by Alexis Daria
But Naomi wanted to go to the party, and since Rhianne was Jess’s friend and coworker, that meant Jess had to take her.
“Fine,” she said with a sigh, shuffling her papers into a folder. “We’ll go.”
Naomi cheered and pumped her fist. “Lucky for you, I have a plethora of Christmas junk we can wear.”
Jess hid her face behind the folder. “Oh, joy.”
A few hours later, dressed in a green t-shirt with “Lit As a Christmas Tree” emblazoned across the chest, Jess showed up at Rhianne’s craftsman-style house with Naomi at her side.
Naomi had not been kidding about her Christmas t-shirt collection. Jess had vetoed a red tee with “Ho³” on it, and another that showed a plate of cookies with the words, “I Put Out For Santa.” You thought you knew a person, and then you found out they had that in their closet.
Naomi had opted for a red tee that said, “Naughty Girls Get More Presents,” and added a Santa hat over her long box braids. Yeah, she looked cute, but Jess had drawn the line at the sparkly plush antlers Naomi tried to push on her.
Oh, lord. Speaking of antlers…
Rhianne rushed over to greet them, her dark auburn curls floating around her like a wispy cloud. “Jess! I’m so glad you could make it,” she gushed, the words extra charming in her Australian accent. Her rosy skin glowed with excitement, alcohol, and a fair helping of glitter smeared on her cheekbones.
“Um…thanks…” Look away look away look—
It was no use. Jess stared openly at Rhianne’s chest. Well, at one side of it, anyway. Luckily, Naomi picked up the thread of conversation and introduced herself. She seemed completely unbothered by Rhianne’s appearance, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
Rhianne wore a red tank top, but part of it was missing. One of her pale breasts was bared, and it was…decorated. Like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Freaking Reindeer.
A sparkly red pastie covered Rhianne’s nipple, but attached to the tip was a round, glittering red “nose.” Above it, two googly eyes had been stuck to Rhianne’s bare skin, and above those were a pair of brown felt antlers.
“I need a drink,” Jess muttered. It was the only way she’d survive this night.
“I’ll show you where the bar is set up,” Rhianne chirped, and herded them toward the dining room like a good reindeer hostess.
“I don’t think I can do this,” Jess whispered to Naomi, who had the nerve to laugh.
As they moved through the party, Jess scanned the crowd for familiar faces, waving to the people she knew as she followed her friends to the bar.
One face in particular caught her eye and she froze, breath seizing in her chest.
Unbidden, a hot flush of desire unfurled in her belly.
She grabbed Naomi and Rhianne to bring them to a halt and spoke from the corner of her mouth. “Remember that guy I kissed at New Year’s Eve?”
Naomi frowned. “Yeah?”
“And remember how I said he’s been leaving heart emojis on all my social media posts over the last few months?”
“So romantic,” Rhianne said with a sigh.
Jess didn’t say so, but she thought it was sweet, too. “Well, he’s here.”
Rhianne squealed. Like, straight-up squealed with delight. “Ooh, where is he? Do I know him?”
“Um, yeah.” Jess squeezed her eyes shut. “He’s Dimitri Kovalenko’s younger brother.”
“Nik?” Rhianne grabbed Jess’s arm, bare left breast jiggling. It took all of Jess’s power not to stare at her friend’s Rudolph boob, despite the fact that it was staring at her. “Nik is the one who kissed you last year?”
“Yep.” Or was it this year? Technically this year, since it had happened after the clock struck midnight.
“Where is he?” Naomi craned her neck, grilling everyone at the party with an eagle-eyed glare.
“Over there.” Jess pointed surreptitiously across the room to where Nik chatted with his brother, Dimitri, one of the former judges on The Dance Off.
Rhianne leaned in close, and that damn Rudolph nose tapped Jess’s elbow. She held back a flinch. She had no problem with boobs, but boobs dressed up with reindeer faces were creepy as fuck. “Are you going to kiss him again?”
Naomi leaned in on the other side. “You should totally kiss him again.”
