AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter One
“You fucking jerk. You took my time slot!”
Dr. Ivan Petrov looked up from his laptop, his fingers stilling over the keyboard. He stared at the woman standing in his office doorway, her red button-down shirt hanging untucked over her blue jeans. He loved that color on her. It set off her amber eyes and gave her pale complexion a flush. He rests his chin on his fist, a devious smile crossing his lips. “Whatever are you talking about, dushenka?“ he asked, his voice still tinged with his native Russian accent.
Anna Cassidine stared at him and shook her head, laughing as she stepped into the room. “Oh no, you don’t, Ivan. You are not going to get away with calling me ‘sweetheart.’ I’m pissed at you. You took my time slot. I’ve had that time slot for five years, and here you come, swooping in and snatching it up for your Russian literature class.”
Ivan stood up and walked around his desk. He closed the door after gently tugging her in the room. “First off, I have students who can’t fit the class into their schedule with the current time slot, and they need the credit. They are seniors. Do you want them to wait to graduate? No one else could swap the class except you.” He grinned down at her, standing in her personal space. “So, the scheduling director swapped us out. I told her you wouldn’t mind.”
“Dammit, Ivan. I mind. I do mind. I mind greatly.” She punched his chest. “Back up,” she laughed. He had a way of invading her personal space and making her warm. “Ugh. You drive me up the wall. You could’ve waited until I got back from vacation and talked to me about it.”
“I wasn’t going to ruin your vacation. And I had a plan to make it up to you when you got back.” He leaned closer to her. “Dinner tonight?”
Anna shook her head, looking away from Ivan with a chuckle. “Ivan, I swear. You have a bad habit of disarming me when I’m not prepared.” She leaned back against the wall. Before she could continue, there was a knock on the door. She remained quiet as he opened the door, effectively hiding her. She listened quietly to his conversation with one of his upcoming students, folding her arms over her chest. Once he closed the door, she met his gaze. “Fine. Dinner tonight. But you’re not getting my time slot after this semester.”
“Oh, dushenka. You know that your creative writing classes and my Russian literature class go hand in hand,“ he teased. He stared at her. “I’ve missed you. How was your vacation?” Ivan leaned back on his desk, his hands gripping the edges.
Anna met his gaze. “I hate it when you get logical. I want my time slot back, and the vacation was fantastic. I’ve got two camera chips of photos to go through.”
“Still going to share them?”
Anna walked over to him, matching his stance against his desk. “Yeah. How could I not?” She nudged him with her shoulder. They had been close friends and colleagues since college when he was still a foreign exchange student working on getting his citizenship, and she was still deciding what she wanted her degree in. He had planned to return to Russia but changed his mind, settling in New York City when he discovered they both got jobs at Columbia University.
“I think we should hit up East Harlem Bottling Company, have some pub grub and a few beers, and talk about it,” Ivan suggested. He looked down at her. “What do you think?” He tugged her long brown ponytail playfully.
“All right. Meet you out front in a half hour. I need to finish up a few things in my office.”
Ivan nodded. “Fair enough.” He watched her leave his office, her hips swinging as she walked down the hall to her office. He returned to the document he was working on, a smile on his face.
The fare at the East Harlem Bottling Company was good, as always. Anna got the Butternut Squash soup with a variety of her favorite appetizers, while Ivan got the Jagerschnitzel. It was the closest thing to the food of his youth that he could get so far from home. They ate in silence, washing it all down with a local beer before settling in to talk.
Anna watched him. He drove her crazy with his sexy accent and neatly trimmed goatee. He was her best friend, but there was so much more under the surface. If they allowed themselves to be and give in…no, she wasn’t going to let her mind wander in that direction. This was Ivan. He knew her secrets, good, bad, and ugly, and she knew his.
“So, are we going to talk about this time slot I apparently stole from you?” he finally asked.
Anna set her pint glass down, licking the remnants of her drink from her lips. “You did steal it from me, you jerk,” she laughed. She held up her hands in defense. “But I get it. I’m not happy with it, but I’ll figure out what to do with that time instead. The director already gave me my schedule for the classes I’m teaching, and it’s not the worst thing in the world.” She leaned back in her chair. “I don’t get why these kids are so into Russian lit.”
“That’s not the first time you’ve said that,” he stated. Ivan nodded at the waitress as she brought them another glass of beer.
“Russian literature is dark and depressing and dry,” Anna defended. She had read plenty of books by Russian authors. “You know the only Russian author I can stand is Chekov.”
Ivan leaned on the table. “But there are so many more. And not all of it is dark and depressing. What if I told you that some of the best Russian literature happens to be romantic and erotic and sensual,” he countered.
Anna scoffed. “You mean Lolita by Nabakov.”
“No, I don’t mean Lolita. However, to be fair, it should be considered. There are other authors that infused their works with sexual undertones and metaphors that make their writing sensual.”
Ivan was not convincing Anna. “Name one.”
“Pushkin.”
She shook her head. “I’ve never read anything by him.”
Ivan slowly smiled. “Then maybe you should.” He picked up his pint glass and took a drink. “Even Chekov had sexual undertones in his writing. Your favorite play by him is Uncle Vanya, right? Think about the character Astrov. His is the case of unrequited love.”
Anna’s eyes narrowed at him. “Yelena pushes him away and deflects his advances.”
Like you, Ivan thought to himself. He sighed and leaned his elbows on the table, clasping his hands as he stared into his pint glass in contemplation. “Let me prove it to you then. We have two weeks before classes start again. I was going to head up to the family house in Sleepy Hollow tomorrow and take a few days to just enjoy nature. Why don’t you come with me?”
