Sasha: The Awakening (The Wallflower Series Book 2) (2 page)

“W-what?”

“You heard me, Dmitri. How could you hurt someone like Sasha? She loved you and her love is like no one else’s. It’s enduring, deep, and unconditional. I’ve never experienced anything like it. To others, Sasha is weak. But I don’t measure strength the way that they do. Strength to me is a woman who doesn’t allow the actions of others to make her become bitter and negative. One who doesn’t allow other people to shape her view of the world. Sasha still looks at this world with hope and entrusts people with her heart as if it hasn’t been continually thrown back in her face time and again. She did that with you, Dmitri! And this time, she hoped above all else that things would be different. Most people are too afraid to love.
Those
are the people that are weak, Dmitri because they are ruled by fear. And you’re one of them!”

Teagan began to turn and walk away.

“Teagan, wait!” he reached for her, preventing her escape. “You have every right to be angry with me. Sasha is your friend and you’re protective of her. I get that. But, and I say this respectfully, the dynamics of our relationship have nothing to do with you.”

She merely scoffed. “You have no
relationship
with her anymore. You’ve watched her walk across the stage, now do us all a favor and leave.”

For a moment, they stared at each other intensely, neither willing to back down. Teagan jumped in surprise at the sound of her name. Behind her, Dmitri could see Sasha calling out to her friend, searching through the crowd. Teagan tensed in front of him before finally turning around. Sasha had spotted her and was currently walking over. Teagan waited with baited breath at her friend’s reaction upon seeing Dmitri. But there was nothing.

Instead, Sasha approached with a wide grin. “What are you doing? I’ve been looking everywhere.”

Confused, Teagan looked behind her but was only greeted by empty space. Dmitri was gone.

Laughing nervously, Teagan replied, “Oh, nothing! You ready for drinks, girl? Man, do we have some partying to do!” She whooped with joy.

As was their custom, Sasha merely rolled her eyes. Teagan was and would always be a party girl.

Two years later

“Sasha Harmon, Director of Internal Communications. How may I help you?”

“Sasha!”

Her eyes widened in surprise at the voice on the other end of the phone. “Teagan? Why are you calling me on my business line?”

“Oh, well I wanted to surprise you. Plus, your assistant sounds hot! But, anyways, I’m back in town and I really wanted to hang out with you tonight. It’s Friday. Let’s party!”

Sasha rolled her eyes at Teagan’s presumptuousness. “Always ready for a party, huh? Shame. Aren’t we getting a bit too old for this?”

“Never.”

Sasha spoke with her friend for a few more minutes before making concrete plans to meet and eventually hanging up. It was shocking to say the least how their lives had turned out so different from what they had planned following graduation. Instead of Sasha finding her way from the city, Teagan had been the one to take root in a foreign place. She now lived in New York while Sasha had found a place working in the Human Resources department of a tech company’s headquarters in Boston. She loved that she not only got the opportunity to assist with communication between individuals from different parts of the world but also was still close to home.

If she had chosen to leave years ago, Sasha now understood it would have been for the wrong reasons. The grass could seem greener on the other side but, sometimes, it was best to remain tenacious in making the best of what you are given. And she had.

A knock on her door removed her from her thoughts.  Her assistant, Justin McMillan walked in with his usual long gait. Not long behind him was Lola Winters, the Executive Marketing Manager. Lola had been a close confidant since Sasha had first begun working at the tech company as one of their youngest directors in company history. A fellow African-American woman battling the glass ceiling, Lola and Sasha had immediately bonded over their shared struggle and grown to know each other as more than co-workers but friends as well.

Justin, in a similar vein, had become more than just her assistant; his endearingly shy nature had made her see a bit of herself in him. She soon found, however, that his initial shyness hid a humorous and outgoing personality when they were together in a casual setting, His complex nature was something Sasha found interesting and, having been one of the first individuals willing to open up to her, both Lola and Justin became close friends in a short time.

Taking the seats in front of her desk, Sasha knew before they even began what was on their minds.

“So…how did it go?” Lola’s suggestive tone didn’t get by Sasha and so, she merely rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“Nothing happened. The date went pretty well but…I don’t think I will see him again.”

Justin sat in silence watching the two women interact. Lola’s mouth had literally dropped in shock at Sasha’s confession. She sputtered for a few seconds before reacting in annoyance at another failure.

“You know, you are just impossible to set up. Carter is the sexiest black man I have ever seen, excluding Idris Elba and I just don’t see how you can pass that package of deliciousness up.”

