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Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.

CHAPTER 7

RPOV

"Seriously, Christian, if you're not going to man up right now, it's never going to happen," I said as we walked across campus. He really needed to do something about Lissa because his constant whining about her was starting to drive me crazy. "Soon she'll have forgotten all about you if you don't start talking to her."

"I know, I know," he muttered, stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets. "I'll try and talk to her if I see her alone or something."

I sighed. "Please do because this is just ridiculous. She asked me about you so it's clear that she's noticed you and probably likes you."

That was weeks ago, though. I'd told Christian as soon as I saw him after I'd bumped into Lissa and he'd been ecstatic, but he'd still not tried to talk to her.

I glanced down at my watch. "I really need to go now. Dimitri's coming to pick me up in a few."

Christian raised his eyebrow. "Dimitri?"

Shit, I should not have said that. "Umm, yeah," I admitted awkwardly. "I'm going swimming with him and the kids. They wanted me to come so yeah…"

"Wow," he said, clearly surprised. "They must like you a lot. Can't see why, though," he teased. I elbowed him and he grinned. "Well, have fun."

"Thanks," I said before walking off and returning to my dorm room.

DPOV

I wish I'd thought things through before inviting Rose to come swimming with us. Just one glance at her in her little red bikini told me it had been a mistake.

Quickly, I averted my eyes from her before she caught me looking at her body. She did not need to know I was attracted to her. It would only cause problems and not to mention, things would be awkward if she ever found out.

I sat at the edge of the pool, looking at my children playing around with Rose. I didn't let Liam out of my sight once. He'd only just learned how to swim. But I knew he'd be safe; Rose was with him.

"Dad! Come on in," Alisa said, waving me over.

I'd rather just stay here at the side so I'd be far away from Rose, but my daughter was looking at me pleadingly so I jumped in and swam over to them. Immediately, Liam climbed onto my back and then on my shoulders.

"Stand up, Daddy," he ordered.

"Hey, careful there," I said as I stood up.

I felt Liam letting go of me so I quickly grabbed his legs so he didn't fall off.

"Look how tall I am now!" he exclaimed. "Rose, look!"

Rose glanced up and smiled.

"Now I'm taller than you," he stated, grinning proudly.

Rose poked him in the side. "Yeah, that's easy to say now, huh? You're sitting on your father's shoulders."

I took him off my shoulders and put him back down into the water and he went off to play with his sisters.

"Hey, don't go too far!" I called after them.

Rose swam to the side of the pool, resting her arms on the edge. Against my better judgment, I followed her.

"So, um, thank you for coming with us today," I said after a few moments had passed. "They really seem to have a great time with you here."

She smiled. "It's fine. I'm having a great time, too."

"You do?" I asked, a little surprised. I thought she was just here to do Liam a favor.

"Yeah. You have lovely kids, Dimitri," she said smiling. "I don't mind hanging out with them – even when I don't get paid for it," she teased. Then she turned sober again. "And I don't mind hanging out with you, either."

I didn't know why, but that comment just made my day. I smiled at her and she smiled back.

Averting my eyes from her, I said, "We never used to do things like this, as a family, you know. Tasha…" I sighed. I never really talked about Tasha to anyone, except for Ivan. It was kind of strange telling someone else about her now, but it felt good. I trusted Rose. "Tasha never wanted to. She wasn't keen on family outings. So, usually, she didn't come with us. Seeing how happy my kids are now, because you came along… well, I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Dimitri," she said, giving me a small smile. "And if you ever feel the need to talk about Tasha – or anything else – you can always talk to me…if you want to."

I was about to respond when I felt someone tug at my arm. I looked down and saw Alisa.

"Daddy, I need to pee," she said. Glancing at the bathroom, she mumbled, "But I don't want to go alone."

I looked into the bathroom's direction and noticed a couple of guys standing nearby. She was probably afraid to go past them on her own.

"I'll go with you," Rose offered, noticing the guys too.

Alisa smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

Rose climbed out of the pool and I quickly glanced away from her. I couldn't help myself and watch her as she left with Alisa. My eyes drifted down to her ass and I had to force myself to look away. I noticed that the guys near the bathroom were staring at her, too, as she walked past them. I couldn't really blame them; she looked very beautiful. I didn't like the way they looked at her, though. Like she was a piece of meat. I know I'd been staring at her too, but not like that.

I quickly turned away from them, just when Inna and Liam came swimming towards me.

"Can we go to McDonalds tonight?" Liam asked, looking at me with puppy dog eyes.

"Sure." Inna and Liam both lit up with excitement. "But just so you know, that's not going to happen every week," I added quickly.

A few minutes later, Alisa came back.

"Where's Rose?" I asked.

"Those guys are talking to her," she said, pointing at the group of guys from earlier. "She told me to go back to you."

I watched the guys talk to Rose. She had her arms crossed and wasn't looking particularly pleased. In fact, she looked mad.

"I'll be right back," I muttered, getting out of the pool. "You stay here. Inna, please watch Liam."

She nodded and I stalked off to the group of guys forming around Rose. When I got closer, I could hear part of the conversation.

"…tell you what, why don't we go somewhere private and have some fun?" one of the guys said as he inched closer to Rose and put his arm around her shoulders.

