“So, after the kissing?” I prompted.
“Okay, let’s put it this way, we both walked away satisfied from the experience.”
I sat up straighter. “Did you have sex?”
“What? No! I just meant we both walked away with an orgasm.”
“Oh, well, that’s more than Nikolai left with.” I blurted out.
“Oh, do tell!” Ava demanded good-naturedly, switching gears from her story to mine.
“Well, there isn’t that much to really tell. Like you, we did kissing and a little more. Although, it sounds like you guys did a little more than the little more than we did,” I say, tongue in cheek.
“Ha! So, from what it sounds like, you got yours, but Nikolai got left high and dry?” I winced, remembering just how turned on he had obviously been.
“Ugh, when you say it like that, I feel so guilty! I sort of offered to help him out, but he refused.”
“Well, in that case, enjoy his generosity.” Ava replied logically. “I mean, if he refuses, what are you supposed to do? Overpower him and pleasure him against his will?” I laughed at the image, but realized she was right.
“So…you don’t think it has anything to do with me? That he didn’t want me to…take care of him? Or maybe he didn’t feel comfortable asking?” I asked, my fears about his refusal surfacing.
Ava was silent for a moment. “Well, Hannah, Nikolai does not strike me as someone that is shy about getting his needs met. And if his behavior last night is anything to go by, he is plenty into you. I mean, this was supposed to be an act, right? If he’s making out with you in his car, who is he acting for? No one. It means he really must be attracted to you.”
My ego was blossoming under her flattering analysis. “Thank you, that sounds reasonable. It’s hard to stay objective about all of this.”
“Well, you obviously like him. It’s impossible to look at any situation with a guy reasonably when you like him.” Ava said with certainty.
If this was what it was like in every relationship, I couldn’t disagree with her.
“Okay, well, we’ll have to wait and see what he does now. Should I text him, or wait for him to text me?” In that moment, I was feeling so grateful I had Ava to confide in and question about this stuff. I was so clueless.
“Hmmm, I suppose you could send him one text and see what happens.”
“Okay. Back to you, what’s going on with you and Jack now?”
I could hear Ava flop back on what I assumed was her bed. “I have no idea. I don’t know what to do with him, Hannah. I know his track record with girls. It’s about a million times worse than Nikolai’s,” she finished glumly. I couldn’t exactly disagree, though I wanted to, for her sake. I mean, she definitely liked Jack, but Jack had gotten around.
“Okay, well, you can look at his history and conclude he isn’t a safe bet, but then again, look a Nikolai. I mean, who would have thought he would actually treat me like a real girlfriend? Based on his reputation, that’s really out of character. Did Jack do anything that you’d consider out of character?”
Ava was silent for so long, I thought our connection had been dropped. I actually pulled the phone way from my face to see if we were still connected. “Ava?”
Ava moaned, “God, Hannah, this is so fucking embarrassing.”
“What? What are you talking about?” I asked, puzzled.
“I actually asked him to have sex with me. I mean, I was totally wasted but not that wasted that I didn’t know what I was asking for. He said no.”
Now I was the one who was silent. I could barely process what she was telling me. “He said no?”
“Yep, but then we did the other stuff.”
“Did he give you a reason?”
“Yes, but I don’t really remember what he said because I was pretty mad. He got me out my bad mood pretty quickly, though,” Ava said, laughing.
“Okay, Jesus, Ava, you don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to see that his behavior is WAY out of the norm.” I responded, still shocked that Jack would turn Ava down. He definitely liked her.
“I know, even I’m not that dumb. It just makes me nervous because of his reputation.”
I nodded my head. “Fair enough. I guess he’ll have to prove himself to you.”
“Ugh, I hate games. I don’t want to make him jump through a bunch of dumb hoops. But I also don’t completely trust him,” she reasoned out. “But I also really like him…ughhh, boys suck, Hannah!” She finished on a groan, and I think she was hitting herself in the face with a pillow.
