[center][h3][color=0072bc]~ Dominic Lambert[/color][/h3]
[color=7ea7d8][b]Vanessa's Beach House[/b][/color][/center]

Holding a bag of ice in his right hand and an unhealthy amount of anxiety in his heart, Dominic waited for Vanessa to finally open the door. His phone was constantly buzzing by what he immediately assumed to be texts from the rest of the pack. That surely explained why they were taking their sweetass time to get to the party. The door finally opened and out came Vanessa, as stunning as ever. [color=ff6363][b]"Hey, Dominic. You're the first one to arrive."[/b][/color] Usually when someone's opener is stating the painful obvious, Dom replies with the classic [i][color=0072bc]"No shit, Sherlock"[/color][/i] while doing an inappropriate jerkoff motion. However, Vanessa was one of the few exceptions. Actually, Vanessa was the only exception. He responded to her by giving out a hearty smile, the kind where his eyes almost get shut completely and wrinkles start appearing on his forehead, while his mouth stretches from one cheek to another thereby revealing his teeth. As soon as she leaned in for the welcome hug, everything seemed to switch into slow-mo. He wanted to throw both his arms around her and just enjoy the moment, but he had a melting bag of ice in his hand which he couldn't drop down, so all he could do was a friendly pat on the back using his free hand. Yes, he was cockblocked by a bag of ice. What are the odds.

[color=ff6363][b]"How are you doing today?"[/b][/color]
[color=0072bc][b]"Good, good."[/b][/color], Dominic responded, resisting the urge to point out to her that it was almost night time. He used his left hand to reach his right pocket, pulling out his phone and looking at the group messages while Vanessa did the same. Apparently, Seamus was bringing alcoholic beverages. Usually when Seamus got drunk, he would start hitting on Dom, but he abruptly stopped doing that since around six months. Dominic couldn't understand the reason behind it. His best guess was that he found someone, but he didn't try and find any evidence to back it up. Prying is not Dom's type of thing, except in those cases when it totally is. The rest of the group simply wrote about how they were en route to the party, with the exception of John who was absent. As soon as he was finished viewing the texts, he slinked the phone down to his left pocket and initiated a staring contest with the host, Vanessa. He looked back a couple of times to see if she had noticed something wrong going on with the scenery behind. Nothing. He then wiped the edge of his mouth with his hands. Maybe he had drool all over his face but failed to notice it. After all, the bathroom at his house had very dim lighting. 

[color=ff6363][b]"So, want to see how I set my patio up for this special occasion?"[/b][/color], Vanessa queried, finally breaking the awkward silence that was reigning over the residence.
[color=0072bc][b]"Sure thing."[/b][/color], Dom replied, soldiering on with the bag of ice still in his hand. He had that bag of ice with himself for so long that he briefly considered running to the nearest Church and baptizing it. It was only after Vanessa began putting food on her plate that Dom carefully laid the bag down on the ground, knowing full well that it would soak the floor.

[b][color=0072bc]"I'll leave this bag of ice here."[/color][/b], he said, hoping that it would serve as a reminder to her. The food released an amazing smell. He could understand why Vanessa was so eager to try some before the party even started. He was actually going to do the same once the lingering taste of fresh mint went away from his mouth. [b][color=0072bc]"How long did it take you to make all of this?"[/color][/b], he spoke, meaning to break the ice.