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“Really? Interesting.”
“What’s with the weird questions?”
“They’re not weird at all. I’m just trying to get to know you a little better. And what better way to pass the time than to ask some questions?”
“You’re being weirder than usual. What’s with that?”
I shrug my shoulders and go over to the fridge. “I don’t know. I guess I’m not ready to go back home tomorrow. Back to reality and all it holds. Being here is such a nice break from everything.”
“I forgot we were going back to Atlanta, honestly. I’m so used to being here in Grozny. We’ll need to get our bags packed up tonight.”
“Do you want to come back here one day?”
Lom swallows hard, and there’s an odd pause of silence. “Eventually, yes. This is my home, and Atlanta was only ever supposed to be a temporary thing. One day I will be coming back here.” Lom’s eyes meet my own, and nervousness soars withinme. We’ve just started really getting to know each other—and now he’s telling me he’ll be going back to Grozny eventually. Where does that leave us? Heartbroken and in different cities, or hand-in-hand next to one another? I’m not sure. Lom clears his throat and changes the subject, “What are your plans for the day?”
“I don’t have much. I figured I’d go through some emails, check in on some of my listings and see if there’s been any traffic on them. I’ve gotten some notifications for one listing specifically, so I might reach out to those potential buyers today. Otherwise, I can’t think of anything else to do.”
“How about going out for coffee with me?” my cousin’s voice comes out of nowhere, and I turn back to see her standing at the entrance to the kitchen. I wonder when she got here or how much she heard.
“Yeah, I’d love that, actually. It’ll give us more of a chance to tour the city together.” I smile wide.
“Yeah, and it means we can rack up Ruslan’s credit card a little bit too.” Amelia yanks the card out of her pocket, and a mischievous smile covers her face.
“If you don’t want the eggs, I’ll eat yours,” Lom tells me, and I can’t help but hold back my laughter.
“You totally were making those for yourself and acted like you were cooking for me.” I go up and smack him on the arm. Lom laughs and wraps an arm around me, then pulls me against him.
“I might’ve been, but I’d never let you starve. I was going to let you get more sleep. Go out with your cousin and get some food. I’ll eat these delicious eggs, and take this.” Lom digs into his pocket and pulls out his wallet, handing me his card.
“Lom, I don’t need you to do that. I have my own money.”
“And I want to treat my girlfriend to what she wants while she’s on vacation, so let me do this.” Lom keeps his eyes pinnedon mine, and I don’t dare argue with him. Instead, I take the card from his hand and slide it into the pocket of my jeans.
“Fine, and thank you. You didn’t have to, but I appreciate it.”
“No need to thank me,” Lom murmurs as he dips his head down to mine. He presses his lips against mine, and the very breath in my lungs goes away. There’s something about the way he kisses me that makes me feel like I’m not really here. The way he touches my body makes me feel like I’m off in some far-off universe, and that’s what this should feel like. It’s what I’ve never had with another man before—this type of connection.
I think that’s why I’m so afraid of what the future could bring because I very much want him to be in it. If I’m being honest with myself, it’s hard to imagine my future without him now.
“I’m going to leave you here if you don’t hurry up. I’m starving, and I’m desperate for my coffee fix, too!” Amelia groans from the doorway of the kitchen, and I pull away from Lom.
His eyes sparkle with happiness, and he lands one last peck on my lips. “Go have fun, and buy whatever you want. I mean it.” He releases me, and I head over to where Amelia is. She has a light jacket over her shoulders, and it makes me think I should go get one too.
“Give me two minutes, and I’ll be by the door,” I tell her, and she nods.
I’m quick while I get a light jacket, and then the two of us leave. Danill is in tow behind us, and much to my surprise, Ludvik comes with us as well. I don’t know what to think about this. Danill always takes Amelia everywhere because it’s his job now. His job is to protect Amelia and Karim—and is Ludvik going to be given the same task, but with me? If Lom ever has someone watching over me, that alone proves how important I am to him.
Amelia and I stop at a coffee shop two blocks away from her condo, and the two of us head inside. The woman behind the counter greets Amelia, and Amelia speaks back in what I assume is Russian, but I have no clue what it is, honestly. “What are you speaking?”
Amelia continues her conversation with the older woman, and eventually, the older woman waves her hand and points to one side of the café. The two of us walk over and take a seat, and Amelia smiles brightly. “Ruslan hired me a tutor to help me speak Chechen. It’s a very hard language to learn, but my teacher says I’m doing a very good job of it. I want Karim and our other future children to speak it, so I figured I’d better learn as well. I need to lead by example, you know?”
“Yeah, I get that. I think it’s great that you’re doing that. I don’t know if I could learn something so complex. Languages are hard to pick up, or at least I feel like you learn languages the best when you’re a child.”
“Exactly, which is why I’m so determined to get as good as I can before Karim’s old enough to tell me I don’t make any sense.” Amelia laughs, and the older woman comes around to our table and places two coffees in front of us.
“Who is this, Amelia?” the older woman asks, struggling with her English.
“This is my cousin, Emily. She’s visiting from America,” Amelia fills her in.
