Russian Roulette (Russkaya Mafiya) (4 page)

“Well, no, he calls me this name in a weird language. I asked what it meant and he told me pop tart. I think he was just being silly though.”

“Holy shit! Tate totally likes you! I freaking knew it when I saw him watch you walk to the bathroom at dinner. He was staring at you like you were a piece of cake he wanted to eat!” Hmm, he’s the one who looks as good as a big piece of chocolate cake.

“No way, I think you were imagining things, he was kind of an ass to me at dinner. Especially about the whole accent thing. I mean, deflect much?”

I’m over this conversation. Yes, he’s hot. No, I don’t need to get anyone else involved with my drama and issues. God forbid if the
Monster
ever finds me, what he’ll do to me if I’m with another guy. I shudder and then rub my arms to play it off like I just got a chill.

“Okay girly, you think what you want to!” Avery calls out in a singsong voice while she walks to the counter to serve customers.

I guess it’s time for me to finish this hot chocolate and get out of here. I have a ton of work to do, thanks to having to go full-time to maintain my scholarship. I do love the school though, the buildings and the surroundings, it’s all so charming. The humidity is great on my skin and hair, too.

I head up to the counter, gesturing to Avery. She meets me by the register. “Emily, would you like a snack or anything, too?”

I shake my head and send her a small smile. “No. Thanks for the drink, Avery. I have to head out to work on some homework. I’ll text you soon though. Have fun working!”

She throws her arm up and waves behind her as she hurries to help another customer. “Okay, bye, chickadee!” Avery responds busily, concentrating on making some kind of coffee creation so she doesn’t see me return her wave.

Picking my head up off my folded arms on my desk, I blink a few times trying to wake up.
Shit, what time is it?
I must have fallen asleep reading my book. I glance around groggily and notice my phone blinking.

I rub my hands over my face a few times. Oh man, I forgot to call London, too. I probably look like a loon. I have every single light on in my little apartment, all the drapes and blinds closed and a chair propped up against my front door.
Straight nut job,
I think, and then shake my head. I push the button to illuminate my screen and see it’s a text from Avery with a picture attached showing a man’s butt in jeans.

Avery:
Look who I saw again!

This girl is crazy. I check the clock on my phone. Ten p.m. Holy cow, I slept for hours! Great, I won’t be able to go back to bed now.

I close my textbooks and neatly stack them on the corner of my little black desk I got at Walmart. I place each notebook and folder next to its matching textbook.
There, nice and organized
.

Me:
You are so silly, Avery, who on earth is the poor man you took pictures of?

I chuckle as I text her back. What a goofball. I wouldn’t be surprised if she got the guy to let her take it willingly either.

Avery:
Your future ex-boyfriend! Luka Masterson!

Me:
You dork! And he said to call him Tate. I can’t believe you took a picture of his butt! Did he see you?

This man obviously works out. I will definitely be saving this picture to my phone so I can look at it again in the future. I may not want to hook up with the guy, but I can definitely appreciate looking at him sometimes. Maybe she’ll get one with his shirt off that I can keep, too.

Avery:
He knows I took it. He said I had to send it to you if I wanted to keep it. Told you Tate likes you!

Me:
OMG! You are fired!

Avery:
LOL! Get dressed I’m coming to get you

Me:
No way, you don’t even know where I live! :D

Avery:
1900 Adams Apt 13. I’ll be there in 20, get something sexy on, cause we are going out.

Me:
WHAT? How do you know where I live?

Avery:
19 minutes and I’m dragging your butt out for some fun.

Shit! She’s serious.
Okay, I am so not wearing anything sexy, I don’t want any extra attention drawn to me and I know Avery will get plenty of attention by herself. What to wear?

Cute little black dress and some hot pink stilettos? Yes, please. It’s fast, easy and I love my pink shoes.

I’m going to put on a little darker makeup than my norm, and wear my hair down. Hopefully, I’ll just blend in with the background behind Avery. I’ve got to remember to not let her post any Facebook pictures of us. That could turn into a train wreck. I have to be careful and any pictures online is way too much of a risk.

