NIKOLAI'S POV
No matter what I did, I was never able to get Ryan's attention.
If I am being honest, I haven't been making super big moves, just little ones to get her attention or get her to look at me for a single second, even if it was because I was annoying her, and she was rolling her eyes.
I think her brothers were starting to notice, at least a little bit.
I mean whenever I go over now, Marco makes a point of not leaving me alone with his younger sister.
And her twins make a habit of smirking at me whenever I am in the room.
If this woman wasn't perfect enough for me based off our first interaction, she also runs the most successful mafia currently.
A fact of which I think is super hot.
I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Ryan and one of her friends, who I believe is Marvin, trying to convince her to go out to a club with him tonight.
What?
Oh hell nah.
"Please just come to the club with us tonight. You don't even have to drink, you can be our designated driver if you wanted! It would be so much fun and you would look so hot, I promise you!" Marvin begs, unaware of the ears that are currently hearing him, and the hands that want to stab him in the throat.
I know he's gay.
I don't care, he still called my girl hot.
(A.N. Girlies, this is what we call a red flag, we leave those alone.)
(Except for when they are in books)
"Fine, fine. I am the designated driver though, and nobody, you hear me, nobody is going home with a man or woman tonight. We are just there to get some good drinks, dance, and have fun. Which club are we going to?" My girl's sweet, melodic voice floats over me.
"Oh, we are going to go to Lysette's. It's fairly popular but I'm pretty sure one of our friends know the owner because the bouncer lets us cut the line and get in without checking out ID's." Marvin replies.
They walk out of earshot, and I stand there contemplating my life choices right now, even though I already know what I am going to be doing.
I guess I got to get ready to go to a club.
♤♡◇♧
Even though I didn't tell my mom where I was going, I am pretty sure she could guess and was trying to get me to stay home all night.
She even made sure I had dinner before I left the house.
So, to put it lightly, I was just a little bit late.
To say the least, when I walked in and saw Ryan dancing on another girl, one of whom I didn't know, I was fairly jealous. And also fairly turned on.
RYAN'S POV
If he thinks I didn't see him come into the club that I own and immediately have eyes on me and my new... friend... and continue to look once he got himself a booth to sit at, he is severely wrong.
NIKOLAI'S POV
I watch as they dance with each other for another couple of minutes until Ryan whispers something in her ear and they both disappear off into the bathroom.
By the first minute they are gone, I am thanking my mother for teaching me the meaning of self-control.
Five more minutes after that, Ryan comes out looking perfect as ever.
Thirty seconds later, the girl follows her looking decently disheveled.
Now I want to kill something.
Or someone.
RYAN'S POV
As I am dancing with my new friend, who I have learned is name Annabelle, I think of the perfect thing to do.
I lean forward and kind of shout into her ear so she can hear me over the music, "Do you have something for a period?"
Annabelle turns around and makes eye contact with me before grabbing my hand and pulling me to the bathroom.
Once we get in there, she starts to rifle through her purse before I put my hand on hers. "Hey, it's all good I just wanted to get out of there for a moment. This is a bit awkward, but a guy I know from school keeps staring at me, so I just pulled you in here to make him back off a bit."
The shorter girl looks up at me looking relieved. "Oh, thank goodness. It was a bit late when I realized I may have been luring you on. I didn't want to have sex with you or anyone tonight. Just came to dance but then I saw my ex-girlfriend in the crowd, and she was looking at me. We have a bit of an on and off relationship so I thought maybe she would come back to me if I made her jealous enough."
I give Annabelle an easy grin. "Well, if that's the case, I don't mind standing here to talk for a bit before walking back out there. Y'know. Just to make them think for a bit."
She agrees and the conversation flows easily between the two of us.
I bid my farewells quickly and continues to make my way out of the bathroom before she grabs my wrist and stops me. "Just letting you know; I am going to mess my hair up a bit so she thinks we actually did something."
