One Month Later

Dimitri smiled inwardly as his phone vibrated in his pocket. Rose had been busy working and Dimitri recently had constant back-to-back classes at the studio, meaning they hadn't been able to spend the last few days together, much to their dismay - and sexual frustration! They had made up for it, however, with the countless dirty texts sent back and forth between them. Although, this morning their messages had been much more innocent, as though they were texting purely for the sake of texting.

What are you up to today? Rose's message asked.

I'm with Ivan. He wanted to find something for Sonja before he goes over to meet the new baby. You? Dimitri replied, trapesing slowly behind his best friend as they walked in the direction of the jewellery store Ivan had mentioned.

A month after her baby shower, Sonja had finally given birth to her beautiful baby girl, Katya. Dimitri couldn't have been prouder to be an uncle once again – even if she wasn't planned! If anything, it made Dimitri love her more. He would just have to be the most loving, hands-on uncle he could be to make up for the absent father figure in her life. Sonja had never divulged who Katya's one-night-stand father was, but it wasn't important - she would have more than enough love given to her by her aunts and Uncle Dimitri. And Ivan too, it seemed. Dimitri couldn't help but wonder whether Ivan had a little soft spot for Sonja, particularly judging by how excited he was to meet the baby, and how angry he had been months ago when he found out the father had chosen not to be involved!

"Why do you want to get Sonja something, anyway?" Dimitri asked, the door of the store ringing gently as the pair entered. "Wouldn't it be better to get something for the baby?"

"Everyone gets something for the baby. No one ever thinks about the mother," Ivan retorted as he peered into the different cabinets, searching for the perfect gift. "I got Katya a teddy bear anyways. I want to get Sonja something too."

Oh yeah, he so fancies her, Dimitri thought, just as his phone buzzed in his pocket once more. That was something to bring up later, that was for sure. If Ivan wanted to date his sister, he needed to stop hitting on every woman he saw first!

Working, came Rose's reply, complete with a tiny sad face at the end.

I thought you liked your work.

Yes, but I'd rather be in your bed.

Dimitri groaned inwardly. He was glad to be seeing her tomorrow – he wasn't sure how much longer he could take without feeling her squirm, whimper and moan beneath him. The thought had him needing to subtly adjust himself in the store. Fuck, the way that woman could turn him on without even being there...

Don't tempt me. I'll ditch Ivan and rescue you from the diner in a heartbeat.

Aw that's sweet, Comrade! A real knight in shining armour ;)

Dimitri chuckled to himself as he tucked his phone back into the pocket of his duster coat, choosing not to bite at her attempt to wind him up. She would pay for her sarcasm and 'friendly nickname' tomorrow...

"Is that Rose?" Ivan asked, appearing suddenly in front of him.

"Maybe."

Ivan rolled his eyes, smirking at his friend. Of course it was Rose! No one else had Dimitri chuckling at his phone and almost stumbling into things as he tried to navigate the store and text at the same time.

"I thought so. How is she?" He asked, turning his attention back to the cabinet next to him. Ivan had spotted some diamond earrings he thought could be a sweet, simple gift for Sonja. He mentally put them on his shortlist.

"She's fine, I guess," Dimitri said with a shrug, aimlessly glancing at the sparkling jewellery around him.

"You guess?"

"She's still being distant," he explained with another shrug, hoping for an air of nonchalance, despite the fact that Rose's behaviour this past month was baffling him. "Not all the time, just occasionally. It's like her mind is elsewhere."

"Still?"

"Mhmm. Since the baby shower, really."

It was true, Rose had been slightly 'off' with him over the last few weeks. They would be getting along like a house on fire, laughing, joking, and of course, fucking, then out of nowhere it was as though Rose would put a barrier up between them. He had tried to talk to her about it numerous times but he hadn't got anywhere, with Rose insisting that everything was great. Dimitri had even scrapped the 'no staying the night' rule entirely, in the hopes that that would help – (and of course the fact that it meant she would be naked in his bed for longer!) – but it hadn't made a whole world of difference.

"Are you sure you didn't say anything bad to her?" He questioned his friend, recalling the fact that they had been talking quite animatedly together at the baby shower.

Ivan scoffed, rolling his eyes in feigned disgust.

"Of course not! Since when am I one to cock block you?" He laughed. "We were just chatting about college and stuff. Nothing bad, I swear."

Dimitri looked sceptical.

"Hmm."

"She's probably just trying to respect your 'boundaries', as you call it," Ivan suggested, using air quotes to show the ridiculousness of the need for boundaries in the first place. "You're the one that decided you wanted sex and nothing else. Maybe she felt like coming to the party with you was a step too far."

"Maybe," Dimitri concurred, following Ivan to a collection of bracelets in the next cabinet.

"Although I don't know why you don't just call it what it is – she's pretty much your girlfriend, bro."

"No, she's not."

"She is, you just don't want to admit it."

Dimitri sighed; a slight huff of frustration mixed with sadness.