Jess scrunched up her shoulders and stepped away from both of them before Rudolph could bite her. “How the hell do I have devils on both shoulders? Isn’t Christmas about angels or some shit?”
Rhianne scoffed. “No. Christmas is about parties and presents. Obviously.” She gestured at the revelry around them.
Despite her defensiveness, Jess eyed Nik speculatively. No, she definitely wouldn’t mind kissing him again. He wasn’t very tall, maybe five-foot-ten, but she was so petite that super tall dudes made her look like a child when she stood next to them.
Nik was a nice, normal kind of tall, with a body that was anything but normal or nice. He had the kind of build that would make her grandma drool. Broad shoulders, lean muscles that were cut and sinewy, and a sense of boundless energy about him. The ballroom guys she’d grown up around were strong but slim, and the ones on The Dance Off tended to bulk up more for TV. Nik was a different sort of dancer, one used to leaping and bounding across the stage. He seemed to take on shows that required a ton of physicality and movement.
Okay, so she’d looked up his work history. And fine, yes, she had stalked his social media, too.
It wasn’t just his body that appealed. He had a nice face, too. Amber brown eyes that could easily be described as “soulful,” if one were the romantic sort, which she was not. Brown hair with a tendency to curl. An olive-toned complexion and an easy smile, bright against a few day’s growth of dark facial hair. He kept it trimmed neat and short, but she’d seen from his pictures that he sometimes shaved it, depending on the role.
She knew the beard was soft, though. And his lips. Mmm, his lips. Those were soft, too.
Liquid heat rolled through her. Damn it. Yes, she so wanted to kiss him again. And maybe more.
Okay, jeez, who was she kidding? Definitely more.
“Looks like you’re thinking about playing with his jingle bells,” Naomi said suggestively.
“Don’t be gross.” Still, Jess grabbed a mint and her cherry lip balm from her purse. She wasn’t going to seek Nik out, but if he found her, what would it hurt to be ready? Just in case.
Nik had arrived at Rhianne’s party with his brother and his brother’s girlfriend Natasha, decked out in homemade ugly sweater chic.
Most of Nik’s stuff was still in storage, so any weirdo Christmas attire he might have once owned was unavailable. He’d officially moved out of Dimitri’s house over the summer, despite the fact that he was currently staying in his old room during this visit.
Dimitri and Natasha didn’t own Christmas sweaters, either, so they’d all hit up the craft store that morning and spent the afternoon making their own outfits. Tash wore a green tank top with fake poinsettias and holly hot-glued to it. Mitya had rigged a battery pack to some colorful Christmas lights and wrapped them around his black velvet blazer. It was oddly fitting for a guy who always wanted to be center of attention.
Mitya and Tash had seemed to be having fun together while crafting, so Nik had just grabbed some accessories and left them to it. As a result, his costume was pretty simple.
“Don’t hit on Rhianne,” Dimitri warned Nik. “She’s the hostess.”
Nik called him a rude name in Russian. “I don’t hit on women. I’m nice to them. It’s different.”
Anyway, Nik had no intention of hitting on Rhianne. His whole reason for being at this party was to hopefully see Jess again. He hadn’t reached out to her over the summer, when he was last in LA, although he’d thought about it. But then again, a few months ago he’d been content to travel the world, indulging the wanderlust Jess had accused him of and giving no thought to settling down. He’d always felt like he was searching for som
ething, and if he could just travel enough, meet enough people, have enough experiences, he’d find it. But now, the search just didn’t interest him the same way it once had.
Dimitri rolled his eyes, but Natasha nodded.
“It’s true,” she said. “He just treats women like people. But he’s so handsome, it seems like flirting.”
“Spasibo, sestra,” Nik said, making her smile. Tash had been studying Russian for a few months, so she understood simple phrases like “thanks, sis.”
