Page 17 of Cherished By the BRATVA Grump

I nod, slowly as her words start to click into place.

“Okay. Would you like to go somewhere?” I quickly rack my brains for where I could take her, and the first thought that pops into my head is the new Mediterranean place where Eduard and Sammie are. Probably not the best idea.

“Can we go to yours? Maybe watch a movie?”

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Yeah, okay.”

She pulls her seatbelt on and I pull out of the parking lot.

“Tell me something about you, that’s about you, not what you do,” she says as we reach the bridge.

I think for a moment. For so long my entire life has just been the business, the Bratva. Doing as I’m told and not asking questions. It’s hard to know which parts of my life are just me.

“I bought a gym,” I say, settling on the only nugget I can find. “Eduard seems to think I’m crazy, because there’s one in my building, but there was just something about this one. So when the owner mentioned he was selling it, I put an offer in there and then.”

Tamsin nods beside me, her face highlighted by the streetlights.

“Now you tell me something about you.”

“I don’t think I want to go back to dancing. Not on the cruises or any professional capacity at least. It feels good to be off the competition circuit. But I still want to dance.”

“It sounds like dance has been a big part of your life for a long time,” I offer.

“Yeah. I thought I’d be letting my mom down if I stopped. But she said not, so…” She trails off looking down at her hands which are bunched in her lap.

“Your mom seems pretty amazing,” I say.

“She is.”

We drive the rest of the way in silence and ride the elevator from the garage to my apartment level without saying much at all.

“I’ve never been on this side of the bridge for anything other than school and dance classes,” Tamsin says as the elevator comes to a stop.

“I’ve always lived here. In the city, I mean. My cousins have all either moved or are in the process of moving to town. I’ll probably end up that way too, one day. It’s not the same being the only one on this side of the bridge.

Tamsin nods as she follows me down the hall to my apartment.

I unlock the door and push it open for her, and she walks in and kicks off her shoes and unclips her hair, letting it fall down her back in long, glossy waves.

She turns to face me.

“The living room is straight ahead, you can pick the movie.” I follow her through and she makes herself at home on the couch. I love how at ease she seems despite the earlier awkwardness between us.

She flicks through the streaming services and picks a film she thinks we’ll both like. It’s an action movie that has too much fighting in my opinion, but I nod my head when she looks at me for my opinion.

The film starts and I sit back, stretching my arm across the back of the sofa and settling into this new to me dynamic. IT’s weird, but in a good way. There’s a low hum of anticipation buzzing inside me, like Tamsin might see me as more than just what I do. That maybe I’ll finally be able to figure out who I am outside of the business.

She is completely engrossed in the film. I head to the kitchen fifteen minutes in and get us both a bottle of water each, and grab some chips from the cupboard.

I drop them on the coffee table when I return, and after a few minutes she takes the bag and pulls it open.

I’m not sure when or how it happens, but I fall asleep. When I wake up the movie is over and she is curled up against my side, sleeping.

I reach across the couch and pull the blanket, that’s only ever been decorative before tonight, over her. Then I let myself fall back to sleep.

Tamsin

I wake up with a crick in my neck. It’s morning, and I don’t immediately recognize where I am.