SERENDIPITY | BOOK 1

E I G H T

Its been just over three weeks since Bryn and I moved to New York, and the last three weeks have been so healing, and full of love. Bryn was adopted last week and is officially a Russo, Alexei and I have been spending a lot of time together, and my dad and brothers have been working their asses off trying to heal my inner child.

School is going really well too- and I've truly never been happier. I honestly think Alexei is playing a huge part in this. Things are so natural with him, and I hope that this connection continues to grow. We're actually headed out on a little date today, and Bryn is going to cover for me so that I can enjoy it without a phone call from my dad or brothers every 5 minutes.

Its still really early, just past 3am actually- but I can't sleep. I'm so excited for our date, I can't wait to see what he has planned- but I know that we'll be out all day and probably won't have much time for rest. Deciding to get a few hours of sleep to energize- I shut my eyes and start to think of a life we could have together, before finally falling asleep.

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Waking a few hours later- it's a bit of a more acceptable time to start getting ready for the day. I have a feeling today is going to be good, and as that thought is motivating me to get into the shower- my phone rings with an incoming FaceTime call from Alexei. I launch back across the bed with a huge smile and grab my phone- swiping across the screen and making his perfect face appear.

"Heyyy" I say as I answer the phone and my cheeks start to hurt from how much I'm smiling.

"Hey Sunshine. What are you up to right now?" he replies with a small smile.

I smile at the nickname, even as my face flushes. "Nothing much, I was just about to hop in the shower and start getting ready for our date. What about you?"

"Oh I'm not up to anything important. Can I join you?" he asks, a silly smirk playing on his face.

I look at him with my mouth open- a bit shocked, as a smile tries to make its way onto my face. When he sees this- he laughs which ultimately forces me to smile and playfully roll my eyes.  Nonetheless, we did end up staying on the phone for the rest of the morning- chatting and flirting, as I got ready for the day, and our date.

An hour later, my phone buzzed with an incoming text from Alexei, letting me know he was outside. I smiled, and grabbed my phone and wallet before heading downstairs. Dad stopped when he saw me, and asked where I was headed- so I told him I was going to the bookstore so I could start stocking my shelves with some of my favourite books. The expression on his face was saying that he didn't believe me- but he let me leave with no more questions.

When I got outside, Alexei was waiting outside of his car with the passenger door open for me. As I walked his way- I gave him a smile, and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek before sliding into the car. My nerves raced as he shut my door and rounded the car- unsure if I should have done that. We hadn't kissed yet, and I was second guessing that small action- worried that maybe the things I was feeling weren't being reciprocated, and that maybe I got too ahead of myself.

Yet when Alexei got into the driver's seat and looked over at me, all of those fears washed away- because I saw in his eye's what I knew was already present in mine. And even though we couldn't say the words yet, for right now- living them was enough.

Alexei and I spent the day together having an amazing time. We did in fact go to the bookstore- where he bought all of my favourite books for me. We also went to mini golf, an art museum, and grabbed a late lunch at, what is actually one of my restaurants in the city. We had so much fun together- and on the drive back we still had so much to talk about.

It was still pretty early by the time Alexei and I got back to the house, and thankfully- it appeared as though no one was home. Parking the car- Alexei hopped out and came to open my door, grabbing my hand and helping me out before grabbing all of my new books. I chuckled a little bit and unlocked the door to house- inviting him inside, and upstairs to my bedroom.

Although hesitant at first- he did eventually follow me, and we spent almost two hours on the floor of my bedroom, organizing the books onto my bookshelf as we talked. I can't believe how easily conversation came for us, and how we never ran out of things to talk about. It was like we had been waiting forever for each other.

Eventually though- he did have to head home, and after walking him to the door, and leaving him with a quick kiss on the cheek, he was back in his car and leaving with instructions to let me know when he was home.

It was 30 minutes later when I finally got that text and a weight was lifted off my chest.

            Alexei: Hi детка, I'm home. Safe and sound. (baby)

            Me: Good.

            Me: Thank you for today. I had a lot of fun :)

            Alexei: Anything for you любовь, I had a lot of fun too. (love)

We talked for a few more minutes before there was a knock on my door, and Bryn walked inside. "Hey, how was your date?' she asks, a teasing smile on her face. A blush takes over my face at the question, and I shake my head.

"It was NOT a date. We just hung out and talked a bit, grabbed some food- purely platonic" I say. Completely denying the fact that it was, in fact a date. Bryn looked at me- unamused, and as we spent another hour catching each other up on our days- I couldn't help but think about where we started.

Not wanting to dwell on that too long, I grabbed Bryn's hand and yanked her out of the bed and down the stairs- right into the pantry. We grabbed probably half of the snacks before heading back upstairs and into my bedroom, settling on the bed with everything from chips to ice cream surrounding us. We spent the rest of the night giggling and chatting, and watching stupid silly rom coms before eventually deciding to tuck down for the night.

As we both got comfortable under the duvet, I grabbed Bryn's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I love you Bryn. I know that boyfriends weren't ever something we really wanted- and even though it hasn't happened yet, I want you to know that I'm never going to leave you. You'll never be alone because it's you and I until the end. I promise."

I watched as a tear fell from her eye, and I quickly wiped it away with my thumb as she sniffled. "I love you too Mara. You and I, until the end." Bryn squeezed my hand one last time before we both drifted to sleep, and in the morning when the sun had risen- we still hadn't let each other go.