Page 103 of The Replay

"I can see that," I respond.

"He was lucky." Bear's mouth pulls to the side. "A mild Grade 2 MCL tear to his right knee. Some other related, minor injuries too, but he'll just need rest and physical therapy for those."

"I can still hear the pop." Dom shivers.

The rest of the guys grimace, but he's already moved on.

He looks at me with the dreamiest eyes I've ever seen on him. "I wish you were here. I've missed you so much."

Half-suppressed chortles reach my ears.

"Should we leave?" Damián asks.

Logan smirks. "He's in good company now."

"They may prefer privacy," Saint says. "For once— for a short while— we might be willing to give them that."

"Don't leave me alone." Dom's eyebrows pull up as if in pain. "I'm going to end up texting Mariana and telling her how much I… care, but… you can't ask anything or tell me anything or make any comments. No interventions. You wouldn't understand why we… why we said we won't fall in love again."

Damián lets out a big sigh. Logan stares at me with a severe frown. I blink and chew on my bottom lip. Dom is getting us in trouble too fast for me to figure out how to stop it.

He pouts. "Like, all of you are in love and Rafa— he was happily married. If he wants to date he'll make… make it happen. Me? When this— this thing ends with Mariana, you guys will think it's 'cause I'm the only one who doesn't know how to make love last."

They all look at him, then at me.

"It's like they gave him a truth potion," Bear says.

"Right." Rafa purses his lips. "Wonderful."

A buzz appears in my ears. Dom interlocks his fingers with mine. I want to comfort him, be caring, but I can't lean into it with his friends around.

"Should we leave?" Rafa asks me.

I can hear my heartbeat, and it's fast and way too light. I aim for a deep breath but air only makes it halfway. I'm not sure what Dom would want, or what I should say. I gaze at Dom, trying to read his mind. He looks so tender. So sweet. I erase everything else, push it away from sight, and focus on the warmth of his skin against mine.

I caress his arm with my free hand. "Hey. Let's talk about something else for now, okay? You may regret all of this tomorrow."

"You might regret coming at all," Damián says in my direction.

I don't get to respond, or even wonder if I would.

"I won't regret anything." Dom speaks in the same sleepy tone as before. "Not anymore."

"Dom…" I say.

"Even knowing everything I know," he adds, "I wouldn't change a thing. We've been… been here before. I'm going through it again and I would do it again and again— in a heartbeat. I just… All I have to do is accept the cracks in my heart when it all ends. I will… I'll mend it better this time around. Easy peasy… I think."

Then he chuckles.

Like his words are not putting my chest in a vise with comments like this. It could be the drugs but, if there's an ounce of truth to it, damn. Yeah. My heart will have cracks I'll have to accept too.

"All right, then," Saint smirks.

Logan shakes his head. "I think that's our cue."

"It's not what you think," I try.

"It's a full house for Mr. Wright," someone with a white coat says from the door.