Dimitri

Rose's eyes resembled that of an owl's as she looked.

"I don't think I've ever seen one so big!"

She immediately slapped a hand over mouth and turned her amused gaze towards me as her shoulders shook with mirth. "There's something I've never said before," she laughed at her double entendre as we looked out at the frozen pond where families and couples were gliding across the ice. I had been worried when I was planning the date that the pond would have started to melt already with spring a little more than a month away but luckily the mountain temperatures didn't let me down.

"Oh really? Never?" I challenged.

"Nope!" She grinned as she stepped as close as possible without us actually touching but it did nothing to smother the constant buzz of attraction whenever she was near. She lowered her voice so that the families milling around us wouldn't hear. "Unless you want to remind me and prove me wrong? I seem to remember a few promises you made when you asked me out on this date. About some very specific - some might even say naughty - promises of what would happen at night..." she trailed off, giving me a moment to remember. Yup, there were definitely some naughty implications I'd made when I suggested to convince her to go on this date in the first place.

"Nope don't remember," I coughed, stepping back in a failed effort to put some space between us. She stepped forward, backing me against a cluster of trees and the side of the rink, obscuring us from view.

"I can help jog your memory," she offered, her feigned innocence almost comical. Before I could think of a response other than a emphatic 'YES!', Rose made her move. "If I remember correctly, it was something along the lines of what we could do together. I think it started with a kiss..." She stretched up on her toes, smothering any halfhearted protests I might have made if I could have remembered them. Why was I doing this again, tormenting both of us by taking physical contact out of the equation in an effort to...

Rose gently bit my bottom lip before soothing it with smooth tip of her tongue.

Oh that felt good...wait! No, I had to stay focused and remember why...Something about being a better...something...

He tongue gently nudged mine two more times, erasing my train of thought completely as I realized I had to have more of her. She brushed the seam of my lips and I was a goner. I lost myself in her touch, crushing her against me, bending to meet every frenzied stroke she offered as her mouth worked against mine. Her taste was starting to become a sweet familiarity that was better every time we came together. We were pressed tightly together but I still couldn't get enough. I kissed her back with wild abandon but when we pulled apart for air, I fought with every ounce of my being to resist. There was a good reason I wanted to take things slow between us but with her so close I was having trouble remembering.

If I thought for a second that I'd have the upper hand by implementing the "no touching" rule, I was sorely mistaken. Rose was using every opportunity to slowly torture me by "accidentally" bumping even the smallest part of her body against mine. Through the heavy layers we were both wearing, I could feel the fiery spark down to my bones. She wasn't making this easy for me but the challenge made it all the more fun. Even if it was a form of torture. That I stupidly imposed myself. Staring down at Rose's striking face, her nose and cheeks tinted pink from the cold, her eyes bright and her lips enticingly glistening, sending all possible signals my way, I fought to remember why I was doing this.

And then I remembered the look on her face moments before when she first spotted everyone on skates, and reminded myself that as spectacular as the sex was between us and as incredible as the spark was between us, I liked the other moments too and I wanted more of them. With great reluctance I held her back, separating her body from mine. Her disappointment only lasted for a second, quickly replaced by a triumphant smile that the no touching rule had already been broken. Not to mention she undoubtedly felt how much I wanted her and how hard it was for me to pull away.

"Skate with me now and we'll talk about modifying the no touching rule later," I negotiated still trying to catch my breath. After a kiss like that, I had to admit to myself that I was hanging by a thread in trying to put some physical space between us.

She laughed as she considered my offer, glancing out at the rink where most were holding on to someone to keep themselves from falling. She grinned at me with a smile that hinted at even more attempts at temptation on her end. "Deal."

I stared suspiciously down at her. "You agreed way too quickly."

"I'm not worried," she shrugged, smiling proudly. Her eyes flicked down where I tried to discreetly adjust myself. "I don't think you'll last much longer. How good of a skater are you?" she asked, suddenly changing topics.

