those things

There are those things you notice about Dom. Little things. Unimportant things, you are sure nobody else notices.

The way he licks his upper lip after drinking milk, for example. Cold milk, directly from the fridge, straight from the bottle. The way his tongue curls and moves along his lip. From left to right, always.

The way his eyelids flutter when he’s dreaming, in those nights when you are awake, watching him in his sleep. His skin glimmers in the light of the street lamps falling in through half-closed curtains and you wonder what he’s doing in his dreams, if it’s a bad one or a good one or maybe one about you.

Or the way he hums while brushing his teeth in the morning. One could think it’s just a random melody, random tones lined up, but you noticed it’s the same melody every morning, a melody only Dom knows how to hum.

Then there’s the way the little wrinkles around his eyes form when he laughs or smiles at you. You can tell their exact shape, are sure you could draw them on a sheet of paper with your eyes closed.

The way his eyes sparkle when you make love.
‘Make love,’ he says, and he grins, and the little wrinkles around his eyes appear.
‘Make love, Billy, what kind of old-fashioned and inhibited phrase is that?’ and you repeat the phrase and say ‘So what? I like it,’ and he smiles and kisses you.

When you are above him, on top of him, making love to him (‘shag, Billy,’ Dom would say and smile) you notice the way he closes his eyes, lost in the moment, world fading away, eyelids fluttering just as in his sleep when he’s dreaming. His fingers clutch the sheets, his head falls back, neck exposed.

He always opens his eyes before coming, looking at you with sparkling eyes, whispering words you can’t understand, breathing hard, fingers digging in your back.

The way his index finger draws circles on your back afterwards, or your arm, or your stomach, depending on the way you are lying, the way he’s holding you. A light touch, always the same. Always loving, always comforting. The way he hums a little melody, different from the melody while brushing his teeth, until you fall asleep.

Those are the things you notice about Dom. Things you love about Dom. Little things. Precious things.