Crossroads

by Blake Haugen

  “What? Pretty princess?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Because she’s so sweet, and beautiful, and happy, and pretty, and kind, and girly, and likes everyone, and wants rainbows everyday of the week!” Lina said in a high, squeaky voice. She mimicked and exaggerated the outgoing disposition Persephone had when meeting new people. He was surprised Lina remembered Persephone’s chipper attitude so well.

  “Alright, alright, so she has some pep. She’s a peppy person. I thought you had to go or something.”

  “Okay, Vanushka, I won’t make fun of your woman anymore… today,” she teased him. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Yeah, whatever. Thanks for watching out for me, by the way.”

  “It was nothing. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight.”

  Vanya waited only a second to hear the sound of a click signifying that Lina had hung up the phone. He was satisfied that their relationship – both as siblings and business partners – was moving in the right direction. He was touched by that fact that Lina had shown some concern for Persephone by not exposing her to their father.

  Vanya had no idea what his father’s reaction would be to Persephone – other than that it would be negative, of course. Kirill had been unreasonable when Lina revealed her relationship with Austin, but Vanya was his boy. As absurd as it was, Vanya had more leeway than Lina. Though they were only eighteen months apart, he had always been considered the baby boy and had always been allowed to get away with behavior his parents would have never accepted from Lina. He hoped that was the case with Persephone.

  Vanya thought about her lying in his bed, all snug and warm. He would wait to call Mikhail until tomorrow morning. Even though he had grown accustomed to it, Vanya found that Persephone lying asleep in his bed was still a great temptation. An urge rose within him to drop everything and seduce her or just lay beside her. He didn’t care that she moved constantly or woke up every few hours. When she lay in his bed, he felt like he was infusing her with his essence by virtue of the sheets that carried his scent. It was one way he marked her.

  He entered the bedroom, quietly removed all his clothing, and placed it in the hamper. He took Persephone’s clothes from the floor, neatly folded them, and placed them on her overnight bag. When he got in the bed, he didn’t lay down immediately. After gathering Persephone’s drowsy form in his arms, he removed her silky magenta nightgown. He shushed her moans of protest as he lay down behind her. Vanya pressed the warmth of her skin against his and let the sound of her deep, steady breathing carry him to sleep.

  ☐

  Persephone vaguely recalled that Vanya had undressed her last night after he came to bed. That explained why her nipples felt the cool of the room outside the warmth of the covers. She was achy and needy all over, and she couldn’t tell if she’d a dream about Vanya taking her in the night or if it had actually happened. Flexing her hips revealed that she had indeed borne the weight of his thrusts last night.

  As she stretched, she remembered him gently fondling her breasts while kissing and biting her neck. When he was sure she was awake, he had slipped down and performed cunnilingus with long, lazy licks. After she fell apart under his tongue, he had continued to eat as if he were actually hungry.

  He mounted her when he was satisfied with his tasting, stroking deeply and slowly. She recalled his Russian whispers in her ear as her orgasm washed over her; they were adamant – insistent even. He was still moving within her when she slipped back to sleep. The evidence of his completion was now congealed between her thighs. She shook her head and opened her eyes.

  “Naughty boy,” she said to herself, staring up at the ceiling. The sunlight filtering through the window was strong, but not at full power. It couldn’t be past seven o’clock.

  As soon as Persephone wondered where Vanya was, she heard him speaking in the living room. It was a Russian phone call. Stilling herself, she focused on his voice, its volume, and its aggression. He had spoken with Lina last night as she fell asleep and yesterday afternoon. Could it be Mikhail? She would have thought so, but Vanya sounded much too at ease. He paused every now and then. She could tell he was trying to be reassuring. The conversation continued on easily enough until she heard Vanya say something as if he was disgusted. After another long pause, he began arguing rapidly.

  Of course it was Mikhail! Persephone knew that Vanya had opted to call his sister last night when she was getting ready for bed. He must have decided to wait to call Mikhail until this morning. As she expected, the call ended shortly. She looked around for her nightgown, hoping to look occupied when Vanya returned to the bedroom.

