Chapter Text
Rose considered herself as straight as they come.
She liked how they looked, how their deep voices sounded. The way they could lift her off her feet effortlessly and have their way with her.
But even she had to admit she had a shit taste in men. Well, maybe not so shit since they were so similar they even shared their attraction to men.
She found women attractive, I mean, who didn't? But it never got to a point where she wanted to kiss one.
Well, until she met Svetlana Vetrova.
And why the hell was she at the film set, arguing with the director?
Her hair was down, and she was dressed in a fitted red blouse with black dress pants. Rose couldn't tell what they were talking about from a distance, but she caught Svetlana furrowing her brows and crossing her arms in front of her.
Rose just couldn't help her curiosity and grabbed one of the closest crew members.
,,What's going on over there?" The guy she grabbed couldn't be older than twenty. He stared at her wide-eyed, the box in his arms trembling a bit.
,,So?" She softened her voice not to freak the guy out even more. He cleared his throat before responding.
,,That's Vetrova's representative, they rent out the cars for the afterparty scenes." She turned her head back to the woman, only this time Svetlana's eyes were zeroed on her.
Rose's breath caught in her throat, and before she could stop herself, she was storming off to her makeup station, leaving the stunned guy behind.
As soon as she sat down Rose let out a shaky breath. She began smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles on her dress in an attempt to calm herself down.
,,You good?" Her makeup artist asked, already picking up the foundation.
,,Yeah, sorry." Rose smiled at her before staring at her own reflection. Her cheeks were flushed, and her lips tender from biting down on them too hard.
She didn't even realise that the habit had come back.
______________
The first time she saw her was at Shane and Ilya's wedding.
Rose remembered every single detail. Their vows were so beautiful she had to hold back tears.
Right after their first dance, she approached Shane. She almost threw herself in his arms, careful not to stain his white suit with makeup as she kissed his cheek.
,,I'm so happy for you baby." She sounded a bit funny, her voice cracking with every word. He hugged her back just as eagerly, burying his face in her hair.
,,Give me back my husband, please." Ilya was standing right behind her, his lips curled in an amused smile, arm in arm with a tall woman, holding her waist from the side.
,,He's all yours." Rose chuckled before glancing at the woman once more. Her brown curly hair was put up in an elegant updo. She was wearing Chanel's newest collection. The dress hugged her body like a glove.
Rose had to admit she looked fantastic.
,,I don't think we've been introduced." Rose extended her hand, the noise of the guests almost muffling her words. The woman shook it gently.
,,I know who you are, Rose Landry." The heavy accent rolled off her tongue. Ilya smirked and dropped his hand from her waist and grabbed onto his husband instead.
,,Oh." Well, what was she supposed to say next? Did she know any of her movies? Did she like them? Was she her fan? She glanced between Shane and Ilya.
,,And that's Svetlana Vetrova." More and more people joined the dance floor, the music got turned up, and soon enough, the newlyweds were dragged away by the happy guests.
,,I'll leave you ladies to it!" Ilya called over his shoulder as Cliff pulled him by the shoulder to the rest of Boston's team.
Rose glanced at her frantically, clicking her nail on the champagne glass.
,,So you're a Vetrova, as in the Vetrovas?" Svetlana turned towards her, but her expression remained indifferent.
Maybe she wanted to be left alone, and Rose was bothering her? Fuck what was wrong with her, she's Rose Landry for fuck's sake, handling people like this was her job.
,,Are you interested in cars?" Svetlana raised her own glass slightly, her gold bracelets shuffling a bit. Her eyes never left Rose's. They slowly walked away from the crowd.
,,Not really, I much prefer being a passenger princess." Rose murmured before taking a sip.
,,What does that mean?" Rose cursed herself internally. Using English slang right now wasn't the best idea. She cleared her throat and tried to sound nonchalant.
,,It's like I don't really enjoy driving, I much prefer sitting back and enjoying the ride." Svetlana raised her eyebrows before letting out a melodic laugh. Rose couldn't help herself and smiled as well.
,,Let's grab something stronger." Svetlana didn't wait for her response. She grabbed her hand and led them towards the bar.
Rose sat in the tall chair as Svetlana ordered for them in Russian. Rose figured she must have known him from Ilya's other parties.
Two glasses with a mysterious red liquid were soon placed in front of them. Rose wasn't a big drinker, but she needed alcohol to survive this night. She took a big gulp before almost choking on it.
,,Shit that's intense." She coughed, hoping to smooth out the burning sensation. She felt her eyes becoming glossy, but she quickly blinked away the tears.
,,I've told the barman to make them Russian style." Svetlana supported her chin on her hand as she sipped her drink slowly.
The woman's gaze burned her. She had no issue holding eye contact, but this lady was something else.
