It was the five-year anniversary of Rose's high school graduation and some of her graduating class had decided that they wanted to have a reunion. Rose wasn't going to go, she honestly wasn't all that desperate to see anyone from high school again, but her best friend Lissa somehow convinced her to, so now she was hanging around in the dingy gym with people she barely recognized anymore.
"Ugh, Liss, do we really have to be here?" Rose said, eyes on the group of 'men' that seemingly hadn't grown up at all in five years. They were pushing each other around, laughing obnoxiously, and making crude comments at every girl that walked past them. Rose rolled her eyes with a disgusted scoff, there was a reason she didn't date men her own age.
"Come on, Rose, it could be fun!" Lissa said. Rose had to admire how constantly positive her best friend was, even though it was really annoying in this situation. "Look, Mason and Eddie just walked in! Go and talk to them."
Rose turned to the door and a grin broke out on her face when she caught Mason's eye. He immediately grinned back and after whispering something to Eddie, they both headed over the girls.
"Rose!" Mason called happily. "How's my favourite girl doing?"
Rose shook her head in amusement as Mason scooped her up into his arms, somehow not surprised that Mason's crush on her apparently didn't die in the few years they hadn't seen each other. He had been in love with her since they were kids and although she didn't know if he knew that she knew, he would be stupid if he thought it was a secret. He was never really good at hiding it but they both ignored it in favour of their friendship.
"I'm great," Rose replied. "How are my favourite boys doing?"
"We're great, too," Eddie said, reaching over to pull Rose into a hug once Mason let her go. Lissa greeted them as well before excusing herself when her boyfriend Christian walked through the door.
"Alright, tell me everything that's happened to the amazing Rose in the last five years," Mason said, grinning cutely at Rose.
"You sure, Ashford? My life has been incredibly interesting."
Mason laughed. "Bring it on, Hathaway."
Rose, Mason, and Eddie chatted for a little while, Lissa and Christian joining them again at some point, until Rose decided she wants another drink. She headed over to the refreshment table alone and groaned when she saw that there wasn't any alcohol. Who would plan a high school reunion, an insanely boring one at that, and not have alcohol? How was anyone supposed to have any fun?
With a resigned sigh she reached out to grab the punch spoon but jumped when another hand brushed hers at the same time. She turned her head to apologize and her mouth went dry when she saw her old gym teacher, Mr. Belikov. He smiled in recognition at her and she couldn't help but notice that he had gotten even more attractive. She didn't think that could be possible.
He was always the hottest teacher at the school, only ten years older than her when he taught her, and Rose had had a major crush on him for a while. Obviously she did nothing about her feelings when she was in school as it was illegal but now she was 23, he was 33. and god he was gorgeous.
"Hello again, Rose," Mr. Belikov said, gesturing her to take some punch first.
"Hello, Mr. Belikov," she replied.
"Please, you can call me Dimitri now, you're an adult."
Rose, embarrassingly, blushed but nodded with a smile.
"How have you been the last five years?" he asked.
"Pretty great," she replied. "I've got a job at a gym as a personal trainer."
"Personal trainer?"
"Yeah. I mean gym was my favourite class in high school and as I have a lot of energy, I figured it would be the best job for me."
Dimitri laughed, an impressed look on his face, and Rose felt her stomach clench at how handsome he looked.
"Do you still teach here?" she asked.
"Yes, I do. I love my job very much."
"That's good. Everyone loved your class, most of the girls had a crush on you, so it would suck if you left."
"Really?"
Rose swore she could see a hint of a blush on his cheeks but convinced herself that it must just have been the dim lighting. Dimitri wasn't the type of person to be affected by compliments.
"Yeah, and it looks like a lot of them still do," she commented as her eyes scanned the room. A lot of the women were looking over in their direction and giving Dimitri lust-filled gazes. When she looked back at him, though, she was surprised to see his eyes solely on her instead of the other women in the room. It caused her to blush again and she knew he could see it by the smirk that grew on his lips.
