by Blake Haugen
“Would you still kiss me if I looked like this, Vanya?” she asked coquettishly. Persephone donned a bubble beard of Santa proportions. He wasn’t even sure how she got it to stay like that.
“Hell, yeah. That and then some.” Vanya bent to give her a zealous kiss, but was thwarted when bubbles flew up his nose. Persephone had a conniption when he backed up and sneezed. She wiped her beard away and began to cry and hold her stomach.
“Hah! Hah, oh, man, my stomach hurts. I think that’ll be my workout today. Geez,” she giggled and wheezed uncontrollably.
“Yeah, laugh it up, babe. You’re getting the workout of your life in a second,” Vanya snuffed.
“Call your sister back first and tell her I’m coming. You told her it would only be two minutes.” Persephone waved as she fought for composure. She gripped the side of the tub to hold herself up.
Vanya called Lina back and quickly confirmed Persephone’s attendance. He silenced his phone and hers when he replaced it on the charger in the bedroom. Nothing was going to disturb him for the next few hours.
“So, it’s official,” he said, reentering the bathroom. “You’re meeting the family.”
Persephone simply nodded. She’d sat up on her knees and water glistened and dripped down her rich brown skin. Mesmerized at once, he barely heard her when she beckoned him over to her.
“Come here, I want you clean before we start.”
After he stepped in the water she kept him from sitting and began to wash him. She sponged slowly from his feet to his abdomen, giving amorous care to his cock and balls. She maintained eye contact with him as her hands glided over his skin and he fought to behave and remain still. He placed his hands in her tied up hair and tried to concentrate on its softness to keep from forcing his dick down her throat.
When he was rinsed at last, Persephone gingerly slipped his hard, weeping cock into her mouth and began to suck. Vanya’s muscles jerked in relief and excitement. It felt so fucking good. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he hissed as he faced the ceiling. “I fucking love vacation.”
Chapter Four
May 25, 2013
“Oh, my god. Why did I wear these shoes? I’m dying!” Finn whispered desperately. The four-inch designer heels clicked audibly on the marble floor as she struggled for comfort.
“Yeah, I thought there were like pews or something. Here, just lean on me or take them off for a second. No one will see,” Lauren replied taking Finn’s arm.
“Shh, I love this music. It’s amazing,” Persephone murmured. She scooted to the side to see more of the action up front.
The three women stood amid the group of guests that gathered to watch Lina and Austin marry. Like many Russian Orthodox churches, the wedding venue had no benches or pews for seating. Everyone stood and smiled on as Vanya and Cousin Teddy held crowns above Lina and Austin’s heads as the priest read aloud from the second chapter of the gospel of John. Soon after, the bride and groom drank from a common cup of sweet wine and a group of five singers filled the church with a beautiful Russian hymn. The priests, the couple, and their attendants began to circle a table adorned with flowers, candles, and religious objects.
Lina looked every bit the gorgeous supermodel in the gown Finn had helped her choose. Persephone and Finn had gone to Lina’s last two dress fittings and helped her get a dress that wasn’t as puffy and extravagant as Peng’s pick for the bride. The three had gotten on well and since that time Lina had invited Persephone and Vanya to dinner with her and Austin several times.
There were hums and gasps of awe when Lina had floated down the aisle with her husband-to-be at her side. Her strapless white gown had a sweetheart neckline and peplum waist of embroidered lace. A swath of chiffon hugged her hips, glided over her long legs, and trailed behind her. During the ceremony the priest took time to note that Lina was the most beautiful bride he had ever seen. The guests had all laughed when Austin took that opportunity to tug her closer to him.
“I have no idea what’s going on. Church is so weird,” Lauren scrunched her eyebrows and stared at the procession as if it would make things clearer to her.
“It’s called the Dance of Isaiah. The priest is holding their hands together with his left hand and holding up the Gospel with right. They’re gonna process around that table three times and then it’s nearly over,” Persephone explained.
“What? Studying up for when it’s your turn?” Finn goaded as she slipped out of her heels.
