Chapter - 3

"I want you to marry me."

It wasn't a question, it wasn't a request, it was an order. But there was just something about the way Dimitri said it that didn't make it look like he was demanding something from her, but then again, it wasn't as if he had asked her if she wanted to marry him. 

Trinity couldn't quite decide how to react to it. It wasn't everyday that people, strangers, come to her and tell her that they want to marry her and hot as hell strangers none the less.

She regarded him thoughtfully for a moment. The first thought that crossed her mind was that he was joking but the look on his face said that he was very much serious about it. 

Dimitri stared back at her as she looked at him and he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't feeling nervous. 

God, Dimitri Kaverin was nervous! 

He had never in his life been nervous about anything, not even when he was asking his crush out back in junior high but this girl, damn, there was just this glint in her eyes when she cocked her head to the side and stared at him that made him nervous and he started running his hands through his hair, waiting for her to reply.

It took a single move, a move as simple as Dimitri raking his hand through his hair that made Trinity realize that he was nervous and the way he was shifting his weight from one to another was a clear indication that he wasn't used to feeling nervous around anyone. Though she still couldn't decide how to react to that.

She didn't know anything about the guy other than his name and he was asking her to marry him? Who in their right mind would do that? Unless he was......

"Are you drunk?" Trinity finally asked, taking a step closer to him and sniffing him. She was so busy looking into his eyes when he had put his arm around her waist that he would've been reeking of weed and pot and she wouldn't have noticed.

It took a moment for Dimitri understand what exactly she was getting at and when he finally did, he laughed. "No, Trinity, I'm not drunk." He said, grinning brilliantly at her. "And I'm very much serious about what I said." He added.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay." 

"What? You mean you'll marry me?" Dimitri asked. He half expected her to knee him in the family jewels and walk out of the bar but here she was, saying that it was okay.

"Look, you're a complete stranger to me and well, I guess, you don't know me, unless you're some creepy stalker?" She began, but it somehow ended up turning into a question. She had to know that he wasn't her stalker whom she was seeing for the first time today.

"Nah, I'll have you know that my mama's raised me better than that." He winked.

"I'll have to meet her someday then." She joked right back. "Anyway, the point is that if you're desperate enough to marry a complete stranger, then there has to be something that's forcing you to do it. I want to know what or who that something or someone is and I want to know what I'll get out of all this if I do agree to marry you."

"I'm pretty impressed with the way you think." Dimitri commented. At least she wasn't a blonde bimbo.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, Mr hotshot." She commented dryly.

"Tell me something I don't already know." He shot right back just as dryly. She laughed and Dimitri knew that he'd do just about anything to hear that again.

"So what's the story behind the whole 'I want you to marry me' shit you just pulled on me?" She asked again.

"A pretty long one."

"I have time."

"Let's sit somewhere quiet and talk?" He suggested, looking around.

"What makes you think I'd go anywhere with you?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, what makes you think she'd go anywhere with ya?" A new voice interrupted from somewhere close behind Dimitri and he turned around to look at its owner.

The pink haired girl whom Dimitri had seen earlier stared back at him with a raised eyebrow, much like her blonde friend.

"Uh, Casey, this is Dimitri Kaverin and Dimitri, this is my best friend, Casey Carter." Trinity stepped up from behind Dimitri and introduced them both, giving Casey a subtle nod that said that the guy meant no harm.

Casey perked up at that and shook Dimitri's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You too." Dmitri returned with a polite smile.

"So I was saying that-" Dimitri was cut off by the pink haired shorty.

"Wait a minute, did you just say Dimitri Kaverin? As in the Dimitri Kaverin? As in the soon to be owner of the The Red Velvet hotels?" Casey asked, her eyes getting wider with each word until Dimitri thought they were going to pop out.

"Yes, the one and only." He replied with a crooked smile.

"So that was why the name sounded so familiar." Trinity murmured from beside him and he smiled at that. 

"Dude, what are you doing here? And you never told me you knew Dimitri Kaverin, girl?" Casey asked directing the last part towards her friend, fighting to keep the silly grin off her face. She just couldn't believe that someone as rich as Dimitri Kaverin would be here, in this filthy bar, talking to her and her friend none the less.

"Well, I kinda wanted to get away from work and stuff for a while so I just came down here." Dimitri answered with a small smile. He didn't know why but the look of admiration Casey was giving him made him feel a bit uncomfortable and he couldn't help but rub the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"And I wouldn't say I really know him. Actually, we've just met." Trinity replied, trying hard not to laugh at the awestruck look on her best friend's face, though she knew that the amusement dancing in her eyes said it all. The fact that Dimitri looked embarrassed just added to her amusement.

"Yeah, and I wanted to talk to your friend about......something so I hope you wouldn't mind if I steal her for a while?" Dimitri asked.

"You wanna talk to her, huh?" Casey raised an eyebrow, folding her arms over her chest.

Trinity sensed an argument around the corner, and a pretty heated one at that because she knew that if she didn't agree to going with him then come hell or high water Casey wouldn't let him take her against her will and Dimitri didn't look like one to leave without getting what he wanted. Yeah, definitely a very much heated argument.

So she stepped forward, "Yeah, I wanted to talk to him about something so we were thinking of going somewhere quiet and better and talking about it." She said, giving her friend a reassuring smile. Casey knew what her friend was doing and just gave her an eye roll and a look that said 'I want to know all about it when you get back'.

"Yeah, sure, its pretty late anyway, I'd just head back home now too. You guys go ahead." Casey waved them off nonchalantly.

"Oh, and Dimitri?" Casey called out in a sickly sweet tone.