"It's been a while," I admitted. "I'm probably a little rusty."

"Yeah well I haven't skated since I was a kid which means I'll probably be falling all over the place. As a gentleman on the first date, you wouldn't let me fall, would you?"

It was a fight with myself to keep from laughing outright at her newest tactic. Of course I wouldn't let her fall which of course meant I'd have to have my hands on her.

"You might be overestimating my chivalry?"

She shook her head, a confident smile on her face. "Nope. I don't think I am. You open every door for me and pull out my chair. I don't believe for one second you'd let me fall."

"You're determined, I'll give you that."

"Must be the Scottish stubbornness in me. Come on, let's go!" She automatically grabbed my hand and lead me to the skate rental booth.

In the ten minute walk it had taken to get to the frozen pond from the cafe, I was afraid to admit I had already started to miss her hand in my own. I had flexed my hands countless times as though there was a physical ache there before clenching them tight in my pockets to keep from reaching for hers. I was trying to do this right and be a better man than I'd been with women in the past but it couldn't hurt to give in to a few allowances. I'd already given in once. Besides, Rose was determined to make me break my rule out on the rink anyway. I made it a little under twenty minutes without touching. I'd say that's pretty good considering we slept together the first night we met.

Even as we waited in line and while she read through a small pamphlet she picked up describing the town, I didn't fail to notice that she kept our hands clasped. That she enjoyed my touch as much as I enjoyed hers, craved it as much as I did, said a lot.

"In case I haven't said it already, this has been a good first date. My one criticism would be my date's reluctance to put out."

"Oh is that all?"

She laughed at my wry tone. "Yeah but other than that, good date." She stretched up on her toes, surprising me with a kiss to the cheek. "Really, Dimitri. At the risk of getting all mushy," she visibly cringed and shuddered, making me laugh before she continued. "This has been...one of the best days I've had a in a long time...maybe ever."

I didn't know how to feel about that. The day, though only half over, was a success thank goodness. All of my concerns that I was too rusty in the dating the department to plan a successful date were put to rest. But what did it mean that this one day in her life might have outshined all the rest? What was Rose's life like before we met?

So far we'd been taking things slowly, getting to know each other only in ways we were comfortable with, not sharing anything too in depth unless we really wanted to. We chipped at that barrier we'd built when she'd told me a little about what was going on at home with her roommates, mainly her cousin and again today when I'd inadvertently brought up my mother and the Sunday dinner coming up. Even though it felt weird at the time, discussing my family so casually with someone who wasn't already aware of my family mess, it also felt right. I opened up in the smallest way and now, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping for the same thing in return.

"I'm glad I could do this for you," I finally said, giving our hands a squeeze. She looked lighter and happier than I'd ever seen her in all the times we'd gotten together. It didn't seem like there wasn't so much of a weight on her shoulders as there normally was. Most of that had to be attributed to her reconciliation with her cousin but maybe the rest was because of me, us, together.

As the sun was beginning its slow descent, its rays illuminated the long tresses of Rose's hair, highlighting bright red streaks among her sable strands I had noticed a few times before.

"So Scottish huh?"

"Hmm?"

"You said something about Scottish stubbornness," I reminded her. She glanced away from the pamphlet for a second, her eyes widening slightly as though she was surprised she'd actually said it.

"And your hair is sometimes red in the sunlight," I added, hoping I hadn't pushed too far too soon. She was quiet for so long, I wondered if she was going to answer at all. She stared down at the ends of her hair that were hanging loose beneath the beanie cap as though she was seeing the color in her hair for the first time in a long time.

"Has it always been this bright?" she asked, holding it out to see it more clearly. "Again, I blame the Scottish in me. Maybe even the Irish."

"So Scottish and Irish?"

She released her hair, tossing it over her shoulder as she looked back down at the pamphlet still in hand as though it held all of life's answers. Her voice was noticeably lower and less enthusiastic and upbeat than it'd been moments before as she answered, "And Turkish." Had I done that? Brought her mood down by asking, ruining the moment?