I laughed. “Well, at least we have each other to figure all this stuff out,” I said, hoping it didn’t sound too dorky.
Ava readily agreed. “Yes! I’m so glad we connected last night. I feel like I’ve known you for a hundred years.” I felt this glow inside at her words. My life really felt like it was changing, and for once it was for the better.
We said our goodbyes and promised to text each other if we heard from either Jack or Nikolai.
I laid there for a moment, then figured I had better get up and show my face. I was also starving.
I quickly ran into the bathroom, used the toilet, and splashed water on my face. I exited the bathroom without even looking into the mirror already knowing I looked terrible.
I ducked out into the living room on the way to the kitchen. Our house was so small. When you first walked into the house, you were already in the living room. If you kept walking you came to a small area that constituted a dining area and then walked through a doorway to the small kitchen. When I walked into the living room, Emmy looked up from the book she was reading, and after checking me out, her eyebrows shot up.
What?” I said, somewhat defensive already.
“You have a hickey,” she said matter-of-factly.
I reached up and slapped my hand over the spot I remember Nikolai biting and sucking on last night, feeling heat rush to my cheeks. I ran back into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Holy shit, she was right. There was a huge hickey on the right side of my neck. Jesus, was Nikolai part vampire. How the hell was I going to hide that thing?
As I stared at myself contemplating the different strategies I could use to camouflage the bruise on my neck, my sister appeared in the doorway.
Emmy arched a dark brow at me, “So, want to tell me about your date?”
Again, Emmy was, by far, the most mature person in the family, which was noteworthy because she was also the youngest. She was a total genius and had been her whole life. She was accepted to a private school in town, Briar Ridge Academy, on scholarship. That’s why, even though she was a sophomore, that we didn’t attend the same school. I had always been relieved because she was never exposed to the situation with Jeff. I had been tempted to confide in her many times, but she couldn’t do anything about it, so why burden her with that whole mess?
Emmy was also very beautiful with black hair, which was now piled on top of her head in a bun, and the mysterious blue-yellow hazel eyes. She was taller and thinner than I was, willowy, I suppose. She had what I would call a dancer’s body, though she wasn’t a dancer. Right now, curiosity burned bright in her cat-like eyes.
I cleared my throat, not sure what to tell her. Again, with this dilemma. What made it even more murky is the fact that I definitely was not faking anything anymore.
“I had a date with Nikolai Ivanov.” I shot Emmy furtive glances to see her response to this information. Did she even know who he was? She probably would have grilled me about this last night had she been home, but the school let her use their harp Friday nights. If my sister wasn’t so awesome, I would be totally intimidated by her level of achievement. She was a gifted harpist, having learned from Barbara, an old lady who used to live next to us. Barbara loved her harp and was eager to teach it to anyone was willing to learn. When Barbara eventually moved into assisted living, she would let Emmy visit her to practice. Emmy continued to teach herself from YouTube videos, until she attended Briar Crest, where she is now
taught by professional musicians. People tended to forget about the harp when considering musical instruments, but she played it beautifully. She came alive the minute she sat in front of it and started plucking its strings.
Emmy’s eyes bugged out slightly. “Nikolai Ivanov?”
“Yep,” I replied glibly, like he was some band geek or something.
“Even I’ve heard of him. They talk about him at Briar Ridge, and he doesn’t even go there,” Emmy said, with a degree of reverence for Nikolai’s notoriety. “How did you end up dating him?” Her eyes were alight with curiosity. I can’t say I blame her, she knows how I usually dress for school. Even if what she knew about Nikolai was mostly related to his reputation for being associated with a crime family, she probably knew he was freaking hot, too.
“Um, he asked me out?” Once again, Emmy’s black eyebrows jumped up and her eyes bugged out.
“Were you tutoring him, or something?” Again, this is a fair question. How could I create a reasonable explanation for me and Nikolai crossing paths?
“Um, no, my friend, Ava, is interested in his friend, Jack.” Well, that lie just flew off my tongue, although it was technically true. I darted her a guilty look as she frowned again.
