Sasha: The Wallflower (The Wallflower Series Book 1) (2 page)

Sasha was still in the kitchen when Dmitri made his way back. She had already given Jaelynn the pitcher of lemonade but decided to stay in her hideaway in order to avoid the growing crowd outside. She sat peeling an orange when she felt his presence. She turned to him with a shy smile.

“You found your way back, I see.”

Dmitri walked towards her, his face neutral. “Why aren’t you outside with everyone else?” He leaned his forearms on the surface of the kitchen counter. Even with her sitting on a stool and him leaning over, she still had to look up at him. Her eyes caressed the five o’clock shadow that covered his chin and cheeks, leading to his short sideburns. Her fingers itched to touch the smooth skin of his face but she did not relent.

Instead of answering his question, she said, “Teagan came in looking for you. I think she was worried you had gotten lost but I told her you would be out soon. She may be standing with Faye near the grill.” She laughed to herself. “That’s one thing about her: she is always eating!”

Dmitri gave her a wry grin. “Good to know.”

An awkward silence fell between them. Sasha busied her hands with peeling the orange. She nearly jumped off the stool when she felt his large hands tear the orange from her fingers. Sasha looked up at him questioningly.

“You should come outside and enjoy the party. I’m sure your friend Jaelynn would be upset knowing that you are avoiding socializing with her guests.” He tossed the orange between both his hands.

Sasha frowned. “Well, I know Jaelynn and, believe me, she won’t notice my absence.”

He smiled slowly to himself, his gaze still resting on the orange in his hands. “I find it quite odd that you are friends with Teagan, Jaelynn, and Faye. You seem to belong to a completely different crowd.”

His comment stung; he probably had no idea how close his statement was to the truth. Sasha automatically felt the need to lash out and wipe the smug smile from his beautiful lips. “Well, I’ll have you know that we are good friends. How can you come here and analyze our relationship when you hardly know anything about us?” She stood up and created distance between them. “I know I may not be as…beautiful as them but I am a person too.”

Sasha watched as his eyes finally met hers in a disturbing glare. It was as if he saw right through her. She felt a shiver of awareness course through her body straight to her toes. Goosebumps formed on her arms.

“You may not like me, Dmitri but if you want to keep seeing Teagan you should know that I am not going anywhere. So get used to my face.”

She turned to leave but was stopped by a strong hand wrapped around her upper arm.

“Wait,” she heard him say. Sasha reluctantly turned back to him.

“I think you misunderstood me, Sasha. I was never implying anything about your looks.”

She scoffed at this. “What am I supposed to think when the very first time you met me, you dismissed me as if I were less than my friends?”

For the first time since she had met him, he seemed at a loss for words. She watched his Adam’s apple quiver before he said, “I am not seeing Teagan. A few dates do not make a relationship. Furthermore, she is not looking for any sort of a serious relationship.” As if it were an afterthought, he added, “And neither am I.”

Sasha rolled her eyes. “Good for you. And how does that make you less of a superficial asshole?”

His frown deepened and his hold on her arm tightened. His lips were obviously tense as he replied, “Like any man, I appreciate beautiful things. I don’t see how that makes me a superficial asshole when you have no idea what I consider attractive. I’ll have you know that however much you may see your friends as beautiful they have little depth beyond that.”             

She gasped. “First you ignore me and now you insult my friends, one of whom invited you here? What is your problem? Why are you even here if you want nothing to do with Teagan? If you hurt her in any way, I will…I will…” she paused, trying to think of the worst possible thing to do to him. The problem was she knew nearly nothing about him.

“There is no need to finish that statement. I have no intention of hurting your friend.” He leaned closer, towering over her. She looked up at him, at a loss of whether to step back or lean forward into his chest. She felt desire boiling within her even as her heart and mind raced with his audacious behavior and comments.

“I know the effect I have on your friends and it doesn’t escape my notice that your ‘innocent’ friend, who you feel the need to protect, is only interested in a physical relationship with me. So before you point to me as the villain, maybe you should reconsider whether you know your friends as well as you think you do.” He released a pent up sigh of frustration before continuing.

“I find your innocence to be quite endearing.” He dropped her forearm and instead reached out to slowly caress her shoulder. Having been wearing a small tank top, Sasha shivered at the touch of his skin upon hers. “I ‘dismissed’ you, as you call it, because of exactly that. Your shyness, your interest in my career, and the way you constantly try to escape direct eye contact. It’s adorable, Sasha…you are adorable but, in that moment, you weren’t what I was looking for.”

At this point, Sasha was straining to look up at him. She had unknowingly rested her hands upon his chest in an effort to ward him off, or at least that is what she told herself. Dmitri’s large hands had encircled both of her forearms and his soft breath whispered against her cheek.