  Sure enough, he pushed through the slightly open door a few seconds later. He was still nude and Persephone couldn’t help but be distracted by his physique. By this time, she was very familiar with his body. She thought it was funny how he always told her how beautiful she was. Persephone felt she looked nice, but to her, he was the manifestation of male beauty, or even human beauty for that matter.

  Vanya shaved what little hair he was able to grow on his face and kept things nice and trim down south. This was something she appreciated even more now that he had made her a fan of fellatio. Even though he sprouted whiskers around his jaw and chin, she was sure he couldn’t grow a beard if he tried. Maybe a five o’clock shadow if he let himself go for five days.

  If he didn’t eat mounds of protein and exercise so much, he would have been skinny. However, he sported a lean, muscular six foot and five inch frame due to his constant workouts and pickup basketball games. He wore his strength well; several women and men had appreciated Vanya’s defined abs, ass, and biceps during their visits to the beach in September.

  To Persephone, Vanya’s only imperfection was the brown, quarter sized birthmark on the right side of his torso. She would have considered the thing loveable if she didn’t fear it. Vanya refused to have it checked out for any cancer symptoms. She thought the ‘fat boomerang’ (her name for the offensive mark in honor of its shape) would lead to trouble if left unexamined. Other than the perfectly round, pink nipples that sat on his hard pectorals, it was the only protrusion in the survey of his fair skin. Since the summer, the distinction between the skin that was exposed and the skin that was covered had dissipated. Now his upper body and legs were only a slight shade darker than the stark whiteness of his butt and upper thighs.

  “I was going to ask if I woke you up, but from the look you’re giving me, I’m not sure if you care. You need some more, sweetpea?” he said with conceit, bringing a halt to her perusal.

  “My vagina tells me you got some somewhere between two to six hours ago! I got up to get a shower.” Persephone gave him a mocking scowl. In truth, she did feel a little icky now that she was up and about. Sometimes she couldn’t convince Vanya to wait for a morning session until after she had washed her face and brushed her teeth.

  “Well, fuck that, let’s take a bath!” Vanya replied and advanced on her. She smelled his fresh scent before he made it over to her.

  “You’ve already washed!”

  “So.”

  After scoffing dismissively, he swiftly pulled her up into his arms and entered his en suite bathroom where he sat her on the toilet. Before she could reorient herself, Vanya was already kneeling by the tub, dumping in bath oil, and activating jets. His actions struck her as romantic and she was suddenly very impressed.

  “Wow, Gigantor, this is pretty classy. Do you do this for all the girls you bring to your tub of love?” She simpered playfully behind him from her perch on the toilet seat.

  He halted in his task, but didn’t look back at her. His reply was earnest. “I haven’t brought any other woman to this apartment or any other since I met you, babe.”

  Persephone’s breath caught in her throat and her heart broke a little. It wasn’t a sad type of heartbreak. The muscle just felt heavy in her chest as its beating increased. She wasn’t sure why that statement more than any of his other professions affected her so strongly. S
uddenly, her body was pulsing with emotion, with heat… and with love. Love! For the first time she felt like she could say the words back to him. Vanya had already gone back to preparing their bath before she could get it together. Instead of giving voice to her feelings, she said something that had been floating through her head all week.

  “God, I love being on vacation. I wish we could do this all the time.”

  Vanya’s shoulders relaxed a bit. She hadn’t noticed any tension in his body before now. He turned to face her and gave a rueful smile. “Yeah, I know.” He turned back to the tub and continued to mess with the programming buttons.

  Persephone felt like a louse. She moved to the sink and began brushing her teeth. She had thought this bath would involve a lot of kissing, but now she wasn’t so sure. The mood wasn’t as fancy-free as it had been just moments ago. Or was she just making up the somber tone of Vanya’s voice? He never put pressure on her to repeat those three little words to him, but she felt that pressure closing in now that she was over her shock.

