~ Chapter 9 ~
Four days after the rest of the school graduated, I woke up in Dimitri's arms. I was really tired as I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. I grinned as memories from the night before came back to me. It was our last night at the Academy, and we wanted to make it memorable. He woke up and looked back at me with a goofy smile on his face. I looked over him to his bedside table. We still had four hours before we had to report to the Academy airport to go to the royal Moroi Court.
"So Comrade, what are we doing today?" I asked him with a smile.
"Are you ever going to stop calling me Comrade?" He asked me.
"Never. Besides I know you secretly like it," I teased him.
"What makes you say that?" He asked curiously.
I studied him before I answered, trying to figure out how to explain how I could practically read his soul without sounding like a complete sap. "Because I can see how the corners of your lips go up in a smile every time I say it. I can see how your eyes light up a little bit. I can't really explain it, but I just know. It makes you feel special kind of like how you calling me Roza makes me feel special," I told him honestly and I could see I hit the mark.
He looked at me shocked. "How do you know these things?"
"I just do. Like how you know things about me that no one else sees," I pointed out to him. it was true. We really didn't need words to communicate. I could have up my most neutral guardian mask and Dimitri would be able to read the emotions that lurked below it with ease.
He nodded in agreement. "Point taken." I could see the small smile on his lips. He was proud of the connection we had.
"So back to my initial question. What are we doing today?" I hoped that we would be able to repeat some of the things we had done last night. Dimitri may think he doesn't have much experience, but he really knows what he's doing.
"Whatever you want to do," he told me kissing my forehead.
I was about to tell him exactly what I wanted to do, but I was interrupted by a knock on his door. While I was no longer his student, it would still be awkward for someone to walk in on Dimitri being with me. Dimitri, at least, was in boxers. I was completely naked, my clothes discarded hours ago. He pointed silently towards his wardrobe as he pulled on his pajama pants. I climbed in and listened carefully.
I heard Alberta's voice. "Belikov. I came here to te… Is Rose here?"
I stared at the door to the wadrobe horrified. I started to hold my breath, sure that she heard my breathing and that's how she knew I was there. "Rose?" Dimitri asked playing dumb.
"Unless you suddenly fit in a small dress and wear a pink bra?" Alberta asked amused. I was confused for a second, then remembered that Dimitri had thrown my clothes in the corner. We hadn't been particularly concerned with where our clothes had landed, but suddenly I was wishing we had been more careful and had thrown them in a less visible corner.
Dimitri sighed in resignation. "Rose come out," Alberta called. I quickly grabbed one of Dimitri's t-shirts and pulled it over my head. It fit me like a tent, but it covered everything I needed it to. I was surprised by how soft it was. I walked out of his wardrobe a little embarrassed. Dimitri's face was bright red and I'm sure mine was too.
"Hi Alberta," I said quietly, not looking at her. I was absolutely mortified. It was one thing to make jokes about having sex, it was another for her to walk in on us when we had blatantly had sex.
Alberta laughed, clearly not picking up on what she had walked into. "You know you guys don't have to hide anymore right? You're legally allowed to be together. It's okay for you to come here and talk to him now." Alberta stopped talking abruptly as she looked from Dimitri to me. I don't know if it was our discomfort that tipped her off or if she realized that something wasn't right about how I was dressed. Alberta seemed to take in my attire and glanced at my clothes in the corner. She looked back and forth as if trying to convince herself it was a coincidence. Then she was the one who was turning red. "I'm sorry if I was… um… interrupting anything. Just wanted to say that you will be missed. We… um hope you'll come visit sometime and the same goes for you Rose." Then Alberta shut the door as quickly as possible. I could hear her footsteps as she walked away from the room. I don't know who was more embarrassed by what just happened. Dimitri and I looked at each other red-faced.
"Well that was awkward," I said, breaking the tense silence between us.
Dimitri chuckled. "I agree."
I went back to his bed and sat down. "You might not get this shirt back. It's very comfy," I told him. Only part of me was joking. Part of me was really considering never giving him his shirt back. I could picture myself comfortably sleeping in it every night.
"But that's one of my favorite shirts," Dimitri pouted.
"You want it back?" I asked him. He nodded at me suspiciously. I let what I hoped was a seductive smile cross my face. "Then take it back," I told him.
He grinned at me. He slowly walked towards me. "You're eventually going to have to take it off to get dressed," he pointed out to me. I was officially better at seduction than he was.
I mock groaned. "That wasn't even the slightest bit romantic," I pointed out to me.
Dimitri rolled his eyes. "There will be plenty of time for romance later. Let's go get breakfast."
"I'm not hungry," I lied. I was a little hungry, but I also wanted to stay with him and just him for as long as possible. in a matter of days, we were going to get our assignments and then it was going to be a balance act to spend even the slightest bit of time with him. I wanted to enjoy the time we had together while we had it. Just then, my stomach growled, betraying me. I looked down at my stomach annoyed. "You have the worst timing."
Dimitri chuckled. "We can eat in here if you would like," he told me seriously. He glanced towards the little kitchen area in his room. "I think I have pancake powder and I know I have eggs and bacon. How does that sound?" I realized just then that he was not unaffected by the reality that looming not to far in our futures.
"Do you even have to ask?" I asked him jokingly. We had painstakingly avoided talking about what would happen when we got assignments. I was surprised that Dimitri never brought it up, but I think he was just as upset about leaving our fairy tale as I was.
"No, not really," Dimitri said with a shrug. He got up and started making breakfast. He even wore an apron. I had to hide my giggle when I realized that. Pretty soon, the smell of bacon drifted through his room. Remembering the last time we cooked together, I stayed far away from the kitchen. I had no intention of coming out of this covered in pancake goop, plus I was really hungry.
When he had finished cooking, he made two huge plates. His pancakes were heavenly. They were so light and fluffy, I felt like I was eating a cloud. After I was full, I helped him clean the dishes. I couldn't help but giggle and laugh as we talked. Some of the best parts of our relationship had come from our freedom to actually talk to each other now. Before, he was always on guard, but now he never held back. It made me fall in love with him over and over again as he shared something that he used to do with his family or a memory that he had. A couple of hours later, we grabbed our luggage and got ready to leave the Academy. We were off to face an uncertain future. I grabbed his hand and I knew I could live with what comes as long as we face it together.
