment, “so you can do whatever you want over here… I’m just passing through.”