“You just concentrate on your feet,” Persephone quipped back. She tried to suppress a smile as Lauren and Finn snickered at her.
Soon enough, the bride and groom’s crowns were removed. They kissed and were announced Mr. and Mrs. Marion Austin Kittredge III.
“God grant you many years, God grant you many years, God grant you many, many years,” the priest sang out two times. “Everyone, sing together! God grant you many years, God grant you many years, God grant you many, many years!”
The priest said a few more words when the next verse was over and then began to sing another song, this time in Russian. Austin and Lina made their way out of the church hand in hand, smiling all the way. Cousin Teddy, who turned out to be a fairly handsome recent college graduate, followed them. Vanya was next. He knew all the words to the chant the choir sang. Persephone could hear the deep bass of his voice as he came closer.
She had no idea what was being sung, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. Vanya stared at only her as he made his way down the aisle with a look of hunger and determination. His gaze was heated. He quickly took her hand and squeezed it as he moved past her, leaving Persephone stunned, as well as the focus of several guests’ attention.
“Man,” Lauren sighed, “he just eye-fucked the shit out of you.”
Finn gasped and swatted her girlfriend’s arm, commenting that she was too much. Persephone felt her cheeks and ears heat with embarrassment. She couldn’t bring herself to deny Lauren’s statement when it was so obviously true. Persephone felt pride, too. Crazy foreign relatives and mean dad or not, in that moment, she was proud to be his woman.
She’d use that thought to give her confidence throughout the reception. There was also Finn and Lauren to stand by and keep her company. Vanya had more than made his support clear. As they exited the church with the rest of the group, Persephone took in a deep breath. She could do this.
☐
The wedding reception was not as big as Vanya had anticipated. His father had pretty much given Peng Lyadov free reign over the Pravdin estate outside the city. He had expected the fashion and design conscious diamantaire to host a large celebration. The celebration was small, but it was no less stunning than events he’d seen Peng put on in the past. What it lacked in size was made up for in elegance. The ballroom reception looked like something out of a dream.
Gilt chairs surrounded the guests’ large circular tables. Lights were dimmed when the meal was done. The low luminescence created a lavender tint that touched everything and complemented the hydrangea. The patio was covered in lights and served as a place to lounge, get more food, order drinks from the bar, or simply gaze at the lake on the far end of the estate. Just beyond the patio was the green grass of the estate’s grounds. Vanya was sure some teenagers had gone out there to make out. Hell, if he had his way, he and Persephone would make it out there before the night was through.
The bar was open, waiters were going around serving shots for every toast, the call of “Горько!” was constantly sounding off, and Vanya was definitely closer to drunk than sober. Kirill’s toast was awkward but kind. He said all the usual stuff about losing a daughter and gaining a son, but what surprised Vanya was the mention of his mother. Kirill never talked about Mariya, and for him to say how much he missed her and how much Lina reminded him of her mother today was a huge deal. Vanya and Lina exchanged a quick glance of astonishment, though most were none the wiser. Austin’s elderly parents gushed about how happy they were to be one step closer to b
eing grandparents. Cousin Teddy thanked Austin for being such a good example of how to be a man. Mariya’s older brother, Uncle Dmitri, was next. Vanya couldn’t stand the man and was grateful when his Aunt Vera tugged his jacket to shut him up. His absurdly long toast included three mini-toasts to Mariya, Kirill, and Russia for birthing them all. He ended his speech with, “I wish you health, joy, and prosperity! May your children have happy and rich parents! Горько!”
Austin and Lina leaned in for another mandatory kiss, but didn’t seem too bothered to do their duty. It was clear they were in love. Today, not even Kirill could begrudge them that fact.
Vanya sat between Lina and her college professor, a gregarious anthropologist who specialized in post-structural and critical theory, a field in which Lina had excelled. She’d moved on into the business of the Pravdin family instead of pursing a Ph.D. Vanya thought of how amazing his sister was. It pleased him to know that she was happy with Austin. Lina had been beaming all night, never far from Austin’s reach. The way Austin looked at Lina reminded Vanya of what he felt for Persephone and gave him hope for their future together.
