A.N: Wow I'm sorry guys but the truth is time sort of got away from me. Between moving, having to wait for Comcast to come set up the internet (3 weeks without internet mind you) reading bloodlines and then catching up with all my TV shows I missed while Comcast took its sweet ass time while working two full time jobs… well a day turned into a week and that turned into a month before I even blinked so today I said fuck the world, ignored my boss calling me in for some overtime and sat down a gave birth to a chapter. I took into consideration the fact that some of you don't like a repeat chapter to show both of their POV so I blended it… hope you liked and I promise not to be away for this long again… next chapter Thursday or Sunday okay

Baby Steps

After a long shower she went to the spare room to get ready, and that took forever. In times like this I am thankful to be a guy, a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt was all I needed to be ready to go.

When she came out the sight of her stole my breath, and suddenly all the time she took to get ready didn't matter at all. She came out wearing my sister's clothes, clothes I had seen before, but never had my sister looked this good in them. She had on skin tight blue jeans, gray knee-high winter boots and a grey strapless top that I prayed would fall.

"This good?" she asked as she twirled around so that I could get a full view.

"It's cold outside," was all I could say. It seemed like her body had been meticulously sculpted by God.

"Oh," she ran back in the room and came back with a jacket. "Better?"

"Much," I drove us to nearest breakfast place, which was still a fifteen minute drive. Fifteen minutes of complete silence as I turned every single possible outcome in my head. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence and neither of us felt the need to fill it. By the time I parked my car in front of IHop I had decided on what my next move was going to be. If I wanted her to trust me, than I would have to open up to her. And if it came to that, it was exactly what I was going to do.

When I opened the car door for her those big brown eyes looked at me filled with surprise. Seemed like no one had done this for her, leaving the score boar in my favor.

Being the only man in my house I had learned all the best ways to treat a lady.

"Now would you tell me what happened last night?" I went straight to the point.

Rose's P.O.V

"Now would you tell me what happened last night?" he asked me.

"I don't really know what happened last night; one minute I was dancing, the next I was on my ass and you guys were fighting," I shrugged, not really wanting to cry in front of him again.

"Who is Mason to you?" his voice insistent.

"Look maybe coming here was a mistake, I should go," nope, I definitely did not want to open my heart to a man, even if that man is a kind and caring sexy Russian god.

"If you really feel that way I'll take you back to your car," his words stung a bit, but his voice was soft so he hadn't said them to hurt me, so why?

"I can't."

"What can't you?" he asked still with the same soft tone.

"I can't talk about it! I thought I was over it… I thought I had moved on, but I can't," for half a second hurt was visible in his face but then it was gone, or maybe I had just imagined it.

"You still love him," it wasn't a question, he was simply stating what he thought was a fact.

"No! Not like that," I suddenly felt the need to make him see this for what it was.

"It's fine if you do, I'll take you back to your car now," this time his soft tone was gone, replaced by a cold one.

"Oh, okay," something had gone terribly wrong here, something I said or perhaps he can finally see that I am nothing more than damaged goods and he knows he can get someone without any flaws whenever he wants.

The waitress brought us our food just as he was starting to get up. I would have to give her an extra tip for perfect timing.

"Enjoy your breakfast," she smiled brightly oblivious at us before walking away.

Fuck it, either I sent everything to hell in a hand-basket right now or might regret this moment for the rest of my life. "Mason and I grew up together, he was my next door neighbor and was my best-friend, my first crush, my first kiss… well my first everything really, and yes I still feel that loss but I don't love him anymore," I gave him time to process everything as I took a bite of my bacon.

When he said nothing for a while I proceeded. "My mom and dad were never really together, so she kept my father from me. So really Mason was the male figure in my life, we had plans of going to college together and even building a family of our own after college… a family we would never let fall apart… and honestly it was all sunshine and roses until one day I came home to find my mother riding my boyfriend," he flinched and I stopped for another bite.

"So when you say you haven't moved on, it's not really from what he did to you but from what your mother did to you?" was it?

"I know I don't love him, but I'm not sure I moved on from both of them did to me," he was supposed to be my friend and she was my fucking mother for fucks sake.

"I'm not Mason," his tone once again soft as silk as he took hold of both my hands.

"I'm scared," I met his eyes.

Dimitri's P.O.V

"I'm scared," She looked at me, and as I looked into her eyes there were so much emotions in them. Fear and hope being the dominant ones. And right then and there I vouched to never be the reason these eyes shed a tear.

Just then as if my some divine help, 'Hero' from some Spanish dude started playing on the radio and just shrugged, if she wanted I would be her hero.

"Did you set this up," she smiled.

"Of course!" and we both laughed at the ridiculousness of this, as if it was possible to time a radio station to our conversation.

"So I've washed my dirty laundry and aired out my secrets, now it's your turn. Why aren't you married with a bunch of kids by now? Who broke your heart?" she asked me.

"No one broke my heart… yet," the sudden need to bare my soul to this woman was frightening, there was little I was afraid of and this made top of the list. Could I really give her everything? The startling answer was yes, right now for some odd reason I felt like she was my Olena Belikov.