,,It tastes like straight liquor." But Rose still didn't ask for any more mixer. Her pride wouldn't survive it even if she threw up later.
,,It has cranberry in it." Svetlana said, leaning in. She smelled so good.
,,So how do you know Shane?" More people approached the bar, and it was hard to hear the woman over the shouting guests.
,,Don't you know already?" Rose half said half yelled as she brushed her hair from her shoulders.
She could swear Svetlana's eyes dropped to her cleavage for a split second before grabbing her chair and pulling them closer.
,,I know you were dating, but how did you two meet?" She picked up the half-finished drink and placed it back in Rose's hand. Svetlana clicked their glasses before finishing hers in one go without even batting an eye. Rose quickly followed, the bitter taste not as bad as the first time.
,,It was just a party in a restaurant, he sat at my table, we hit it off, talked the whole night." Svetlana moved even closer. Rose's whole body tensed up as their knees brushed against each other.
,,Quite romantic." She chuckled, showing off her perfect teeth. Rose's mouth hung open in disbelief and she tapped Svetlana's shoulder playfully.
,,Are you making fun of me?" She felt her strap falling off her shoulder, but before she could fix it, the woman was already reaching out.
,,I wouldn't dream of it." Svetlana grazed her arm with her red nails before trailing upwards and putting the strap back in place. Her whole body felt like it was on fire. It must have been the liquor speaking for her, but she just couldn't stop the words from leaving her mouth.
,,You're really pretty, you know." It was true. Now that they sat closer, she saw how Svetlana's eyelashes cast a soft shadow on her cheeks, her cheekbones as if they could cut glass, and her lips, oh lord, her lips. Painted just the perfect shade between brown and red.
Suddenly she realised what she had done and quickly looked away, her voice much more high pitched than usual.
,,I don't mean it like that, I mean you're nice to look at." Svetlana didn't stop smiling. She leaned in, pulling Rose's hair behind her ear. Rose felt a shiver run down her spine.
,,Thank you Rose Landry, you're nice to look at too." Her voice purred in her ear, low and controlled, and just like that, she got up and walked away, not even sparing Rose a glance over her shoulder, leaving her there flustered.
She left an imprint of her lipstick on her glass, red standing out against the surface. Rose shot up from her seat and practically ran to the bathroom.
As soon as she locked herself in, she leaned on the sink. That was one of the most intense moments of her life. Svetlana intimidated her, and she wasn't used to that.
Usually, the feeling was reserved for some handsome guy before taking him home and releasing the pent-up tension. And she couldn't exactly apply that same logic here.
Rose turned on the tap and sprinkled some cold water on the nape of her neck. She stared back at her reflection.
Whatever had just happened between them wouldn't stop her from having fun tonight.
Rose fixed her lipstick and left for the dance floor, Shane pulling her into his arms as soon as she approached.
_______________
The night was an endless cycle of dancing, drinking some more, and putting on some more lip gloss.
She saw Svetlana twice more. First, on her way to the bar, the woman was talking with Ilya, both of them doing shots.
She wondered how they even knew each other. Hockey and cars didn't seem to have anything in common.
Her back was turned to Rose, showing off the intricate patterns of her dress. She glanced at Ilya only to see him already looking at her, whispering something to Svetlana.
She had been caught, but before she could look away, Svetlana turned her head as well.
Not knowing what to do, she spun on her heel and vanished into the dance floor once more. Svetlana's eyes were glued to her back.
Rose danced away the whole night trying to avoid a certain Russian. It was nearing dawn now, and her feet just couldn't take it anymore. She said goodbye to Shane, took off her heels, and held them in one hand as she called her driver.
Rose wrapped her coat around her and stood in front of the building. The cool air was a pleasant change from the stuffy warmth of the reception. She heard someone clearing their throat and looked around, only to see the one and only.
Svetlana was leaning on the wall, her lips pursed around a cigarette.
,,Want one?" She extended the pack towards Rose. She only shook her head in response.
,,Non smoker?" She asked before inhaling, the bud lighting up as she did. Even the way she smoked was sexy, Rose thought as the smoke left her lungs.
,,Yeah." She took a few steps towards the woman, wincing at the feeling of cold concrete under the naked soles of her feet.
,,Did you enjoy the party?" Svetlana nodded as she exhaled, dropping the finished cigarette to the ground and stomping on it with her heel, putting it out.
,,Even more than I expected." Svetlana tilted her head, her eyes reflecting the early rays of sunlight. And Rose was at a loss for words again.
Before she could muster anything in response, her driver pulled up to the driveway.
,,That's my ride." She exhaled as she crossed her arms in front of her, trying to gather some more warmth.
,,It was nice to meet you, Rose."
,,Goodbye Svetlana."
It was the first time Rose said her name, and she truly was convinced it would be the last.
She never thought she would see her again, and yet there she was.