28. Chapter 28
Chapter twenty-eight
Dimitri has Sunday off and while we talked last night about plans and ideas for the day, the reality is that at one o’clock in the afternoon, we are still in bed and there has been very little sleep involved.
Not that I mind one bit, because sex with Dimitri is incredible.
I stretch out on his soft sheets, my body exhausted and slightly achy but in the best way, and I can’t help but grin thinking about why.
“Why are you smiling?” Dimitri murmurs.
I glance over at the man lying beside me. His dark hair is a sexy, rumpled mess from having my hands in it all night and while I can see that he is tired, his eyes are bright and fully focused on me.
“Just happy,” I tell him honestly.
A sleepy smile spreads across his face as he reaches out to pull me against him.
“I’m very.” He presses a soft kiss to my lips.
“Very.” He kisses my neck.
“Very happy that you are here.”
His mouth moves lower on my chest and his hands start to roam across my body. Dragging slowly up my thigh and over my hip.
I twine my legs in his, pushing myself closer. Loving the feeling of his lean, hard body against the softness of my curves.
I don’t know if it’s because we started as friends or perhaps because he’s never pushed me and let everything be my decision at my pace, but I have never felt this comfortable in my skin around a man. Every kiss, every touch, every look he gives me makes me feel beautiful, seen, and wanted.
The best part is, I don’t even question it.
I can’t count how many times I lay in bed beside Theo at night worrying about how I looked while we were together. Wondering if the sex had been good enough to make him want to see me again. For him to want to continue to spend time with me. I was constantly second-guessing how he felt about me and, like I told Mel, sometimes I just felt like a distraction.
With Dimitri, it’s the opposite. I just know that he likes me and not just physically, but for me . The effort he’s put into spending time with me, the conversations we’ve had and the way we talk, and yes, the physical parts too. Even though I’ve only known him for a week, being with Dimitri is easy. I’m not stressed or self-conscious around him. I’m just myself.
Emboldened, I push Dimitri onto his back so I can climb on top of him. My bare legs straddle him at his waist. He gazes hungrily up at me, his hands skimming across my body, setting my skin alight under his touch. I slowly grind myself against him, a teasing promise of what’s to come. He grabs at my hips and I laugh as I lean forward, pinning his hands above his head.
“Not yet.”
His eyes darken but he listens, keeping his hands above his head and letting me take control.
I nip at his bottom lip, then trace his jawline with my lips. Kissing slowly down his neck, his chest. Dragging my hands down with me. I flick his nipple with my tongue, before sliding down lower to his stomach, then his hip bones. He gasps and I feel him twitch underneath me. My body thrums with excitement at his reaction and I can’t get over how powerful he makes me feel. I look up to see his dark eyes watching me. Grinning, I hold eye contact but before I can continue, there’s a sudden, loud banging at the door.
“DIMITRI!” a muffled voice calls out.
We both sit up at the noise.
“Oh, shit.” Dimitri gently untangles himself from me and climbs out of bed, throwing on a loose pair of shorts.
“Who is it?” I whisper, wondering if I should be getting up too.
He leans over, pressing a quick peck to my forehead.
“Yiannis. I told him I’d bring the car back this morning and, well…” He grins down at me. “I was busy and forgot.”
I feel a blush bloom on my cheeks as he yanks a t-shirt over his head and careens down the stairs, yelling something in Greek as he makes his way to the front door.
I lie in bed listening for a minute. They are speaking in Greek so I can’t understand but I do hear my name come up. Then I hear a woman’s voice in the mix and realize that Yiannis isn’t alone. Angela is here too, and likely baby Anna as well.
I roll out of bed and run to the shower to rise off quickly. Wrapped in a towel, I head back into Dimitri’s room, picking up yesterday’s clothes, still scattered on the floor from last night, to get to my suitcase. Fresh clothing procured, I make my way downstairs to join the others.
“Hi,” I say somewhat shyly as I enter the living room.
Yiannis, with little Anna strapped to his chest in a snuggly, is quick to smile when I enter the room.
“Kalimera, Calla. Sorry to disturb you, we were just picking up the keys.” He holds up a set of car keys as proof. “We’re just headed to Angela’s aunt’s taverna for lunch. You know, get out of the house and a change of scenery.”
“And,” Angela gives her husband a pointed look before turning to look at me, “we wanted to see if you two would like to join us?”
Dimitri looks at me as if it’s my decision to make. He’s letting me decide based on what I feel comfortable doing but I’m also fully aware that he’s been spending a lot of time with me these last few days. Especially for someone who originally came home to see his friends and meet his goddaughter.
“Yeah, sure! That would be fun.”
Angela nods in a way that makes me think she wasn’t going to settle for a no and starts unwrapping Anna from Yiannis’ chest.
“Perfect. You and I can sit in the back with Anna. It will be a little tight with the car seat, but we don’t have too far to go.”
I head up the stairs to get organized, Dimitri trailing behind me to shower and change for our new afternoon plans.
