The weekend came quickly. Dimitri accompanied us to Missoula since he was still Lissa's sanctioned guardian, and nothing that Alberta said would have been able to stop him from joining us. Christian and Eddie accompanied us on the trip, with Emil joining us as a second guardian for Christian and a chaperone for Eddie. Emil drove, and Dimitri sat up front with him while I sat in the second row with Lissa. Christian was on Lissa's other side, and Eddie stretched out in the back row by himself.
It was technically approaching the end of our day, with the sun just barely over the horizon, but going to Missoula meant staying up all night so that we could be there during human business hours. None of us were tired yet, and quiet conversation filled the van. I briefly met Dimitri's eyes when he turned around to check on us.
I could easily read everything in his eyes during that brief glance, and I wished that we were sitting next to each other.
Once we reached Missoula and the mall, it was a little after opening for them and about the normal time that most dhampirs and Moroi on a nocturnal schedule would be going to bed. But the human day was just starting, and we carefully blended into the others walking into the mall. As a group, we moved from store to store in the mall, Lissa often being the one that dragged us from one store to the next.
It was past midafternoon for the humans and early morning for us when we finally took a break and sat down in the food court to eat. We made plans for the afternoon at the mall – Lissa had more stores that she wanted to go to – and then made plans to go to an escape room before going back to the Academy. I glanced at Dimitri as we mentioned the escape room and saw a hint of a smile on his lips.
Christian and Eddie wondered about the lower level of the mall after lunch with Emil, while Dimitri stayed with me and Lissa. I wasn't on duty, but that didn't stop me from glancing around and keeping track of our surroundings as we walked through the upper level of the mall.
Lissa shot me a grin before pulling me into Victoria's Secret. Dimitri followed us in dutifully, as she knew he would. Lissa dragged me over to the lingerie section.
"I need something new for Christian," she said softly. She didn't glance back at where Dimitri was pretending to browse through lingerie on another rack. "You could get something for Dimitri."
I smiled. "Maybe."
Lissa held up a handful of sets before settling on a pale pink set. The bra was lace with a floral pattern etched into the edge, and embroidered flowers were sown in to cover the wearer's nipples. The underwear was high-waisted and made of lace with more florals etched in. The high waist would accentuate Lissa's slim waist, and, for a moment, I was envious of her body.
"Did you find anything?" she asked after finding the correct size.
I shook my head.
"Rose!" Lissa said. "Come on, you know you want to. My treat."
I grinned and grabbed the first lingerie piece I saw. Its shape wasn't very clear on the hanger, but I was able to figure it out and I held it up against my body. The bodysuit was all straps that ran together to create something that looked like it belonged in a BDSM catalog. Thin pieces of fabric would barely cover my nipples, and the bottom half was essentially a thong. Lissa failed to stifle a laugh, and I couldn't help but laugh too. I turned to put the piece back on the rack and saw Dimitri watching me, his eyes dark. I was too far away, but I was positive that if I were closer, I'd easily be able to see the lust showing in his eyes.
"What about this?" Lissa questioned, oblivious to the looks Dimitri and I were sharing across the store. I turned away from Dimitri and looked back at Lissa.
She was holding a wine-colored corset. There were small snaps in the front of the corset to clip together. Up close, I could see that there was lace over the front on top of a shiny fabric, while the sides and back were made of a mesh panel.
I smiled at Lissa. "Now that I could get on board with."
Lissa went searching for a matching pair of underwear, pulling multiple different options until I finally settled on a cheeky pair in the same color as the corset. I could feel Dimitri's eyes burning into me the entire time I was making my selection, and his gaze didn't go away as we checked out and carried our purchases out of the store.
The rest of our trip passed quickly, too quickly, but I still felt Dimitri's burning gaze as we walked the rest of the mall. I didn't look back at him, fearing that all of my emotions would show on my face if I did. Dimitri had clearly seen us buy the lingerie, but I wanted it to be a surprise when I wore it for him.
We ended up doing two escape rooms because we had the time and because Eddie and I wanted to see if we could beat our first time. We managed to get out of the escape room with fifteen minutes to spare the first time and that was without Emil and Dimitri helping, though they were both in the room with us.
Dimitri and Emil both refused to participate the second time around too, but despite not having their help, we managed to escape with seventeen minutes to spare. I high-fived Eddie as we walked out of the room, with Lissa and Christian following behind us. We had started debating the possibility of doing the third room before Emil shut us down and told us that it was nearly time to head back to the Academy. We were given the option of doing one more escape room or getting dinner. Eddie and I were on the same page for doing another escape room, but Lissa and Christian weren't. I didn't need the bond to know that Lissa had preferences for doing dinner, and I gave in to her wishes.
We got dinner at a Chinese place before loading back into the van. It would dark by the time we got back to the Academy, having spent the whole day in Missoula, splitting time between the mall and other activities. Though Strigoi attacks on a moving car were rare, we still had to be prepared. Emil still drove the van, but Eddie sat in the passenger seat beside him now. Lissa and Christian took up the middle row, with Lissa leaning against him, nearly asleep. Dimitri and I found ourselves relegated to the back row, which wasn't entirely unwelcome. As I climbed into the van, I saw Lissa turn around briefly and give me a hidden smile. With a jolt, I realized that she had stretched out in the second row on purpose, ensuring that Dimitri and I would be next to each other.
Dimitri climbed in after me, and as Emil got on the highway to take us back to the Academy, I felt Dimitri take my hand. We were mostly out of view of anyone else in the car and I relished the feel of his hand in mine. It was something so normal, something that we normally couldn't have, and were taking a risk by doing it now.
It didn't take long for the sound of the highway under the van's tires to lull me to sleep. The creeping exhaustion from being awake for twenty-four hours didn't help, and I slept the whole way back to the Academy.
I woke up as we pulled through the front gates and had a sense of déjà vu, having woken up from taking a nap on Dimitri's shoulder with his duster draped over me as a blanket. He still held my hand, and Dimitri squeezed it gently before pulling his hand away. I missed the warmth immediately.
Dimitri got out of the van first, and I quickly followed, making sure to grab my bags as I went. I had hidden the Victoria's Secret bag inside my Macy's bag in case anybody saw it and made assumptions.
I waited for Lissa to get out of the car before linking arms with her. Christian pressed a quick kiss to Lissa's cheek before walking toward the cafeteria. I sensed from the bond that he was going to the feeders before going back to his room to sleep.
"Rose!" Dimitri called from behind me as Lissa and I started walking away from the van. "You forgot your bag."
He was holding a Victoria's Secret bag that was a little smaller than the one that was in my Macy's bag. I flushed as I took the bag from him, knowing that nothing in that bag was bought by me. Lissa didn't comment as we walked back to the dorms, stopping at her room first. She waited until the door closed behind her before turning on me.
"What was that?" she questioned, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Lissa—"
"Don't 'Lissa' me," she said. "Curious minds want to know. You see all of my sex life."
"Not purposefully!"
She laughed and shrugged. With a sigh, I opened the bag that Dimitri had given me. I pulled out a bra first. It was made of black lace and would be completely see-through once I had it on. The cups of the bra were small, and I knew by looking at it that it would be a miracle if the lace covered my nipples. I pulled out the matching underwear next – also made of see-through lace – and almost dropped them when I realized that there was no fabric covering the crotch.
Lissa's eyes widened as she realized what I was holding. "He bought you crotchless panties?"
"Apparently," I said dryly.
I looked back in the bag to see if there was anything that I was missing, but the only thing left in the bag was a piece of paper. I thought it was the receipt until I looked closer and recognized Dimitri's handwriting. There was only one word on the paper:
Tonight.
