After dinner, my father pulled me outside while my mom went upstairs to help Katinka and Damon bathe the babies.
My father stood on the back patio, his hands in his pockets. “You know son, this really is in your best interest.” I groaned inwardly. I had been having such a good night; the last thing I wanted to discuss was more marriage bullshit.
“Papa, I don’t know how forcing me into a marriage is in my best interest,” I replied honestly from my perch leaned up against the wall of the house.
“Kiev, you’re a good man and one day you’ll make an amazing husband and hopefully you will become an even better father. When that day comes you will understand,” He said by way of explanation which left me just as lost as I was in the beginning.
“Papa, I don’t understand now. Give me something. Please, help me understand why you are both pushing this so hard. Help me to understand where you are coming from,” I begged.
“Kiev, you are thirty-one yet you act and live like you are still eighteen. You have no responsibilities. I see you moping about; looking after your brothers and their wives with longing yet that is all I see you do. I haven’t seen you go out and grab what you want for yourself. So as your father I am going out and getting it for you. Not because I want to see you married off but because I fear that you will just settle and grab whoever is willing so that you can attempt to recreate what the other boys have. I see the longing for your own family in your eyes when you hold Karina and Dominik. I see the way your face lights up when they are in your arms. I don’t want to see you with the wrong person. I also want grandbabies of my own before I keel over.” My father shot me a wink trying to lighten the weight of his words.
“You have Karina and Dominik.” I reminded him.
“I do, and I love them as if they were my own flesh and blood. But I also want some from you. I want to see the same happiness I see on Tosha, Damon, and Nik’s faces on yours as well as Ivan’s.”
“But how do you know that Nina will be the right person?” I asked.
“I don’t,” He replied, his eyes meeting mine. “What I do know is what you have in common. You have a common heritage, culture, background, religion, language, family, beliefs, and both of you are too bullheaded to go out and get what you want.” I had to smile at his last comment. He was right, I am bullheaded. I guess he forgets where I get that from.
“What if I find someone else?” I ask.
“Then you find someone else. You have six months to do that. Nina isn’t all that happy about having to marry you either, ya know.” My father reminded me.
“You could always give her to Ivan.” I offered innocently.
“Bah,” my father shooed the thought away. “That would just look bad, swapping out one boy for another.”
“Because arranging a marriage doesn’t look bad at all as it is,” I muttered under my breath.
“Papa, I could always find someone before the six months is up, ya know.”
“How do you think you could find someone?” He asked intrigued.
“Papa, I’m handsome and rich.” I winked at him and smiled.
“Yeah you’re also a big dick,” My dad chuckled as he said it.
“Ha Ha, you’re funny old man.” I chuckled despite the insult.
“You can thank Damon for that one.” My father smirked.
I would indeed thank Damon for putting my dad up to calling me a big dick and using my own punch line against me.
Chapter 6
My parents finally left taking Ivan’s parents with them. I still didn’t feel any better about the situation but I knew my father was right. Arranged marriages really weren’t that uncommon. At least not as uncommon as people would like to believe.
I was exhausted after all the excitement of the day and decide to call it a night. Before I could make it to the staircase Tosha came sauntering through the foyer with a shit eating grin.
“What the hell is that look for?” I shot daggers in his direction.
Tosha just shrugged his shoulders jogging past me up the stairs.
I knew I should have drunk more water. That was a majority of the problem after my workout. I hadn’t been drinking as much water as I should have been, leaving my muscles dehydrated and tight.
After what felt like an hour I made it up to my room. My phone sat on my bed where I had left it earlier in the day when I come up to my room to shower and change. I hadn’t missed it much because everyone that I talk to on a daily basis was here at the house with me all day.
Picking up my phone I notice the flashing light indicating that I had a message. I punched in the password to my phone and opened my messaging app.
There was a message from an unknown number. What intrigued me more was that it was from an international number, Russia to be exact. The text had come through hours ago.
I pressed the screen opening up the message.
Nina: Kiev, Tosha gave me your number. I do not want to marry you. Make this go away.
I now understood the shit eating grin on Tosha’s face. Somehow Nina had gotten ahold of him and he had given her my number. I quickly programmed her number into my phone and decided to Text her back.
Kiev: Nina, Why do you not want to marry me?
I waited several minutes just staring at my phone hoping for a reply. I knew that it was late in Russia but I hoped that I had messaged her before she had fallen asleep.
I released a breath that I didn’t realize I was holding when I saw the three dots start dancing across the screen.
Nina: You are an arrogant bastard. You have nothing to offer for marriage, besides I already have someone.
I had to admit, her response stung. She thought I was arrogant and offered nothing to a marriage. I wanted to send her a picture of my dick but I knew that it had the possibility to get back to my parents. I couldn’t believe she didn’t want to marry me and she had someone already. I immediately replied back, needing to know more.
