this is my story

Dimitri laughed softly and nodded. “Yeah, you give out the vibe,” he agreed. “I’ve been to a lot of places, but the Bahama’s has never shown up on that list. I guess I’ll have to add it to the list of places to go, especially if you’re frequenting the place.” Flirting came naturally to Dimitri, but only with people that could give it right back to him, and she was doing it rather well, so he was going to keep at it. He smirked as she spoke about the drink and nodded in understanding– a woman who knew what she wanted, then. “If I was to buy you this drink, then,” he hummed, noticing as she turned towards him a little more. “What would your drink of choice be?”

“well i suppose that’s a good thing, at least it’ll save me the hassle from dealing with the ones who don’t know what type of person i am.” she gave him another smile before nodding at his very obvious flirting. “if i had your number maybe i’d let you know when i plan to visit next, and you may be lucky enough to see me in a bikini.” she murmured before looking back at him and crossed her legs once more, listening to him intently. “hmmm i’d probably prefer a champagne cruiser right now, i mean if you were planning on buying me a drink.”

“Oh, no, I’m pretty sure I got that vibe from you the second we started talking. And that’s not such a bad philosophy to live by. You’ll never get anywhere by just saying yes all the time, by agreeing all the time,” he nodded at her in understanding. He should probably have been applying that philosophy to his own life, rather than taking on as many jobs as he did. “I imagine the Bahamas is just as beautiful a place as New York, at least from what I’ve heard,” he cocked his head to the side slightly with a small smile. Dimitri raised an eyebrow at her words and at her look. He hadn’t been expecting that from her, but he wasn’t angry about it either. How could he be? “Well,” he hummed, downing the rest of his drink. “There’s only one way you’re going to find out if it lives up to the hype then, aren’t you?” 

“oh yeah? i give out the vibe huh?” she’s definitely enjoying this conversation a lot more than she thought she would be, but than again, this town and it’s people were surprisingly her more and more each minute she spent here. “oh well i mean, who knows right? the bahama’s just have a lot more eye candy to offer, and they’re always just at your beck and call, so it kind of tips the scales a little bit. besides, if i had known you were hiding away in new york, perhaps that would’ve made a difference.” she watched him down his drink and took another sip from her own, finishing it off as well before turning to look at him with a smile on her face. “that’s true, too bad i don’t easily give in to my impulses, at least not until you buy me a drink first.” she murmured before twisting her upper body on the bar stool so that she was more turned towards him, a subtle sign that was telling everyone else in this bar that he was who held 100% of her attention tonight.

roscoe snorted, bringing his hand to his mouth. “unrefined?” the male shook his head. “which american did you dirty, sis?” he laughed a little, genuinely curious. or maybe he didn’t need to take her so seriously. “well, you never know.” he shrugged his shoulders, smiling softly at her. “wintergreen tends to surprise you.”

“absolutely unrefined,” she added before shaking her head. “you know how rude they can be. i’ve yet to meet a polite american.” she murmured before looking back at him and shrugging. “here’s hoping it does, because as of right now--i’m not that impressed.”

“Oh, only probably?” He raised an eyebrow, lips quirking up into a small smirk at her words. In all honesty, when he’d started talking to her at the bar, he certainly hadn’t expected her to be so easy to get along with. At first glance, she looked like most girls he spoke with in a bar did– yet she was actually holding her own and he was enjoying the conversation quite a lot more than he’d expected to. “That’s true, you’re right,” he hummed, taking a sip of his drink. “And you’ve gotta retain the mystery. What’s the fun in having everything out in the open?” Even though he was usually quite an open person, he did have his secrets. “Manhattan, actually. And what brings me to Wintergreen? The scenery, of course. And it’s certainly living up to expectations,” he smirked as he met her eyes. 

“only probably,” she grinned at him before shrugging. “can’t have you thinking that i’m strictly a ‘yes’ woman right? because i only agree with people when i want to.” with another casual shrug, she took a sip from her drink before looking back at him, wondering how on earth he wasn’t actually here with someone else. “retaining the mystery is a very big part of my charm,” she told him with a smirk before nodding at his revelation of where he was from. “that is a beautiful place, at least from what i’ve heard, i’ve only been to new york in transition to the bahamas.” at his very obvious attempt at calling her part of the scenery, she only rolled her eyes before shrugging. “but asides from the scenery, there are more things that i’m hoping live up to the hype as well,” her words were said with a very pointed glance in his direction, eyes traveling from his shoes to his hair, letting him know exactly what was in her mind.

