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Dom had met Lofty a few times and they sometimes shared a drink together if they were at the pub at the same time. Dom had always admired him from afar; he seemed caring and devoted to his patients and Lofty became a trusted friend. He found him in the pub one evening after a young football fan had died in his care and that’s when Dom realised he could imagine himself being with Lofty.
He tried suppressing the feelings because he knew it was pointless. Lofty probably wasn’t interested.
He tried to help Lofty through after the events with the agency nurse. He was the shoulder to cry on and Dom was sometimes so close to spilling out his ever-growing feelings to him but it never seemed to be the right time. He didn’t even know whether Lofty even swung for his team.
Sure, there had been a few clues that Dom had taken a note of but Lofty seemed to remain as someone who he could never have. That just made him want Lofty more.
It broke his heart when Lofty announced that he was leaving for Australia.
It felt like the floor had dropped under Dom's feet and he'd been dealt a blow to the heart. Whenever he thought of the future it seemed to turn grey with a wide gaping hole where he always imagined Lofty would be.
Later in the evening, he visited the pub where Lofty’s farewell celebrations were taking place. The party was almost over and only a few people remained, he recognised them as Lofty’s roommates. Lofty came over, slightly unsteady after having a few pints, and gave Dom a hug.
“I’m going to miss you.” Admitted Lofty
“Me too.” Sighed Dom, something more etched in his voice.
Suddenly, ‘Come on Eileen’ came on and Lofty urged Dom to dance with him. Dom knew this was the last contact he was going to share with Lofty and he found himself dancing with Lofty. They were laughing, and maybe even crying, as the song got faster and faster. Suddenly, Lofty pulled Dom forward and kissed him. It was a bit sloppy and very desperate. It even tasted of desperation.
They pulled apart, both looking slightly confused and Lofty hugged Dom once more and then filtered into the shadows. Dom stood there dumbfounded: what had just happened?
It made Lofty leaving so much more difficult.
He’d barely been gone a few days before Dom opened up messenger
Why did you kiss me? D
He pressed send, but not before deleting the question and re-typing it. It was a while before he got a reply.
I’m not sure, it just felt right. L
Dom’s heart leapt when he saw Lofty’s reply. He sat and pondered on his reply for a while.
Why didn’t you say anything before the last day I saw you? D
Dom’s heart throbbed as he typed the words, reliving the moment in the pub. Dotted lines appeared on his screen
I was scared to do something before. At least if you denied me I’d be 9,000 miles away. L
Dom’s reply was almost instant, Did you really think I would have said no? D
They continued to talk like this for a while, the time difference was difficult to contend with but they eventually worked out when they could actually have conversations. They skyped more now than they messaged each other and then came the day when they both asked the same question, after hours of chatting and questioning and declarations.
“So are we in a long distance relationship?”
Dom supposed they were. They’d both never done this before but promised each other that they’d make it work. They got to know each other better and better but all they both wanted to kiss again and hold each other and actually look at each other’s eyes – not pixelated versions. Sometimes they’d have bad days where they would contemplate the viability of this relationship but would immediately call the other and have a heart-felt conversation… no matter what the time was.
It had been months now since they both entered the relationship and it was going well. Over the last few weeks Lofty said he’d been trying to sort some papers out. He’d been visiting a therapist for a while to help with his guilt after Diane. He’d finally felt like he was accepting what happened which set his plans in motion.
___
Sacha announced that there would be a new member of staff joining. Dom didn’t get overly excited; he wasn’t a great fan on change and liked the people he was currently surrounded by – of course there was one person missing.
Sacha left the clipboard on the desk which had the details about the new member on their ward. Intrigued, Dom picked it up and almost dropped the clipboard. Dom’s face widens into an uncontrollable smile and he feels his eyes dripping with happiness. His heart began to expand with an overwhelming sense of joy and excitement.
finally.
No one knew of his relationship with Lofty. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to tell people, it was more because he didn’t want people to ask loads of questions all the time. No one saw his reaction to the news and no one would until he arrived. Immediately, Dom dialed Lofty and a tired sounding Lofty picked up the phone.
“You’re coming back!” laughed Dom
“I thought I’d make it a surprise. I wanted to make sure I was well enough and I knew that once I had accepted Diane’s death I would come back.” Answered Lofty.
They stayed on the phone for as long as they could but Dom had to pull himself away as he knew he should get back to his patients.
___
It had been a couple of weeks since Dom discovered Lofty was returning and he knew that today was the day.
Today.
He had planned out what he was going to say but when he saw Lofty he couldn’t control himself. The lift doors opened excruciatingly slowly, Lofty appeared and his eyes immediately connected with Dom’s. Their eyes both lit up with a thousand fires.
Dom couldn’t stop himself – his witty and romantic words flew straight out of the window as he ran round the desk and grabbed Lofty’s shoulders and pulled him in and their lips went straight to each other’s. They moved together in unison like they had done it many times before. Dom’s hand went up to Lofty’s curls and Lofty slid his hand down Dom’s waist. The kiss was passionate and emotional, both of them had tears running down their cheeks. Eventually they pulled apart but moved into a hug, one that said that they’d never be apart again.
No one could pull them apart.
The whole of Keller seemed to be frozen in time. No one moved or knew what to say but it was safe to say that they all had a smile on their faces, Dom and Lofty most of all.