Lina had graciously sat Persephone in his direct line of sight. She was seated a couple of tables back between Lauren and Yulian. If he looked past the gigantic head of Austin’s work colleague, Huang, Vanya could see Yulian shamelessly flirting with Persephone, Lauren, and Finn. Mikhail sat next to Finn, pulling himself from conversation with Eva and Sophie to watch Yulian strike out. Max sat between Sophie and Yulian, surveying the room and guests rather than enjoying his date or practicing his English. Vanya wondered what the social dynamics of that table were. Sophie was trying her best to ignore Yulian hitting on two women who were obviously a couple. Yulian was just doing it for fun; the ladies’ status was clear to anyone with some degree of gaydar. Persephone looked like she was having fun. That was all he could ask for.
The dancing finally began and Vanya was free to make contact with Persephone at last. He pulled her close to him and surprised her with his adequate dancing skills. She yelped when he nibbled at her neck and her cheeks flushed with crimson. He was suddenly filled with carnal longing. His response was somewhere between a laugh and a grunt. The warning squeeze she gave his bicep only served to harden his erection.
“Stop!” Persephone admonished him with a smile. “Your family is like, eyeballing us!”
“Yeah, zero fucks given,” he said grinning. Vanya pressed his hard-on into her and began to sloppily sway back and forth when a hip-hop song came on.
“Oh, my god, you are drunk. How can you know all that 90s R&B and have no idea how to dance to it?”
“What? I just taught you a folk dance a song or two ago! We just waltzed!”
“The folk dance was easy and you can barely waltz.”
“Hey, sweetpea, barely is there. Barely is there.”
Persephone just shook her head, put some space between them and let loose a little. Always self-conscious, she refused to get too raunchy in the presence of his family, but damn if she didn’t make him sweat. He decided to make her dance for him tonight. Before he could pull her in to tell her so, the song ended and Yulian grabbed Persephone’s hand, spinning her away.
“May I interrupt this dance? Kay, thanks, bye!” Yulian called back as he whisked Persephone to the other side of the dance floor.
“What the hell?!” Vanya started off toward his cousin. A light hand grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.
“Come on, give the girl a break. Dance with me,” Lina laughed. She turned him around and they began to move to a slow jazz number.
“I can’t believe you can dance,” Vanya quipped after he spun her away and then back in.
“I should step on your feet, then you’ll see how much I’ve learned. These shoes have pretty mean heels.”
“Heh, I was wondering why you were only two inches shorter than me.”
“I’m surprised you can notice anything. I haven’t seen you this giddy since Papa got you that BB gun when you were twelve.”
“Well,” Vanya said contentedly, “I’m happy. I’m happy for you. I’m happy that Papa hasn’t been an ass today. I wish it were always like this, you know? We should have weddings every weekend.”
“Yes,” Lina smiled, looking over to Austin. The groom was dancing with his aunt. “It’s the wonder of Weddingland.”
“Hah, I want to live in Weddingland.”
“With Persephone, huh?”
“Yeah, for sure,” Vanya replied, giving Lina a look of challenge. “You’re not calling her ‘Pretty Princess’ anymore?”
“Nah, I got to know her when we all went dress fitting and she’s really good. You should keep her.”
“That’s the plan. I’m nearly there, I think. If Papa would come around, then everything would be perfect.”
“If I’d waited for Papa to come around, I wouldn’t be wearing this dress today. Besides, you’d better hurry up. That Asian guy, the one that was with her when I first met her – he was really into her. And that guy over there, he’s been creepily eyeing her all night.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know, he’s one of Papa’s invites. God, he’s staring at her now, still. It’s so damn weird.”
“Where is he?” Vanya asked looking around the ballroom discreetly.