the smirk on her features only widens at mia’s response and she turns to face the other woman who had entered her suite, shutting the door behind them. alvira takes a seat across her, an eyebrow raised. “ i don’t think i have that kind of vibe⏤ you know nobody really asks me anything. and if they do, they don’t usually get a satisfactory response. ” a light chuckle follows her words. “ but since it’s you, i’ll divulge. just dropped by to visit maya and her little one. avantika has made wintergreen her favourite holiday destination and it’s not really on the top of my list for a holiday getaway, so i have to make do with seeing her post-holiday season. ” she adored her best friend’s daughter and made no secret of it. “ why, have you been seduced by the allure of snowy peaks? ”

“well i’m not anybody else,” she retorted to the other woman with a bright smile, one that was rare for mia to give anyone else. “maya--as in maya sehgal? oh well that’s interesting, i haven’t seen her around but then again--i haven’t really been looking for anyone.” she murmured before looking back at alvira and narrowing her eyes. “but if it’s her daughter’s holiday destination, wouldn’t they be going back early enough? why make the trip out here?” she murmured before laughing at alvira’s words. “the snowy peaks of this town? not a chance--who would choose this over the swiss alps?”

“Observant people are both the best and the worst people,” he admitted softly. “They notice everything, but they’re also the most impossible people to hide things from.” He’d call himself observant at times, too, but not always– some times he just couldn’t care less. “All right, then. I’m thinking you’re a bit of a driven person. You like things your way, you’re insistent in making sure that they do go your way. You’re a risk taker. You’re confident,” he furrowed his eyebrows and looked at her. “But you’ve got something deeper buried under the surface that I can’t quite figure out.”

“the best and worst huh? i could probably agree with you.” and mia wasn’t lying about that especially when she heard the reasoning he was giving her for why they were both the best and the worst. because really--most people found it hard to hide things from her, and yet would spend ages trying to figure her out. still she couldn’t help but give him a smile as he attempted to figure her out. but the truth was, she couldn’t believe how well he’d managed to pinpoint exactly who mia sinclair was. “well if you figured out what i kept buried, how would i be able to retain the mystery right?” she smiled as she raised her glass towards his own. “so judging from your accent, you’re from someone on the eastern coast of the country? what brings you to wintergreen?” she didn’t want to call it a boring town just yet, not if for some reason this incredibly attractive man actually liked it.

“tomorrow works for me.” lucky for the both of them, tomorrow was his off day. he laughed at hearing her comment about not wanting to sound american. “don’t know if you’ll be able to help it, but i suppose you can only wait and find out. “ah, okay. maybe you’ll fall in love with the place. a lot of people did.”

“perfect,” she gave the other a wide happy smile considering for the first time since she’d set foot here in wintergreen, at least something semi enjoyable was going to happen. “hey no, i will hold onto my accent for as long as possible, who wants to sound so unrefined?” she teased him before shaking her head. “falling in love is not in the sinclair handbook, and i figured you’d know that since you’ve somewhat seen me around back home.”

“Yeah, your guess is as good as mine,” he chuckled, giving her a small shrug. “It seems you’ve got the right idea about me, though. And if I’m not that type of person, then what type of person are you to notice that?”

mia heard his words and found herself smiling before nodding, silently thrilled that she had been right in her first assumption about him. “i’m a very observant person of course,” she grinned at him, tipping her glass in his direction. “but i do think this is your chance to tell me what type of person you think i am?”

“yes. he’s threatened to cut me off unless i do.” he replied, irritated now more at his father than mia, but his irritation was very clear in his voice. “he doesn’t care, he thinks marrying you will tame me so i’m less of an embarrassment.” because that’s all his father had ever thought of him. his mind raced, he just had no idea what to do anymore really. “i plan on staying here for a while, i’ve got a few reasons. maybe we can buy time by convincing him that we’re talking about it all.” which wasn’t a total lie, but it was of course not going in the way his father would want it to. “one day, mia, i’ll thank you for this, but i hope you know that until then i’m going to remain a little cross with you.” he said, looking down for a moment before meeting her eyes again, not nearly as mad as when they had started this.

“that’s bollocks! he can’t threaten to cut you off like that if you don’t want to marry me.” mia didn’t really understand why she was fighting so hard for someone else’s cause, but really--given how it impacted her life and freedom as well, it made sense. “well i mean, surely i could help tame your crazy wild side a bit, but i mean, no one needs to get marry each other for that.” she told him quietly before looking up at his words. “you’ve got a few reasons to stay here? in wintergreen? you?” she stared at him with widened eyes, surprised at this sudden change in events. “so you want me to lie and pretend that we’ve been trying to work things out? while you do whatever it is you need to?” she frowned, wondering where the benefit for her was in all this. at his words, she only laughed and shrugged. “listen, if you weren’t cross with me, i’d think you were incredibly daft.” she murmured before nodding and looking back up at him. “you know caspian, i didn’t think this would be a place that i’d find you in.”

