We’re walking. Actually walking. Like a couple. Not just having s*x. We are holding hands down a quiet Moscow street.
I’m trying not to squeal, but I can’t help it. I want to. Every time I glance at Aleksei, he’s already watching me. Oh my God. Is he in love with me or something?
“What are you thinking about?” he asks, giving me a smile I’m sure I’ve never seen on his face before.
Now that I think about it… Alek rarely smiles. But tonight, he’s smiled, multiple times. And at me.
I feel like I hit the jackpot. Like I won some secret lottery every time he does it.
It’s such a small thing. And yet, it makes me so happy.
“Nothing,” I lie, walking barefoot now. My feet started hurting earlier, so I took off my shoes. He’s carrying them in his other hand, while still holding mine.
I raise
