“Left.”
“You should get some counseling, Roman. This foot fetish is getting out of hand.” She laughs and switches her legs, and I repeat the action with her other heel.
I take one crutch, stand up, and take her hand in mine.
“Up,malysh. On the seat.”
She giggles, climbs up to stand on the booth seat, and puts her arms around my neck. I smile. Even standing up there she’s barely an inch taller than me.
“I like this setup.” She kisses me. “From now on, I’m totally carrying a stool with me everywhere.”
I place my hand on the small of her back and nuzzle her neck. She sighs and buries her fingers in my hair, and we keep standing like that while the sounds of a slow tune wind around us.
I’m not a fan of having my back turned to the crowd. I very much prefer the whole room in my sight, but I guess I will have to rely on Ivan and Kolya watching my back. And I like holding Nina like this, with my body disrupting the view for other men I’ve seen looking at her.
“How is the leg holding up,” she whispers in my ear.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry.”
“Roman?”
“Yes?”
“I have a confession to make.”
I kiss her shoulder. “Something bad?”
“Yeah. It’s... well, it’s a kind of a problem. A big one.”
“Spill it, Nina.”
She’s silent for a few moments, and then makes my world tilt on its axis with six short words.
“I’m in love with you, Roman.”
I close my eyes for a second and squeeze her tightly. It’s like everything around me stopped.
“Then we share the same problem,malysh.” I say into her neck, and feel her go still next to me.
When I raise my head and look at her, her lips are slightly quivering, and there are tears in the corners of her eyes.
“That six-month deal? It’s off, Nina,” I say and squeeze her waist. “I don’t care what we agreed. You are mine now and I am not letting you go. Ever.”
I place my palms on either side of Roman’s face and search his eyes, that are looking into mine with such intensity.
“I’m not going anywhere, Roman.”
“Promise me.” He squeezes me to him, and for a moment, I find it hard to breathe. “Promise me, or I’m taking you home and tying you to my bed until you do.”
“I promise.” I run a finger along his jaw. “Should we sit back down?”
“No,” he barks.
“Okaaay. Why not?” I ask, but he just grinds his teeth and says nothing. “Roman, is something wrong?”
“There are men here.”
“It’s a club. Of course, there are men here.”