If I Wanted To, You’d Be Moaning My Name Against the Wall

He reached out and dragged my chair closer to his…loudly. His knee bumped mine under the desk.

The screech of wood against tile echoed through the room like a scratch, making Mrs. Smith look up from her grading pile and adjusted her glasses.

"Gentlemen," she said squinting at us. "if either of you moves another chair like that again, I'm giving you both gum duty."

"Noted," Dominic said without breaking eye contact.

He leaned in.

Closer.

His face was now just inches from mine…his breath was warm.

My heart raced.

I blinked fast. "What….what are you doing? Are you trying to kiss me?!"

I instinctively covered my mouth.

"Please," he murmured, eyes flicking down to my mouth and back again. "If I were trying to kiss you… you wouldn't be asking. You'd already be against the wall, moaning my name."

I choked on air.

"What the hell" I slapped a hand over my mouth.

He just chuckled. That dangerous, cocky, smirk.

"That's not a yes or no," that stupid smirk was still there on his face.

My stomach flipped.

He leaned closer and whispered in my ear.

"Actually, there's stuff I can't say here. Stuff about Liam. And you're the only one who'll get it."

I froze.

"I need the truth. Everything. From you. Not what the school says, not what the police assumed. You." His cleared his throat. "Only you can help me piece this together. But I don't want anyone else to know I'm looking into it."

My mind tried to race again. Like he was walking me somewhere dangerous…

"I've noticed things," he continued. "Little details. Inconsistencies. Things that don't line up about that night. I've been collecting them for days. But I need your part of the story."

He pulled back slightly, enough to give me a second to breathe.

"If we're right… we could actually prove you didn't push Liam. Maybe even find out what really happened up there."

My fingers curled around the edges of the desk.

I looked at him.

The light from the window suddenly shifted.

The sun was starting to set.

That damn golden hour.

And just like that, Dominic's entire face lit up. The warm sunlight hit him just right,

highlighting the sharp curve of his jaw, and turning his stupid blue eyes into something unholy.

They weren't just blue now.

They were glowing…So blue they didn't feel real.

I tried not to look.

I really tried.

He caught me staring. And he knew.

"Are you even listening?" he whispered.

I blinked.

"Sorry," I mumbled quickly. "I just….your eyes are… distracting."

His smirk was instant.

I wanted to punch myself for saying that.

He leaned back in his chair.

"Ohhh" he said. "You want me to close them for you?"

I choked again.

Swallowed my own tongue. Died a little inside.

"I'm just saying," he added casually, flipping his pen between his fingers, "if my face is making it hard for you to concentrate... maybe I should sit somewhere else."

His tone was innocent.

His eyes? They weren't.

His smirk? They weren't.

I glared at him. "You're enjoying this."

He shrugged. "You're blushing at my eyes. What's next, Rivera? Gonna write a poem about me in that essay?"

I buried my face in my sleeve.

"You should be grateful I'm not wearing cologne today," he added.

I blinked at him. "You're actually serious."

He smirked. "Deadly."

I blinked, trying to reset my brain.

Wait.

So… if he wasn't even wearing cologne…

Then that meant I was into his natural scent?

What the actual hell.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I rubbed the back of my neck and stared down at the paper I was supposed to be writing on.

"I'll send you the address," he said softly. "Tomorrow night. Wear something chill. Nothing too dramatic. Just... be there."

Before I could reply, the detention bell buzzed overhead.

Mrs. Smith stood from her desk.

"Time's up, gentlemen. You're free to go."

I grabbed my bag and stood too fast, handing the essay paper to Mrs Smith.

Dominic followed, slinging his bag over one shoulder. As we walked toward the door, he looked sideways at me.

"Don't chicken out, Rivera."

"I'm not a chicken," I said without thinking.

"Good," he said, pushing the door open.