"I never would have guessed."

"Really? Just by looking at me, what would you're guess have been if I hadn't told you?"

"Middle eastern, definitely but I wouldn't have guessed Scottish. Only Scottish, Irish, and Turkish?"

"Also part Bulgarian supposedly. Maybe even some french and Italian according to my...aunt. That's what she used to claim anyway but she also claimed we were descendants of some Irish or Scottish aristocrat in a long line of Hathaway aristocrats so I was never sure how much to believe...I'm just a smorgasbord of ethnicities."

She didn't sound proud of the fact at all. Whether it was attributed to issues with her family, I wasn't sure but I figured it was a good bet. This was the most she'd shared about her background and her family, other than what had been going on with her cousin.

We moved forward in the line, both of us quiet, as I turned this new but of knowledge over in my head And then it hit me. She said it again. Hathaway.

Since that night she cooked dinner for me, it had been in the back of my mind when she mentioned her Hathaway family recipe even though she had first introduced herself as Rose Marie. It wasn't a big deal really, or at least a part of me felt like it shouldn't have been but also it was. A name is the one thing someone should be able to be honest about. I considered the idea that Marie was just a middle name or maybe I was remembering wrong - I had been drinking that night - and reading into it but a bigger part of me felt certain my recollection was correct.

We made it to the front of the rental booth before I could mull it over some more. The look on Rose's face before I'd asked about her ancestry, how happy she seemed, I wanted to go back to the great day we'd both been enjoying. I pushed all of questions and concerns to the far reaches of my mind, with the intention of continuing this one prefect day the way it'd been before.

We gave our shoe sizes and I paid, despite Rose's protests that she chip in somewhere. I hadn't let her pay back at the cafe either.

"I know you're trying to be all chivalrous and everything but dude, it's the twenty-first century," she pointed out as we went to put on our skates. "You planned this whole thing, you bought me that gorgeous potted plant, you drove, paid dinner, and now this. Not to mention, you always pay for our meals when I don't bring anything from the diner or one of my catering gigs! If we were having sex more often, I'd feel like a sugar baby or something."

I finished tying my skates first and kneeled in front of Rose to help her since she was struggling.

"I like treating you."

"Well, I'd like to treat you too, sometimes. Admittedly, I'm sort of living paycheck to paycheck but I'm not struggling so much that I can't afford to do something nice for you too."

I finished tying one of her skates and moved on to the other. "You've cooked for me," I started to list.

"Only twice and one of those times was breakfast so it didn't count."

"You make sure I've eaten."

"Mostly because I don't like eating alone anymore."

I continued, undeterred by her pessimism. "And those beautiful smiles of yours make my day a whole lot better."

It wasn't until I finished her other skate that I realized Rose was silent and hadn't said anything. When I finally looked up, she was rapidly blinking and looked away, unable to meet my gaze for longer than a few seconds. She cleared her throat three times before she spoke again.

"You don't have to dazzle me with your pretty words, Dr. Belikov, I've already told you countless times now that I'm willing to sleep with you."

It didn't go unnoticed that she'd deflected what I'd said. From what I knew about Rose so far, she didn't handle compliments well. Even that first night I'd met her at the bar, when I'd called her beautiful and meant it, she hadn't believed me. It was suddenly very important to me that she did. Even if it meant forgetting everything else, never bringing up her family or her background again, I was determined to convinced Rose that she was a lot more amazing than she gave herself credit for. How could she not believe it? How had no one ever told her? It was all part of her mystery I suppose.

I stood and helped her up, pulling her closely against me. Rose looked up at me with those eyes, her gaze - a mix of uncertainty and something I had yet to figure out. Desire? Need? Longing? Maybe a combination of all three - that often knocked me off my feet. I held her face in my hands and pressed a lingering kiss to the space between her brows.

