Chapter 14
Dmitrii’s heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest. He didn’t know why he had told Tyler his secret. How that man’s hand had felt resting on his wrist, and how close they had been …he actually felt light-headed. He had come so close to doing something so stupid.
He had been having a really nice night. Skating had gone amazingly well compared to before.
Tyler had been looking at him all night in a way that made his heart flutter.
Tyler’s family had been so nice. Then the walk with the dog had made everything feel like a date – not that Dmitrii had been on many of those.
He hadn’t actually said he was gay, but he knew he had heavily implied it.
Then they had been so close, and he had almost kissed Tyler where anyone driving by could have seen.
Dmitrii wanted to throw caution to the wind, but there was only so much risk he could take. Even with that fear, he hadn’t felt this good in so long. “Tonight was nice.”
Tyler smiled. “It’s still early? Want to go for a ride?”
“Uh, sure.” Honestly, Dmitrii was rather certain he would have agreed to anything to spend more time with Tyler.
When they reached the house, Tyler took Molly’s leash off and called out, “Mom? Dad? Dmitrii and I are heading out. Molly is all taken care of.”
Tyler’s mom was the one to answer, walking towards them from the kitchen.
“You two have fun. If you’re going to be late, text me.
Remember, don’t speed on Elden. You know they have everyone there trying to catch speeders.
” She walked over to give Tyler a kiss on the cheek and then walked over to pull Dmitrii into a hug.
“It was so nice having you here, sweetie. If you need anything while you’re here, just ask. ”
“Thank you, Mrs. Garrett.” He hadn’t been expecting the hug. He awkwardly returned it though and hoped no one would notice how unnaturally he reacted to receiving maternal affection.
Soon, Dmitrii was back in the car, and Tyler was driving as the sun was setting. “Most of the parks close at sunset, so that’s out, but I didn’t know if you wanted to go straight back to your place.”
“I’m not in a hurry.” Dmitrii let himself relax into the seat as he watched Tyler more than he was watching where they were going.
Tyler drove along some sort of main street with stores and strip malls on both sides.
Dmitrii paid little attention to any of them.
He was too busy enjoying just being with Tyler.
“I figure the hotel must be pretty boring.”
“It’s not too bad. I mean, it’s a little quiet. I’m used to a bit more noise than that.” He knew that neither of them were talking about what they really wanted to talk about. “I probably was just going to watch a movie tonight or something.” Maybe he dropped his voice a little as he said that.
He saw Tyler swallow as if he were nervous. “Do you normally watch movies in English?” When Tyler stopped at a red light, he took the chance to look over at Dmitrii and smile.
“Sometimes. Sometimes a movie in Russian. They do make this thing called subtitles though?” Dmitrii let his lips slip into a smile as he added, “But you’d know all about subtitles if you’ve seen half the interviews that you’ve said you have.”
“Hey! This wasn’t supposed to be embarrass Tyler night.” He laughed though as he took a left and said, “This will loop us back to the road that goes to your hotel, so maybe we can figure out that subtitles thing?”
“Do you want to watch a movie?” Dmitrii knew the suggestion was not nearly as innocent as he tried to make it sound. Well, he hoped it wasn’t innocent … maybe. His heart kept beating so loud he was positive that Tyler could hear it, but this time it wasn’t fear.
It was dark by the time they reached the hotel. “I’ll just text my mom that I’m watching a movie with you so she doesn’t expect me home right away?”
Dmitrii teased him as they walked into the hotel, anything to keep from getting any more nervous than he already was.
“What are you telling her? Hey mom, I’m so bored that I’m going to watch some movie in the hotel room of this guy I just met a few days ago and yeah, he might be a serial killer, but I stalked him and saw old interviews of him? ”
“Oh, now that’s not fair.” Tyler was laughing as they walked down the hallway. “And you aren’t just some stranger.”
Dmitrii opened the door to the room, leading the way into it. “I’m not?”
Before Dmitrii could say anything, Tyler stepped so close to him. Instead of pulling out a laptop to watch a movie, he had Tyler’s hand on his waist and lips gently pressed to his. He was still trying to think of what to do when Tyler pulled back. All Dmitrii managed to do was blink at him.
Tyler was smiling as he said, “I didn’t expect that.”
“You’re the one who kissed me?” Dmitrii tried not to seem as confused as he was.