"Yes?"

"If you want your family jewels intact, then you better get her back home safely, are we clear?"

Dimitri laughed. "Absolutely ma'am." He answered with a mock salute.

"Let's get going then." Trinity clapped her hands.

Dimitri quickly texted his friend, telling him that he was leaving. He replied with an 'alright bro' and that it was a good thing that they decided to come in separate cars.

Once they were outside, Casey walked up to a quite beat up looking car and climbed into the driver's seat, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road.

"Come on." Dimitri said, taking Trinity's hand in his and pulling her along with him to his car.

Trinity felt tingles run up her spine at the small touch but she quickly shook the feeling away, choosing to look at the white Porsche they were approaching instead. It was the only decent and expensive looking car in the whole parking lot other than a blue mustang parked right next to it.

"Nice ride." Trinity commented casually. And casual she was. Anyone else would've been freaking out about sitting in such an expensive car when she hadn't even had a chance to so much as touch one of those beauties, but not Trinity. The price of the car didn't effect her all that much. 

Sure, she was impressed and sure, she knew a beauty when she saw one but be it a Porsche or her old beat up car, they were both pieces of metal on wheels and used for transportation. 

The fact that Dimitri was probably one of the richest people in Colorado as of now didn't effect her one bit. She didn't judge people based on how rich they were, she judged them based on how they behaved and so far, he seemed like a nice enough person.

"Thanks." Dimitri answered with a small grin and moved to open the door for her. He shut the door behind her once she got in and jogged to the other side of the car before getting in and putting his seat belt.

The engine roared to life and he slowly pulled out of the parking lot but instead of going into the city like Trinity thought he would, he started going to the opposite direction, away from the city.

"Where are we going?"

"Someplace quiet."

"And where is that someplace quiet?" She prodded.

"You'll see."

Trinity nodded and sank into her seat, closing her eyes. 

***

"We're here." Dimitri announced and Trinity woke up with a start. Had she fallen asleep?

"Yes you had." Dimitri answered with a low chuckle and Trinity groaned internally as heat flooded to her cheeks from embarrassment. She really needed to get her habit of speaking her thoughts out loud checked.

Choosing to ignore it all, she gazed around her, but wasn't able to make out anything in the darkness of the night.

"Where are we?" She asked, turning to look at him.

Instead of replying, Dimitri opened his door and walked around to her side to open the car's door for her as well.

She took the hand he offered and stepped out of the car. "Dude, in case you are an Axe murderer, I'll have you know that I have pepper spray with me." She warned teasingly with a twinkle in her eyes.

"If I were one, don't you think its stupid of you to tell me that you have pepper spray?" Dimitri asked just as teasingly, adding a light chuckle at the end.

"Whatever happened to you liking the way I think?" She asked, faking annoyance.

"That, I still do." Dimitri said and almost melted when he saw Trinity's cheek flush an adorable shade of red under the faint moonlight.

Trinity cleared her throat, trying to snap out of her embarrassed state and tried again."So where are we?" 

She wasn't used to getting so many compliments. Usually she'd just ignore them but there was just something about the way Dimitri said it that made it hard to ignore. Maybe it was the sincerity of his words when he said it or maybe it was the confidence with which he said it, she didn't know, but she couldn't quite shrug them off as if they were nothing.

Shaking her head clear of her stupid thoughts, she concentrated on the situation at hand, looking at him expectantly for an answer.

"Come with me?" He asked instead, holding out his hand for her to take, the only light coming from the moon and the stars twinkling above them in the night sky.

"Okay." She said and put her hand into his outstretched one without any hesitation. 

Dimitri frowned slightly at that. She looked like the ones who trusted easily. He knew it was just him and he meant no harm but what if it was someone else? 

Someone dangerous? 

Just what if she had gone out with some other stranger who was actually an axe murderer? 

He didn't even want to think about the consequences.

"What's wrong? Why are you frowning?" Trinity asked, noticing the small frown that adorned his handsome face. She decided at once that she didn't like it and wanted to wipe it off his handsome face that very instant.

"You shouldn't trust strangers so easily. I don't mean any harm but what if I was really an axe murderer? What could you have possibly done then?" Dimitri asked, his frown getting deeper with every word.

"But you're not and I'll have you know that I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Besides, if I hadn't been one to trust people easily we wouldn't even be here in the first place." She told him, jutting her chin out defiantly.

"That's true." He nodded stiffly. That was, in fact, the reason they were even having this conversation in the first place. But he didn't want her getting hurt just because she trusted someone enough to go with them. He understood that she was a kind soul but she had to understand that not everyone was. 

He wanted her to be safe, to be careful about what she did or where she went and he wasn't even sure why. He didn't know why he cared about her in the first place. Heck, he didn't even know what he was doing bringing her to the one place he came to when he wanted some peace. The one place no one knew but him. But he'll be damned if he cared. All he wanted in that moment was for her to be safe and happy.

"Just be a little careful, yeah?" He said in a tone much softer than the one he had used just seconds before.

"Aww, look at you, we've just met and you've already started caring about me. You do that with every girl you meet or am I special?" She teased, hiding her shock of him caring so much about her with amusement. But he didn't find any of it amusing.

He just stared back pointedly at her, simply waiting for her to agree. 

She sighed but gave into him with a slight nod and a barely audible 'okay'.

"Good." He nodded approvingly and pulled her with him deeper into the jungle present on either side of the deserted road.

"Uh, I have pepper spray remember?" She asked, barely keeping herself from laughing out loud. It wasn't long before Dimitri chuckled and she soon joined in.

"I remember milaya, I most definitely do."