“Who’s Ava?” she asked in puzzlement. Ugh, again, I had to come up with an explanation. Lying was freaking exhausting. I stared at her stupidly while considering if I should just spill my guts about the whole thing. Again. I was saved by my mother sailing in the front door and blew out a sigh of relief at the reprieve.
My sister left the doorway of the bathroom to greet my mom and help her with the bags of groceries she was carrying. I stared in the mirror trying to think of a way to cover up my hickey, then grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my neck like I was just about to take a shower. It was just so stupid, but if it worked I would be able to dodge another flurry of questions from my mom. She had always been very frank about sex, having had me when she was nineteen, but I had no desire to have another “sex talk” this morning.
I walked into the kitchen with my ridiculous towel around my neck, holding on to the ends like my life depended on it, careful to keep the evidence of my make-out session with Nikolai hidden.
Jessica Prescott was still a pretty woman, with her dark hair cut shoulder length, framing her brown eyes. She was shaped more like me, with perhaps a couple of extra pound around her mid-section, but still in good shape. I’m sure she’s had men interested in her, but she hasn’t really dated anyone since my dad left. I think you could say she had trust issues. Emmy and I constantly encouraged her to let someone take her out, but since she worked as a waitress, she usually didn’t meet the most quality men. She’d worked at the same diner for as long as I can remember. In all honesty, Emmy and I didn’t understand why she didn’t try to find a better job, but she liked the owners, who were elderly and had given her a job when she’d had no experience and 2 small children, so I think she stayed out of loyalty.
After depositing the groceries onto the counter, Emmy looked at me and burst out laughing. I shot her quelling glare, and caught my mother looking at both of us as with a puzzled frown. “What’s so funny? And Hannah, why are you wearing a towel around your neck?”
I decided to blow off the first question. “I’m about to hop in the shower but wanted to make sure you didn’t need any help with the groceries.”
My mother knew this was weird, but ignored it and said she was fine, that I could go take my shower. I beat a hasty retreat back to the bathroom to take a shower and ponder how to deal with this stupid hickey.
*******
After my shower, I ran back to my bedroom in order to find make-up to cover up my neck. As I rubbed on the concealer, silently thanking Katya for putting this product on my radar, I wondered if I should text Nikolai. I wanted to talk to him, so see how he was doing. I also wanted to thank him for giving me such an amazing time and for handling Jeff for me. After checking my neck from several angles and concluding that the mark was adequately covered, I picked up my cell phone to text Nikolai. I was pleasantly surprised to find a text from Katya on there.
Katya: How did the party go?? What happened with you and Nikolai? I want details, girl!
I texted her back about how the party had gone and what had happened with Jeff. She responded with shock that it had gotten that out of hand. I told her I had more tell her, but it was too much for text, so we made plans to meet up on Tuesday after school.
Look at me: two whole friends and a maybe fake, maybe not boyfriend!
I laid on my bed and dithered about whether to text Nikolai, then decided to just go for it.
Hannah: Hey, I just wanted to thank you for everything last night. I had a great time :)
I hit send before I chickened out.
Then I waited.
Chapter 28
Nikolai
I felt like a dick. I got out of my parked car and walked into school with every intention of avoiding Hannah. How hard could it be? I had barely noticed her for three years. She’d texted me on Saturday, but I ignored it. I’d had my hands full over the weekend anyway. Drago had new information to share about what was going on with my father, and how their plan was shaping up. It was hard to believe, but I was kind of grateful for the distraction.
I walked into the school only minutes before first period, trying to limit the possibility of running into Hannah. I turned down the hall to my locker and there she was at her own locker. I was about to turn around to take an alternate route when I noticed she wasn’t alone. Mike Kendall was standing there, leaning against lockers next to hers, talking to her, smiling at her, probably flirting with her. Now, if I had been in my right mind, I would have let this continue. Maybe she liked the guy, and I wouldn’t have to deal with this situation any more. I’d be able to go back to my usual way of doing things.
