Preston
I breathe in slowly, taking a beat, blinking at the incredible view from Vadim's terrace.
Downtown Reno's low skyline, the Truckee River cutting through it, the casino signs catching the afternoon sun.
The air is dry and clear, no haze today.
My gaze shifts toward the Sierra Nevada, sitting against the western sky, brown and gray at the base, white at the peaks.
Vadim had to jump on a few Zoom calls and after lunch, went to do a workout in his private gym. I can do with some fresh air and alone time myself, needing a moment to process the events of the past few days.
It all feels like a blur.
The thing I can't shake is the look in Farkas's eyes right before he attacked me. It was more than anger, more than cruelty. It was evil. Pure and unadulterated. Just like—Nope. I shut down that train of thought before it goes any farther.
I follow the edge of the terrace, my palm trailing along the railing.
Despite the awful circumstances that led to me being here, last night I had the best sleep I've had in a long time.
I wasn't expecting that. I'm usually not great at sleeping in new places.
A new bed, different sounds. My body never fully relaxes.
But not last night.
It took me a few minutes to drift off, but once I did, I was out until ten freaking a.m. The bed is incredible, and the blackout curtains are a wonder, but I don't think it's just that.
It's Vadim.
I feel safe with him. Despite Ellie's many warnings, and even Vadim's own story about what happened to his and Marek's mothers, there's something that settles in me when I'm near him.
And I need that more than I realized. My life is about to change in some pretty big ways.
The constant headaches are only going to get worse, my nighttime and low-light vision is going to reduce even more, and soon, my daytime vision will lessen, too.
My whole world will get narrower and narrower until one day, everything will just… fade to black.
A robin lands on the railing a few feet away, rust-orange chest bright against its dark back, head cocked, watching me with one black eye before it drops off and disappears.
My chest aches, something so simple I'll miss seeing.
But I do my best to squash the bubbling feelings down, not ready to deal with anything right now.
The deal I made with myself is that I'll face everything once I finish my studies.
I have seventy hours of placement left, then I need to pass my clinical and academic assessments.
That's when I'll stop avoiding the inevitable and have a good hard think about what my life will, pardon the pun, look like in the future.
To practice, I need to pass the national physical therapy examination, but I haven't decided yet if there's any point in going ahead with that.
"There you are."
I turn and smile as Vadim approaches. He's all sweaty from his workout, his skin glistening, hair damp and slightly messy—by his standards anyway—his muscles popping, and, um, yeah, I definitely approve of this outfit.
Naturally, it's all black, but he fills out his tank top very nicely, and those short shorts are shorting, displaying an impressive pair of quads.
"It's beautiful out here," I say, spinning around to face the view again.
"It really is." He sidles up beside me, the scent of his cologne mixed with his warm skin engulfing me.
"Good workout?"
"Yeah." He leans his forearms against the railing, his head turning slowly from left to right. I squint, focusing on the slight curve through the bridge of his nose. He tilts his head to look at me, his slate-gray eyes studying my face.
My breath quickens. Even though I look better today than yesterday, I'm conscious of the state of my face.
"How are you feeling?" he asks.
"A lot better."
"Good. Your face is healing well."
I bring my fingers to my jaw. "I still look hideous."
Vadim straightens and closes the gap between us, his eyes fixed on mine. "You're not hideous. You're gorgeous."
He brings his thumb to my chin then gently drags it up to my lip, ghosting it over the in-no-way-gorgeous dried crust forming along the split. His other hand settles on my shoulder. The touch, his proximity, make my pulse beat harder.
The more I get to know him, the clearer it becomes there's far more to him than the strong, masculine exterior he presents to the world.
There's pain. There's complexity. And there's a level of thoughtfulness I wasn't expecting.
His pantry is a wasteland, but somehow there's a brand-new tin of my favorite lemon tea in it. That's no coincidence.
"What are you thinking?"
I press my palm to his solid chest, unsure if I should create some distance between us or pull him in even closer.
"I'm wondering if…" My eyes drop to his tank top.
"You own anything that's not black?" Grinning, I swipe my other hand through the side of his hair.
"And that I like it when your hair is more like this. "
"What, messy?"
I nod. "And a bit longer. It suits you."
