I Never Told You I Love You - Complete

Chapter 21 - That's My Job

"So how many in the class? And how many girls?" Rose asked, standing in just her boy leg panties, looking at her workout drawer in the dresser with dissatisfaction.

"Hmm?" Dimitri said, a little preoccupied, lying on the bed in his casual Guardian uniform looking at the half-naked woman standing in front of him. "Um – you'll be student forty-one, and there are thirteen or fourteen girls."

"So that's like a third? That's heaps more than at St. Vlad's! What do they usually wear? Should I go more daggy sweats or nicer stuff? I want to make a good first impression... Oh, Vlad! Is it an open shower room afterward? I'm not sure I'm ready to see your sister naked on our first meeting."

Dimitri was laughing – watching the usually unflappable Rose Hathaway having a wardrobe crisis.

"Wear your black leggings – you look really good in those," he said with atypical candor. "And this black top looks hot, too – especially when you wear it with that red sports bra. I don't know whether the women's change rooms have an open shower. The men's does - but if you're worried about showering in the gym, just come shower and get changed up here".

"Get changed?! I haven't even thought what to wear to the rest of my classes today!" Rose wailed.

Throwing herself back into one of the armchairs, she ate a piece of black bread Dimitri had cut for her from the loaf his mother had made.

"God, Roza. Put a shirt on, would you? I'm going to be teaching in half an hour, and I'm not going to able walk if you keep wandering around like that!"

Giving him a wicked look, Rose ran her hands suggestively over her breasts once before dragging on the workout clothes Dimitri had suggested. She pulled her hair up into a high ponytail, walking into the bathroom to take a look. Yep – she looked hot! Picking up a black hoody, Rose put that over the top. She'd strip down in the gym when she'd warmed up.

Not sure about what to wear afterward, she packed a couple of potential outfits in her gym bag. She'd play it by ear when she saw what the other girls were wearing. She'd got a bit of a gauge of Russian fashion in Moscow, Novosibirsk, and even Baia so hopefully she'd not be too far off base.

"You nervous, Comrade?"

"A little milaya. More excited about seeing Vika. It's been almost three years. I thought maybe she could come over here after dinner tonight and we could tell her about us? I really hope you two will be friends. I'm going to spend today's class getting an idea of where the students are at. You're coming back from a couple of weeks off training, and you've lost some condition. I'm going to start by building up your endurance and stamina in classes – your job is to observe and pay attention to moves you've not seen before. We'll work on learning those skills in our private sessions which we'll start this afternoon."

Rose nodded, grateful Dimitri would give her the chance to save face by not getting her ass kicked the first lesson.

"Thanks, Comrade. You always look after me," she said softly, climbing on the bed next to him and kissing him softly. "No one's ever loved me the way you do."

"That's my job now Roza," Dimitri said sincerely, brushing his lips lightly against hers. "To love you and take care of you. Always."

Rose lay against Dimitri, her head on his chest, until five minutes to eight.

"Come on milaya. Time for us to go. Don't be nervous – I'll be there."

With a final kiss, they stood up, Rose grabbing her gym bag and another bit of black bread to eat on the way to the gym. As per yesterday's walk to the infirmary, Dimitri led them from building to building, so they never had to step outside. Most of the long hallways were quite similar – running through the center of the buildings with rich timber paneling and plasterboard on top, doorways on either side. While there was no natural light, the hallways were well lit, and the timber paneling gave a pleasant warmth.