Viktor
It’s been nice having Millie around for the past couple of days so far. She’s a bit quieter than I would have expected, but I suppose that this could be because we spend most of our time having sex instead of really talking. She’s ravenous for me, sometimes even waking me up in the middle of the night to climb on top of me and ride me. For someone who used to be so hesitant about me, she seems to really enjoy getting fucked by me.
I decide that I’d like to have my associates meet her formally rather than just having them stumble upon her in my penthouse like they have been. The first order of business is making sure that Stepan meets her properly, which will be a challenge given his disposition against her, or any American woman for that matter.
Stepan stops over to drop off some documents he’s collected from new tenants, and I decide to pour him a drink to loosen him up a little. He’s a lot less rigid that way, and he might be more inclined to see why I’m not into Katya once he sets his eyes on Millie.
“Hey, so Millie just moved in. You might see her around a lot from now on,” I say.
Stepan scoffs. “God, I thought you knew your worth, Vik. You could have any woman you wanted, including Katya, and you’re still going to hang around with a girl who used to let men put singles in her panties?”
I feel myself growing angry but choose instead to take the high road. “She’s a great girl. I really like her, and I want to keep her around. That means I want you to meet her formally. I was thinking we could go on some kind of outing with your family,” I reply, getting up from my desk to pour myself a drink.
“I’m not sure if I’m interested, Viktor. I’m afraid I wouldn’t know how to be civil with her,” he replies, and I roll my eyes deliberately in his line of view as I reach for a bottle of vodka.
“Okay, let me rephrase this then. I’m taking you and your family on an allexpenses-paid trip to a ski lodge in the fucking Aspen Highlands on the condition that you can treat Millie with basic human respect,” I counter.
Stepan exhales heavily.
“I will absolutely tell Svetlana and Katya about it and make sure they’re excited. It’s your choice to disappoint them,” I continue, taking a sip of my drink and reaching for his glass to top his off.
“Goddamn it, fine,” he relents, and I smile smugly in victory.
It isn’t difficult for me to get a proper reservation to an elite ski lodge, even though I know Stepan has never gone skiing in his life. I know I can teach him, but I figured this would be more for Millie and the girls. Stepan is a devoted husband, but he never takes his wife out anywhere, and Katya’s been stuck in the house with her.
When we arrive at the lodge, it takes no time at all for Millie and Katya to hit it off, comparing notes on their favorite TV shows and sharing details about the high schools they attended in contrast to each other.
While Svetlana is visibly excited about her daughter making a new friend, Stepan is expressly annoyed with it, periodically making unnecessary and curt side comments to deter further conversation.
The first night at the lodge is uneventful, mostly spent relaxing in our separate quarters as we prepare for a day of cold weather and unusually demanding physical activity.
“What do you think of Stepan?” I ask Millie as she curls herself around me on the couch in front of the fireplace.
“I’m not sure. He really didn’t seem interested in talking to me,” she admits, and I can sense her discomfort. While Millie doesn’t seem like the type of person to be overly concerned with another person’s opinion of her, she doesn’t have enough confidence to know how to navigate a situation like this.
Stepan is an old Russian bastard. He’s already hard enough to talk to when he’s in a good mood. I was merely grandfathered into his life by virtue of familial relations. There’s no way we’d put up with each other otherwise.
“Just give him some time,” I suggest. “He likes to form opinions about people before he even meets them.” I don’t sense that my answer holds any consolation for her.
She wrinkles her nose. “He could stand to be nicer. Are all your Russian friends like him?”
“He’s more of a colleague than a friend.”
She shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. You spend enough time with Stepan for him to be your brother.”
I chuckle. “We’re not that close.”
“Sure,” she says flatly, playing with a loose thread on the pillow beside us.
“But Katya is fine, right?” I ask, quick to change the topic when I realize I’m not going to win her over with Stepan yet.
She smiles. “Yeah, actually. She’s really interesting. Has all kinds of stories about Russia.”
“Oh God,” I say with a laugh. “Hopefully, nothing too horrifying.”
“No,” she replies lightly. “Mostly stuff about the cultural differences. I guess I can understand you a little more because of it.”
“Oh, I’m basically an American at this point.”
She rolls her eyes. “Not even close.”