When I pulled back, she was opening her eyes. "You are beautiful." She blinked slowly as though trying to work it all out in her head. I hoped that meant she was at least starting to believe me. She visibly swallowed and offered me a slightly shy smile. A group of smaller kids passing by bumped into us. Rose immediately started pinwheeling, flailing like a cartoon before she fell forward into me.

She apologized, almost sheepishly if I didn't know any better. "That wasn't me trying to put my moves on you yet. It really has been a while since I've been on skates." I did my best not the laugh but we both lost it after she wobbled like a newborn calf as we inched our way toward the ice. We were both unsteady on the skates even though we were still on relatively safe territory. She immediately grabbed for my hands to keep herself upright but it was easier for us if I held one hand with the other on her waist so she wouldn't topple over.

"So much for not touching," she teased, squeezing our joint hands.

"I knew it was a lost cause the moment I said it," I admitted as I eased us both onto the ice. Twenty minutes had passed and we only made it a few feet from the fenced entrance. We spent more time on the ice than we did on our feet but luckily I managed to take the brunt of both of our falls.

"You're gonna feel like one big bruise tomorrow," Rose grimaced around her laughter as we tried standing up again.

"I feel like that now. Whose idea was this again?"

"Yours," she cackled, doubling over in laughter as she swiped at a few tears that had slipped out of her eyes. "I'm sorry it's not that funny."

"No its not," I agreed, trying to sound put out by her laughing but failing miserably when we fell into hysterics together, one big heap of arms and legs sprawled out against the man-made fence that we'd been using as a railing.

"It's just, you do everything so well, you almost seem a little too perfect sometimes. But lemme tell you, watching a giant such as yourself get taken down by some slippery ice, really changes that," she said around her infectious laughs. "I'm gonna stereotype you again but aren't you Russian? Shouldn't you be better at this?"

"Speak for yourself. I have yet to see you stand straight up."

She tried to stand, to prove me wrong, using me and the fence as leverage but she only made it half way before another skater came a little too close. Rose panicked and went sprawling, ending up back on the ice. We laughed for another five minutes before we tried to get up again. The chilly weather, especially with the sun was going down, didn't deter our fun. We finally got to a point where some of our childhood skills kicked in and we were able to stay on our feet more often than not. We circled the pond a couple of times before exhaustion finally started to kick in and Rose was starting to shiver more. Deciding we were done, I led us back to the benches where we pulled on our shoes. I left Rose to warm up near on of the erected heat lamps while I returned our skates.

"I keep forgetting to mention that we offer a chance to purchase photos of your visit," the elderly booth attendant mentioned as he turned his monitor toward us. "We have a photographer that tries to capture as many people as possible out on the ice to give them an opportunity to take them home as a souvenir. All we need is your email."

He scrolled through the computer before he pointed out a few separate shots of Rose and I. "Oh, these are nice," he complimented as he scrolled through them. Most of them we were either crumpled in a heap on the ice or spread eagle on our backs but there were a few that with us skating and smiling, looking more at each other than on the ice in front of us.

"I'll take them all."

Rose and I made our way back toward the center of town.

"I think I'm too old for ice skating," she groaned.

"Between the two of us, I think I'm too old for ice skating," I countered.

"But that was fun," she grinned as we walked, a lot slower now, along the sidewalk. I explained to her about the pictures and she immediately broke out into laughter at the thought we'd been captured on camera.

"Come on, we can look them over while we have a slice of pie."

"A man after my own heart. If it's a Denny's pie, even better."

We both smiled, sharing the same thought. I liked that we already had significant moments to share together, the majority of them nice with the exception being that morning I nearly pushed Rose away. What would my life be right now if I hadn't run into Rose at that church? Would I be going through the motions as I normally did? Probably. Alive but not really living, as Yeva used to say.

It wasn't Denny's, just another cozy cafe with the warm scent of chocolate the drew us in but that was enticing enough for Rose. We ordered a couple of pies to go and then took our time polishing off a shared slice, giving ourselves time to warm up a little as we looked over the photos I'd purchased.