I smile at her. "That is plenty fine with me, may even help my case. But if your relationship is really this on and off, is it really a good relationship? I mean, I bet you can do so much better. Hell, I have a friend I could set you up with if you really want me too. But you can mess your hair up, I don't mind. Have a good night, Annie Darling." I reply back before walking out, feeling Nikolai's steamy and pretty infuriated gaze on the side of my head as I walk over to the bar and order a Coke.
♤♡◇♧
Being the designated driver and everything last night, I didn't end up drinking anything, so I was able to notice little things that most other people probably would not have noticed.
Like how there was these guys that kept staring my friends and I down.
This group of guys disappeared a little bit later, along with Nikolai.
Nikolai came back alone.
Nikolai would not stop looking at me.
Oh, and I also happened to notice the sexual tension between a twin of mine and a certain friend of mine. I am not completely sure how I missed it, but it was kind of obvious once I found out. But I also don't think I ever expected it.
Rudy and Marvin.
They are complete opposites, but they work so well together.
Rudy didn't ever take his eyes off Marvin, even when Marvin started to talk to some other guys. And when Marvin was well past the line of drunk, he walked over to him and started steering him out of the club. I didn't see them again, so I assumed that Rudy took Marvin home.
I was wrong.
I found my best friend sitting in the kitchen and Rudy cooking.
My twin can't cook for shit.
And to top it all off, Nikolai was sitting at the table on his phone too. Well, that was until I ended up walking into the room. At that point he turned his phone off.
I take a seat at the kitchen island and look to my little brother trying to impress his little crush. "So, what's for breakfast Rudy?" I ask while grinning at him widely.
He turns around and narrows his eyes at me, annoyed. He definitely knows that I know.
"I am making our guest and myself scrambled eggs." Rudy replies, looking back at his cooking.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the extent of my younger brother's cooking skills.
"Yeah, I am good with scrambled eggs." Nikolai replies, leaning back into his chair and I look towards him and raise an eyebrow.
Rudy turns to look at him. "You are not a guest." He informs Nikolai stonily.
"Yes I am."
"You practically live here. I don't think you count as a guest, Nikolai." I reply back, wanting to get under his skin for some reason that I decide I don't want to dive into.
"I do not practically live here." For whatever reason, he seems appalled I even mentioned it.
"You have your own room." Rudy deadpans.
Finally, sleepy Marvin seems to wake up. "You have your own room?" He asks Nikolai you just pouts and mumbles 'yes'. Marvin turns toward me and states matter-of-factly, "You and I are talking after breakfast."
I know exactly what he wants to talk about.
Nikolai.
He has been trying to convince me for weeks that we should get together or 'at least have sex'.
However, now I have something to talk to him about, too.
"Okay." I reply with a smirk.
♤♡◇♧
After both Nikolai and I try to convince Rudy to make breakfast for us too, Marvin pitches in and asks him to make us breakfast along with theirs,
And the little simp just obliges.
So, after some really flavorless scrambled eggs, I exit the kitchen and make my way back to my room. When I open my door, am I pushed into my room, the person who ended up pushing me in here following me.
Without even thinking, I reach into my bra and grab my knife, pushing my assailant into the wall with the wall with the knife at their throat.
I finally get to see the person that shoved me.
Nikolai.
I don't remove my knife though.
"Can I help you?" I ask him.
He chuckles lowly, which, for whatever reason, makes my heart beat a couple of seconds quicker than usual. "I just wanted to talk, Дорогой. Don't worry, I am not going to kill you."
(Darling)
With one smooth movement, however, he effortlessly switches our places so that my back is to the wall, a knife at my throat, and he has the metaphorical high ground.
He studies the predicament we are in for a moment before muttering lowly in Russian. "Ты такая красивая."
(You are so beautiful)
"Почему вы иногда настаиваете на том, чтобы говорить со мной по-русски? Я имею в виду, вы знаете, что я говорю на этом языке, верно? Не говоря уже о том, что вы настаиваете на том, чтобы называть меня «дорогая» по-русски." I question him and I swear I hear him groan.
