Page 1 of Cookie: Part One
CHAPTER ONE
CONSTANCE
As soon as the plane touched down, my shoulders sag with relief. My head is pounding from recycled air, wine I shouldn’t have had, and the fact that my best friend won’t stop buzzing in my ear.
“Oh my God, zhis is happening! I can’t believe I’m finally home!” She twirls.
“Right?! I’m so damn excited to relax,” I mutter, dragging my bag across the glossy tile floor of the airport with my jacket half slipping off my shoulder.
“Relax? Vit my family? Ha! You’ve alvays been a funny girl, Connie,” Pyper scoffs, and I chuckle.
“Well, as long as my Black ass ain’t at my desk I’m relaxing. A win is a win,” I snort, shaking my head as we head over to customs.
“Agreed.” She nods, handing her passport to the immigration officer, and I purse my lips. After knowing this girl for the better part of six years, she’s never worked, but I digress. After I hand my passport over and answer their questions, we roll out through the airport. I raise a brow when I notice there’s a driver already waiting there with our names next to an all-black Explorer with tinted windows.
“Damn, Pyper. I knew your family had money, but I didn’t know you hadmoneymoney.” I raise a brow and she throws her hair over her shoulder, smirking.
“Da, zhis is perk for being second favorite,” she laughs, linking her arm in mine.
“Damn friend, if you’re second then who’s first? Alik?” I tease, referring to her brother, but she rolls her eyes.
“Ugh, don’t even ask,” she sighs, dragging me over to the car. I chuckle, kind of already knowing the answer, but I don’t tease her anymore. I just hop in the car because the driver immediately takes our things and starts loading them. We relax in the car and wait for them to drive off.Ugh, I can already tell this is the life.
I look out the window and lean back against the leather seat, boots propped on the edge of the door as I watch the city slide past. Moscow is… bigger than I thought. Not loud like New York, not beachy like LA, but it’s beautiful. Colorful buildings and glowing gold domes that catch the sky and look unreal.Everything is wide…wide streets, wide sidewalks, wide-ass space between people like they don’thaveto rush or bump shoulders.
And most of all, it’s cold. That’s my favorite part... it’s got that pretty, movie-type snow that dusts the trees and clings to the corners of street signs. However, the people don’t seem to mind in the slightest with their fur coats and black gloves. Everyone looks like they’re going somewhere important. Like they got power tucked in their pockets and secrets buried under their coats.They look like people that mind they damn mother fucking business, and I love that for me.
I close my eyes for what feels like a minute, but I know damn well it takes longer because by the time the driver tells us we’re pulling up, I check the time and it’s been three hours.Damn, how far away do they stay?
We drive up past a massive wrought-iron fence that opens after the driver shows his badge and I sit up eagerly, while Pyper ass sags, looking tired.
“Uh uh, where is all that damn excitement from the airport?” I ask, and she groans.
“It vas gone ze moment I zhought about having to deal vit my family… especially zhat one,” she sneers and I rub her back, trying to be as supportive as possible. I don’t really know much about Pyper’s family. I’ve only met Grandpa Viktor when he comes to visit her sometimes, and he dotes on me like I’m his own grandbaby.
Outside of him, Pyper doesn’t really talk about her family in Russia, other than the fact that they sometimes say things about the fact that she’s Russian American. I know she’s had some family members come to visit her and Alik in America sometimes, but they would always ghost.
It never bothered me, but I was still always curious about them. Hell, I’ve never even seen pictures of her family aside from the few people I know, Alik and Grandpa Viktor, and her and Alik’s parents, who were devastated about our break-up. Even her house is devoid of any family photos.
For the longest, I thought she would move back to Russia, but she never left, even after Alik broke up with me a year into our relationship, but nope. She stayed in the states and surprisingly, we became even closer after the breakup. As for why she doesn’t have any family photos… apparently they’re just weird like that. They just supposedly are the type of people who don’t like to display photos all willy-nilly.
At least that’s what Pyper said when I asked. Even when she went on a family reunion three years ago and I asked to see pictures, she said it’s forbidden… that shocked the hell out of me, but hey, like I said…I mind my own Black ass business.
I never ask or pry, but I do listen, and I constantly hear her say a few names that irk her nerves, the main one bein?—
“I svear, if Mikhail zhat son of a… ugh, if he so much as glares at you, you tell me. I protect you!” she sneers, and I cringe.Damn… is he that bad?
“I promise to let you know, but you don’t have to worry… I won’t be getting involved with him,” I assure her, because all I want to do is chill. She knows I have zero tolerance for relationships… been there, done that, zero out of ten, would not recommend.
I was already browsing where to splurge my PTO since I like to use it in one big whoop at the end of the year, so when she invited me to her family estate because Grandpa Viktor wanted to see me, I was excited because I know if I’m around Pyper, my world is quieter. Not only that, but I get to see my other bestie. So, it’s a win/win because not only was it not onmydime, but my girl flewed us out on a private ting!Yassssss!
“Vee have arrived,” the driver calls and hops out, opening the door for us. The second I get out, my jaw damn near drops to the fucking floor.
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter, looking over the massive mansion that could be featured inThe Architectural Digest. It’s quite literally the house of my dreams! The house looks like something out of Narnia with lots of invites natural lighting and white stone glowing beautifully in the sunset. It knocks the wind out of my sails just standing next to it…it’s simply perfection.
“It’s beautiful, da?!” Pyper beams, and I nod.
“Hell yeah!” I can only agree.
