The day of the barbeque, Sasha stood with Jaelynn and a few of Jaelynn’s acquaintances drinking soda when she spotted Teagan enter the backyard with Dmitri in tow. Her friend wore a red fitted lace dress that contrasted sharply with her pale skin but she looked amazing…and so did Dmitri. Sasha eyed him hungrily as he strutted behind Teagan in jeans that molded to his thick thighs and a light green V-neck sweater. The sleeves were bunched at his elbows and the opening at the neck revealed a dusting of chest hair. He looked like he had just rolled off a male fashion magazine. Sasha gulped, unable to tear her eyes away.
“Oh, look who showed up?” Jaelynn stated nastily, clearly still upset about Dmitri’s rejection.
Teagan made her way over with a bright smile on her face. Her blue eyes shined in the sunlight as she came closer, holding onto Dmitri’s forearm. “Hi, Jaelynn! Congrats on your new house!” She squealed, reaching over to give a friendly hug.
“Thanks,” Jaelynn stated simply. Her eyes made their way to Dmitri. “It’s nice to meet you again. Your welcome to any of the food. My brother is cooking up some burgers here, and there are some chips and other snacks at that table,” she pointed to her left.
“Why, thank you, Jaelynn. I must congratulate you on your new house, as well. If I had known this was a housewarming party, I would have brought some sort of gift. My sincerest apologies.” He smiled down at Jaelynn warmly.
Sasha watched in surprise as the frown on Jaelynn’s face immediately disappeared at the sound of Dmitri’s voice. “No worries,” she heard her say. “I’m just happy you are here. I had such a good time the other night.”
Teagan took the opportunity to interrupt by grabbing possessively onto Dmitri’s bulging biceps. She stroked them, smiling up at him flirtatiously. “That’s just Dmitri for you. He has a way with the ladies.”
“You give me too much credit,” he stated simply.
“Come on, let’s go get something to eat!” Teagan then dragged him over to the table filled with snacks and leftover hamburgers.
Jaelynn watched them leave with a twinge of jealousy. Feeling that she was being watched, she turned to find Sasha eyeing her inquisitively. She rolled her eyes and said, “What? He is too sexy for his own good. I still can’t believe he chose Teagan over me, though!” She sighed. “Oh well, plenty more fish in the sea, right?”
When Sasha didn’t answer, she asked, “Would you mind refilling the lemonade?”
Sasha placed a forced smile on her face. “No problem.” She walked over to the table that Dmitri and Teagan had walked towards. While grabbing the empty pitcher of lemonade, she spotted them standing close to each other, apparently in a private discussion. Teagan, once again, had her hand wrapped around his bicep and was looking up at him with admiration and lust in her eyes. Her desire for him was blatantly obvious but, to Sasha’s surprise, he seemed unaffected. Almost bored. He in no way reciprocated her physical contact and his gaze often strayed from Teagan.
Sasha frowned at this discovery. Maybe Teagan was right. Maybe he was gay.
Sasha made her way to the kitchen. In the process of making some more lemonade, she heard someone enter the kitchen from the backyard. Expecting to find Jaelynn expressing her impatience about the pitcher of juice, she was surprised to see Dmitri walk in. At first, he didn’t notice her. Instead, he seemed to be looking for something.
Sasha gently cleared her throat. “Can I help you?”
Dmitri turned to her with widened eyes. “Oh! I didn’t see you there. Sasha, isn’t it?”
Once again, he seemed to be incapable of remembering her name. Slightly exasperated, she nodded her head. “Yup, that’s me.”
“I don’t know if you remember, but I’m Dmitri. We met at the restaurant that one night with your friends.” He walked towards her with a gentle smile and offered his hand for a shake.
Taken aback by his politeness, Sasha almost forgot to shake his hand but eventually came to her senses. As soon as his hand grasped hers, she felt an electric spark race through her body. She looked up at him, in awe of his height. At only five feet, Sasha knew she was more than small in comparison but standing up close really set in how much of a giant this man was. Her head only reached a little above the middle of his wide chest and his hands dwarfed hers tremendously.