"Oh my god, I don't think I've ever looked so uncool," Rose laughed. "You don't plan on showing these to anyone, do you?"

"They're not that bad," I lied. They were comically awful. In nearly every shot our bodied were in constant contact with the ice. Finally I scrolled to the last three images, pointing out my favorite. "This one is nice."

"That's a cute one," she agreed, smiling similarly to her grin in the picture. Her cheeks and the tip of her nose were rosy, her eyes squinted almost closed, her head tossed back. Rose was beautiful but in this picture, laughing in wild abandon, carefree and seemingly unburdened in that moment, she was stunning. Yeah, this one was definitely my favorite. "Oh! I'm sending myself this one! This is gonna be my background," she informed me, showing me a picture taken after I'd taken the blunt of a particularly nasty fall and she landed on top of me. "I'm glad I had something soft to land on."

"At least one of us did," I replied wryly.

We decided to wrap up the day by stopping in some of the shops, milling around and looking at some of the trinkets displayed. As the town's festivities were winding down and the crowd was beginning to thin out, we started making our way to the car. My 'no touch' stipulation forgotten almost as soon as I'd tried to implement it, Rose looked lost in thought as we swung our clasped hands between us as we quietly walked.

"Tired?"

"A little," she admitted. "And I know I'm going to be sore tomorrow and not in the good way. Unless you've changed your mind," she hinted, bumping her hip against mine and then immediately wincing at the bruising undoubtedly on her hips from all the falls. "Ow! Okay never mind. I don't think I could have sex with you even if you wanted to."

I laughed. "Of course I want to but like I told you, I want this to be a regular, normal, first date. I think I owe you that much."

"Because we slept together the first time we met? I wasn't exactly complaining Dimitri. Remember, I'm the one that asked to spend the night with you and we had amazing sex...before things got all weird and I left, thinking I'd never see you again. And then we just so happen to bump into each other at that church, you treat me to a very nice Denny's dinner and then we had awesome car sex parked on the beach, a few crazy random drop-bys from me, shared some meals and a couple of sleepovers," she summarized with a shrug. "I don't see the problem."

"Not the most conventional start to a relationship."

"Conventional is overrated," she countered with a sigh. "But I get it."

"That first morning after we met...I don't want to be that guy anymore. The guy who didn't know how to react when we started getting too close. I like what this is between us and I want it to work."

"Me too," she agreed.

"I'm just trying to figure out how to do this and not screw up and the best way I can think of to do that is-"

"With a fresh start by resetting our first date?"

"Exactly," I exhaled, relieved she understood.

"I get it," she nodded. "I gotta be honest, I feel like a lecherous villain here, trying to coerce you into sleeping with me. But it's sweet, that you did all this for our first official date. It was perfect." We slowed down enough that she stretched up to kiss my cheek. "Well, except for one thing."

"What?"

"I owe you an apology."

"About what?" I asked, genuinely confused. What did she have to be sorry about? "Peer pressuring me into sex? Lusting after my body?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "Well, yeah there's that...but also for earlier. I'm sorry about before...when we were talking about my family heritage or whatever back at the rink. I kind of grilled you about your family earlier but when you tried to ask me a little about mine, I was sort of brusque about it," she said guiltily.

"Rose, I probably know better than most how hard it is to talk about family. I shouldn't have pushed-"

"No, you should be able to ask me the same questions I ask you without me shutting down the way I did." We finally made it to the car but neither of us made any move to get in right away. She turned so that we were facing each other but could barely look me in the eye as she searched for the right words to explain. "The reason I get so weird when it comes to my background and my family - no wait, that's a lie we're not a family. We haven't been since...ever," she said with a forced laugh. "It's just Liss and I now. And Mia of course. When she's around. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that my family - and I use that term loosely - is beyond broken. I'm not exaggerating here. We are just...fucking trashed and talking about it, them, is still a little hard for me but I'm trying. I really am. Or at least I want to try. I just...I don't-"

I hauled her against me, silencing her struggle to put words to the chaos in her head. She sank against me with a slow, weary sigh, her forehead against my chest. I understood. Sometimes there were just no words and sometimes there were too many to explain one's messy life to someone else. All that mattered to me was that she wanted to try to open up as much as I did but it was going to take some time.

