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

I slipped back into the bed next to Ashley, but I could tell just by looking at her face that her mood had changed. I immediately placed a hand on her shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I just…I think I should tell you the truth about what happened before this goes any further than it just did,” Ashley squeaked, looking away from me. Her cheeks burned with something, and it wasn’t embarrassment. Shame?

“Okay…” I said, trying to catch her eyes.

“When I got home last night the person in my apartment…he is…was…my boyfriend,” Ashley started.

“Which one is he? You said ‘is’ and ‘was’,” I said quickly. She swallowed roughly.

“Was, but he doesn’t see it that way,” she said.

“Oh?” I asked.

“He’s kind of a nut job. We started dating our junior year of high school, when we were both seventeen. I broke up with him a few months ago, right before my twenty first birthday. He couldn’t take it. He snapped. He’s been stalking me ever since, and he went through my stuff last night. He tore through my journals, and my calendar. He was pissed, and demanded to know who you were…where you lived. When I wouldn’t tell him, he threw me across the room…tried to beat it out of me, but since I lived with my dad for so long I knew how to keep my mouth shut. I just…I don’t know if it’s safe for me to feel the way I do about you, especially since I hardly know you,” she said. Fat tears rolled from her eyes, and before I even knew I had done it, I had pulled her into a tight hug. I rocked her back and forth, and she whimpered before burrowing her head into my shoulder. I ran my hand against her hair, and kissed the top of her head.

“I am big, I can handle myself,” I said quietly.

“Yeah, but can you handle a psycho?” she murmured.

“I can handle anything your ex throws at me,” I said, making sure to sound confident.

“I wasn’t talking about him…I was talking about me,” she said. It was so quiet that I had to strain to understand what she had just said. I immediately yanked her away from my body so that she could see my face.

“Why would you say that about yourself?” I demanded. She trembled, and shame streaked across her face.

“It’s true,” she croaked. I would do anything to stop those tears…anything.

“No it’s not,” I said quietly.

“How do you know? I’m practically a stranger!” she wailed. She gripped her wrists tightly and I cupped her face in my hands.

“I have two talents…hockey, and people. I see people better than sometimes they see themselves. Sidney says it is weird, and my parents, they know it too. Поверьте мне…trust me,” I said. Ashley took a shuddering breath and stared at me with confused blue eyes. Her eyelashes were thick with tears.

“I trust you…it’s just that I don’t trust myself,” she said.

“Well, if you can’t trust yourself, still trust me…I trust you,” I smiled. She let a small grin form on her face and I hugged her tightly to my chest.

“Evgeni?” She asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Can we go back to my apartment? I have class in a few hours and I need to get my stuff…I just don’t want to go alone,” she said.

“Sure,” I said.

I wasn’t surprised to see how shoddy her apartment was. It was obvious that her ex had broken in through the window, which was right next to a fire escape. The apartment was a cramped one bedroom apartment. The lights were dim and flickered from time to time, the walls were paper thin (we could hear her neighbor on his phone), and the bathroom sink had a terrible leak.

“Don’t mind the mess,” Ashley said before disappearing into the bedroom. I nodded, and glanced around. There was a tiny desk in the main room, and it was covered in books. At the top of the pile was a stack of math tests, all marred with red ink. I picked up the one on top, and glanced at it quickly.

“Ashley?” I asked.

“Yeah?” She asked.

“I can help you with this…” I said, half talking to myself.

“With what?” She asked, poking her head back into the main room.

“Your math…I studied this stuff in school…I was kind of a big dork,” I chuckled. She smiled and pulled her head back into the bedroom, but let out a bloodcurdling scream a few seconds later. I heard a bang, and I dropped the paper. I dashed into the room and saw a large, ragged looking guy standing in front of her closet. Ashley was curled up on the floor, clutching her face. I immediately grabbed at him, and threw him into the main room.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” He roared. I could smell liquor on his breath, and I clenched my fists angrily.

“I was just about to ask you that,” I growled. His brown eyes filled with rage.

“You! You slimy Soviet scum! Get the hell away from my girl!” He cried, rushing at me. I dodged him quickly and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

“Sorry buddy, but I’m no Soviet. I’m just a Russian,” I snarled into his ear before tossing him to the ground. I glanced at Ashley, who still lay motionless on the ground, and he took the opportunity to leap up and punch me in the face. I stumbled backwards, but punched him once in the jaw. He toppled to the ground, unconscious, and I scooped up Ashley in my arms. She groaned quietly, and I stepped over the scumbag who now decorated her bedroom floor. I placed her on the floor in the other room and pulled out my cell phone.