  As Persephone vigorously scrubbed her teeth, she weighed the implications of her actions in this situation. Would he believe her? Would he care? She was panicking and thankfully the beep of the tub’s programming buttons sounded and cut off her internal litany of dumb questions. She spit, rinsed, and turned around sharply. Vanya was standing in the water, looking at her with hunger. His eyes were now a lustful gray and his penis was fully erect. She guessed he must have been staring as she brushed. Persephone stepped toward the tub to stand before him on the little white cotton mat.

  “I love you.”

  In the next moment she got a true demonstration of Vanya’s strength. In one fluid motion he lifted her, wrapped her legs around his waist, and impaled her. Persephone released a short scream, and she was thankful for her slickness as he began to pump into her. As he moved faster and deeper she gripped him tightly; Vanya was all she had to hold on to.

  He was working her to a fever pitch with his rutting. Their mouths locked together. His kisses were insistent; she could barely move her lips to demand more. Before she knew it, she was on her feet, hands against the wall, taking him from behind. Vanya flicked her clit to completion and had her repeating her confession in no time.

  “I love… mph… I love you, Vanya. I love you!” she cried out to him as she fell apart. He erupted moments later, lifting her in the air as he finished inside her. Vanya lowered them both into the bubbling water, careful not to dislodge himself from her body. He finally spoke when he had settled behind her and caught his breath.

  “I love you, too, Percy. I love you so much.”

  His voice in her ear was grave and serious. Persephone turned to face him and they kissed until they were pruned. At that point, Vanya was all business and quickly washed, dried, and lotioned her body. There were only smiles between them as they dressed.

  Instead of going to the Greek diner down the street as they had planned, they ordered their breakfast in. They watched a sci-fi action flick that Persephone had been dying to see. She noticed that Vanya’s funny, derisive comments were missing from this screening. Usually, he loved to make fun of the characters and settings in her science fiction films, but this time he was happy to just watch and casually grope her. She figured he was trying to prime her for their next round. Right now, she was too full of omelet and Greek lemon soup.

  As the movie neared its conclusion the buzzer sounded from the intercom. She rose from her spot nestled on his side and looked at Vanya in question. She had hoped nothing would impose on their lazy day, but from the hard look on Vanya’s face she knew the wish had been futile.

  “Maybe it’s the delivery guy bringing back some change,” she said in a somewhat defeated manner.

  “If there’s any justice, it will be,” Vanya grumbled. He untangled himself from her and went to the intercom. He hesitated only a moment before pushing the talk button.

  “Hello?”

  “Bаня, это я.”

  “Papa?”

  Persephone’s eyebrows flew up and she was sure her stomach was right up there with them. Looking at Vanya, she saw he shared her surprise.

  “Да!” the deep voice, so much like Vanya’s, said jovially, “Впусти меня, сынок. Холодно!”

  “Okay, it’s the seventh floor,” Vanya replied. He was unable to hide his bewilderment. Turning to Persephone, he pushed the buzzer for entry.

  Persephone could not believe what was happening. Why was he here? She shot up from her place on the couch, never more thankful to be fully clothed in Vanya’s apartment. “I’ll grab my bags and go now. He still has to come up the elevator.”

  “Percy… ” Vanya paused and took a deep breath. “No.”

  Persephone wasn’t sure what he meant. She sure as hell wasn’t going to stay in his room for the duration of his father’s visit! She was more than done with that. “I’m not sitting in your bathroom if that’s what you think!”

  “No! No, babe, just stay right there. It’ll be fine.”

  “It’ll be fine?!” she yelped at him.

  “Yeah,” Vanya replied firmly.

  Persephone huffed in frustration and turned off the television. She grabbed her purse and dug through it until she found the biography she had been reading since school let out.

  “What are you doing?” Vanya asked.

  “If I’m going to meet your father for the first time, I’d rather have him see me reading some serious material than seeing me watch some kitschy sci-fi movie.”

