Danica POVI watched the windows of Dmitry’s office fade to a white foggy color for privacy just after an older man walked in and sat on the other side of his desk. He was dressed in a full suit, like it was Monday morning and not Saturday afternoon.“How did you meet Mister Hardin?” Caroline walked into the conference room with two brown paper bags in hand.She placed them on the table. They were from Luxe. The restaurant Dmitry asked her to order from.I pondered on her question for a minute. What was I going to say…’Oh I stole his bike. Wrecked his bike. And met him when I woke from my concussion.’ No. I couldn’t say that.“I met him at my dads auto garage.”She unpacked the brown bags. I could smell the food before she opened the boxes. My stomach growled and I almost thanked myself for not taking Maci up on her offer for a muffin once the interview was done.She said I could have one free pastry a day and all the coffee I wanted.“Oh. Your dad owns 360 Bike Repairs?”“No. My dad

Dmitry POVThe smell of cheap, loud perfume hit me the moment the night air crept into my home. Her beautiful red hair was pinned up in a low bun. She wore a white blouse and a tight blue skirt. Similar to her uniform.In this outfit, she reminded me of the day I first met her. No doubt that was her intention. To bring back just enough nostalgia to remind me why I ever messed with her in the first place. To drag me into her game.But right now, the only thing on my mind was, “What are you doing here, Nancy?”She peeled herself in between the tight space I created when I opened the front door. “I knew I would find you home. That assistant of yours said you were in meetings all day.”She shrugged her shoulders and held up a thin wine bottle.“Well, I couldn’t help myself. I thought, now here is a man who doesn’t know when to let loose and have a little fun.”She wasn’t wrong. I did work to much and letting loose wasn’t in my vocabulary. Or at least in the way she wanted me to. I new how

Danica POVThe next few days started and ended the same. With me rushing out the door early in the morning before Dmitry could say a word, and then with Lucas in the back corner of the coffee shop. My training shifts today and yesterday weren’t that long so we were able to start at six instead of eight, giving us more time to work on our project.We were only half way through our project which is due next Monday and it was all my fault. The first two days, I’d managed to keep Lucas talking about himself. Even tonight, it was easy to keep this attention on my questions.By now, I knew almost everything there was to know about Lucas. Right down to his birthmark on his inner thigh. He said it remined him of Texas.Lucas’s life was exciting for an eighteen year old boy. His family summered on an island outside of San Diego. Since he was always out of town for his birthday, his parents allowed him to have a back to school party and invited the whole school.It was a standing tradition that

Danica POVDmitry took me to a bar. Well not an actual bar. It was more like a souped up Chilis with loud music.Yes, there was a bar with two bartenders. And there was an eating area with servers. But there was also a very dancefloor. Never seen a Chilis with a dancefloor and dim lighting.The music shifted from early Rock Bands to Rap groups, all early 2000’s era.A few people danced, but mostly it people gathered at the surrounding tables and just talked loudly.When he said Bar, I thought I would be the youngest person there. But from the few black and red uniforms around place, I could tell there were some students from the boarding school not far from town. This made me nervous. If the boarding school kids were here, my fellow classmates were not far behind.We took a seat at a well lit table and waited for a waiter to greet us. We didn’t have to wait long. Soon after we took our seat, a bouncy young woman came toward us. With her head focused on her notepad, she said. “What

Danica POVAs soon as they left, Dmitry turned his focus to me, but he didn’t say a word. His eyes just buried themselves deep inside my soul. Like they always did when he looked at me.I took a small bite of pizza and waited for the questions to roll in. He’d seen me before with my classmate Angel. He knew firsthand how irritatingly cruel she could be. But her accusing me of stealing was somehow different from her drawing attention to my personal decisions in life.“Are you okay?”I looked down, not ready to make eye contact with him. “They’re just…”He cut me off. “Bullies…I get it.”I shook my head. “Highschool is …”“Almost over…I know.” He finished my sentence again.I know what he wants to say. He wants to repeat the question I failed to answer. I just wanted to make sure when I said the words, I actually meant it. “I’m okay.”Still curious about Lucas’s actions, I turned to face the direction they walked toward. The group settled in a corner. It didn’t take long to find the boy