The police were more than willing to come and pick up Ashley’s ex, who apparently had a record of aggravated assault, as well as a handful of other crimes. Ashley was checked out by an EMT, and was diagnosed with a minor concussion. By the time the whole ordeal was over, it was almost 4 o’clock in the afternoon.

“Geno…I’m so sorry,” Ashley said as the last of the officers left her apartment.

“Don’t apologize. I’m glad I was here. If not, I don’t know what he would have done to you,” I said, running my hands through my hair.

“I missed my class,” she sighed.

“I’m sure your teacher will understand,” I said quietly.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she muttered. I turned and there was a burning look on her face. I raised my eyebrows and she walked slowly towards me.

“Are you feeling okay?” I asked.

“You know…you saved my life again,” she said. Her voice dropped in a sultry way, and I bit my lip.

“I did? Oh, I guess I did,” I chuckled.

I walked towards Evgeni, who was looking a little nervous, and smiled slowly. He was so damn adorable, with those curly locks, big brown eyes, and gorgeous, crooked smile. The things I want to do to this boy… I ran my hands up his chest, and placed them on his shoulders. He stared into my eyes and I kissed him hungrily. He kissed me back, and planted his hands on my hips. His tongue slipped into my mouth, and I welcomed it almost too happily. He pulled me to him, and I grinned, unabashed by the bulge in his jeans. Suddenly, his phone began to vibrate in his pocket and he let out an angry growl as he took it out.

“I am going to kill Sidney Crosby,” he murmured before yanking the back off of his phone, tearing the battery out, and tossing both pieces onto my desk. He grabbed me and kissed me forcefully, and I returned the favor.

He had my clothes off in minutes. I ripped off his shirt, and he clutched me to his chest. I lavished the feel of his skin against mine, and I simply shuddered as he lowered his head and kissed between my breasts. His hands found their way to the back of my bra and unclasped it almost expertly.

“You do that too often?” I joked. He stared at me.

“No, first time,” he said. I stared at him and raised my eyebrows.

“First time?” I squeaked. You’ve got to be kidding me…he’s a virgin too?

“Yeah…I never have sex before…I have trust issues,” he muttered before slipping my bra off and tossing it into the corner. I opened my mouth to say something, but snapped it shut as his lips found my left nipple. I went limp in his arms as he kissed and teased my breasts, my heart pounding so hard I swore it would burst. I found the button of his jeans and undid it, before unzipping them slowly.

“Wait…Evgeni…” I gasped.

“Yeah?” He asked.

“Do you have a condom?” I asked. He stared at me in silence for a second before tearing his wallet out of his back pocket. He frantically searched it, before pulling out a silver square.

“God bless Sidney Crosby!” He cried happily before tossing the wallet to the ground. I grinned and tugged his jeans down, revealing even more of his sacrilegiously sexy body. He stood up and slipped the pants off, and his black boxers didn’t do much to hide his…well, huge…erection. He pushed me back into my pillows and his left hand slipped my panties down.

“This fucking boot…” I muttered tugging them over the stupid thing. I gasped as his fingers rubbed against me, and a small whimper escaped my lips as he slipped two inside me. He rubbed and probed me, and I felt an orgasm coming.

“No!” I whined.

“What, did I do something wrong?!” He gasped, pulling away quickly.

“No…I just…don’t want to do it without you!” I squeaked. A weird look spread across his face…it was almost loving, and he yanked off his boxers. He slipped on the condom, and checked it before nudging my legs apart. He loomed over me and for the first time, I was almost afraid of him.

“I’m kind of nervous,” he whispered.

“I am too,” I admitted.

“I’ll go slow…I don’t want to hurt you,” he said quietly before slowly pressing into me. I whined a little bit, but as he kissed me the pain subsided and I kissed him back. He thrust slowly, but as I adjusted to him, he picked up the pace. Each thrust pushed me closer to the edge, and I wrapped my hands through his hair. Our breathing was heavy, and as I climaxed, we both started to gasp. I shuddered with pleasure, and he did almost instantaneously as well. He went to pull out, but I grabbed him.

“No…no stay,” I whispered. He did for a few minutes, just leaning against me and kissing me gently, but when he left I felt empty, both physically and metaphorically. He returned quickly and slipped into the bed with me, pulling me onto his lap. He kissed my lips softly, and then my cheeks, and my nose, and my neck, and then my lips again.

“Ashley…if I said I was in love with you, what would you do?” he whispered.

“I’d tell you that I love you too.” I said. It was weird…I didn’t question it one bit. The man whom I had known for just a few short weeks, the man who had saved my life more times than anyone else I knew, the man who had just taken my virginity, had also taken my heart.

“Good,” he sighed into my hair before pulling me down next to him. We both drifted off into a blissful sleep, and for once in my life, everything seemed okay. Keyword: seemed.