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CHAPTER 39

RPOV

I spent the next day with Dimitri and his kids. They were all ecstatic to have me over. Since it was a rainy day we did nothing but watch movies and in the afternoon, we baked cookies. The kids made a mess out of the kitchen, but Dimitri didn't complain. He seemed content as he watched the kids' attempts to bake cookies. I tried to help them as much as I could, but I wasn't a pro at this either and at last, Dimitri jumped in and helped us out.

In the evening, he took us to McDonalds for dinner. As the kids got up and ran to the hallway to get their coats, Dimitri moved to stand beside me.

"Thank you," he murmured, taking my hand in his. It was the first time today he'd touched me. A chill ran down my spine and I looked down at our hands. Dimitri laced our fingers together and added, "They haven't been this happy in months." Then he looked up at me. "I haven't been this happy in months either."

"Me neither," I whispered.

Dimitri gave me a small smile and leaned in, pressing his lips softly against mine. "Is this okay?" he asked, giving me a questioning look.

I nodded with a smile and squeezed his hand gently. "Yes, that is just fine." Clearing my throat, I asked, "Have you told them?"

I didn't need to explain what I meant; Dimitri knew immediately. "No, I haven't told them yet. I wanted to wait…until you're sure this is what you want. I don't want to let them down again if-"

"You can tell them," I interrupted gently. "I'm not going anywhere. Even if you throw me out again, I'm staying this time," I added firmly.

"I swear, it's not going to happen again," Dimitri said, tightening his hold on my hand. "I'm not ever letting you go again."

I smiled. "Okay."

"Oh my God! Oh my God!"

Startled, I looked up when Alisa and Inna stormed into the room. Both were grinning like crazy.

"Are you guys back together?" Alisa asked, almost jumping up and down in joy.

"Umm…"

"Of course they are!" Inna said before I could say something. "Dad's holding her hand!"

They started giggling. I glanced up at Dimitri, raising my eyebrows. He just shrugged, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Where's your brother?" he asked.

No reply. The girls just kept giggling as they glanced over at us again.

"Never mind," Dimitri muttered. He let go of my hand and moved to the hallway. "I'll go get him."

After a few minutes, he came back with Liam in tow. Liam moved to my side and slipped his hand into mine.

"I want to sit next to Rose in the car!" he announced.

Inna's eyes lit up. "I'm sitting in the front!"

The kids were very noisy in the car. If I wasn't this happy to have them back in my life, I sure would've gotten an headache and would've asked Dimitri to turn the car around. But tonight, I could handle it. I wasn't too sure if Dimitri could handle it, though. He looked like he could use some quiet time. I was pretty sure he wasn't getting that tonight, though.

"Oh God, finally some peace," Dimitri groaned when we came home later that night. He'd sent the kids upstairs to get ready for bed. He plumped down on the couch and closed his eyes for a brief moment. When he opened his eyes again, he patted the spot next to him. "Come here," he murmured.

I sat down next to him and he wrapped his arm around me as I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Were you ever this loud as a kid?" I asked.

"Never," he said.

I chuckled. "I already thought so."

He smiled. "Yeah, well, I guess that's a trait they got from Tasha. Alisa is supposed to be more like me, but, damn, tonight she was just as loud and noisy as her siblings. It's clear they're all very happy to have you back." He kissed my forehead. "Are you staying the night?"

I started to say something, but he cut me off quickly. "It's not for sex. I just want to hold you in my arms, you know? The first thing I want to see when I wake up is you."

A slow smile spread across my face and I nuzzled my face in his neck. "Fine. I'll stay the night."

His other arm wrapped around me, too, and he kissed my hair. "I love you."

"Love you too," I murmured.

He pressed his lips against my hair again. "I'm going to check on the kids."

"I'm kinda tired. You mind if we go to bed, too?"

"Sure. I'll be back in a few, okay?"

I followed him up the stairs and then went to his bedroom. Everything was just the same as when I'd left. Even the picture of him and me together was still on his nightstand. I wondered if he'd ever removed it or if it had stayed there all this time, even when we'd broken up.

Suddenly, an idea hit me. Quickly, I stripped down my clothes and crawled into bed. I flicked out the lights and pulled the covers over me as I waited for Dimitri.

"Thank you for staying, Roza," he said when he finally walked into the room. He closed the door and started undressing.

"Sure. No problem," I said, smiling to myself.

I felt the bed dip when Dimitri crawled in beside me. He moved closer to me and wrapped his arms around me. As soon as he touched me, he stiffened.

"Are you…naked?" he asked slowly.

Slowly, a grin spread across my face. Luckily, it was too dark for him to notice.

"Yeah," I said casually. "It's too hot to wear something to bed." I felt him move away a little and my grin widened. "Is it bothering you?" I asked sweetly.

Dimitri let out a groan. "What do you think? I can't have you sleeping naked next to me."

"You wanted me to stay over," I said with a devilish smile. I guess my torture plan was working.

"Yes, but I didn't realize you were going to make it this hard for me to keep my hands off of you," he said.

I flicked on the lights and sat up in bed, giving him a good view of my chest. Dimitri let out another groan and closed his eyes.

"I never thought I'd say this, but please put on some underwear, Rose," he said. "I can't sleep like this – you naked next to me and I can't touch you. I know you're doing this on purpose, it's part of your plan to torture me, and I know I deserve this, but please…" He let out a deep breath, still not looking at me. "Please put on some clothes, Roza."

"Fine," I said with a shrug.

When I started to climb over him, he stiffened again. "What are you doing?"

