Chapter - 2

Tyler took one look at his best friend's face and he knew that Dimitri had found a solution to his problem. That determined gleam in his eyes and that erect posture was proof enough for him. 

Tyler had known his friend long enough to know that expression, seven years was quite a long time after all.

"So, what's the plan?" Tyler asked as he watched his friend scanning the crowd around them with hawk like eyes.

"A year long contract marriage." Dimitri replied, turning to look at his friend with a small grin.

Tyler nodded once. "What about Samantha? I thought you wanted to marry her? And why a year? Why not six months?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Its a contract marriage, so I don't think Samantha will have a problem with that and I'm going to marry her once the year is over anyway. It'd be best if its for a year 'cause that'd convince my mum that I was serious about the marriage and I did try to work it out with the girl." Dimitri explained, answering all his questions. "Any more queries, captain?" He teased his friend, smirking a little.

Tyler held up a finger, grinning from ear to ear, "One more."

Dimitri laughed. "Go ahead, captain, what's stopping you?"

"What'cha lookin' for?" He asked, waving his hand around the small place, gesturing to how Dimitri was looking for something amongst the drunk people present in the bar.

"Always the observer, I see."

"You know it." 

Dimitri laughed. "Well, to answer your question, where do you think I'll find a girl who's willing enough to marry for money?" He asked.

Tyler nodded. "Go right ahead, what's stopping ya?" He teased, using his friend's words from earlier.

Dmitri laughed again but did as his friend suggested and started looking for his soon-to-be-wife.

So let's see......

A red head with a face caked with what looked like a weeks worth make up products - nope. A brunette wearing a dress that left nothing to the imagination - Nada. A blonde grinding against men half her age - definitely not. A pink haired girl dancing with her her friend - nuh- uh.

Wait, did that girl really have pink hair? He allowed his gaze to travel back to the girl with a pixie cut. 

Yeah, she did have pink hair. Definitely not my type. Dimitri thought with a shake of his head. He'd never understand girls and fashion.

He was just about to turn his head and start scanning the area to the other side of the bar when something- rather someone- caught his eye.

It was the girl dancing with the pink haired one. From what he could see, she had dark blonde hair with violet tips that reached just below her breasts.

She was wearing a plain white tank top with a pair of dark wash jeans and a pair of sexy yet comfortable looking heels. She had completed the look with a plaid shirt, leaving the buttons open and sleeves rolled up to the elbows but he could see her curvaceous figure, those full breasts, that tiny petite waist, which he was just about dying to hold, clearly through her clothes. 

He let his eyes wander up to her face, caressing every single inch of her body with his eyes.

He nearly groaned in frustration when he realized that her face was away from light, hidden in the shadows.

"See something you like?" Tyler asked Dimitri, following his friend's gaze.

"Definitely." Dimitri answered. "I'll be back soon." He said, making his way towards the blonde, determined to see her face. Tyler just raised his glass of beer with a grin, as if to say, 'nice choice dude'.

***

Casey danced to the rhythm of the music, watching as her friend did the same. Casey knew that her friend was one of those people who were beautiful but didn't know it, and it was sad really, that Trinity, her best friend didn't know just how damn pretty she was. 

A person who could wear a simple tank top, a plaid shirt with dark wash jeans, without an ounce of make up and still manage to look sexy as hell has to be pretty, right? 

Trinity could have any guy on his knees in a minute if she wanted to. It was just plain unfortunate that Trinity didn't swing the other way round, or Casey would never let her go. 

Yes, Casey was a lesbian and she was open about it. But god, how she wished that Trinity was one too. They would be just perfect together.

Casey could swear she had never, just never, met a girl as kind-hearted, as forgiving, as sweet and as selfless as Trinity. The girl walked around with her heart on her sleeve and Casey could only wish that'd she'd get someone who would love her the way she deserved to be loved.

Trinity Johnson was a free soul, it was as simple as that. 

She believed that life was short, so why waste your time thinking about what was, what could have been or what will be? One should just live in the moment, and that was exactly what she was doing.

