Chapter Thirteen.
I got into Brunel! Yay, I'm off to university in a month! Scary and exciting times ahead. Congratulations and well to anyone else in England who got their AS/A2 results on Thursday, I hope you year 13's all got into your uni's, and good luck to anyone in England who's getting GCSE results this coming Thursday! For those of you who live in a different country, if you have a results day coming up – good luck! If you've just had one, I hope you did well and got the results you needed!
Yanis – I'm so glad you liked it and that you found it funny. Adrian's going to be sticking around, but he won't always be causing havoc, thankfully. I hope you enjoy this chapter! And in reply to your who are you, really? Reviews: I'm really glad that you loved the story! And awww, that is such a beautiful name, and that is such an honour! Thank you! I hope both of your babies are born happy and healthy! Hehe, and I'm glad that you liked the songs used, and the end quote! Xx
Ellen – you were so close! Why don't you have an account! That way I could have sent you a sneak peak :( but thank you for reviewing, and I hope you like this chapter.
Jbowencox – awww thank you so much! :') I'm glad you're enjoying this story and hope you like this chapter just as much!
() – you got it completely right! Like I said to Ellen, why don't you have an account? nThat way I could have sent you a sneak peak! But I'm glad you liked it anyway, and thank you for reviewing! xx
I want to say a huge thank you to rivereq. She's read and reviewed each and every single one of my VA stories and been a huge supporter of mine from when I started writing fanfictions. Thank you so much for all of your help and feedback! She's an amazing writer guys, so pretty please give her work a read and review?
Lol, I'm so surprised that only a few people guessed exactly right. Most people had the general idea, and it was agonisingly close, but not quite there. A lot of you thought that Dimitri was organising a secret meeting with Lissa, but I don't want to ruin it for those who didn't guess, so you'll just have to read on!
"Are you going to ignore me for the rest of the trip?" Dimitri's voice was sad and resigned as he walked beside me.
Silence.
"Will you let me explain?"
Frosty silence.
"I'm not cheating on you, Roza. I would never do that to you."
I snorted and turned my face away from his direction. It was petty, but I was upset and confused. The hotel was in sight, and I sped up, wanting nothing more than to curl up in bed with a tub of ice cream.
He sighed deeply behind me, and the sound tugged at my heart. It made me feel like I was being split into two. I slowed down for a second and turned back to him.
"If you aren't cheating, then who were you talking to?"
He swallowed heavily. "I can't tell you."
"Yes you can. It's easy. All you have to say is, 'Rose, I was talking to…' just finish off the sentence by adding their name onto the end." There was a tinge of desperation to my voice, an edge that made my words sound slightly hysterical.
He didn't speak.
Instead, his eyes bored into mine, begging me to just let things lie. But I couldn't. Tears threatened to spill from my eyes as I spoke around the lump in my throat.
"Fine. Don't tell me. You can sleep on your own tonight, or go home. I don't care."
"Roza." His voice was strangled, desperate as he stepped towards me.
"No." I held up a hand to ward him off. "Don't. Don't touch me, or do anything that involves me. If you're not sneaking around behind my back, you'll tell me who was on the phone. Or at least what the call was about. I've been in a relationship like that, filled with lies and secrecy, and I'm not doing it again. I won't do it again."
"It's not what you think."
"That's the best you could come up with?" I shook my head. "Don't you respect me at all? Or couldn't you at least pretend to? Everyone uses that line when they want their partner to know it's exactly what they think."
"But it's really not. Look, Roza, just come back with me to the hotel, it'll all make sens-"
"No. I'm not going back there with you. Or anywhere else for that matter."
"Rose!" His voice was a frustrated yell as I turned around and started pushing the pram once again.
Hot tears blurred my vision as I continued walking towards the hotel, and passed right by it. I didn't want to go in there yet, where I'd be trapped. I wanted to walk, to burn off the overwhelming emotions that were threatening to drown me.
"Mum. Where are you going? The hotel's here!"
I slowed, but didn't stop walking at Katrina and Alyssa's shouts.
"Well, Ms. Hathaway. That's a fine way to treat your so-called friend. Just blank me why don't you."
"Mia?" I stopped, blinked the tears away and turned around in shock.
There she was, all five foot two of her, stood in the doorway to the hotel with her hands on her hips.
"The one and only."
"But- but- what are you doing here?"
She didn't answer my question. Instead, her sharp eyes searched my face and then stared at Dimitri accusingly. "What did you do?" Her voice was a screech as she ran down the steps to pull me into her arms.
