49

Sasha
Rue’s Lounge is a hipster lounge-grungy but very cool. It’s located in the basement of a more industrial area of town. The band hasn’t started, but Oleg has staked out the closest two-top to the stage where he sits with a pint of craft beer in front of him.
“Hey, how’s it going?” I touch his shoulder before remembering with a smile that Maxim doesn’t like it.
I’m irrationally pleased by his irrational possessiveness. Especially because he doesn’t make me feel like a whore, he makes me feel desirable. Highly desirable.
I take the free chair next to Oleg while Maxim and the other three guys scrounge chairs from other tables and arrange them around our tiny table. A cocktail waitress arrives promptly, and we all get a round of the local brew on tap. As we sit, the place starts filling up.
I lean forward, thoroughly enjoying myself. Unlike my father’s men-these guys are friendly. I’m their roommate’s wife not the boss’ daughter. It’s a different vibe here entirely. They seem to have a sense of humor and casual affection with each other, like we’re all in the sitcom Friends or something. “So what is the story with Lucy and Ravil?”
Nikolai and Pavel groan and sit back in their chairs. Oleg barely takes his eyes off the empty stage. Like a dog waiting at the door for its owner to show, even though the car hasn’t pulled into the garage yet. Dima looks at Maxim to tell the story.
“Ravil hooked up with Lucy at this one-night-stand kind of thing last Valentine’s Day. It happened at this BDSM club in Washington, D. C. and was anonymous-no names, no phone numbers exchanged. Flash forward to this month-Ravil goes to hire some big shot defense attorney for one of our guys. When he shows up at her office, he finds Lucy, pregnant with his child.”
I clap my hand over my mouth. “No!” I also want to hear so much more about the BDSM club, but I don’t want to stop the story.
“So Ravil loses his shit. He’s usually level-headed as fuck. I mean, as the cell Fixer, I almost never have to fix.” Maxim spreads his hands. “More than half the operation is legit. Force is only employed when necessary.”
“So what happened?” I’m impatient for the love story. It sounds better than fiction.
Maxim shrugs. “So he kidnaps her.”
“What?”
“Yeah. He was deeply offended that she hadn’t told him. Took it really personally. He moves her into his suite and puts Oleg on her door, so she can’t leave. Tells her she has to work remotely until the baby’s born.”
I shake my head slowly. “That’s not right.” I suddenly don’t like Ravil much.
“No kidding. And it’s my job to make sure shit like this doesn’t blow up in our faces, right? So I looked at it from all angles, and all I came up with was one fix.”
I raise my brows. “What was it?”
“Make her fall in love. It was clear he already had it for her badly. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been hurt. So that was my only fix. Love.”
I sit back in my chair relieved for Lucy. More than a little impressed with Maxim.
Was that his solution for us, too? I want to ask, but my pride won’t let me.
“And it worked,” I finish for him.
“Almost didn’t. But yeah. Thank fuck.”
The band comes out, and I watch Oleg’s body react. He doesn’t move, but I see his muscles stiffen, the intensity of his gaze on the only female in the band almost frightening.
She’s punk-goth-beautiful. Like a modern-day Blondie, she has a platinum bob with bangs and thick black eyeliner. Her nose is pierced, and she has perfect bone structure-one of those heart-shaped faces that will make her model-beautiful well into old age. She’s wearing a micro skirt with fishnets and Doc Martens underneath. Her top is early Madonna midriff style with a torn-out neckline to make it hang open over one shoulder. She’s rocking the bad-girl rock and roll thing, and I sort of instantly love her.
I mean, if Oleg wasn’t obsessed, I probably wouldn’t have looked twice. She’s nothing like me or my kind of friends. But his obsession makes me curious. She picks up the mic.
The place has filled since we arrived-a din of laughing and talking now makes it necessary to raise our voices to be heard. The crowd fits with the band-a little grunge-punk-and people seem to know each other. Like Oleg isn’t the only guy who comes to hear the band on the regular.
“Hey everyone, thanks for coming out,” she says. “I’m Story, and we are the Storytellers.”
Even though she’s talking into the mic, people don’t stop to listen. But that’s how it is at a bar or lounge. It’s not a concert where the musicians get the audience’s undivided attention. They’re background here.
Oleg’s thick brows go down like he wants to smash some skulls over it.
He elbows Nikolai and puts his fingers in a ring to his lips. Nikolai mimics the gesture and gives a loud whistle that gets people’s attention.
“Hey, thanks,” Story says, smiling our way. Her gaze bounces and returns to Oleg, and she seems to give him a special, secret smile. “And thank you to Rue for having us out again, tonight. This is our favorite place to play.” She waves, and a woman with heavy piercings and a blue mohawk behind the bar waves back.
“First song we’re going to sing is called ‘Let’s Go.'” The band launches into a well-rehearsed upbeat song. Story’s lyrics are clever. The musical hooks are perfect. I don’t know that much about the music industry, but I’m surprised these guys haven’t gone beyond Chicago. They’re great.
We sit and watch. I don’t dare attempt more conversation with Oleg sitting at the table. He clearly is here for the band, and I don’t want to be rude. Instead I watch the band, Oleg, the other guys at our table. Maxim watches me.