Lina pointed out a young white man who couldn’t have been more than a few years older than herself. “Creepy Guy” sat at a table with some other miscellaneous guests. Sure enough, his big, green eyes were trained on Persephone as Yulian twirled her around. He wasn’t tall or huge, but there was no doubt that he was pretty cut under his linen suit. The guy wasn’t staring at Persephone with lust; it was a look of determination, which upset Vanya even more. It was all he could do to continue the dance with Lina. She sensed his urgency and set him free.
“Go on and take care of it. Plenty of people want to dance with me.”
Vanya kissed his sister’s cheek and made his way over to Persephone and Yulian. He didn’t give a word of excuse before he pulled his woman off the dance floor. Vanya led them outside of the ballroom and sat them down on a quilted, cushioned bench. Instead of facing her ire, he was surprised when Persephone rushed him and kissed his breath away as she took his face in her hands. He wanted to give in to her advance, but suddenly remembered the stranger.
“Hey,” Vanya whispered, gently pulling from her kiss. “Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?”
“Maybe, baby,” Persephone rose and spun around in front of him. Her little black dress was made of silk organza with short sheer sleeves, a scoop neck, and sheer hem. The gather waist made the skirt twirl and her white topaz necklace glinted in the low light. The smile on her full, pink lips was the most enticing accessory of all. “But I know that’s not why you brought me out here.”
“Touché. Did you see that guy in there?”
“What guy?”
“Apparently, he’s been fiending on you all night. My dad invited him here. He looks at you and it creeps me out. Do you know him?”
“Nope, I didn’t even notice anything. You want me to take a look at him?”
“No,” Vanya grabbed her hand when she moved toward the entrance. “No, come sit here with me for a minute. I just want to enjoy you for a while.”
He brought her back down to the shelter of his arms and they made out with gusto. There was little traffic in and out of ballroom, so they where undisturbed. When he palmed her breast through the material of her dress he knew it was time to stop. He found himself wishing the night’s end would come so he could take her to his room in the main house. Vanya quickly chastised himself – he didn’t want this night to end!
“God, I love you so much,” he whispered against Persephone’s lips. “I love Weddingland.”
“What?”
“Don’t you want to do this? I think today is one of the best days of my life.”
Persephone chuckled lightly, “It’s not just the wedding day, you know. There’s a lifeti
me of work that comes after. We –”
Vanya cut off her words with a feverish kiss. He could still taste the Chardonnay she’d been sipping earlier blended with the flavor of chocolate and her own unique taste. After coming up for air he pecked her forehead, nose, and lips in succession. “I was already planning on that anyway. We might as well have a badass party to tell the world. Tell me you want it too, babe.”
Vanya smiled down on her somewhat sheepishly. He was never one to wait for anything with bated breath, but he was full of liquid courage. All of his emotions were hanging out, and this conversation came sooner than he had hoped. At least Persephone was smiling shyly at him. It was encouraging.
“Yeah, I want it–”
Before Persephone could finish her sentence, she went rigid in his arms. She didn’t pull away; she was just still and alert. Her gaze went past his shoulder. Her stare was set and devoid of emotion with the exception of her eyes. Persephone’s eyes were slightly narrowed in repulsion. Instinctively, Vanya’s grip on her tightened and he turned slightly to see what or who had disturbed their moment.
Creepy Guy stood with a smug grin on his face and his hands in his pockets. How long had that son of bitch been standing there? Vanya hadn’t heard a thing.
Up close, Creepy Guy seemed even more creepy. Vanya supposed the man would have been normal enough if he didn’t hover so close. His almost military haircut was basic, his height was average, and he possessed an unremarkably flat nose. It wasn’t Creepy Guy’s looks that made him stand out; it was his subtle, calculating manner. His smile was more of a sneer, as if he was trying to cover up some other emotion. His shoulders were straight. He struggled to look casual – he stuffed his beefy hands in his small pockets. His stance was strong; it would take a lot to knock him down. The large scar on the left side of his neck testified to that assertion. This was a man who had survived.
“It’s nice to see you again, Persephone,” he spoke at last. He’d paid Vanya no mind as he perused Persephone. All his attention was on her.