18. Chapter 18 #3
“Yeah, except most of the time I’m sarcastic as fuck with a side of I don’t give a shit about your opinion.”
“Not always. I’ve been paying more attention. Usually, you only get that way when I make heavily-laced sexual innuendos.”
“So this is you admitting you frequently do make them. Maybe I should record that.” I pulled out my phone.
“Brat.”
My insides jolted in the most pleasant and unexpected way. The Kings called Kinsley that all the time. It usually proceeded with something that left her flushed and glowing. Not to mention dazed. Being called that by Pasha didn’t offend me. It didn’t even annoy me.
That warm feeling settled low in my stomach and spread down.
“Does this mean you’ll be treating me differently?” I asked, frowning to cover the fact that I wasn’t going to outright argue.
“Not likely. I could worship the ground you walk on.”
“Oh God, don’t do that. Promise me right now.”
He chuckled, then grew serious. “Why don’t you tell me how you want me to be when it comes to us as…a couple?”
That tiny hesitation between the words didn’t escape me. He wasn’t just asking about public performance. He was asking about boundaries. His warm brown eyes held mine.
“Maybe the better question is, how did your friends perceive you and Hannah? I’d say we go for the opposite. Personally, it will further point out how awful you were together.”
“It wasn’t always awful. Of course, I was twenty, as green as could be when it came to relationships.” He shifted in his seat uncomfortably.
“Was she your first?” I ventured, wanting to know more but fearing what was appropriate to ask.
By the time he’d made the conscious decision to not be with Hannah anymore, he was over it. There wasn’t a lot of anger or hurt. Regret with a sprinkle of relief was what I got from him during that initial adjustment period.
“In most ways, yes.” He sighed.
“We don’t have to speak about it,” I offered.
“No, it’s fine. Honestly, again with my inexperience, I thought everything was rainbows and sunshine. It was probably a year into the relationship when I noticed how she truly was. By then it was too late.”
“Ah, but look at you now on the flip side of things. Living your best man-whore life.”
“And I’m on an extended, intercontinental trip with a beautiful, cultured woman who is going to wow my friends.”
“I doubt that. The wowing part. Though, I am, as you say, cultured. I speak four languages and my family has ties to the Cosa Nostra.”
He gasped and then smirked. “So your brother’s threats are genuine?”
“I said we have ties. They’re loosely based. How we present ourselves seems to be something you need to think about more. Why don’t you tell me more about your friends? What are they like?”
“Diverse for sure. Chase, the groom, he’s the life of the party, full of energy. He’s also a daredevil, had me bungee jumping off a bridge in New Zealand once.”
“And the bride?”
“Lisa. She reminds me of Kinsley in some ways. Sweet and, I promise, even though she and Hannah are best friends, she will be nice. Her father has some connections with Cirque du Soleil, and they will be touring at the same time the wedding is planned.”
“That’s right. You mentioned an intensive. I know it’s a dancer thing, but I was hoping I’d be able to come and watch. I’d love to draw you.”
“Really?” He wagged his eyebrows.
I rolled my eyes. “Be careful what you ask for. I’ve taken a course in caricatures and could absolutely distort your features.”
“Give me that micro-peen?” he teased.
I coughed. “Well, seeing as one of the women in the group has experienced it and I’ve seen you in tights, no one would believe it.”
“You check me out in tights, huh?”
“It’s hard not to notice.” Heat blasted my cheeks as he laughed good-naturedly.
“You can come with. But I get to see the finished piece.”
“Sounds fair. Now tell me more about these friends.”
I settled in as he told me several stories about them and the adventures they’d gone on.
Late-night dance rehearsals, impromptu dance competitions.
Each story painted a vivid picture of him in a way I wasn’t familiar with.
The hours slipped by. The cabin grew quiet at one point, and I yawned.
Sleep eluded me the night before, so I was feeling drowsy.
Pasha waved down the flight attendant and asked for a blanket. He tapped his shoulder and said, “We have to get used to touching one another at some point. You’re sleepy.”
“I suppose you’re right. Are we negotiating the amount of PDA?”
“If we opt to go with your earlier suggestion of being the opposite of Hannah and I, then prepare to have my hands all over you.”
I shivered, and a small gasp escaped my lips. An angry retort or threat of personal bodily damage should have been my response, but instead I nodded. Surprise filled his eyes.
“It’s all about the experience, right?” I said, as I looped my arm through his and nestled my head onto his shoulder.
The gentle rhythm of his breathing anchored me. For the first time since we’d left the house, the nerves quieted. I slipped into sleep.