Who would look at her, dancing as if she didn't have a care in the world, in a bar, that too in the middle of nowhere, and say that she was broke? No one, that's who.

Yes, she knew that she didn't have a single job as of now. Yes, she knew that the only money she owned at the moment was a twenty dollar bill. Yes, she knew she'd have to go look for a job first thing in the morning but right now, she didn't care.

Stupid? Moronic? Idiotic?

Say all you want people, but this is Trinity Johnson for you. Not many people in the world could live the way she did. It was one thing to say that you should live in the present, but it was a completely different one to actually do it.

Ever since she was a child, she was never picky about anything. She would eat or wear whatever was given to her without any complains because she knew it was the best her dad could do for her, even if it wasn't much. 

Her mother died in a car accident a year after Trinity was born, so she didn't remember anything about her mother. All she knew about was, her dad, and she couldn't have thanked god enough for blessing her with such an understanding and caring father.

Ever since her mom passed away, her dad, Mark Johnson, made sure that she had everything she would need, even if it wasn't always enough. 

Though she didn't have him in her life for too long. 

She lost him in a car accident when she was nine.

Not having any relatives who could take her in, she'd had to live in an orphanage. She did get adopted and she thought that her new parents were pretty sweet until they did what they did. 

She suffered silently through it all until one day her teacher found out about it and she was sent back to the orphanage. She was thirteen by the time she got back to the orphanage. 

It took her two years before she was able to get over what was done to her. 

Two years before she was able to speak again.

But that didn't matter now, she was over it now, or at least that was what she told herself.

She didn't get adopted after that, not that she wanted to anyway. So she lived with the kind lady who ran the place, took care of the other girls there, did odd jobs to help pay the bills along with going to school. Eventually Trinity decided to move out after finishing high school, having saved enough to rent an apartment with someone.

That someone being her only friend from school who decided that she didn't want to go to college- Casey Carter, her pink haired, short, slightly crazy, lesbian best friend.

She didn't have parents to share her problems with and she never really had any real friends. Sure, she knew quite a lot of people back at high school but they weren't really her friends, they were mere acquaintances. Who would want to be friends with a poor orphan right? 

But she didn't let any of that bring her spirits down. Never one to wallow in self pity and always one to look at the brighter side of things she took a lesson from her father's sudden loss and what happened to her back then. 

It taught her that life was unpredictable and it was short. 

You could be going home from work and the next thing you know, some drunk driver hit you with his car and you're dead. Or you'd be sitting in your room watching TV and then your roomy finds you dead on your couch because of a heart attack. 

Sounds kind of creepy and slightly weird if you put it that way, but its true. 

Anyway, the point of it all is, that you never know, but the next day could be your last day. Its not essentially important that all the people have to die that way, but what if you did? So, you should live every day of your life as if it was your last, or at least that was what she did.

This was one of the reasons she was here with her friend, dancing like crazy. Another one of those reasons being that it was her birthday today and no matter how broke she was, she was determined to enjoy the completion of twenty one years of her life. 

She refused to sit at her run down apartment and worry about how she would find a new job.

If it had been any other day, she'd be home, sleeping, because she knew she had to go find a job the next day but it was her birthday today, dammit! She deserved to celebrate even if it was just a night out with her friend, dancing in some cheap bar.

"Hey, I'm gonna go use the washroom, wanna come?" Casey asked her, effectively pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Nah, you go ahead, I'll be right here when you come back."

"Okay." Casey said with a smile and left to go find the bathroom. 

Trinity watched her friend leave for a moment, then closed her eyes and let the music guide her. She was swaying her hips from side to side with the rhythm of the music when she felt someone grab her waist from behind and the next thing she knew, she was being pulled against a hard chest.

Her eyes flew open as she felt someone slur in a drunk voice from somewhere above her. "Come with me tonight, darlin'. I'll make sure you have a good time." 

She wrinkled her nose as the stench of alcohol hit her and it took her a moment to understand his words because he was slurring too much.

