They were about to walk to the back of the line when someone tapped Luka on the shoulder. Dmitri turned around, instantly ready for action and to punch whoever needed it, but instead was met with a friendly looking woman who had been by the entrance. She was wearing dangerous, tall footwear and a dress that barely covered the necessities. By the way she smacked her gum and gave Dmitri a long once-over, she expected a similar response.
Dmitri simply stayed close to Chelle
“You know, we’re a little short on guys tonight. Especially quality ones. You guys can jump the line.” She gestured to Chelle. “Her, too, since she’s a regular.”
“Thanks, Annie!” Chelle said, smiling up at the newcomer.
Annie just grinned. “No problem, Chelle. Save a dance for me?”
Chelle just grinned flirtatiously, while Luka and Dmitri watched, astounded. Before they could ask any questions, Chelle grabbed Dmitri’s arm and was pulling him inside.
“How does she know you?” Dmitri asked suspiciously as they walked into the club. It was surprisingly well lit, dim but just light enough so you could see well around you, make out different faces. Even the dance floor had good visibility, which Dmitri liked. Two huge guys were standing in different corners, scouring the room for any trouble, and Dmitri could appreciate what they were doing.
Perhaps that kind of job might not be so bad.
When they were in the main area, Dmitri felt people turn to look at them. The next thing he knew, he saw dozens of women approaching, some surrounding Luka and some coming up to him.
He’d never seen so many women at once, of all colors and shapes and sizes. All were beautiful in their own way, but he could only appreciate them objectively because in his heart, no one held a candle to Chelle.
Chelle looked up at him, but he just shook his head at the women and pressed forward toward the bar. He could feel their visceral disappointment behind him but didn’t really care. Throwing a glance over his shoulder, it looked like they’d been able to capture Luka, and he was being pulled onto the dance floor with at least six women.
Seeing Luka’s surprised expression, Dmitri had to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Chelle asked, taking one of the tall stools by the bar and looking at a menu. “Shouldn’t you rescue him?”
“You heard him in the car. He wants to do research,” Dmitri said.
The bartender was a woman like he hadn’t seen before. Tall with short dark hair. Fairly muscular. Her eyes held a twinkle that said she’d be an instant friend.
Dmitri leaned over the bar to talk to her. “It’s my first time here. What do you suggest?”
She smiled at him. “I suggest you keep pepper spray on you.”
“What?”
She laughed, gesturing to the crowd. “You know, keep all the hungry females away.” She pushed a drink toward him. “Here, first one’s on the house.”
The drink was blue and tasted vaguely fruity. “Nice.”
He noticed Chelle was already watching the dance floor, swaying to the music. She turned to grin at him. “I’m going to go dance. Want to come?”
For a moment, he thought she meant for real. Like a man dances with a woman, like they could be together. But then she giggled and waved to a girl on the dance floor, and Dmitri realized what she meant.
She wanted him to dance with her like one of the girls.
“No, you go ahead. I want to finish my drink.”
“Okay, well, Starla will take good care of you,” Chelle said.
Starla gave her a wink, and Dmitri sipped his drink as they both watched Chelle head out onto the dance floor. Chelle was wearing a red dress with flowy material that had long sleeves and went to her knees, plus a black pair of those dangerous pointy shoes. A black belt cinched the dress in around her curvy figure, and her hair was pulled up in curls.
Starla leaned on the bar and looked intently at him. “Friend-boxed?”
Dmitri startled. “What?”
“You like her. She only sees you as a friend?”
“She thinks I’m gay,” he said flatly.
Starla frowned and cocked her head. “Because of the guy you came with?”
He shrugged. “And other things.”
“Hm,” Starla said. “You know, if it wasn’t Chelle, I wouldn’t believe any straight woman could friend-box you.”
“But you believe it about Chelle?” Dmitri turned toward her with interest, wondering if she knew something he didn’t.
