14 Invitation

About five minutes later, Masha stuck her head out of the apartment wearing some kind of greasy robe and worn-out rubber flip-flops.

“Here,” she says shyly, holding out my wallet. “I would’ve returned your documents anyway, I was looking for a way…”

“Yeah, right?” I look at her skeptically and take my things.

“Yeah. I didn’t throw them away for a reason, I kept them to return. Thanks for the food,” she says gratefully and quickly disappears behind her door.

Well then… My belongings were kindly returned to me, and that’s already good. Time to get the hell out of this dump. I head home, planning to call Ann and invite her on a date. It’s already been about a week since I last had sex, and I’d gladly shove it into the brunette, but she’s not that kind of girl, you can’t treat her like that. You can’t push or insist or you’ll scare her off. So dates, romance, and all that other nonsense are waiting for me in the near future. And to my own surprise, I’m actually ready for all that! I’m not some loser who backs down from difficulties! The girl is really good, worth the effort, and she’s really gotten under my skin.

Am I really getting old and turning soft?! Me! Shade incarnate!

When we were younger, Kirill and I did a lot of crazy shit and lived purely for our own pleasure, until the tragic events with our mother. A fatal car crash took not only our mother that day, but also my twin brother. Our father was completely broken and devastated after losing the woman he loved, so Kirill stayed with him and took over his business, leaving me alone. And I had also lost someone incredibly important! In fact, it felt like I lost two people, and that was something I couldn’t forgive Kirill for a long time, because we had literally been inseparable all our lives.

People used to call us the Shademons. As the older twin, I was Shade, and Kir was the Demon. We did so much together! Fights, races, girls, booze, noisy places and wild crowds. Our youth was something else…

And now everyone has turned annoyingly family-oriented and settled down… well, everyone except me. But this brown-eyed brunette… Maybe she’s the one?

That’s exactly what I plan to find out very soon! So I dial the cherished saved number.

“Yes, Nazar,” her melodic voice sounds when she recognizes my number, and it almost makes me close my eyes with pleasure. She saved it… maybe she was even waiting for the call?

“Hi, Ann. Don’t think I’m rushing things, but maybe we could meet tonight?” I don’t like beating around the bush, and silence hangs in the receiver.

“Uh… what about the children?” the beauty asks in confusion.

“They’re with my father today, so…”

Damn! That probably sounds like I’m trying to get into her panties immediately and purposely dumped the kids somewhere. And she’d be absolutely right! So she could easily brush me off right now. God, with her it’s like walking on thin ice!

“But don’t think anything like that! They just love their grandfather and stay with him quite often,” I start quickly justifying myself and searching for excuses. “It’s not because I planned something indecent with you. No, I mean, I wouldn’t be against it, of course, but that’s not the goal, even though it sounds exactly like it is. And anyway, we can meet somewhere neutral so it won’t be awkward. And… God, what the hell am I even saying?”

“I get it,” the girl chuckles. “Where are we meeting and what time?”

Hearing the understanding in her voice and the lightness in her tone, I practically felt a weight lift off my chest. I set the time and place for our meeting later that evening.