I followed Andrei inside the old folk's home, clutching the box of cookies tightly to my chest.

I was nervous.

It was clear that Andrei was quite close to his grandma.

I wanted her to like me. No, I needed her to.

“This is her place,” Andrei informed me, looking excited.

Without waiting for me to respond, he opened the door and hurried in.

The room was spacious, with a large window that I could imagine flooding the place with sunlight during the day. A cozy-looking sofa sat beside a coffee table, and a small kitchen was tucked behind a wooden counter. Andrei had already slipped behind it, saying something in Russian.

I couldn’t get a good look at her because she was being bear-hugged by her grandson, but I did glimpse a dusting of short, curly white hair peeking over his arm. I stood awkwardly in the doorway until she managed to wrangle one of her hands out of his grip to tap him somewhat aggressively on the shoulder.

“Oh, sorry,” Andrei said, straightening up and stepping off to the side. “Jen, this is Meredith,”

Meredith gave me a warm smile. She was a plump woman, with kind eyes that I got the feeling had seen a whole lot in her life. She was hunched over a walker she had briefly abandoned to embrace Andrei.

“She doesn’t speak English,” He informed me, one of his hands still resting fondly on her back. “I’ll be your translator,”

‘Oh crap. How am I supposed to charm her now?’ I thought to myself, feeling my stomach beginning to tie itself in knots.

“If I tell a joke and it doesn't land you better take the blame for it,” I joked - but I was pretty sure that my serious tone negated whatever humor there might’ve been in it.

“And make me sound proper,”

Andrei gave me an amused look.

“Proper? You know in Russian you can create entire sentences out of just curse words. For example-”

“Don't you dare!”

Meredith looked at me quizzically, then at her grandson.

Before he could say anything I cut in with one of the only phrases I remembered from my Duolingo lessons. My pronunciation was shit, but the way she smiled and extended her hand told me I had successfully introduced myself.

“Impressive,” Andrei said, eyebrow raised.

“That's nothing, I learned to say ‘I love potatoes’ yesterday. I'm practically fluent,”

Andrei started saying something in Russian, but I hurriedly cut in.

“-Don't translate that!”

He grinned, clearly enjoying my flustered state.

“I was just telling her you have a talent for linguistics.”

“Oh,” I said, then proceeded to open and shut my mouth a few times like a fish.

Meredith gestured towards the dining area, inviting us to sit down. Andrei tried to help her when her walker got caught on the carpet, but she slapped his hand away.

He looked back at me with a somewhat tired smile.

“She never lets me help,”

My heart melted as I watched Andrei pull out a chair for his grandmother, then gently push her closer to the table so she could comfortably reach the teapot. The softness in his eyes took my breath away.

Especially when he turned that gaze on me, pulling out another chair and motioning for me to sit.

I walked over and settled across from Meredith, trying not to shiver as he leaned over my shoulder to pour me a cup of tea.

He was close. Very close.

He was lingering far longer than necessary too, murmuring something about being careful not to spill the tea on the tablecloth. I think I said something along the lines of ‘It's always good to be careful’.

When he finally pulled away a sigh of disappointment accidently slipped out of me - which he noticed, looking smug. I quickly cleared my throat and focused my attention on Meredith.

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That was a bad move too. She fixed me with such a knowing look that I suddenly wondered if it mattered at all that we didn’t share a common language.

“So, uh,” I started. “I baked some cookies,”

I quickly nudged the box into Andrei’s hands. He smiled and opened it, grabbing one and offering it to Meredith. Then he grabbed one for himself and took a bite.

His eyes lit up. “Damn, these are amazing!”

I felt myself relax somewhat.

“I’m glad you like them! I’ll bake more next time I come over,” I said without thinking.

Then my brain caught up. Andrei’s smile was huge.

“If your grandma invites me over for dinner again, I mean-”

“I was thinking next time we could go somewhere a bit more private,”

His voice was ever-so-slightly lower as he spoke, and my mind conjured up a variety of images that were far too dirty for the current situation - at an old folks home sipping tea with his grandmother.

I had a feeling that he could see them somehow. I averted my eyes, feeling my cheeks burn.

Meredith cleared her throat.

Xxx

I plopped the last pelmeni into my mouth, wiping sour cream off the corner of my lips. Meredith looked at my empty plate approvingly.

“It was delicious!” I said, hoping my Russian sounded halfway decent.

Andrei leaned closer, his expression halfway between amused and concerned. “You just told her the food was ‘foody.’”

“What??” I screeched, mortified, before catching the mischievous glint in his eyes.

I smacked him lightly on the arm.

“Alright, it’s getting late,” he announced.

