Hi, wow. Thank you for all the reviews!

For the eye color thing, I AM SO SORRY! I didn't even realize that I did that. I'm so sorry for the people I made angry.

So if you forgive me, please review :)

Put A Little Gravel In My Travel

Where to start. That's what I thought as I stared at the blank wall. Yesterday I mapped everything out, and taped it. Today, it was time to start painting, but I had no idea where to start.

"Rose!" I looked over and saw Lissa and Emilee walking over.

"Hey guys." I said turning back to the blank wall.

"What are you up too?" Lissa asked.

"I don't know where to start." I sighed

"Do you want some help?" Emilee asked smiling.

"Sure, how about you and Lissa work on the grass and I'll work on the sky." I said handing them paint brushes. Lissa and Emilee said side by side as they painted the grass. I stood on my tip toes trying to get as much of the top as I could.

"Having trouble?" Lissa asked once she noticed how frustrated I was getting.

"I just want to get the top done." I whined.

"Dimitri!" I heard Lissa shout. I turned and saw him walk over. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Depends what it is." he said looking at me.

"We don't have a ladder and Rose needs to get the top of the painting done, why don't you let her sit on your shoulders." Lissa suggested.

"No, Lissa I can't asked him to do that."

"It's fine." Dimitri said "Hand me the paint holder, and I'll hold it so you can just dip it and paint." I handed him the holder and he knelt so I could get on. Once he stood up I felt as tall as a tree.

"I'm so sorry." I said as I dipped my paint roller and started painting.

"I'm off again today so it wasn't like I had anything to do." Dimitri told me.

"Well thank you." I finished most of the wall when I noticed that my legs were starting to hurt. "Why don't we stop for now." Dimitri knelt down and I got off. Then I noticed all the paint over his face. "Ohmygosh!"

"What?" he said. Lissa and Emilee laughed at him.

"You got paint on your face, Uncle Dimitri!" Emilee told him.

"Here, I got it." I took a spare rag I had, wet it with my water bottle and wiped all the paint off his face. "There you go."

"Thanks." he said. I looked over and Lissa and Emilee had finished the grass. For a five year old Emilee was pretty good at painting.

"That's all for today, tomorrow I'll work on the people and buildings." I told them "Thank you, for helping. "

"No problem." Lissa said wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "Want to come over tonight and go night swimming?"

"I don't know the last time I came over-"

"What happened?" Emilee asked innocently.

"Nothing you need to know about." Dimitri said picking her up "Come on, I'll buy you ice-cream." Emilee clapped her hands together as they walked off.

"No drinking tonight, just fun. Plus," Lissa smiled "Dimirti will be there."

"Stop, I don't like him." I lied.

"I'm sorry." Lissa said smiling "I'll see you later."

"I thought you said no drinking." I said to Lissa when she answered the door around midnight with a beer in her hand.

"No drinking for you." she told me and stepped aside. We walked into her backyard where Dimitri and Kyle were already swimming. I took off my tank and shorts and stepped slowly down into the cold water. Lissa, being the brave one did a cannonball and jumped in.

"Lissa, calm down." Kyle said once she resurfaced.

"Hey." Dimitri said as I slowly walked in the water to warm myself up.

"Hello." I said rubbing my arms.

"Cold?" Dimitri said smiling. God I loved it when he smiled

"Just a little." he motioned me over and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I was thankful for his warmth. "Thank you."

"Alright!" Lissa said loudly "It's time for a little truth or dare."

"Lissa, seriously?" Dimitri complained.

"Come on, it's fine. Kyle start." she said.

"Alright, Lissa, truth or dare?" he asked.

"I'm twenty four and playing truth or dare." I heard Dimitri mumble under his breath.

"Truth." she said smiling

"Have you ever cheated on a boyfriend?" Lissa thought about it for a second.

"Nope. Alright, Rose, truth or dare?" I didn't want to also pick truth, because I felt that was an easy way out.

"Dare." I mumbled.

"Take your top off." my mouth dropped open. "You can cover your boobs with your arms but top off." I could feel my cheeks burning. I turned around and untied the back and the top and threw it on the side of the pool. I folded my arms across my chest so all you saw was cleavage.

"Dimitri, truth or dare?" I asked avoiding eye contact.

"Truth." he said. Shit, I should have just picked truth too.

"Why don't you have a girlfriend?" I asked him.

"Who said I don't?" I looked up and he was giving me a devilish smile.

"Well, do you?"

"No." he said "Kyle, truth or dare?"

"Dare, man." Kyle who was completely drunk said.

"I dare you, to run around the yard naked." Kyle didn't need any help with that. He pulled his shorts of and ran around the whole yard and finally jumped back into the pool.

"Alright, Belikov I dare you to kiss Rose." I looked at Kyle stunned.