Taking a step back she stared at him suspiciously through narrowed eyes. “How can you even assume that I’m attracted to you?”

A cocky grin spread across his face and his shoulders shrugged. “I see the way you look at me, Sasha. Your eyes will always give you away because they are so expressive.” He closed the distance she had created between them, placing his large hands upon her cheeks and bending down.

Sasha stared in horror as his face neared her own. The moment she felt the softness of his lips, realization slapped her in the face with guilt. Her lips still tingling from his touch, she wrenched herself from his grasp, stumbling backwards into the counter.

“Y-you came with Teagan. You’ve been dating Teagan!” She cringed inwardly at the screech in her voice. What kind of game was he playing? He showed nothing but irritation since he had met her. “You can’t play games like this.” Without waiting for his response, Sasha ran out of the kitchen and hid in the growing crowd of guests in the backyard

Sasha was lying down in her bedroom when she heard Teagan finally return home. She listened as her friend’s footsteps neared her bedroom door before it was shoved open.

“Hey, girlfriend!” Teagan yelled with a shit-eating grin. “You left the barbeque early. What happened?”

Sasha shrugged her shoulders and knew it was better to lie. “I was feeling a little under the weather. It must be all the studying I’ve been doing. That and the hours I’ve worked at the diner.” Her part-time job at a nearby diner was one of her only means of paying for rent and her education. It was long hours and she usually had to deal with unsatisfied and angry customers but she knew she needed it.

“I don’t know why you still work there! I could get you a job at Hooters. The tips are great, especially with what you’re working with,” Teagan replied teasingly, referring to Sasha’s ample breasts.

She ignored Teagan’s comment and instead said, “Where were you? I’m sure the barbeque didn’t just end.”

Teagan made her way further into the room and took a seat on the edge of Sasha’s bed. “Well…something really good happened. After we left the barbeque, Dmitri took me to a nice secluded park and, even though we didn’t go as far as I hoped, there was a bit of tongue action.” Teagan winked devilishly. “That man can kiss like no one’s business.”

Sasha felt like the ground had been ripped from under her feet as she listened to her friend continue to describe in detail her make-out session with Dmitri. She had constantly replayed the kitchen scene in her head over and over again but to no avail; she was still utterly flabbergasted and in a state of shock. Had he truly tried to kiss her? Though a part of her was shocked he would actually want to, another part was appalled. Was she not worthy of the dates he took Teagan on? Even though he told her he was not looking for a serious relationship with Teagan or anyone else for that matter, he had still courted her friend to a certain extent.

He had been right. Whenever, she gazed upon him, her thoughts always strayed to what a relationship with him would be like. She dreamt that one day he would just walk up to her and confess a deep and binding love. But what was she thinking? She didn’t even know the man. But yet she still felt a strong attraction and attachment to him. Sasha implored herself to not think of him again. After all, he had stated very clearly that she was not for him and he had no intention of pursuing anything with her. Trying not to delve into why he felt she was somehow unworthy,  Sasha shook her head and turned back to Teagan as she continued with her story.

“So, I was reaching for his pants to get a peek at what he was packing and he stopped me.” Teagan groaned in frustration. “It makes me wonder if he’s too shy or something.” She lied down on Sasha’s bed and looked up at her. “Do you think he has a deformity? The man is too perfect, there’s got to be something wrong with him…maybe there
is
something wrong down
there
and he is too scared to tell me.”

“I think you’re being paranoid, Teagan. Maybe he just wants to take things slow. For some people, just jumping into bed isn’t as satisfying,” she replied. Seeing the excitement in her friends face as she relayed the new turn of events, Sasha was certain that even if there was hope for a relationship between her and Dmitri, she could not pursue it. Teagan’s friendship meant too much to her.

“You have a new table, Sasha!” Dina, her co-worker, yelled to her as she stepped out of the kitchen with an order of beverages.

Sasha yelled her thanks before grabbing her server’s apron and walking quickly to the table at the far end of the small diner. She spotted a man in a well-fitted suit with hair that flowed down to his upper shoulders, flaring out slightly at the ends. As she looked at him, she noted objectively that he was very attractive.

“Hello,” she greeted warmly. “Welcome to Al’s Diner! I’m Sasha; I will be your server this afternoon. What can I get for you to drink today?”

He looked up at her and she discovered he was Asian. His slanted eyes were large and a dark black. She inwardly gasped as she realized the contrast was awfully similar to Dmitri’s eyes. She mentally shook off the thought of him, returning to the man before her.

He gave her a warm smile. “Hi,” he said simply, his hands still grasping the drink menu that had been resting on his table before he sat down. “I would like a cup of water. Preferably, not tap.”

Sasha quickly scribbled down his instructions. “And…would you like a few extra minutes to go over the lunch menu or have you already decided, sir?”

