Roses & Ruin

Chapter 5 (Lexi)

He's a smooth guy. I'm not even sure why yet, but I just feel like he's smooth. I knew I had to be a smart ass and say something he wouldn't expect.

*Me: Are you saying fuck my face as in you wanna fuck it? Or fuck, pause, my face.* I found myself chuckling already.

        I had to pull the message down so I could order a car out of Brooklyn, which is going to guzzle money for no good reason. Luckily when it's work related we can use the company account. The company being my modeling agency.

*Anthony: I said one but meant the other* was all he said. The bastard makes me wonder. *Me: And you won't decipher which?* I found it amusing, but I also felt this strange heat inside me, and it wasn't a blush.

*Anthony: I won't get myself in trouble just yet. First you have to agree to see me again.* Smooth once again. Should I do it? Should I meet up with him?

        It's not like I haven't hung out with guys before, but wherever I go Boris goes. These guys have no idea, and rarely ever notice, but Boris is my shadow. My father assigned him to me back in Russian. And even though they let me see guys, they never let them take me home.

So I'd have to meet in public, and turn him down when he wants to inevitably take me home, so what's the point right?

But I really want to see the guy. I can't remember the last time I was even so interested in a man. Maybe that's what it is. He's very much a man. I shouldn't tell him I'm 20 because he might be a lot older and he might back off. I don't want him to back off.

The legal age in America is 18 anyways, so it's not like I'm hiding that I'm a minor. In Russian they don't even care. That leads us to other issues.

        A thought suddenly crossed my mind. I can sneak out. Since I've been behaving for so long Boris isn't up my ass the way he was in the beginning. It's why I was left alone the other day while reading. He sat across the road in a vehicle for several hours before telling me to behave and go straight home afterwards.

It's why he didn't see Anthony. It's why I could get away with sneaking off when Boris isn't with me at night. He's an apartment below me, he's never far, but still.

*Me: And if I agree?* I asked the sharp suited man. *Anthony: Then I'd ask if you're more of a let's get a drink girl, a club girl, or if you want me to be forward and tell you I wanna fuck you into next week.*

My jaw dropped. I didn't expect him to be so forward so soon. Of course I know what he wants, but guys at least try to hide their antics with dinners and false promises.

        Now, here lies a problem. I'm not 21, and if I said drink or club then I wouldn't be able to get in. I would reveal my age and scare him off. I don't want to just agree to him screwing me either, so what to do? What should I say? If I suggested dinner he might think I want too much.

If he isn't offering romance it's because he doesn't want it, and frankly I don't care. I've been too sheltered and my hormones can't take it any longer. I decided to lie.

*Me: I lost my ID the last time I was out.* Lame, but what else can I do? *Anthony: Sweetheart, anywhere with me you don't need an ID. I know a lot of people.* Again Anthony piques my interest. He knows a lot of people? It would be perfect not to have to show ID. I would love to go out.

*Me: You just have an answer for everything, don't you, sweetheart?* I mocked his pet name. *Anthony: Nothing sweet about me, sweetheart.*

        And the heat inside me returns. A tingling sensation between my legs has me clenching them again. *Me: If I really don't need ID then we can get that drink. Or do whatever club you mentioned.* I want to go clubbing. It sounds fun and I haven't since Russia.

Since America is so much more strict.

*Anthony: Drinks. This weekend?* Why am I suddenly nervous? Don't be an idiot, Lexi. I'm never nervous with men. I don't care enough to be. *Me: Maybe.* I don't know why I was backing out slightly, but I was.

*Anthony: No maybes. I'll see you Friday night Lexi.* Oh...I guess he isn't giving me the choice anymore. I like the assertive attitude. He wears confidence well. It doesn't come off smug and arrogant.

*Me: Ok.*

        We left it at that. That's a day and a half away. I'd say I need to plan my escape without Boris noticing, but I already had that plan set in my mind since moving into this building with him. I'll text him that I'm in for the night and ordering food. I'll ask if he wants anything.

He usually says no, and even if he said yes he'd grab the food and go back to his apartment. He doesn't hang out inside my house like that.

One, because I have a roommate. And two, because my brother made it clear he isn't my friend, he's my guard, and a professional one at that.

       Texting him about food will let him off the hook of having to follow me out anywhere. He may even spy until he sees me actually receiving food, but then he'll go about his own business. I know how he ticks by now. He's been around for a few years.

Then I sneak out. No lingering out front or anything. I have to rush out of his apartment window's sight, which I've measured based on my own window's view, which is a floor above him. I know blind spots.

        It helps that all the men in my life underestimate my intelligence. That's good for me because I can get away with doing more than they'd ever assume I would or could do. They were skills I had to acquire for the years of returning to my father and brothers.

Or I guess it started sooner than that when Mom taught me things about evading. That's all linked to uncomfortable past life details. I won't get into it. Time is winding down quickly and Vitaly and my brothers will be in America soon enough.

I don't know what complications will fall into my life once they get here to do whatever the hell it is they'll be doing, but I can almost guarantee it will somehow be complicated for me.

That's why I want to do this now. To have this fun and to hook up with a guy. It's exactly what they wouldn't and don't want me to do, and it's why I am determined to. I wasn't expecting such a hot prospect, but that only encourages me more.

-

        When I got home from the photoshoot I found Chloe on our tiny sofa with her laptop out. "How'd it go?" She asked without looking up. "Good" was all I said. We aren't exactly friends, so we talk, but not really. She tries sometimes, but we have opposite schedules or business trips, so we don't always have the chance to be in the same place at the same time.

I walked right by the girl, but paused in the hall. I took a few steps backwards until I was visible to the sofa again.

"Hey Chloe" I tried for her attention. She glanced past her screen at me and waited.

"I, uh, have a date Friday night. I guess I'm just telling you in case I go missing or something. You'll have a hunch of where I was previous to that, since I literally know no one else to give this information to" I said plainly.

        She tried to tell if I was kidding. "Okay, I got your back" she cracked into a wide grin. "Excellent" I gave her a thumbs up as I started down the hall again. I know next to nothing about Anthony. I don't even know his last name. So I guess if one person knew I was out it was probably smarter than telling none.

In case I went missing and all that.