Chapter 25
When Dmitrii was left alone with Tyler’s mother, he knew this could go poorly.
He wasn’t used to talking to other people’s mothers.
He wasn’t used to talking to even his own mother.
As she stirred the soup, she glanced over at him.
“Can I get you something to drink? I don’t even know what you like. ”
Maybe Dmitrii was reading too much into it. Maybe it wasn’t a stab at how short a time he had known her son. “Umm, normally I drink water or tea. Coffee in the morning to wake up, but tea …”
“Not a problem.” She took a cup from the cupboard and put some water into it and then popped it into the microwave above the stove.
Dmitrii tried not to look like she had just done something really strange, but the last thing he was going to do was say anything negative to Tyler’s mother about how she heated water.
Before she said anything else, she placed a box of tea bags and a bowl of sugar on the table before she set the cup of now hot water in front of him.
He put a tea bag into the water and looked over at Tyler’s mother as she sat down in the chair opposite him.
He had expected something like this. While Tyler seemed to be unaware that his mother had taken steps to get him out of the room, Dmitrii had very much noticed.
“I want you to know that I am not mad at you.” She pursed her lips for a second before continuing. “That doesn’t mean I am not worried for my son.”
Dmitrii gripped the cup a little tighter as he nodded. He was pretty sure where this conversation was going to go, and it wasn’t anywhere good.
“How long are you going to be at the rink here?” The question seemed neutral enough, but Dmitrii had suspicions.
“I am not sure. Right now, Coach Truskal has agreed to have me until the end of the month. That could change to be longer though, depending on what my home federation decides. You know, with all things considered.” He could have mentioned his psychiatrist. He didn’t.
She didn’t need to know any of that. He had no idea what Tyler had told her and what he hadn’t, and he was not going to go and give the woman any more information than what she already knew.
“I see.” She stood up to walk back to the stove. “Does Tyler know this?”
Dmitrii took a few seconds to answer, thinking through his response very carefully.
“I do not want to hurt Tyler, Mrs. Garrett. That is not my intention. He is well aware of why I am here. He knows that my being based out of the rink here is only temporary. My apologies if anyone thought differently, but Tyler is very aware that my continued presence in this country is tenuous at best.” He frowned as he finished speaking.
Lunch no longer seemed as tempting now that he had faced the truth of his situation here.
“But does he understand?” There was clear emphasis placed on the word understand. It was a very different question from the one earlier of ‘Did he know?’.
“I am not sure? I don’t think that is my …
responsibility?” Oh, he knew that was not exactly the right word, but he had to say something.
“He’s … I have not lied to him. I have hidden nothing from him.
” That last part was not entirely true, but he had been much more honest with Tyler than he was with anyone else in his life right now.
Dmitrii stood up. He knew he should sit at the table and just agree that whatever was going on was his fault.
He knew he should just try to take responsibility and placate whatever she thought were his transgressions. He didn’t.
“Why are you acting as if this is all my fault? He knows what the situation is, yet he is the one who chose to flirt with me. He is the one who asked me out. He has been very much more than willing in everything else.” He tried to hold in that urge to tell her much more about what Tyler was very willing to do.
Goading her would not end well for any of them.
Raising her three children had made her very aware that sometimes rebellion was actually rebellion, but sometimes all of that fire was just fear in disguise. “Dmitrii, I’m not …” She sighed, “I just worry about my son. After last night–”
“Trust me. Had I known what was going to happen, I would have made sure he had called … or at least not dropped his phone in the bathroom.” Dmitrii was upset, but trying so hard not to seem like he was.
He shouldn’t be surprised. He finally had someone in his life who liked him for being him, and now it was going to be taken away.
“I know this is not going to last forever. Tyler knows this isn’t going to last forever.
I had just hoped it was going to last longer than today.
” He couldn’t help the sadness in his voice as he trailed off.
He had been so happy, and now he knew that it was ending.
