Flock

Cecelia is confused when Dominic shows up in his Camaro to give her a ride to Sean’s. On the road, Cecelia is impressed by Dominic’s reckless driving. Then they take a route Cecelia doesn’t recognize and end up outside an unfamiliar facility. Dominic gets out and has an exchange with a few men, referring to someone called Friar in the conversation. When Cecelia notices he has a gun, she confronts him about dealing drugs. Back on the road, Dominic insists that she wasn’t in danger, that he doesn’t have anything to do with drugs, and that he isn’t planning on using the gun.

Dominic pulls up at a medical facility, enters, and comes back out with a frail woman—Dominic’s aunt Delphine, who has cancer. At Delphine’s house, Dominic gets Delphine her pills and warns her about drinking too much after her treatment. Feeling sorry for Delphine, Cecelia sits and reads the Bible with her.

Back in the car, Cecelia and Dominic don’t talk. At the house, Sean explains that he couldn’t pick Cecelia up because he had a meeting at the plant. He praises her for standing up to Roman.

Sean picks up Cecelia to spend the day out on the water. On the way, he reveals that Dominic will be joining them. Cecelia wishes Dominic weren’t coming but doesn’t say anything. She feels happy being with Sean until she realizes he’s playing Bob Seger’s “Night Moves,” a song “about a meaningless hookup for a summer” (211). Convinced Sean is sending her a message, she storms out of the car, demands to know what she is to him, and accuses him of failing to stand up for her around Dominic. Sean assures her she’s overreacting. He likes that she’s into Dominic—she can choose to be with both of them. Cecelia is confused, but also curious about acting on her attraction to Dominic while continuing to see Sean. They have oral sex before joining Dominic on a float.

Cecelia, Sean, and Dominic spend several hours on the float. They drink, listen to music, swim, and talk. Then Dominic starts touching Cecelia and removes her swimsuit top. She notices Sean watching while Dominic touches her and begins foreplay. The three of them have sex.

On shore, Cecelia considers what happened between her, Sean, and Dominic. She should feel guilty, but instead, she feels fulfilled and happy after the encounter. Before getting in their cars, Dominic gives Cecelia a long, meaningful kiss.

Back at the house, Cecelia expresses doubts about the arrangement, but Sean insists she should own her feelings and give in to being with him and Dominic. However, he urges her to keep their arrangement secret. Then he kisses her as meaningful as Dominic’s.

Cecelia doesn’t hear from Dominic in the following days, but Sean keeps in touch. She keeps asking herself if being with them is the right decision. Alone at home, she hits her head into the wall and calls herself names as punishment but when she replays the threesome in her mind, she feels good about the experience. However, this response doesn’t match up with what she’s been taught about relationships. Finally, she gets in the shower to calm down. When she gets out, she looks at herself in the mirror and tells herself she’s going to be with Sean and Dominic and that “it’s [her] decision” (236).

Cecelia arrives at the garage, surprised by all the cars in the lot. Sean explains that they’re all going to a separate location for a party. Before leaving, Cecelia chats with Layla, the girlfriend of one of Sean’s friends. She finds herself telling Layla about being with Sean and Dominic. Layla is understanding and offers the assurance that Cecelia can count on Layla in the Ravenhood community. 

Sean insists Cecelia ride to the party with Dominic. On the way, Cecelia asks Dominic questions about himself. Dominic pulls over and they kiss and touch each other before continuing the drive.

At the party, Cecelia notices that all the men have raven tattoos and most of the women have wing tattoos. She asks Sean what’s going on and what their group really is, but he doesn’t answer directly and leaves her to talk business with the other men. 

Cecelia talks to a woman named Alicia who’s been to several parties like this one, but Alicia won’t give her direct answers about the Ravenhood either. Then all the men get in their cars and go racing on the dark mountain roads. Cecelia worries someone will get hurt. When they return, Dominic gets into a fight with another driver.

On the ride home, Cecelia confronts Sean about being dishonest with her. He insists he has to keep Ravenhood a secret: Its members can’t reveal the aims of their society because they’d be betraying the group. Cecelia realizes from his hints that the society is committing crimes for good causes and helping people in need. 

When a police car pulls out behind them, Sean races off, refusing to pull over. Cecelia is upset. Later, she begins to understand more about who Sean is, why he lives the way he does, and what he believes.

Cecelia lies awake next to Sean thinking about her future and wondering if she’s making a mistake being with him and Dominic. She reminds herself she’s only in Triple Falls for a year and is allowed to enjoy herself.

Unable to sleep, she gets up and finds Dominic in the kitchen. He has hurt his arm and is struggling to take medicine. Cecelia helps, wrapping his arm and helping him undress in his room. Then she gets in the shower with him and washes him. She returns to Sean’s bed afterward.

While Sean goes hiking, Cecelia spends the morning with Dominic, sitting on his lap as he works on his computer. Dominic has chosen this marginal existence despite having a degree from MIT. After discussing this decision, they kiss, touch each other, and have sex. Afterward, they lie together and read. They have sex several more times throughout the day.

Cecelia and Dominic continue reading and having sex while Sean is out. They also talk about love and romance. Cecelia is annoyed when Dominic won’t answer her questions about his opinions on relationships directly. However, she softens when she discovers he’s stocked his shelf with the same romance novels she loves. While she reads one, Dominic performs oral sex on her.

Cecelia feels happy in bed with Dominic. She’s loved their day together and is glad she’s decided to be with him and Sean. However, when Sean returns home, she feels guilty, scrambling around to dress and clean up. Sean notices she’s edgy and reminds her that she can be with Dominic without fear of losing him. Sean says goodnight to Dominic and leaves him and Cecelia alone together.