"My clothes are over there," I said, pointing to the corner. "This way is shorter."

He glared at me, knowing I was teasing him. "It takes, like, two seconds more if you just go around the bed."

"Yeah, well, now I just spared two seconds," I said grinning. I felt his gaze on me as I put my underwear and my tank top back on. "This better?" I asked.

"Much," he said, looking relieved.

I climbed back into bed and Dimitri rolled over, wrapping his arms around me again. A giggle escaped my mouth when I felt something poke against my back.

"Are you turned on?"

He groaned and I buried my face in the pillow, laughing.

"Well, who's fault do you think it is I'm turned on?" Dimitri muttered.

"I'm sorry," I said, still laughing.

"Yeah? I'm not sure I believe that."

I giggled again. "Me neither." I rolled over so I could look at him. "You already regretting asking me to stay the night?"

"Maybe," he responded, but then he smiled reluctantly.

I smiled back and kissed his lips. "Good night, comrade."

He sighed and tightened his arms around me. "Good night, Roza."

The next morning, I had to get up early. I had a morning class and I needed to stop by my room so I could get my textbooks and take a shower. Dimitri was still asleep. Even though I knew he'd be up soon to get the kids ready for school, I decided to give him another hour of sleep. I wrote a note for him and then quietly left the house.

Later that day, after my classes, I tried to find Christian. I knew he didn't have any classes right now so I figured he was in his room, but when I couldn't find him there, I realized he was probably with Lissa. I went by her dorm room and yes, there he was at her door. It looked like he was leaving.

I waited in the hall and let them say goodbye. Christian leaned in to kiss Lissa and it seemed to go on and on until Christian finally pulled away from her.

He started walking my way and when he looked up, his eyes widened a little. "Rose, what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you," I replied.

"Why?" he asked cautiously.

"Because I'd like to talk to you," I said patiently. "You got time right now?"

Christian nodded and followed me outside the building. I felt his eyes on me as he walked behind me, but he never said a word.

I stopped and turned around to him, looking down at my feet. I didn't really know what to say to him. In my eyes I hadn't done anything wrong, but apparently Christian felt different about that.

"Look," I said at last, taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry for having this stupid argument with you, but I'm not sorry for loving Dimitri and taking him back. I-"

Christian held up his hand. "No. Stop."

I frowned, confused. "Okay…"

"You don't have to apologize," he said sighing. "I… I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have reacted like that. I guess I was just surprised that you gave him a second chance. But if that's what you want then I'll have to respect that," he said, glancing up at me. "You're my best friend, after all. So, um, you have my support. And… I'm sorry."

I looked at him, stunned. I hadn't expected our talk to go down like this. I'd expected it to be difficult, with lots of yelling and arguing. I hadn't expected him to apologize.

"Wow," I stammered. "T-thanks."

He gave me a small smile and stuck out his hand. "Friends?"

I returned his smile and instead of shaking his hand, I pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. "Best friends."

His arms wrapped around me. "Best friends," he whispered, holding me tight.

When we pulled away from each other, Christian was frowning.

"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Um, your mom called me today," he said. "She said she couldn't reach you so she called me instead. She said she's coming over today."

I stared at him, wide-eyed. "Today?"

He nodded and grimaced. "Yeah. Sorry. I probably should've come find you straightaway, but…" He shrugged his shoulder a little. "I, um, was busy with Lissa."

When he started blushing a little, I said quickly, "Spare me the details of your sex life, please."

"I wasn't going to say anything," he mumbled.

I sighed. "Okay, so my mom is coming over. When did she call you?"

Christian scratched his head. "A couple of hours ago?"

"Was she leaving right away or…?"

"I don't know," he answered. "I guess."

"Great," I muttered. "Then she'll be here soon. If she's not here already," I added, grumbling.

"I'm sorry," Christian said again.

"It's fine," I said, waving his apologies away. "It's not your fault. Did she tell you why she's coming?"

"No. I guess she just wants to see how you're doing. Or maybe she wants to talk it out since you two left things so… well, you know," he said uneasily.

I nodded. "Yeah… I was hoping she wouldn't stop by anymore. This is like a record, really. Two visits in three months. It's probably because of Dimitri. She's probably wondering if we're still broken up."

"Are you going to tell her?" Christian asked.

I looked at him as if he was crazy. "Hell no. She'll probably go back to Dimitri to rant at him and demand he break up with me again."

"You think he'll listen this time?" Christian said, raising an eyebrow.

"Honestly, I don't know," I said with a sigh. "I know he's sorry and he really wants to make things right, but my mom is really convincing. I would like for them to stay away from each other so my mother can't influence him. I think it's better if I lie to her about Dimitri."

"Yeah, maybe," he agreed.

"And I probably shouldn't tell Dimitri either that my mom is back in town."

"Probably not."

I let out another sigh. "Well, I guess I should go and see if my mom is already here. Thanks for the heads-up."

"No problem," Christian said. "I'll see you later."

I reluctantly walked back to my dorm room and prayed my mom wouldn't be there, waiting for me. Unfortunately, God wasn't on my side today. Because when I rounded the corner, I saw her standing at my door. As soon as she heard my footsteps, she turned around to me, her arms crossed and her eyes piercing mine. I gulped involuntarily as I tried to match her fierce gaze.

This is going to be an interesting talk, I thought.

What do you guys think? Did Janine come back to make amends or is she going to meddle again? Luckily, Christian is on her side again. :)

Hope you liked the chapter. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Have a nice day/evening! :)