I Don't Want To Solve Your Problems, I Have My Own

If anyone ever tries to tell me hockey players are stupid, I’ll punch them. Evgeni not only explained everything in a way I understood, but he even showed me easier ways to do it. I stared at him in shock before flinging myself into his arms and hugging him tightly.

“THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!” I screamed, hugging him tightly. He laughed and hugged me back before pulling me onto his lap.

“It’s no problem, really. I was always good with numbers.” he smiled. I grinned and kissed the tip of his nose, before blushing furiously. He chuckled and kissed my nose as well, before kissing my lips. I felt my blood burn, and I returned the kiss. Pretty soon he had his hands in my hair, and I was straddling him instead of simply sitting on his lap. He leaned back in the desk chair and it fell back, sending us toppling to the floor. We both groaned slightly, but we looked at each other and laughed. His nose scrunched up in the most adorable way possible when he laughed, and he had a huge smile that could light up a room. Man, I’m falling for him hard, aren’t I?

“I seem to have fallen for you.” he said, as if he had been reading my mind. We both burst out into laughter at his cheesy pun, and he brushed a strand of hair out of my face. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was close to 6. My stomach rumbled and I sat up so that I was sitting on his hips.

“Are you hungry?” I asked. He nodded, so I stood up and walked the short distance to my horribly shabby kitchen. I tugged open the fridge and tapped my foot against the floor for a minute before shutting it.

“How do you feel about pizza?” I asked, making a mental note to go grocery shopping soon.

“Sounds good to me.” he smiled before sitting up and cracking his neck.

We went to my favorite pizza place, which was just a few blocks from my apartment. We chatted idly as we ate our food, and for a while we were all smiles and laughter. Suddenly Evgeni sighed and I raised my eyebrows.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, sipping my soda. He fiddled with the straw in his cup before looking at me.

“I feel bad about yesterday.” he admitted quietly. My eyebrows simply shot further up, almost disappearing into my bangs.

“Why? It’s not like you knew she was going to show up.” I shrugged. He bit his lip and glanced out the window to watch the people walk around outside.

“I didn’t tell you truth. You ask, but I say no.” he murmured, almost inaudibly. I bit my lip and placed my hand on his.

“If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to. I have a lot of shit that’s happened to me in my life, and believe me when I tell you I haven’t told you a tenth of it.” I said quietly. He looked at me, and his eyes didn’t sparkle with their usual mischief.

“I really, really like you Ashley, so if this is going to work…you need to know.” he said.

“Oh…” I said. I felt like kicking myself in the head, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say to that.

“Me and Fania…well…I loved her. I really did. What Sid told you was only part of story.” Evgeni said. I squeezed his hand supportively, and gave him my full attention.

”Fania and I met in high school. We were always together. She was beautiful, and I was talented. It was the way things were supposed to be…supposedly. When we graduated we got serious. When I got signed by Penguins, I was going to propose. That night…things happened, and soon I find out she isn’t in the relationship for me. She was in it for money, and she was cheating on me. Her and other boyfriend had plan. They knew I loved her. She was going to accept proposal…marry me, have a baby, wait for big contract. Once big contract come, she divorce me and take tons of money for child support. She is rich and with other man, I am left alone. She wanted to crush me. That is why, until you, I never sleep with women. That is why I got scared and ran. Usually woman feels upset about things like having sex…having sex with a stranger, but I just…I have trouble trusting women.”

When Evgeni told me the whole story, I felt my heart lurch. I couldn’t stand the thought of someone doing something so cruel, especially so young. I mean…they couldn’t have been much older than 19 or 20 when all of this happened. I knew a little bit about how hard it was for him to get into the US and join the Penguins, so the combination of it all made me hate Fania even more. Evgeni’s face fell more and more as he told me the story, and I just held his hand tightly and shook my head.
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I didn’t want to ruin our date, especially after seeing how happy I had made her just by showing her something that came almost as easily to me as hockey. Unfortunately, my guilt got the best of me and I told Ashley the entire story of my past with Fania. She looked sad, almost horrified, and held my hand tightly. I squeezed her hand back and looked out the window, where the sky had opened up and rain spattered against the glass. I was relieved to see that I was comfortable enough to tell someone other than Sidney about all of the problems I had though. I paid for our food, and right before we were about to walk out I noticed that Ashley didn’t have a jacket.

“You don’t have jacket,” I pointed out. She looked down at her simple gray tee and shrugged.

“It was warm this afternoon, I didn’t think I’d need one,” she sighed. I slipped off my black Penguins zip up and handed it to her.

“Here, wear mine,” I said. She smiled gratefully and pulled it on. I chuckled when I saw how it dwarfed her. The sleeves were way too long, and the body of it fell halfway down her thighs.

“It’s a little big,” she smiled.

“Yeah, well I’m a big guy,” I shrugged, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. She pulled up the hood and we walked out. I didn’t mind the rain so much, but by the time we returned to her apartment my hair and clothes were plastered to my body. I shivered a bit, and Ashley shook her head.

“You must be freezing! I feel bad now,” she sighed, peeling off my hoodie, which was also soaked.

“It not so bad, I’m used to cold,” I shrugged. She shook her head and ran into her room, returning with a towel and a blanket.

“Take off your shirt,” she said. I raised my eyebrows at her, but did it. She immediately began to rub my hair dry, and then my shoulders and chest.

“Want me to take my pants off too?” I teased. She smirked and we both laughed.

“I’m sure you can handle that yourself,” she said, hanging the towel over my head before disappearing into her bedroom once more. She returned a few minutes later in some dry clothes of her own, and tossed me a big teeshirt.

“Why do you have a guy’s shirt?” I asked.

“It’s not…I sleep in them,” she explained. I pulled it over my head and she curled up on her couch next to me before wrapping the blanket around the both of us. She snuggled into my side and I wrapped my arm around her. Her lips found the hollow of my neck and I swallowed roughly. Her hands danced up my arm before grabbing my chin and pulling my down. She kissed me, and I smiled into her lips before kissing her back. Her tongue flickered into my mouth and I pulled her as close to me as I could, running my fingers through her hair. I felt her fingers slip underneath my shirt, and my breath quickened as her hands ran up my stomach. They slowly traveled back down, and she started to undo my belt buckle.

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“Wait,” he said, breaking away from me. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and pulled my hands away. Evgeni got up and ran his hands through his hair, anxiety streaking across his face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, confused.

“I…I can’t do this right now,” he croaked.

“You didn’t seem to have a problem with it a few days ago,” I said, almost coldly. Evgeni’s face contorted and he groaned quietly.

“I know…I wasn’t thinking…now I am thinking, and I…I have to go,” he said before bolting from the apartment. I sat in disbelief, staring at the door for a good five minutes before slipping off of the couch and shutting the door quietly. I felt numb, but a bit of fear ran down my spine as I picked up his hoodie, which he had left on my floor. I can’t tell if this is going to be the greatest or the worst thing that’s ever happened to me...