Sasha shared a humorous glance with Justin, both of them smirking at Lola’s description of the man. She only shrugged. “Well, I just don’t feel any sparks. But, by the way you speak of him, maybe you should try dating him. You two may hit it off.”

Lola harrumphed. “Believe me, I would jump on that in a heartbeat if he was at all into a dominant woman. In all my relationships, I am the one in control and if a man can’t handle that, he feels emasculated. Carter falls within that range of man.”

“What are you saying about me?” Sasha’s eyebrows quirked in interest at Lola’s remark. “I’m not a doormat if that is what you are suggesting.”

Her friend roughly shook her head. “I’m not calling you a doormat, Sasha. But you do give off the vibe of submission when it comes to men. Am I not right, Justin?”

Justin’s cheeks flushed at being caught between the two of them. He sputtered for a minute, trying to think of the right thing to say to no avail. And so he merely settled on the truth. “If I am being honest, yes Sasha. One of your appeals is your quiet nature which can be quite enticing to men who…” he closed his eyes, hating the words he was about to say, “want to feel dominant and self-assured of their masculinity.” He turned to Lola. “Lola, on the other hand, is almost the exact opposite. But in the sense that she presents a challenge.”

There was a tense silence amongst them. “So I don’t present enough of a challenge?”

Seeing her train of thought, Lola interrupted. “Yes you do. But in a different way. I think both of us could use the other’s strengths when it comes to dating. I’m too standoffish and independent and you- you’re too open. And I think that is why you are constantly rejecting all your dates, if you date at all. You stop whatever could possibly happen before it does because you know how much you would give to the relationship and you are afraid of it not being reciprocated. You are afraid of getting hurt, Sasha. But, you shouldn’t be.”

Hearing Lola’s concern for her, Sasha did not take offense. Both Lola and Justin knew her better than she had at first thought despite them not knowing about her past. She knew everything they were speaking the truth.

“I think you should give Carter another chance. You two seem like you would hit it off.” Lola paused. “What exactly was it that you disliked about him?”

But, Sasha couldn’t find an answer. Carter James III was a strong, attractive, and successful man.  A combination of all three was hard to come by these days and being without any other prospects, Sasha decided then and there to listen to Lola and Justin’s advice. She would give him another chance and maybe, something more could come out of it. Maybe she could finally be in a relationship again.

“Alright. I’ll do it.”

A wide smile spread across Lola’s face in triumph. Immediately, she reached over the desk for Sasha’s office phone. Picking up the receiver, she shoved it into her friend’s grasp and with a piercing glare, commanded, “Call him now. It’s been two days since you two went out.”

Sighing in defeat, she dialed the number and anxiously waited for him to pick up. Justin and Lola watched in anticipation.

“Hello?”

The sound of his deep voice sent quivers down her spine. She was a sucker for a man with a baritone.

“H-hi, Carter. This is Sasha Harmon. From the other night?”

There was a small pause before he spoke with humor in his tone. “I actually didn’t expect to hear from you. But, I’m happy you called. How have you been? I hope you enjoyed yourself the other night.”

“Yes, I did. That’s actually the reason I’m calling you.” She quickly glanced over at her friends who simultaneously gave her nods of encouragement. “I was wondering if you would like to go out again sometime this week whenever you are available. I know our schedules do seem to clash but I would really like to see you again.”

“That sounds great. What about tomorrow night? There is a venue I’ve been invited to and it just so happens, I’m without a companion to share it with.”

She smiled at his flirtatious tone and agreed to the date. As soon as they said their good-byes and she hung up, Lola jumped up and down in excitement. “See! Was that so hard?”

Sasha could only give a slight shrug. She couldn’t exactly say she was very excited for the night to come, but she promised herself that she would make more of an effort to make a connection with Carter. He was a great guy, after all. And as she knew from experience, those were hard to come by.

With her hands raised above her head, Sasha freely moved her hips alongside her best friend. Teagan laughed gleefully with the glass drink in her hand, eyes slyly looking over her shoulder at the appreciative glances she received from the man standing against the wall. Boldly, she looked him in the eye as she dipped and swayed to the beat of the music. The blonde man only grinned at her before stalking closer. When he finally placed his large hands along her slim waist and bent slightly so that his groin rested gently against her derriere, she leaned back into his embrace.

Sasha continued to dance but kept a close eye on her friend’s partner. It was just like old times. Teagan would always find someone at the club and Sasha, being always the sober one, had to make sure she looked out for her friend who could sometimes get too wild. This time, she told herself to relax. Teagan needed this; it was one of her first nights out since returning to Boston for a visit.