“I didn’t expect your lips to taste like cherry.” Tyler’s grin was still wide as he still gently held onto Dmitrii’s waist.
“It’s the lip balm …” Tyler had just kissed him. They were alone, and Tyler had just kissed him.
“I know.” Tyler took a step back. “I didn’t think your lips were just naturally cherry flavored.” As he let his hand slip from Dmitrii’s waist, he asked, “Do you want to watch a movie?” Now there was a hesitancy in his actions.
For a second, Dmitrii paused. Did he want to think about what the ‘not watching a movie’ options were?
They were alone in his hotel room, and he had never been alone in a room with someone he liked before in his life.
“Yeah.” Taking a step back and hoping his cheeks weren’t too flushed, Dmitrii grabbed his laptop to walk it over to the TV.
He had to think. Tyler had kissed him, and not like a quick little peck.
That had been … he didn’t have words for what that had been.
How Tyler’s lips had lingered on his as if it were an invitation for more.
The blush on Dmitrii’s face could even be seen in the dim lighting as he plugged his laptop into the back of the television. “Do you have any preferences?”
“Anything you want.” Something about how Tyler said that seemed off.
Dmitrii angled the TV towards the couch, and Tyler started to sit down. There was something in the way Tyler was looking at Dmitrii that made him think he had made some sort of mistake, but he didn’t know what.
Dmitrii took a deep breath, even as his heart was pounding.
Maybe he actually had an idea of what that mistake had been.
Trying to ignore how nervous he was, he shifted the angle of the TV to be aimed at the ‘bedroom’ instead.
He kept eye contact with Tyler as he shifted the TV.
There was no way anyone could think that the change in angle was not intentional.
He selected a Russian horror movie and took two steps back towards the bed. “Is this okay?” When Tyler’s eyes widened and his smile reappeared, Dmitrii knew he had made the right choice. At least he hoped it was the right choice and not a mistake.
“Yeah. Sounds good.” Tyler kicked off his shoes as he walked over to the bed.
“The couch is pretty hard. It’s a … I don’t know if there is a term in English. When it’s a bed as well? The actual bed is much more comfortable.”
“Pullout couch or sleeper sofa.” He sat on the edge of the bed, watching Dmitrii climb onto the bed from the other side. “That’s the first time I’ve seen you not know something in English. You’re really good at it.”
“I started studying it when I was eight. The rink I was skating at had a really good tutor for English, and it’s pretty easy to practice.” He walked over to the other side of the bed, kicking his shoes off as he sat down on the other side of the bed. “I’m not really, uh, good at this?”
“At this?” Tyler wasn’t paying attention to the movie as he moved a little closer.
“Umm, we could just watch the movie?” Everything about his posture and voice made it clear he didn’t want to just watch the movie, but maybe he had been reading this wrong.
Tyler scooted towards the head of the bed as he grabbed the pillows so it would be easier to sit in the bed and watch the TV.
Then, as he positioned himself in the center, he held out the arm that was closer to Dmitrii.
“Come here?” The implication that this would not be just watching the movie was clear.
Dmitrii nodded. His heart was pounding, but as the opening scene of the movie played, he moved to be next to Tyler. While outside was hot, the change to the hotel’s air conditioning was enough to make it almost chilly. The warmth of Tyler’s body felt so nice, and he started to relax there. “Sorry.”
“There is nothing to be sorry about.” As Tyler shifted slightly, he pressed a kiss to the top of Dmitrii’s head. “Watching a movie with you sounds like a great idea.”
Dmitrii’s mind was racing. He had never done this.
This was so much like a ‘date’. He’d kissed some boys in the past, but never in his home city.
Sometimes if he was in another country, he’d find a club of some sort and flirt with people he’d never see again.
So while he’d kissed before, there had never been much more than that.
This was very different. The most obvious difference was that Tyler actually knew who he was.
Dmitrii knew he was supposed to be watching the movie, but his mind kept racing. Tyler was acting as if this was so normal for him. Maybe it was? Maybe Tyler did things like this all the time. Maybe this was no big deal to him. Maybe this wasn’t special …
“I have a confession to make.” Tyler’s voice made his chest rumble slightly where Dmitrii’s head was resting on him.
Dmitrii twisted a little to look at the other man, not saying anything, just waiting for him to speak as his heart kept pounding.