"That was… wow," Rose said through panted breaths, as she and Dimitri untangled themselves and lay spent side by side in his bed.

Her body ached and glistened with sweat, and she could hardly believe the pleasure Dimitri had wreaked upon her. She had certainly never experienced anything like that before, always finding sex simply 'mediocre' in the past. Always when Lissa had raved about how good it was, or she saw sex scenes on TV or in movies, Rose had thought it was all a big exaggeration – but how misguided she was! Dimitri had brought her to new heights of feeling that she hadn't thought possible at all.

Yes, agreeing to Dimitri's terms was certainly a good decision. This was something she could do – if the sex was this good, who cared about labels or not being in a 'mainstream' relationship? Dimitri had surpassed all expectations, and Rose was already craving the next time she could explore these new realms of pleasure with him.

Although, having never embarked on an arrangement like this, Rose wasn't entirely sure of the protocol. What was she meant to do now? They'd had their sex – was he expecting her to leave? Should she stay the night?

With a sigh, Rose began to sit up, ready to collect her things and leave. That was what she should do right? Sex and nothing else – that meant she had to go.

"I suppose I should go now then," she stated, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing, grabbing her yoga clothes from the floor. In their eagerness as they entered the apartment, Rose had dropped her gym bag by the front door when Dimitri pushed her against the wall. She was thankful that she always stored a change of clothes in there, not wanting to put on her sweaty sports bra and yoga pants again. She would need to go in search of it, change and then leave as soon as possible – she didn't want to be a burden on the rest of Dimitri's evening. That's what he would want her to do, right?

"Why?" Dimitri questioned, propping himself up on his elbows and raising his eyebrow in confusion.

Rose furrowed her brows – she was simply doing what she thought he wanted her to. Was she wrong?

"Because we just – isn't it part of the arrangement? Just sex?"

Dimitri chuckled, only slightly hurt by the obvious way in which Rose viewed him – a fuckboy.

"Roza, I'm not going to just fuck you and then kick you out straight away. I think you've got me all wrong," he clarified. "Besides, who says I'm not going to want you again this evening?"

A blush spread across Rose's cheeks. This was going to take some getting used to – Rose felt that she had a lot to learn, and already she was questioning where she stood with Dimitri. This sure seemed like a relationship to her – surely if this was just sex, he'd want her to leave by now?

"Did you eat before yoga?" Dimitri questioned, suddenly changing the subject.

"No."

"Are you hungry? I'm going to order Chinese food."

Almost immediately Rose's stomach growled, informing the pair of them that she was indeed hungry. And boy did Chinese sound good right now!

"Sure," she agreed, slightly taken aback by his offer. She had been fully prepared to leave after their previous activities, and now they were having dinner together! "Do you mind if I shower? I usually shower after yoga but obviously…"

"Of course," Dimitri answered, standing up from the bed and pulling on sweatpants and a tight-fitting t-shirt. "Bathroom's through there. I'll order our food. What would you like?"

"Anything," Rose stated, entrusting her choice of food to Dimitri.

Comrade, you're so confusing, she thought as she collected her gym bag from by the front door and went in search of the bathroom. Rose desperately needed to find out why he was so against calling this a relationship – why he was so against labels. Perhaps then she would understand their arrangement better – because it was certainly looking like a relationship from where she was standing!

Once she was showered and dressed again, Rose made her way to the living area, allowing herself to take in Dimitri's apartment now that they weren't in the midst of passion. It was a fairly small place, consisting of a bedroom, bathroom and an open plan kitchen and lounge area – just enough space for one person, Rose thought.

As she wandered into the living space, she found Dimitri clearing some space on the kitchen island, informing her that their food wouldn't be too long. Rose nodded, and turned her attention to all the knickknacks and photos strewn around the apartment, eager to find out more about this man who was, quite frankly, still a stranger. From the little that she knew about him already, there wasn't anything that really shocked her about where he lived – it seemed very serene, homely, and matched his personality exactly. Although, she couldn't help a little smirk emerging on her face when she came across Dimitri's collection of old western novels on his bookcase – now that was something she could tease him about later!

Hung on the wall behind the couch, Rose saw numerous photos depicting various people – his family, she presumed. She knew that Dimitri was a family man, after all. Scanning the pictures, she spotted one of two young men – one was undeniably Dimitri, only slightly younger looking and less 'defined'. The other man she recognised as the guy from the club last weekend. Dimitri's friend… Ivan? Yeah, that was it. They were obviously close, judging by the way they interacted with each other. The photo told Rose that they had been friends for a long time.

"How long have you known Ivan?" She asked, leaning closer to inspect the photo in further detail.

"Too long," Dimitri groaned. "I knew him in school, but we didn't really speak. We ended up going to the same college and we were placed in a dorm together. Now I can't get rid of him."

Rose giggled. "You like him really."

"Yeah, I do" he nodded. "I couldn't live without him now."

Turning her attention to the next photo, Rose saw Dimitri with his arms around two women. One looked as though she was in her mid-forties, warm and welcoming, while the other looked much older – and actually slightly scary looking!

"Who's this?" Rose questioned, pointing at the photo.

Dimitri came closer to see which photo she was looking at, standing just behind her when he reached her. As he leant in to inspect the photo, his arm brushed against Rose's, causing a jolt of electricity to pass between them. Rose's breath caught in her throat, and she wondered whether Dimitri felt it too. Although judging by his lack of reaction, it seemed unlikely. Rose couldn't help the twinge of disappointment she felt at this revelation.

"That's my Mama, Olena," Dimitri informed her.

"She's beautiful," Rose smiled, observing the clear similarities between Dimitri and his mother. He had definitely inherited her good looks.

"Next to her is my grandmother, Yeva."