“Chelle doesn’t… I mean, I’m not sure what her deal is, but she mainly dances with chicks here. Doesn’t hook up with anyone, though. The guys she does say yes to dancing with don’t get very far with her.”
“You see her in here a lot?”
“Sure,” Starla said, wiping a glass.
The bar was pretty empty, as most people seemed more intent on dancing. Luka was more or less just standing, trying to fend off the girls dancing around him drunkenly. He sent Dmitri a look of perturbation, but Dmitri just laughed.
“Not really sympathetic to your friend there?”
“Oh,” Dmitri said. “Not really. He could use a fun time.”
“And what about you?”
Dmitri’s eyes wandered to Chelle as she found a group of girls and jumped in to dance with them. There was an innocence to all of it as Chelle playfully jumped with the others, occasionally bumping against them and occasionally joining hands to dance sensually.
Then again… Dmitri cocked his head with a frown.
“Girls just do that a lot,” Starla said. “Especially at this place. This club tends to have more women at times, and they seem to have fun with that.”
“So… she isn’t…” Dmitri rubbed his slight stubble that appeared in a few hours no matter when he shaved. “I mean…”
“No, she isn’t,” Starla said, pouring another drink and putting it in front of him. “I think she just likes to have fun.” She leaned on the bar again. “So she’s the reason you’re here, huh?”
Dmitri nodded.
“That’s tough. I mean, since she brought you, you should at least try to have fun, though. Dance with a girl or several. Enjoy the night.”
Dmitri threw back his drink. Dance with another girl? He felt sick inside at the thought of it.
“It doesn’t have to be that sexual,” Starla said. “You can just hang out.”
“That’s true.” He scowled. “I’m supposed to be gay.”
“Show her you’re not, then,” Starla said, heading off to take another order. “Be yourself, and she’ll either accept it or she won’t.”
Dmitri felt just a hint of buzz from the second drink and rolled up his sleeves as he decided he would take Starla’s advice. He did want to just be himself, but Starla didn’t understand that Chelle was his mate and not being accepted by her was just… not acceptable.
He pushed off his stool and surveyed the room, wondering who he should talk to. Off in the corner, he noticed a beautiful woman standing alone by a table, rubbing her arms. She looked about as out of place as he felt, and he thought maybe he’d like to talk to her.
As he crossed the dance floor, he ignored numerous attempts of girls to talk to him. When he reached the girl in the corner, he saw her look up at him in shock. She was curvy, taller than most women, with long, dark hair and pretty blue eyes.
She looked like she didn’t know what to do with him.
“I’m Dmitri,” he said, putting out a hand. “And you are?”
She gaped at him like a fish, opening and closing her mouth for a second before putting a hand in his. “Missy. My friends are never going to believe this.”
“Why?” He stood on the other side of her table. “They’re your friends. What’s so unbelievable?”
“I mean, everyone’s been talking about you. You and your friend, and you come up to me?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“I’m…” She looked down at herself and then back up at him as Dmitri stared in bewilderment.
“You’re what? Beautiful?”
She flushed then, smiling bashfully. “Thank you.”
Suddenly, the music called to him. The alcohol was affecting him, and he wanted to make this woman smile, to make her feel beautiful for a moment. He also wanted to be on the dance floor, closer to Chelle.
He was a social person, and it did no good to hide in the corners, trying to be anything but what he was. So he put out a hand to Missy and smiled when she accepted it so he could lead her out to the floor.
Lights flashed overhead as they reached the dance floor, surrounded by bodies. With so many people and the lights flashing, it was harder to see than he’d thought. He looked around for Chelle but didn’t see her, so he assumed she must have gone to the bar.
When he found a good place to dance with Missy, he reached out a hand, expecting her to take it so they could dance. Instead, he was shocked when she spun around, bent down in front of him, and then whipped back up with her hair, looking at him with a sultry expression before grinding her butt straight into his groin.
