I'm currently very far from home, but I missed my favorite couple, so here I am again.

Disclaimer- All characters belong to Richelle Mead.

Dimitri POV

It was difficult to shake off any moment I shared with Rose, but today's session and our talk after was a huge distraction on my mind long after she left. It was only after she left that I was able to take my time and look at the painting I had completed of her so far. With charcoal, I drew the outline of her body, trying to get each detail perfectly accurate so I could do her beauty justice. I had also began the coloring and painting of her face, but was far from completing my work.

As I stood in front of the canvas, I could almost imagine her lying naked in front of me once again.
Her hips angled in my direction, pouty lips slightly parted, eyes wide and staring up at me with a look of innocent arousal, almost as if she was silently calling me to her. It was that look that had- along with the rest of her- grabbed my attention the first time we met. Would she give me that look if I were pleasuring her?

I quickly grabbed the dirty paintbrushes and rushed out of the room, away from the painting. It was one thing to look at her for the purpose of the painting, but I couldn't keep imagining her when she wasn't here.

It wasn't an hour since Rose left that the doorbell rang again. I was still relatively new in town so there was only one other person who had my address aside from Rose.

"Adrian," I greeted my cousin on the other side of the door.

"You still aren't fully unpacked yet?" He asked eyeing the boxes in the living room.

"You're the second person to mention that to me today." Adrian followed me into the kitchen where I had been cleaning up the plates and paintbrushes.

"Second?" His eyebrow quirked up and I mentally cursed myself for letting that slip in front of him. He pointedly eyed the two plates by the sink and looked back to me. "You had company over?"
"Something like that," I mumbled. Adrian had been trying to convince me from the moment I stepped into town to go out, make friends and meet women, though it wasn't as easy for me to do that as it was for him. Rose was actually the only person aside from Adrian that I had even spoken to outside of work.

I made quick work of the dishes before Adrian asked me who I had over and moved onto the materials I used to start painting Rose.

"Are you painting again?" Adrian asked in surprise, eyeing the brushes I was washing. I hesitated in answering, but figured he'd pull the answer out of me.

"Yeah."

"Wow, you haven't painted since Ivan-"

I cut him off with a sharp look, not wanting to go down this path, today of all days. He put his hands up defensively. "I'm just trying to say it's good that you are. I'm glad you're painting again."

I instantly felt my defenses go down; I had no reason to put them up in the first place. Adrian was one of the few genuine people in my life and it must have been a relief for him to see me heading towards my normal self.

"It does feel good."

"What made you start again?"

"I guess I found inspiration."

"It's hard to believe you suddenly found inspiration as a high school teacher."

I eyed him, knowing exactly what his tone was implying, but not gracing him with a response. I turned the pot of coffee on, wanting to make myself another cup. "You want some?" Being met with silence, I turned around to find Adrian's seat empty. I cursed and made my way to the studio, where Adrian stood, looking intently at the canvas. I should've known that Adrian would try and sneak a look, even though I didn't wan him, or anyone else for that matter see it.

I would never let anyone, but Rose see the finished painting. I was already crossing a big line drawing her nude, but that didn't mean I would let anyone else see her like that, especially without her knowledge or permission. Luckily we only had one session so far, so the sketch and most of the painting of her face had been the only things completed. There was no indication that I was going to draw her nude. I'd let Adrian look today, but it would be his first and last time laying eyes on this painting.

"Damn," Adrian whistled lowly.

My head snapped towards his direction. "Watch it," I practically growled, feeling an intense sense of protectiveness and jealousy over Rose.

"Chill, I'm with Sydney."

I'd still have doubts about Adrian if I hadn't seen how he was with his girlfriend Sydney.

"Are you two serious?" he asked, still studying the canvas in front of him.

"I...we're not together," I mumbled. The shame I felt since the day I met Rose seemed to grow with Adrian's innocent question.

"So you're just fucking her?"

I cringed, quickly diverting my thoughts away from his question. "Definitely not. I'm only painting her, nothing more."

"Why not? If she's important enough to have you start actually painting again then maybe you should give this a chance."

"Adrian-"

"Look Dimitri, I know you hate talking about it but ever since Ivan, you don't let anyone come near you." He pointed to the painting and I turned towards Rose's brown eyes staring back at me. "If you finally met someone that you're devoting a whole painting to, maybe you should reconsider how you feel about her."

I let his words settle into me and wondered again if I should tell Adrian the truth.

