I hadn’t really eaten much today since I’d picked at my food during lunch with Lexi. In fact, I’d found it hard to eat a lot on any of the days when I knew I was going to see Luka because of the butterflies that wreaked havoc on my stomach. My crush on him was probably the best diet plan in the world. But oddly enough, now that I found myself going on a date with him, they had settled down quite a bit.
“I could eat.”
“Do you like to try new things?” he asked.
I perked up at the question. “I’m here with you, aren’t I?”
Luka chuckled at my response. “I meant are you adventurous when it comes to food? Or do you prefer the same old, same old?”
“There aren’t too many places around here that I haven’t tried because I’m a townie, so I don’t think you’ll be able to surprise me very easily,” I challenged him. “But I’m willing to try something new if you think you’ve got a restaurant up your sleeve that’s up to the task.”
“One thing you should know about me is that I’m very competitive. Never challenge me to anything unless you’re ready for the consequences, because if you throw down the gauntlet, then I’m going to pick it up,” he warned me.
“I grew up with three older brothers, Luka,” I shared with him, “so I don’t scare easily.”
His hand reached out to hold mine. “I wasn’t trying to scare you. That’s the last thing I want to do. Just wanted to share a little about me and how I am. I may be rusty, but that’s what this dating thing is all about, right?”
“Rusty?” I asked, curious as to why a hockey hottie like Luka would refer to himself that way. It was hard to believe that he didn’t have plenty of opportunities to date.
“It’s kind of a long story, but I haven’t been on a first date in a long time,” he answered.
His reply didn’t really satisfy my curiosity since it wasn’t much of an explanation. “A long time like a couple of months or like a year?”
“More like almost five years,” he admitted gruffly.
At this shocking bit of information, I turned in my seat to stare at him. “Five?” I gasped.
Luka pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant called Oasis Grill that had opened a couple of years ago. He parked the car and moved so that he was also facing me, my hands clasped in his.
“Yes, five,” he confirmed. “Up until the start of summer break, I was still dating my girlfriend from high school. We broke up because I found out she’d been lying and cheating on me ever since we went to college. The whole thing was a major clusterfuck.”
Luka went on to explain what had happened in May when he’d gone to help her move out of the dorm, and the story was just as bad as Lexi’s breakup with Brad when he’d cheated on her. Maybe worse because it had been going on for years before Luka found out.
“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” I said softly. “Cheating sucks.”
Luka chuckled darkly at my words. “Voice of experience?”
“Not that I know of, no. Lexi had a messy breakup when her boyfriend went to college while we were still seniors in high school, but as far as I know, none of mine ever cheated on me,” I replied. I thought about my answer for a moment. “I don’t know. Maybe it was because I never gave them long enough for it to get to that point?”
“Could be,” he answered. “What was your longest relationship?”
“About nine months,” I said sheepishly. “And you were with your ex for almost five years?”
“Yeah,” he replied on a deep sigh.
I did some quick math in my head and realized that it hadn’t really been that long since they’d broken up. It was October now, so it had only been five months.
“Are you sure you’re ready to date again? Or is this a rebound thing?” I worried aloud.
“This is definitely not a rebound thing,” he assured me. I must have looked doubtful because he decided to say more. “What I went through with Kat was tough. I’ve known her all my life, and the fact that she played me like that gutted me. Am I surprised that I met you and was interested right away? Yeah, I’ll admit to that. But you aren’t a rebound for her.”
“If you were interested right away, then why didn’t you ask me out back then?” I asked.
Luka heaved another sigh. “Your longest relationship has been nine months. Mine was five years. You’ve got a bit of a reputation for getting guys to fall for you and then dumping them. My ex cheated on me. As attracted as I was, it didn’t seem like the smart move.”
“Do guys really think I try to get them to fall for me so I can break up with them?” I asked, hurt by the idea.
“Fuck,” Luka swore. “I didn’t mean it like that. What I meant was that you’ve been a serial dater in the past, never really taking your relationships that seriously.”