Nik suspected Dimitri was probably going to marry Natasha sooner rather than later. She and Dimitri had worked together on The Dance Off for years, dating on and off before Natasha finally moved in with him a few months ago. Since then, Dimitri had mellowed out, and it was nice to see him happier and not as brooding. It made Nik wonder if all that traveling, all that searching, was just keeping him stuck in “search” mode. If he was fixated on the search, he wasn’t going to find whatever he was looking for. Maybe he had to settle first, so he’d be ready when it showed up for him.
It didn’t help that when he thought of settling down, his brain automatically replayed the kiss he’d shared with Jess on New Year’s, and the conversation after.
There was something there, something between them, and he didn’t think it was one-sided. He hadn’t imagined the way she’d responded to his kiss, and he was still kicking himself for turning down her invitation to go back to the party with her. They could have spent the rest of the night dancing, getting to know each other, maybe cuddling and kissing more.
He’d never know.
In the last few months, ever since Nik had found out that the Seize the Night national tour was ending in mid-December, he’d been trying to give Jess hints. He’d liked all her Instagram posts—mostly promo and behind the scenes shots from The Dance Off, along with dance classes she taught, yoga poses, and the group home where she volunteered—and left brief comments with lots of emojis, but she wasn’t biting. He hadn’t wanted to push it, since he’d been away and didn’t want to come off like a creep. But now that he was back in LA, he wanted to see her in person, to find out if they really did have the spark he’d felt all those months ago. When Mitya had told him about this party, he’d figured there was a good chance Jess would be here, too.
Nik accepted a beer from Dimitri, raised the bottle to his lips, and then…there she was. Right there, standing at the other end of the house, chatting with two other women. A rush of emotion overwhelmed him, comprised of every good thing—joy and light and sparkles, and the sugary-sweet scent of cherries.
That kind of feeling didn’t come along often. Hell, he’d been chasing it for years, to no avail. He needed to follow it. Because this, this feeling, was what he’d been searching for all along. His brother might tease him for being a romantic, but Mitya could probably confirm that this was how you felt when you saw someone and just knew you were meant for each other.
He shoved the beer back into his brother’s hand.
Mitya glanced at him, startled. “What, you don’t want it?”
Nik didn’t answer. Instead, he launched himself through the crowd, dodging dancers and actors in all sorts of ridiculous getups, his eyes focused solely on Jess. The closer he got, the more his heart sang in his chest.
Yes. Yes. Her.
Yeah, he was a fucking romantic. Who cared? When it was right, it was right.
He stopped behind her, grinning like a fool. “Jess.”
“Nik!” She turned, surprise and pleasure on her face, and gave him a small smile. “Hi.”
God, she was pretty. The last time he’d seen her ran on a loop through his mind. He said the words he’d spoken to her then, with a slight variation, hoping she remembered.
“Hey. You still single? Wanna kiss?”
Her eyes widened, her nostrils flared, and both of her friends sucked in their breaths with loud, excited gasps. One of them was Rhianne, and…was that her tit? What the heck was—?
Jess rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand. “Come on, you. We’ve gotta talk.” Then she dragged him away from her friends, who collapsed into giggles behind them.
Well, shit. So much for being charming.
Holding his hand, Jess pulled Nik away before he could say some other foolish thing in front of Naomi and Rhianne. Lord. She was never going to hear the end of it from them now.
Nik’s hand was big, his fingers strong but gentle as they gripped hers. How was it that she knew the shape of his mouth, but not his hand?
Jess had been to Rhianne’s house plenty of times, so she knew the layout. She led Nik into the hall just outside Rhianne’s office, but didn’t go inside. Locking them in a room together would lead to kissing, and she wanted to talk to him first.
Once she was reasonably sure they were alone and not likely to be overheard, she crossed her arms and tilted her head at him, sending him an “explain yourself” glare.
He just grinned at her, a silly, sweet grin that made her feel warm all over. Damn, this man was just too attractive.
And…what was he wearing?
His white sleeveless tank showed off arm muscles made for licking, but he’d also hooked a couple small red Christmas tree baubles onto it. The dangling ornaments—positioned right over his nips—had tiny bells attached that jingled when he moved.
