Marry Me

Forever can never be long enough for me/ To feel like I've had long enough with you/ Forget the world now, we won't let them see/ But there's one thing left to do/ Now that the weight has lifted/ And love has surely shifted my way/ Marry me, today and everyday/ Marry me, if I ever get the nerve to say hello in this café/ Say you will/ Hmmmmm/ Say you will/ Hmmmmm/ Together can never be close enough for me/ To fell like I am close enough to you/ You wear white and I wear out the words/ "I love you" and "You're beautiful"/ Now that the wait is over/ And love has finally showed her my way/ Marry me, today and everyday/ Marry me, if I ever get the nerve to say/ hello in this café/ Say you will/ Hmmmmmmm/ Say you will/ Hmmmmmm/ Promise me you'll always be happy by my side/ I promise to sing to you when all the music dies/ Marry me, today and everyday/ Marry me, if I ever get the nerve to say hello in/ this café/ Say you will/ Hmmmm/ Say you will/ Hmmmm/ Marry me/ Hmmmm

"Belikov, would you hurry, please?" Christian's voice floated from the living room.

Dimitri smirked, knowing all to well why his boss was rushing him. And because of that, he sauntered slowly into the living room, and drawled out, accent exaggerated, "What's the rush?"

Christian squinted, suspicious. He was well aware that Dimitri was teasing him, but they were ten minutes late and he suspected Belikov was doing it on purpose. "If we don't hurry, we'll lose our table."

"And you absolutely need that table? We could always grab our coffee and just drink it while walking to the office. It's a nice day out."

Christian opened his mouth, about to come up with another lame excuse, when he saw the glint in his friends' eye. "Dude, either hurry up, or I'm leaving without you." He opened the door and waited for Dimitri to reply.

"I'm not on the clock, boss, you can't make me hurry."

"No, but you are on the friendship clock, and we can't be friends anymore if you don't hurry."

"You realize how childish you sound, right?"

"Yes."

"And do you care?"

"No."

Dimitri nodded once. "Fair enough," he grabbed his coat from the coat rack and passed Christian out into the hallway. "Let's get a move on, boss man."

The walk to the café was uneventful, except for the fact that Christian had a slight hop to his step, which made Dimitri wonder if today was The Day. The day he would finally get the nerve to talk to that girl.

"The regular, Dimitri?" Mia asked from behind the counter, her blonde, springy curls hidden from view in the uniform cap on her head.

"Yes, ma'am," Dimitri answered, reaching into his pocket for his wallet while simultaneously checking on Christian. It was true that he wasn't technically on the clock yet, but it was hard to brush off habit.

"If you call me 'ma'am' one more time, I'm going to have to spit in your drinks," Mia said with a glare before turning to prepare the order.

Dimitri smiled slightly, amused. "I'm sorry, what would you prefer I called you?"

"Oh, I don't know. Mia. Goddess Divine. Baby. Whatever you prefer." She placed the cups on the counter and smiled cheekily, a smile flashing on her full cheeks.

"Miss Rinaldi, are you allowed to flirt with customers?" Dimitri put a hand to his chest, feigning shock.

"My boss said whatever will get me tips."

"Well, that will definitely get you a tip," he placed a twenty dollar bill in the tip jar that stood in front of the register.

Mia grinned, "How about you take that twenty back, and take me on a date?"

"Oh, no can do, baby. See, my heart belongs to another."

"Who?"

"Christian." Dimitri smirked before turning to the order. He was afraid of taking everything at once, because if he dropped anything, Christian would turn into a full-fledged diva. And he sincerely wished he was joking, but he, and the entire café, had seen it happen once. Luckily, his (imaginary) girlfriend hadn't been there that day so there was no need for him to mope from embarrassment.

"You two have a weird relationship, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if you two realize you secretly harbor feelings for each other and become a couple."

"You and me both, my dear." Dimitri grabs the cups and turns, Mia's laughter behind him as she turns to the next customer.

"Need help?" Dimitri quickly glances up, surprised. He hadn't heard anyone behind him. "Oh! Hi. Um, sure, could you?"

The short brunette grinned, "Yessir," and grabbed the muffin.

"Thanks." They make their way to the table, swerving around wayward chairs and the legs of the inconsiderate. Once they place everything on the table, Dimitri turned back with a smile ready. "Thank you, again."