Dmitri backed up a step, confused by her. He knew that women danced like this with each other, but did they dance like this with men, too? He looked around for Chelle again but didn’t see her.
“I know I seem shy, but I really love to dance,” Missy said, turning around and coming in against him, pulling their bodies close, trying to get him to dance.
Dmitri leaned back a bit, realizing Missy smelled a bit of alcohol. Perhaps he had mistaken shyness for drunkenness.
Normally, he would have just had fun with her. The Dmitri from years ago loved to carouse. But right now, he’d rather be at home with Chelle, watching one of their chick flicks, eating popcorn. Safe and sound.
Luka had gotten into things and had wrapped his arms around a woman to dance with her. It seemed to make some of the others give up.
Dmitri also noticed multiple men either alone or turned down when they approached women, so he didn’t think what he and Luka were experiencing was normal.
Was it his and Luka’s height that was causing all of this or something else? Something about being dragons, maybe?
He tried to get into dancing with Missy, but when he couldn’t, he tapped her shoulder gently to tell her he needed to go. She shook her head and got behind him, running her hands rhythmically down his body, stopping when she got to his ass. Dmitri jumped and spun around, ready to tell her off, but she simply smiled and moved around to the front again.
Her hands moved down his chest to the music, and despite her beauty, Dmitri felt nothing. “Listen,” he said, trying to make sure she heard him. “I’m not—”
But then her hands were at his belt loops, playing with going lower. Oh, hell no. He caught them and pulled her forward.
“Look,” he said apologetically. “I’m not—”
Missy was incorrigible, pulling away from him to grind up on him again, this time on his thigh. He let out a sigh of discouragement but then saw Missy stop abruptly.
“He’s not into girls.” Chelle was there, tapping Missy on the shoulder. “So back your ass up and get on some guy who wants it.”
Missy tossed her hair. “He asked me to dance.”
She was a lot taller than Chelle, but Chelle stood her ground authoritatively, folding her arms over her ample chest as she went toe to toe with Missy. “Not like that, he didn’t. Get lost.”
Dmitri didn’t really need anyone to rescue him, as he was a huge guy and even a girl like Missy was tiny to him. But he couldn’t help being a little flattered that Chelle wanted to try.
Missy looked at him and then shrugged. “Whatever. I’m tired anyway.” She grinned at Dmitri. “Come over again if you want to dance.”
She made her way back to her table, and Chelle looked up at Dmitri with a scowl.
“Why did you ask her to dance?”
“She looked shy,” Dmitri said. “I thought maybe she felt as uncomfortable as I did.”
“Well, now you know better. Sometimes the ones waiting on the wall are the most eager to dance. Though, you and Luka seem to be sparking a feeding frenzy the likes of which I’ve never seen before.”
Chelle grabbed his hand to pull him back to the bar, where Starla was wearing an amused expression.
“I… Thanks for saving me,” Dmitri said as they took two bar stools together.
“It’s fine,” Chelle said. “You looked really uncomfortable, and since I brought you here…”
“It’s fine,” Dmitri said. “I could have stopped her if I really wanted to.”
“You’re too nice, you know that?” Chelle said, accepting a drink from Starla, who winked at Dmitri when Chelle wasn’t looking.
“I’m not that nice,” Dmitri said. “I did want to dance with her.”
“But you’re gay,” Chelle said.
Dmitri had just about had it, after being forced to endure oddly sexual dancing with someone he wasn’t interested in just for the sake of making Chelle feel comfortable.
“I’m not gay,” he hissed, leaning in so she could hear him over the music.
“What?” She seemed as if she honestly hadn’t heard.
“You misunderstood,” he said. “I’m not in love with Luka. I’m not into guys, though I don’t mind them. I’m into only one person, and she’d rather I was gay than into her.”
“You lied?” Chelle looked betrayed.
Dmitri sighed. “You trapped me in a corner. You said you’d feel safer, so yes, while I’m into you, I’m also your friend. But I can’t just lie to you, even if it makes you comfortable.”