"I...I can't." I whispered, bowing my head in shame.

"Why not?"

"She's my student."

"At the art studio? That's not so bad."

I was silent and a moment later, I heard him inhale sharply.

"She's a student at the high school?" My silence was an answer itself. "Dimitri how-what the fuck?"

Before Adrian had the chance to question me again, I told him everything, from the very beginning. I told him how I met her and mistook her for a model, the shock I felt when I realized she was underage and a student at St. Vlad's, agreeing to tutoring her, and finally, becoming so obsessed with the thought of her that I asked if I could paint her.

"Your stuck in a bad way man."

"Yeah no kidding," I scoffed. I walked out of the studio and back into the kitchen, followed closely by Adrian. We both took sat down, with him occupying the seat Rose had claimed just a little while ago.

"You need to get away from her Dimitri."

That was easier said than done, I thought.

Adrian noticed that couldn't be an option for me. "Okay so fine, paint her, teach her and that's it."

"I told her I'd help her improve her art skills during our free time, too." I mumbled.

A rare look of disappointment crossed Adrian's face, and it was a first since I was the one who usually looked at him like that.

"Do you see this girl every day Dimitri?"

"Yes." Before, Saturday was the only day out of the week where Rose and I didn't see each other, but since she agreed to pose for me, I would see her everyday.

I wanted to pretend as if I didn't like it, but I couldn't. I enjoyed being around Rose. Whether it was teaching her, talking to her, or painting her, I wouldn't trade those moments for anything.

"Come out with me tonight."

"Adrian-"

"I'm serious! Who knows, you might just meet someone that'll steer you away from that," he said, pointing a finger at room we just left where her painting sat.

"I'm not going to do anything with her," I argued.

"I know you won't, but why even torture yourself like that? Come out with me, meet a woman, and get hung up on her instead of her," he emphasized again by pointing in the direction of the studio.

I knew Adrian wouldn't budge unless I agreed.

I would go out with him tonight, pretend to enjoy myself, and maybe even meet someone, but there was no way a female could take the place of Rose in my mind. She had captivated me from the moment she walked into my studio.

Rose POV

"I'm home," I yelled from the entrance of the front door, kicking my shoes off.

"I'm in here," my dad responded from the kitchen and I found him there, cooking. "How was therapy?"

I shrugged, taking a seat. "Same old I guess, nothing too interesting."

"What did she want to talk about?"

"Mostly about how I liked the art class and how I was feeling now as opposed to before I started." My dad knew he could only ask me easy questions, nothing too in-depth. It was difficult for him, because he wanted to know exactly what I was doing and feeling, especially after my mom left. But he knew it would only shut me out more, so he kept the questions simple, trying to understand the basics of my sessions with Dierdre.

"So? Do you like it?"

"I do, in fact, I love it," I told him truthfully. I hadn't given up on my running and occasional gym sessions where I could fit them into my busy schedule, but nothing seemed to be helping me quite like Dimitri's art class was. Not only was it doing a tremendous job at helping me stay calm, but I loved how good my drawings looked, despite being new to the class.

Most of all of the though, Dimitri was the reason I enjoyed the class so much. His calm way of explaining a new technique to me, his never ending patience, his genuine words of appraisal, and his knowing eyes that followed me around the class. I liked everything about art, but most of all, I liked Dimitri.

"That's good," he mumbled, and I noticed he seemed distracted.

"Are you okay Baba?" A sudden bout of panic rose inside of me wondering if something bad had happened to my mom, but I quickly squashed those thoughts. I think my dad would look worse if that had been the case.

"Yeah, yeah I was just wondering if you were busy on Saturday?"

"I have therapy and a Halloween party at night," I told him, leaving out my painting session with Dimitri in the morning.

"Do you want to go out to dinner with me?" I looked at him confused until his sudden mood and need to hangout dawned on me. Saturday was my mom's birthday and we always celebrated as a family.

"Baba I would love to, but I literally have a whole group costume planned with Lissa and Christian," I told him apologetically. He quickly waved me off, but I couldn't shake the guilt I felt. Without thinking too much of it, I suggested a new plan. "We can grab lunch before I go to Dierdre's," I offered.

He instantly perked up, and I tried to join in on his enthusiasm, knowing this meant I would have to cancel my session with Dimitri. Even though I was worried he would mind since it was only our second session together, I would choose my dad over another person any day.