"You didn't even ask me truth or dare." Dimitri said.

"I don't give two shit's. Kiss her, or forever be known as a pussy." Dimitri looked at me, and moved closer. It was awkward because when got close my arms would get in the way. He was just inches from my lips when Lissa screamed.

"What?" Kyle asked. Then she started laughing

"No, I'm fine I just thought I saw someone in the trees. This is boring, let's get out." I let everybody get out first, and then I went last when I went to grab my top it was gone.

"Guys, where's my top?" I looked around and Kyle was laughing "Where did you put it?"

"I don't know." Kyle said laughing.

"Here" Dimitri said and wrapped a towel around me.

"Thanks." I whispered. I felt embarrassed mainly because I wasn't wearing a top and I almost kissed Dimitri.

"You need a ride home?" I shook my head. I really, really felt embarrassed. I grabbed my stuff and headed for the door. After about twenty minutes of walking I regretted not having Dimitri drive me home.

When I finally did reach the house my dad was sound asleep. I showered and crawled into bed. Then it hit me, I almost kissed Dimitri Belikov.

"Dad," I said as I ate my cereal the next morning "I got this offer to paint a mural and I want you to come and see it."

"Yeah, sure." he mumbled and went back to texting on his phone.

"How about dinner tonight? We haven't hung out since we went out to dinner the first day I got here."

"I can't tonight, Rose." he bend down and kissed my forehead "I'm staying late tonight, don't wait up." Alone that's how I felt, and pissed off. I changed into junk clothes and walked to the park to start painting. I painted out of anger and because of it I got almost the whole mural done.

"Hey." I heard Lissa say coming up behind me.

"Hi." I said cleaning off my brushes and sticking them in my bag.

"So, did you have fun last night?" I shrugged "Come on, you know you did."

"I don't know." I told her. I started walking back to the beach house and she followed me.

"Are you mad at me or something?" she said catching up to me.

"Listen, you're about the only friend I have here. I would like to hangout with you and you not be drunk. And that Kyle guy, yeah I get it, he's your boss, but he's bad news. So take my advice and ditch him, you're a smart and pretty girl and you can find someone so much better."

Her shocked expression told me she didn't know what to say so I just walked back to my house. I was half temped just to pack up and leave but I loved how quite it was. I grabbed myself some iced tea and walked out onto the back pouch. I was relaxing in one of the lounge chairs when Dimitri walked up, in uniform, his steps loud.

"Who the hell do you think you are." he said .Oh god was he pissed.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him.

"My sister comes home crying, saying you yelled at her? What the hell did you do?"

"Nothing, I just told her that she should stop drinking and stop seeing Kyle, it's not that big of a deal." I told him

"Not that big of a deal?" Dimitri said "I don't know where you're from but down here we don't hurt people's feelings. We don't go into other people's lives."

"I wasn't digging in her life, I was simply stating my opinion!" I yelled.

"Yeah, well mind your own damn business." he yelled back.

"Screw you, and your fucking mood swings."

"Excuse me?" he said and advanced on me. I stopped when my back hit the door.

"You heard me. You have mood swings like a girl, you're happy one minute and pissed the next."

"Like hell I am."

It's true!" I poked him in the chest with my finger "Last night you were fine with me and now you're a crazy, psycho-" I was cut off when he took the hand that was poking his chest and pinned it against the wall.

"Do not tell me what I'm feeling." he growled "You have no idea."

"Really?" I said. I wasn't think and I knew this was out of anger but I leaned up and kissed him. I thought was going to pull away but then his free hand slipped to my waist and pulled me closer to him. I was about to wrap my free arm around his neck when he pulled away. We were both breathing heavily.

"Don't ever do that again." he ordered "And stay the hell away from my sister." He walked off without another word. I slowly slipped to the floor.

"Christian, please tell you're going to come down." I said to my best guy friend over the phone.

"I am, but in a week. You think you can survive that long?" he asked laughing.

"No, people hate me. My dad is never home, oh and did I mention I have no friends down here?"

"I think you did once, or twice."

"I'm sorry to be disturbing you, I'm going to go walk around the town." I told him.

"Wait, what time is it there?"

"Ten at night, why?"

"People aren't sleeping yet?" he asked amazed.

"No, idiot. There's some dance, thing - get together. I don't know, but the whole town usually goes, so I thought why not."

"Alright, well have fun. Call me, later."

"I will." I told him and hung up. I changed into a strapless white dress that fell a few inches above the knee. I let my hair down, and slipped into sandals. I walked into town, the whole time thinking that I seriously needed a car.

The town was packed there were games, and music. Kind of like a festival. I walked around not knowing what I would find, then it hit me. I was basically the only one here without a date. I saw Dimitri, and Lissa but I didn't make eye contact with them.

