a/n: Thank you all so much for the reviews for last chapter!

I couldn't hold off until this weekend to write, and since I get way too excited for you to read to hold on to anything I write, I'm posting early. LOL I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

It was quiet for a moment before Lissa finally spoke. "Rose, I don't believe that for one second," she said softly.

But Rose shook her head. "You weren't there, Liss. I mean—it was so awkward that he had sex with me again just so I'd shut up."

Lissa gave her a stern look. "Is that really the way it went down?" she asked sensibly.

"Well, it might have been so I wouldn't bolt," Rose muttered as she raked a hand through her hair.

"That's what I thought," Lissa replied.

Rose took a deep breath and finally collapsed onto the couch. "I don't know what to do."

"Well…do you love him?" Lissa asked cautiously.

"I don't know," Rose answered honestly. "It's not like my house was bursting with love."

"It wouldn't matter if it was, Rose," Lissa said. "This is a completely different kind of love. Ask yourself this question. Are you happy with the way things are with you and Dimitri?"

"Yes," Rose answered instantly.

"You're happy only spending time with him at his apartment?" Lissa pressed. "You're happy not being able to go out to dinner with him? With not being able to…do something as simple as go for a run together?"

Rose shrugged. "I mean…it would be nice to go out to dinner with him," she admitted.

"Because you want more than just sleeping with him?"

"Well, if I do, I don't want him to know that," Rose said, sidestepping the question.

"Why not?"

Rose sighed as she toyed with one of the two buttons left on her shirt. "Come on, Liss," she said. Her friend already knew the answer to that.

"Tell me," Lissa persisted.

Rose groaned. "You know what my parents were like."

"Oh, you had parents?" Lissa said with a grin, trying to lighten the mood. "I had no idea."

"No one did," Rose responded dryly. "Everyone thought my parents were a myth."

"Well," Lissa said forcefully. "I, for one, think your parents have fucked up your life enough. Are you going to let them ruin this for you, too, Rose? I mean…how long can you blame them for things that go wrong in your life?" she asked quietly.

"I really hate it when you're right," Rose said through gritted teeth.

Lissa grinned. "I love it!"

"You know what? You're right," Rose said. "I need to fix this right now."

"Atta girl," Lissa said.

"Do you think sex will work?" she asked as she stood.

"Oh, God, Rose," Lissa groaned. "There's this new thing out there…it's called talking!"

Rose wrinkled her nose. "I'm not familiar with that," she said teasingly.

"Clearly," Lissa stated.

"I forgot…he's probably on his way to class," Rose sighed as she flopped back down onto the couch.

"This late?" Lissa asked.

Rose nodded. "It's his one night class of the week. Maybe I'll wait until tomorrow."

"Rosemarie Hathaway," Lissa said scoldingly.

"Fine," Rose mumbled. "I'll do it tonight."

It was nine twenty-five, and the last person Rose had seen exit the building had left almost ten minutes ago. She took a deep breath and started for the stairs, taking them two at a time. Heading down the hallway, she stopped outside of the only illuminated room on the floor. She tilted her head to the side as she took a moment to study Dimitri. His head was down as he perused the text book on the desk in front of him.

The sound of her clearing her throat echoed off the walls as she stepped into the room; Dimitri looked up in surprise. "Hey," she said softly.

"Roza," he returned sternly; his accent still made her heart flip. "I'm glad to see you're OK," he said dryly.

"I had to think, Dimitri," she told him.

"And now that you've thought?" he prompted.

She put her hands in the pockets of the light denim jacket she was wearing and walked further into the room, not stopping until she was standing across from him. "I…it's OK that you love me," she said hesitantly, forcing herself to meet his gaze.

"Thank you for your permission to love you," Dimitri said caustically.

"I don't know how to do this," she admitted. "Which I think I made pretty obvious today."

"When you panicked or when you flew?" he pushed.

"Both, I'm guessing," she shot back. "Look—I'm sorry that I can't be who you want me to be—"

There was a scraping sound as Dimitri pushed his chair back and rose hastily. He made his way to her in three strides. "Roza, you are the person I want you to be," he informed her fiercely.

Her eyebrows shot up. "You want me to be someone who can't tell you they love you?" she asked doubtfully.

"I want you to be someone who feels comfortable enough with me to hold out on saying it until it's true," he corrected.

"What if it's a long time?" she asked faintly.

Dimitri sat down on the edge of the desk and spread his legs; reaching for her hand, he tugged her forward until she was standing in front of him. "I can wait," he assured her.

"What if it's a really long time?" she pressed.

"Then it'll be a really long time," he said with a shrug.

"OK," Rose said softly. "But...you can't say it again, Dimitri."

"That I can't promise."

"Dimitri—"

"I won't be able to hold it in when I see you smile, Roza," he said gruffly as he pulled her against him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "So I won't smile anymore," she replied.

"Are you going to stop sleeping with me, too?" he asked. "Because I might not be able to resist when you're screaming my name."

"Well…no. I can't stop doing that," she admitted awkwardly.

Dimitri chuckled as he tightened his hold on her. "Then you might want to invest in a pair of earplugs," he advised.

"Speaking of screaming your name…" Rose started. "Can we have sex? Like…sexy…naughty sex? All of this emotional talk is freaking me out. I can't handle it. I need no holds barred, throw me down and take me sex." Her arms tightened around his neck and she gave him a seductive grin. "It'll help me clear my head."

"Of course it will," he agreed dryly. He gave her a light push and she took a step backward so he could stand. "Just let me grab my things and we can get going."

Rose felt her cheeks heat. "Or…you know…we could do it here," she suggested.

Dimitri froze. "Here?" he repeated.

Rose grinned saucily. "It's an oak desk, Dimitri," she pointed out. "I think it'll hold both of us." She purposefully lowered her voice to a husky whisper. "What do you say, professor?"