Well, here's the third installment of this new story... I'm really glad you all seem to be enjoying the little twist... I think I'm going to have fun with this... hehehe
Anyway, I'm going away until Sunday, so I thought I'd update now and then again when I get back...
Enjoy everyone... Sandy
Three
The next two days where much the same. Dimitri and I trained; first running and then sparring. He was learning really fast and even though I still had a lot left to teach him, I knew it wouldn't be long before his strength alone would make up for what he lacked in technique. He was also just as distracting as he was when I first laid eyes on him. On the third day we were in the gym stretching before we started our run when he started up a conversation, which was odd in a way, he doesn't really talk much; unlike me, only when he has something to say or when he teases me.
"So how long have you known the Princess?" I hadn't told him anything about my bond with Lissa and I didn't know if he had already heard.
"Since we were in kindergarten together. Why?"
"I've seen you together and you seem really close, but you never talk about her when we're here. Oh, that reminds me," he said with a smirk, "Christian asked me if I knew if she was dating anyone, he thinks she's hot!" I smiled at the thought of telling Lissa when I saw her; she hadn't dated anyone since her brother Andre died. Thinking about him brought back memories of the accident, the one where she brought me back to life. After me she tried to save Andre too, but she was too weak to heal both of us. Andre was only half healed, he never regained consciousness and after twelve months on a respirator she made the decision to let him go; it nearly pulled her into a pit of depression, but with my help, she or should I say we, got through it. Christian might just be someone to bring a little light into her life.
"No, she's not dating anyone; she hasn't since her brother died three years ago. So you can let him know." He chuckled to himself and nodded.
"I will, don't know if he'll have the guts to do anything about it though."
"I didn't think he seemed the type to be scared of going after what he wants, from what I know, he's had his fair share of altercations."
"Yeah, but that's in situations where he knows he won't lose someone he..." he stopped talking, knowing he'd said too much.
"He still has problems over losing his family?" Dimitri nodded but said no more about it, so I didn't push. "Come on, I want to see you do five more laps." He turned to stare at me.
"Five more? Are you trying to kill me?" he asked.
"No... If I was trying to kill you, I just would." He just grinned and walked to the gym doors muttering to himself. I only caught the end of what he said.... as my Russian isn't all that good, but I heard him say, 'milaya moya', I'd snuck into Lissa's head enough during her Russian language classes in school to pick up on some words here and there, and those words meant 'my sweet'. I'll give him my sweet.... but first I'll let him sweat.... I followed him out to the track and we started running. After about five laps I was about to speed up when I looked over to him and said, "Time to speed up....my sweet." I made sure to emphasise that last word and the look on his face meant that he knew I'd picked up on some of what he'd said back in the gym. What he didn't need to know, was that I didn't understand all of what he said. We ran in silence for the rest of the run, every now and then I'd pick up the pace, I still beat him, but I wasn't beating him by the same margins anymore, even after this short time in training. Once we finished, we walked back to the gym.
"You understood...before?" he said. I just looked at him but didn't confirm or deny...
Rose, where are you? Said Lissa through the bond. My eyes focused on nothing, as usual when we spoke to one another like this.
In the gym, you know that, why?
I have something to tell you. I tried to see what it was but she had her barriers up.
Mmm, must be juicy if you're trying to hide it Liss. I smiled.
I've just met the most stunning guy.... His name is Christian. I instantly looked up to Dimitri, who was giving me the weirdest looks, and I couldn't help but smile. I must have looked like an absolute fruitcake, sitting there grinning to myself and staring into nothing...
Yeah, he's not bad, and from what I heard, he fancies you too... I felt a range of emotions through the bond, shock, excitement, anxiety and lastly, curiosity...
How do you know that?
Liss, I'm kinda busy right now, I'll meet you outside your classroom when I'm finished here alright?
Fine! I gave a little giggle at her expression of the word and looked back to Dimitri; an explanation was now on the cards.
"Sit down," I said to him as I walked to the mats. "How much do you know about me....and the Princess?" I asked him.
"Not much, why?" I took a deep breath trying to work out how to start the story off. I we were going to work together as much as we were, then he'd have to know about the bond. It was a little freaky to those who weren't used to it.
"I have a bit of a story to tell, but it's a little involved. But keep an open mind." He smiled as he made himself comfortable. He laid down on his side and propped himself up on his elbow. I started off at the accident; after all, that's where it all started.... this whole shadow-kissed crap. By the time I'd finished he was sitting up, legs crossed and totally in awe.
"That's just.... WOW!"
"So, what you saw before was..."
"You speaking to each other." He finished for me. I nodded.
"That's so cool. I bet you got really good grades at school huh. If you didn't know an answer, you could just ask the Princess through the bond and no-one would ever know." Oh God, he thought so much like me....that's exactly what we did, although I would never tell him that.
"No... We did not do that."
"Yeah sure... Ah-huh!" he said as he stood up. "You and me, we're two sides to the same coin. That's exactly what you two did, because that's exactly what Christian and I would do." He walked over to his gym bag so that he could go to his next class, which happened to be combat training and then turned with one of his amazing smiles. "See you in a few hours Teach." And then he walked out. I was obviously letting too much of myself out, he'd picked up a lot in the few days that we'd known each other. I was his mentor, not his best friend, nor anything else for that matter. I'd have to start setting some boundaries; I didn't want these fledgling feelings turning into something else.
I got up to quickly take a shower. I let Liss know that I'd meet her in about ten minutes. I got into one of the shower cubicles and felt all the tension fall away, the hot water on my skin always made me feel better. I did some of my best thinking while I slowly scorched my skin... I turned off the water and got out.... "Oh Crap!" I said... I'd forgotten to grab a towel on the way in and they were in a locker in the main bathroom. It was Tuesday, so the gym was not being used to day...thank God.... so I was just going to run over to the locker and grab one. I opened the shower door to run out and came face to face with Dimitri who was standing in the open doorway of the bathroom.
"I Ah... Um..." he muttered while staring at me. He quickly spun around, turning his back to me. "Shit, I'm sorry... I came in here to get something." I was mortified! I'd just made a pact with myself to build up some walls between us and now he's seem me completely naked.... Shit!
"Would you mind leaving for a minute please, I'll be out soon." I said with as little emotion as possible. I could feel my cheeks burning red... how on earth was I going to face him now. Shit, shit, shit!!! I grabbed a towel and went back to my shower to dry off and get dressed. I dragged my wet hair into a messy ponytail/bun type of thing and held my head up and walked out the bathroom doors. He was standing against the wall to my left as I came out, and I instantly felt my face flush again. "It's all yours." I said as I walked past him to leave. I didn't think he was going to say anything as I'd nearly got to the gym doors when he spoke up.
"Don't feel embarrassed, especially with a body like yours. I'm not." I stopped with my hands on the now open gym doors; my heart racing.... Do I go back and say something or do I just leave? In my confusion I didn't hear him come up behind me, but I did feel it when he put his hand on my shoulder. "I didn't mean to walk in on you. I'm sorry." I thought it best to look at him now rather than leave it till later when it may be even more awkward, so I turned around to find myself only inches from his body.
Being this close to him without the 'fight' in between us was....extremely distracting to say the least. His aftershave mixed with his sweat almost made me dizzy.... SHIT! I can't think straight, what in the hell's wrong with me? "Um...That was a little....awkward." I said. "You better get whatever you were after and get to your Combat class; Guardian Petrov won't be impressed if you're late." And up goes the wall.... He looked deep into my eyes and I don't know how I kept my hands from reaching up and pulling him to me. He nodded and walked back to the bathroom. I took a deep breath to clear my head and walked off to meet Lissa.