He’s found me before when I’ve tried to leave. I can’t let him find me again. With that thought, I top my look off with some pin-up girl red lipstick and open my door.

Right into Tate Masterson’s waiting smile. Ahhh! What’s he doing here?

THREE

EMILY

Tate’s eyes widen and his irises grow dark, as he
looks me up and down. My heart speeds up as soon as I catch his scent. I draw in a deep breath, my mind going a million miles an hour.

I can’t help but to feel completely blindsided. I’m going to strangle Avery! I can’t believe she didn’t tell me that Tate was coming. I would have pretended I was still asleep had I known.

Tate’s changed his clothes since class. Now he has on a fitted white V-neck that clearly outlines his muscles and his tattoos are on full display. Light wash blue jeans hang deliciously from his hips, and I know from that picture they look amazing from the backside also.
God, he looks amazing.

Tate leans in close, overtaking my space. His nearness startles me and forces me to back up against my door. I can’t let Tate get any closer or else I will more than likely drag him inside my apartment.

I sputter out, breathless, “Tate? What are you doing here? I was just about to leave with Avery.”

He grunts, leaning slightly closer to my face, “Yeah, she’s with us, I came up to get you. Do you have a coat or something to cover up with?”

Tate keeps glancing at my shoulders and legs disconcerted. I know he’s talking to me, but all I can think of is, God the stubble on his cheeks makes him look fantastic. Luckily he can’t read my mind.

“To cover up with? Did it get cold outside?” I’m confused, it was so hot earlier.

“It’s decent out, but you’re showing a lot of skin with that dress on. Maybe you should wear some pants?” He suggests while raising his eyebrow.

Tate crosses his arms across his chest, causing his shirt to stretch as his muscles bulge. I don’t know if it’s supposed to intimidate me to change or what. It’s definitely not going to work. I can’t believe the nerve of this man and his caveman tactics. First, it was the growling and now he’s telling me what to wear. If I wanted to be controlled, I would have stayed with my psycho ex.

“You are so not telling me what to wear. I’m dressed already and this is what I’m wearing.” I declare sternly, “I’m meeting Avery, not you. Even if it was you, I still would not go and change!” I place my hand on his chest to give him a little shove away from me. When I make contact with his pecs, his nostrils flare. He glares heatedly down at me, as if I’m dinner.

“Let’s just go. Avery and Cameron are waiting in the car.” He growls out suddenly, looking pissed when he turns away and stomps down the hall.

Geez, is this man always so broody? I thought I was too serious all the time; clearly Tate has me beat. What on Earth could possibly be so bad in his life? Tate’s beyond gorgeous, has money out the yin yang and appears to be somewhat intelligent. I swear I’ll never understand men.

I trail behind him and when we get outside, I see a blacked out, lifted Tahoe with beefy tires parked at the curb. I wouldn’t have guessed in a million years that Tate would drive something like this. He just earned some cool points with his choice of vehicle. Most of the guys from where I’m from have lifted trucks on big tires.

“What happened to your Mercedes you were in the other night?”

I’ve been told by London that I’m a very inquisitive person. I, however, tell her I have special snooping privileges with her since she’s my best friend. Maybe she’s right, I am nosey. I’ll never admit it to her, though.

Tate glances back at me with a huff and opens the passenger door for me to get in. “I drove the SUV because I wanted you to be comfortable with the extra room.”

I get in and his comment floors me. Tate was thinking about me when he picked out which vehicle to drive? That means he had already planned to see me tonight. If he was thinking about me though, then why did he have to go and be an ass to me about my damn clothes? Ugh, God this man is so confusing!

Avery leans forward, tapping me playfully on my shoulder, “Emily! Damn girl, you look hot! I see Tate found your place without any problems.” She looks entirely too pleased with herself and it makes me want to throw something at her.

I smirk, “Glad someone appreciates my outfit, Tate wanted me to go back and change.” I shoot him a smug look. Take that, big boy!

