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She tried not to laugh, but she failed miserably. She looked less stressed out as he helped her through her building. The pain pills must have been kicking in. She smiled and looked a little groggy.
“Does that laugh mean you’ll have dinner with me?” he asked as they neared her apartment. “One dinner to make up for the trouble I’ve caused, and then you’ll never have to see me again. Promise.”
She unlocked her door and hopped into her apartment. He gave her a long stare, and then he asked again for good measure.
“A fancy dinner will take your mind off that ankle, so what do you say?”
She looked like she was done putting up a fight. “Fine, but you will have to wait until my ankle is better before I can go anywhere. The doctor said I have to stay off it for a week.”
“One week isn’t a bad thing when I have something to look forward to.”
“Do you ever let up on the charm?” she asked. She was smiling at him, which took the sting out of her words.
“Not when it works, and you better call me if you need anything,” he said. “I mean it.”
“Yes, Mr. Rusak,” she said, a teasing singsong in her voice.
He liked her when she wasn’t so straight-laced and uptight. Getting to know her was going to be fun indeed.
“I like the sound of that,” he said. “I may have to change my mind about you calling me Andrei.”
She huffed. “Goodbye, Andrei.” She couldn’t slam the door, but she did shut it before he left. It didn’t matter though, because he was holding her to that date.
He waited two days before he called her. He’d checked with her office, and she was indeed on sick leave. He had a feeling she wasn’t going to call and ask for help, so he took the initiative and called her instead.
She picked up and he heard shuffling before she said anything. “Hello?”
“Victoria, it’s Andrei.”
“Oh, hi.” She didn’t sound like she was happy to hear from him, but she also wasn’t openly hostile. He’d proceed cautiously.
“Is your ankle better?”
“It’s still sore, but the pain pills and ice are definitely helping. Thanks for asking.” she said.
“It sounded like you were having some trouble getting to the phone. Are you sure you’re okay?” Andrei didn’t want to be too nosy, but he wanted to help her if she needed anything.
“Yeah I was just trying to make dinner, but it’s hard when you can’t move around freely in your own kitchen.”
“Then I called at the perfect time. I was just about to order dinner from my favorite Italian restaurant. I can swing by and bring you something.”
“That’s not necessary,” she said. “I don’t want to be a burden.”
“You’re actually on the way. Look, we can stay on the phone arguing about this, but I’m starving. Besides, I can hear your stomach crying out from here.”
“You can’t hear that!”
“I knew it. You’re hungry.”
“I’m starting to see why you won that case,” she mumbled.
“Just let me do this for you.”
She sighed. “Fine. You remember where I live?”
“Of course. I’ll be there in an hour.”
“Okay,” she said.