"You know me, Ivan, I don't get into those kinds of relationships anymore," he reiterated. "If she's my girlfriend, that means we're either going to get married or break up, and I don't particularly want to do either."

"She's your girlfriend."

"Fuck off."

Ivan chuckled, rolling his eyes once more. Dimitri had such a short fuse sometimes!

"There's nothing wrong with it if she is. I think she's great!"

"She's not my girlfriend, and I'm not her boyfriend. We're just friends."

"Friends who fuck," Ivan added. "Tell me this – if she's not your girlfriend then why are you thinking of buying her that bracelet?"

Ivan couldn't ignore the fact that Dimitri had been staring intently at one particular bracelet in the display case for quite some time. Dimitri had tried not to be obvious, but he had instantly thought of Rose as soon as it caught his eye. He had meant to appear indifferent in their conversation, feigning interest in the rows of charms and trinkets in front of them, but when he spotted this particular item, he felt an unexpected urge to buy it.

The bracelet itself was stunning - a simple, delicate chain detailed with intricate silver diamonds, interspersed with aquamarine gems among them. Dimitri recalled that Rose had mentioned her birthstone when she had been rambling to him about horoscopes a few weeks ago. Something about how Vasilisa and Christian, and how being a water sign and an earth sign meant they had similar energies, and how Rose and Dimitri got along so well because she was an Aries and he was a Sagittarius... It had gone over his head at the time, having no understanding of that kind of thing himself, but he was sure she had mentioned Aquamarine. Either way, the bracelet was intricate and eye-catching, and it would look perfect on Rose's wrist.

"Just because she's not my girlfriend doesn't mean I can't do something nice for her," Dimitri justified. There was no point in trying to hide the fact that he was considering buying the bracelet for Rose – Ivan knew him far too well and lying would get him nowhere!

"Well I suppose if she's letting you fuck her eight ways from Sunday, it's the least you can do for her," Ivan laughed, punching him gently on the shoulder teasingly.

"Ivan!"

"Oh please," he grinned, "there's no secrets between us. I know how kinky you are. Rose is a brave, brave girl... Plus, that body, man! You're a lucky guy. If you hadn't met her first, I definitely would have called dibs."

"Ivan!" Dimitri exclaimed once again, his brows furrowed in territorial anger.

Ivan simply laughed at him. He was clearly baiting him.

"Stop looking at me like you want to rip my head off."

"Then stop talking about Rose like that."

"Then just admit that you like her."

Dimitri sighed and ran a hand through his loose hair. This topic was beginning to grow old very quickly, but he knew Ivan was far from dropping it.

"Of course I like her. I wouldn't be sleeping with her if I didn't. She's just not my girlfriend," he argued, leaning back against the wall as Ivan turned his attention back to the case of jewellery next to them.

"Oh for fuck's sake, Dimitri," he groaned, "it's a word, it's not a commitment."

Dimitri rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest in defence.

"Like I said, people in relationships either break up or get married. And if they get married, they get divorced. Or they get bored and stay in loveless relationships, all the while going behind each other's backs and sleeping with God knows how many other people while you have no clue and end up heartbroken and looking like a complete idiot," he rambled.

At his words, Ivan looked up at him with a sincere sympathy in his eyes. Dimitri clearly had some pent-up feelings from past events that he still hadn't worked through. Ivan hated what his ex-fiancée had done to him, and resented her even more for the fact that it was still affecting him so badly after years had gone by.

"That was Tasha. That's not all girls," Ivan urged.

"I didn't think Tasha was like that to begin with, and look how that ended," Dimitri sighed, his chest swelling with feelings of betrayal, anxiety and worthlessness. He clearly hadn't been good enough for her – why would he be good enough for anyone else?

"Dimitri, man. You really have got to try and let that go," Ivan pleaded in a moment of sincere compassion and support. "You need to do something good for yourself once in a while or you're going to become an old, lonely man way ahead of your time."

With a deep breath, Dimitri pushed himself off the wall, mentally shaking himself down. This was far too deep of a conversation for a Tuesday morning, and especially too deep a conversation to have in the middle of jewellery store!

Ivan's words held some truth, but Dimitri couldn't bring himself to open up to the idea of a regular relationship. Every time he thought about the possibility, he became overwhelmed with a gut-wrenching combination of emotions. Anger, insecurity, heartbreak... He surely couldn't go through that again.

"Have you chosen something for Sonja so we can finally get out of here?" He asked, choosing to drop the subject entirely.

"Yep, I'm going with the earrings, I think. Less likely for little hands to grab them," Ivan laughed. "Are you getting the bracelet?" He asked with a knowing smirk.

Dimitri simply rolled his eyes.

I don't know why, but the thought of Ivan and Dimitri wandering around a jewellery store together, discussing Dimitri's sex life and emotional problems is hilarious to me.

Anyway, sorry for the delay for this chapter, teething babies are no joke.

As always, please review and let me know what you think! Thank you for sticking with me :)