Rose

Olena had told me that I didn't need to help clean up after the party, but I insisted on at least picking up some of the trash and putting away the extra food. Even with so many people, there were still enough leftovers to completely fill the fridge. I'd probably be eating Olivier salad for the next three days, which was fine by me. I had initially been hesitant about the dish since it looked way too much like the egg salad that had given me and half the school food poisoning a couple of years back, but I was happy to report that it was so much better.

Helping out also gave me a bit of time to process the weirdness of my new pseudo-stalker. I still wasn't sure what the man was playing at. Mazur said he knew my mother. I didn't understand how my mom would even know a guy like that, much less know him enough to ask him to check on me. If he was even telling the truth about any of that. It was probably some type of trick to make me trust him.

And what the hell did he mean when he said he has 'a vested interest' in me? Not to mention the one thousand freaking dollars he had stuffed into that envelope! I had to count it twice just to make sure that I hadn't gone insane. Why would he give that to me? And why, for that one brief moment, did it look like he might have actually…cared?

I shook my head and tried to forget the whole thing. It didn't matter. The man brought more questions than answers, and even I knew people like that weren't the sort I should be hanging out with.

By the time I finally made it upstairs, I was beat. I wanted to blame it all on the party and excitement of the day but I knew at least a small portion was the lingering effects of the many, many little shots of jet-fuel vodka. I'm pretty sure my liver was going to give me a stern talking to tomorrow if the impending hangover didn't do the trick first. Vika said we'd have something called Nikolashka —a sort of lemon snack with sugar and coffee—as well as pickles. Both were supposed to help with hangovers, apparently. Not quite the greasy cures I was used to, but she swore that they worked, and who was I to disagree with someone raised on the stuff.

I had barely laid down before I fell asleep, and not long after that, I found myself in a place all too familiar. One that the very thought of could make me homesick. I could almost smell the scent of rubber flooring and disinfectant. Training equipment lined the walls, including stacks of blue pads, dummies, and climbing ropes that were secured up and out of the way until needed. The tall ceilings and high windows that made the place echo could only mean one thing: I was home.

Or, I was in a pretty darn good illusion of home.

"Adrian!" I called out, recognizing my surrounding for what they really were. My voice didn't reverberate off the walls like it would have if this was real. "I know you're out there!"

"No need to yell, LIttle Dhampir. I'm right here." Adrian poked his head out of the doorway that would have led into the girl's locker room if we were actually back at the academy. He looked around the large, open space. "This is really your favorite place in the world?"

I ran over and gave him a big hug. He had yet to invade my dreams since I had moved, and I was happy to see him. Not in person, I guess, but close enough.

Stepping back, he waved a hand up and down toward me. "Look at you, all legal and shit. Adulthood looks pretty good on you."

"Yeah, I guess I have to cut it out with all the crime now. No more petty theft or B&Es for me anymore." I quipped, giving him a playful shrug as if I was reluctantly setting aside some non-existent criminal enterprise now that getting caught would mean prison rather than juvie. I couldn't hold the bluff, though. Smiling, I asked, "What are we doing here?"

"It's your birthday, isn't it? I had to give you your gift."

"My gift?"

"Yep." His easy-going grin grew impossibly wide as he nodded to something over my shoulder. "Look behind you."

I had barely begun to turn around before I heard the deep, accented voice I knew by heart.

"Roza."

"Dimitri!" Before I could even grasp the magnitude of what was happening, my feet were moving as tears blurred my vision. Dimitri was here. As I felt his arms pull me close in a solid embrace, I knew it was real. He wasn't just some part of the illusion. It was really him—or at least as real as one could get with a spirit dream. It felt real, though.

I pulled back just far enough to look him in the eyes before rising up on my toes, taking his face in my hands, and kissing him like I had wanted to do since the moment I stepped onto the plane last week. He didn't hesitate to return it either. In the back of my mind, I knew that Adrian was not too far away, but Dimitri kissed me as if we were the only two in the room. His fingers wove through my hair, cupping the back of my head and guiding me so that he could deepen the moment a bit more. Soon, our reunion was heating past the sweet and bordering on scandalous, and I forced myself to pull away. Still, I couldn't help touching him. I had heard him on the phone. Seen him through the screen. But actually feeling him? It felt like I hadn't touched him in years.

Adrian cleared his throat, capturing both mine and Dimitri's attention for a moment. "I don't want to interrupt things, but pulling you both in here together is taking up quite a bit of energy. I can't hold the dream for long. Maybe another five minutes or so."

Only five minutes?

I tried to shake off the brief moment of disappointment, knowing that this was already more than I could have ever even hoped for. Even if it was just for a little while, Dimitri and I were together again. Looking up at him, I gave him a smirk. "Well, I guess a quickie is out of the question, then."

