Andie & Dom (working title)

Lying there on that road looking up at the night sky, Andie couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. This was the final night of an incredible adventure and a pretty perfect way for it to end. Tomorrow she would catch her flight back home taking with her some seriously envy-inducing memories and experiences; exactly what she was after from this trip. So what was the reason for this feeling she couldn’t shake, like something was amiss? Well, a boy of course.

Next to her on that deserted road, quietly admiring the stars in comfortable silence was the reason himself. Just being there next to Dom gave her pins and needles all over and heightened all of her senses.

Andie never expected this. Never expected him. This trip was about time alone; to grow and learn about herself, to see the world. The plan was to make fabulous friends all over the globe and go home feeling inspired and fulfilled. At no point in the plan was she supposed to be lying on her back on a deserted road in Rome, in the middle of the night, next to the guy who had completely ruined the plan. She wished she could somehow be another person in this same moment in time. Someone other than herself. The last thing Andie needed in her life was another male to deal with.

“Do you see it?” Dom asked.

As he turned to face her, Andie realised she had stupidly been staring at him and quickly looked away. “No! I’ve told you already I can’t see it and I’ve given up trying” she huffed.

“It’s literally directly above you! How can you not see it? We’re looking at the same sky, right?”

“Well, I don’t know. It’s not my fault; you obviously aren’t explaining it clearly enough” Andie snapped back.

Dom reached out and grabbed Andie’s hand. The shock of it made her gasp ever so slightly, something she hoped he hadn’t noticed.

“Fine, I’ll provide a clearer explanation then. Here, look” Dom said as he stretched out her arm making her point directly above their faces. “It’s here, right where we are pointing. Surely you see it now?”

In that moment Andie could see nothing. Her skin was on fire she felt like she was burning where his hand was touching hers. She knew she probably should have pulled her hand away but she was frozen. Simultaneously on fire and frozen.

She tried to refocus on what he was showing her and as she began to bring herself back down to reality, she saw it. “Yes, I think I’ve got it! Right there?”

“Finally! So, what do you reckon " satellite or alien spacecraft?” Dom queried, staring at Andie keenly.

“Alien spacecraft obviously” Andie joked.

Realising Dom was still holding her hand in the air; she quickly pulled it away before her heightened senses got the better of her. As she bought her hand back down to her side she noticed it felt a little cold in the space where Dom’s hand had been.

Andie glanced at her watch and was shocked. “Oh my god, it’s so late!” she said as she quickly jumped up off the ground. After lying flat on her back for so long the rapid rise left her feeling dizzy and lightheaded. A feeling, she noted to herself, that she had experienced more than once in Dom’s presence. She stumbled backwards a little and Dom grabbed her shoulder to steady her. She wondered if he was aware he kept finding reasons to touch her.

“Woah, you ok?” Dom asked worriedly.

“Yeah, fine. Just stood up a little too quickly I think”. She pulled back to distance her body from his. “We really should get back to the cabins. It’s the middle of the night and we’ve been out here for hours!”

“Really? It seemed like a few minutes at most” Dom said, looking directly into Andie's eyes in that intense way of his.

Andie picked her bag up off the ground and began walking back towards the cabin site. Dom caught up and walked right next to her, almost too close as she felt their hands swing in unison centimetres apart.

“I can’t believe you leave tomorrow” Dom said, looking down at his feet as he walked.

“I know. I’m actually not sure how I’m going to get on the plane.” As soon as she said it Andie realised how it came out sounding and quickly corrected. “You know, leaving such a beautiful country and facing a 20 hour flight” she laughed awkwardly.

As they walked along Andie became aware of how quiet it was that night. Months of dorms, shared rooms and drinking late into the night had left her with an acute awareness of silence. As if hearing her thoughts Dom observed “have you noticed how quiet it is here tonight? It feels peaceful.”

“I was literally just thinking the exact same thing” Andie said.

“Of course you were” Dom laughed, though Andie thought she heard a sense of sadness lacing that particular laugh. She brushed it aside.

She had never experienced that feeling with anyone else. That feeling of so frequently being on the same wavelength and having so much in common with another person. For an outsider like Andie, this was a revelation. She found it both unnerving and strangely comforting. The same kind of feelings, she noted, that she had about Dom generally. Somehow very familiar, but so very different to anyone else she’d known.

After a short walk they reached the cabin site and came to a stop. Knowing her cabin was in the opposite direction to Dom’s, she turned towards her path.

“Ok, well thank you for spending the night lying in the middle of a road with me... Not exactly a sentence I am used to saying” she joked.