As they continued to dance however, Sasha watched as they began to get separated in the crowd. Eventually, she found herself surrounded by strangers with Teagan and her dance partner nowhere in her field of vision. Frustrated and worried, Sasha walked off of the dance floor to get a better view of the exit in case Teagan unwisely decided to leave with the handsome stranger. Sitting at the bar, she wrung her hands in worry until she felt a presence beside her.

Glancing quickly to her right, her heart leapt into her throat at seeing him again. It had been years but he still looked as handsome as the first day they met. Along with her surprise was a renewed sense of anxiety however. Old memories came flooding back that she had actively pushed to the back of her mind. The kickboxing classes she continued to take had not only tightened her body but had acted as a release for her anger. It seemed all for naught as with her forcibly forgotten memories, came feelings of hurt and sadness.

‘How can I still feel this way? What’s wrong with me? Get ahold of yourself girl!’ she scolded herself. It wasn’t even Dmitri she had laid her eyes on.

“Long time no see,” he shouted above the blaring of the music with a flirtatious smile.

Sasha wanted to simply walk away from him. But, how could she? Dominic had never hurt her. It was not his fault he was related to the man who had broken her heart. And so she returned his smile with one of her own. “Nice to see you again, Dominic!”

He shook his head ruefully. “I can tell by the look on your face that it’s not. But…thanks for lying for my benefit,” he leaned closer to speak directly in her ear so he could be heard above the music.  Dominic rested his forearm against the counter of the table, his chest hovering dangerously close to her. Sasha was shocked at her body’s reaction to his nearness but decided it was best to ignore it. After all, there was no denying Dominic’s attractiveness. His body was long and lean in the V-neck shirt he wore that caressed his defined biceps and pectoral muscles. Though a bit shorter from when she had last seen him, his hair was still unconventionally long, curling against the nape of his neck and falling over his hauntingly dark gaze.

It took her a minute to recognize why he seemed so familiar. With the darkness of the club, he reminded her so much of his brother. And with that realization, Sasha’s hands shook and a nervous sweat broke out upon her body. For just a quick second, she
wanted
him to be Dmitri.

“Aren’t you too old to be in a club?” she asked, her mouth close to his ear.

He chuckled, her breath hitching at the sexiness of his laughter. “The women here don’t seem to be so opposed to my presence.” He paused, “You tell me.”

Before she could answer, she glanced over at the entrance to the club and spotted Teagan with the blonde stranger. Moving quickly, she raced toward the exit, knowing Dominic would follow. He helped shove people aside, his senses on alert at Sasha’s hurried movements. When they finally exited the club, she raced down the street and grabbed onto Teagan’s arm, ripping her away from the man.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she growled in warning at his shocked face. Sasha had to wrap an arm around Teagan’s waist to steady her as she swayed in her drunken stupor.

The man only raised both hands in surrender. “Yo, she wanted to go home with me. I did nothing wrong.”

Dominic stepped up, immediately sensing the problem. With a glare, he warned, “Just get the hell out of here, man.”

With a shrug, the blonde continued on his way as Sasha struggled to keep Teagan on her feet with their height difference. Dominic simply shoved Sasha gently aside and cradled Teagan bridal-style in his arms.

“Which way to your car?”

Giving him a gentle smile in gratitude, she led him to the parking lot where her car waited.

After softly placing the now sleeping Teagan into the backseat of the car, Dominic closed the door shut and turned to Sasha.

“Are you sure you’ll be able to get her into your place okay?”

She shrugged. “I’m not as fragile as I look. I’ll be fine.” There was a moment of silence between them as they stood in the middle of the deserted parking lot. “Thank you for what you did.” She finally said.

Dominic smiled at her. Surprising them both, he reached out and stroked her cheek. “I’m just happy I got to see you again after all these years. We should catch up some time.” As if rethinking things, he frowned. “But I would understand if you’d prefer…not to see me again.”

Sasha was shocked at herself when she shook her head vehemently. “No, no. I-I would like that.”

A boyish grin spread across his handsome features. Taking out his phone, they exchanged numbers before he finally saw her out, making sure she entered her vehicle safely before driving away.

Dmitri desperately paced outside the closed door. His repeated knocks for entrance were ignored as he heard the sound of rushed packing, the dresser drawers slamming continuously, the clanging of hangers. Trying to hold onto his temper, he pressed the bridge of his nose and concentrated on taking in deep breaths. Finally, with a deep sigh, he tried once more.