"She overheard me talking to you on the phone."
"What?" My head shot up so I could meet his gaze directly. "It was Mia who called you? Why didn't you tell me?"
Mia smacked me on the head and made a duh-face. "Because it was supposed to be a surprise. A good one, not one that made you cry because that idiot couldn't cover it up well enough."
"Okay, you both succeeded. I'm surprised. Now answer my question. Why are you here? Not that I'm not pleased to see you."
She grinned brightly at me. "I am here… to babysit!" At my blank face she made a scoffing noise and turned to accuse Dimitri some more.
"You didn't even tell her that?"
He had the decency to look abashed. "It was a part of the surprise. I didn't think that you were going to call me, so I'd thought that things would have turned out differently."
"But why are you here to babysit? We're just having dinner and a quiet night in…"
She shook her head. "Since he didn't tell you, I'll have the honour. Apparently, you promised Dimitri that you'd let him whisk you away blah, blah, blah for your birthday. You and Dimitri are having dinner and doing whatever else he has planned. Not dinner for the whole family, dinner for two. The kids have had you all day, now's your couple time."
I flew out of Mia's hold and threw myself at Dimitri.
"I'm so, so sorry!" I pressed a hard kiss to his lips and pulled back to grovel some more. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you and that I overreacted."
Dimitri didn't say anything as I burbled as many apologies as possible as quickly as possible. Instead, he pulled me in close to his body, bent his head, and kissed me deeply.
"Okay, sorry to break up the make up and make out session that you two have going on, but I think your two eldest are getting a little grossed out."
I pulled back from Dimitri's lips reluctantly, but kept looking up into his eyes as his thumb caressed my cheek.
"How and when did you find the time to organise this?"
Mia answered for him. "He contacted me about a week ago at work and asked if I'd come down and look after the kids. He turned up at work one night and asked for me, good thing I was doing overtime, eh? He's paying for my hotel room, food and petrol, so I thought to myself… why not?"
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
I laughed and turned in Dimitri's arms to face Mia. "I was talking to Dimitri."
She grinned impishly at me and motioned for the kids to grab my bag. "I know. But it doesn't do any harm for me to take some of the credit. I'm doing you a big favour, you know?"
"Yes, I know."
"I could have stayed at home, tucked up in my bed with a tub of Ben and Jerry's, and watched Mean Girls or something, instead of coming down here to look after your four beautiful children."
At the mention of four children, Katrina's tired little face brightened up and she smiled happily at Alyssa.
"Thank you Mia, for making such a big sacrifice. Thank you for forsaking your Saturday evening so that I could have some time with my wonderful, amazing boyfriend. I am forever in your debt, and will look upon you with reverence and awe from here on."
"That's more like it. Now, let go of the 'wonderful, amazing' boyfriend so I can get you ready. Alyssa and Katrina, grab your mum's bags. Dimitri, you can bring Tom up to the room and then disappear to get yourself sorted."
At the stern tone of Mia's voice, Dimitri nodded obediently and moved to step away from me, but I grabbed onto the front of his shirt and pulled his face down to mine.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"To take Tom up to the room and get ready?"
"Without giving me a goodbye kiss?"
He chuckled and leant forwards to press his lips against mine, and I melted into the kiss happily, only to have Mia grab my arm and yank me back sharply.
"No! Absolutely not! I know what you two are like once you get started. Dimitri, stop looking so whipped, move your sexy ass and get inside before Rose jumps you right here in the middle of the street. She'll be ready for you to pick up at eight o'clock sharp."
Dimitri POV.
"You're amazing, do you know that?" Roza smiled at me as she spoke, and slid her hands across the table top so that they could rest on top of mine lightly.
I turned my palms upwards so I could hold her hands properly, before I lifted them and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "No, you are."
"No. You are." She grinned and her smile made my heart lift.
I hadn't told Roza yet, but I loved her so, so much. She was the wind beneath my wings, the sun in my sky, the cherry on my cake, and so much more. I adored her and our four kids. We weren't married yet, but when we did take that step, I would gladly adopt all four of them and promise to care for them as if they were my own.
"No. You, my beautiful, unique, strong, determined Roza, are the one who is amazing."
"You have it all wrong. You, my handsome, sexy, protective, caring boyfriend, are-"
I cut her off with a kiss. It was only meant to be a light peck, but like always, I found myself unwilling to pull away and end it. Her hands pulled themselves free from my grasp so that she could slide them up and along my arms and shoulders so that they could twine into my hair, as my hands moved up to cup her face. As we kissed, my thumbs caressed the smooth skin of her face, and a tiny moan escaped her lips.