"So…you're basically dissing my fashion choices and critiquing my hair style. Is that what I'm hearing?"
"Yep." I pop the p, still grinning.
His cheek hollows briefly on one side. "No one talks to me the way you do."
A shiver runs through me.
"Yeah, well, no one's ever blown air into my ass before."
Something low rumbles in his throat. He cups the side of my face ever so delicately and leans down to kiss me when—the alarm on my phone starts blaring like a siren.
I jolt, fumbling around in my pocket to turn it off so we can get back to the moment we're having when I remember what the alarm is for.
"Oh, shit."
Vadim frowns. "What is it?"
"That's my reminder about my weekly call with Mom and Dad in an hour." I look to Vadim, eyes wide and desperate, circling a finger in front of my face. "How am I going to explain this to them?"
His eyes dart left to right, but he quickly lasers in on me, bracing me by my shoulders. "Don't worry, we'll come up with something."
One hour later…
My phone rings. I stare at it, the screen lighting up against the marble coffee table.
Vadim gently places his hand on my knee. "Are you going to answer it?"
He's been trying to keep me calm since my alarm went off and the realization I'm going to have to face my parents hit me.
To his credit, it's worked. Mostly.
And he has come up with a solid plan.
But now it's go time, and I don't know if I can go through with it. I hate lying to my parents, especially about something so serious, but I have to. Dad hasn't been doing well the last few days, so no way do I want them driving six hours to see me because they're worried.
Besides, what we're about to lie about started at The Butterfly Lounge, so technically it's not a new lie, simply a continuation of a previous one.
My self-talk isn't helping, and my phone is still ringing.
Vadim gives me a reassuring nod, and I swipe the screen, bringing the phone in nice and close to make sure I hit the audio-only button before the call connects.
"Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad."
"Hi, honey."
"Hi, son."
"Hang on, honey. Give me a second. Something's not working. I can't see you."
"Told you we should have called from my iPad. This Galaxy Tab, pfft. They're hugely inferior."
Vadim barely conceals a grin and takes the phone from me.
"Hi, Christine. Hi, Eric."
There's a pause.
Mom's breath catches. "Vadim. Is that you?"
"It is. Hi. Look, I owe you both an apology. Preston's been working so much lately—"
"Burning the candle at both ends," Mom interjects. "I've been saying it for months, haven't I, Eric?"
"You have, dear."
Vadim continues. "So I thought it might be a fun idea to whisk him away for a quick, mid-week break to our lodge in the mountains. You know, give him some time to relax a bit. But unfortunately, there's no Wi-Fi up here."
"Oh, honey, honey, honey…" I can picture it so clearly, Mom pressing both hands to her cheeks, overwhelmed and beaming. "You do not need to apologize at all. Eric, did you hear that? Vadim has taken Preston away on a romantic getaway."
"Maybe it's a good thing we can't do a video call."
My cheeks burn at the terrible dad joke.
"Sorry," I mouth to Vadim.
"It's all good," he mouths back then speaks into the phone. "Anyway, I'll leave you guys to your weekly chat. Just wanted to say a quick hello and explain things."
"Oh, Vadim, you have no idea how happy you've made us."
Maybe if I close my eyes and start praying, she'll stop talking?
"I cannot tell you how long I have been dreaming of Preston finding a good, decent, and if you don't mind me saying, very attractive, young man like yourself. I don't know where he kept meeting all those los—"
Nope. Silence and prayer isn't cutting it.
"Okay, Mom. I'm sure Vadim has better things to do than hear about my bad dating history."
"Oh, honey. It wasn't bad… It was a freaking nightmare. But you're right. That's all in the distant, distant past now. Have a great day, Vadim, and hopefully we'll see you next time we visit."
Vadim locks eyes with me. They're practically sparkling.
"I'd really love that."
I swat his shoulder. "Thank you, now go," I mouth.
"Alright, I'm going now. Bye, Christine. Bye, Eric."
He winks at me then leaves.
I watch him walk away for longer than I should.
He's distractingly good-looking from every angle. Then I drag my attention back to my parents, and the mood shifts. I may have gotten through the lie easier than I expected, but I was woefully unprepared to hear about Dad's worsening condition.