I lean over and kiss his jaw. “This is fun.”
He drags me out of my chair and onto his lap. “You’re fun.” I settle into his embrace. It feels easy and natural and, simultaneously, thrilling.
The next song is slower, and Story walks out to the edge of the stage to sing. Like me, she’s comfortable with attention. This isn’t just about the music, it’s about the interaction with the audience. She works to make connections-looking people in the eyes when she sings, making her face expressive to go with the words.
I can see how Oleg fell in love with this persona. I doubt she has any interest in him, though. It probably just seems that way to him because of the way she performs.
I watch song after song, enjoying the whole scene.
By the end of the second set, they have a drunken crowd packed in and dancing right in the tiny dance area in front of the stage. We’re on the side, lucky to have seats right off the dance floor but still beside the stage. The band strikes up what seems to be their big, fun hit. The end-of-the-night finale. The audience cheers, clearly familiar with it. Story prances to the edge of the stage near us, belting out the song. She walks down the steps and joins the dancers on the dance floor.
Oleg’s back goes ramrod stiff, his meaty hands closing into fists like he’s the bouncer ready to throw out anyone who touches her.
She’s touching them, though. They fall in line behind her and tour the lounge, loudly singing along in a crazy conga-line. “Come on.” I jump to my feet to join.
Maxim gives me that indulgent smile and slowly unfolds from his chair, guarding my back as I join the hilarity. Story snakes the group around. Instead of heading back on stage, she stands on my empty chair then in the center of our table. The crowd cheers.
She steadies herself with a hand on Oleg’s shoulder. The moment she touches him, his hand shoots out to hold her waist. She loops a leg over one of his broad shoulders, straddling it.
The crowd cheers-I think possibly at her audacity of climbing her audience like a jungle gym.
Oleg’s elbow bends up to secure her with his hand splayed at her lower back. When he stands slowly, there are more whoops and cheers and some very drunken crowd members start scrambling on each other’s shoulders like they’re going to have a chicken fight. Oleg carries his queen to the center of the dance floor where her hive swarms around her, glorying in the royal position he put her in.
The band goes on for three encores before Oleg gently deposits her on her feet on stage, and the entire place goes wild with cheering for him, for the band, and especially for Story, their captivating lead singer.
“Gospodi!” I shout to Maxim. “Does that always happen?”
Maxim and his roommates share bewildered expressions. “I’ve never seen it before.”
Oleg comes back and sits, his expression impassive, but with a visible flush under his stubble.
The guys offer fists to bump, but he ignores them, folding his arms across his chest to continue watching his obsession. She’s out of breath, laughing and thanking the crowd. Promising to be back the same time next week.
Story and the band members bow and wave and then start packing up their own equipment-I guess they’re too small to have a sound crew.
The overhead fluorescent lights flash on. “Last call!” Rue shouts from behind the bar.
Maxim orders another round for everyone, pulling me back onto his lap.
When Story comes off the stage, she has a whole crew of people waiting to accost her, but me being me, I stand up and give a little wave like we know each other.
She meets my eye and smiles.
“She’s coming!” I tell Oleg.
For one second, I think he’s going to bolt. He surges forward to stand, but Dima and Nikolai each clamp a hand on his shoulders and hold him back. “Be cool,” Nikolai tells him.
Story comes over. Her smile is curious, like she’s not sure if we do know each other or what I’m going to say.
“Hey, great show,” I tell her, stretching out my hand. “My name is Sasha.” She shakes it. “You were phenomenal. I had to come see because I know my friend Oleg thinks the world of you guys.” I gesture toward Oleg.
“Oleg,” she repeats like she’s been wanting to know his name. She stretches out her hand to him.
Now he surges up from the table, and this time the twins let him. He clasps her hand in his and doesn’t look like he wants to ever let it go.
“We haven’t formally met.”
“He’s mute but not deaf,” I explain because she’s obviously waiting for him to say something. “He loves your music. We all do,” I amend, gesturing to the rest of the guys, who lift their hands in greeting.
“Where are you from?” she asks.
My accent is thicker when I’ve been drinking. “Russia.”
“All of you?” She’s looking at Oleg, who still hasn’t released her hand.
“Yes.”
“Can we buy you a drink?” Maxim asks, standing beside me. When Oleg frowns, Maxim amends, “Oleg’s always good for an after-set drink. Anytime.”
“I can’t tonight but maybe next time.” She pulls her hand out of Oleg’s grasp. “Thanks for letting me fuck with you tonight. You were a good sport.”
“The pleasure was his,” Maxim fills in after the awkward pause when she realized he couldn’t answer.
After she walks away, Oleg sinks into his chair, glowering at the table.
“You can’t kill us because Sasha did it,” Maxim says, winking at me. “My brilliant wife.”
His brilliant wife.
I warm in the glow of three words I never imagined I’d hear from Maxim’s lips. Straddling his lap, I kiss him. This was fun. I feel like I belong, like everything is easy and light-like my college days.
Maybe Maxim was right.
Maybe my father did choose a husband for me who he believed could make me happy.
Nah, that’s assigning him too much credit. But at least it seems like his stupid scheme for me wasn’t the worst thing that’s ever happened.