* * * * CHAPTER FOUR * * * *
For the first few weeks after the incident at Derek’s parents’ house, the group was pretty riled up. There were several four letter words being attached to Derek and Taryn’s names. After that, though, everything returned to normal. They would occasionally bump into Derek and Taryn at parties, and Derek would continue to pretend they weren’t even there. But for the most part, Derek wasn’t involved in the social aspect of the soccer team anymore.
Dominick’s career hit quite a growth spurt. He was promoted twice and given a decent raise. This meant the group could do more of the things they loved (i.e. drink and travel). Dominick picked up the tab most of the time since Claire had been laid off and Lindsey had a child to support.
One of the soccer player’s girlfriends, Alyssa, joined the group. She was a bit of an airhead at times, but fun to be around regardless. She had been dating Brandon since a few weeks before the Vegas trip and their romance was progressing rapidly. Likewise, her friendship with the group also progressed pretty quickly, considering how long it had been since someone new had joined them.
After about four months, Dominick got a surprising text message.
Claire: Are you on Facebook right now??
Dominick: Nope. I’m at work. Why? What’s up?
Claire: Derek just changed his relationship status to “Single”.
Dominick: Wow. He was pretty whipped. She must have dumped him.
Claire: Apparently she got back together with one of her ex’s and kicked him out of the apartment.
Dominick: Couldn’t have happened to a better person. 
Claire: I know, right? I wonder how long it will take for him to text me now that he’s single. Lol.
Dominick was curious, too. As angry as he was with Derek for ignoring them, he wondered how his new-found single lifestyle would impact their circle of friends. Claire and Lindsey had already argued over him briefly in the past. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to assume history would repeat itself.
That weekend, Claire and Meghan had a “girls only” party with some work friends. Dominick and Lindsey decided to go to happy hour without them, as it was their Saturday night tradition with the soccer team. Neither of them was surprised to see Derek at the table when they arrived.
He looked different. He wasn’t as baby-faced as Dominick had remembered. He had a patch of facial hair on his chin now and his face was more angular since their last encounter. He looked more like a man and less like a boy. But those eyes were still the same.
Derek looked up to catch Dominick’s stare. Dominick quickly shifted his gaze to Lindsey, who had apparently been talking since they walked in the door. He struggled to put the pieces together so he could form a legitimate response by the time she stopped talking.
Fortunately, she got distracted by the “hello’s” as they pulled a couple chairs out from the table.
“Hi, Dominick!” Derek shouted across the table cheerfully. It was clear that he had a few drinks already at that point. When Dominick didn’t respond, he continued to repeat the greeting until he finally got Dominick’s attention.
“What the hell? Are you making up for lost time now? Piss off!” Dominick sneered back. He believed in second chances for genuine friends. But if someone made a negative first impression and then screwed him over, what was the point?
“Yep, I am. Hi, Dominick!” he shouted again, standing from the table. Again, he continued to repeat himself, but this time he was walking around the table to where Dominick was sitting. He bent down over the back of Dominick’s chair and hugged him around his shoulders.
“Hi, Derek.” Dominick finally replied, lacking enthusiasm. Derek smiled at him and set a drink down in front of him, then turned and greeted Lindsey with a hug. The annoyance aside, Dominick had to admit two things: Derek’s cologne smelled incredibly good and he was a very good hugger. Both were pluses, he thought briefly. He interrupted the thought, shaking his head. He had to stay away from that mind frame.
Throughout the night, the team downed several drinks and continued socializing until the restaurant was closing. As Dominick and Lindsey stood, Derek asked who would be coming back to his parents’ house to continue the party. Lindsey eyed Dominick and volunteered them without waiting for Dominick’s approving nod.
Dominick inhaled deeply as they turned into Derek’s parents’ driveway. Somewhere deep down, he was actually excited to be spending time with Derek again. He was still annoyed at the situation, and nervous about Claire’s opinion on the matter. He decided to text her.
Dominick: How’s the party going? Guess who’s suddenly deciding to be social over here?
Claire: So far so good. Who? Derek?
Dominick: Good guess! I’m too annoyed to be friendly, though. If he thinks he can switch from douchebag to nice guy overnight, that’s fine. But that doesn’t mean I have to do the same.
Claire: I really don’t think it’s worth the headache. Just let it go and have fun.
Dominick: Guess so. I’ll talk to you more tomorrow. Text me when you make it home safely! Love you!
Claire: You do the same! Love you, too!
When Dominick and Lindsey came into the back family room, Dominick eyed the “Drunk Jenga” game sitting in the middle of table. That was the moment he knew this evening would be eventful. It turned out that only one other soccer player came to the house. The rest of them were holding a grudge for Derek’s behavior apparently. Steve wasn’t the type to get involved in the drama, though.
Derek brought several beers from the garage and passed them around the table.
“Oh, we grabbed some Smirnoff on the way. Thanks, though.” Lindsey said, pushing their beer cans back to him.
“Alright. Dominick first.” Derek said, nodding his head toward the Jenga tower. Dominick took a sip of his drink and reached out for the tower. He pulled a block that stated “Kiss the person to your left.” He and Lindsey giggled, then leaned in for a short kiss.