I loved the sound of her moans. I loved her laugh. I loved her witty, sarcastic, twisted sense of humour. Just as I loved each and every other aspect of her. Roza wasn't perfect, but then again, nobody was. My mother and grandmother had always said to me that love wasn't about finding the perfect person, but seeing an imperfect person perfectly. Before, I'd always laughed them off; never believing that love - true, honest, heart-pounding love - could exist. Now, I knew better, and I wasn't ashamed to admit it.
I smiled against her lips before pulling back.
Our breathing was ragged as we stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds before pulling back completely. That familiar little frown was between Roza's eyes as she pouted at me.
"Why'd you stop?"
I chuckled and kissed her lips lightly – only a peck this time.
"Because we're in the hotel dining room, and from the looks of things, quite a few people aren't too pleased about it."
She grinned widely this time and reached across the table to curl her fingers into the collar of my shirt before she pulled me towards her once again. "They're just jealous because they're all sitting with their ugly, boring, old husbands. They're eyeing you up and wishing they were in my shoes." She pecked me lightly on the lips. "So screw them and let me enjoy my birthday the way I want to."
A mischievous look entered her beautiful brown eyes, and I couldn't help but lean in closer.
"And how's that?"
Her answer was to press her soft, plump, rosy red lips against mine and then to nibble gently on my lower lip.
A surprised groan left my mouth as all of the blood left my brain and flowed to my groin. This woman… was going to blow my mind one of these days. She made something so simple and innocent turn into a movement that was erotic, alluring and left me wanting more.
The intensity of our kiss picked up, and my breathing grew heavy and erratic once more as she broke it ever so slightly to mumble against my lips.
"You're making it so hard for me to stay in my seat."
"Huh?" My lips attacked hers as my flustered brain tried to figure out the hidden meaning behind her words.
She nibbled on my lips again before she explained herself. "I want to jump across the table and fuck you in your seat, right here, right now. I don't even care that the waiter's throwing pointed looks of disgust in our direction. I just want you."
A rather loud moan escaped my throat and I pulled back in embarrassment. Roza giggled as I flushed and held up the menu to hide my face from the prying eyes of the diners in the restaurant.
"You look cute when you blush, Belikov."
I glared as I waited for my breathing to calm down before I straightened out my shirt.
"Dimitri?" I looked up to find my Roza staring up at me from beneath her lashes, a coy smile on her face. "Don't be mad at me. Please."
I knew exactly what she was doing, but fell for it anyway. My features softened as I placed the menu down on the table and leant across to kiss her softly.
"I'm not mad. I lo-"
"Excuse me, sir, madam. Here are your dishes."
The arrival of the waiter with our food interrupted what I was about to say, and I had to bite back a sigh. Every single time I tried to tell Roza those three little words, to make known the full extent of my feelings, something came up. Or someone interrupted us. Or she didn't hear me because the kids had called her, or the phone had rung, or the doorbell had gone.
It was like fate was against us taking that next big step.
"Damn." Roza muttered under her breath as we moved apart so that the waiter could place our meals down in front of us. "I was hoping to head out."
"Why?"
She winked and grinned at me. "I was hoping to see the sexy body that you have so carefully hidden away from me, without the clothes. On my bed."
The waiter choked, stopped fussing with our table settings and left pretty quickly after that.
A light giggle left Roza's lips and I chuckled. "Poor guy. He probably doesn't get paid enough for this."
She snorted. "Less talking, more eating. The faster we're done, the sooner we get back to the hotel." She tried, and failed, to wiggle her eyebrows and I laughed once again before reaching for the champagne.
"First of all, let me pour you a glass of champagne, so I can toast you. Then we'll eat."
I glanced at my watch. We couldn't arrive back at our room for another hour and a half, or her last surprise would be ruined.
Once the two glasses were filled to the brim with the sparkling golden liquid, I handed one to Roza and held my own aloft.
"To Roza, my beautiful girlfriend. Happy twenty-ninth birthday. Not long til you hit the big three-zero." She laughed at my not so subtle reminder of the note she'd made in my birthday card. "Unless, of course, you're one of those women who seems to always be celebrating her twenty-first birthday. In which case, I'm an extremely lucky man. I hope that you've had a good day today, despite the horrendous amount of walking that took place. I don't quite think my feet will ever recover, but if you enjoyed yourself, it was worth it. Have you had a good birthday so far?"
She smiled and entwined her free hand with mine.
