Chapter Seventeen

Valentine

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Ivana whispered to me as we both hid out of sight.

"How long have they been here?" I inquired clenching Ivana's shoulder. I might not be surprised to see Dominic dine here, it's a restaurant and I bet he doesn't know that I manage this since this branch is built just three years ago, but I'm more than shocked to see him again with the very same guy that he's with the last time I saw him at the club.

"I don't have any idea at all" Ivana chirped, "I was just about to talk to one of the crew members when I suddenly spotted him"

"Did he saw you?"

"I don't think so, I quickly hid my face," Ivana said keeping her voice low.

"Okay," I sighed.

"Are they?" Ivana momentarily turned her head to look at me in the eye hoping to talk to me by way of telepathy.

"Dating?" I continued, "Probably since they're both here and they don't seem to look like business partners or something" This kind of set up most certainly raised some suspicion from me who just followed them to a motel a few days ago. If Dominic and this guy were dating then why the hell did Dominic have to leave him alone early?

"The guy is kind of hot though," Ivana said taking a speculative look at the guy sitting across from Dominic.

"Are you kidding me? He looks more like a jerk to me"

"Mhmm! That's right, it takes one to know one" Ivana spat clearly implying something and then decided that she's had enough of the spying and left.

"Did you just throw shade at me?" I quickly caught up to her.

"If you stay shady, you don't have to get shady" She flipped her hair and winked at me before finally turning sharp towards her office.

I continued strutting towards my office and when I arrive, I took a long sip of my coffee realizing halfway through that it's already starting to grow cold and useless. The thought of Dominic dating that guy does not fail to baffle me. For some reason, my instinct says that he's just hooking up with him and that's it. I slowly laid the mug on the table and suddenly, out of nowhere, I decided to go back to the dining.

I found myself deliberately spying at Dominic for the second time. Laying my eyes on Dominic with this better lighting most definitely gave me the chance to thoroughly scrutinize him. He appeared to be the exact same Dominic Warren that I knew back in high school, just with a different hairstyle that admittedly suited him better than I would've thought. That five-year gap of not seeing him did not change him at all. His grey eyes did nothing but captivate my starving soul once again even from where I am standing, it looked bewitching than ever.

A waiter by the name of Allen happened to notice me hiding by the corner and greets me with his deep virile voice. I just awkwardly smiled back at him trying to be unsuspicious. When I turned my attention back at Dominic they were already asking for their bill prompting me to run back to seek Ivana.

"Hey! Grab your stuff, we need to leave!" I ordered Ivana who's currently busy tapping on her computer.

"What? Why?" She reacted.

"We need to follow them!" I spat at her. I quickly ran to my office grabbing my phone and my car keys and then hurried back to Ivana. "What are you waiting for? Grab your fucking bag!"

"Okay, okay" She grabbed her bag and I pulled her arm almost nonchalant that she was dragged with a little bit of force. "Geez, Valentine. What is this?"

Dominic and his boyfriend were already gone by the time we got to the dining. One of the crews is already taking out the plates from their table. Out of my apparent desperation, I hurried out of the building while still pulling a confused Ivana with me. I saw Dominic's boyfriend entering what seems to be his car when we reached the parking area.

"Oh my god! Are you for real?!" Ivana swiveled to face me when she came to the realization that we are about to follow Dominic.

"Just hurry up!" I hollered at her in an attempt to enter my car with such speed.

"What the actual fuck is this, Valentine?!" Gritting with disarray, she hollered back at me once we both got inside the car. She started reaching for her bag ultimately fishing out a compact powder and a lipstick. "You didn't even give me some time to retouch my make-up. Look at me I'm looking all sweaty here"

"Even with those, you still look like a frog" I shot at her as I started the engine and begin our unprecedented pursuit.

"Ah, really, Valentine? A frog?" She cried in response to my shade, "Shut the hell up!"

"If you stay shady, you don't have to get shady!" I grinned.

"Oh, so now you're using my words against me" She stated, "Okay, now I'm on board with this game that you are trying to play. You know what Valentine? What type of cologne did you just spray; it smells like desperation in here"

"Desperation?!" I paused for a moment to stare at her.

