Chapter 25 - Tia
On Sunday morning, I wake up in Yefim's arms, my cheek pressed against his chest, a smile on my face that I suspect was there the entire time I was sleeping.
Our naked bodies are twisted together, sharing heat.
Yesterday he told me he wants to be together for real.
I couldn't believe it.
The relief I felt hearing those words was so intense that it brought tears to my eyes. Even now, lying quietly next to him, listening to his soft breathing, I feel tears threatening again. It's like some kind of fairytale. Something unreal.
My heart is so happy.
He takes a deep breath as he wakes up and I feel him pulling me closer to him.
"Good morning, baby girl." He says, his voice deep and sleepy. The roughness of it sounding even more sexy than usual.
"Good morning," I grin, snuggling closer to him.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Very well. You tired me out."
"Mm. That was fun. What do you want to do today?"
"I don't want to go shopping," I giggle.
"I was thinking"—he rolls towards me, looking into my eyes—"that we should go to the carnival. It's here in town for a few weeks and it actually looks kind of fun. I saw an ad online. It's just something silly, different—"
"That sounds perfect," I answer, cutting him off.
It's lowkey, its simple, it's just us spending time together. That's all I've ever wanted from him.
"We'll get breakfast there then, but I definitely need a coffee before we go. You kept me up late last night. That was a lot of cardio." He chuckles as he pulls me close for a kiss, then throws the blankets off and tries to get out of bed.
But I move quickly, grabbing him and pulling him back down.
"Five more minutes," I demand, wrapping my arms around his body.
He chuckles again, and it vibrates through me, filling me with warmth and happiness.
"I'll stay in bed with you all day. We don't need to go anywhere," he warns as he starts hugging me so tightly I can barely breathe.
"Wait," I laugh. "I want to go to the carnival with you."
"No. It's too late. We're staying in bed." He holds me tighter, and now I'm trying to wiggle free so that I can get a good breath of air.
He laughs and releases me, then wraps his arms around me again, more gentle this time.
"I'm so happy," he whispers, kissing the top of my head.
"Me too."
***
I get dressed in some of the new things that Yefim bought for me. I do want him to know that I appreciate it, even though it's not what I need from him. I am grateful that he wanted to do that for me.
I choose a tight pair of jeans, pink high-top sneakers and a matching pink hoodie to wear to the carnival. It's perfect for our lowkey relaxed day together.
Yefim comes out wearing a pair of black jeans and a black hoodie. Immediately I want to tear it from his body. He looks way too sexy.
"You look cute. All you need is some pink cotton candy, and your outfit will be perfect." He smiles, and the corners of his mouth curve to create dimples in his cheeks. His bright blue eyes tug at my heart.
He makes us each a coffee in a takeaway mug and we carry them out to the car so that we can drink them on the way there. He holds my door open for me, and then climbs in on the driver's side. I feel like a little girl on Christmas morning, filled with excitement and wonder about what the day will bring.
***
The carnival is noisy and colorful and bright and filled with fun things.
Balloons float from long stings tied to hot dog booths and silly stands where you can shoot targets and win a teddy bear or some other childish prize.
Yefim proves himself a damn good shot when he takes down all the targets in the first try, and now I have to carry around a giant red fluffy octopus that is almost the same size as me.
"Let's put it in the car," he laughs, trying to find me beneath the eight squishy arms of the giant plushie toy.
"But I like cuddling it," I grin from beneath it.
"You can cuddle me instead."
After dropping it in the car, we wander through the stalls, playing games, laughing at how bad or how great we are at each of them. We eat cotton candy in the shapes of giant cartoon characters and sip bubble tea, which Yefim has never had before. The face he pulls when one of the ‘bubbles' shoots through the giant straw into his mouth makes me laugh so hard I snort.
"What the hell is this?" Yefim says, glaring at the drink in his hand as though it's from another planet.
"It's bubble tea," I answer, swirling mine above my head so I can see all the little purple grape-flavored balls floating in the bottom of my cup.
"I thought it was going to be fizzy . You know— bubbles. I didn't expect to be assaulted by a jello ball."
The look of horror in his eyes makes me laugh harder, and soon tears are streaming down my face.
"Oh, it's funny, is it?" he grabs me and pulls me against his chest.
"It's funny," I nod.
"We'll see how funny it is when I pour this over your head, and you get assaulted by jello balls."
"No," I squeal as he tilts the cup, pretending to pour it on me. But he stops before it splashes over the edge, and instead of jello balls, I feel his lips on mine. Around us people are laughing, kids are talking loudly, excited by the noise and adventure of the place.
It's the perfect day, and in my heart, I know when we get home, I'm going to tell Yefim that I love him. I'm going to show him. With words and my body.
I'm going to make it so obvious that he won't ever doubt it.
I lean my head against his shoulder as we walk around and enjoy the musical chaos of the carnival.
We are standing at another game next to a bright yellow booth. It's my turn next. I want to try win the crocodile plushie for Yefim.