Kiev: You don’t know me well enough to determine that. I ‘m sure I have a lot to offer in a marriage. Why are your parents agreeing to our arrangement if you already have someone?
Nina: If you have so much to offer then why are you single? As far as my parents go, it’s none of your concern.
Kiev: I’m single because I have been too busy until now to even consider getting married. We are technically engaged so that makes it my concern. So spill the beans, inquiring minds wanna know.
Nina: I am not talking to you about this. Just make this go away. Make this all end. Please, Kiev. Just make it end. I don’t want to be married to you as much as you don’t want to be married to me.
I wanted to give in to her request, hell, I’ve tried. Nothing I seemed to do has worked. There was nothing I could do short of marrying someone else or dying.
Kiev: I tried to end this but I haven’t been able to. I have talked to my parents until I was blue in the face and still nothing.
Nina: Tell them you are gay.
I laughed at her response.
Kiev: They know that isn’t true. Why don’t you tell them that you’re gay?
Nina: You’re an idiot
I had to chuckle. I laid back on my bed my phone in hand. I liked how spunky she was. There was more to her than the image I had in my mind of the timid little girl that used to shy away from us as kids.
Kiev: So what makes you so sure that I am not marriage material?
I needed to know the answer. I just couldn’t let it go until I knew why she thought that. Hell, everyone seemed to think it. Her response was almost instant. I imagined her lying in bed, her phone in hand typing away furiously on her phone.
Nina: Let’s start with the easy parts. You are arrogant. You know nothing about being an adult. I doubt you would know what to do with a kid. You know nothing about being in a relationship.
She had me on the part about not knowing anything about a relationship. But I quickly shut her down about the whole not knowing anything about kids. I quickly shot of
f a hand full of photos I had taken of me and Karina and Dominik. Her reply was instant.
Nina: You have children?
I knew that would get her attention.
Kiev: The little girl is Karina, Tosha’s daughter and the little boy is Dominik, Damon’s son. They are my niece and nephew.
Nina: Oh wow, they have grown a foot. I didn’t recognize them.
The comment stuck with me until I realized she must have seen pictures from her family as she and Tosha had the same family and our parents were always in contact with them.
Nina and I texted back and forth until I fell asleep talking about my niece and nephew. I had sent her several more photos I had of them as well as pictures from the road that I had taken. She seemed rather interested in pictures of Ivan. I puffed up my chest in response. I knew what I told my parents was right. They should just swap out me and Ivan as grooms.
When I woke up the next morning I shot off a quick text to Nina, wishing her a good morning and enclosed a picture of myself, comfortably propped up in bed.
A few minutes later Nina replied calling me a lazy bum and telling me to get out of bed. Attached was a picture of her. The lighting was dim and I couldn’t make out much. I could only assume she was self-conscience of her looks and had deliberately taken the photo in a dimly lit room.
As much fun as I had talking to Nina the night before I knew that she wasn’t the one for me. She was a nice girl, smart, witty, and would definitely make some man a happy husband one day. I just wasn’t that man. I needed to figure out a way to end this freight train we were on before we reached the end of the tracks.
I was due to meet the girls I had taken on at the studio; their group, In Your Dreams, was about to explode all over the radio. I climbed out of bed, my legs protested but I pushed on hoping a hot shower would loosen up my muscles and joints enough to get me through the day. I made a mental note to drink more water to speed up my body’s healing process.
I hadn’t been working out as often as I should have been and my dietary habits had gone to shit. I made a vow to myself to rectify that immediately. I planned to hit the gym at least four times a week and to start drinking more water along with getting back on my Paleo diet.
The workout with Ivan yesterday was brutal, but there is no way I should be feeling the effects this strongly the day after. That was a clear indication that I needed to get my shit in order.
Operation Get My Ass In Gear was now in order. First on the agenda was to get my routine back in order. I had completed a WOD yesterday so today I decided to skip working out, tomorrow I would be back in the gym.
With a shower out of the way, I made my way clumsily down the stairs. I was greeted with both Dominik and Karina being thrust into my arms by a rushing Alexa.
“Where’s the fire, princess?”
“I’m late for a meeting and everyone else has gone. I need you to take the kids for me.” She rattled off as she scrambled to slip on her shoes.
Alexa looked as though she were dressed more for the club than for a work meeting. She was wearing a low-cut black slinky dress that hit her mid-thigh. Her shoes were a pair of black stilettos that added a good four inches to her height. Her hair was stylishly done in a high updo that complemented her features. I noticed she had her make up heavily done with a smoky eye giving her the look of a sex kitten.
“Princess, just what kind of meeting is this?” I asked after giving her thorough look over. I was definitely not skeeving on my brother's woman but I was highly interested in why she was overly done up for a meeting. I would think a business meeting would require a more subdued look.
“Mind your business, Kiev. This doesn’t concern you.” She warned giving me a threatening look.
