After she’s eaten, she surprises me by grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the ocean. “Come on, Vasily,” she says, taking another swig of vodka. “Let’s get our feet wet.”
When she stops to kick off her shoes, I do the same. She struggles to roll her jeans up, nearly falling over in the process, so I grab onto her to steady her before kneeling down to help her out.
“You’re not at all how I thought you’d be,” she says, and I can tell by the sound of her voice that she’s well past buzzed and creeping into fully intoxicated.
I look up at her, smiling when she puts one hand on my shoulder for support, the other one still tightly clutching her bottle of vodka. “Oh yeah? How did you think I’d be,zolotse?”
She giggles, and it’s the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. “I like it when you call me that.” Releasing my shoulder, she runs a hand through my hair. She seems as surprised by it as I am and quickly stops. “I didn’t expect you to be so nice.”
I laugh and roll my own jeans up. “Nice isn’t a word that’s usually used to describe me.”
Her dark eyes study me before she weaves her fingers through my hair again. “You have the most beautiful blue eyes I’ve ever seen.”
“Thank you,” I say, trying not to laugh at her drunken show of affection. “Your eyes are beautiful, too.”
Her brow scrunches at my compliment like she doesn’t believe it while she studies me some more. “You’re gorgeous, Vasily,” she says, and her voice sounds so sad all of a sudden. She lets out a deep sigh and then drops her hand and looks out at the ocean. “I want to get closer.”
Standing, I hold her hand and walk with her to the water. She lets out a squeal when a wave crashes to shore, soaking her feet and calves with cool water. Digging her toes into the sand, she looks out at the dark ocean, laughing when Ruslan starts running up and down the beach. It’s too dark to see anything clearly, but the bonfire puts off enough light to hint at the vastness before us. It’s so peaceful here, such a change from loud, busy, downtown Moscow.
“Can I call you Vasya like your men do?”
She takes another drink and then sways a bit, smiling when I say, “Of course.”
When she tips the bottle up again, I grab onto it and gently pull it away. The angry look she gives me makes me laugh, but I don’t give it back.
“You’re going to regret drinking so much.”
“I don’t think I will.” She juts her chin out stubbornly and sways even more, tilting her head up to look at me. “How tall are you anyway? You’re like a freaking giant.”
“I’m six-four.”
“Damn,” she says, stretching the word out and making me laugh. “I’m only five-two, so that means you’re like,” she stops and holds up one hand, trying desperately to do the math before realizing it’s not going to happen and finally saying, “a lot of inches taller than me.”
Seeing Nina drunk gives me a glimpse of who she is beneath all the pain she’s been through. I like it, and it gives me hope that one day she’ll be like this again without needing a bottle of vodka to help coax it out. Watching her, I see the exact moment when she goes fromeverything feels greattooh my god I’m going to be sick in just a few minutes.
“Come on,zolotse.” I pick her up and she quickly wraps her arms and legs around me, grabbing the bottle as I carry her back to the bonfire. “Give the vodka to Ilya,” I tell her when he walks over to meet us.
He takes it and pats her back. “Too much vodka, Nina? You’re a Medvedev now. You need to work on your tolerance.”
“I don’t think I’m going to drink again for a while,” she moans. “Things are starting to spin, Vasya.”
“Don’t close your eyes,” Ilya warns her. Raising his voice, he laughs and says in Russian, “She’s a lightweight like Andrei. He’s a little bitch when it comes to alcohol.”
Andrei steps away from Svetlana. “I’m a little bitch?”
“You better run,” I tell Ilya, laughing when he drops the bottle and takes off. Andrei catches up to him and throws him over his shoulder before tossing him into the ocean. Ilya’s laughing when his head eventually breaks the surface. Svetlana and Ruslan join them and soon they’re all in the water, splashing around and having fun. I’m not the only one who’s enjoying our new location.
“Put the fire out when you’re done,” I holler back at them. “I’m taking her inside.”
They wave to let me know they heard, and when I turn back around to carry her to the house, she lets out a pained moan. I pat her back and kiss the side of her head.
“I think I made a big mistake, Vasya,” she whispers.
“It’s a mistake we’ve all made before. It’s okay,zolotse. I’ll take care of you.”
She softens against me, cupping the back of my head as she takes slow, even breaths through her mouth. I know she’s fighting like hell to not get sick, and I really hope she can hang on until I get her upstairs. Guilt races through me. I should’ve taken the bottle from her earlier. I hadn’t realized it would hit her quite as hard as it did, but either way, I should’ve stopped it.
“Vasya,” she moans again.
