I smiled. “He gives them to me every day.”
The card had the same hurried handwriting as all of the others, this time torn from a piece of paper that had a crest of a dragon on it. It was such a small thing, but the fact that Alek took the time to write a note with all of my flowers, no matter when or where he was, made all the difference. He was always doing thoughtful things like that, remembering everything I told him, asking how my rehearsals were going, bringing my favorite candies to the movies, always getting the door, and picking up the bill.
Sometimes I felt like I wasn’t giving him enough back, but Alek always insisted that I was doing plenty by just beinghis, whispering to me that all he ever wanted from me was a kiss, which I happily provided. And though my insecurities sometimes rose to fight, Alek would always reassure me, quieting the OCD side of me that tried to argue with him.
“You’re glowing,” Mia said. “I mean that in a slightly alarming way.”
I giggled. “That’s because I’m happy.”
“Does he ever leave you alone?”
“I’m sure if I told him to, he would, but…”
“But…” Mia began with a knowing smile.
“But I don’t want him to. I like spending time with him, and I think he likes spending time with me, too.”
She pretended to gasp, elbowing me until I laughed. “Who are you, and what have you done with my unconfident friend?”
I shrugged, but I couldn’t hide the blush on my cheeks. “I don’t know. He’s so caring and considerate, and I’ve never met anyone who makes me feel like this. Like I’m enough as I am.”
“Good,” Mia said, her grin widening. “You deserve to feel like that, because youareenough. Even with your sugar-rotted teeth.”
“I havetwocavities!”
“Yeah, and it’s a miracle you don’t have more. I truly don’t know how you fit into your costumes with the amount of sour gummy worms you consume.”
I rolled my eyes, and Mia hugged me, spotting an incoming text from Jules saying that he was close. She turned to me, one eyebrow raised. “You honestly think your brother will accept him?”
That made my pulse quicken—not with fear, exactly, but anticipation. “He’ll love Alek,” I said far more confidently than I felt. “Once he meets him. Jules just needs to see that I’m safe and I’m happy.”
“Uh-huh.” Mia studied me for a long moment. “You really believe that.”
“Of course I do.”
Why wouldn’t I? Jules would have to come around eventually. I couldn’t go my entire life completely alone. My brother worried because he loved me.
And Alek…
Alek wasgood.He was gentle and kind and loving. He made me feel like I was the most precious thing on Earth. And, yes, he sometimes had a dark side that I glimpsed whenever he thought there was a threat to me—like when one of my neighbors approached me as I was letting him into my building. But I knew that despite some of his darkness, his soul was made of light, and that was all that mattered.
I said my goodbyes to Mia and grabbed my flowers before going out to meet Jules, mumbling something about another dancer gifting them to me to congratulate me on getting the role—some excuse I had no idea how he believed. He helped me get them into the car before rubbing my shoulder and asking me how rehearsal was. And for a moment, everything felt okay.
Until I looked into my brother’s eyes and knew, for a split second, how Juliet must have felt, knowing her family would say no to Romeo but hoping they would say yes anyway.
January 3rd
Mother
Aleksandr Andreyevich Drakov.
What is this your cousin tells me about a date?
Are you going out with a girl?
You have never gone out with a nice girl, Aleksandr, and now that you finally have, you have not brought her home to meet your mother.
Are you trying to break my heart, my darling?