“Actually, I am meeting with someone in a few minutes. Can I wait until then to order?”

Sasha nodded in the affirmative. “I’ll be back with your water.” She made her way back to the kitchen and almost collided with Dina. “I’m so sorry,” she yelled profusely.

Dina shrugged her shoulders. “It’s no problem. You are really lucky to have gotten that guy at your table. He usually comes here once a week and he gives great tips.” She grinned. “He’s also not too bad to look at, huh?”

Sasha knew Dina was only teasing her. She shrugged off Dina’s comment and went to get a bottle of Dasani from the kitchen refrigerator. Holding a cup of water in her hand with a couple of straws, she made her way back to the table. Her shoes squeaked in protest when she stopped abruptly. The man’s guest had arrived. It was Dmitri. Sasha wanted to seek shelter in the walk-in freezer instead of approaching the table. Dina passed her with a questioning glance.

“Okay, I can do this,” Sasha said to herself. Taking in a deep breath, she continued to the table. “Here is your drink, sir.”

Dmitri looked up at Sasha with surprise. He had been in a conversation with his fellow business partner and best friend, Slade, when she had walked up. The surprise on his face quickly transformed to a devilish grin as he remembered their conversation at the barbeque.

“Hello Sasha,” he purred. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Slade was looking between him and Sasha with curiosity.

“You two know each other?” Dmitri heard Slade ask.

Before she could respond, he turned back to his friend and nodded. “We met in a restaurant a few weeks ago. It seems like we just keep running into each other, huh?” He directed his last question at Sasha, enjoying seeing the frantic look in her gaze.

It was quickly replaced with fury as she answered tersely, “Well, you are seeing my best friend. What can I get for you two gentleman, today?”

Ignoring her question, Dmitri continued to look up at her with a smile. “How are you doing today, Sasha? I had no idea you worked at this diner.” He glanced at Slade whose brow was still crinkled in confusion. “All the times you asked me to join you here and it is only until now that I show up.” He tsked at himself.

Slade’s mouth also spread into a wide grin.

Sasha stood at the table awkwardly, not knowing what to say to them both. “W-would you like to order?” she asked again.

Both the men decided to put her out of her misery and give her their orders. Dmitri watched her as she walked away, perusing her figure. For a tiny woman, she was still very proportionate. While not as skinny as her friends, Dmitri could definitely appreciate her hourglass figure, accentuated by the skin-tight slacks and black polo shirt she wore.

Slade looked at his friend ogling the server that had just left their table. “May I ask what that was about?”

Dmitri grinned, his gaze not leaving her figure as she continued to speak with a co-worker. “I guess you could call it courting.”

Slade frowned at this. “I have known you for a long time Dmitri. So I know from experience that Dmitri Durand does not court because he is not interested in anything long-term. Have you finally met the person to change all that?”

He scoffed. “Are you serious, Slade? If I were to marry, God forbid, I would look for a trophy.” He paused. “Sasha…is no trophy.”

His friend took a sip of his water with a raised brow. “What do you mean by that?”

Before Dmitri could answer he felt the vibration of his smart phone on his hip. Excusing himself, he stood up and went to the hallway leading to the diner’s restrooms. Leaning on the wall, he answered his phone, keeping in a breath of frustration at who was calling him.

“How may I help you, Teagan?” He cringed slightly at her high-pitched squeal. Though he found her to be quite attractive upon their first meeting, as they continued to date he discovered that she was also vapid and immature. But what could he expect from a beautiful 25-year-old, he told himself. She was simply enjoying her twenties. At this thought, however, he automatically compared her to Sasha, who seemed to be quite mature even though she was the same age as her friend Teagan.

“Dmitri! I’m going to this really hot club tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me? It would be so cool. Please…”she whined.

“Teagan, I’ve told you this already. I will not be able to go out with you this week because I am too busy at the moment. Thank you for your invitation but I must politely decline.”

He heard her softly gasp. “But we haven’t been out since the barbeque. What’s the deal?”

“I really didn’t want to do this over the phone but, since you seem to be so distraught, I have decided it is best for us to cut ties. I told you before I was not interested in a serious relationship.”

“I get that, Dmitri.” He could hear her breathing quicken. Gone was her normal peppy, upbeat tone. “I’m not looking for one either. I just wanted to have a little fun. But…are you not attracted to me?”

Dmitri was actually shocked she had jumped to that conclusion. Not wanting to cause an angry rift, he continued, “No, Teagan. You are a beautiful young woman but there is only so much we have in common with our age differences.”

“But…” He could clearly imagine her pouting over the phone as he had been exposed to it very often on their dates together. The pouting and whining had not only been a nuisance but extremely unattractive. As such, he felt no desire to continue things to a physical level. The initial attraction he had felt had disappeared but before he had even acknowledged this, his mind had already been overrun by images of Sasha.