(Why do you insist on speaking to me in Russian sometimes? I mean, you are aware I speak the language, correct? Not to mention you absolutely insist on calling me 'darling' in Russian too.)
His heated eyes focus on me, and I can feel myself start to get hotter. "Ты чертовски сексуальна, когда говоришь на моем родном языке, дорогая."
(You are so damn sexy when you speak my native language, Darling.)
"Hmmm. Well maybe I will just stop doing it then." I speak English this time.
Our lips were ow only inches apart and I could feel his labored breaths against them, as I am sure he can feel mine.
His eyes study my eyes before they slowly trail down my face and finally linger at my lips. His eyes jump back to mine and he swallows. "Я очень хочу поцеловать тебя прямо сейчас."
(I really want to kiss you right now)
I was a little bit startled by how blunt he was being but didn't move away. Instead, I held eye contact as I moved forward a little bit, Nikolai pulling the knife away and putting it in his pocket so that I didn't end up getting cut. My lips were now just a breath away from his.
"I don't even know you." I whisper.
"We can get to know each other later, if you let me take you out on a date. But right now I really just want to kiss you, Ryan."
I hum as I think about my answer.
Well, I don't know if I was actually thinking of my answer.
I think I may have already had an answer.
Maybe.
"Sure, you can take me out on a date, if you get all my brothers permission. Now, are you going to kiss me or not?" I whisper to him.
And we did kiss.
.
.
.
.
Or...
Well...
Almost kissed.
Nikolai pushed my back up against the wall again while looking into my eyes.
"I think one of the things I like the most about you are your eyes. They tell me everything about you. Yet nothing at all." He tucks a piece of hair behind my ear and admires me, his eyes getting more and more heated.
And then there was a knock at my door.
And we ignored it.
And then there was another lock on my door, but louder, and we couldn't ignore it after we heard Marvin calling my name from the other side.
Nikolai sighs and releases me
I usher him silently to go and hide in my closet while I get Marvin out of here so we could have our conversation.
I open my door and come face to face with the man of the hour.
"Hey Marvin. How do you feel about talking in the library? I find it to be much more calming in there." I mention casually and he agrees, and we go to the library.
When we both take our seats, we stare at each other for a moment before Marvin finally speaks up. "So, tell me about Nikolai?"
I raise my eyebrow in return. "Tell me about what is going on between you and my brother?"
And just like that, he explodes, talking for quicker than I thought was humanly possible. I was afraid for a moment he was going to pass out.
"I was drunk as hell last night. I don't remember hardly anything, and it is mostly flashes of my memories. I remember talking to a ton of different guys at the bar on purpose to see if he would care or if he would get jealous, so I guess maybe to just simply get his attention. But when he finally did do something, I had so many drinks because at that point in the night I thought he wasn't interested in me, and I was so disheartened that I just drunk and drunk. I remember hi guiding me out of the bar and taking me here. And I briefly remember us talking when we got to his room that night, but I don't remember what we said to each other. I was laying in his bed, and he was laying on his couch when I woke up, so I know nothing happened, and I doubt Rudy would do something like that to me anyway. I think at some point before I fell asleep, he was able to coerce me into wearing something other than the clothes I wore to the bar. And then he just made us breakfast like nothing happened and I can't tell if he likes me or not-"
"Oh, he definitely, one hundred percent, likes you." I state as if it is a fact.
Which it practically is.
"Are you sure?"
"Oh yeah. Completely positive. He gets real shy though. How I know is kinda simple. He didn't take his eyes off you once last night. And he made you breakfast. He doesn't ever cook because he can't cook for shit. So yeah, he really does like you." I tell Marvin, who I know was overthinking.
He stays silent for a moment before he gets off his chair and practically runs out the room, the quick movements startling me.
"Where are you going?" I yell in the general direction he ran.
He pops back up to peak around the door and quickly answers. "I have a person to ask out on a date and it simply cannot wait." And then he was gone again.