CHAPTER 9
He sat down across from her.
He didn’t even ask! Sonya thought, but of course she was pleased that he’d done it.
Dmitri had a giant smile on his face, a mischievous one.
“Hello, Sonya.”
“Hi.”
“I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“Oh geez, I know. I look horrible. No makeup. I wasn’t planning to see anyone I know.”
“No, no. You look lovely. I appreciate the natural beauty of a woman.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s funny, no? Because I go to that club, you might think I like the girls with those big fake things and makeup like a clown. But… well…”
“Well what?”
“Forget about that. You’re different today because you look like… How do you say? Oh, the bonny.”
“Bunny? The animal? A rabbit?”
“Yes! Bunny. Because you have this cute little white nose,” Dmitri said as he reached out and touched his finger to the tip of Sonya’s nose.
He wiped away the whipped cream that had stuck there when she was sipping the latte and got startled by his voice.
Sonya saw what was on his finger, realized what happened, and blushed. She rubbed her nose to make sure there was nothing left, then watched in shock as Dmitri brought his finger to his mouth and casually licked the whipped cream off of it.
She could only wonder what that tongue would feel like sliding against hers, or drawing a wet line down her neck, over her breasts, and between her legs.
Sonya bit her lower lip and tried to hide her excitement at seeing Dmitri do something so erotic, and really just her excitement from seeing him at all.
Dmitri looked different, too. He was wearing glasses with small, rectangular, silver frames. Even those looked sexy on him.
He had a notebook, which he’d set on the table. It was open and folded back, so Sonya could see a page filled with Russian words and numbers written in pen.
He was wearing a sporty white t-shirt, or maybe it was a sports jersey, along with black soccer shorts and new white sneakers.
Dmitri had just come from the gym, but Sonya didn't know that. To her, he seemed almost boyish now, despite his size, like an overgrown teenager not quite ready to be a man.
But Dmitri’s boyishness was not like that of the oil princes. They had simply never matured, never accepted responsibilities, never taken risks in life or suffered great losses. They were eternally spoiled children.
His boyish quality implied a sort of defiance, of deliberate contrast to the hardness of his life.
He took a big slurp of a dark blue fruit smoothie.
“You are so quiet, Sonya. Are you scared of me?”
“No, why would I be?”
“Maybe you heard something bad about me?” he said with a laugh.
“No… like what?”
“No? Okay, good. I know you are just shy then because I am so handsome!”
Dmitri laughed even harder now.
Sonya wasn’t sure if he was being arrogant or joking.
“Are you off work today?” she asked.
“Work? No, I am never off work. I was working when I saw you come in.” He pointed to his notebook as he spoke. “And I was supposed to meet someone here for business, but he hasn’t shown up.”
“What do you do?”
“I am a businessman.”
“What kind of business?” Sonya asked, innocently.
“Oh, you know, many things. Importing, exporting, sales, investing. And you, what do you do besides work at the club? Are you a student?”
“I was going to nursing school, but I had to take some time off. I couldn’t afford the tuition this year. My mom died. And it’s just been tough.”
“I see. So that’s why you are working at Sultan’s now. I’m sorry that your mother has passed. She must have still been young. Forgive me if this is incorrect to ask, but what happened?”
“It’s okay. She died in a car wreck.”
“That’s terrible. My aunt died in a car accident last year.”
“Oh, that’s awful.”
“Yes. Well, it’s not the same for me. I had not seen her for many years, because she moved to Australia. I mean to say, I did not suffer, not like losing a parent. But let’s change the subject. I don’t want to upset you.”
“No, no. It’s all right. It’s on my mind all the time anyway, so it’s no worse if I talk about it. Maybe it even helps a little.”
Dmitri reached across the table and took Sonya’s hand, which fit almost entirely inside of his. As he squeezed her fingers, her nerves lit up like a string of Christmas lights running through her body.
His phone rang.
Not again, Sonya thought.
“Hello,” he answered, then listened for a moment before responding, “Okay, no problem.”
“Excuse the interruption, it was the guy I came here to meet,” he said as he hung up the phone. “Your boss.”
Sonya was surprised Dmitri would meet Halim outside of Sultan’s, but she had better things to think about.
She just tried to keep from frowning as she prepared herself to hear Dmitri say he had to leave. She wasn’t expecting what he said next.
“Do you like motorcycles?”
“Motorcycles?”
“Yes, it is like a bicycle, but you don’t have to pedal,” he replied with a smirk.
“Ha ha. I mean yeah, I know what they are, of course, but… what did you ask?”
“Hmm, maybe you did hit the vodka already today, you are being forgetful. I said, do you like motorcycles?
“Oh, right. Um, I don’t know. They look cool. But I think I’d be scared to ride one.”
“You mean, you’ve never been on a motorcycle?”
“No. Have you?”
“Of course! Since I was twelve years old in Russia, I have been riding motorcycles. I used to race them.”
“Really? You must be fearless.”
“Hmm, maybe. I am not afraid of death, no, but there are worse things than dying. And I always say it is better to be skilled than brave.”
“I guess that’s true.”
“Are you ready?”
“For what?”
“To ride.”
“You mean you have one? You brought it?”
Dmitri pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and rattled them.
“Let’s go.”
Sonya’s heart pounded as she followed him out the door of the cafe.