Page 113 of You + Me – Against the World

“You don’t have anything to say to that, Arcadi? Don’t tell me you’re traumatized over a bra and panties.”

“No, I’m just surprised. And I don’t think it’s a good idea to do stuff like that. I love Alma.”

“Alright, relax! I don’t know what came over me. I was bored, I guess. I just wanted to have a little fun tonight. I thought you’d find it funny.”

“So, you weren’t serious?”

“Oh, I don’t really know. I guess the thrill came from not knowing exactly how it would turn out.”

“Nothing could happen, you know. Ever.”

“Oh man, I don’t know what’s up with you, but you’re being extremely fucking dull tonight. I’ll let you go. I hope I didn’t mess things up between you and your girl. Bye, Arcadi!”

A few minutes later, I leave Vadim’s place with red-rimmed eyes and my heart in pieces, though mostly glued back together. I decide to trust him, even if I don’t yet know if I’ll be able to forgive his cowardice on this one. All he had to do was shoot Cheyenne down in front of me to make everything crystal clear, instead of just standing there with that damn smirk on his face, amused by the situation.

I hate getting into fights with someone who won’t even fight back. Basile is like that all the time, and it makes me want to slap him.

Vadim almost admitted he’d dropped the ball, but he also criticized my “constant need for reassurance.” In the end, we decided not to talk about it anymore, to avoid opening the whole can of worms again.

As for that pain-in-the-ass Cheyenne, I’m not even mad at her. I’m wary of her, but I admire her confidence and the way she owns her touch of madness. I’d like to be her in my next life, please.

***

Acting on some kind of dumb territorial instinct, I spend every day of the following week waiting for Vadim at the end of his community service shifts. I kiss him deeply every time, making sure Cheyenne gets a good look at us. She gives me little waves from afar and a few polite smiles, but that’s as far as our exchanges go. When he’s had enough, Vadim asks me with a playful smile if I could go back to being his girlfriend rather than his bodyguard. I get a little offended, just on principle. Then, I decide to let it go.

For the past week, Vadim has also been kept busy going from one casting to another. He shot his commercial, and soon afterward Michelle Kerry told him he had been “discovered.” I didn’t quite grasp what that meant until the offers started pouring in. He wasn’t as excited as me, and turned them all down. Until this one. He told me that, although he was interested, he wasn’t going to accept. But he still wanted to talk to me about it.

“Do you know who Youri Karaïev is?”

“The Russian director you love? Of course, you talk about him all the time.”

“Well, that’s who the offer is from. It’s for a small role in his next feature film.”

“Awesome! Vadim, that’s a dream come true!”

I bounce around his apartment excitedly, then throw my arms around his neck.

“Wait, why are you looking so miserable?”

“I’m going to say no,” he replies in a flat voice.

“No way! Why would you do that? Give me one good reason!”

“The shoot will take place in Russia. It’s supposed to last three months, and it starts tomorrow.”

My blood runs cold. My arms drop to my sides, and I back away from him with three small, hesitant steps. Those are three excellent reasons. Three months without him. Three months… That’s half the time we’ve been together. An unbearable eternity.

“Three months isn’t that long,” I say softly, trying to make myself believe it.

“I’m not going to go, Alma.”

“Why?”

“I’m not leaving you. Not for three months.”

“Don’t say that. You’re going!”

“No, definitely not.”