The night of their first meeting, he could concede the truth of her statement about his automatic ‘dismissal’ of her. But she had been wrong in thinking it was in response to him being less than appreciative of her physical attributes. If anything, it had simply been a means of self-preservation. The rush of attraction that had hit him the moment he laid eyes on her when he first entered the restaurant had been unreal, completely unknown territory for a man that had devoted his life to meaningless relationships and spontaneous flings. Yes, she was fairly attractive but, in comparison to her friends, she became severely average. So what was it about her that caught his attention?

Because it had seemed irrational considering the women he typically dated, he felt it was best to simply keep a distance. That, however, did not stop him from slyly learning more about her through Teagan, who could hold a conversation on her own for more than several minutes. As soon as he even mentioned Teagan’s home life, she would automatically go off on a tangent about her roommate, Sasha, and their close friendship. He had to admit, with all of her faults, she did at least seem devoted to Sasha.

Having learned more about her, he still questioned why he had a growing obsession toward this woman. But, he figured after days of introspection, maybe he was just overcome with lust. After all, he couldn’t help admiring her form, though she was too short for him. He couldn’t stop his lustful thoughts. His mind raced with all the possibilities. The natural pout to her lips was sexy. And her hourglass figure, coupled with wide hips and a round bottom, was very enticing!

Thankfully, before he could delve too deeply, Teagan tore him from his thoughts with the sound of his name blaring through the phone.

“My apologies, Teagan. But I am having lunch with a friend at the moment. Can we possibly continue this conversation another time?”

She released a heavy sigh. “There is no need. I won’t force you to talk to me anymore. Good-bye Dmitri.”

Ignoring her obvious taunts, he said his own good-byes and returned to the table with Slade. A different waitress was in the process of serving their food. Dmitri sat down as Slade spoke to her. He noted objectively that she was very attractive with a curly afro that rested down to her shoulders and beautiful slanted grey eyes. He could tell Slade was appreciating the service.

“How are you doing, Dina?” Slade had asked her.

She gave a feminine giggle as she placed their plates on the surface of the table. “Besides the ache in my feet and lower back, I am fine. What about you Slade? You didn’t come here last week. Is everything okay?”

“It is now that you’re here.” He smiled flirtatiously at her.

Dmitri rolled his eyes at the corny line but continued to listen in, needing a laugh. He could tell Dina felt the same way about Slade’s comment because she held back her own laughter by biting down on her lower lip.

“Slade, maybe you shouldn’t work so hard. Your pick-up lines are starting to suffer.” With that said she swished her hips and walked away. Slade’s gaze stayed hooked on her sexy sway, the large grin not leaving his face.

“It seems like I’m not the only one courting.”

Slade shrugged. “Yeah, but unlike you I’m playing for keeps.”

Dmitri didn’t protest this. Instead he turned to his food.

Sasha listened to the ringing of the other line, her foot tapping impatiently on the concrete ground.

“What are you calling me for?” Faye asked, obviously annoyed.

Used to her friend’s attitude, Sasha ignored her tone and instead asked, “Where are you?  You said that you would pick me up after my shift. I told you, Teagan can’t because she is across town.”

Faye groaned loudly. “Well, change of plans. I’m going on a date so…yeah, you’re just gonna have to take the bus.”

A silent gasp passed through her lips. “That will take more than three hours, Faye! It’s already close to midnight. Plus, I don’t have any change for a bus or train!”

“Well, you should have thought about that earlier. Don’t blame me because you can’t think ahead.”

Changing tactics, Sasha continued, “Please, Faye. I’ve had classes all morning plus I worked a ten-hour shift. Please, just pick me up. You live only a few blocks from here.”

“Sasha, like I said before, I have plans tonight. I’m not gonna drive you all the way to your apartment just to turn back. That’s pointless. Take the bus.” Before hanging up, she added, “And buy your own goddamn car!”

Sasha heard the click of the line ending. Faye’s last comment made her more than angry considering Faye was aware of her financial situation. Unlike Faye and Jaelynn, Teagan and Sasha did not come from well-off families and had both chipped in to buy the old, rusted car they did own together. It was only in times like these that it became extremely inconvenient and frustrating.

She walked to the bus stop and sat down on the bench to find a collection of small coins that could at least get her one bus trip. She had been waiting for close to thirty minutes when an expensive black sports car pulled up to the curve in front of her. Being in a big city had taught her skills of self-preservation so she automatically stood from the bench and stepped back, reaching into her purse for the pepper spray attached to her keys. She was fumbling with it when she heard a familiar voice.

“Get in, Sasha.”

She looked up to see the passenger window rolled down with Dmitri leaning over to open the door.