"Tch" Ivana rolled her eyes, "So, do you mind telling this gorgeous lady right here why we are following them?" Ivana asked just finishing retouching her lipstick and now she looked like her lips were swollen.

"I don't know," I admitted, "I just, you know, I just feel like I want to follow Dominic"

"Jesus Valentine! You could've just told me that you haven't forgotten about him, I won't be mad at you. Oh, shit, hold up, you haven't moved on from him, have you?" Ivana, having already connected all the dots, pointed her accusing finger at me.

"I just" I was speechless for a brief moment when she said that. My thoughts are split in two, the first half is concentrated on following the car while the other half is being helplessly cornered by Ivana. "I just want to follow them and that's it!"

"Bitch shut the fuck up! You just want to follow him because clearly you still haven't forgotten about him and now you're dragging me into this shit?"

"Okay fine, Ivana! Yes, I haven't moved on from him. If that's what you want to hear" I trailed almost popping like a bubble wrap and the thought of those words made me feel like shit, "And maybe I'm still mad at him"

"Yup! And now you decided to tell me that just now that we are already looking like a mad stalker?" Ivana smirked.

"Because I didn't know that he's going to show up at the club" I announced and I just realized that she didn't know that I already saw Dominic at the club that we went to.

"What club?"

"Shit," I cursed knowing that I just threw myself into the pits, "Okay, I may have seen them when we went clubbing" I admit.

"Oh so that's why you left me there, it's because you followed them" Ivana spoke finally connecting the last dot.

"Yes, I followed them to a motel"

"A motel?" Ivana cried loud as if she had just witnessed an unexpected plot twist from a tv series, "So they're dating?"

"I doubt it!" I replied firmly. I'm sure they're not dating.

"How'd you say so?"

"I stayed up all night and waited for them"

"You did what?"

"Yes, I stayed up all night and when I woke up the next morning, I only saw that guy come out of the motel with no sign of Dominic at all"

"So that means?!"

"That means Dominic left him"

"Damn, classic hookup"

"I know"

"Somehow, I do understand why you followed them but why the fuck do you have to stay up all night just to wait for them?" Ivana asked.

"I don't know, maybe, I'm dying to check on Dominic?" This is a straight-up lie of course just to let Ivana shut up or at least let her think something different. I'm mad at Dominic but I don't even know why I feel like following him just to know what he's up to.

"Did you miss him?"

"I'm afraid yes," I nodded, "I'm so sorry, I feel like shit right now" This is true though, I miss him so much that I just want to go straight to him. My chest is pumping but I just want to keep this feeling suppressed.

"You don't have to be sorry Valentine. You are of course entitled to your own feelings," Ivana sighed, "I might as well call my babysitter and tell her that I'm stuck in this predicament"

I continued driving without letting the car that we are following out of sight while Ivana provided her babysitter with further instructions. We've been driving for approximately twenty minutes already and there's still no sign of them stopping by somewhere. It's just past eight and that's too early for a club.

"Do you think they are going to a motel?" Ivana suggested and I just want to shut that thought out of my mind. I've already followed them to a motel last time and it would kill me to follow them again to the same place twice.

"Naah,"

"Or maybe they're going to have a drink or two?"

"Probably"

"Oh wait, they are about to park" Ivana exclaimed after she observed the car about to turn to a parking lot. "They're going to the movies"

I waited for two minutes before eventually following them to the parking lot. Once I parked the car a little bit far from where they have chosen to park theirs, we saw them already walking away just like a couple. Ivana and I quickly got on our feet and followed them trying to be some of those private investigators from the movies. We followed them to the cinema where they took too long just to decide which movie they are going to watch.

Ten minutes later and they're still deciding which movie they are going to watch prompting us to inch a little bit near them in high hopes of obtaining a whiff of what they are planning.

"Hurry up" I rushed Ivana as she tried to catch up to me.

"They're going to see us" Ivana complained when we are already ten feet away from where they are standing.

"No, it's fine," I reassured her but when I turned my head to check on them Dominic was already staring at me.

I was frozen for a second but then something came into my mind and I suddenly kissed Ivana