I feign offense. “No? I thought I had covered up my mannerisms pretty well.”
She laughs, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t even want you to. I find our differences endearing.”
I trace my hand over her leg, feeling the heat of her skin through the thin fabric of her clothing. I long to be closer to her, but I know that we’re not here to get wrapped up in each other. Rather, I need to get Millie and Stepan to get along well enough to justify having her around long term.
I pat her thigh and get up from the couch. “Try to be friendly with Stepan. He’ll warm up to you.”
But he doesn’t.
The next day is filled with even more tension than I thought possible. Stepan seems to have formed a personal vendetta against Millie, intentionally brushing against her and hitting her shoulder on our way out of the lodge.
Before we reach our cars, I pull him aside while the women continue onward.
“Listen, I don’t know what your fucking problem is, but this girl has done absolutely nothing to you,” I growl, watching him begin to sulk like a spoiled child.
“I feel how I feel, isn’t that what you damn kids are always saying? That the way you feel is important and should be respected? Well, fucking respect my opinion,” he scoffs.
“I’m not a kid, and I’m not going to put up with your spoiled fucking attitude,” I grumble. “Snap the fuck out of it and give her a chance.”
He shakes himself from my grip and continues walking, grumbling to himself about disrespect. It’s ironic because he’s the only one here being disrespectful.
When we reach the mountains, Millie seems completely out of her element, refusing to try any kind of snow sports at all. I didn’t give her a choice on where we were going, but I didn’t think she would be this hesitant to try something. I wish she would have just told me where she wanted to go.
I try to encourage her, but she seems so closed off that it’s impossible to get through to her. I fully blame Stepan for the fact that she feels so unwelcome, and I have no idea how to reconcile their differences even though Millie has been nothing but sweet to him. It bothers me deeply, and I feel like there’s nothing I can do about it.
For the most part, I ski idly around, avoiding any serious conversation until we get home later that evening.
“Hey, are you alright?” I ask her as we slip into bed together that night. She’s been considerably less chatty than usual, and it’s left a pit in my stomach for the entire day.
“I guess so,” she replies, turning away from me and curling into a ball like an armadillo.
I try to rub her back, but she shifts away from me, practically falling off the bed just to avoid my touch.
“What’s up?” I ask. I’d assume naturally that the issue is Stepan, but if I’ve done something to bother or hurt her without knowing, I’d rather not blame someone else on the outset. That’s a bad look for me.
“How can you have someone so awful in your life? Stepan is such an asshole. I can’t understand how he managed to convince Svetlana to marry him,” she replies, finally turning towards me but with no warmth in her body language.
I sigh. “Yeah, I know he can be kind of a massive pain in the ass. I can talk to him if you need me to,” I reply.
“No, it’s worse than that. Whenever he looks at me, I always feel like he’s threatening me somehow. Just with his eyes,” she says, her eyes widening with emphasis.
“Come on. You know he can’t hurt you just by looking at you weirdly. He’s just socially awkward,” I reply, knowing fully that my explanation is of no consolation to Millie at all.
She lies flat on her back, staring at the ceiling while deep in thought. She does this frequently when she’s upset about something, and it always makes me wonder what it is she’s not telling me. Obviously, she has a lot going on in her head. Why can’t she share that with me?
I want to press her further, but she turns away again.
I jump up from the bed, pacing around the room angrily. I look to the bed once or twice to find her ignoring my actions. I know she realizes that I’m upset, but she’s not doing anything about it. She expects me to be the bigger person about this.
News flash I’m not.
“Hey, how about you get the fuck up and talk with me,” I say, returning to the bed and standing in front of her. “Look at me when I’m talking to you.”
She glances up at me then back down toward her pillow. “I’m trying to sleep,” she mutters.
“No the fuck you aren’t,” I growl, snatching the pillow out from under her head and tossing it behind me across the room. “Get up and explain yourself.”
“Shut up,” she replies, rolling to the other side.
My teeth are clenched so hard that they feel as if they might shatter. I’ve had enough of this bullshit, but what am I to do? I can’t kick Millie out. I want her to be with me. I just need her to stop acting like this.
“Women,” I mutter, turning away from her and charging toward the bathroom to wash off the sweat that’s already formed on my forehead.