"You give really good hugs," she said, her voice muffled against my sweater.

I smiled, remembering when my sisters used to say the same thing. "It's a gift," I bragged jokingly, succeeding in making her smile when she looked up at me. "Hugs are the best medicine. Even if it's just for a moment."

"They teach you that in med school?"

"First day."

"Money well spent."

The ride home was quiet but comfortable.

We jokingly battled it out over the radio before settling on a smooth listening station. We laughed over the general soreness that was already starting to set in and pointed out some of the quaint warmly lit houses we passed.

With all the traffic and tourists leaving all at once now that the town had essentially closed for the night, the drive was longer on the way back home but neither of us seemed to mind. It was nice being unhurried, our hands clasped together on the center console, closed cozily together in the warm car. If I could pick moments in time to stop, this would be one of them.

The day must have worn Rose out more than she let on. She slowly dozed off, her hand still in mine the rest of the way home. I thought about just driving her home but I remembered her car was at my house and that I only had a vague idea that she lived in a house in the suburbs. She was sleeping so deeply I felt a little guilty waking her up when we made it back to my house.

Sheepishly she wiped at her eyes as I held her door open for her. "I didn't mean to fall asleep on you. I guess I'm not as young as I used to be. Don't bounce back like I used to."

"You're no spring chicken," I said sarcastically as I helped her out of the car as she yawned. "I was going to drive you home but I remembered your car is here. It's late. Stay here."

"A sleepover on the first date? Dr. Belikov I'm scandalized." She stepped into me, wrapping her arms around my neck. "You worked fourteen hours yesterday, you drove all day today, you fell on your ass ice skating, you had to fight off my womanly wiles, and you work tomorrow. You need a good night's sleep which you won't get if I'm in the bed next to you."

All of that was true, but I was still reluctant to let her go. A part of me wished the drive home had been longer.

"Besides, what happened to maintaining first date etiquette?"

"We shot that to hell with that kiss at the ice rink."

Her lips pulled into a self satisfied smiled as she nodded in agreement. "That was one hell of a kiss if I do say so myself but I think we can do even better."

The kiss started out soft and feather-light, like a butterfly's wings. We shared the same breath in the small space left between us before she anchored herself up bringing our mouths together. After a day of trying to resist temptation and despite the surrounding cold, the heat quickly built between us, the soft kiss dissolving into a frenzy of gasps and soft moans as we fought for dominance. I pressed her back against the side of the car, trapping her with my body as I lifted her up into my arms. Her legs locked around me as her fingers tangled in my hair. She relented to my control, drawing me in as deeply as possible into the moist warmth of her mouth. I tasted every inch of her I could, the feel of her both too much and not enough. I wanted more of her, parts of her I kept myself from reaching for in public. Keeping her steady my lips went searching, touching every available inch of her skin she had to offer, finally finding purchase on the spot just under her ear.

She trembled in my arms, her breathy moan. Her hips gently started to rock against me, seeking friction but quickly tried to stop just as I had started to join her. "Wait, wait, wait," she pleaded. I pulled back only far enough that the tips of our noses touched. She held my face in her hands to keep me from pecking at her lips. "I feel a little guilty."

I stole another quick kiss. "About what?"

"You need some rest and if we don't stop now I won't be able to."

I resisted her hold and made my way back to the warmth of her smooth neck. "I don't see a problem with that."

"Dimitri you'll be dead on your feet tomorrow if I stay."

"Are you trying to convince me or persuade me? Maybe I should call off?"

