Page 80 of Always Yours

“But if I can guide you, why wouldn’t you accept that?”

“Because I don’t want to,” I say simply. “I won’t believe for one second that Dimitri is like these guys you speak of. I know he is not.”

“You only know what he lets you see,” he insists, and I shake my head.

“You’re not going to like what I’m about to say,” I say, and his brows knit. “We are together every day, minus the weekends, because we share an apartment.”

His eyes widen. “What?”

“A mistake was made. Shelli gave me a key, and Elli gave him the same. We didn’t say anything because we didn’t want to cause any issues, and we both didn’t want to leave the space.”

“That is unacceptable to force you to live—”

“No one forced me,” I cut in. “I made the choice. I didn’t want to pay for an apartment, and I didn’t want to be ungrateful to Shelli and Elli. They’ve done a lot for me.”

“You should have told me, Austen. Fuck, told them!”

“Why? I’m good. Want to know why? Because Dimitri respects me. He has never walked in on me when I’m changing, never comes into the bathroom if I am in there. We eat together, we watch TV, he plays his game, and I read my books. We go over my notes. He’s taught me so much, and yeah, he teases me and messes with me, but he has never made me feel the way I did when I was with my mom. Almost a month, I have lived with him, and I have never felt unsafe. I never feared that he would force himself on me. When I was with New Beginnings, I was scared daily someone would come in and do just that. But I sleep soundly in a room that shares a bathroom with his, and I have never felt safer.”

Peepaw works his lip, anger all over his face. “I don’t know what to say to that.”

“You don’t have to say a word,” I say softly. “It is unfair that you assume Dimitri is like every other guy out there—or worse yet, a cheating, no-good hockey player,” I say, my voice breaking. “Because he’s not. He is hardworking, kind, and furiously funny, and I enjoy him. A lot.”

So, why am I giving him space? I mean, I don’t want to pull a Quinn, but I sure as hell want to confront Dimitri and see what his issue is. I want to know what has happened, why he didn’t stay at the apartment, and why he hasn’t reached out. I look away from where Peepaw is drinking his coffee, and I know he’s trying to find his words. I don’t have time for that, though. Nothing he can say can cause me to think any differently of Dimitri.

“I don’t want you with him, Austen.”

“I don’t care,” I say, looking over at him. “And I mean that as respectfully as I can.”

“He will hurt you.”

“He won’t,” I urge, shaking my head. “And no one can change my mind, not even him.”

I reach for my phone and send him a text.

Me: We need to talk.

A text bubble comes up and then goes away, appearing once more before his text pops up.

Dimitri: I’m on my way to the rink for my workout. I can swing by after.

Me: Swing by? Are you moving out?

Dimitri: I don’t know. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.

Me: Well, I don’t like any of that.

Dimitri: No?

Me: No. Because I don’t want you to move out.

Dimitri: I’ll swing by, okay?

No, it’s not okay at all, and he’s about to find out why.

twenty-six

Dimitri

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