However, I wasn’t in my right mind. All thoughts of walking in the other direction were immediately abandoned for the far more critical task of getting Mike Kendall the fuck away from Hannah. I felt my fists clench as I made my way closer to them. Hannah looked cute wearing another outfit bought with Katya; a dark blue shirt with a white and blue scarf and white, pencil style pants with blue vans. I could see why Kendall was checking her out, but that shit ends right now.
I overheard Kendall talking as I walked up. “So, I guess Connors was busted for DUI on Friday night after Cassidy’s party. Drove right into a tree! He looks mangled and his dad is pissed-”
When I reached her, I put my hand around the back of her neck, leaned in and kissed her on the neck just above her scarf. “Hey, babe,” I interrupted casually.
Hannah stared at me dumbfounded. When I looked more closely at the side of her neck where I’d kissed her, I could see the top edge of the hickey I’d given her on Friday night. Just seeing my mark on her ramped up all these out of control instincts and my dick instantly hardened. I immediately turned my head to glare at Kendall, so he understood it was time to leave.
“Uh, hi, Nikolai,” Hannah stuttered, her confusion apparent.
Kendall, accurately reading my expression, gave Hannah a hasty goodbye. “Uh, good talking to you, Hannah. Maybe we can talk later?” he asked hopefully.
Did this motherfucker have a death wish?
“Hannah will be busy later. You need to go, Kendall,” I growled.
Kendall seemed to have used up all of his courage with that last suggestion, so he turned and hustled to class. I turned back to Hannah, whose expression of confusion had morphed into one of irritation. I couldn’t say it was a bad look on her. Her cheeks got all pink and her black brows pinched together over bright, blue eyes glittering with agitation as she moved her hands to her hips. “What the hell, Nikolai?” she demanded angrily.
I leaned my back against the wall of lockers, shrugged a little, and gave her a steady stare. I didn’t feel bad about getting rid of Kendall. I also came to the immediate realization that there was no way I could ignore Hannah. Not only did I truly li
ke her, but the thought of any asshole in this school coming within ten feet of her made me feel violent.
“Well?” Hannah demanded when I didn’t respond.
“Well, what?”
Hannah rolled her eyes and sighed. “What gives with you stomping up to me, practically placing orange cones around me, and trying to intimidate Mike Kendall?”
“I didn’t try to intimidate him. I did intimidate him. Fortunately for him, he made the right decision by leaving. And if he was really smart, he wouldn’t try talking to you again.”
Hannah looked ready to explode. “Okay, look, first of all, I texted you and you never texted me back. I took that to mean you regretted what happened between us. If that’s the case, then you shouldn’t care who talks to me,” Hannah lectured, ticking off her points on her fingers, her face flushing in indignation. She was so fucking adorable. “In the second place, even if you were interested, which you’ve done a piss poor job of demonstrating that considering your lack of communication, you cannot dictate who talks to me.” Her voice was steadily rising throughout her monologue ending in a near yell.
This was the relationship shit I hated. I hated negotiating. However, I had to admit, forbidding her to talk to any other guys was kind of a fucked-up expectation on my part. However, that didn’t mean I was any less adamant about it.
“Look, Hannah, I’m sorry I didn’t contact you this weekend. There’s a lot going on with my family and I got distracted by all of that.” Hannah’s face instantly filled with compassion, and I felt like a fucking heel. While all that shit was true, that wasn’t the reason I hadn’t contacted her. I wasn’t a liar, so this put me in a fucked-up position. “Actually, no. That’s not it. I was…uneasy about what happened Friday night. I needed to distance myself from you. That’s why I didn’t contact you. Although, that family shit is all true, it wasn’t the whole reason you didn’t hear from me.” The compassion fell away from Hannah’s face, but her expression wasn’t angry any more. It was more disappointed.
Nikolai (Dangerous Love Series Book 1) Page 13