Cameron starts chuckling until Tate glares at him in the rearview mirror. He starts driving and doesn’t say anything for a while. I can hear Avery and Cameron talking low with Avery fake giggling at random things.
Yeah, they are so going to fuck, if they haven’t already.

I’ll admit I’m a little jealous. I wish I could get with a guy and not worry about all the complications. Perhaps I should have a one-night stand? It’s okay to scratch the itch, and then send them home, right? Guys do it all the time, so why can’t I? I think that would be a safer option for me. No possible crazy boyfriend or posting photos of us, that sort of thing.

Maybe that’s what I’ll do tonight. I’ll see if there’s anybody worth having a one-night stand with. The idea sounds ludicrous really, since I’ve never done that sort of thing before. I know Tate will be pre-occupied, most likely with multiple women. I can’t blame them though, he is so handsome. Obviously, Cameron and Avery are getting close, so I’m going to try to have some fun tonight.

“So where exactly are we going anyhow?”

I’ve been pretty much nowhere since I moved here. The most I’ve seen of Tennessee so far was the highway, the rest stops I made to get here and the surrounding lakes. The drive was beautiful, lots of trees and grassy hills. The road through Arkansas was absolutely horrible, all the bumps and dips. Thank God it was a quick drive through it or I would have gone nuts.

Avery leans forward between the seats, right when I turn to look into the back seat. She gets so close we almost butt foreheads and I jerk back. She laughs and I grumble. Crazy girl scared the shit out of me!

“We, my friend, are going to OO7. It’s my favorite club in the whole wide world! We are going to get our drink on, dance on and our freak on!” She smiles manically and I grin back.

“What is this, are we stepping into a James Bond flick?” I inquire, curiously. They all chuckle around me, and I peer at everyone inquisitively for some answers.

Avery happily chortles out, “Oh no! I want to see your reaction when we walk in. You will just have to wait and see. Geez, their martinis are out of this world! We are going to shake our booties until our feet feel like they want to fall off!” She seems to always know exactly what to say to bring a smile to my face.

“Girl, you are such a dork! I’ll dance, but no drinking for me.”

I never know when I might need all my senses intact. I know one day he’s going to be waiting for me in a dark parking lot. Keeping alert could save my life if I’m ever in that position.

“What?! We have two good-looking men who are more than capable to carry our asses out of there if needed. You are getting toasted, Emily!”

I’ve learned the hard way not to rely on men, I’m not about to start now. I shake my head minutely, “I’ll dance, but no drinks for me.”

“We will seeeeeeee!” Avery sings, and plops back. She is pretty much sitting on top of Cameron. He looks thrilled about it though, so whatever, none of my business.

Tate glances over at me and does that one-arm extended thing, men do when they drive. God, he’s absolutely delectable right now, all serious. His forehead does this little crinkle thing like he’s thinking about something really hard, then he shakes his head and faces forward again.

“Huh? What was that just now?”

“Nothing,” he mumbles.

Nothing my ass! “Umm, no! You just did a little head shake thingy.”

“Just stay close in the club, okay? There will be a lot of people there you don’t know, and I don’t want you getting lost.”

Christ, this man
. “Seriously? I’m twenty years old, Tate, and believe it or not, I am a grown woman. This is not the first time I’ve been to a club.” Perhaps I just tie a rope to his belt buckle at this point?

“I’m very aware you are a grown woman,
Krasaaveetsa
(beauty). Just trust me, please,” Tate grumbles. After a moment he relaxes his features and stares at me wearily.

“Okay stud, since you asked nicely. I guess I’ll stick close. But if you start getting overly bossy, I’m gone.”

Turning, I watch out of my window as we drive. There is only so much Luka ‘Tate’ Masterson I can take. He’s so handsome, and then he opens his mouth and ruins it.

I think I’m going to call the bossy ass side ‘Luka’ and the sweet man hunk side ‘Tate’. That makes it’s easier to break up the two personalities. Shit, what if he’s a narcissist or something? That would be my luck, entice yet another psycho. Well, if I did appeal to him. I don’t think he’s that interested though. He’s made it clear he doesn’t see me in the booty call picture, so maybe he’s not attracted to me?