“It’s nice to meet you again, Dmitri.”
“Same to you, Sasha,” he replied, his smile widening to show off a perfect row of white teeth. “I came in here actually because I was in search of the bathroom. Would you mind directing me? I’d rather not get lost in a stranger’s home.”
Sasha laughed at the slight pout he displayed and nodded her head eagerly. “Of course. The layout of this house is actually confusing. There are rooms everywhere!” She led him to the nearest hallway.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how is it that such a young woman is able to afford a home with so much square footage and in such a nice neighborhood? I was only just able to buy my own home.” Dmitri walked behind her, making sure to take note of where she turned so that he would be able to find his way back to the kitchen.
“Oh, Jaelynn is just an overachiever that way. She has a nice job at a law firm and has saved up quite a lot of money since college. Her plan was to buy a home as early as possible in order to start paying off the mortgage so that she would have full ownership before she retired.” She paused and looked back at him with a mischievous grin. “It also helps that her family is well off,” she whispered.
Dmitri nodded his head in understanding. “What about you? Do you also plan on buying your home early?”
Sasha shook her head vigorously. “I’m barely paying for graduate school. There is no way I plan on buying my own home yet.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Who knows? I may end up moving to another city in the future. There are so many possibilities.”
Dmitri paused at this statement. “You are seeking a graduate degree in International relations, correct?”
“Yes. I’m surprised you remembered.” Sasha’s eyes widened as she realized what she had said may have been interpreted as an insult. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I-I j-just-”
Dmitri stood closer to her with a grin. “No worries, Sasha. I know what you meant.” Before she could say anything else he pointed with his head at the door to their right. “Is this the bathroom?”
Sasha nodded, still lost in his gaze.
With nothing else said between them, Dmitri entered the bathroom and closed the door.
Chapter Three
Sasha was still in the kitchen when Dmitri made his way back. She had already given Jaelynn the pitcher of lemonade but decided to stay in her hideaway in order to avoid the growing crowd outside. She sat peeling an orange when she felt his presence. She turned to him with a shy smile.
“You found your way back, I see.”
Dmitri walked towards her, his face neutral. “Why aren’t you outside with everyone else?” He leaned his forearms on the surface of the kitchen counter. Even with her sitting on a stool and him leaning over, she still had to look up at him. Her eyes caressed the five o’clock shadow that covered his chin and cheeks, leading to his short sideburns. Her fingers itched to touch the smooth skin of his face but she did not relent.
Instead of answering his question, she said, “Teagan came in looking for you. I think she was worried you had gotten lost but I told her you would be out soon. She may be standing with Faye near the grill.” She laughed to herself. “That’s one thing about her: she is always eating!”
Dmitri gave her a wry grin. “Good to know.”
An awkward silence fell between them. Sasha busied her hands with peeling the orange. She nearly jumped off the stool when she felt his large hands tear the orange from her fingers. Sasha looked up at him questioningly.
“You should come outside and enjoy the party. I’m sure your friend Jaelynn would be upset knowing that you are avoiding socializing with her guests.” He tossed the orange between both his hands.
Sasha frowned. “Well, I know Jaelynn and, believe me, she won’t notice my absence.”
He smiled slowly to himself, his gaze still resting on the orange in his hands. “I find it quite odd that you are friends with Teagan, Jaelynn, and Faye. You seem to belong to a completely different crowd.”
His comment stung; he probably had no idea how close his statement was to the truth. Sasha automatically felt the need to lash out and wipe the smug smile from his beautiful lips. “Well, I’ll have you know that we are good friends. How can you come here and analyze our relationship when you hardly know anything about us?” She stood up and created distance between them. “I know I may not be as…beautiful as them but I am a person too.”
Sasha watched as his eyes finally met hers in a disturbing glare. It was as if he saw right through her. She felt a shiver of awareness course through her body straight to her toes. Goosebumps formed on her arms.