"So you're just a player than?" she refused to look in my eyes, finding a spot on the table much too interesting.

"Listen, I have no excuse for my past, but I never made any promises," she was getting the wrong impression.

"So that's okay than, to sleep with a different girl every night and never see them again is okay because you don't make any promises," she snapped.

I raised an eyebrow, not really sure if telling her that what she and her friends did was the same exact thing was a good option or not.

"But then again what a hypocrite am I, we do the same thing," she looked horrified up at me.

"We both have a past, and it is what it is, it can't be changed. And now I understand your reason for not wanting a relationship again," I told her, and who could blame her? Not only did her boyfriend rip her heart out but her mother danced the samba on top of it.

"What's your reason than?" she asked me.

"I do want a relationship, I just didn't want it with just any bimbo, the woman I want a relationship has to be special," a small smile tugged at her lips but she fought it. That made the score boar now.

"I grew up in a broken home, my dad was royal jerk who was married but couldn't seem to get enough of my mother. He would come over and beat on us whenever he was drunk, and I couldn't stand by and do nothing. I believe my mother loved him, she had four kids with him… but I couldn't watch any longer as some stranger beat on my mother and sisters so at thirteen I gave him a taste of what I felt like to be scared and hurt

"Wait you beat up your father when you were thirteen?" she seemed shocked.

"Yes, and he never came around again," if he had I'm not sure I wouldn't have killed him.

"My older sister Karolina has two kids with a guy like my father and Sonya has a baby by a guy she won't tell us who so I grew up watching guys sweet talk and make all sorts of promises to the women in my life and just leave. I don't want to be that guy, and until you came along there was no one that crossed my mind more than once and I…" I paused not sure if I could keep going.

"You what?" she asked as she switched the position of our hands and she gave mine a slight squeeze urging me on.

"You make me want to be the man I wish my sisters would meet."

Rose's P.O.V

"You make me want to be the man I wish my sister would meet," he looked down avoiding my gaze. Was he for real? He was that guy from a romance novel that we would all love to rip from the pages and breathe life into him because it just isn't possible to meet in real life, and yet here I sat… holding his very real hands as he told me things I could only dream of hearing.

"Okay," the sentence sealed.

"Okay?" he looked up at me in surprise.

"I'll let you be my hero," his smile lit up the room. "But the moment you find interest in another girl you end things with me before you cheat," was really the only rule I had.

"I doubt there will be another girl," his eyes were sincere but I had my doubts, not of him per say but of men in general.

"Well if we are going to do this than there is something I need to do," taking out my phone I sent Christian a text with Lissa's number and gave Dimitri Mia's number so he could text it to his friend Eddie.

"So we're match makers now," he joked and a weird image of the six of us lounging on our living room watching movies flashed quickly though my eyes. And maybe I would make that happen in the near future.

The rest of our date was sort of an educational one; I learned some things about him as well as told him things about me. I'm not sure where this was headed but by the time he dropped me off at my car with only a kiss to my forehead and tight bear hug I was feeling both happy and sad. Happy to have spent some time with him and sad that it was over and I didn't know when I would see him again.

When I parked the car in my usual spot in the garage I knew that I would be hounded the moment I stepped inside as both their cars was here, so they were both home. I walked into the kitchen to find Mia and Lissa sitting at the table, without a word to them I walked over to the fridge and removing the magnets I took our rules down.

"I'm done," I said as I ripped the paper into pieces. Both of them let out a breath at the same time.

"Oh thank God," Mia jumped off of her seat and threw her arms around me.

"Are you happy?" Lissa asked me.

"I don't know what to feel right now, but I'm scared mainly," I answered truthfully.

"What if they turn out to be like the others?" She asked.

And I knew what was going on here, Lissa was even more afraid of being hurt again than either Mia or I.

"If that's the case than we will still have each other, and no man could ever take that away," I reassured her. Getting up from her seat she came and hugged us. The three of us stayed like that for a little while. Not sure how they were feeling but when I had my friends with me I felt like I could take on the world.

"Dad's gonna have a conniption," Mia broke our silence.

"The old man will be fine," I told her.

"Talk about dad you should call him," Lissa started.

"Yeah we called him looking for you and all he said was not to worry about you but he said for you to call him the minute you got home," Mia finished.

Taking out my phone I called him and as always he answered on the first ring.

'You are home than?' his voice was brisk.

"Well good morning daddy," I rolled my eyes.

'Good afternoon Rose, do I need to go have a talk with Mr. Belikov?'

"I'm fine daddy, don't meddle! What did you do to Mason last night?" not that I wanted to know but I didn't want my dad in jail.

'Nothing, I sent Lev to accompany him home, that was all,' I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Okay daddy," there were things I just wasn't willing to know.

'Hey Rose.'

"Yeah dad."

'I love you.'

"I love you too daddy," and with that our call ended. Needing some time to think things through I left my friends and went up to my room for some 'set my life straight' time.