“It wasn’t that I didn’t take them seriously,” I said, defending myself. “I just never found the guy who fit me the right way. They all seemed like they might at first, but then something always went wrong. At least for me. For sure there were times that it was because they got super serious way too fast and it scared me off. But I didn’t break up with all of them for that reason.”
“Aubrey, I get it,” Luka said. “I was an idiot to listen to the rumors in the first place and to judge you by what your ex-boyfriends had to say about you. I’m pretty sure, if you met my ex, she wouldn’t be very flattering, and I wouldn’t want you to base your decisions about me on anything she had to say.”
“It’s a little scary to me that your last relationship was so long and only ended in May,” I admitted.
“That’s okay because it’s a little scary to me that your longest relationship was only nine months long and you’ve had more boyfriends than I’ve had girlfriends,” he retorted.
Luka made a good point, but I wanted to get one thing clear. “You do know that I didn’t sleep with every guy I’ve dated, right?”
“And you know that I’ve slept with more women than just my ex-girlfriend, right?” he replied.
“Alrighty then. Before this turns into a ‘what’s your number’ discussion, why don’t we go in and eat? I’m starving,” I said quickly.
“That would be awkward for our first date, wouldn’t it?” he asked.
“This whole conversation was a little deep for a first date,” I admitted.
“Well, I did say I was rusty at this,” Luka joked, taking us full circle to the comment that started the whole thing in the first place. “So how about I take you inside and feed you?”
I had been to Oasis Grill once or twice before and enjoyed their food, so it looked like Luka had failed at finding a new food adventure for me tonight. Or at least that’s what I thought as we walked in. It turned out that he had a surprise in store for me.
“Luka!” The hostess welcomed him with a big hug and a flurry of words I didn’t understand as we walked inside.
“Privet,” he greeted her before stepping back and introducing me. “Alexandra, this is Aubrey.”
“Hello,” she said with a slight accent. “What a pretty girl you bring to see us tonight, Luka.”
“Beautiful,” he corrected her. “So don’t embarrass me too much, okay?”
“I do not make any promises,” she answered as she got us settled at a cozy table in the corner. Then she walked away without bringing us any menus or asking what we’d like to drink.
“So I take it you’ve been here before?” I joked.
“A time or two,” Luka teased. “I came in with my roommate shortly after they opened and was surprised to learn that it wasn’t a Mediterranean place but more of an Eastern European restaurant.”
“Really?” I asked. “I think I got the gyros when I was here before.”
“Yeah, there isn’t much demand for Russian and Uzbek specialties in a town this size, so they added a bit of variety to the menu to help bring business in the door. I’m sure the gyros are good, but tonight, you’ll get to experience this place on a whole new level,” he prom
ised.
“A whole new level, huh?” I teased.
“Alexandra will let the owners know I’m here with a date, so I’m sure they’ll pull out all the stops to help me impress you because they’ve been bugging me to bring a girl here for months,” he explained. “They’ve kind of taken me under their wing a little since I come in so often.”
“I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that you speak Russian, too,” I pointed out, hoping he’d tell me more about himself.
“Or that I remind them of their son who moved to Boston a few years ago after he graduated from college,” he added. “Just like being here makes me think of being home.”
“How so?” I asked.
“My parents moved to the States before I was born because they wanted their kids to have plenty of opportunities, but they never let go of their culture or traditions. So I grew up eating Russian foods, learning how to speak the language, and listening to the music,” he said before waving his hand around the restaurant. “Being here gives me a little taste of home. I can speak in Russian without people looking at me like I’m crazy because they have no idea what I’m saying. I can watch the music videos they play some nights, although how they manage to get Russian music videos piped in, I have no idea. And I get to eat some amazing food that reminds me of the dishes my mom loves to cook.”
