Page 70 of Unbridled Fire
“All right. After sushi, I was going to take you to the beach to show you this cool place to stargaze before we head home. You down for that?”
“It is our first date, so yes, I’m down. You’re going to need to impress me if you want to get to second base.”
Rising, he stalked toward me and snaked his hand around my waist. “Woman, I’m going to impress the hell out of you.”
I laughed as he smacked a hard kiss on my lips. “I’ll hold you to it.”
Rapt with anticipation, I hugged him and allowed him to sneak a quick trip to second base right there in the living room.
Chapter 26
Leo
On the night of our date, I sat on the couch with Dmitry, waiting for Katia to finish getting ready. I was determined to turn him into a Mets fan, and he was enjoying the game, so I figured I had a good shot.
Katia appeared from upstairs, her red hair thick and full as it floated over her shoulders. She wore tight black pants, black heels and a white blouse that covered one shoulder. She smiled at both of us, and my heart slammed in my chest at how gorgeous she was.
“You look pretty,” Dmitry said softly.
“Aw, thanks, sweetheart.” She trailed over and kissed his head. “What are you going to do while we’re gone?”
“I’m coding a new app that can transform PDFs into spreadsheets,” he said. “Alexis thinks it will help as we transfer documents over to the new financial programs.”
“Smart. And isNataliahelping you?” Katia asked, grinning.
“Who’s Natalia?” I asked.
“No one,” Dmitry said, rubbing his palms on his jeans. “I met her on a Discord server, and she’s cool. She’ll be a senior when the new school year starts, and she likes to code. She lives in Valley Stream, so we might meet up for coffee one day. It’s not a big deal.”
“You’re allowed to meet up with her as long as you complete the paperwork Leo sent you for your GED,” Katia said. “The taskforce is making an exception to let you enroll in the program, and we don’t want to squander it.”
“I don’t understand why I have to get a stupid degree,” Dmitry said. “I can code circles around the kids in your American schools.”
“Because degrees are important in America, and you need to acclimate here,” Katia said, putting her hands on her hips.“U amerikantsev poroy byvayut glupyye pravila, no yesli khochesh' zdes' zhit', tebe pridotsya ikh soblyudat.”
I scowled, wishing I understood what they were saying. Dmitry always perked up when they spoke Russian, so I figured I’d have to get used to it.
Dmitry laughed. “Okay, I get it. I’ll do the paperwork while you all are gone.”
I rose and waved goodbye to Dmitry before escorting Katia to the door. “What did you say to him?”
“Just that he had to follow our dumb American rules if he wants to live here.”
I breathed a laugh. “Nice.”
I drove us to the restaurant, holding Katia’s hand during the short drive. When we arrived, we ordered a bottle of sake and a bunch of different rolls.
As we ate, we chatted about our lives; about our past failures, and our hopes for the future. When the plates had been cleared away and we were blissfully full, she reached across the table and took my hand.
“Best first date ever,” she said, grinning.
“I hope so. Ireallywant to make it to second base tonight.”
Her thumb caressed my hand as we finished up our sake. Resting her chin on her fist, she inhaled a deep breath.
“I didn’t tell you this right away because I wanted to save it for tonight, where I could tell you with the focus and seriousness it deserved.”
“Okay,” I said, feeling my pulse tick in my neck at her serious tone.
