9. Oleg
Oleg
W e had been sitting on her couch cuddled together, my hand stroking her shoulders, for the last hour as we both pretended to watch the comedy she had mentioned her sisters suggested. It wasn’t that the movie wasn’t good, but it was obvious by her silence that she was deep in thought, and I was deep in worry about where her head might be at.
At forty-two, you would think I was a man who knew his way around a relationship, but the only ones I had any kind of experience with were those with the men I worked closely with and the ones I made through different kinds of deals. Nothing like what I wanted to grow with Coral.
“You’ve been quiet since we got home,” I pointed out as we sat on her couch cuddled together.
“Have I?” she asked, turning her gaze to mine.
“Hmm,” I grunted, kissing the top of her head. “Are you upset I interrupted lunch with your sisters?” I’d been watching from my car, and when they started to ask questions, I had seen the panic and doubt start to bloom to life in my babochka ’s eyes. I couldn’t have that. Not when all I wanted was to spend the rest of my days making my girl happy.
She shook her head. “I’m actually glad you stopped by. Did that mess up any plans?”
“What?”
“I mean, were you supposed to meet someone there or?—“
“No.” I shook my head. “I was just going in to have something to eat.”
“And all you got was dessert and an interrogation.” She made a face. “Want me to go fix you something now? Are you hungry? Or?—“
“Baby, relax. Talk to me. What’s going on in your head?”
“You don’t live here,” she blurted out.
“Here in your house or?—“
“Moonlit Pines,” she cut me off and winced. “I mean, you do, but you don’t at the same time.”
“Butterfly, I told you I’m here for as long as you will have me.”
“Stay forever, then,” she teased, but I didn’t smile.
“Done.” I shrugged, and she looked at me, her eyes serious and worried before she broke into a fit of laughter. Gently pushing my shoulder, she grinned up at me.
“I’m serious,” she groaned with a playful look in her eye.
“So am I, butterfly. I can work from anywhere. If there is something that needs my personal attention, I can always travel to them. You can come with me. But my home? The place I’m at for the immediate future and hopefully long term, that is wherever you are.”
“Just like that? For me?” I nodded. My hand drew up and held her face, stroking her cheek with the pad of my thumb.
“Coral, there isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for you,” I shared genuinely.
“You say that kind of stuff, and it makes me think you’re not real.”
“What?” I asked, slightly confused.
“Nothing, just… you sound like one of the heroes from the books Raven likes to read.”
“Ah, a book boyfriend?” I guessed, having heard the term on a TikTok video.
“Yeah.” She smiled, leaning into my touch. “Can I be honest with you?”
“Of course.” My tone dropped an octave.
“I like you, Oleg. I mean… I more than like you.” My heartrate started to pick up speed, and I would be damned if she said what I thought she was about to say before me.
“That’s good, babochka , because I love you,” I laid out for her, unsure of how she would take the words I’d never said to another woman I wasn’t related to.
“Yeah?” Her eyes turned wistful and hopeful as she stared at me. I leaned in closer, breathing in her sweet feminine scent.
“I do, butterfly,” I rumbled, pressing my lips to hers before pulling away. “I love you, Coral. You’re mine, and I’m yours. Whether you like it or not.” I winked, trying to lighten the mood. “I know it’s fast, and some people would think I’m full of shit saying this, but I’ve never felt this way before. Not even close.”
“Oleg.”
“I figure I’ve been waiting forty-two years for you. I’m not going to waste time playing games or going by some dumbass’ timeline. You might not know this about me, but I’m not much of the play-by-the-rules kinda guy. I’d rather make my own rules as I go along so I can win.”
“And I’m a prize?”
“You’re the dream. The reason. Shit, that’s not right. You’re more than I could have ever imagined or dreamt of, Coral. I just hope that doesn’t scare you.”
“Is it weird if I tell you it doesn’t?” she whispered, making my heart soar with glee.
“Not at all,” I rasped.
“Oleg?”
“I’m right here, baby.”
“I love you, too.” My eyes shut for a moment, taking in her words, basking in the light of them.
“Say it again,” I roughly demanded, opening my eyes, my attention locked on my sweet babochka in front of me. Delicate yet strong. Resilient, witty, and so damn smart.
“I love you, Oleg Sokolov. I don’t know how it happened or when, but I do. I’ve never…” Emotion hitched in her voice. “I’ve never felt this way. You feel like home to me.”
“Fuck,” I cursed and reached for her, settling her curvy body on my lap. “I love you, too, Coral Trejo. I love you so fucking much, I didn’t know it was humanly possible to feel this.” To be so damn obsessed about another person you will break each and every law of reason. The words clung to my tongue, but I didn’t say them out loud. It wasn’t the time. One day, I would come clean.
Instead, I stood and picked her up like the groom would his bride. Like I would one day, and soon. Any thoughts of matrimony in the past would have made me break out in hives or laugh because there was no way I could have ever pictured myself ever wanting a domestic kind of lifestyle.
But now? With Coral in my life, that was all I wanted. To have her wear my ring on her finger and carry my last name.