Ah, Rose thought, scary lady.

"She looks a bit, um…"

"Scary?" Dimitri asked with a chuckle, finishing Rose's unspoken words.

"Yeah."

"That's because she is," he grinned. "But I also love her to pieces."

"And are these your sisters?" Rose asked, pointing to the photo next to the previous one, with three young women smiling and laughing, all various ages. Pretty, Rose thought.

"Yeah, that's them."

"Who's who?"

Dimitri stepped slightly closer to point at the photo, his arm once again brushing against Rose's. He smelled amazing, and Rose felt her heart rate increase at the close proximity.

"Sonja, Karolina, Viktoria," Dimitri told her, pointing to each sister in turn. "I told you a bit about them at the supermarket, I think."

"I remember. They're pretty, too," Rose complimented, "your family was blessed with good genes."

Dimitri chuckled, yet he felt an unexpected wave of pride and warmth at Rose's kind words about his family. It pleased him that she seemed to like them, despite having never met them before. It was a strange feeling, one that surprised him slightly – why did it matter to him what she thought of his family? It wasn't as though she would ever meet them, after all!

A sudden knock at the door distracted the pair's attention away from the family photos and their conversation.

"That'll be the food," Dimitri guessed, before turning to answer the door. He decided not to dwell on the unusual emotions he had just felt – he was sure it was only to do with his pride for his family, and not anything to do with Rose at all.

Collecting the food and paying the delivery driver, Dimitri dished out their takeout on to plates and set them on the counter, prompting Rose to pull up a stool and join him at the counter. Tucking into their food, they pair continued their conversation.

"So when did you move here?" Rose asked, keen to know more about the man sat in front of her.

"I was about ten, eleven or so," he answered, taking a bite of his Chow Mein.

"Where did you live before?"

Dimitri chuckled.

"Can't you tell?"

"Well I know Russia, obviously," Rose retorted with a roll of her eyes. Duh. "I meant where in Russia?

"Baia. It's a small village, I don't think you'll have heard of it."

Rose opened her mouth to say something, keen to prove him wrong and rise to his challenge, but absolutely nothing came to the forefront of her mind. She had indeed never heard of such a place!

"Thought so," he teased with a smirk.

"Do you miss it?"

"Sometimes."

"Why did you move?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions," Dimitri observed, slightly amused by Rose's incessant questioning.

"I want to know you," she explained with a nonchalant shrug. Although to Rose it felt as though she had known him all his life, in reality, she had only known Dimitri for three weeks. If she was going to embark on this relationship – sorry, arrangement – then she was going to have to get to know him.

"My father's job sent him over seas. We ended up here in Pennsylvania."

Rose nodded, thinking back to the assortment of photos on the living room wall. "You have no pictures of your dad on the wall," she stated.

Dimitri's eyes met hers, taken aback by her question. Did he want to go into this with her? He rarely spoke about his father to Ivan, let alone a girl he had known for mere minutes.

Screw it, he thought. I can tell her.

"No, I don't."

"Why not?"

"I don't speak to him anymore. I don't even know where he is," he told her, shrugging his shoulders as if to say, 'I don't care'.

Unsure what to say, or whether she should continue with this conversation, Rose didn't say anything in response to Dimitri's revelation. However, Dimitri felt a compelling urge to continue, as if he needed to tell her everything about himself.

"He cheated on my Mama about a year after we moved here. She forgave him, but after that it was never the same. He started to drink more and eventually he became really violent. He and I fought all time because I couldn't stand the way he spoke to Mama or my sisters. I came home from school one day and found him hitting her. I, uh, hit him back, and that was the last we saw of him. He left us."

Wow, Rose thought. That was unexpected.

"You didn't go back to Russia?" Rose questioned, not wanting to push Dimitri too far on the topic of his father.

"I don't think Mama could have afforded it. And I think she saw that we were happy here, at our school, so she didn't want to upset us."

Rose smiled softly. "Sounds like she really loves you."

"And us, her," Dimitri nodded, thinking back to his childhood and living with his mother and sisters. They were certainly not well off, but Olena always made sure her children were happy. "What about your parents?"

"What about them?" Rose asked, looking away.

Dimitri got the feeling that this was a sore subject. "You don't like them?"

"Not really. They travel a lot with Dad's job, so I was left by myself a lot when I was growing up. I practically lived over at Lissa's."

"You're close with her."

"She's a sister to me," Rose nodded with a smile.

They pair fell into a comfortable silence as they continued eating their food. As the minutes passed, Rose became more and more curious. He had opened up about his family - would he tell her now why he didn't like relationships?

"Dimitri, why don't you do relationships?" She asked shyly.

"I just don't," Dimitri retorted, "How long have you known Lissa?"

Avoiding the question, are we?

"We met in Kindergarten," Rose answered, before trying again. "Why don't you do relationships?"

Dimitri met Rose's eyes with a warning glare – this was something he didn't want to discuss, not now, not ever. "I can see why you're close then, having known her so long," he stated, changing the subject again.

Rose sighed, disappointed that he wouldn't confide in her.

One day, she thought.

"Have you finished eating?" Dimitri questioned, standing to clear their plates.

"Mhmm," Rose nodded, slightly despondent.

"Good, because it's getting late and I want to take you on at least three more surfaces before you go."

Rose suddenly perked up, a blush emerging on her face and stomach clenching in anticipation. Now that sounded like a damn good idea!

Hello! Here's part 2 of the last chapter (I split them up so they weren't too long).

Now, I don't want to be one of those writers, but I had 400+ visitors on the last chapter over the last 2 days or so, but only 5 reviews. I really need to know what you think, and it always helps my motivation when I get comments and feedback. So if you're reading this, please leave a review!

Hope you're all well!

H x