Rose waved her hand, and gave him a crooked smile. "Absolutely no problem. I'm Rose, by the way."

Dimitri nodded. "I know. I'm Dimitri Belikov."

"Yea, Christian was telling us."

"Us?" Dimitri asked, taken aback, before looking at the table. Christian wasn't sitting there, instead, he was sitting across from a beautiful blonde.

"Him and Lissa hit it off pretty well, and they eventually forgot about my existence. I saw you at the counter and figured you needed some help."

Dimitri nodded, looking down at Rose. "Right. Thanks."

For the past two years, he and Christian would go down to Rinaldi's Café every Tuesday at 8 a.m. They would sit there, drinking their coffee for thirty minutes, then make the ten minute walk to Christian's office. And their routine had worked, nothing disturbed it, until one winter morning, when Christian spotted Lissa Dragomir. Dimitri had to admit she was very pretty, but she looked like a lot of other girls: blonde, tall, bright green eyes. To him, there wasn't anything special about her, except for maybe the fact that she seemed to exude a regal air. Other than that, she was just another pretty girl. Christian was smitten.

For two weeks, every Tuesday, they saw her there, sitting at the table right next to theirs, staring out the window. Then one Tuesday, someone was there with her. She was short, had naturally tanned skin (or, Dimitri assumed it was tan, because it was the middle of winter and she didn't seem like the spray tan kind of girl), dark hair and almond eyes. She exuded sensuality and confidence and spunk. After that change of events, Dimitri was excited every Tuesday, but he never let Christian see. If he did, he'd get teased mercilessly.

"How long has Christian been in love with Lissa?"

Dimitri knew he should have been surprised by the question, but he wasn't. After months of observation (because that was what he was calling it, obersvation. Not obsession.) he concluded that Rose was the type of woman who blurted out her first thought. "Since day one."

"So for four months, he's been getting the nerve to ask her out?"

Dimitri nodded as he pulled a chair out and motioned for Rose to sit. "Yup. I'm actually kind of surprised he even got the courage to go over there now."

"So what kind of guy is he?" Rose leaned forward, her elbows on the table, intently studying Dimitri's face.

Although he liked that her face was so close, it made him slightly uncomfortable, so he leaned back as he answered. "He's great. Nice, smart, funny."

"Boring." She crossed her arms as she leaned back. Dimitri felt her leg brush against his as she crossed them, and he wondered if she was aware of the effect she had on him.

"Fine. If I were into guys, in any way, I'd be all over him."

"You're kidding."

Dimitri nodded to Mia, who was helping a customer. "Ask her if you don't believe me."

Rose grinned, flashing pearly white teeth. "Fine. I believe you."

"Good. And Lissa?"

"What about Lissa?"

"What kind of girl is she?"

Rose shrugged. "She's great, anyone would be lucky to have her."

Dimitri leaned forward, this time getting in her face. "You see that guy over there? He might not look like much, but he's my best friend. Has been for years. So I'd like to hear more than just 'she's great'. If you don't mind."

Rose studied him, pink lips smirking slightly. "Yes."

Dimitri gave her a questioning glance, confused. "Yes what?"

"Yes, I'll go out with you."

"What?" His eyes widened.

"It's simple, really. You pick me up at my apartment on Friday at 7, take me out to eat, and, if you're really lucky, I might just kiss you goodnight after you walk me to my front door." Her smirk turned sarcastic, and a playful look shined in her eyes.

Dimitri sat, silent, for a minute, processing the information. Then, when he finally realized what had happened, he gave the girl before him a full-blown smile. A smile that sent heat all through her body. "Great."

Hey, everybody! So, if you've already read this story through, you probably saw my author's note. If you haven't, let me explain: I have decided to not only continue this story, but to edit chapter that have already been posted. So, if you've already read and decided to re-read and got confused, it is a bit different. See, I wrote this when I was very young, and I feel like my writing has improved significantly. Because of that, instead of just continuing, I wanted to edit, so that everything has the same tone and style. I know, I'm weird, but oh well.

The premise is still the same: each chapter will be associated with a song and the lyrics will be included. So, no, I do not own any of the songs, I do not own any of these characters. I am simply having fun. I expect no profit or anything. And I ask for none.

Oh! And yes, I deleted the prologue. I didn't like it. I might edit it and put it up later, but for now, no prologue.

I hope you guys enjoy this story.

Thanks!

Sam