“You may not like me, Dmitri but if you want to keep seeing Teagan you should know that I am not going anywhere. So get used to my face.”
She turned to leave but was stopped by a strong hand wrapped around her upper arm.
“Wait,” she heard him say. Sasha reluctantly turned back to him.
“I think you misunderstood me, Sasha. I was never implying anything about your looks.”
She scoffed at this. “What am I supposed to think when the very first time you met me, you dismissed me as if I were less than my friends?”
For the first time since she had met him, he seemed at a loss for words. She watched his Adam’s apple quiver before he said, “I am not seeing Teagan. A few dates do not make a relationship. Furthermore, she is not looking for any sort of a serious relationship.” As if it were an afterthought, he added, “And neither am I.”
Sasha rolled her eyes. “Good for you. And how does that make you less of a superficial asshole?”
His frown deepened and his hold on her arm tightened. His lips were obviously tense as he replied, “Like any man, I appreciate beautiful things. I don’t see how that makes me a superficial asshole when you have no idea what I consider attractive. I’ll have you know that however much you may see your friends as beautiful they have little depth beyond that.”
She gasped. “First you ignore me and now you insult my friends, one of whom invited you here? What is your problem? Why are you even here if you want nothing to do with Teagan? If you hurt her in any way, I will…I will…” she paused, trying to think of the worst possible thing to do to him. The problem was she knew nearly nothing about him.
“There is no need to finish that statement. I have no intention of hurting your friend.” He leaned closer, towering over her. She looked up at him, at a loss of whether to step back or lean forward into his chest. She felt desire boiling within her even as her heart and mind raced with his audacious behavior and comments.
“I know the effect I have on your friends and it doesn’t escape my notice that your ‘innocent’ friend, who you feel the need to protect, is only interested in a physical relationship with me. So before you point to me as the villain, maybe you should reconsider whether you know your friends as well as you think you do.” He released a pent up sigh of frustration before continuing.
“I find your innocence to be quite endearing.” He dropped her forearm and instead reached out to slowly caress her shoulder. Having been wearing a small tank top, Sasha shivered at the touch of his skin upon hers. “I ‘dismissed’ you, as you call it, because of exactly that. Your shyness, your interest in my career, and the way you constantly try to escape direct eye contact. It’s adorable, Sasha…you are adorable but, in that moment, you weren’t what I was looking for.”
At this point, Sasha was straining to look up at him. She had unknowingly rested her hands upon his chest in an effort to ward him off, or at least that is what she told herself. Dmitri’s large hands had encircled both of her forearms and his soft breath whispered against her cheek.
Taking a step back she stared at him suspiciously through narrowed eyes. “How can you even assume that I’m attracted to you?”
A cocky grin spread across his face and his shoulders shrugged. “I see the way you look at me, Sasha. Your eyes will always give you away because they are so expressive.” He closed the distance she had created between them, placing his large hands upon her cheeks and bending down.
Sasha stared in horror as his face neared her own. The moment she felt the softness of his lips, realization slapped her in the face with guilt. Her lips still tingling from his touch, she wrenched herself from his grasp, stumbling backwards into the counter.
“Y-you came with Teagan. You’ve been dating Teagan!” She cringed inwardly at the screech in her voice. What kind of game was he playing? He showed nothing but irritation since he had met her. “You can’t play games like this.” Without waiting for his response, Sasha ran out of the kitchen and hid in the growing crowd of guests in the backyard
Sasha was lying down in her bedroom when she heard Teagan finally return home. She listened as her friend’s footsteps neared her bedroom door before it was shoved open.
“Hey, girlfriend!” Teagan yelled with a shit-eating grin. “You left the barbeque early. What happened?”
Sasha shrugged her shoulders and knew it was better to lie. “I was feeling a little under the weather. It must be all the studying I’ve been doing. That and the hours I’ve worked at the diner.” Her part-time job at a nearby diner was one of her only means of paying for rent and her education. It was long hours and she usually had to deal with unsatisfied and angry customers but she knew she needed it.
