The Halloween Party #2
“The man that did this to you, I wish I would have been the one to kill him,” he says with a serious expression on his face. I haven’t told him the other ways Andrei hurt me, and I’m not going to. At least not tonight.
I inhale sharply. “I wish that, too. I wish we could have done it together.”
“Would have made a good first date. I love watching your silly horror films, but I prefer to be the one holding the chainsaw,” he says as he continues to stroke my fingers.
“Maybe for our third date?” I ask.
“So this is second date, then?”
“Well, you did feed me, so I’m pretty sure it counts,” I say.
He hums and cocks his head. The music from the lobby is faint, but I can tell a slower song is playing. Jake is probably happy about that.
“Did you see Alex out there twerking in a hotdog costume?” I ask, grinning.
He smiles. “I must have missed this, thank god.” He stands up and motions for me to do the same.
When I’m standing in front of him, he grabs my arms gently and places them around his neck before settling his hands on my waist. He pulls me closer, and I blush.
I love that we’re both the same height at six feet tall.
I like being able to look in his eyes. He starts to sway to the music, and I follow his lead.
I feel safe in his arms. He’s not that much bigger than me, but I’m a lanky stoner, I don’t spend time in the gym.
I couldn’t defend myself when I got hurt.
Sasha has a body that looks like it came from the streets.
He could probably kill any gym bro out there.
He’s got scars littered across his hands and body, a map of the violence he’s inflicted and that’s been inflicted on him.
I look down, suddenly feeling embarrassed at myself.
He places a finger under my chin and gently lifts my head back up.
“You don’t need to hide from me,” he says gently.
“Sorry.” I try to hold his gaze while we slowly dance in the kitchen. This is way better than being out in the lobby with everyone else.
“Can I ask you something?” I ask hesitantly. I don’t want to scare him off.
“Anything,” he replies.
“Would you like to try out a therapy session with me and Jake? It’s really been helping me, and I just thought… it might help you too. With the Covington stuff.”
“I do not need this therapy. I’m fine.”
“I know you’re strong, but I worry about what’s in here.” I tap the side of his head lightly. “There’s a reason you ran away from the mafia, right? You didn’t like what you were doing, what they tried to turn you into? That affects a person, Sasha, whether you realize it or not.”
He studies me intently. “This therapy is rubbing off on you, yes? You are psychiatrist now?” he teases.
“Nah, I just want you to be happy, that’s all. I’m sorry if I overstepped.”
He places his finger on my lip and gently tugs it free of my teeth. “I am happy. But if it makes you happy, I will attend therapy with you. Do you think I can be redeemed? I have done… so many bad things. Many of them I greatly enjoyed.”
“I think anyone can be redeemed, if they want to be.”
I step closer to him and rest my head against his shoulder.
I feel his arms tighten around me, and I want to stay like this forever, wrapped in the security of his embrace.
He makes me feel safe in a way I haven’t felt for a while now.
We stay like that for a while, moving with the music, muffled as it is.
When an upbeat song starts, I pull away from Sasha.
“You will not start twerking, will you?” he asks, and I laugh.
“No chance. I’ll leave that to Alex. Do you want to come upstairs with me?”
“I would love to. Lead the way.”
I lead the way upstairs to my room in the north wing, suddenly feeling a bit anxious. I rub my hands on my jeans as I walk up to my door, holding it open for him as he steps inside. I follow, biting my lip ring again.
“You will bite that off,” he admonishes, walking towards me and freeing the ring from my teeth. “Are you nervous?”
“A little, yeah. Normally I’d be pulling out a blunt by now.”
“What do you want to do tonight?” he asks, expression open. I know that he has no expectations for how the night will go. If I don’t want to do something he won’t push me, I have absolute trust in that fact.
“Kissing?”
He nods. “I like kissing.” He cups my face in his hands and leans in, gently pressing his lips to mine, tongue seeking entrance into my mouth.
Without breaking the kiss, he lifts me up by the back of my knees and carries me over to the bed before tossing me on it.
He follows me down and settles on top of me, pulling my legs up to wrap around his hips as he grinds against me.
I wrap my arms around his neck, wanting him as close as I can get him, and get lost in his embrace.
Eventually, his hand trails down to the waistband of my jeans, and I grab it without thinking, stopping his movement. “Sorry, um… sorry,” I say. He tries to meet my eyes but I avert my gaze, not wanting him to read the thoughts that are probably plastered all over my face.
“Too much?”
“Yeah, I think so. Yeah.” I stare up at the ceiling and feel tears forming in my eyes. I try my best not to let them fall. I don’t want to ruin this moment.
“I am the one sorry. You said kissing, and I pushed your boundaries. It will not happen again, okay? I will not take anything you don’t freely give me. Ever. You are safe with me.”
I look at him then, seeing only sincerity in his eyes. He runs a finger down my cheek, soothing me, and I nod.
“I know. I trust you, I do. I didn’t mean to freak out on you.” I wrap a hand around the back of his head and say, “Get back here and show me again what that mouth can do.”
I lose track of time as we make out, feeling secure again under him as he kisses every thought and worry out of my head.
***
Alex
“This is gonna take us to the next level,” I tell Brandon. The Halloween party was a complete success. Brandon posted pictures to our business Instagram page, and we’ve gotten thousands of likes. I’m giddy with excitement at the idea of getting more attention on this place.