It was utterly ridiculous. But somehow completely sexy. And, thank goodness, there were no Rudolph faces in sight.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi yourself. What was that all about?” She jerked her head to the side, indicating what he’d just said in front of her friends.
“Ah, that.” Cheeks red, he rubbed the back of his neck, making his bells tinkle. That adorable boy blush threatened to weaken her resolve.
“I saw you,” he continued. “And then all I could think about was the last time I saw you and what I said then. Do you remember—”
“Yeah, I remember.” How could she forget a kiss like that, and the moments leading up to it? She’d wanted to keep going, to rub herself all over him, but then he’d announced that he was leaving the next morning. The kiss had been fun, but that was all. No chance for anything more.
Just like all her other attempts at forming a meaningful romantic connection.
“So, that’s it?” she said. “You wanna know if I’m still single and down for fucking around before you leave again tomorrow?”
He held up both hands and shook his head with a vigorous motion. “No. Not at all. I mean, I do want to know if you’re single, but not for that reason. And I’m not leaving tomorrow.”
Not tomorrow, but likely at some point. Since her arms were already crossed, she crossed them tighter. “What reason, then?”
Taking a deep breath, he spoke slowly, like he wasn’t completely sure about what he was doing. “I…really liked kissing you. And talking to you.”
She raised an eyebrow. His awkwardness was endearing as fuck, and it was hard to stay annoyed at him, but she needed to sort this out before it went any further.
Nik’s shoulders hunched a bit, like he was embarrassed, and the rest of his words came out in an earnest rush. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, Jess. All year. I want to see if this thing that I feel… Well, I want to know if you feel it, too. And if so, then…let’s give this a try.”
He paused, waiting for her to speak, but his shy, stilted declaration of intent had stolen her breath and her voice.
This was, by far, the most romantic thing that had ever happened to her in all her twenty-three years. Who didn’t like having a handsome, sexy man tell you he liked you? But it was also unexpected and, she could admit, more than a little overwhelming.
“What’s ‘this’?” she finally asked.
He waved a hand between them. “Us.”
Us. As if they were already an us, a them, a unit. Nerves tangled with excitement inside her. But the nerves reminded her that this wasn’t someone who’d stick around. Hell, he’d already taken off once before. After plant
ing a panty-melting kiss on her, he’d basically said, “Sorry, gotta pack,” and shipped off. And while she was down for another brief lip lock with him, she wasn’t about to get emotionally invested.
In her experience, people their age—and all the guys she’d dated in the entertainment industry since moving to Los Angeles when she was twenty—just wanted to play games in between gigs. How many times had she heard it before, after her heart was already involved? This is just for fun. You knew that, right? And then they were gone—to the next show, the next performance, the next woman. She was a magnet for fuckboys.
And Nik was no different.
“What’s with all the heart emojis?” she asked, changing the subject and trying to keep her tone stern so he wouldn’t see how much he’d already affected her.
He cheeks turned red again. “I’m not allowed to like your pictures?”
She planted her hands on her hips. “Whatever you’re up to, it’s not happening. You wanna kiss again right now? Fine. You’re a great kisser. But that’s it. You shrugged me off last year, and I’m not about that ‘girl in every port’ life, buddy. If you think I’m gonna sit around waiting for your ass to show up and then drop everything when you decide you wanna play, you’ve got another thing coming.”
His gaze was intent, like he was really listening to her every word and considering what she said.
“I don’t want that either,” he said, and damn if his voice wasn’t sincere. “You deserve better than that.”
She raised an eyebrow, covering the rush of pleasure his words gave her with a sheen of always-reliable attitude. “So, what do you want?”
He spread his hands. “We’re both off work for a little while. Let’s make the most of it—spend time together, get to know each other better.”
“To what end?”
The look he gave her was so intense, she almost swallowed her tongue. “As far as you’re willing to go.”
What was he saying? Would he stay in Los Angeles—for her? According to his social media posts, he’d been having a blast traveling the great wide world. She shook off the mushy feelings his words inspired. He talked a good game, but she wasn’t about to make this mistake again.