I didn’t like it. I know something was up. I just didn’t know how to tell Damon or even what to tell Damon. It was clearly not illegal or wrong for her to be dressed up. It didn’t make it right though either. Unwilling to push the issue I let her go without further questioning.
“Come on you two munchkins. Let’s go get something to eat.”
I carried the two babies into the kitchen where I secured them each into their baby swings that sat off to the side. They were both six months old now and trying to sit up on their own but being alone with the both of them I was afraid to put them in their high chairs. I could just imagine the two weeble wobbles knocking into one another and getting the third degree from their parents. So the swing it was while I got their breakfast ready.
Two jars of apple and banana cereal later I had both infants cleaned, changed, diaper bags loaded, and babies in car seats. I hadn’t planned to bring them with me to the studio but I was left with no choice. I was accustomed to having the babies on my own while everyone else ran errands so it wasn’t like it was my first rodeo. It was actually fun and exciting. I popped in the CD I kept in my truck for days such as today and began to sing along with the music. Both Karina and Dominik loved my rendition of the wheels on the bus. Their parents were rockers so good music was in their genes. Their soft gurgles and coos spurred me on.
Once I pulled into the studio parking lot I noticed Nik’s expedition in the parking lot. I shot off a group message to Katinka, Tosha, and Damon and let them know where I was and that I had the babies with me. Like a pro, I pulled out the stroller I carried in the back of my truck and loaded both babies into it. I felt like Mr. Mom.
My once manly king cab Titan was now a baby mobile. I had a cover placed on the bed so that I could carry things like strollers and large toys without them getting dirty or ruined. The back seat housed car seat mounts, headrest T.V. screens so the babies could watch cartoons, an emergency diaper bag, and a bucket of baby toys. I smirked to myself. I just found another reason I would make someone an amazing husband. My car was already a baby mobile.
Chapter 7
The girls sounded amazing. I felt sure that they were ready to release their first demo. I placed a few calls to some of my connections in L.A. and made arrangements for In Your Dreams to be heard.
I had met up with Nik and Katinka and traded the babies off to them after they had finished in the studio. Both gave me questioning looks but never said a word about how I had come to babysit. It seemed I wasn’t the only person surprised by Alexa’s new personality and disappearing act.
Once free of baby duty all of my attention was then focused on the group in front of me. They had come to us a rag tag of a group with promise. After several months of grooming and vocal training, I felt that they were ready. These girls had exactly what it would take to break into the music scene and take it by storm.
“Hey girls, come on in here,” I spoke into the intercom, calling the girls out of the studio booth. I knew they were going to be excited about the news I was about to share with them, but I still needed their consent before I did anything.
“Hey Kiev, how’d we sound?” Cassie, the leader of the group asked as she came bounding into the room, the rest of the girls followed along right behind her. All of them wore ear to ear smiles.
“You guys completely rocked it,” I said giving them an encouraging smile and two thumbs up.
It was the truth. They had, in fact, rocked the shit out of that track. It was a song Katinka had written for them shortly after meeting the bubbly group.
“Have you ever heard of Insanity Records?” I asked the groups of teens in front of me. I knew they were all at least eighteen, but to me, they were still just kids.
The girl’s eyes lit up and grew as wide as saucers. Without speaking they all just stood there and nodded their heads. They reminded me of the bobble heads that you see on the dash of Taxis.
“Do you know who Foxy Faux is?” I asked dropping the name of the owner of Insanity.
Foxy Faux was a mega pop star turned producer before creating Insanity records. Foxy was known for representing and producing some of the biggest stars in pop music.
The look on the girl’s faces let me know instantly that they knew exactly who Foxy Fa
ux was.
“So, I just got off the phone with Foxy and she is interested in hearing your demo.” Before I could finish speaking the girls started screaming and jumping up and down. Arms came from all over, surrounding me in a group hug.
I chuckled at their response as I tried to hug them back. I remember the first time we heard that a company was interested in our demo. It was the greatest feeling in the world. It felt like we had finally accomplished something. Like all of the work we had put into our music was finally being recognized. It was the most amazing feeling in the world.
The group hug with these girls and their thanks was a humbling feeling. This right here, knowing that I was able to help someone else’s dreams come true was the closest feeling to hearing it for the first time myself.
“Don’t you want to hear the rest of what I have to say?” I asked sharing in their glee.
“What else?” Cassie asked excitedly.
“If you all agree and sign the agreement letter, I can send your demo over tomorrow.”
The girl’s excitedly agreed much like I had expected them to. As much as I wanted to lead them to the office and have them sign the paperwork I also remember how fast everything moved and how quickly we could have all got taken when we were young. If it wasn’t for our parents being involved I’m sure we would have been one of those washed up and washed out bands.
I didn’t want that for these girls. I wanted to start instilling good habits in them now before they were out on their own completely.
Always Rocking: A Heavy Metal Romance (Slava Pasha series Book 4) Page 5
