Chapter One

Rose POV

I passed the cup of coffee to the guy in front of the counter, his eyes drooping a little as he hands over his card. He must have been an intern –the fact that he had been in several times since I started my shift gave it away. And I had been working here long enough to spot a newbie. I smiled, swiping the card before handing it back to him. A grunt of thanks was all I got in return. To be fair, I was working the graveyard shift tonight, I was lucky to get a grunt. Working in a hospital coffee shop was one of the best jobs and, surprisingly, I actually liked doing the graveyard shifts. It was quieter then my house – living with roommates is never easy - I could actually get some collage work done between customers – if my boss didn't catch me – and some of the doctors here are nice to look at. Not that I'm a creep or anything, but I may have thought about some of them topless.

My favourite fantasy, Dr. Dimitri Belikov, had just walked in. Now this guy was practically sex on legs. At least a foot taller than me, broad shoulders, shoulder length dark hair, deep brown eyes and smart. He was so smart. Everyone one around here called him a God. But if he knew it, he didn't show it. Compared to some of the other surgeons in the building *cough-Alto-cough*, Dimitri's lack of ego surprised me. He rarely smiled, which was a shame. The few times I had seen it, my knees had gone weak and my stomach had erupted in butterflies. I just hoped he hadn't noticed.

Walking besides him was my "friend by association" Dr. Christian Ozera. He had basically been forced into my life by my best friend Lissa when they had started to get serious. We didn't get along at first – I didn't trust him, he was jealous of my relationship with Lissa blah blah blah – but we got over it. He even got me this job as kind of a peace offering between us. I think he wanted more time with Lissa – which he now got with me out of the house. But I needed the money for Grad school so I took it. Besides, I don't think he realised just how much he would have to see me whilst at work considering I controlled the only source of good coffee in the building.

"Hey Sparky." I said as the guys approached. I tried to keep my eyes focused and not travel up and down Dimitri's body, but it was hard. Especially when he was so close. "Rosie" Christian replied, earning a scowl from me "For a smart guy, you're not really that smart are you?" I smiled, grabbing the coffee pot from behind me and waving it in front of his face. "You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't what?" I asked in my most innocent voice as I poured myself a cup of coffee. Best perk about this place, I got to drink all the free coffee I wanted – up to 3 cups on a bad night, I knew my limit.

"Withhold coffee from us."

"Him?" I pointed at Dimitri, who had this little smirk on his face as he watched us bicker. Don't stare at his lips Rose; don't stare at his lips. "No. But the guy that just called me Rosie-"

"Only because you called me Sparky."

"Sometimes I wonder how you became a Doctor."

"Haha, can I have a cup of coffee." Christian asked. Smirking a little, I poured him a cup. This was what our relationship had simmered down too, teasing and rude remarks. But it worked for us, and it also got Lissa off our backs.

"And for you Doc?" I asked, turning to Dimitri. "Coffee too, please." He said. I always forget just how sexy his accent is. I'm pretty sure I would listen to my lectures more if he was the one teaching me. Without another word, I poured him a coffee, sliding it over as they handed me their cards. "Have a good night guys." I said as they thanked me and left, going to sit at a table that was still within sight range of the counter. There was nothing really around to distract me from Dimitri – it had been quiet a slow night which was weird. There were people around, but the place wasn't overcrowded which meant that there weren't a lot of tables to clean.

Slipping my notebook out from under the counter, I started to read through my psychology class notes. Why did I have to take this class? The subject wasn't easy, but it would have been okay if my teacher wasn't such a complete moron. I have fallen asleep in his class 3 times, but thankfully he hasn't noticed. He's too busy droning on about how the brain works. As I stared at my notes, my mind started to wonder to the Russian Doctor sitting a couple of tables away from me.

I shouldn't be thinking about him. After my last relationship ended so badly, I shouldn't be thinking about anyone. But Dimitri wasn't just anyone. Why do I do this to myself? It's not like anything is going to happen between us – I've been working here for five months now and we haven't even had a conversation that goes past two lines. But I can't help thinking about him. Lissa is right, maybe I do need to get laid, get the whole sexual frustration thing out of my system. As if I had time for that.

Dimitri POV

"So, are you coming out with us tomorrow night?" Christian asked, sliding into the seat opposite mine. Tomorrow we both had a day off and he had asked me to come to his Anniversary party. I had hoped to avoid it, but he wasn't letting me get away that easily. "Do I have to?" I asked, taking a sip of coffee. It tasted good, unlike the stuff they had in the doctor's lounge; one of the reasons why I liked coming down here. "You promised me man. Come on, it will be a big night for me."

"What do you mean?" I asked, watching him shift in his seat "Well, tomorrow is mine and Lissa's 3 year anniversary. So -" he glanced towards the counter but Rose was busy, her face buried in a book looking confused. She was adorable when she had that look on her face – though I don't think she'd appreciate me calling her adorable. Snapping back to Christian, I took another swig of coffee, savouring the rich, bitter taste in my mouth "I'm going to ask Lissa to marry me."

