Page 37 of Darling Dmitri

“Sounds glorious,” Julian deadpanned.

“Come on, big guy,” Carly said, tugging on Julian’s shirt. “Let’s go hang out by the pool. If we’re lucky, we have about thirty more minutes of good sun for tanning.”

“Watch it.” Julian slapped her hand away. “Don’t stretch out my shirt.” He started following Carly out of the room. He glanced back at me. “You comin’, shorty?” Julian thought I was short? In the gymnastic world, I was basically a giant. But in the normal world, five foot two was short.

“We’ll join you in a minute,” Theo said, pulling me along with her. “Does Dmitri know you’re here?”

We passed through a long hallway and descended some concrete stairs. “Do I need to have his permission?” Sometimes it irked me how Dmitri and I were always tied together, as if I couldn’t go anywhere on my own. Some things never changed.

“No.” She slid me a sly glance. “You didn’t tell him.”

“Why should I? He’s not my keeper.”

“True.” She tilted her head in admiration. “I think we’re going to be good friends.” With that, she opened the door, allowing me to pass through ahead of her. I looked around, seeing the ginormous flat screen on the wall with a simulated football game, an oversized leather sectional where Nick and Axel were seated with game controllers in their hands, and a small crowd gathered around them watching. There was a pool table, a poker table, and a fully stocked bar at the other end of the room. Yes, this was a man cave indeed.

“Touchdown!” Axel yelled, springing off the couch. “Game over, son.”

“Son of a bitch,” Nick growled, dropping his head back on the sofa, tossing the controller aside in disgust. There were cheers around them, and I was in awe how people could be so entranced by two guys playing a video game.

Axel motioned with his hand. “Pay up. One thousand.”

One thousand dollars? Jeez, did they really just bet one thousand dollars on a video game? “Fine.” Nick stood up like this was a daily occurrence and dug his wallet out of his pocket, pulling out a stack of cash and dropping it on the coffee table in front of them. Minutes later, the small crowd seemed to disband and thin out.

When Axel collected the money and sat back down, I noticed Dmitri splayed on the other end with none other than Julie, our cheer captain, perched on his lap in a skimpy neon bikini. She giggled at whatever he said and laid her forehead on his shoulder. I felt my chest tighten and realized my fingers were clenched against my palms.

“Here, Sorina, have a mimosa.” Kenzie waggled a plastic cup in front of me, then directed her gaze at her boyfriend. “Nick, quit sulking.”

“I don’t sulk. I just hate to lose,” he said, with a quirk of his lips, and glanced at me. “Hello, Dmitri’s ward.”

“Hi.” I pasted a smile on my face, determined not to let Dmitri affect me. However, when I did glance his way, his blue eyes were narrowed at me.

“Hey, lil’ troublemaker.” Axel caught my attention, lifting two fingers to his temple, giving me a salute and a wink. I was surprised Axel and Dmitri could share a sofa after what happened today, but there was a very generous space between them, enough to seat two or three people.

Dmitri scowled at both of his friends, taking in this scene as if it were something foreign. “What are you doing here?” he asked coldly.

“We invited her,” Theo replied, with hands on her hips.

“How?”

“Well, it was quite simple. There’s this invention called a cell phone, and you can text or call people. I can show you how it works. It’s been the rage for decades,” Kenzie offered, with the right touch of candor, passing Theo and me a cup.

“Look at that.” Axel grinned at Nick. “Did our girl just throw down some sarcasm?”

“I think she did.” Nick gazed at her with pride.

Dmitri sat sullen, rolling his tongue over his teeth.

“Anyway, we only came down here to get refreshments.” Theo spread her arms at Kenzie and me. “Ready for the pool?”

“Of course.” I took a sip of my drink and saw how Dmitri’s jaw ticked as he stared at my now-bare shoulder where my cover-up slipped down my arm. When his eyes reached mine again, I thought maybe he would demand I leave or put some clothes on, but instead, he said nothing. However, there was a glint in his eye that would’ve made a lesser person cautious.

As if I cared what he thought when Julie was still perched on his lap like his favorite pet. The sudden urge to shove her off him was getting stronger with every long second that ticked by. I needed to get a grip. I didn’t know what got into me when I swiped the cold cup against my neck and said, “I’m so hot right now. I’m looking forward to getting wet.” The “t” clipped against my teeth like a hiss as I forced myself not to chicken out and boldly hold his gaze.

“Damn,” Axel rasped, rubbing the back of his hand across his mouth.

I turned and followed the girls out, trying to steady my shaky hand. I heard Nick behind me say, “For some reason, I feel like I should get some popcorn ready.”

Dmitri

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