Tai was wriggling into bed after the longest shower she had ever taken. She almost forgot she was in there because her mind kept taking her back to the car and that kiss.

And now again she was unable to think of anything else at all. Her body was tingling all over just imagining his lips going down her neck and kissing her all over her body, touching her and holding her.

Oi..hold on...She got up from the bed immediately.

Since when was she ever considering this person. Obviously, he was deadly attractive. And it wasn't the looks that tempted her. It was something intense that he was trying to repress around her yet occasionally it slipped out. A feeling, a vibe if you will. Something dangerous about him but for some reason he wasn't crossing that line.

Could it have been out of courtesy towards Nikita or the job? Maybe he didn't mix pleasure and business.

She started pacing around the room. He was definitely attracted to her. Did she want to get with him?

Well surely a relationship wasn't in his cards, but maybe a fling? Would she do something reckless for her heart like that in the last year of high school? So many decisions to make...

There was a door knock and then Hada opened the door. "Let's go shopping."

"I just got back." Tai said.

"It's for my birthday party," Hada added.

"Birthday?" Tai walked over to Hada. "When, how, what's the theme and how are you gonna dress?"

Hada was happy to see the enthusiasm. "Come one, get ready. I'll tell you and the girls all about it after we head to the shops."

That was all Tai wanted to hear. A giant distraction to make her mind preoccupied with something else.

The town was busy as students were enjoying their day off for the holiday. The girls made their way through the shops, trying on pretty dresses, spending their allowances as if it was possible to spend the last of it, and then sat down at the outdoor terrace in one of the cafes enjoying the sun. Large shopping bags rested by their feet. They had all bought at least three dresses and then the rest were cute things they didn't need but simply must-have.

Tai was happy to find a sexier and slicker dress for Hada's party. The girl explained her idea of a subtle party which was to rent out a whole hotel venue including the pool section.

But for Hada everything and anything was possible.

"Almost forgot." Hada pulled out four invitations out of her bag. "Give one of these to Nikita and then the rest of the sinners."

"You don't even know them." Tai took the invitations nevertheless.

"It's a party, why shouldn't they come. Plus they're your friends now seeing how you went camping with them."

"Well it's not like I have anything against you inviting them, but I can't promise they'll show up."Tai shook her head. "I'm going to need one more however for Zakhar's girlfriend. He's not going to show up without her."

Hada pulled out another invite. "Done."

The girls ordered a few drinks and chatted away for the party on Saturday.

At the side of her eye, Tai noticed a guy looking at her. She turned her head and saw a tall blonde guy her age, looking at her and then looking away only to lock eyes with her again.

Tai tilted her head thinking. Did he go to their school? She didn't remember seeing anyone like that in school. And he was tall and handsome. She looked at him again and this time he smiled at her. Unintentionally she smiled back out of politeness, but that was all it took.

The waitress brought the check to his table and he and his friends got up ready to leave. He was last to get up and instead of heading after his friends he made his way over to her. The girls instantly went silent when he approached them. He leaned over Diana's chair looking at Tai.

"Hi." He flashed her a white smile and then glanced at the girl's greeting them as well.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but may I just say you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

Tai smiled, flattered by the compliment. The white dress she wore was fitting to her figure and her diamond earrings were brightening up her look overall. She was feeling particularly attractive today.

But guys approaching her was something she was used to. It was usually a downfall when she'd go on a first date and she somehow managed to get to the bottom of someone's deep-rooted insecurities.

"Thank you." She decided to just politely respond.

"Do you girls go to school here?" He asked.

"Yes," Hada answered which school they went to. "Do you maybe go there as well?"

"I almost went there too, but I decided on a different option in another town nearby" He answered Hada and then turned towards Tai. " Pity, I would have met you sooner."

"Or maybe even then we wouldn't have met," Tai said.

"We would." He said with confidence. "I doubt I'd let you slip away."

"Aham." Tai leaned her chin over her palms. "But we don't go to the same school." She could already tell where this was going.

He crossed his arms. "Which is why there's one thing I have to do before going after my friends and that is to ask you out."

The girls at the table started chuckling.

"Me and you, Saturday night. What do you say?"

"I'm attending a birthday party on Saturday," Tai answered.

"Then Sunday. I insist. I'll show you a great time." His charm was undeniable. Tai was thinking for a moment.

She usually wouldn't go for him, but she was sure he'd be easy to break down once she started talking. She also needed to test if she can get a certain someone out of her system. If she couldn't, then she needed to think about the next step.

"Alright then."