I was walking around when a tall women approached me. She had black hair and winter blue eyes, wait it was the girl that Dimitri was talking to the night I got drunk, what was her name?

"Hi, are you Rose?" I nodded "I'm Natasha, but you can call me Tasha." Tasha, that's right.

"Can I help you." I asked her.

"In fact you can, stay away from Dimitri." I didn't have time to react when she took her, very red drink, and dumped it on over my white dress.

"Oh my god, Tasha." Lissa said running over to my side. "What the hell is wrong with you."

"I'm just teaching her a lesson, it's how we do it down here. " Why did everybody keep using that line? Lissa hauled me off to her house which was two seconds away.

"Here, take this." she said handing me a shirt. I slipped my dress off and pulled the shirt on. Her phone rang "Shit, sorry I have to take this." she walked out of the room, I slipped my shoes off and went to he sink. I started scrubbing my dress and before I knew it I was crying.

I'd been maybe a week and I was already crying. I couldn't help it, from Lissa, to Dimitri and now Tasha. I could hold it in any longer. The tears just came as I scrubbed the stain, that wouldn't fade. I felt a pair of hands pry my dress away from me and when I turned it was Dimitri, I took a step back.

"I'm sorry, you told me to stay away but Lissa brought me here." I sniffled and wiped a few tears away.

"It's fine." we stood there for a moment in awkward silence "What's Tasha did, I'm sorry."

"It's fine." I mumbled grabbing my dress and wringing it out. " I should go."

"Rose, can we talk?" he asked me.

"I really should go." I told him.

"About this afternoon, the kiss..."

"Yeah?" I asked having an inch of hope that he might say he enjoyed it as much as I did.

"That can't ever happen again. There's a six year age difference, and you're friends with my sister. I don't want things to be awkward." I was speechless.

The only thing I could manage was a weak "Why?"

"Because Rose," he said pausing "I don't like you like that." Fuck my life.

I laid the next day, rethinking the reason I came here. For my dad. My dad who is never home, and can never hangout. Friends? I had none. Love? Oh right the only guy I liked said he didn't like me. I don't know why it hurt me, I mean we've only known each other for a week, but I liked him.

There was a knock at the front door. I pulled myself out of my bed and opened the door. "Christian!" I shouted launching myself into his arms.

"Hey Rose." he said hugging me.

"I thought you weren't coming until next week?"

"I could hear how sad you were, I wasn't going to not come." he told me.

"What about your girlfriend?" I asked him. He had been dating a very pretty model when I left.

"Dumped her. Now, are you going to let me in?"

"Of course." I said moving aside. Christian set his bags down and walked out on the back porch.

"I can see why you like it here, it's peaceful." he said looking at me "You've been crying."

"I didn't tell you that Dimitri and I kissed." I admitted to him "Then last night he basically told me to my face that we could never do that again because 'he didn't like me like that'."

"Is there another girl?" Christian asked.

"His ex, Tasha. Who dumped a drink on me."

"Please, please tell me you beat the crap out of her?" I shook my head "What happened to you? You used to be so tough."

"Therapy." I said smiling

"Yeah, yeah. So you going to show me this mural?" We got to the park and explained my concept. "I like it."

"Really? Because at first I thought it was dumb, but I've started to really like it." I told him. I saw someone approach from behind and turned to see Lissa.

"Hi." she said smiling at me. She handed me a plastic bag "You forgot your shoes at my house." I looked and Christian couldn't take his eyes off her. "I also want to thank you. I've taken your advice."

"Really?" I asked, she nodded "Lissa, that's fantastic."

"It is, and I hope this means that we can still be friends?" I leaned forward and hugged her.

"Of course. I actually want you to meet one of my best friends from back home. Christian this is Lissa."

"Hi." Lissa said blushing and shaking his hand.

"I didn't know a girl could turn that shade of red." Christian joked which made Lissa turn even more red.

"Christian, stop." I said nudging him.

"Alright, well I have to go pick up Emilee but I'll text you." Lissa yelled as she walked away.

"She is very attractive." Christian said not taking his eyes off her.

"Go for her, I think you'll be good for her."

"Really?"

"Mhm, she needs someone stable in her life." I told him.

"I don't really think you should be giving advice when you can't even manage one guy."

"Christian, don't."

"What? I'm simply stating a fact."

"Yeah, well shut the hell up." I said walking. A cruiser pulled down the street, my heart started beating fast but when I looked it wasn't Dimitri.

"You okay?" Christian asked looking at me.

"Yeah." I lied. I really just wanted to go back home.

So, what do you think?

Once, again thank you for all the reviews! Also sorry about the eye color thing.

I'm really enjoying this story.

I'm almost seven months pregnant so if I don't update right away I'm sorry!

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