It was Lindsey’s turn next. Her block instructed her to send a dirty text to someone at the table. She sent a text to Dominick that read “Follow my lead tonight. We’ll have some fun.
” Dominick scrunched his forehead after reading it. Curiosity was killing him, and the alcohol had pretty much killed his inhibitions at this point. That could be a deadly combination.
Derek pulled the next tile. It told him to remove two articles of clothing. He quickly kicked off his shoes. Lindsey interjected before he could sit back down.
“Two shoes do NOT count as two articles of clothing!” she demanded.
“Fine!” Derek said, smirking as he removed his shirt. Dominick and Lindsey both bit their bottom lip at the sight.
Steve then drew a tile and decided not to follow its instructions. He was penalized with a shot of vodka, which he downed without any hesitation. It was Dominick’s turn again. His tile instructed him to ask the person across from him for a spanking. He approached Derek, turned around and bent over slightly, asking to be spanked. Derek didn’t hesitate to slap Dominick’s ass through his jeans. Even with the alcohol, Dominick felt the sting from the spank. He thanked Derek and returned to his place at the table.
“Ooh!” Lindsey exclaimed. She was getting more excited. “My turn!” She pulled another tile, almost knocking the tower over with her clumsiness. The tile gave her the option to switch seats with anyone at the table. She chose to switch seats with Dominick.
Derek pulled another tile and laughed. It was another “Remove two articles of clothing” tile. He removed his belt and jeans. Now he was standing only in his boxers, wearing a crooked baseball cap. Steve and Lindsey both passed on their turns, each taking another shot. Dominick blushed at his next tile.
“I’m not taking another shot, so if you decline this, the shot is for you.” He said, passing the tile Derek.
“Give a 30-second lap dance to the person on your left.” Derek read aloud, laughing. He hesitated for a moment then said, “I’m not doing any more shots.”
Derek stood up and moved from the tall chairs to the couch. Dominick followed, adjusting himself when nobody was looking so they wouldn’t notice he was starting to get hard just at the thought. Lindsey was practically jumping up and down. She had the remote to the TV in her hand and was locating a music channel. A devilish smile spread from ear to ear when “Shots” by LMFAO came through the speakers.
Dominick’s heart started racing as he cleared the distance between himself and Derek. He placed his hands on Derek’s thighs and dipped down to the floor between his legs. He continued gyrating and rolling his body, pressing Derek’s legs apart as he traveled upward slowly. He finally turned around and mounted Derek’s lap, facing away from him. He was so glad to be wearing jeans because his erection would have been much more obvious in a pair of sweats or shorts. Speaking of which, he was starting to feel Derek rise to the occasion below him. When he peaked over his shoulder, he noticed Derek’s jaw was clenched, and his grip on Dominick’s right hip and left shoulder were tightening. His whole body was trembling and he was starting to breathe heavy.
“Shit! I have to go pick up my brother from a party. He’s drunk again.” Steve interrupted awkwardly. Dominick quickly hopped off Derek’s lap and sat on the couch across from him.
“Are you okay to drive, man?” Derek asked.
“Yeah, I only had two shots tonight. I’m fine.” He reassured his friend, pulling his keys out of his pocket and leaving. Lindsey swayed her back so she could see when the front door closed behind him.
“Soooo…” Lindsey said, moving to where she could stand as the point of a triangle between Dominick and Derek. “Dominick and I have had this long-running rivalry in the oral department.” She blurted out. Derek cleared his throat, but didn’t say anything. “For some reason, he thinks he can out-perform me. So what do you say to being our test dummy?”
Derek sat for a while without responding. Dominick could still see his body shaking from across the couch. “You’re going to have to wait about a half hour between tests, if that’s cool.” He finally responded. This time, the devilish grin spread across both Lindsey and Dominick’s faces.
“We were actually thinking of something a little more simultaneous, if you catch my drift.” Lindsey explained.
“Nice. Just let me finish this beer first.” He replied more easily. It seemed like he was comfortable with the idea now.
A few minutes later, he had finished the beer and stood. He started walking back toward the hallway when Steve walked back in through front the door.
“He ended up getting a ride from our…… sister.” Steve explained. There was a pause when he noticed Derek was nearly naked and walking toward his bedroom with the other two. The four of them stopped and eyed each other nervously for what seemed like ten minutes.
“I was just going to bed, Steve. Lindsey and Dom are going to crash on the couches if you want to take the futon in the family room.” Derek lied, breaking the silence.
“Uhhh… Sure. Yeah, that sounds good.” Steve nodded. He was still assessing the situation and obviously suspicious of the other three.
“I’m really tired. I’m going to bed.” Derek said assertively to Lindsey and Dominick.
“But…” Lindsey started.
“I’m really tired.” Derek repeated and walked back to his room, closing the door behind him.
“Just leave it.” Dominick said to Lindsey.
“What the hell just happened??” Lindsey insisted.
“Let’s just go. Can you drive?” Dominick asked.
“Yeah. I only had one shot and a few sips of Smirnoff Ice. You can crash at my place tonight.” Lindsey assured him. With that, Lindsey jingled her keys and walked out the front door. Dominick sighed heavily and followed her to the car.
To be continued...
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