Diner today? Rose texted Lissa, shortly after waking up on Thursday morning.

The last few days had passed in a quick blur of evenings with Dimitri and working during the day, which meant that Rose hadn't had a chance to see Lissa since their last yoga class. For two best friends that spoke practically all day every day, this was rare for the two of them! Rose had so much to tell Lissa, and she knew that her best friend was just dying to know what had been happening since they last spoke.

Almost instantly, Lissa's reply vibrated through the cell phone – yes please!

With a yawn and a stretch, Rose rolled out of bed to shower, her body almost groaning in response.

Rose was tired – almost exhausted even! She worked nearly all day, before spending her evenings at Dimitri's apartment. The two of them would spend hours in bed, on the sofa - even the kitchen counter – wearing themselves out with orgasm after orgasm. Not that Rose was complaining! The only thing she hated was having to go home afterwards… Dimitri thought that sleeping together – literally sleeping – was far too intimate; as though it would cross some sort of 'invisible line' in their already confusing situation. This meant that Rose found herself arriving back at her own apartment late at night, sometimes even in the early hours of the morning, only to wake up just a few hours later for work.

Yeah, she was tired.

Thankfully, Alberta had given her the day off today, meaning that Rose could rest up in the morning and relax for the rest of the day. And truth be told, she was excited to see Lissa. It had been days and Rose felt like she was going to burst!

"So, Rose. Last time I saw you, you were getting into the car with a certain man," Lissa stated as the pair settled into a booth after ordering their food and drink. "You haven't even text me, I was beginning to get worried. Like he'd kidnapped you or something."

Rose chuckled at the thought.

"No need to worry, Liss. I'm good," she reassured before taking a sip of her soda. "Very good," she added, struggling to hide her smirk.

Lissa's sparkling eyes lit up, knowing that Rose was about to tell her all the delicious details about the last few days.

"Very good?"

"Mhmm."

"Spill."

"There's nothing to spill," Rose laughed, knowing full well that this was a lie. So much had happened – she wasn't really sure where to begin!

"Rose, I know you. You never get nervous around men, yet with Dimitri it was like you lost the ability to function. You go with him back to his place and I don't hear from you for days. Then you tell me you're 'very good' with a face as pink as salmon," Lissa argued confidently. "I can see right through you."

"Fine, Liss. You got me."

"So, tell me everything. You agreed to his terms?"

Rose nodded. "Yes, I did."

"What does that mean then, are you together?"

"In a sense," Rose shrugged. Their arrangement was something she wasn't even sure about herself – she had no idea how to explain it to other people! "We're not boyfriend and girlfriend, there's no strings between us."

"So you can date other people?" Lissa questioned, furrowing her brows in confusion.

"I don't know. He said when he's in these 'arrangements', he's only in these arrangements. He doesn't mess around like that."

The blonde nodded slowly, attempting to wrap her head around the situation. Boy was she glad she had married Christian – she could not be dealing with the confusion and tediousness of dating nowadays!

"But what about you? Could you date someone else if you wanted to?"

Rose paused. She hadn't asked Dimitri that particular question – not that it would matter anyway. "I don't know, we didn't really talk about it. I guess so if I really wanted to as technically he's not my boyfriend. But there's no one else I would want to be with, to be honest."

"It sounds confusing."

Understatement of the century!

"It is."

"So why not just have a 'normal' relationship with him?"

"It's not what he wants," Rose explained. "Besides, based on the last few days, it's worth it."

An image of Rose, blindfolded and wrists tied together as Dimitri pounded into her, whispering the dirtiest things you could imagine flashed across her mind, causing a smirk to emerge onto her face and her cheeks to flush.

Lissa recognised the look immediately.

"Oh really?" She teased with a grin.

"Mhmm," Rose nodded, attempting to hide her smile by taking a sip of her drink.

"Is he… well-endowed?"

"Liss!" Rose exclaimed, almost choking on her soda!

Lissa laughed, but continued her questioning. "Well, is he?"

"You could say that."

"But does he know how to use it? Size means nothing if he has no skill."

"He has skill," Rose chuckled. "He definitely has skill."

Lissa couldn't help but laugh at Rose's starry eyed, dreamy look on her face! The girl was smitten.

