He Chose Her Anyway

Undecided - 3

Dante

God she’s beautiful.

When did that happen?

And her foot… God… when did she become such a temptress? I know her. She’s always been sweet, innocent, too smart for her own good, but I never imagined the baby girl Anya held in her arms when Dima first introduced me to his family would ever have her foot pressed against my thigh like this.

I cleared my throat but my voice still comes out hoarse as I shifted my focus to Misha, her younger brother, my godson. “Misha, when is your next game? If I’m still in town I’d like to come watch.”

Her toes are still tracing little circles on my inner thigh. I slip my hand under the table to rest on her ankle. It takes everything in me not to tug her leg so she can feel exactly what she’s doing to me. I’m rock hard for her. I want her so bad. My eyes flick to her because she’s licking her goddamn lips. I’m only half paying attention as Misha tells me he has a game Friday night and that his coach might have him as the starting running back, and something about the other team’s quarterback… f**k I bet her lips are soft. I wonder what it would feel like to kiss her. If her reaction to me earlier is any indication I bet she’d practically melt. “I’ll be there. Do I need to buy a ticket?” I ask absently

I think back to her seventeenth birthday party. Dima had rented the outdoor pool at the Russian community centre for her and her friends. She was in a yellow bikini, all legs and curves. I stopped dead when I locked eyes on her. That was the moment I started to see her differently. I felt disgusted with myself. But the way she’d wrapped her lips around a popsicle, the way she’d flushed when it dripped onto her chest between those perfect breasts. I’d dove straight into the pool before anyone noticed that I’d gotten rock hard looking at her. Dima would kill me.

The thought pulls me back to reality and I glance at him. Dima has no idea his daughter is toying her foot along my thigh or that my pants tented because of it. I have no doubt he’d stab his fork into my hand if her realized it. He’s started asking Misha more about how this season is going. Misha is in tenth grade, two years behind Katya. He’s a good kid. Not as good in school as Katya, but most kids aren’t. My grip tightens on her ankle, stilling her foot. Kid. She’s a kid. She might be 18 now but I still shouldn’t be thinking about her like this.

That doesn’t mean I don’t feel disappointed a few moments later when Katya pulls her foot away and stands to help her mother clear the dishes away. I fight the urge to watch her walk away and instead turn to Dima as he starts asking me about the business opportunity I mentioned in San Francisco. I’ve been thinking about expanding my Logistics firm out west for years. When Dima told me Katya was looking at Oregon State and Stanford I started looking more seriously at what that expansion would look like. And then I got word that a mid-size company Golden Gate Freight Systems was looking to sell. The owner wants to retire and his son doesn’t want to take over. That’s where I was on this most recent business trip. I think I can talk the old man down to a decent price. I’m explaining this as Katya and Anya come back into the dining room with a pot of tea and a medovik (honey cake).

Katya goes back to the kitchen for mugs and plates. She starts pouring us all tea. My fingers graze hers as she passes me a piping hot mug. I bite my tongue when her cheeks pink. She flushes so beautifully. It makes me want to do it more.

“This is delicious Anya” I compliment as I take a bite of the honey cake. When Katya takes a bite she moans softly. I almost choke.