She giggled when I hit a particularly sensitive spot on her collar bone just under her scarf. "How am trying to be the responsible one right now?" I laughed with her. It was pretty funny that it seemed we switched roles.

"You've been trying to tempt me all day?" I reminded her.

"I know," she sighed. "But I was thinking about everything you said about trying to be better and taking things slow and I'm trying to be good. This was just supposed to be a good night kiss."

I could feel her warring with herself, her hands alternating between gripping my hair to keep me close and pushing gently at my shoulders to keep me away. I yielded to her hesitation, cursing my earlier self for bringing the idea up in the first place.

She was right. I had wanted to take things slow, with good reasons, but all those reasons flew out the window every time she so much as looked at me. I still wanted to do the right thing, and keep things slow but I hadn't accounted for how difficult that'd be when I already knew how good she felt, how pleasant she smelled, and how sweet she tasted.

"How about a compromise?" I suggested.

"Like what?"

"Stay the night."

"Okay..." she waited expectantly.

"That's all I have for now. We can figure out the rest later."

"Dimitri!" She fell into a fit of laughter as I started walking us into the house. She made no move to climb off of me which I took as a good sign. I kept hold of her in my arms as I opened the front door and worked to get both of our shoes off without letting go.

"You know, I think we did pretty good for our first date," I started as I reluctantly set her on her feet to get her coat off.

"So maybe we can consider this a reward for making it this long?" she proposed as she undid my coat at the same time.

"Sounds good to me," I easily agreed, appreciating the tight fit of her sweater for a second before helping her pull it over her head. We left our clothes in a trail behind us as we made our way further into the house. We made it to the living room where we both reached for each other. I caught her as she leaped at me, both of us missing the couch entirely and landing on the floor, falling in a tangle of arms and legs as we laughed.

"Oh my god are you okay?" she giggled since she landed on top of me. The sound of her laugh - her giggle - was something I could listen to all day. It was the best part of the entire day since she really didn't do it often

"I'm fine. You way practically nothing."

"In that case, I get to be on top," she declared triumphantly.

We moved quick and eagerly, impatiently stripping off the last of our garments, unable to go more than a few seconds without searching each other out for a kiss. Her underwear was the last to go as we both finally laid naked. I raked my eyes over every inch of her I could, having deprived myself of the opportunity for too long now. Every dip and curve, every small scar and slight imperfection, was gold to my eyes. We were moving, our bodies about to come together in the most pleasing way when I stopped and sighed, wanting to bang my head against the floor as I remembered.

"What? What is it?" she asked concerned and confused as I came to a standstill. Her eyes were heavy lidded, her lips swollen, as she tried to keep things goings. I held her still before we could go any further.

"The condoms are in the bedroom," I told her.

She stretched up and searched around the room, spotting my jeans in the distance. "What about your wallet?"

"Nope."

"Seriously dude?"

"I was planning on being a gentleman on our first date. Remember?"

"Yeah, how's that working out for you?" she asked teasingly, raking a hand down my chest. She shimmied her body against my obvious hard on between us as she smiled.

"Not too good," I admitted, making her laugh even more when I groaned.

I didn't feel like moving from this perfect spot to go and get them and from the groan she let out, neither did she. It was hard enough slowing down all together to ever have this conversation. We were both quiet as we contemplated getting up to get them and moving to the bedroom or staying right where we were...

"I haven't been with anyone other than you in a long time," she finally said. "And I'm on birth control."

"Me too."

She raise a brow, laughing as she did so. "You're on birth control too?"

Unable to resist laughing with her, I chuckled as I tucked her hair back from her face. "I meant the part about only having been with you. I only want to be with you."

Her cheeks flushed pink and for a second she couldn't meet my eyes. Was it so surprising for her to hear that I'd only been with and only wanted to be with her? Her eyes lit up with excitement as she sat up. Holding either side of my face, she pulled me in for a frenzied, heated kiss, everything continuing right where we'd left off.