"It's different with Dimitri," Rose continued. "With Mason it felt very, I don't know… vanilla? Like we had a routine. We did the same thing every time. And he was never very confident in himself. He didn't take control. With Dimitri, it's all about control. He's very much in charge."

"Ah, makes sense why you like him then," Lissa nodded her understanding.

Rose's brows furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"You like to be in charge and in control when it comes to anything else, but with sex… you want to be dominated."

"How do you know that?" Rose questioned with a snort. "I mean, you're right, but…"

"I told you. I've known you all my life. I know everything about you."

"It seems you do."

Time slipped away as the girls caught up with one another, eating, giggling, gossiping. It wasn't often that the girls didn't chat at least once every day, so with the fact that they hadn't seen each other in almost a week they each had so much to say!

They had been at the diner for hours already, but thankfully Alberta didn't mind. She loved to see Rose so carefree and happy. Truth be told, Rose had been miserable for months with Mason. She had been unhappy with him, unhappy after him… it was refreshing to see a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes.

"Hello, Ladies. Mind if I join you?"

The girls looked up from their conversation to find Adrian standing hopeful at their table. Rose's smile dropped, still angry with him from their last conversation. What on earth did he want now? He'd made his feelings pretty clear a few days ago.

"Of course, Adrian," Lissa smiled, unaware of the tension looming between her best friend and the man joining them. "How are you?"

"I'm great. Super-duper," Adrian grinned as he sat down in the booth across from Rose. She inwardly rolled her eyes. "I bought a studio."

Lissa let out a squeal and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, clearly both pleased and proud of her friend. "That's great, Adrian! I'm so happy for you!"

Rose's heart dropped slightly, a feeling of disappointment clouding over her. "You bought it?" Rose questioned, remembering that Adrian had asked for her help in looking for the perfect place.

I guess he doesn't value my opinion anymore, she thought, slightly bitterly.

"Yes, I did," he stated emotionlessly. "It's in the neighbourhood, about a five minute drive from here. Prime location."

Oblivious to the looks being shot across the table, Lissa was eager to find out more.

"So how's it going to work, what's the plan? Are you going to showcase work there?"

"The plan is to use it as a space to create my art, then showcase it. I'll put on events and people can buy my stuff. I'm also hoping to work with other artists and sell their stuff too. For a commission of course. I've already had some people reach out to me."

"That's fantastic!" Lissa grinned.

Rose couldn't help the smile creep onto her face at the news. She was proud of her friend, even if she was slightly upset with him right now.

"I'm thinking about teaching some classes too. Like on the weekends and evenings and stuff," Adrian added before looking tentatively across at the brunette beauty in front of him. "You should come to some, Rose."

"Really?" Rose questioned, her brows furrowed, confused.

"Yeah, You're a great artist."

Rose scoffed. "I took one class in college to see what it was like and dropped the subject after one lesson."

"You should have kept it up. What you showed me was great," Adrian said with a sincere smile. "You're better than you think you are."

Rose shrugged, not quite believing him, before choosing to look out the window rather than continue the conversation. Wasn't Adrian mad at her? Why was he being so nice to her now?

"Anyway, you ladies should come down and see the studio soon," Adrian prompted.

"Both of us?" Rose asked.

"Of course."

The two exchanged looks across the table, this time Lissa picking up on the slightly uncomfortable tension hanging in the air. She knew her friends well enough to know that something had happened between them. Odd, that Rose hadn't mentioned it. Nevertheless, it was clear that the pair needed to talk. With an awkward cough, Lissa excused herself.

"I'm going to head to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

Silence enveloped both Adrian and Rose as Lissa left them in the booth, neither one willing to speak first. Stubbornness was a trait that they both shared.

"So, are you okay, Little One?" Adrian asked sincerely, giving in to the silence and opting to break the tension.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" Rose responded coldly.

Adrian sighed.

"I just wanted to make sure. Listen, I wanted to apologise for what happened. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did."

"No, you shouldn't have."

"Come on, Rose. This is hard enough as it is," he groaned, running a hand through his messy hair, his green eyes staring intently into her brown ones. "It's just… I really like you. I thought I had a chance with you, finally, after Mason."

Rose sighed, breaking the eye contact and looking down at the table between them.

"And then for you to essentially become fuck buddies with someone you barely know… it just… sucks."

She hadn't thought of it like that. Seeing things from his point of view, she understood. It must have been hard for him to learn about Dimitri.