“I’d happily spend my nights on any roads with you” Dom replied with a smile.

“I’ll probably see you in the morning before I head off, yeah?” Andie tried (failed) to respond casually.

“Probably, but just in case I don’t see you, can I give you a hug goodbye now?” Dom asked hopefully. “You’ll be on your way to the other side of the world this time tomorrow and there’s a chance this will be the last time we’ll see each other. You gotta give me something!”

Andie had to laugh at Dom for his straight forward approach. He hadn’t made much of an attempt to hide his affection for her which was something that, at times, Andie found hard to process.

“One small, friendly hug Dominic” she scolded. Andie had set certain boundaries early with Dom and he’d never once overstepped.

She felt slightly awkward and she moved in for their pre-arranged hug. Ever respectful of Andie’s boundaries, Dom slid one arm around her shoulder and one around her waist: the universally recognised friendly hug position. But try as she might, Andie felt nothing friendly in his touch. Just being in contact with Dom made her feel like her stomach was in her throat. An odd mixture of confusion and desire.

The two stayed in that embrace for what was probably too long to be considered friend-appropriate before Dom was the one to finally pull away.

“Ok goodnight” Dom said, quickly turning away from Andie and walking in the direction of his cabin. His strange sudden departure left Andie feeling empty, like a deflated balloon. She was grateful for the experiences and inspiration this trip had provided her, but boy would she was glad to be rid of the constant fog in her mind and tugging knots in her stomach.

She walked down the trail reaching her cabin door and fished quietly in her bag for the key. She was very aware of the wrath she would face from her fellow cabin-mates if she woke them up at this hour and she didn’t really feel like explaining where she’d been and who she’d been with.

After a minute of searching she heard a sound behind her break the silence.

Dom was walking towards her in the dark.

“Hey. Do I have your key or something?” Andie asked, unsure what he had come back for. Dom continued to walk slowly towards her, staring at her but without answering the question. The dull roadside lights and slight moonlight above allowed Andie to just see his face. He looked so different than he had just a few minutes before, but she couldn’t figure out what his current expression meant.

She repeated herself “Did you put your key in my bag or something? I don’t know if I have it, I’m actually having trouble finding my " ”

“Andie, please shut up for a second, ok?” Dom had reached her front door and was now standing unbearably close to her. She felt completely scattered as he stood there looking at her.

Dom took a deep breath and began to speak.

“Andrea, I am going to do something right now and I need to you to just stand there quietly for a second, ok? You’re leaving tomorrow and if I don’t do this I’ll regret it. Plus, I’m pretty certain you want me to do this even if you’re too stubborn to admit it. Now, I’ve given you more than enough warning, so you can stop me if I’m wrong and you don’t feel the things I feel, but I doubt that is the case.”

Dom had somehow managed to move his body even closer to Andie’s and his hands slid up slowly to rest on the sides of her face, his fingers wrapping around her ears and curling into her hair. His palms were warm and Andie could feel the heat of them pressed against her skin.

Her mind was racing. What was happening!? Wait, what was Dom saying? Stop this. Wasn’t there a reason she should be stopping this?

Before she was able to make any sense of the situation she felt the softness of Dom’s breath on her face and then the press of his lips gently against hers. At first it was the softest of touches; so light it may not have been real. When she didn’t stop him or pull away, Dom’s feelings took over. He pressed Andie back against the door and pushed his mouth harder against hers, releasing months of pent up emotions.

Andie's defences had given in the second his lips touched hers and she melted into him, aching to be closer to him. She felt like her body might explode, yet for the first time in a very long time her mind was completely clear. There was nothing in her thoughts except this moment and this kiss. She had no concept of time, no awareness of the space around them. She was only aware of Dom and his lips on hers.

After what seemed to be only a millisecond she felt Dom pull away. In her mind she wanted to fling her arms around him and drag him back in, but instead she stayed in place, frozen exactly where she was. Dom straightened up, his hands sliding down off her face and leaving emptiness in their place. He stepped back from Andie, cleared his throat and with a slight, ever so satisfied grin he wished Andie goodnight and disappeared into the dark.

Andie stood on the doorstep and watched Dom walk away. She was thoroughly shocked and if she was honest, pretty damn impressed.

Author's Note

This is a small snapshot of what would potentially become a larger story. NOTE: It is a VERY ROUGH draft which hasn't been edited. I'm just wanting some feedback as to whether this quick shot makes you want to read/know more? And what you think of the characters (so far)?