I’m applying sunscreen to my face when he comes out of the shower, hair dripping in his face and a towel slung around his hips.
“Thank you,” he tells me quietly, pressing a kiss to my shoulder.
“For what?”
“Agreeing to spend time with my friends. I’m sure spending your afternoons with a baby wasn’t part of your Greek holiday plan.”
I turn to face him, lifting my hand to his head in an attempt to tame his wet hair.
“I like babies,” I admit, “and I like your friends."
Dimitri arches a brow and I know he’s thinking of my conversation with Angela last time. I ignore his look and continue on.
"You only have limited time with them too and I don’t want to get in the way of that. Honestly, I’m just happy that they are including me.”
Dimitri draws me in for a deep kiss and for a moment, I regret my decision to leave the house. Despite everything we did last night and this morning, my body is still hungry for more. Hungry for him. As his tongue teases mine, all I can think about is how easy it would be to peel off his towel and push him back on the bed to continue where we left off.
Dimitri lets out a noise that can only be described as a frustrated growl and I can’t help but laugh. At the noise, at him, at how happy and beautiful and wanted he makes me feel. I pull away slowly, leaving both of us slightly breathless and wanting more.
“To be continued?” I ask.
“Definitely,” he agrees.
As Angela said, the drive isn’t too far. It turns out her aunt’s taverna is on the western side of Gialos. It’s located on a pebble beach with a few vacation homes in the area but it’s not busy at all. I’m introduced to Angela’s aunt who greets me kindly but is, unsurprisingly, more interested in baby Anna. She whisks her out of Angela’s arms, cooing at her in soft-spoken Greek for a few moments before promising to bring us out some food and drink.
The plates that come out are mostly the seafood variety. Squid and shrimp and fish. There’s also salad, of course, and a block of feta drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with herbs. Angela makes sure that Anna is tucked in asleep and we all dig in, conversation flowing freely between us.
A little while later, Anna wakes up with a startled cry. Yiannis rushes to get her, pulling her out and cradling her in his arms. She gets changed and fed and passed back and forth between the four of us but she’s still fussing.
“I’ll take her for a walk,” Yiannis tells us. Dimitri goes with him, leaving me and Angela at the table.
“So,” Angela says to me as we watch the guys walk down the beach. “You’re staying with Dimitri now.”
It’s not a question, and while her voice remains friendly enough, I am fully aware that this isn’t casual chitchat.
“I am,” I tell her as I take a sip of water. “I originally planned on being in Symi for three nights. After my first day here, I liked it so much that I decided I wasn’t ready to leave so I asked for a vacation extension from work. My accommodation didn’t have full availability for the dates. I planned on finding somewhere new and Dimitri asked me to stay with him.”
I make sure to point out that it was Dimitri who asked me, not the other way around in the hopes that she’ll get it. But she’s not backing down. Not yet.
“You decided after the boat trip with Dimitri that you wanted to spend longer here?”
She stares at the waves, not me, as she asks the question, which is probably a good thing. A good thing that she can’t see the frustration in my eyes. I know exactly what she’s getting at. She and Vera have the same mindset. That I’m just another tourist in town looking to hook up with a local man. A foreign woman in search of some casual fun.
I put down my water.
“Angela, I didn’t come here on some sort of manhunt. I actually came to get away from one.” I draw little circles on the table with my fingers, feeling the little nicks and bumps in the wood from years of use.
“I came to Greece alone. For me. I had zero intention of meeting anyone. I had zero intention of any of this.”
I stop drawing my circles and look directly at her.
“These last few days, getting to spend time with Dimitri has been a lot of fun. He makes me laugh. He makes me happy. And I know that Dimitri is one of your best friends and I know you care for him and want what’s best. But I think he seems pretty happy too.”
Angela starts to speak but I’m not finished.
“And,” I say pointedly, “I’m not the only one with a ticket off this island next weekend. He’s leaving as well.”
Angela pauses for a moment.
“He does seem happier lately,” she agrees, turning again to look at the group of three on the beach. The two best friends staring at the waves. We watch as Dimitri reaches over to take Anna from Yiannis, holding her against his chest and pointing at something in the water. Godfather teaching goddaughter about the sea.
“He’s a really good guy, you know,” Angela tells me softly.
“Yes,” I agree, “he is.”
We sit in amicable silence for a few minutes, watching them on the beach.
“Hey, do you want a glass of wine? They have a really good house white here and neither of us is driving, so?” She arches a brow in question.
“Sure.”
Angela heads to the back of the restaurant to flag down her aunt and some wine. Returning a couple of minutes later with two full glasses, one of which she hands to me with a small smile. A peace offering. Yet despite her attempt to make nice, I still find myself on edge. The only problem is, it has nothing to do with Angela and everything to do with me and my reaction.
I knew when I got into this with Dimitri that it was only short-term. We both have completely different lives in completely separate parts of the world. Our being together literally has an expiration date. We both know that.
By any definition, this is a vacation fling.
So why does it bother me so much to think of it that way?