"It's been brilliant, and this is the icing on the cake. Thank y-"
I placed my glass down and motioned for her to stop speaking before I picked it back up, took a deep, steadying breath, and continued.
"I'm so happy that you've had a good day. But more so, I'm so grateful for the fact that we met, and that you gave me that chance to be a part of your life. The kids, a family, a home… it's more than I could have ever dreamed of having. To actually dream of having a future with someone who I care so deeply about, and for it to be a possibility that grows stronger and stronger with every passing day…" My words were starting to come out in a rush as sweat prickled at the back of my neck. I felt like I was in a spotlight with the entire restaurant watching the scene unfold. The smile had dropped from Roza's face, and that only made my nerves tingle even more. She was staring at me, her brown eyes boring into mine as she waited for me to finish my long winded babble. Better late than never. I licked my lips and swallowed before I put my glass down and held onto her hand with both of mine. "What I'm trying to say Roza, what I've been trying to say for the past few months even, is that I l-"
When the rain is blowing in your face,
And the whole world is on your case,
I froze as Roza's phone started to ring, shattering the mood… and my courage.
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love.
My shoulders slumped as it continued to ring and I released her hand so I could motion to her clutch. "You should probably get that. It might be important." It was heart-warming to know that she'd changed her ringtone to the song I'd requested on the radio for her, but terrible timing.
…to dry your tears,
I could hold you for a million years
To make y-
She stubbornly shook her head as the music shut off. "If it's important, they'll call back."
We waited for a minute, in case they did, but the phone didn't ring again. I smiled and relaxed slightly as Rose took my hand in hers this time. Her thumb rubbed soothing circles into my skin and the tension drained from my body with her touch.
"Now, what were you going to say before we were so rudely interrupted?"
"I was going to say, Roza, I-"
When the rain is blowing in your face,
And the whole world is on your case,
I sighed heavily and slumped back in my seat as her phone started to ring once more. Roza shot me an apologetic glance as she dipped into her bag to fish out her mobile phone.
When she finally found it and pulled it out, her look changed from one of irritation to one of concern.
"It's Mia, I'm going to take this outside so I can talk properly."
"Do you want me to ask for the bill?"
She shook her head as she pushed her chair back and stood up. "It's probably nothing major. If it is, I'll come back and let you know."
I nodded and she left swiftly, her phone pressed to her ear before she'd even gotten two steps away.
Someone up there really didn't want me to confess my love for the special woman in my life.
I picked at my meal as I waited for Roza to return, and my thoughts drifted to how stunning and beautiful she looked, both now that she was relaxed, and when I'd picked her up.
* * * FLASHBACK * * *
Once I'd dropped Tom off in the room that Mia would be looking after the kids in, I'd made my way across the hall to the room that had my bags to get ready. I'd explained to the hotel manager what I was planning in advance, and he'd agreed to let me use the bathroom and facilities, so long as I didn't leave anything in there when I left to take Roza out. That way, they could clean the bathroom and still allow someone else to book the room for the night.
I had my overnight bag sorted, and simply needed Mia to hurry up so that I could put it into the boot of her car. She was going to pack a bag for Roza, and put it in the car while Roza was in the shower, and then 'drive like a crazy woman' over to the hotel Roza and I would be staying in, so that our bags could be checked in before we got there. Well, technically, we couldn't go there until she got back as we were borrowing her car.
I wasn't adverse to walking or taking the bus, but when I'd made the arrangements with Mia, she'd explained to me that 'Rose was going to wear high heels tonight, even if it killed her'. Apparently, Mia was sick of Roza's excuses when it came down to wearing 'sexy shoes' and so she was going to force her to wear a pair.
So she hadn't minded when I'd asked her if she'd drive down to London, rather than take the train, and allow me to use her car. It was small, but it was better than nothing. If I'd said that I wanted to drive my car down, Roza would have been suspicious, and we wouldn't have all fitted anyway. I needed to buy a bigger car, now that we had an extra child, but I wanted Roza to practice driving in a smaller car first. She had a driving license, but hadn't driven since she'd had Alyssa. She wanted to get back into it again, and I'd promised her that once our night school lessons had finished, I'd take her out so she could practice then.
I'd have given her my car, but I didn't earn enough that I could buy a new one outright. I could trade in the one I currently owned, and use that money to put towards a newer, larger car. A smile graced my lips with the thought of our little family growing even larger with a couple of gorgeous little babies.
But first things first. I hadn't even told Roza I loved her, or broached the subject of marriage, so to be thinking about having even more children was taking things a bit too far.