Her friends cheered and he smiled proudly. They exchanged contacts and then he left.

The girls were hyping her up and she was feeling rather amused herself. She scored a date and another distraction.

***

Nikita was listening to music on his earphones and writing his assignment in the living room. He glanced up once to see Lev and Zakhar coming back from exercising and then Zakhar went upstairs.

The second time he glanced up Lev was drinking cold water from the bottle and then he wiped his sweat with his shirt.

Nikita glued his eyes on the notebook. Tai's words were dancing around his brain. Did he find Lev attractive? Did he seriously find him attractive?

Out of all the guys he liked and purposefully chose, was it possible for him to fall for someone's charms even though he swore to himself he'd be careful with the next guy?

He peeked towards Lev once again, only this time he was at a much closer distance and they locked eyes. The music in his ears had made him blank out and the only thing he could focus on was Lev's lips and the curiosity of what kissing him would taste like.

Suddenly Lev's lips moved but Nikia couldn't hear anything. Jolting, he removed one of the earphones.

"What?" He was surprised by his vulnerable voice.

"I asked if you want to come with me to pick up the food we ordered. We'll skip the cafeteria food."

"I have to finish this first." Nikita squeezed the pen in his hand.

"Do you have a lot of it left or are you almost done?" He took a few steps closer and then squatted down next to him. "Need any help?"

The proximity was dangerous. Nikita closed his books and laptop. "You know what. I could use the fresh air."

"Great." Lev grinned. " Give me ten minutes."

He ran upstairs and Nikita could finally breathe out a sigh of relief. Stupid Tai making him aware of his feelings. Now, what's he supposed to do with this daydream in his head?

The drive was awkward and Nikita was nervously looking outside the window while Lev drove in silence. Unable to take it anymore, since he was the one who made things awkward, Nikita decided to come up with any topic.

"I haven't seen Aleksei since this morning."

"He has work to do. I offered to help but he said he had things to get out of his head and to be honest the job suits him better anyway."

"What um ..sort of job?" Nikita asked unsure if he was allowed to ask these sorts of questions.

Lev let out a heavy sigh.

"You don't have to tell me. I just asked out of curiosity." Nikita waved his hand.

"No, it's um... I guess I could tell you now." Lev made a left turn and then parked the car down the street and unfastened his safety belt.

"It's about your blackmailer. We set up a trap for them while we were camping and we caught someone." Lev explained calmly. "He was caught quite easily."

Nikita's mood on the other hand was far from calm. "What do you mean you caught him? How wait, who was it? Why was he blackmailing me?"

"Aleksei is interrogating him. I left it to his expertise to find out more. All I can tell you at this point is that is a student from our school."

"And when will I know more?" Nikita asked, a bit annoyed. "Wasn't I supposed to be told first about it?"

"Are you sulking?" Lev smirked.

"I'm angry." Nikita exclaimed heatedly.

Lev laughed. "Cute."

He left the car and headed inside the restaurant.

Nikita was feeling angry and hot at the same time. Was he just called cute? While he was fuming with anger?

He sunk back in his seat. His heart got a little excited from hearing those words from Lev, but he was supposed to focus on the fact that they wouldn't share all the information with him, especially now that he was their roommate. He was sure all of them knew, except himself. He was an outcast even here.

Well a cute outcast, he figured.

He instantly panicked. No, no-no. Those kinds of thoughts were forbidden. He was not going to add value to anything he hears anymore.

Lev came back and passed on the bags to Nikita. "Done with the anger?"

"No." Nikita took the bags and avoided eye contact.

Lev rolled the window down and lit up a cigarette. "We didn't tell you anything before we found out more about this ourselves."

"Because you didn't trust me. Cause I might do something to fuck this up for you?" Nikita murmured annoyed.

"Because we wanted to protect you." Lev added and let out the smoke outside, but the car filled with the smell for a moment, before vanishing.

Nikita was going to associate that smell with those warm words forever. Protecting him?

Taking another hit in a hurry, Lev put out the cigarette in the car and then buckled up, starting the car. He figured what he said was enough for Nikita to understand that what they did was only to protect him.

The rest of the trip was silent and even walking back to the villa was quiet, but there was no tension. Nikita was happy to reply to those words over and over in his head. The moment they opened the door and got inside they saw Aleksei who had gotten in, a few seconds before them.

Nikita was going to ask how it went when he saw the dried-out blood splatter over his face.

Just what sort of interrogation was this?

I hope you enjoyed this chapter 💖 Gonna update Monday or Tuesday