She immediately pushed him off of her. "No, thanks," she said dismissively.

I cleared my throat and they all looked up at me. "Is everything okay here?"

"Yeah sure, everything's fine. We were just talking about what we're going to do with this beauty here," another guy said, winking.

"Yeah, well, that's not going to happen. She's with me," I said, glaring at him. I held out my hand to Rose and she smiled at me gratefully before taking it. "Let's go, Roza."

I put my hand on the small of her back and led her away from the guys, glaring at them one last time as we left.

"Thank you," Rose said.

"It's fine," I said. I realized my hand was still resting on her lower back so I quickly let go of her. "They weren't looking really friendly so I thought I'd come over…"

"Yeah, they were pretty persistent," she muttered. "Assholes. I would've punched them in the face if we'd been alone, but I didn't want to cause a scene." I arched an eyebrow. "And, well, it wouldn't have set an example for your kids, would it?" she added, grinning.

I shook my head. "I don't think punching those guys would be a great idea for you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she said, looking at me indignantly. "You think I can't take them?"

"I don't doubt your courage, but they're with a lot more," I said, a little hesitant. She really could be feisty sometimes and I didn't doubt she would've punched them if I hadn't come over, but then she would've only made things worse for herself. "And they're probably, well, stronger than you are."

"Why? Because they're guys and I'm a girl?"

"Y-yes," I said, backing up slowly.

She gasped.

"You're going to pay for that," she said and before I knew it, she'd pushed me into the water. She jumped in after me and grinned. "Your dad's been unkind to me," she said to my kids, who'd swam over to us. "We should punish him."

They all attacked me at the same time, yelling and screaming. My mouth dropped open and I looked at Rose, who was grinning wickedly. I narrowed my eyes at her and she winked at me.

When I finally freed myself from my kids, I made my way over to Rose. She started swimming away, but wasn't quick enough.

"Oh no, you don't," I said, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her back. "That was unfair, you know."

She looked at me, grinning. "What, you can't fight off three kids? Are you a girl?" she teased.

"You're going to pay for that," I said, using her words, and I started tickling her sides.

Rose giggled and squirmed in my arms. "Stop! Dimitri, stop it."

She managed to free herself her and splashed water in my face, laughing. I splashed her back and then she disappeared under water. Suddenly, I felt a tug at my legs and I toppled backwards into the water. Rose surfaced, laughing even harder now.

"Dammit, Roza," I growled, grabbing her by the waist again.

"You should've seen the look on your face," she giggled. "I'm sorry, but that was too damn funny."

"I'm glad you think it's so funny," I said dryly.

She turned around in my arms and put her hands on my arms. "Oh, don't be so grumpy now," she teased.

"I am not grumpy," I said and I smiled.

"That's better," she said and she smiled too.

I suddenly realized my hands were still on her waist and that we were standing way too close. She seemed to realize this too, because her eyes widened. I quickly let go of her and stepped back, averting my eyes from her.

"Um, I'm going to find the kids," I said, clearing my throat. "We should probably leave soon. They want to go to McDonalds so yeah…"

"Okay, I'll go with you," she said quietly, not looking at me.

Luckily, they weren't too far away. Half an hour later, we were ready to leave for dinner and in those thirty minutes, I hadn't talked to Rose a single time. I didn't even dare look at her anymore after what had happened in the pool. Well, nothing really happened, but still… I think I got carried away a little bit too much.

But it was just so easy, talking to Rose, being around her… She made me feel good, unlike with Tasha. It had definitely never been this easy with Tasha. Nothing had ever been easy with Tasha.

"So, um, would you like to join us for dinner?" I asked as we walked back to the car, stuffing my hands into my jeans pockets.

"Oh, sure," Rose said and she grinned. "I could never say no to some fries and a burger."

I smiled, glad this awkward tension was gone. "Great."

It turned out she could eat a lot more than some fries and a burger. It was more like two burgers and lots of fries. I should've expected this because I'd already seen her appetite at the pizzeria that one time, but it still stunned me.

"Thanks again for coming with us today," I said as I dropped her off at campus.

"It's fine. I had a great time," Rose said smiling. She turned in her seat and looked at the kids. "I'll see you guys next week!"

Rose got out of the car and stepped aside, waving at us, as I drove off. I looked into my rearview mirror and noticed Liam had fallen asleep. Alisa rested her head on Inna's shoulder and yawned.

"You had fun today?" I asked.

They both nodded, too tired to say something. Liam was still fast asleep when we got home so I carried him to him upstairs and lay him down in his bed.

Inna and Alisa stayed up for another while, watching TV, but soon enough they went to bed, too. I followed them upstairs, kissing them goodnight. I checked on Liam one last time before going to my own room.

As I lay awake in bed, I couldn't help but think of Rose. I kept picturing her in that red bikini of hers. She'd just been so beautiful and, well, hot. That definitely, too. But she was a lot more than just beautiful. She was kind, funny, smart –

Stop thinking about her like that, I chastised myself. She's your kids' babysitter, not to mention that she's several years younger than you are!

Frustrated with myself, I shut my eyes and forced myself to think about something else until I fell asleep at last.

That was it for this chapter. I hope you liked the swimming trip. It seemed like Rose and Dimitri certainly enjoyed it ;)

Have a nice day/evening! :)