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Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.

CHAPTER 25

RPOV

It stopped raining the next day so we decided to go out and take a walk in the woods. The ground was slippery so I was extra careful. I really didn't want to fall and embarrass myself in front of Dimitri, like I had the night of the school dance when I'd had the most wonderful idea to go into the woods at midnight.

"I just realized something," Dimitri said, holding my hand as we passed the trees and went deeper into the woods.

"What?" I asked.

"I never took you out on a second date," he said, looking at me.

I laughed. "What about Friday night? I was your date to Homecoming." Stepping over a tree trunk, I continued, "Besides, you already have me."

"It doesn't matter. I should take you out more often, to new places," he answered. "Not just to my place and the woods."

I smiled up at me. "You're so sweet, comrade."

"If your father allows me to see you after we tell him about me, I'll take you out again," he said.

I groaned. "Let's not talk about my dad and what he might do when he finds out. Nothing's going to change anyway."

"Won't it?" Dimitri asked, coming to a stop. There was a panicked look in his eyes. "Because I'm not ready to lose you. I can't."

"You won't lose me," I murmured, cupping his face. "I know you're worried about my dad and what he'll do or say… But he can't forbid me to see you. He just can't." I paused, shaking my head. "My dad wouldn't do that anyway. He's not like that."

Dimitri sighed. "I don't know. He's very protective of you and wants what's best for you. I respect that. I want what's best for you too."

"You are what's best for me," I insisted. He leaned his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. "I love you," I whispered. "And I won't lose you."

He opened his eyes again and he looked at me, still doubtful.

"Whatever happens, we'll get through it," I promised. "Together."

He nodded. "I'm sorry I brought it up again."

"It's okay," I reassured him, giving him a small smile.

Dimitri kissed me. "Do you want to head back? I'll take you out for dinner if you'd like to. My treat."

"You're going to use the money you got for your birthday, aren't you?" I asked with a frown.

The last couple of weeks, Dimitri had been trying to find a job in town to make some money, but no one would have him because he was a delinquent. I felt bad for him and wished I could help him somehow.

"Why not? I get to choose what I do with the money and I want to spend it on dinner with you," Dimitri responded stubbornly.

"Dimitri, you should spend it on something else. You could buy yourself a new book or whatever the hell you want," I said with a shrug. "It's yours. You don't need to spend it on me."

"But you're always paying for the stuff we do, or our food," he muttered, scowling. "And if it's not you, it's your parents."

"It's not a problem," I answered.

He sighed. "I know it's not a problem for you, but I'm the guy. I'm supposed to pay for dinner. I'm supposed to spoil you."

"You don't need to spoil me," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"But I want to," he answered. "You're my girlfriend and you deserve to be spoiled. Let me just pay for this once, okay?"

I hadn't realized he'd had an issue with this because he'd never mentioned it before. Is that why he'd suddenly wanted to find a job?

"Okay," I gave in at last.

He smiled, grateful, and kissed me again.

"So does this mean we're going on our third date?" I asked teasingly as we walked back to the house.

"Yes, but the fourth one will be someplace else," he said. "Out of town. We could even go away for the whole weekend if you want to."

"Sounds nice," I murmured, leaning my head on his shoulder. "I'd love to have another weekend like this one."

He looked down at me and smiled softly. "Me too, milaya."

We changed into different clothes before leaving. We drove around town for a little while. After fifteen minutes, Dimitri stopped at a small but cozy and romantic looking restaurant. He gave me a questioning look and I nodded my approval.

We went inside and took a seat in the back. There was a dim light in the restaurant and there were candles on each table. Soft music was playing in the background. Even though it was crowded – mostly couples on a date – there wasn't much noise.

"This is a nice place," I commented as I looked around.

Dimitri reached across the table with his hand. I smiled and placed my hand in his. He squeezed it gently, smiling back.

"You certainly know how to pick out the right restaurant for a date. Are you sure I'm your first girlfriend?" I asked teasingly.

"I'm pretty sure," Dimitri answered, amused. His face turned serious again as he said, "You're my one and only."

I looked down when I felt my cheeks redden. Oh man, why did he have to make me blush?! I swear to God, he was the only one who could make me blush so furiously, even after all the time we'd spent together.

Dimitri grinned at me. "Did I say something wrong?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Did you do that on purpose?"

"What?" he asked innocently.

"You know what. You're making me blush on purpose."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Roza," he responded, though he was still grinning. "I do like it when I make you blush. You look very pretty-"

"Stop it," I cut him off, only half joking.

He laughed. "Alright. But I'm not sorry I made you blush."

I smiled reluctantly. "Of course you aren't."

We ordered our food and ate in a comfortable silence. Afterward, Dimitri ordered me chocolate mousse – seriously, best boyfriend ever – and I shared it with him.

We dropped by his house after we'd left the restaurant to pick up his school bag and fresh clothes. I hated that the weekend was nearly over; it went by so fast. Olena asked us a lot of questions about the school dance. She was so excited as she told us about the pictures Mom had emailed her Saturday morning.

"You looked absolutely stunning, Rose," she said, giving me a watery smile. Was she going to cry now?

"Thank you," I answered, not sure what else I could say without making her burst into tears.

"When will you be back, Dimka?" Olena asked as she walked us back to the front door.

"Tomorrow after school," he answered. "I need to drop Roza off at home first, though. Is that okay? Do you need the car maybe?"

"No, I don't have to go to work tomorrow so it's fine," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Dimitri kissed her cheek. "Good night, Mama."

When we got back to my place, we were both feeling tired so we decided to watch some TV before going to bed. I dreaded tomorrow because that would mean this lazy but perfect weekend with Dimitri had come to an end.

