If Im Being Honest The Vals – CP Cabaniss

The butterflies vanish and I grimace as I follow him out and lock the door behind us. “I feel like I’m headed to my own execution.” He arches his eyebrows at me as he stows the bags under the cover on the bed of the truck. “I’ll try to be better company.” I glare at him. “Very funny.” He opens the passenger door and a wave of warm air washes over me.

I stall on the threshold. This is my last chance. Maybe I can convince him— both of us—that this is a bad idea. But then his hand is on my face, thumb resting on the tip of my chin, and I’m meeting his gaze. The butterflies return in full force and my resolve dissolves into a long sigh.

How did I manage to single out someone so genuine and kind? “You’ve got this, Rosenka. And I’ll be right beside you.” “Rosenka?” I cock my head as I study him, his fingers soft against my skin. His face flushes with a slight tinge of pink but he doesn’t look away.

“It’s what I’ve started calling you in my head,” he confesses. “Like a Russian diminutive, kind of.” “I’ll try to be more positive…Mitenka.” He smiles his television smile before he kisses me. *** “Will we see everyone tonight?” Dmitri asks as we drive. He tried to hold my hand, but I insisted he keep all digits on the wheel.

“We’ll stop by Gramma’s first, so you can meet her. She insisted. Then we’ll go to the rental house. I don’t know if everyone is getting in today, but my parents will be there.” Now that we’re grown, some of us with families of our own, Gramma doesn’t have space to house everyone.

My cousins and I used to toss sleeping bags on the living room floor while our parents took the beds. Since that no longer works, my parents—along with my aunt and uncle— decided to rent a house large enough for all of us. I was going to book a place for me and Dmitri, but then Mom called to let me know that housing was all taken care of and although I wanted to, I couldn’t tell her no. Some habits are hard to break.

“I’m looking forward to it.” I squirm in my seat before I tuck my hands under my thighs to keep them still. I’ve gotten so good at pretending, half the time I believe my own lies. But the thought of a reunion with my parents has me reverting back to the child I used to be.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, places, or situations is entirely incidental. No part of this work may be used in the training of artificial intelligence systems. OceanofPDF.com Contents Also by C. P. Cabaniss CHAPTER ONE A Proposition Dmitri CHAPTER TWO Desperate Measures Rose CHAPTER THREE Assignments Dmitri CHAPTER FOUR What’s in a Name?

Rose CHAPTER FIVE Poker Face Dmitri CHAPTER SIX Give and Take Rose CHAPTER SEVEN Let’s Get Lost Dmitri CHAPTER EIGHT Failed Attempts Rose CHAPTER NINE Parental Control Dmitri CHAPTER TEN Memory Stings Dmitri CHAPTER ELEVEN Hollow Rose CHAPTER TWELVE Admissions Dmitri CHAPTER THIRTEEN Old Ambitions Rose CHAPTER FOURTEEN New Dynamics Dmitri CHAPTER FIFTEEN Mitenka Rose CHAPTER SIXTEEN Old Wounds Rose CHAPTER SEVENTEEN A New Perspective Dmitri CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Competition Rose CHAPTER NINETEEN At the Park Dmitri CHAPTER TWENTY Cookie Dough Rose CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Friendly Fire Dmitri CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Mine Was the Same Rose CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Give Thanks Dmitri CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Another Step Rose CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE An Opportunity Dmitri CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX The Fallout Rose CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN State of Confusion Dmitri CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT A New Dawn Rose CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE New Adventures Dmitri CHAPTER THIRTY Found Rose Epilogue April Showers Dmitri Author’s Note Acknowledgements About the Author OceanofPDF.com for Dostoevsky OceanofPDF.com CHAPTER ONE A Proposition Dmitri “I have a proposition for you.”

Rose stands close, her face only a few inches away, an open case of blush, foundation, concealer, or some other powdery makeup I can’t name resting in one hand while the other applies it to my face with quick, deft movements. I raise my eyebrows at her words, trying not to disturb her work, but if she notices the question in my expression, she doesn’t show it.

“You like adventure.” Her dark eyes shift to mine for a moment as if challenging me to contradict her words. When I don’t, she says, “This would be, in a sense, an adventure.” I see the slightest tension form around her lips, but it disappears as quickly. “You want the position in Rockford,” she continues, “and I can help you get it.” I’m curious, but I don’t say anything. Rose is the best at what she does, and she has a strict no talking policy. I wonder if that’s the reason she chose this moment to ask me whatever it is she’s trying to ask me.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: ce67fbcf48e80932
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 1,422,765 bytes (1.357 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 146
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 241.12 minutes
• Total Words: 48,224
• Total Characters: 256,350
• Average Words per Page: 330.3
• Average Characters per Page: 1755.82

Most Frequent Words

rose (314), i’m (248), dmitri (217), it’s (198), now (175), don’t (165), like (157), one (155), want (149), know (145), i’ve (124), says (120), back (120), time (118), think (109), gramma (109), around (101), away (99), see (99), head (99), still (99), good (96), smile (88), feel (87), something (86), eyes (84), first (84), tell (81), gaze (79), mom (79), get (78), lips (78), can’t (74), say (74), close (72), she’s (72), doesn’t (71), never (71), maybe (71), myself (70), even (67), fingers (66), face (65), arms (64), way (63), make (63), door (62), take (61), always (61), little (61), toward (61), work (60), chapter (60), dylan (60), love (59), hand (59), thought (59), together (59), against (57), last (56), parents (56), kiss (56), you’re (54), val (54), step (53), said (52), long (52), going (52), michaelson (52), need (51), family (50), we’re (49), life (49), things (49), look (49), right (48), didn’t (48), two (46), small (46), thoughts (46), better (45), chest (45), mine (44), hands (44), much (44), find (43), meet (43), new (42), isn’t (42), room (42), com (41), voice (41), let (41), try (41), turn (41), heart (41), oceanofpdf (40), name (40), everyone (40), looks (40).

PDF Download