I tried to keep my voice low, but Adrian had apparently still heard it because he blurted out a laugh. He had moved towards one side of the room to look over the school's athletic record list to give us some privacy, but it was clear that he couldn't hold back his very Adrian-like teasing. "Don't let me stop you. In fact, I'm happy to join in on the fun."

Even though I knew Adrian was just messing with us, I saw Dimitri's eyes flash in annoyance. Though the man could control his temper better than almost anyone else I knew, it appeared that his jealousy and possessiveness over me was a weak point for him. I understood. I wasn't immune to jealousy either. Last Christmas had made that extremely clear.

Instead of trying to brush the joke aside, I pressed my body against Dimitri and reminded him of who I wanted to be with. Who I loved. Who I belonged to.

He seemed to calm a little when he reached for my hand and guided us to where all the gym mats were stored off in the corner opposite our magic maestro. Grabbing me by the waist, he lifted me until I could settle myself on top and then hopped up himself before moving to sit back against the wall. With one leg out in front of him and the other hiked up to the side, he pulled me toward him until my back was flushed with his front and his arms wrapped around me like a vice. Short of me sitting on his lap, this was the closest we could be, and I was perfectly happy to stay like this forever. From the way he rested his chin on the top of my head for a moment, I was willing to bet that he felt the same. He kissed my temple before sighing and relaxing with me in his embrace. I settled into him, too.

"So, how was the party?"

"Busy. The entire town must have been there." I felt him chuckle against my back as I continued, "It was fun, though."

"Good."

I twisted, momentarily breaking his hold on me as I gave him an accusatory nudge. "You should have told me about the drinking, though! Vika had to help me to my room after everyone left. Russian vodka is insane, and there must have been a million toasts."

"Sounds about right." The idea seemed to amuse him as he brushed my hair back. When it was clear that I wasn't actually upset with him, he pulled me back against him once more.

Olena's words filled my mind for a moment. "I liked your mother's toast, though."

"Oh? What did she say?"

"She called me a new daughter. Maybe it's weird, but it made me feel happy. It made me feel like I wasn't just some delinquent that ended up in her house because she was being kind and doing a favor for her son. It almost made me feel like, I don't know, I belonged or something. More than just welcomed, but accepted and wanted. Does that make sense?"

When he didn't say anything for a moment, I looked over my shoulder only to be met with an expression of sad compassion. "You are wanted, Rose. And accepted for who you are. I am so, so sorry that your childhood and relationship with your mo...Janine made you feel anything less. You deserve unconditional love, and I want you to know that you have it now. Okay?"

I nodded, unable to trust my voice for a moment. It wasn't until Dimitri sealed his words with a sweet kiss that I finally felt strong enough to speak without breaking down. "She also said that your joy was her joy, too. I thought you might like to know."

The smile he offered made it clear that he already knew that. I mean, not necessarily what his mother said tonight, but it was like the meaning behind those words was something he was well acquainted with. How weird was it to know that your mother would be happy just because you were happy? I bet it would be the same if Dimitri or the others were sad or worried, too. She'd probably empathize and do whatever she could to help fix it.

Or, maybe all that was normal, and my family dynamic had screwed me up more than even I realized.

"You are my joy, Roza," Dimitri said, breaking me out of my spiraling thoughts.

As soon as I realized what he had said—which in all honesty, was pretty sweet—I couldn't help but groan a little before it faded into a laugh. Just like my little eye roll was mixed with an almost embarrassingly big smile. "That was pretty cheesy, Comrade."

"Still true," he said with a shrug, not caring one bit about how corny that line was.

I turned to face him fully, kneeling between his legs and wrapping my arms around his neck. "You're my joy, too. Now kiss me."

And kiss me, he did. We stayed wrapped up in one another until I noticed a quick flicker around us. For half a second, everything went fuzzy, including his touch. I looked towards Adrian, only to see him pacing back and forth as he rubbed his temples.

"I think time is almost up," Dimitri said, acknowledging what I didn't want to. I didn't want to let him go yet. He was right, though. It was time.

Fighting back the tears in my eyes, I forced a smile. "Hold me?"

Immediately, he pulled me tight to him, letting me tuck my face into his neck as he kissed my temple and whispered sweet words into my ear. Promises that we'd be together again soon. Promises that I wasn't alone. All I could offer were shuddering breaths, a tighter grip, and four words.

"I love you, Dimitri." As soon as I said it, I felt him fade. I popped up in my bed, clutching at the air where I had felt him just moments before. It was almost a jarring feeling. Dimitri was there one moment and gone the next. I could still feel the warmth of his body and the last brush of his lips on mine. Still, I almost had to wonder if it had all been just a dream.

Just then, my phone pinged.

(Comrade) I love you too, Roza.

Author's Note

I hope you enjoyed this sweet little moment, courtesy of Adrian. I know he can be a pain in the butt, but he can also be a real sweetheart when he wants to be.

This week's Question of the Week: What would you consider your guilty pleasure?

Thank you so much for reading and please feel free to leave a comment below. I really do appreciate every little note.