I Never Told You I Love You - Complete

Chapter 9 - Loaves and Fishes

When Rose woke up hours later, her head was resting in Dimitri's lap, and he and her mother were sitting opposite one another on the sofas trading war stories. It turns out they knew many of the same people, so they were indulging in professional gossip. Rose kept her eyes closed and listened to their easy chat for a long time, pleased to hear the two of them finding some common ground.

Eventually, she stirred and sat up, rubbing her eyes. Dimitri looked at her, trying to keep the fondness from his eyes. "Rose? Are you feeling hungry?"

"Yeah, I am actually."

"Did you want me to cook or are you up to going to the cafeteria for dinner?"

The idea of heading to the cafeteria struck fear into her heart. There was no way Rose wanted to be seen by anyone.

"Could you cook? I don't feel up to going out".

Nodding Dimitri headed into the kitchenette to see what was available. A quick check of the pantry and fridge revealed that unless he was going to pull a miracle of the loaves and fishes, he was going to have to go to the kitchens for some supplies - which he was happy to do, but he wasn't sure if they'd give him anything now he was not a staff member. He mentally sighed. He hated being in limbo like this. For instance, he'd like to go to the Guardian gym and work out, but he wasn't prepared for the inevitable questions when he didn't have any answers. Maybe he should call Alberta and work out some ground rules, so they all knew where they stood during this 'visit' of his.

A knock at the door brought him out of his reverie. Janine raised an eyebrow – she obviously wasn't expecting anyone. She opened the door cautiously to reveal Adrian standing in the doorway with three pizza boxes and a few paper bags on top.

"Ladies I thought Rose might not be up to visiting the cafeteria, so I brought some food to you." He walked through the door, sitting the pizza on the coffee table and the paper bags beside them. "Pepperoni pizza for dinner, and choc glazed donuts for dessert – your favorites!" he grinned at Rose, giving a thousand watt charming smile to Janine as well.

Dimitri shut the fridge door. Guess that meant he was off the hook for cooking tonight. Turning to see Dimitri in the kitchenette Adrian gave him an arctic look

"Oh – I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had company. I should leave," Adrian said coldly.

"Never mind me. I just dropped by to see if Rose and Janine needed anything from the kitchens. I'm going down there any way to pick up some supplies for myself. Janine? I'll get you more eggs, milk, bread, and fruit. Is there anything else you'd like?"

"Yes, can you get some coffee, too? For the machine," she said, pointing to the unit on the kitchenette bench. She shot Dimitri a grateful look over Adrian's shoulder. As he'd suspected, Janine wanted to keep him staying here with them a secret.

"Sure thing. Rose anything you want?"

"Well I would have said a choc donut, but Adrian's got that covered."

Adrian grinned at Dimitri smugly. Dimitri had a sudden urge to put his fist into Adrian's face, but instead just nodded.

"Alright – I'll see you later with your supplies."

He let himself out of the unit wondering where to go. He didn't have his phone on him – he'd left it in his duffel bag in the suite. At least he'd picked his duster up from where it had been slung over the back of the couch. He didn't want to come back while Adrian was still there, so he figured he had at least an hour to kill. The Guardian gym was out, and he didn't want to go to the larger student gym without his Roza. He considered going for a run, but he didn't have any clean clothes with him, and he didn't fancy having to wait around for God knows how long in sweaty clothes waiting for the suite to be clear.