"That giant green thing," I point at it, chuckling.
But Yefim is distracted.
"Oh, my word, they have salted caramel popcorn," Yefim says excitedly, standing up on his tiptoes to see above everyone.
"They have what?"
"You've never had salted caramel popcorn?"
I shake my head.
"We have to fix that. Alright. Wait here. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere. And you better win me that crocodile like you promised," he grins, then kisses me on the forehead and disappears into the crowd.
I laugh and shake my head. I love this side of him. Carefree, open, loving and tender. He isn't afraid to be soft around me, and that means a lot.
And now I know it's all real. Again, I feel this crazy kind of happiness filling my entire body.
I can't wait to get him home. I smile to myself.
I'm next at the game, and the man in the yellow hat is getting ready to hand me a bunch of tennis balls that I have to throw at some moving targets.
I feel nervous and excited, because I really want to win something. I just want to give Yefim a silly souvenir of our day. The crocodile can sit next to the giant red octopus on the spare room, because there is no space for it on our bed.
I aim carefully, focusing hard and plotting my moves.
To my surprise, I hit every target except the last one.
Thinking that it means I lost, I put out my bottom lip, but the man behind the game laughs and hands me the stuffed crocodile.
"You only had to hit four targets, young lady," he says.
I can't believe it. I actually won. I get to give him this ridiculous crocodile.
I grab the bright green plushie and jump excitedly, looking around to see if Yefim is back yet, if maybe he saw my excellent maneuvers and is impressed with me. But he isn't back yet.
I look around, squinting into the crowd, trying to find him.
Behind me, I hear my name being called.
I turn towards the female voice and my throat pulls tight.
"Clara," I say tensely, seeing her walking towards me with her uncle close behind her. She's also holding a silly stuffed animal, a yellow fish, and a bright pink balloon.
"Tia, oh my word, I never got to say goodbye at the party. How was it? Did you have fun?"
"I did. It was amazing. Thank you so much for hosting it." I am doing my best to hide the tension in my voice. My body is on high alert, not knowing what to expect from her uncle.
"I see you've also been winning. Isn't this place great? It makes me feel like a kid again."
"I know, me too."
I can tell that she has no idea who her uncle really is. His eyes are cold and locked onto me with a threat, but she doesn't even notice as she chats away about the carnival and how much fun it is.
I feel terrible for her, but I have to make sure I get away safely.
"Clara, sorry, you caught me at a bad time. I have to go find Yefim, before I lose him in the crowd. Let's catch up soon, though."
"Of course, any time. Just give me a shout," she says, then pulls me into a hug and laughs at my crocodile.
I glance left and right, not sure which way to go. The place is crowded, though, and it should be safe to just disappear into the sea of people.
I hurry in the direction Yefim walked in, hoping to spot him any second, but I'm short and I'm struggling to see over everyone. I begin to feel panic setting in because I just want to find him.
We need to leave, quickly .
This is the last place I would have expected to see Giorgio Vitali—unless he followed us here.
Shit. If he followed us here, then that means he has a plan of some sort. I can't see any other reason a man like him would be at a place like this. He looked so out of place. Too serious. Too sinister.
My head starts spinning. But now is not the time to lose focus.
This is bad.
But it's not so bad yet. I just have to find Yefim, tell him what happened, and we can go home.
In my rush I get a little lost. I think I've walked too far; I don't recognize this part of the carnival. The crowd is getting thinner. Less people, less noise.
I turn a corner and instantly I know I've made a mistake.
I'm behind one of the large red and white tents, and there are barely any people here.
I turn to go back, but I'm surrounded by three massive men.
They step closer to me, cornering me. I don't know which way to go. My fingers are gripping the crocodile so tightly I feel like I might tear it. My heart is threatening to explode out of my rib cage, and I feel tears begin to spill down my cheeks.
There is nowhere for me to run.
One of the goons grabs my arm, and the stuffed crocodile falls from my hands as I try to fight him off. Another one grabs my leg as I kick out.
I scream, but a hand clamps over my mouth, cutting the sound short, muffling my cries for help.
I kick and bite and fight with all my heart, but the reality is that I don't stand a chance against three of them.
Tears are streaming down my face as Giorgio Vitali's men drag me from the back of the carnival into a black SUV, slamming the door and then revving the engine loudly.
The man lets go of my face when we are inside the vehicle, and immediately I let out an ear-piercing scream, loud enough to wake the dinosaurs.
But it's also cut short when a first slams into my face, knocking me hard enough to make my head spin.
The car pulls off, skidding gravel and grass beneath the tires, driving me away from Yefim.
The more distance that comes between us, the more I feel panic setting in.
This is a nightmare.
I'm terrified. I'm too scared to move. Too scared to make another sound.
My heart is beating a million miles an hour, and all I want is to be in his arms.
I close my eyes and see his face resting against the pillow this morning, his cool blue eyes gazing at me.
"Yefim," I whimper hopelessly.