When she did, she pried his hands off her and turned around to face the guy, just in time to see him catch himself before he fell. Trinity almost laughed at the man, a pecan haired guy with glazed over dark eyes. 

She didn't like the lust filled look he was giving her, so she took a step back to put some space between them. "I don't wanna go anywhere with you." She told him.

"Oh come on babe, I know you want me." He slurred, taking a few steps forward to cover the short distance between them. 

"I don't want you. Just leave me alone." She told him firmly, taking a small step back because the guy was reeking of alcohol, making it difficult for her to breathe. 

Apparently, he took that as a sign of weakness if the half smirk on his face was anything to go by and took a step forward, yet again. 

Trinity smirked inwardly at that. If anything, she was sorry for the guy. She was a black belt in karate, courtesy of the self defense classes Mrs Martin, the kind old lady who took care of the orphanage, made her take when she was fifteen, so if he so much as tried to touch her, he was going to get it from her.

Fortunately for him, before he could say anything else, Trinity felt an arm come around her waist and she was pulled into someone's side.

What is with people snaking their arms around my waist and pulling me into them? She thought to herself, half amused, half annoyed.

She turned her head to the side to have a look at her captor. Her eyes met with the most handsome face she had ever seen and as cliché as this sounds, she actually felt her heart flutter in her chest. 

The man holding her was, without any doubt, every woman's wet dream. 

"Is there a problem, darling?" He asked, turning to look down at her, a Russian accent evident in his tone.

Dimitri took a sharp intake of breath as his eyes met hers. She had violet coloured eyes with a light grey rim surrounding her eyeballs which highlighted her eyes, making them look almost ethereal. She had the most unusual pair of eyes he'd had the pleasure of seeing and he'd be lying if he said that they didn't make her look any more beautiful than she already was. He was so lost in looking into her eyes that he almost missed the pecan haired guy saying- slurring- something.

"Dude, back off. She's mine." The pecan haired guy said and he almost smiled when he heard the girl he didn't know the name of, yet, snort at that.

"Yeah, right." Trinity murmured with a snort and an eye roll , every word dripping with sarcasm. Though she was happy for the little distraction because she was sure if it hadn't been for the small interruption, she would still be staring into his dark eyes.

"Now, is she?" Dimitri asked, raising an eyebrow challengingly. 

He was about to walk up to the girl when he saw the drunk a-hole putting his arms around her waist and stopped abruptly. The pang of jealousy that hit him when he saw another man touching her surprised him, but he knew that if she was here with that man, he wasn't going to approach her. 

Hope surged through his veins when she pushed him away and he marched forward, ready to put the a-hole in his place if he tried to touch her again without her permission. From what he had seen, he knew for sure she wasn't here with him and she definitely wasn't his.

"Yeah." The pecan haired guy stated and Trinity raised an eyebrow at him, somehow finding the whole situation amusing. She turned her head to the side to gauge the reaction of the hunk holding her.

Much to her surprise, he smirked. 

Apparently, she wasn't the only one finding the whole situation amusing. 

In fact, Dimitri was having a hard time trying not to smile.

He removed his hand from around the girl's waist and took a step forward, immediately missing the warmth of her body and how snugly she fit against him. 

Trinity too couldn't help but feel disappointed at the loss of his arm around her waist but she wasn't sure why.

She simply watched as the hot specimen of male species who made her feel things no one ever made her feel with just a single look, cracked his knuckles, towering over the pecan haired guy as he pinned him with an icy cold glare. 

"Let's try that again, shall we?" Dimitri said, when he was sure he had the guy where he wanted him- scared and intimidated by him. 

"Whoa, dude, I don't want a scene here. You can have her if you want." The pecan haired guy said, raising his hands in surrender.

Dimitri nodded once, satisfied by his answer. He watched as the guy scurried away as quickly as his legs could carry him.

He turned around when he heard the girl chuckle behind him.

He merely raised an eyebrow at her in question. "Oh sorry, his expression got me." She said, smiling a little and he took that time to take in her features.