I felt my heart sink. I didn’t want this evening to end. At least not just yet.

I stood and began gathering the dirty plates, hoping that washing the dishes might buy me a few extra minutes.

‘An extra few minutes for what?’ I wondered, trying to ignore the feeling that I was running out of time somehow.

“Jen, don’t be ridiculous - you’re a guest. I’ll take care of the dishes,” Andrei said, taking the plates from my hands.

“It’s no trouble,” I insisted, desperation filling the pit of my stomach.

“If I let you do the dishes she’s gonna kill me later. My hands are tied,”

He gave me a lopsided smile and disappeared into the kitchen.

I stood awkwardly by Meredith, not knowing what to do with my hands.

I was surprised to see her make her way over to me. She didn’t say anything, but when she rubbed my arm, a fond look on her face, I felt like she understood something about me that I didn’t quite yet.

“Alright, all done,” Andrei said, reappearing at my side. “I’ll give you a lift home. You ready?”

I was not. Still, I nodded and we said our goodbyes, closing the door behind us as we stepped into the cold winter air.

We walked toward the spot where Andrei had parked his car, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that time was running out again. I ran my fingers over the bracelet he’d gotten me, drawing strength from it somehow.

“Andrei?” I asked, in a voice so quiet that if we weren’t walking side by side he would've never heard it.

“Yeah?” He turned to look at me.

He was in the process of pulling out his car keys, but his hand halted when he saw the expression on my face.

“Everything ok?”

“Yeah,” I answered quickly.

But the rest of the sentence fizzled out as my eyes drank in the sight of his handsome face in the moonlight.

It was unfair, how good he looked. Like he’d already gone through 5-10 rounds of Photoshop edits. I mean, it’s not natural for muscles to show through a freaking winter coat! Something here is clearly sus.

“Jen?” He prompted, looking adorably puzzled. Damn him.

“When you said next time we would go somewhere, uh, private…” I trailed off, promptly putting the ball in his court again.

‘Good thinking!’ The two brain cells still under my control praised.

“I did say that. What about it?” He asked.

“Don’t be a dick,”

“I would never, I just want to make sure I understand the question before answering, that’s all,”

“You think because you’ve got a pretty face you can just-”

“You think I’m pretty?” he cut in, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“Oh shut it!”

Andrei looked like he was trying to hold back a laugh, the corners of his lips twitching.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said, though he didn’t sound sorry at all.

Then he leaned closer, caging me against the side of his car.

I felt my brain short circuit.

“Do you really not know what I meant?” He whispered.

His breath was hot against my ear - which I was sure must've been the color of a ripe tomato by now. Still, there was no way I was letting him win this battle so easily.

“I think I can guess,” I whispered back. “I just want to make sure I understand the question before answering,”

“I don't think I have enough blood in my brain to keep playing mind games with you,” He groaned.

Reality hit all at once, and I froze. It's been forever since I've even kissed a man.

What if I screwed it up? What if I made a complete fool out of myself? What if he didn't want someone as inexperienced as me?

Noticing the change in my demeanor, Andrei pulled back somewhat, analyzing my face.

“Did I misread something?”

“You didn't. I'm sorry, it's just been awhile since… and plus there are, things that I never…”

He gave me a confused look, and I felt my throat constrict.

“Ok I'm gonna need you to actually spell it out for me this time,”

“I don't want to.” I replied almost instantly, my heart hammering in my chest.

He raised an eyebrow but stayed patient, his eyes searching mine as I stubbornly stared at a random spot on his forehead, unable to meet his gaze.

“There’s nothing wrong with not being in a relationship for a few years,” he said gently. “I’ve been single for a while too. Since college, actually.”

“That's not what I meant,” I said, letting my eyes wander from the random spot on his forehead to a random spot on his cheek.

“Did Nikita tell you some nonsense about my… preferences, or something?” he asked, suddenly looking embarrassed.

“Your preferences?” I asked, a little too eager for the distraction. “That I have to know.”

“Tell you what,” he said, his tone dropping a notch.

At this point, I was certain he knew exactly what he was doing to me. He leaned in close, speaking into the curve of my neck.

“You tell me about whatever it is you're so nervous about, and I'll tell you all about what I prefer to do to you when I get you somewhere private,”

It was a good thing I had his car behind me for balance, because my knees were threatening to give out on me. ‘What do I do? Do I tell him? I don't want to, what if he loses interest? What if he leaves?’

“You promise you won't make fun of me?”

Andrei cupped my face in his hands, tilting it up so I couldn’t avoid his gaze. His expression was soft, genuine.

“I promise.” He said.

I took a deep breath.

“I'm a virgin.”