“Like these,” Alexandra said as she brought out a couple of beers and plates with appetizers. “I brought some of your favorites for you and your Aubrey. I thought you’d like to have her taste them, but I can bring whatever you’d like if these don’t work for you.”
“I’m sure it will be wonderful,” I assured her. “It smells delicious.”
She smiled before leaving us with our food.
“Have you ever tried Russian beer before?” Luka asked.
“Nope, and I’ve got to warn you that I’m not a huge beer fan,” I answered.
“You may find this one to be the exception,” Luka said as he pointed at the bottles. “It’s a pale lager that’s kind of similar to Yuengling except they use rice in the brewing process so it removes some of the bitter taste. A lot of my buddies hate it because they’re huge beer fans, but you might like it.”
I took a small sip of the beer, tasting the hops without the bitterness that usually makes me hate beer. “Mmmm. Not bad.”
“Glad you like it,” Luka said as he began to describe the appetizers of fried spinach-and-cheese-filled pastries and a huge Uzbek bread roll. I enjoyed both, but the dinners were just plain amazing. I’d had beef stroganoff before, but they served it with a house-made sour cream that made this one amazing. We also had something called “Fish Moscow” that I wasn’t too sure about, but I was surprised by how good it was when Luka talked me into trying it. It was baked sea bass and smothered in a sauce similar to the one used on the stroganoff along with mushrooms, tomatoes, and potatoes. The fish was mild and the vegetables were so fresh that it was the perfect dish on this fall night.
Dinner was followed by a special pastry that was their dessert of the day. It had filo dough layered with a cheesecake-like filling, topped with chopped almonds, and drizzled with chocolate sauce. Alexandra served it with Turkish coffee, making it even more enjoyable. As I savored my last sip, I sighed deeply.
“I hope that means you enjoyed dinner,” Luka said.
“Absolutely,” I replied. “And you are more than welcome to pick up the gauntlet any time you want if it means you take me out for another meal like this.”
“Then I’ve accomplished what I set out to do if you’re willing to come out with me again,” Luka said as he reached over the table to hold my hand.
Going to dinner after studying together quickly became Luka’s and my thing. We tried a few different restaurants in town. I enjoyed introducing him to some of my favorite places, but Luka still preferred to go to Oasis whenever we could.
Tonight was a variation in our routine since we were at the Rooster’s Nest with Lexi, Drake, and Jason. It was the first time we’d all been out together, and I was hoping that things would go smoothly.
“Holy shit, Aubrey,” Lexi whispered to me.
“What?” I asked, wondering why she had a shocked look on her face.
“Your hot guy math geek is my neighbor!” she told me.
“Shut up!” I gasped. “Seriously?”
“Small world, huh?” she responded.
The guys all seemed to get along fairly well, which was nice. Lexi, on the other hand, remained relatively quiet after filling me in on that little coincidence, which had me a little worried. She was just watching Luka and me together with a questioning look in her eye, like she was just biding her time. And I knew that meant she’d pounce soon enough.
“So far you seem like a good guy, Luka, but I hope you don’t mind if I ask you a few questions to help me get to know you better,” Lexi finally threw into the conversation. “If Aubrey’s big brother Jackson was here, he would have taken care of this already, I’m sure. Since he’s not, I guess it falls to me as her best friend.”
“Ask me whatever you want,” Luka offered.
“Oh shit. Don’t tell her that,” I mumbled under my breath while Drake sat there laughing because he knew Lexi well enough to know that she’d take Luka up on that invitation.
“What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done before? Something really embarrassing or that you regret. That’s the type of dirt I want to hear so I can decide if you’re good enough for my best friend,” Lexi rattled off.
Luka looked a little bit stunned by Lexi’s questions, but it made Jason laugh. “I’ve got this one, dude,” he said as he patted Luka on the back. “That’s easy. He got pissed when his mom shared this story with me because it was so embarrassing. When he was in the fourth grade, there was this girl he had a crush on. He was feeling sick one morning before school, but his mom had this hard-and-fast rule—if you didn’t have a fever or could prove that you’d puked, then you had to go to school. He makes it about thirty minutes into the school day before he starts feeling worse. By then, the teacher had put everyone in small groups, and his crush was in his group. She asked him a question, he turned to answer her, and then he puked all over her.”