As much as I wanted to take my time - especially since it had been so long - I could hold back anymore and Rose wasn't having it either. She maneuvered herself on top, aligning her body with mine before quickly sink down, gasping when I was buried inside her to the hilt. I had never seen such a sight before. Her shape in the dim light spilling in through the window, her eyes ablaze with ardor as she moved on top of me, she was a beauty I didn't have words for in that moment. I wanted to tell her, to say something but I was speechless and the sensual tension rapidly growing between us was distracting so I decided to dedicate as much time as I could to showing her.

The tight clenching in my lower body was threatening a quick impending release. The affect she had on me was waging war on all of my senses. I was surrounded by her, her scent, the sensations of her skin against mine, the breathy sounds the escaped from her lips, the taste of her kisses, and the sight of her taking control right on top of me was too much. She was all around me, everyone at once. There wasn't an inch of my skin that her hands or lips didn't attach themselves too as she moved against me.

If I were to die right then - suffocated or poisoned by too much Rose - it'd be a happy way to go. I couldn't hold back as long as I wanted to this time. I made a mental note to take it slow and draw out every touch and caress the next time. For now, I'd lose myself in her and make up for it later.

I held her waist, keeping her steady as she took what she needed to find that perfect spot. Her rapid breathing and the tight clenching of her lower half told me she was close, just on the cusp of release but she wasn't quite there. Knowing women needed more than penetration and a little stimulation went a long way, I reached for her, lending a helping hand to stimulate the sensations building between her legs. A light touch with the tip of my fingers, a gentle nudge.

Her breaths left her in puffs of air as she gripped a hold of my wrist. "Almost there...a little harder..."

I did as she instructed, adding more pressure to the soft nub at the apex of her smooth legs. She was panting in sync with my soft grunts as we both reached the edge of release. I was ready to let go but I fought with everything in me to hold back, wanting to fall with her. Her thighs shook, tightening around me, as she let go. She tightened herself around me as I finally allowed my body the release it craved. She collapsed on top of me, clawing at my shoulders as the trembling in her body eased into soft tremors.

I ran my hand down the expanse of her back, losing my fingers in the silky tangles of her long hair as we laid there trying to catch our breath. She eased herself up, resting her chin on her hands as she laid on my chest.

"You know, I thought those first few times you and I slept together were only amazing because we didn't really know each other and everything was new but now..." she shook her head before laying back down, burying her face against my neck.

"But now?" I prompted when she didn't continue.

"Now I think it's just this good between us every time. Ugh, that sounded so cheesy," she groaned, making me laugh.

"No it didn't. You're right. Every time between us had been..." I trailed off, searching for the right word but coming up empty.

"Indescribable," she finished, grinning up at me. "Our sexual chemistry is through the roof, if I do say so myself. We're just too good at sex together to go without again."

"Agreed." I wasn't putting either of us through that again. It was scary how much I wanted Rose but also exciting. She felt too good to give up for any period of time no matter how much of a gentleman I wanted to be. I'd just have to try harder to make this work. We were already great when it came to sleeping together. The sex between us was fantastic. It was everything else that would take time and effort from both of us. But I wanted it. I wanted her. No matter what it took.

She stretched up to kiss me, her body shivering when I twitched still inside of her. I moved to slide out but she held me in place. Almost hesitantly, she stopped me, her eyes timid. "No wait. Just stay...for a little while? It feels..."

She didn't have to say it. I already knew. It was the closest word we could use to accurately describe it.

"Perfect. It feels perfect."

A/N: I know it's been a while but I was arguing with myself on where to end this chapter. I wanted to end February in only four chapters but I kept writing and couldn't stop. Their date was supposed to end in only one but it's always a little fun for me trying to write Dimitri's POV (even when I think his thoughts sound like Rose's most of the time in my head).

Thank you guys a thousand times over for the reviews, favorites and follows! I hope you guys are enjoying it and the next chapter should be up sooner than this one was since it's already written. :)