“I don’t want to see him hurt.” Her voice was soft, but she glanced up as the sound of the shower ended upstairs. Not bothering to hide her doubts, she stood up and silently began to get the sandwiches for lunch together.
Dmitrii returned to the table to pick up his cup of cooling tea.
He sipped at it, not wanting it to get cold, but he wasn’t enjoying it anymore.
This was his mistake. He had let his guard down and let his heart feel.
He had let himself fall in love. Maybe it was fast, maybe it was something people would only think of as puppy love, but it was still something.
It was still love, and knowing it was going to end hurt.
It hurt more when he saw Tyler walk in with a bright smile on his lips. The sparkle in those blue eyes shined so bright. Dmitrii already missed Tyler, even before he had lost him.
Lunch ended, and they drove back to the rink.
This time it was Tyler going to the ice while Dmitrii was meeting someone in the dance room.
Dmitrii was just going to walk off, but he paused as Tyler’s hand touched his waist. As he turned to face Tyler, he felt the softness of a kiss.
For a moment, he was happy again. Then Tyler was waving while running off to get his skates on before he was late.
Dmitrii stood for a second, his fingers going to his lips as he closed his eyes.
Maybe if he could just remember that moment.
Maybe if he could just remember that smile before he broke Tyler’s heart.
Dmitrii turned, walking down the hallway to follow the signs to Studio 1.
Every step away from Tyler hurt, but there was nothing he could do.
The decisions were all made for him. Tyler’s mother was right.
He didn’t know how long he’d be in America.
This was all just borrowed time that he was supposed to use to heal.
He wasn’t here to get his heartbroken or break anyone else’s.
That didn’t matter though because his heart had already shattered, even though he hadn’t even lost Tyler yet.
The longer this lasted, the more it would hurt Tyler, and that was the last thing in the world that he wanted to do.
When he finally reached the studio, it was the same one he had been in before.
It was like most dance studios, just a wall of mirrors with a ballet barre and a sprung wooden floor.
He was already in loose clothes he could practice in.
All he had to do was pull his dance shoes on.
If this were back in Russia, he would have changed into proper dance attire, but there were fewer rules here.
Dmitrii paused. A glance at the clock showed that he still had five minutes.
He didn’t have to change. No one here would expect him to.
However, he had to take his training seriously.
Not doing all the steps that he would have done in Russia felt like he wasn’t trying as hard as he could.
There had always been a deadline to his healing.
Today, that deadline had just gotten harsher and more self-imposed.
Now it was not only how long the Russian skating federation would let him remain but also how long could he stay?
Tyler’s mom had made it clear that the longer this relationship lasted, the more hurt Tyler would be.
Instead of just practicing in loose sweatpants and a T-shirt, Dmitrii grabbed the clothes from his bag and walked over to the locker room to get changed.
He was going to take this very seriously.
When Dmitrii returned to the room, it was no longer empty.
The assistant coach, Andy Williamson, was there with another woman that he hadn’t met yet.
Instinctively, he bowed to both of them before walking into the room.
Proper manners had been instilled in him from many years of strict ballet training, where girls curtsied and boys bowed as they entered a classroom.
He looked the part now. His legs were bare aside from the tight black spandex of the dance shorts.
Tight black compression wear covered his torso.
He had also put on simple black, split-soled ballet slippers.
The woman looked him over, nodding. “Mr. Lebedinsky.” There was something approaching approval as she looked him over. “I am Luciana Perez, and I am going to be working on your flexibility and presentation.”
Dmitrii bowed again to her. “Yes, Madame.” Every word and action showed he was treating this as seriously as any training in Russia.
He stayed where he was as she approached him, making a small circle around where he was standing as she took him in.
She was a little older than he would have expected, in her forties, but he stood there, unmoving as he waited to be told what to do.
That she had had no issue with his name had not gone unnoticed.
“Mr. Williamson has told me you have dance training; however, he was not sure of the level.”