Luka had an adorable blush spread across his cheekbones. “I’m so glad I let you tag along tonight, Jason.”
Jason just laughed before continuing on. “That wasn’t even the best part. He finally got the courage to ask her out his freshman year of high school and she turned him down flat. She said no way in hell she’d ever be able to kiss him because every time she saw Luka, it made her think of vomit.”
“Fuck,” Luka swore. “Don’t you know when to shut up?”
I reached under the table and squeezed his thigh before resting my hand on it. “Well, I never think of vomit when I look at you and I’m more than willing to give you extra kisses to make up for the embarrassment,” I reassured him.
“In that case—carry on with the stories,” Luka said with a grin.
Lexi took him up on the offer even though he’d only meant it as a joke. “Okay then. That covers an embarrassing moment. What about something you regret?”
“Lexi, c’mon. Give Luka a break,” I pleaded with her. “I wasn’t like this when you started dating Drake.”
Luka laid his hand over the one I had on his thigh. “No, I’m a big boy. I can take it. And it’s good that you have a friend who looks out for you. To be honest, there isn’t much in my life I regret. The only thing that really comes to mind is that, after a really bad breakup this summer—which Aubrey already knows the details about—I was very angry with my ex and slept with her best friend. Well, now her ex-best friend since they don’t speak to each other anymore.”
Lexi stared at him for a moment, her eyebrows raised and her lips parted in surprise. “Damn. I didn’t see that one coming.”
“Shit, Luka. I wasn’t even going to go there and you know I don’t mind giving you a hard time,” Jason said.
Although Luka hadn’
t shared that part of the story with me earlier, I could tell the conversation was making him very uncomfortable and I wanted to move it along as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, I also knew that sometimes Lexi could be worse than a dog with a bone.
“Hey, the good news there is it’s not like I ever have to worry about that, because even if I fucked him over as badly as his ex did,” I started, wanting to get the point across to Lexi that he was the wronged party in that situation, “there isn’t a chance in hell you’d ever sleep with him, Lexi.”
“Damn straight,” she agreed.
“It’s not like he’d survive the beatdown I’d have to give him for trying,” Drake added, making Lexi and me giggle because of the glare he gave the other guys just at the thought.
“You’re such a caveman,” Lexi teased him. “And I think the guys already got that idea the first time we saw them in the hallway. Right?”
“Hell yeah. It was pretty hard to miss that Lexi was yours with the way you practically pissed in circles around her,” Jason joked.
“Pissed in circles,” Lexi snorted as she laughed. “Ohmigod, that’s so funny.”
“And so accurate, too,” I said, chuckling along with her.
“Hey, I resent that remark,” Drake mumbled under his breath, making Lexi and me laugh even harder. It finally broke the tension at the table, and the conversation turned away from the grilling of Luka to lighter things.
I panted against Luka’s mouth, drowning in his kiss. The rest of the evening had gone much more smoothly once Lexi backed off. We’d had a few drinks and I’d had the chance to catch up with Lexi while the boys talked about sports. All in all, it was a success.
“Come back to my apartment with me,” he demanded.
“Not yet,” I replied.
I wasn’t sure what kept giving me the power to resist saying yes, but I was starting to think there was a little bit of fear mixed in there. What was building between Luka and me was deeper than anything I’d felt for any guy before him. I didn’t want to mess this up. Plus, it kind of felt like cobwebs had grown down there seeing as so much time had passed since the last time I had been with someone. I knew in my head that I was being silly, but I worried a little that maybe I’d lost all my moves and I wouldn’t be good enough in bed to satisfy Luka. I’d clearly lost my mind since meeting him.
The Blythe College Complete Series Box Set Page 47