  Before Vanya could reply there was a knock on the door. Her stomach dropped. She couldn’t help but wonder how fast the knock came. Now more than ever, she wished it had been that delivery guy.

  Chapter Three

  January 2, 2013

  Why today? Persephone thought the question over and over again as she traipsed through fresh snow. The first snow of the year fell last night as she slept in Vanya’s arms. Their plan had been to take a walk in it after they finished her dumb sci-fi movie. Now she was slugging through the snow alone, carrying her purse and heavy knapsack. Slowly but surely, she was remembering what it was like to carry around her own things. She’d become accustomed to Vanya doing that type of heavy lifting.

  She huffed with indignation; perhaps this was a good lesson to learn. She had broken her rule of total independence. Now she was out in the cold, waiting to see how things would pan out since Vanya had acknowledged her and their relationship in front of his father.

  Persephone was baffled by how Vanya permeated all of her barriers and slipped into her heart. He had her spouting “I love you” in a matter of four and a half months. Where other men had failed, he excelled. She’d never been as open with any person as she had been with Vanya. All the warnings and admonitions to trust no one evaporated when he lured her into his arms. Vanya gave as much of himself to her as was possible given the circumstances; as a result, Persephone had opened up and began to feel love she hadn’t expected to experience first hand.

  This love was not an obligation of blood. The love he had shown her was also deeper than just being kind and good to others. It involved discovery, adventure, and growth. Because of Vanya she’d learned about her body and its desires. He’d shown her the beauty she possessed and gave her pride in it. He had helped her establish a better relationship with the Bensons. With Vanya by her side, Persephone felt there was little she couldn’t do. She’d trusted in his love. Until this morning, that is.

  For the first time, Persephone felt uncertainty about the lengths Vanya would go to preserve their relationship. Uncertainty about her life’s direction was something she had not experienced since that unforgettable evening her parents died. Uncertainty had been unacceptable in the Peterson household; it was a sign of weakness. As much as she hated to agree with her late father, she realized that letting someone in made you vulnerable and one had be prepared for the consequences – bad and good – of such a relationship.

  Persephone was utterly
unprepared for the consequences of a breakup with Vanya. The weight of the blue, nylon quilted knapsack and the reverberating crunch of her solitary footsteps on the quiet street were immediate physical reminders of that fact. She didn’t even want to think about what it would be like to go through school without having him to fall back on. Finn was a good friend, but what Persephone had with Vanya was irreplaceable. A fear of losing it crept up on her. It wasn’t exactly wise to maintain a relationship with him, but here she was, trying to find a way to make it work after she had stared down his father.

  Persephone bet Vanya thought he was being brave by showing her that he was unashamed of their relationship. He’d unabashedly introduced her as his girlfriend after Kirill stepped through the door. He didn’t back down from his father’s blank stare and ominous silence. She too held Kirill’s gaze when he turned to her. After raising an eyebrow, Kirill had simply stated in a deep Russian accent, “Good afternoon, young lady.”

  “Good afternoon,” she said holing his gaze.

  “I am Vanya’s father, Kirill.”

  “It’s nice to meet you. I’ll let you and Vanya chat while I finish up.” She smiled politely, raised her book, and began to read, affectively dismissing him.

  Kirill then turned to Vanya and switched to Russian. Both men fought to maintain control, but Persephone could hear the strain in the curt questions flying between them. Somewhere in the conversation it had been decided that the two of men would go to the Greek diner to talk. Vanya had promised to be back in at least two hours and directed her to wait there and finish the movie without him. She finished the movie, but when she found herself alone and pondering over the discussion Vanya was having with his father she chose to bounce.

  Although her heart told her to be happy, she was upset that Vanya had decided now was the time for her to meet his father without asking her first. Persephone had not wanted to face Kirill Pravdin, and if things had gone her way, she would have never met him. Such a plan seemed dumb now that she went over it again, given the direction her relationship with Vanya was going. If they kept at it full steam ahead, she should have expected to meet the man at some point.