She had high defined cheekbones, and an elegant nose with her dark blonde bands covering her forehead. Her crescent shaped brows inclined slightly as she looked at him. Her puffy heart shaped lips glistened under the faint lighting and he felt a sudden urge to cover them with his own to see if they were as soft as they looked. He dismissed the thought as soon as it came, mentally shaking his head at himself. He couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful she was. She had an easy going aura about her that had him hooked and pair that with her hour glass figure and her stance that was practically oozing confidence, Dmitri was sure he had never met a woman as enigmatic as she was.

"You're beautiful." He heard himself say.

"You're hot." She said with a shrug.

"Just because I complimented you doesn't mean you have to compliment me in return. A thank you would've sufficed." He said, quickly getting over his momentary shock of how easily she ignored his compliment, almost as if she hadn't heard him and told him he was hot, instead. 

"Its true though." She said, shrugging yet again.

Dimitri shook his head with a smile and extended his hand for her to shake, "Dimitri Kaverin." He introduced himself, gauging her reaction carefully when he said his name, looking for any sign of recognition. 

He knew his name was pretty famous and most of the people knew him but she didn't show any signs of recognition. She simply shook his hand and said, "Nice to meet you."

Trinity deliberately didn't tell him her name, just because she wanted to see what he'd do. Though, she couldn't quite shake the feeling that the name sounded too familiar, as if she'd heard it quite a lot of times before.

He waited for her to continue but when she didn't, he said, "I believe this is the part where you introduce yourself and tell me your name." He tried to laugh it off but Trinity could tell he really wanted to know her name.

So she decided to tell him, "Trinity Johnson." 

Dimitri nodded, "Nice name." He commented, then continued after a short pause," Can I buy you a drink then, Trinity? "

She shook her head, 'no'. "I don't drink." She replied politely.

Dimitri cocked his head to the side, she did look young, was she old enough to drink? "Not old enough to drink yet?" He asked.

"I am." She told him, jutting her chin out stubbornly, an action which reminded him of his mother. 

It was Trinity's twenty first birthday today so it hadn't been long since she'd become old enough to have a drink or two, but he didn't need to know that. "I'm not a fan of drinking is all." She added with a one shouldered shrug.

"Okay." He nodded in understanding.

"So, what do you want?" Not one to beat around the bush and always one to speak what was on her mind, she asked.

Dimitri cocked an eyebrow at that. "What makes you think I'm here just because I want something from you?"

"Look, I don't do one night stands, so if you're looking for one of those, get a move on." She told him, ignoring what he said all together because they both knew that what he just said was complete and utter bullshit. 

He was obviously there because he wanted something from her, that much was clear to Trinity. But if that something was a one night stand, she wasn't going to do it, no matter how hot, sexy, mouth watering, delicious, or insanely handsome he was.

Dimitri understood it at once that she had seen straight through his lie so he didn't say anything about her completely ignoring his question. But he couldn't help but chuckle at how she had blatantly told him that she wasn't interested in one night stands. 

"Trust me milaya, I don't do one night stands either." He told her with what looked like a genuine smile to Trinity.

She took a step back and gave him a once over, taking in the designer jeans that hung low on his hips and his tight v neck shirt which clung to his frame like second skin, showing his well built muscles and a patch of black ink that started on the skin just above the elbow of his left arm and disappeared into the fabric of his shirt. Then she raised an eyebrow at him, as if to say 'Oh, really?'

Dimitri was quick to answer the unasked question, "Really."

She nodded but didn't look like she trusted him. "Seriously, what's the deal? What exactly are you here for?"

He regarded her for a moment. She was pretty, gorgeous would be the right word and from what he'd come to know about her personality from this short conversation of theirs, he knew she was a pretty straight forward person and spoke what was on her mind instead of beating around the bush, which was something he admired. 

Though with the way she was dancing, like she didn't have a care in the world, she didn't look like she was in need of money, so he wasn't quite sure if she was going to accept his proposal. But it won't hurt to give it a try, right?

So he went ahead and said it,"I want you to marry me Trinity Johnson."