Chelle was blinking now, looking like she was holding back tears. “I… I…”
“For God’s sake, don’t look at me that way,” Dmitri said. “I’m not going to attack you. You know me. Have I ever tried anything? Look at our sizes. Do you think I couldn’t have if I wanted to?”
Chelle gasped, leaning away from him as he came in close.
“I have feelings for you, yes, but do you think I would ever do something to put that hurt in your eyes? All I want to do is protect you.” He grabbed another drink that Starla had set down and took it in one shot. “So no, I’m not gay, Chelle. But I’m never going to force my feelings on you. Doing that is the absolute opposite of love.”
He couldn’t stand the way she was gaping at him, so before she could stop him, he slid off the stool and swaggered off onto the dance floor, deciding he’d dance with anyone who wanted to just to get the look of fear in Chelle’s eyes out of his mind.
Chapter 6
Chelle put a hand to her lips, watching as Dmitri walked away from her, looking angry and hurt.
She didn’t even notice Starla had come up behind her until she heard her clear her throat.
“Problems with the new guy?”
Chelle nodded, turning away as several women approached Dmitri to dance. She still had a knot in her throat from watching him with Missy. Seeing him try to extricate himself had only hammered home her thought that he wasn’t into women.
But now she could see how strong her confirmation bias had been.
Dmitri was a wonderful person. Watching him patiently allow the women to dance on him, she knew anyone would be lucky to have him.
He’d even kissed Luka just to solve the awkwardness between them.
And he had a point in that if he’d wanted to attack her, he could have by now. But that wasn’t the problem.
She knew Dmitri was a good guy and a friend. She just didn’t want to lose him when she couldn’t give him back what he wanted.
Looking back, she knew what she’d always been seeing in his eyes. What made her nervous when the two of them were with Luka.
What scared her was that she felt it, too. The pull of attraction, the electric spark whenever they’d touched. And then, though she’d never been a jealous person, she’d hated seeing him dance with Missy. She hated that Missy was taking advantage of him with her shy-girl routine, but she also would have hated it if Dmitri had
been enjoying himself.
Not that she would have interfered, since that would have been the height of hypocrisy.
But now everything was all out between them. His true sexual orientation. His feelings for her. She looked out to see an empty look in his eyes as he let another woman grind on him. His eyes met hers for a second, vivid blue-green even in this light, and then he looked away quickly, as if not wanting to face her.
That was when she realized how cruel she’d been.
“Go get him,” Starla said, leaning in next to her. “A guy like that is hard to find.”
“But I… I don’t see him that way.”
Starla laughed. “Like hell you don’t.”
Chelle twisted something in her purse. “I don’t want to see him that way.”
“He’s your friend, right?”
Chelle nodded.
“That’s not going to change just because you aren’t ready to do anything about it. But you might lose a friend if you don’t explain it a bit more to him.”
“Explain what?”
Starla sighed. “Whatever makes it so you can pass up a hunk like that.”
Chelle felt her heart twist in her chest like it was being wrung in two strong hands. The ever-familiar pain of the past lashed through her. It was why she didn’t like to think about it. Didn’t like to talk about it.
Didn’t like getting into situations with men where she had to disappoint them or expose more of herself than she wanted to.
Sometimes life was just complicated, and she didn’t feel like telling anyone about it because no one could really understand. And besides, she didn’t want anyone to pity her.
She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Starla.
“Hey, you need to talk about it sometime?”
Chelle shook her head, focusing in on Dmitri. Starla was right. She had a good friend in him. He was allowed to have his feelings, and she was allowed to… to what? Be his friend, let him have feelings and not answer them?
To disappoint him?
Familiar brain fog set in, making it hard to focus. Her therapist had said she would sometimes have a hard time focusing. It led to a lot of clumsiness sometimes, a lot of airheaded decisions.
Master of Frost Page 4
