Chapter Sixty-Two

**

“You gonna stick by me?”

“Maybe….”

**

I felt a hand drop onto my shoulder and I jumped, practically knocking my beer over. “Shit, Mia!” I said, glaring at her.

“What!” she said, glaring back at me. “God, Dom, what the hell is wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit,” Mia said, sitting down next to me.

“Don’t you have work to do or something?” I asked, trying to distract her.

“Nope,” she said, lightly smacking my arm. “C’mon, what’s bugging you? You’ve been sitting back here for hours - we do have a business to run here, you know.”

“Nothin’….” I muttered.

“Oh please, Dom,” Mia said, rolling her eyes. “I know something’s bugging you, and I’m not leaving until you tell me what it is.”

“Okay,” I sighed, “fine. It’s Letty.”

“Letty?” Mia echoed, sounding surprised. “What’s wrong with Letty?”

“Nothing…well, nothing really. It’s more Miguel than Letty, I guess. He likes her.”

“Yeah,” Mia nodded, “I’ve kind of noticed.”

“Do you think we should…take a break?” I asked, looking down at the floor.

“What?” Mia said, shocked. “Wait…what…. What exactly do you mean by a ‘break’?”

“Well….” I started, not really sure how to say what I was thinking. “I just…I don’t want to hold her back, Mi. You know? She’s in high school, she’s a teenager, this guy likes her and maybe she should get to be able to experience what all that’s like, instead of being tied down to me.”

“Dom,” Mia said, shaking my arm until she got my attention. “Look at me. Do you love her?”

“I…what?” I said, looking back at Mia.

“Do you love her,” she repeated.

“Yeah,” I said, smiling to myself. “Yeah, I do. I love her more than I’ve ever loved anything, Mia. And…I’m scared to death I’m gonna lose her, somehow.”

“Dom,” Mia said, shaking her head. “She loves you. Just as much as you love her, maybe more. You hear me? She loves you. You’d know that, if you’d just stop worrying so much!”