Rose POV

The next day, Lissa and I were sitting in one of the soundproof rooms at the studio while I told her all about my new bodyguard. I was still reeling about the fact that it was Dimitri - the man I had secretly been pining for over the past year.

"Surprisingly, Liss, I don't think I'll mind having this bodyguard follow me everywhere." I admitted, unable to keep the smirk off my face.

Lissa's perfect blonde eyebrows rose in surprise. "But I thought you hated the idea of having a shadow all the time?" she said, air-quoting around the word shadow.

"I did," I agreed, pretending to watch and play with my fingers. "But this guy is...different."

"Different, how?"

"I don't know. Just...different." I lied, keeping my eyes on my fingers in an attempt to hide my smile.

She wasn't buying it; she knew me too well. "Rose." Lissa insisted, groaning when I didn't meet her eyes. "Rose, look at me."

Finally, I decided couldn't keep the secret anymore. Not from her. But that didn't mean I couldn't play with her a bit. "I met Dimitri." I blurted out.

Lissa's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "What? When? Where? How? What was he like? Is he cute? Why-" Lissa fired questions at me until I interrupted her by gently covering her mouth with my hand.

"Whoa, Lissa! Only one question at a time. Slow down and breathe. I'm going to take my hand away from your mouth. Can you be calm?" She nodded so I slowly moved my hand.

"Okay. I'm calm, but you have to tell me everything." Lissa demanded. So, I told her everything.

Flashback

"Do you want to go get a coffee?" Dimitri suddenly blurted out.

I thought for a moment, and then shook my head. "No, but I have a better idea." I replied as I reached out and gripped his wrist, trying to ignore the jolt of electricity that shot through me at the feel of his skin, and gently pulled him out of the gym.

"I've been meaning to email that song to you, but I just keep forgetting, so I'm just going to show it to you here." I told Dimitri as we walked into the studio.

"The song you wrote for me?" He asked.

"Yeah, that one." I told him as we walked into one of the rooms where I practiced.

I didn't actually have the recording with me, and since I had asked for a personal day, I didn't want to bother Adrian, so I decided that I'd perform the song for him live. Nervously, I grabbed a guitar, and sat down, gesturing for Dimitri to do the same.

"I'm assuming that you'll be okay with me singing it to you?" I asked with a nervous smile.

"I'm more than okay with that, Roza." He replied with a nod and a small smile of his own.

(The song that Rose sings to Dimitri is 'Never Gonna Let You Down'. Lyrics are in a previous chapter)

I blushed and tried to hide it by looking down at the guitar. I took a deep breath, and positioned my shaking hands accordingly. My fingers began making their way across the strings like I had practiced plenty of times before.

After the first few chords, I began singing, my nerves slipping away as I played the familiar notes. The words came as easily to me as did the guitar chords, so I let the music flow from me, only breaking pace to add a preset beat at the appropriate place.

I kept my eyes locked on Dimitri as he watched me, and I wished I could tell what he was thinking, but he kept his face in a neutral, emotionless mask.

Soon the song was over, and we sat there in an awkward silence until Dimitri reached over and gently took my hands in his. "That was beautiful, Roza." He said with a smile, causing my breath to hitch. "Thank you."

I felt myself blush again and gave his hand a squeeze. "I hope you know that I mean it, Dimitri. I'm here for you if you need me."

There was a pregnant pause as we sat there, eyes locked on one another. Some unknown emotion past between us, as if there was something we both wanted to say, but neither of us had the nerve to actually voice it.

Finally, Dimitri cleared his throat and averted his gaze. "Come on," he coaxed, helping me to my feet. "We should go."

I nodded, replacing the guitar back where it belong and the two of us exited the booth, closing the door behind us. We were walking down the hall back towards the gym when a very irritating voice sounded through the hall.

"Dimka?"

I heard Dimitri groan quietly, and we both turned around to see where the voice came from.

"Tasha." Dimitri addressed her.

"What are you doing here? With her?" Tasha whined, shooting an accusing glare my way.

"Fat, obnoxious cow." I muttered under my breath. I was certain Dimitri heard me because he glanced over at me curiously, an eyebrow raised in question.

"I'm working, Tasha," he said curtly. "Rose is my charge."

"Charge?" Tasha sneered.

"Yes, charge." I interrupted. "Dimitri is my new personal bodyguard and head of my security." I said proudly.

"That's...that's ridiculous, Dimitri." Tasha sputtered. "Why on earth would you be her bodyguard?"

"I hired him to do so." A familiar voice announced. I turned around to see Baba joining our conversation.

"And who are you?" Tasha asked, eyeing my father suspiciously.

"My name is Abe Mazur."

Tasha visibly paled as Baba turned to me. "Kiz, I thought you wanted a personal day. What are you still doing here?"

"I was just showing Dimitri around." I replied casually.

"Ah, I see." Abe smiled before turning his attention to Dimitri. "Welcome to the team, Dimitri."

Abe's eyes found Tasha's. "Don't you have somewhere to be besides harassing my daughter?"

Tasha paled further. "Actually, I do." She said before swiftly walking away.

End of Flashback

"Wow. So, Dimitri is your personal bodyguard?" Lissa asked in awe. I nodded. "Now, I see why you said you wouldn't mind having this bodyguard follow you around."

"Yep." I said, popping the 'p'. "I still can't believe he knows Tasha though."

Lissa sighed, resting her chin on the palm of her hand. "I don't see why you and Tasha don't get along."

"We just don't, Liss. We never have." I told her.

"I know. I just wish you did. You're both like family to me." Lissa said wistfully before a slow, sly smile settled on her lips. "Anyway. Tell me more about Dimitri."

I smiled, and spent the rest of the afternoon telling Lissa all about my sexy Russian bodyguard.