"So, by any chance, are you one of the girls who had a crush on me?" he asked.
Rose blanched, absolutely no idea how to respond to him. Her mouth opened and closed like a gaping fish as she tried to think of something, something to say, but with his eyes burning into her she couldn't think of a single word.
"Well?" he asked. He moved a little closer to her and suddenly his aftershave was clouding her senses. He smelt amazing and Rose wanted to wrap herself up in him and drown in the scent.
"W-well...Yes. I was," she whispered.
He grinned. "Good." He put his now empty cup on the table behind them then brought his hand down to grab hers. Her eyes immediately shot down to where their skin touched, surprised at the sparks that accompany the heat, and she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth when his thumb rubbed against her knuckles.
"I've liked you this whole time, Rose," he whispered, bringing her gaze back up to his. "I fell for you when I saw you at your graduation and I haven't been able to get you out of my head since. You're so beautiful. So beautiful it hurts me."
At some point during his mini speech Rose's eyes dropped to his lips and now she couldn't pull them away. They looked so soft and she was desperate to have them press against her own. But Dimitri was expecting a response from her so she forced herself to take a breath and tell him what she had been holding in for years.
"I like you, too, Dimitri," she breathed. "I have since 10th grade."
He grinned, sliding his hand down to link his fingers with Rose's. "Come with me."
He pulled Rose out of the gym and as they passed through the door, she made eye contact with Lissa who was staring wide-eyed at her. She grinned at her until she was out of sight then let Dimitri drag her into one of the staff bathrooms. He locked the door behind them and without giving Rose a chance to react, cupped her cheeks in his hands and finally kissed her.
The kiss was more amazing than Rose could have ever imagined. Dimitri's lips were so soft and plump, and they tasted like a mixture of punch and minty toothpaste. He overpowered Rose so easily and, despite her usually competitive attitude, she loved it. Especially how dominant his tongue was as it forced its way into her mouth.
When she was still in school, she used to fantasize about getting to kiss him, as most girls did with their crushes. She always thought he'd be the dominant one based on his stature alone and she was definitely not wrong. His rough, calloused hands were all over her and every brush of their bare skin sent sparks of heat to her gut. She wanted more than just making out in a school bathroom, she wanted to feel his body on hers, have his lips map out every inch of her-
"Rose," Dimitri whispers, interrupting her dirty fantasies. He pulled away to look at her for just a second and it was obvious they were both beyond aroused. "I want you."
"I want you, too." He kissed her again but after only a second she pulled back. "But I don't want to have sex in the school bathroom."
Dimitri chuckled but nodded and backed away to let Rose come away from the wall.
"Shall we go back to my place?" he asked, taking one of her hands in his. "I've got a nice new bottle of wine that we could crack open and go where the night takes us."
The thought made Rose's stomach clench, almost uncomfortably, so she eagerly nodded, not missing the flash of amusement and lust that appeared in Dimitri's eyes.
They left the bathroom but on the way to the front door, Rose figured she should tell Lissa that she was leaving. She mentioned this to Dimitri and, while he looked a little hesitant for people to know, he waited outside as she went back into the gym to find her best friend. Luckily her friend group hadn't moved since she'd been gone so she approached them and grabbed Lissa to pull her aside.
"I'm going back to Mr. Belikov's place tonight so I don't need a ride home," she whispered.
"Rose! Is this a good idea?" Lissa asked.
"Why not? We're both adults."
"Yes, but you've been basically in love with him for so long. What if it doesn't go well? Also, people are going to think...things about you two, like that something was going on in high school."
Rose smiled, grateful that Lissa cared so much about her, but shook her head as it wasn't necessary.
"I'll be okay, Liss, don't worry about me," she said. "I'll call you."
She rushed off before Lissa could say anything else and when she reached Dimitri, wrapped an arm around his waist and let him lead her out to his car. Somebody pinch her!