"I'm sorry, Adrian."

"Don't be," He sighed. "I want you to be happy. And if that means you being with him, in any sort of way, then I'm okay with that."

"Thank you," Rose said with a grin, thankful for his kindness. She did love Adrian, not quite in the same intense way as he did, however. Perhaps in another lifetime…

"Just know that I'm here for you. When it inevitably hits the fan, I'll be there."

"If," Rose responded without a beat. "If it hits the fan."

Adrian shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Relationships like that never work, Rose. So when it blows up, I'll be waiting for you."

"Well, thanks… I guess?"

"But listen, I am sorry for how I acted. And for the things I said. It really wasn't cool of me."

"It's okay, Adrian."

"So, are we good?" He questioned, hopeful to have fixed things between them.

"Always," Rose responded with a sincere smile.

"Good. Come and see me soon. I'll show you the studio."

With a wink and his trademark grin, Adrian stood from the booth and made his way to the door, throwing a smile and a wave to Lissa as, with perfect timing, she exited the restroom.

How Lissa always knew exactly when an awkward situation was over, Rose would never know.

"What's going on between you two?" The blonde asked as she returned to the booth.

"Oh, nothing really. He was just upset with me about the whole Dimitri situation."

"Because he wants you instead?" She rolled her eyes and grinned.

"Well that, but he just wasn't happy with the situation. He said that I had 'more respect for myself than that'. We argued, but he just apologised."

"As long as you've thought about what you're doing, you can do what you like. Relationship, single, friends with benefits… it's your life," Lissa shrugged.

Rose smiled at her best friend. She was always supportive of her no matter the situation. "Thanks, Liss."

Just as the girls were preparing to leave, Rose felt a vibration in her pocket, signalling that she'd received a text. Pulling her phone from her pocket and reading the name light up on the screen, she felt her heart skip a beat and her stomach twist into knots.

Dimitri.

I can't stop thinking about your moans echoing off the shower walls last night. Come over tonight.

A grin spread across her face, reaching ear to ear, as she simultaneously felt a buzz down there as she remembered last night's antics. Feeling giddy from a lovely catch up with her best friend, and from making up with Adrian, Rose decided to mess with the man on the other end of the phone.

Hmmm... no thanks. I'm good. She sent back, still grinning.

Almost instantly she received his reply.

7pm. I'll see you later.

He certainly wasn't playing, or falling for her antics. With a small giggle, Rose shot back a winky face before stuffing her cell back in her pocket.

"Is that him?" Lissa asked.

"Maybe."

"I thought so. Your eyes lit up," Lissa explained with a sigh. "You are being careful aren't you?"

Rose's eyes narrowed, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I've never seen that look on your face before. It was like the whole world just faded away when he texted you. If that's what you're like only through a message then what is it like when you're actually with him? You're falling for him."

"It'll never happen," Rose stated, ignoring the feeling of disappointment she felt creep up inside her. "I'm happy with how things are."

"Why will it never happen?" Lissa asked, genuinely curious. "Lots of relationships that start off like this turn into something more."

"He's been hurt before," Rose explained. "He almost got married, until he found her cheating on him in their own bed. With two other men might I add."

Lissa's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"He doesn't want to go through that again, which is why he is the way he is."

"Well, just be careful," the blonde sighed. She had thought Rose was doing the right thing, but she could see through her best friend like glass. Perhaps there was some merit in what Adrian had argued with Rose about. "I know you. Make sure you protect your heart."

Well, it's been a minute!

I'm so sorry for how long this has taken. As I said on the last chapter I was dealing with some Mental Health issues. I'd also started a new job and some pretty big life events came up.

If you follow my facebook page, you'll have seen on there that my husband and I had a baby! He was born last summer, and I've been taking time to adjust to motherhood and bond with my son. Now that we are in a routine somewhat, I am hoping to spend time writing when imagination strikes. For those of you that have children, you'll know that the routine constantly changes and no two days are the same, so please bear with me. One of my goals for this year is to write more, but understandably my child comes first.

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to those of you who have stuck by me and have been waiting patiently for an update. I am so grateful for you and your kind words. Please continue to be patient with me and I hope to get more chapters out there when I can.

Next chapter - the aftermath of Rose's cheeky text to Dimitri! What's going to go down?

H x