"I had a wonderful time this weekend," I told Dimitri softly as we cuddled together in bed, ready to go to sleep. "Thank you."

"Me too, Roza," he murmured, kissing my temple. He clasped my hand and slid his fingers through mine. "I wish it didn't have to end."

"It's going to be weird without you here. Now who's going to keep me warm at night?" I pouted, teasing him a little.

A grin spread across his face as he looked down at me. "Well, I suppose I could sneak into the house," he joked.

I snorted. "My parents are going to love that."

"They won't find out. I'll be very, very quiet."

"But the alarm won't. Unless you're some kind of ninja who-"

Dimitri kissed me soundly. "This won't be the last weekend we'll spend together, Roza." He smiled faintly. "There will be more. I'll make sure of that."

I felt myself smile back. "Okay."

Giving him a chaste kiss on the lips, I flicked off the lights and made myself comfortable in bed. Dimitri's arms wrapped around me and he pulled my back against his chest, spooning me.

"Sweet dreams, milaya," he murmured, and I felt him kiss my hair.

Still smiling, I closed my eyes. When I woke up the next morning, Dimitri was already up and about. He'd set the breakfast table and packed my lunch, which was super sweet of him to do.

Not wanting to return back to reality, we kept stalling. In the end, we arrived in the nick of time at school. With a quick kiss, we parted ways. I almost ran towards class. Like I'd figured, I was the last student to enter the classroom. I hurried over to my spot in the back and pulled out my notebook.

When it was lunchbreak and I walked to my locker, Lissa was waiting for me there. When she noticed me, her face lit up and she ran me almost over as she attacked me with a bear hug.

"Oh my God, Lissa," I gasped, trying to struggle free. "Can't. Breathe."

"Where the hell have you been, Rose?" she exclaimed, finally letting go of me. "I texted you this weekend. And this morning. You never texted me back. I was starting to worry…"

I smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine, Liss. I just didn't pay much attention to my phone this weekend. Sorry."

"What about this morning?"

I shrugged. "I was in a rush to get to class."

"So were you living under a rock all weekend?" Lissa asked as we walked to the cafeteria.

"No," I said, laughing. "I spent time with Dimitri."

Lissa arched an eyebrow at me. "The entire weekend?"

"Yeah, my parents were out of town so…" I looked away. "So he stayed over."

Lissa let out a small gasp. "He stayed over?" I nodded and a curious look crossed her face. "Did you two…do things?"

"We did lots of things," I answered, pretending I didn't know what she was talking about. "We went for a walk in the woods, we watched TV, we-"

"That's not what I mean, Rose, and you know it," she said, cutting me a look. She paused, thinking, and let out another gasp. "Wait, is that why you left the dance early? Because you wanted to get it on with Dimitri?"

"Please don't talk so loud," I hissed at her when a couple of students turned their heads to look at us as we passed.

Suddenly, Lissa pulled me into a bathroom. She checked the stalls and when she found them empty, she turned around and looked at me with an excited grin on her face.

"So how was it?" she asked.

"How was what?" I said, still playing dumb.

Lissa put her hands on her waist. "Cut the crap, Rose. Just tell me already. We're alone."

I loved how Lissa could get annoyed when I withheld information from her. "Fine, we had sex," I admitted.

"And?" Lissa asked, barely able to contain her excitement. "Did you like it?"

"It hurt the first time, but Dimitri was very sweet," I told her honestly. "We did it again the following night and it was a lot better," I added with a grin.

"Did you guys plan it or…was it spontaneous or what?" she continued her interrogation.

"We didn't exactly plan it, but I was hoping something would happen," I answered. Before she could ask me more, I said quickly, "And that's all I'm going to say about it. The rest of it is between Dimitri and me. You can pout at me all you want, but I'm not going to change my mind."

To my surprise, she didn't argue. We stepped out of the bathroom and resumed our short walk to the cafeteria. I texted Dimitri where I was and he found me five minutes later. He sat down next to me at our table and kissed my cheek.

"Aww, aren't you two adorable?" Lissa gushed, giving me a knowing smile.

"Super cute," Christian cut in, fake excitement written all over his face. "Like, the cutest ever."

I threw a fry at him. "Stop it, you sarcastic dipshit."

Eddie snorted with laughter. When he saw Christian scowling at him, he cleared his throat and continued to eat his meal.

After school, Dimitri drove me home. He'd already packed his duffel bag this morning so he didn't have a reason to come inside. I didn't want him to leave yet, though, but I knew his mother was probably waiting for him to return home. She hadn't talked to him all weekend – unless you counted the five minutes she saw him last night.

"Thanks for driving me home," I said.

He smiled at me. "You're welcome, Roza." I smiled back and he leaned in, kissing me softly, before pulling back. "I guess I'll see you-"

Dimitri cut himself off all of a sudden and stared at something behind me. I turned in my seat to see what had drawn his attention. To my surprise, my father came striding towards the car, an angry look on his face.

"Uh oh," I said, opening the car door. "Hey, Dad, what's-"

"You," he roared, pointing at Dimitri. "Get out. Now."

My eyes widened in shock. I don't think I'd ever seen my dad so furious. "Why? What's wrong?" I asked, although I had a feeling what this was about.

Dad was glowering at me. "Don't pretend like you don't know. Now get into the house, you two. We need to talk."

Uh oh! Trouble in paradise! Like some of you had guessed, last chapter was the calm before the storm. Any guesses why Abe is fuming? Please leave a review and let me know what you think of this chapter! Have a nice day/evening! :)