I almost spat out my coffee. "What?" I asked, slightly shocked. I had known Christian since medical school, and not once had he mentioned wanting to get married. When he had first got with Lissa, he had been so scared about getting into a serious relationship that he had almost broken up with her.

"Yeah, I picked the ring up today." He was smiling

"Congratulations" I smiled, letting the news sink in. It was defiantly good. "You are sure, right?"

"Of course I am. I can't imagine my life without Lissa, she's everything. Knowing I'm coming home to her makes the shifts bearable."

"Alright, save it for the proposal."

"I know I'm just nervous; What if she says no?"

"She's not going to say no."

"How can you be so sure? What if she's not ready for this? We do talk about marriage and stuff, but we've never had that serious conversation. I just can't imagine life without her in it." I gave a side glance towards Rose, who was pouring a coffee for a nurse. She was beautiful, her smile made the bad days feel better, but she had something more to her beyond her obvious beauty. Strength radiated off her, I didn't know her well yet she still left her mark. But there was always something stopping me from talking to her.

"Look, Chris, just ask her. She will say yes, because she loves you. You don't have to get married straight away; you can wait a while and just relax before you start planning. You don't have to figure everything out on your own." Dimitri smiled, though inside, he wasn't feeling too happy; he had been envious of Christian and Lissa's relationship for a while. He wanted a girlfriend that stood beside him; to help him figure things out when things got too much for him to deal with on his own.

There had been a time when I thought I had had that, until Tasha had destroyed me. Lies and manipulation ran deep through our relationship, something I had been too distracted to realise when I was studying. I thought she was faithful until I had caught her in my bed with one of my best friends. Then everything had blown up. She had cried and begged as I shouted at her to get out. I couldn't trust her anymore. She had gone from one of the best things in my life, to the worst in a night. I didn't even realise how crazy she was until she had started to stalk me. Thankfully, I had only a few more weeks of studying left. Then I packed my bags, and came to America wanting a fresh start. I hadn't been able to look at another girl since.

"So you're coming tomorrow night then?"

"Yeah, I'll be there." I said, draining my coffee before heading back up to the surgical wing to check on patients. I needed to stop thinking about relationships. They weren't worth it; Tasha had taught me that.

Rose POV

Tonight had been long and slow. Thankfully, I had managed to read though most of my notes. If I could remember them would be another question. Dr. Belikov hadn't returned, and Christian had only come back one more time to grab another cup of coffee before heading to breakfast with Lissa. She had been staying at his the past couple of nights so I would have an empty flat when I got home. I didn't really look forward to it. I missed my best friend. She had been seeing so much of Christian lately, and I have been spending so much time between classes and picking up a few extra shifts at work that we hadn't had a chance to talk in a while.

I knew I would see her tomorrow night – there was no way I would be able to get out of her anniversary party – but it wasn't really the same. It just felt like there was so much going on at the moment, that I just missed having someone to relax with, have a couple of glasses – or bottles – of wine with and watch some crappy television whilst we bitched about our day. I really needed that right now. But I couldn't bring myself to be the one to tear her away from her boyfriend. They were in such a good place.

Opening the door, it did feel really good to be home. The place was a mess though; with Lissa and Jill – our other roommate – gone I hadn't really had the time or energy to clean. There was a pile of dishes in the sick, the floor was covered in crap and the coffee table was piled high with notes and books. I would have to clean it after I had a nap.

Dropping my bag on the couch, I pressed our answer phone button to check messages whilst sorting through the mail. The bills would need to be paid soon, rent was coming up and then there was –

"Hey Rose, it's me Jessie. Look, I'm sorry okay? I know you can forgive me, you're not an idiot. Just take me back, how many times do I have to tell you that she meant nothing to me. I can't stop thinking about you. Especially you, in my bed –"

"Message deleted" the answering machine replied as I jammed my finger down on the button as hard as I could. Why was he still calling me up? It had been five months; did he really think he could grovel his way back into my life? What did he not get about the words "I never want to see you again"?

Collapsing on the sofa, my brain started to hurt. I needed the girls here to distract me. If Lissa wasn't out to breakfast with Christian I would call her. Jill was in Palm Springs on a retreat with her cousin, so she was unreachable. We really weren't that close anyway. I could call up Eddie, but he was probably just crawling in from his job. He owned the restaurant we were going to tonight, so usually didn't get in till at least 2 am. Waking him up was never a good idea.

The only other option would be my mother. That was a firm no. She would pick up; I would say Hi and then there would but a rant about her life, and her problems. The usual questions would come up; "Why can't I ever keep a guy?" and "Why did your father leave me. I know he still loves me. Why does he deny his feelings?" and it would turn into a therapy session for her. I love my mum, when she's 5000 miles away and we keep our phone conversations to a 10 minute maximum limit.

Turning on the TV, I flipped onto Jerry Springer, to angry to think about collapsing in my bed. Jerry was good for when I needed a distraction, and a reminder that my life really wasn't so bad.