Page 29 of Grunt: A Marine Romance

14

SELENA AWOKE THE next morning, happier than she’d been in years. Sleeping next to Bret all night, wrapped in his strong arms, she wished they could stay on the houseboat forever and never have to return to Hollyweird.

She slipped out of Bret’s embrace and peeked at him, who slept peacefully. Last night had been better than even her wildest fantasies. Bret was so strong, so generous, so emotional, so masculine. But one night didn’t quell her hunger for him: she now wanted him more than ever, every day for the rest of her life.

Rolling out of bed, she snuck past Banjo, and threw on her clothes. Poor Bret had no idea what was in store for him once the tabloids found out that she was now with Bret. Even if she told the truth, she feared that the magazines would twist the story into some salacious love triangle, and Bret would be hated as the ‘other man.’ There was no way Bret would tolerate being on the cover of every magazine, his honorable reputation tarnished. He’d leave her for sure. And she hadn’t been totally honest with him when they broke up many years ago. Selena had been withholding a secret from him—a secret that could ruin any chance they had to have a future together. Selena had to figure how to handle this, and fast, before she lost him forever.

She went into the kitchen and poured the ground coffee into the filter and longed for her espresso machine back home. She retrieved her phone from her purse; it blinked with seven missed calls and five texts. All from Dima.

She stepped on the deck and called him back.

“Hi, Dima,” she spoke quietly.

“Selenichka, where are you? I’ve been calling to your hotel room.” His voice was very agitated.

What was she going to tell him? “Uhm, I . . .”

His voice sounded louder. “Are you there, Selena? I came by to your room last night and you were not there.”

“It doesn’t matter where I am, Dima. I didn’t want to drive home so I crashed at a friend’s house.”

“I love you, Selenichka. Please, for you I will have the children.”

“That’s sweet, Dima, I know you mean well. But I don’t want a man to have kids just to keep me. I want someone who wants to be a dad. You would never be happy.”

Dima’s voice turned from concerned to irritated. “Are you with Bret? Is this about being together with him?”

Selena didn’t want to lie to Dima. And she knew Bret hated lying also. But if she told Dima the truth, she knew this story would hit the tabloids before the weekend was over. “No, I’m not.” A sinking feeling gripped her chest. “This isn’t about him. This is about us. It’s over. It has been for a while. We broke up three years ago! You’ve been with many women and I’ve never had more than a few dates with anyone. You made sure of that. How is that fair to me? The minute you decide you want me back, I’m just supposed to jump for joy and start planning our wedding? I’m sorry but I’m done.”

“If you need a few days to calm down, I understand. Once you are back together with me in L.A., we will work it out.”

How could he just ignore what she just said? She raised her voice. “Dammit Dima. I don’t need more time. I told you. We’re through. Trust me, this is for the best.”

A sharp noise came over the receiver. Dima must’ve slammed his fist into something. “Fine, Selena. If this is how you want it. Don’t ever think you can come back to me. I made you and this is how you repay to me?”

“We are partners, Dima, or so I thought. It isn’t all you. I am your partner. We can still dance together. Forever.”

Dima let out a cocky laugh. “Selenichka, Zaika. You are confused if you think I would still dance together with you. I can get any partner in the world. You want this to be over. You think you are too good for me? You knew I would always come back to you. We both needed just a break. Now you don’t want me? Okay. It is over. Dancing, too.” The receiver slammed and the dial tone beeped in her ear.

It was over. Ten years of sacrifice and in just an instant, her dance career had imploded. No hope of ever winning Blackpool. She could never get a partner like Dima again. She was an amazing dancer, she was very confident about her abilities. But in ballroom there were a hundred girls for every guy. And very few guys were the caliber of dancer that Dima was. All of the professional men in the Blackpool Latin final already had partners. If any of them did become available, they would pick a younger girl, not start over with a twenty-eight-year-old woman who only had a few good dancing years left. The tears started falling down Selena’s face. Her career—her life—was over.

Bret emerged from the bedroom and walked onto the balcony. “Hey babe, what’s wrong?” He put his arms around her waist.

Selena didn’t want to tell him. He wouldn’t understand. “Nothing Bret, just hold me.”

Bret hugged her. “You can tell me anything.”

She looked up in his big blue eyes. When they were kids, they were each other’s best friends. They knew each other’s every secret until the end. She longed for that closeness again but was afraid to let him in again.

“Uhm, that was Dima. He thought we would get back together, like we’ve done many times before. I told him it was over. He said that our partnership was over.”

Bret released her and looked away. “What did you expect? Dima’s probably the best male dancer in the world. Once you shut that door for good, he decided he’s gone. You may have thought you were broken up, but it was on his terms. As long as you would jump back into his arms whenever he decided the time was right. You know how he works. He’s always been involved with his partners. When Carrie left him, that’s why he went after you. Carrie wanted to still dance with him.”

Selena knew all too well. Carrie had an affair with Giorgio, a gorgeous Italian dancer. When Dima found out, he dumped her even though she begged him to still compete with her.

Her lip quivered. It hadn’t crossed her mind that he was going to end their partnership. “I know. I just thought that we were so close to winning he’d stick it out for another few years. Why would he want to start over?”

“This is his life. Why wouldn’t he want to start over? If you guys had stuck together, at some point you would’ve had to quit dancing—either because of your age or to start a family. He can dance with a girl in her early twenties and compete for the next ten years. And he will win Blackpool.”