Her Russian Millionaire

Chapter 5

“This is a pretty long way to go just for a date.” Jalisa felt underdressed compared to him, and that made her worry about where they were going.

Erik was in his usual tailored suit and dark colored tie. Jalisa, thinking they would just head over to a local restaurant, was in a red sweater with a white collar, a pair of dark wash jeans, and some tall black boots. Marie had let her borrow some makeup, but since she was white and very girly, none of it quite fit Jalisa. In the end, Jalisa settled on some light blush and dark eyeliner.

“You said you wanted to see Los Angeles, so we’re going to see Los Angeles. I’m taking you to what I consider to be the best little hidden jewel of Los Angeles.” He reached one long arm out and turned down the radio.

Despite all of his suits, his car was very unassuming. It was a simple black four-door, probably a couple of years old. The inside was meticulously clean and smelled of fresh pine despite the lack of an air fresher. The city whipped around them, and occasionally he would point out a sight or two. When the car finally stopped, they were in front of a garden.

“Oh, you charmer.” Jalisa waved at him. “I bet you take all the girls here.”

“Only when they’re as pretty as you.” He reached over and took her hand, giving it one small kiss before sliding out. Jalisa was collecting her purse right as he opened the door. Helping her out, he planted another small kiss to her fingers. Jalisa could almost feel the princess crown atop her head; it was a very welcome change to be treated so well.

Since she had found out Stone and Marie’s true intentions, her days were filled with praying and tears. The night she had told Nikita what was happening was one of the worst in her life. The look on her little sister’s face was one she never wanted to see again for as long as she lived. The two girls had agreed to keep acting normal while Jalisa worked with Erik to make a plan.

It proved to be very difficult to feign normalcy. One of Jalisa’s biggest fears now was that Stone or Marie would pick up on the little changes in their behavior. Jalisa recoiled from Marie’s touches, and their conversations were strained. Nikita no longer smiled at Stone and refused to play video games with him. Jalisa had assured him that she was not mad at him, she only wanted to spend more time to herself so she could process the loss of her father better. It made Jalisa’s stomach churn to use her father in a lie, but it was in their own best interest.

When Jalisa received her first paycheck, she tucked it away in a pair of socks under the bed. Nikita counted it all up, and they had around a nine hundred dollars, six hundred after Jalisa bought groceries and paid the one bill she agreed to take on. Apartments in Los Angeles were expensive, and with Jalisa not wanting to be traced, they would first have to buy fake IDs and the papers to back them up. It would take at least three thousand before they could move out on their own, and even then, Jalisa would have to find a high-paying job and fast.

“You’re zoning out.” Erik stopped on the walkway to the garden. “I promise you everything will be okay. I’ll figure this out.”

“I know that you’re going to help us, but I still worry. Our lives – Nikita’s and mine, I mean – are changing so fast. I feel like I’m being thrown around on a roller coaster.”

“Just relax for today.” He smiled at her, bringing one hand up to caress her cheek with his thumb before kissing her. “We’re at the Exposition Rose Garden. Joy is in the air.”

He was right. The smell of roses graced her nose and sunshine touched the earth with a heavenly glow. The fall chill was banished in this place and no coats were in sight. Vendors selling sweets and lemonade were lined up on the concrete. If they were a normal couple with normal concerns, this would be a magical first date, but for Jalisa, being forced into s*x work was haunting her in the back of her mind.

“I’m sorry. I promise that I’m trying to be present.” She walked hand-in-hand with him down the rows and rows of rose bushes. Other couples walked around, their smiling faces mirroring Jalisa and Erik’s.

They visited each of the vendors, sharing little snacks with each other. Erik got powdered sugar on his face, and Jalisa kissed it off. Excitement buzzed between them as the two grew closer. It was a thrill to learn more about each other. Erik seemed enthralled by minute details of Jalisa’s life.

“I like to cook,” Jalisa said. “I dream about moving to Paris. French cuisine is the crème de la crème. I’ve looked into it many times as a kid, but French is very hard to learn.”

“I was in France not too long ago,” he told her. “Not in Paris, but close to it. The country is beautiful. Most of the people who deal with tourists on a daily basis – shopkeepers, taxi drivers, waitresses, and the like – speak English. It’s only when you go into the small towns that finding someone who speaks English becomes a problem. Besides, English is much harder to learn than French.”

“Was it difficult for you to learn English?” she asked.

“Da. It took forever. I started studying when I was five, and I still couldn’t understand English television until I was a teenager.” He raised an eyebrow. “If I become your boyfriend, will you learn Russian?”

“I don’t know. Is it difficult?” She batted her eyelashes at him.

“Komu ty rasskazyvayesh.” He made a series of sounds that Jalisa had never heard before. “Ty takoy milyy, kogda ty v zameshatel’stve.”

“What?” She cocked her head to the side. “Please, translate.”

“I said, ‘You tell me.’ Then you looked so cute wrinkling your nose up in confusion that I said, ‘You are so cute when you are confused.’” He laughed. “Will you be learning Russian?”