I'd showered and shaved before putting on some of the aftershave that I'd noticed Roza seemed to like the most.
Then I'd put on my outfit for tonight - black dress trousers and shoes, with a deep purple silk shirt. I didn't usually wear anything this extravagant, but Mia had given me strict instructions on what to wear and what not to wear. My duster had been banned, which had made me scowl.
I'd wanted to know what Roza was going to be wearing, but Mia had refused to tell me. All she'd revealed was that my Roza would look stunningly beautiful, and that I'd have to beat the other guys off with a stick.
And she'd been right.
Roza had looked stunningly exquisite.
Once Mia had dropped our bags off and returned to the original hotel to 'apply the finishing touches', I'd done all of my last minute checks. I had money, a phone and my emergency credit card. The windows were locked, the room was empty and I was ready to go.
I'd knocked on the door to Roza's room, and a few minutes later, Mia opened the door. She'd smiled brightly at me before motioning for me to stay where I was. She shut the door again, and then a few seconds later, it swung open to reveal the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.
My Roza was dressed in a white strapless dress, which hugged her in all of the right places. It seemed to just flow over her curves like a waterfall, skimming the surface and showing off her beautiful figure in a way that was completely innocent, yet would give old men heart attacks.
I wasn't brilliant with descriptions, but small snippets from my mother trying to teach me how to mend and recognise different fabrics flowed through my mind. The top was ruffled just above the bust, preventing it from revealing anything as it was strapless. There were ruffle tiers, I think, on the bodice and mid-thigh length skirt; and a lace covering on the bodice that gave the dress a sexy, yet sophisticated edge, instead of being dowdy because of the ruffles. The material seemed to be silk organza, and on Roza, it was striking and effective.
Her long, dark hair had been curled and pinned to the left side of her head, with ringlets trailing down and over her left shoulder. A purple pansy was somehow pinned in there too, adding a touch of elegance along with small purple studs in her ears.
She held a small lilac coloured clutch in her hand and a pair of pointy purple high heels adorned her feet.
Roza's eyes were indescribable when I met her gaze. The beautiful deep hazel colour sparkled as her eyes met mine, and the swirl of blues and purples on her eyelids only added to the effect. Her eyelashes seemed even thicker and darker than usual, and her eyes were outlined in black, which made them stand out and catch my attention. Her gaze was hypnotic and sensual when she looked at me like that, yet the happiness radiating off of her helped me to keep a level head.
Her skin glowed as she smiled at me, and a slick of cherry red lipstick coated her lips.
"Where are you taking me tonight, sir?"
Her smile only grew when I offered my arm towards her, as I played up to my role.
"Tonight, my lady, we are going to dine at The Ritz Hotel."
Her jaw dropped as she stared at me for a second before she squealed excitedly and leant up to press a kiss to my cheek and then my mouth. Once she pulled back, a wry smile pulled at her lips as she gently wiped my cheek with her fingertips. "I forgot about the lipstick. You might want to wipe your mouth while I quickly get another coat of it on, so all of Mia's hard work doesn't go to waste."
"Here, keep it." Mia had been standing in the doorway, seeing us off, and she tossed a small tube of something – lipstick, presumably – in Roza's direction. "Enjoy yourselves and the time you have together."
I nodded gratefully in her direction as Rose smeared some onto her lips, and once she'd hugged Mia goodbye, we left.
* * * END FLASHBACK * * *
Roza sat back down in her seat, just after the waiter had come over to see if there was anything wrong with the meal.
"Is everything okay with the kids?"
Roza nodded and scrubbed at her face with her hand before she sighed tiredly. "Yeah, they just started playing up because they're in a new place and I'm not there, so they think they can get away with murder. I told them off and they should all be getting ready for bed now."
I nodded and motioned towards our plates. "Most of it's cold now. Did you want to order another meal, or just get dessert?"
"Dessert. I'm craving chocolate right now." She grinned brightly at me. "I've switched my phone off, so we won't be interrupted again. What was it you were going to say?"
I chuckled and shook my head. "I just hope that you're having a brilliant time, Roza, and wish you all the best."
We clinked our glasses together and drank the champagne, just as the waiter came over with the dessert menu.
The pictures of Rose's dress, hair and make-up and shoes as well as Dimitri's shirt are on my profile, so please have a little look.
Has there been something wrong with the past couple of chapters, or are people just not enjoying the direction that the story has taken? The number of reviews has dropped rapidly which is slightly worrying. If you're enjoying the story and leaving me feedback, thank you so much! But if not, please do leave me some feedback so that I know what to improve/adjust.