“I don’t know why you still work there! I could get you a job at Hooters. The tips are great, especially with what you’re working with,” Teagan replied teasingly, referring to Sasha’s ample breasts.
She ignored Teagan’s comment and instead said, “Where were you? I’m sure the barbeque didn’t just end.”
Teagan made her way further into the room and took a seat on the edge of Sasha’s bed. “Well…something really good happened. After we left the barbeque, Dmitri took me to a nice secluded park and, even though we didn’t go as far as I hoped, there was a bit of tongue action.” Teagan winked devilishly. “That man can kiss like no one’s business.”
Sasha felt like the ground had been ripped from under her feet as she listened to her friend continue to describe in detail her make-out session with Dmitri. She had constantly replayed the kitchen scene in her head over and over again but to no avail; she was still utterly flabbergasted and in a state of shock. Had he truly tried to kiss her? Though a part of her was shocked he would actually want to, another part was appalled. Was she not worthy of the dates he took Teagan on? Even though he told her he was not looking for a serious relationship with Teagan or anyone else for that matter, he had still courted her friend to a certain extent.
He had been right. Whenever, she gazed upon him, her thoughts always strayed to what a relationship with him would be like. She dreamt that one day he would just walk up to her and confess a deep and binding love. But what was she thinking? She didn’t even know the man. But yet she still felt a strong attraction and attachment to him. Sasha implored herself to not think of him again. After all, he had stated very clearly that she was not for him and he had no intention of pursuing anything with her. Trying not to delve into why he felt she was somehow unworthy, Sasha shook her head and turned back to Teagan as she continued with her story.
“So, I was reaching for his pants to get a peek at what he was packing and he stopped me.” Teagan groaned in frustration. “It makes me wonder if he’s too shy or something.” She lied down on Sasha’s bed and looked up at her. “Do you think he has a deformity? The man is too perfect, there’s got to be something wrong with him…maybe there is something wrong down there and he is too scared to tell me.”
“I think you’re being paranoid, Teagan. Maybe he just wants to take things slow. For some people, just jumping into bed isn’t as satisfying,”
she replied. Seeing the excitement in her friends face as she relayed the new turn of events, Sasha was certain that even if there was hope for a relationship between her and Dmitri, she could not pursue it. Teagan’s friendship meant too much to her.
Chapter Four
“You have a new table, Sasha!” Dina, her co-worker, yelled to her as she stepped out of the kitchen with an order of beverages.
Sasha yelled her thanks before grabbing her server’s apron and walking quickly to the table at the far end of the small diner. She spotted a man in a well-fitted suit with hair that flowed down to his upper shoulders, flaring out slightly at the ends. As she looked at him, she noted objectively that he was very attractive.
“Hello,” she greeted warmly. “Welcome to Al’s Diner! I’m Sasha; I will be your server this afternoon. What can I get for you to drink today?”
He looked up at her and she discovered he was Asian. His slanted eyes were large and a dark black. She inwardly gasped as she realized the contrast was awfully similar to Dmitri’s eyes. She mentally shook off the thought of him, returning to the man before her.
He gave her a warm smile. “Hi,” he said simply, his hands still grasping the drink menu that had been resting on his table before he sat down. “I would like a cup of water. Preferably, not tap.”
Sasha quickly scribbled down his instructions. “And…would you like a few extra minutes to go over the lunch menu or have you already decided, sir?”
“Actually, I am meeting with someone in a few minutes. Can I wait until then to order?”
Sasha nodded in the affirmative. “I’ll be back with your water.” She made her way back to the kitchen and almost collided with Dina. “I’m so sorry,” she yelled profusely.
Dina shrugged her shoulders. “It’s no problem. You are really lucky to have gotten that guy at your table. He usually comes here once a week and he gives great tips.” She grinned. “He’s also not too bad to look at, huh?”
Sasha: The Wallflower (The Wallflower Series Book 1) Page 2
