Building the Tension | ✔ | 18+

Chapter 35 - Down Comes the Hammer

Dimitri's POV:

My heart was in my throat as I heard Tasha's voice saying, "Is that you, Dimitri? I would've been here sooner but there was a problem with the keys. Someone said you had already checked them out."

Rose was standing there in the bathroom doorway, her shirt laying across the room, holding the tie on her workout shorts. I grabbed the other towel off of the rack to quickly cover myself as the door opened. "Did you tell me to - wow, Dimitri, this is really romantic! I knew you would change your m-" Her eyes locked on Rose. "Rose! Oh! What the hell? You need to leave, Rose. Dimitri, get dressed. It's time for the grown-ups to have a talk."

Rose picked up her shirt and threw it back on over her head, but stood where she was and looked at Tasha defiantly. Oh, Roza, I love your fire, but this is so not the time for it.

"I'll be fine, Rose," I told her, securing the towel around my waist better, "I'll see you later."

"Fine," she said, "I'll go. But I'm taking the donuts with me." Rose gave me a questioning look, then said, "The trials are over, right? And I've already earned my initial guardian ranking of at least a new black moon, right?"

I understood the hidden meaning of her question: so we don't have to hide our relationship as much anymore. In theory, we should wait until we had left campus, but Tasha already knew enough. And there really wasn't very much anyone could do at this point. Perhaps it would be better for Tasha to know we were together, as long as we kept the circle small enough. I inhaled for focus and gave her a sharp nod.

"I love you, Dimitri," Rose told me, pressing a brief kiss to my lips, causing both Tasha and I a little shock at what had just happened. "I'm going to go get changed and showered, and then I'll head over to Lissa's dorm until the promise mark ceremony." Rose walked out of the cabin, bumping Tasha's hip - hard - on her way out of the door. As soon as she was out the door, Rose began to jog away.

By the time I realized that she had left her athletic bag by the door, Rose had already gotten far off into the distance. I decided I'd bring the bag to her at Lissa's room later, after Tasha and I talked.

I went into the bathroom and threw on my pants as quickly as I could, wracking my brain for what to say and how to say it. I tossed my shirt on, but didn't bother to fasten the buttons. When I exited the bathroom, Tasha was sitting on the bed with her hands in her lap, staring expectantly at the bathroom doorway.

"What is this, Dimitri?" she asked me.

I didn't answer. I couldn't.

"How long?" she asked.

I stayed silent again.

"How ... long?" she asked, raising her voice to near-yelling.

I inhaled again for patience and sat at the chair across from the bed. "Long enough."

"Dimitri, she's a child," she said, "How could you do this to her? This is inappropriate. Think about your job. Think about hers."

"She's not a child," I told her.

"Not anymore," Tasha said, "She would've had to grow up pretty fast, considering what I just walked in on."

"That's not what I mean, Tasha. She's eighteen."

"Was she when this started?" I couldn't respond. "Was she eighteen before you slept with her?"

I put my head in my hands and shook it. My voice was barely audible as I replied, "No. Not quite. But she has had to face more than most women ten years older than she is. And I love her."