CHAPTER 110: TWO FINGERS, ONE MOAN

Dominic pulled back just enough to look at me. "Heyy. You okay?"

I forced a nod. "Yeah."

"You sure?" His eyes searched mine like he already knew I was lying.

"I’m fine," I said, giving him the kind of smile that didn’t reach my eyes.

He didn’t push, he just reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and tapped the screen. "Have you seen this?"

He turned it toward me.

The headline from the Blackwell Academy news feed glared up at me:

BLACKWELL APPOINTS NEW THERAPIST – SUPPORT SESSIONS COMPULSORY FOR SELECT STUDENTS.

Beneath it was a clip of Principal Han sitting stiffly in his office, speaking into a camera.

My stomach knotted instantly.

I remember when Mr. Han called me into his office yesterday, introducing me to our "newschool therapist." The way he’d said I "needed" to have a session with her.

And then, his exact words came back to me: "You need to be fixed, Ash."

I swallowed hard, still watching the video.

"Dom..." I said slowly, glancing up at him. "Do you think Principal Han’s right? Do I... need to be fixed? He made some comments yesterday, said I need to fixed."

"Fixed?" Dominic repeated. He tilted his head. "Why the hell would Principal Han use that word on you? There’s nothing wrong with you, Rivera."

I shrugged and raised my hands. "Then why does everyone act like there is? Why do people see imperfection as a problem... like if you’re not smiling and perfect all the time, something’s broken?" My voice shook, from... whatever that tight feeling in my throat was.

"It’s like they can’t accept you unless you’re the picture of normal. I’m not a damn toy with a missing part, Dom." I scoffed.

Dominic’s jaw tensed, and for a moment I thought he was about to go full-on "storm into Han’sofficetomorrowandflipthedesk" mode. But instead, he sighed, snd softened his eyes. "Babe... honestly, seeing a therapist isn’t a bad thing, you know?"

I froze. "Wow. Are you kidding me right now?"

He shook his head Immediately. "No, no! Wait, don’t take it like that. I’m not saying it the way Han did. I’m not saying you need to be ’fixed

’ God, no. I’m saying it because... therapy isn’t actually bad, Ash. It’s not some punishment or a label. It’s just... sometimes you need someone who’ll just sit there and listen." He hesitated, eyes flicking away for just a second before returning to mine. "I had a therapist once."

That caught me off guard. "You?"

"Yeah." He gave a faint smile. "Back when I was... lonely. When I didn’t have anyone to talk to, when my friends traveled with their family and my own family weren’t around. I started talking to a therapist. It wasn’t about fixing me... it was about having someone to listen. No judgment, no bias. Just someone who’d let me unload all the crap in my head."

I crossed my arms. "But I have you for that. I have June and Marcus...they’ll always listen. Isn’t that enough?"

"It’s enough, babe." Dominic said, leaning in. "But, there are things you’ve been carrying alone. Your mom being sick for so long, the scholarship pressure, Liam’s case... and now all this crap with the threatening messages? That’s a lot for one person. I just..." He dragged a hand through his hair, looking frustrated. "I just don’t want you to burn out because you think you can carry it all on your own."

"Exactly," I cut in. "And I’m still standing."

He exhaled slowly, locking his eyes on mine. "I know you are. And I love that about you. But standing doesn’t mean you’re not carrying too much."

I clenched my jaw, looking away toward the window. "So now you think I can’t handle my own life?"

"That’s not what I said."

"That’s exactly what it sounds like," I scoffed.

He stepped in front of me, blocking my view, his hands sliding gently onto my shoulders. "Rivera. Listen to me. I’m not your enemy here."

I stayed quiet. My chest rose and fell faster.

"I’m on your side," he touched my lips, and kept staring at it. "I’m not Han. I’m not here to push you or make you feel like something’s wrong with you. Bullshit! You don’t even have to see the therapist if you don’t want it. It’s not meant to be compulsory. I just... I don’t want you to feel like you have to carry all of it alone."

I looked at him. He looked so concern and I softened something in my chest.

His hands moved up to my upper lip. "I love you, you know?" He whispered, and then he leaned in, pressing his lips to mine.

"Whoa.." I quickly broke the kiss, turning quickly toward the door.

I glanced at Dominic. "I thought you didn’t want anyone to know about us. What if someone... one of the nurses walks in?"

He dragged a hand through his hair and let out a low groan like he was fighting himself. "Ughhh... Ash, you have no idea how hard it is for me to control myself right now. It’s killing me." His eyes dropped to my lips like he was already imagining it again. "I just... I want to take you to my place and..." He stopped, biting his lower lip.

I tilted my head, smirking. "And...?"

His voice dropped to that dangerous, tone he knew drove me insane. "Do stuffs to you."

That made my stomach flip. I smirked and tilted my head, deliberately lowering my voice. "Stuffs like what?"

He started walking toward me slowly, like a predator closing in.

My back met the wall before I realized I’d even stepped away. He lifted one arm, bracing it above my head, caging me in. His body was close enough that I could smell his cologne. "You really want to know?"

"Mmhm."

"Things like this..."

Before I could ask, his other hand came up, and two fingers pressed my lips. My breath hitched.

He brushed his fingers over my bottom lip first. His thumb pulled gently at the corner, like he was testing how far he could push me. I caught myself leaning into his touch.

He didn’t stop there...he slid them further, slowly, until they pushed at my throat and he went in deeeper, it made me gag. My hands gripped his wrist without pulling away.

He removed his fingers from my throat and smirked, pulling my waist closer to him. That’s when I felt him... his hard dick against my hip, his breathing suddenly became heavier.

"You’re so nasty," I whispered, my voice was already breaking into a moan.

"I want to do more than this to you," his hand slid down between us and grabbed my crotch through my jeans.

The moan that escaped me wasn’t planned...it just came out. I literally forgot I wasn’t in a private space.

His forehead touched mine, his lips were so close, like he was about to eat me right there in that hospital room...

CLANG

A loud crash shattered the moment.

We both jerked our heads toward the door just in time to see Mrs. Jennings, frozen mid-step, her tray of dumplings rolling across the floor.

"Oh my! I’m so sorry, boys!" Mrs. Jennings stood frozen in the doorway.

I could feel my face heating instantly. Dominic stepped back just enough to make it look... less obvious.

She blinked at us, then crouched to gather the mess, mumbling, "Didn’t mean to interrupt...uh whatever that was..."