No One Belongs Here More Than You

I was engulfed in a sea of black, blue, gold, and white. I had only been to one hockey game before, and that was before everything in my life went wrong. The crowd was like a monster, and the air practically crackled with electricity. Every so often my eyes fell on a dot of orange, and I shook my head. There was only 16 minutes until puck drop, and as the Penguins made their way out of the tunnel and onto the ice, the crowd erupted into a deafening roar. I screamed along, pounded my hands on the glass like everyone around me, and my heart raced. I loved the excitement of the crowd, and I instantly knew why Evgeni had wanted me to come. The thrill was like a drug, and my thoughts washed away with every second that passed by.

The score was 3-2. It was the third period. The Flyers were getting desperate. Fleury and Bobrovsky were both standing on their heads, but it wasn’t enough for Flower. Carter sniped a puck in from the blue line, and it careened in over Fleury’s glove. He hung his head as the crowd erupted into boos and the red light lit up behind him. The horn sounded a few minutes later, and we all knew what was coming next. Overtime. It was the playoffs, so I had some time to kill before the game started up again, but I just stayed in my seat, drumming my fingers against my legs. I ran my hands through my hair, bit my lip, and checked my phone anxiously. The man beside me chuckled.

“Big fan, huh?” he asked. I nodded.

“You could say that,” I said.

“Aren’t we all though?” he smiled.

“Yeah, but if the Penguins lose tonight, I go home to a very grumpy boyfriend,” I chuckled.

“You didn’t take your boyfriend with you?” the man asked in surprise.

“No, I didn’t have to. He’s here already. He’s always here,” I explained.

“Season tickets?” he asked.

“Nope, he’s a player,” I said quietly.

“A player? Wait a second…you’re dating Malkin?” he asked. I nodded, wondering whether or not it was a mistake to tell him.

“Good for you. I know a lot of young ladies who will be disappointed once you two go public with it, but it’s always nice to see some of your favorites in good relationships,” the man said. I smiled.

“Yeah? Thanks,” I said.

We rocked the Flyers in overtime. The game winner was a beauty; a nice little deke from Crosby was all it took to get Bobrovsky off of the left goal post. They were both quick players, but Sidney was faster this time. The crowd erupted into riotous cheers, and I left the stands beaming. I flashed the thin plastic locker room pass Evgeni had given me to a security guard and I was quickly escorted to the locker room. I was pointed to a small room where several other people were standing. I received a few curious looks, but nobody said anything as I occupied a chair in the corner. Eventually players started pouring into the locker room, and I sat there waiting for Evgeni.

“Ashley!” Evgeni cried, practically running into the room. I grinned and stood up, and he hugged me tightly. I hugged him back and kissed his cheek, which was dusted with stubble.

“You did great!” I squealed, hugging him again. He chuckled and wrapped his arm around my waist.

“Guys, this my girlfriend Ashley. Ashley, these are the guys,” Evgeni said, swinging me out so that I was facing the now crowded room. I waved to everyone sheepishly and I got a few waves back, and drowned in smiles, greetings, and laughter. After a while we made our way to the parking lot, where Evgeni kissed me gently.

“Meet me at my apartment,” he said. I nodded before going to find my own car.

***___***___***___***___***___***___***___***___***

I paced back and forth for what felt like hours, waiting for Ashley to walk through the door.

“Hey Evgen…” she started, but I kissed her forcefully before she could even finish. She squealed in surprise, but kissed me back, and I grinned.

“Hey,” I smiled. She chuckled and shook her head.

“You’re impossible,” she smiled.

“Why?” I asked.

“You know you’re not allowed to have sex during the playoffs…so why even tempt yourself?” she smirked. I frowned, and silently cursed whoever had come up with that rule. In fact, I would be in for it if any of the guys found out she was even over. The married guys took to either sleeping in separate rooms, or staying with one of the single guys. I knew Sidney would personally whoop my ass, but I just wanted to spend time with Ashley.

“Can we just spend time together?” I asked. Her smile softened, and she nodded before curling up on the couch. I curled my arm around her waist and pulled her into my lap. We started watching some stupid movie on FearNet, and eventually we both fell asleep.

The next morning I woke up to Sidney bursting into my apartment.

“EVGENI MALKIN YOU BROKE THE SEX RULE DIDN’T YOU?!” he screamed. Ashley and I both screamed, and she fell off the couch.

“No!” Ashley cried.

“WHAT THE HELL DID I SAY ABOUT DOING THAT?!” I screamed. Sidney looked like he was either going to drag me into a dark alley and beat me with a hockey stick, or like he was going to start cracking up. His lips twitched, and a few seconds later he burst into laughter.

“Oh…oh my God…Geno your face…so priceless,” he said in between bouts of uncontrolled laughter. Ashley simply walked into my room and came back out wielding a hockey stick. She whacked Sidney on the butt with it and he stopped laughing.

“What the hell?” he asked.

“You wake me up, scare the shit out of me, and then start laughing like this is a freakin’ sitcom?” she growled.

“Uh…” Sidney replied. Ashley wasn’t exactly a morning person. I guess I forgot to warn Sid about that…whoops.

“OUT!” she barked, pointing the stick towards the door. Sidney simply stared at her, and she whacked him even harder on the butt with the hockey stick.

“WHY DO YOU KEEP HITTING MY ASS?!” Sid cried, and Ashley started to snicker.

“Well it’s the biggest target I have other than your head, and I figured that you guys don’t need your captain any more brain damaged,” she smirked.

“…you didn’t just say that…” Sid growled.

“I did. What are you gonna do about it?” Ashley smirked. He glared at her jokingly.

“This means war. I don’t care if you’re Geno’s girl. I’m going to get payback,” Sidney said before leaving the apartment.

“Where does he live anyway?” Ashley asked, leaning against the hockey stick casually.

“Like…ten minutes from here,” I said.

“He really has no life other than harassing you, does he?” she asked.

“Nope,” I smiled, taking the hockey stick from her and kissing her forehead. She was really hilarious sometimes.