His interest, normally so sporadic and quickly lost in a matter of minutes, managed to maintain interest on the girl before him. Perhaps it was the fiery spark he’d sensed from her or just her beauty or a combination of the two. “Oh, I can assure you,” he said, closing the distance between the two ever-so-slightly, “I am one hundred times better than anything you could ever get at Starbucks.” He grinned at her question, the movement giving him the mischevious look of a boy, with a glint that suggested he was anything but, “I can’t reveal all at this minute, now can I? Must maintain some kind of a mystery to me, after all. But if you’d consider joining me for a drink, I promise, some of it will be revealed in good time.”

“oh yeah? i think that just deserves a trial of sorts huh? you can’t just say stuff like that and expect me to believe it.” she murmured before taking another step towards him. “even if you don’t reveal all this moment, i do expect to be in on this little secret at some point.” she murmured before shrugging at his words. “i guess that just for the sake of finding out this mystery, i’ll have to have this drink with you.” with a grin she raised her eyebrow at him, so tell me--where are we having this drink?”

“i mean, that would be my father, and he would rage before bringing a starbucks here.” he didn’t like chains… it was annoying, and besides it would more likely be the breckenridges that brought one in and even then, doubtful. “i’m loren, and please, ordering on an app is a blessing, i can customize so much and as long as they can read, it gets done right.” she’d had a few accidents happen where the barista couldn’t read right, but after a simple talk she had her correct coffee and was on with her way. “though the place in town is pretty alright, there is a barista named jade that literally makes liquid gold in terms of coffee.”

“that is the worst,” she told the other woman standing in front of her before shaking her head. “how can he be against a chain like starbucks, it pretty much enhances whatever place it comes to.” she liked this woman already, and was glad to have made her acquaintance for sure. “thank you,” she said with a laugh. “most people don’t even understand the convenience of the app system.” she heard the other’s words about her coffee shop in town and shrugged. “i don’t know truthfully, some of these small town places, overcharge and don’t even make the right type of stuff. but you know your barista by name? that must mean you visit quite often huh? i’ll have to check it out and hope that it lives up to the hype.”

Mia was a pleasure to hang around. She was witty, confident, and didn’t give a flying flip what anyone thought of her. It was quite attractive in his opinion and may be a major result as how he ended up in her bed besides her beauty. “Thank you for opening up your heart to me, I’m honored,” he said jokingly placing his hand over her heart as if it was privilege to be in her presence. “But you were on the run the doll. I would have happily chatted over tea and biscuits the following morning, but at least you didn’t leave after the first round so I can’t be too upset.” It was moments like that he experienced that allowed him displace himself from the gravity of war and the intensity of his job. A night spent with a stranger brought him back to reality, even if it were for only a few hours. “I think it has its hidden trinkets. You should give it a try,” he chuckled. “I’m recuperating. Had and injury and my siblings are all here, so thought I’d join them. Did you find the person you were looking for?” 

mia gave him a grin at his words, she knew he was teasing her but she was quite amused by his theatrics. “you’re very welcome of course, it’s not something that happens easily.” and while she too was saying this as a joke, the truth was--she really didn’t admit to things easily. at his words, and recollection of that night back in london, she found herself sighing and nodding. he’d been right. she was ultimately the one who had chosen to run in the morning to avoid the awkward morning after--something she never enjoyed partaking in. “i couldn’t leave after the first round, you were just that good.” with a smile, she heard his words and nodded. “i’ll try to keep an open mind for your precious little wintergreen.” she heard his second statement about an injury and ended up frowning. “an injury? you’re doing okay? and uh yeah, i did find the person i’m looking for.”

“ i can’t believe people are actually surprised about bezos stepping out on his wife. it’s been like an open secret since he started doing it. he was just dumb enough to assume it wouldn’t make it to the papers, ” she says before a frown quickly covers her features at the question posed by her brother on the line. “ no, no⏤ dad says to stick with the company. that’s our play. she won’t vote against, nor cause a coup. he’s the idiot, not her. ” the deadpan was unnecessary, but she was otherwise stressed ( and he’d never pulled her up on it either; caring too much when it came to his sister was ved’s fatal flaw ). the bell rang at the door, diverting her attention. and so she cut the call with a quick ‘ good luck ’ before tossing her phone aside to go and attend. perhaps bringing along an entourage wouldn’t have been amiss. but she was here for maya, not business. alvira opened the door, giving a wry smile to her visitor. “ did you not see the do not disturb sign? ” there was none. @mixsinclxir

mia had found out that alvira was in town and had quickly made plans with the other to come see her. because really, if there was someone else in this town who was as devious as her, it was the new entrant from london. mia had met up with alvira quite a few times related to either functions they were both attending, or social circles they ran in and had quickly taken a shine to the older woman. “what makes you think i’d care? that’s for the help anyways..not me.” she rolled her eyes, shoving past the older woman before taking a seat on the couch in her room. “so--what brings you to this side of the pond? has anyone asked that yet? because i’ve gotten it at least four times.”

“well.” roscoe chuckled, “i’m here all evening, and hopefully, i’ll be able to be here whenever you need a handsome guide.” he laughed, “it’ll take a long time before your accent starts changing, could be months, could be a year or a little more. it all depends. if you come and go, it probably won’t change at all. is that your plan? to come to the resort seasonally? or have you completely moved here?”

“well what if we set a date like tomorrow, for you to be my guide and show me whatever there is to see in this town?” she wasn’t making it sound like a real date but hell, whatever worked to give her some entertainment was definitely not a bad thing. “god i won’t want to lose my accent, sounding american is actually one of my nightmares roscoe, you’re going to have to ensure it doesn’t happen.” she smiled before shaking her head. “as of right now, this is just a one time thing, but who knows what the future holds, right?”

Dimitri nodded. “Yeah, freezing most of the time. I got used to the cold pretty quick, so that’s never really a bother– just the snow itself,” he explained. Sometimes he missed living in New York, but most times he didn’t. He knew he’d never live there again. “You’ve just given me some great potential blackmail material there, y’know?”

“perhaps, but i mean really--what on earth would you need to blackmail me for?” she laughed taking a sip from her glass before turning back to him. “you don’t even know me, and you don’t strike me as the type of who would hold onto such information as ammunition of sorts.”

“I doubt that conversation was pleasant at all, but what do I know.” He honestly didn’t mean to upset the girl in anyway or form. Maybe he had a heavier hand because of her career and dragging her away from the concierge was a bit abrupt but he honestly was shocked and acted before thinking anything through. “Sorry, Miss Sinclair, I forgot my manners back in London.” After her comment about his crew and team, he couldn’t help but chuckle. She was so full of it. How’d Caspian come to enjoy the company of this woman was beside him? “Can’t help that I’m attracted to pretty women. You could have said no at anytime Red, but you didn’t. You enjoyed it as much as I did, but that’s not what I came to address.” Remy wanted to know if Mia had gotten any leeway with Caspian and if so, was it even worth the boxer’s time to even try to mend the splintered bridge. “You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here? This doesn’t seem like your scene. Unless you do have a sympathetic bone in your body after all. ” 

mia would always deny that hearing remy call her red was something she loved. but really--it was. it wasn’t a unique nickname by any means, but most refrained from using it with her, mainly because she’d snap their necks with her bare hands if they so dared, but remy wasn’t like that--he hadn’t cared and so she’d seen her chance to make him slip up with his friend’s girl. “enjoyed it? really? too bad you’re mistaken.” she scoffed before looking up at him when he asked the question. “what do you think i’m doing in this ridiculous town remy? surely i haven’t come to ski.” she murmured before sighing and shrugging. “shocking right? i actually feel bad about what i’ve done.” she murmured before nodding. “that’s what i came here to do..talk to caspian and just-clear the air.” she didn’t dare tell remy that her sleeping with him had been a calculated move, why hurt the poor man’s ego that way?

cas bit his lip when mia’s words reached his ears, trying to let her finish before he replied and barely holding out. “yes! because i didn’t like being forced to marry you either!” he wouldn’t have gotten hurt that way, though oddly seeing her here and hearing that she’d done it just to get out of things… well it sort of made things a little less painful. caspian sighed, and ran a hand through his hair as he shook his head. what could he say? did he forgive her? not yet, but he seemed to be on the path too. because of mia, he’d come to wintergreen and had been enjoying a lot of his stay. rather than being married off and on some false honeymoon. “mia…” he trailed off, completely unsure of what to say? what did someone say to that? caspian sighed, “well, we’re both relatively free now, father still expects me to come back to you.” but he wouldn’t.

“he expects you to...forgive me and come back to me?” mia shook her head. caspian’s father truly was someone she was not a fan of. she didn’t get how he could expect his son to forgive her infidelity like that just to carry on the relationship. “neither of us want that though..” she murmured before looking at him with a shrug. “do you have any ideas what we should do? to make sure we don’t end up like other people from our social circles...horribly unhappy together?” she looked at him, somehow thankful that he mentioned not liking the fact that he was forced to be with her either. this way--at least her guilt for hurting him was minimizing--at least slightly.