No One Belongs Here More Than You

“WHAT THE HELL CALL WAS THAT? ARE YOU BLIND?!” I screamed at the ref as he skated by me. I was pounding my fists angrily against the glass as the ref escorted Sidney to the penalty box for “slashing”. It was complete and utter bullshit, but I couldn’t do anything but scream about it.

“Sit down and shut the fuck up,” a guy said to me, and I spun around angrily.

“Excuse me?” I said, anger creeping into my voice. The guy leaned forward in his seat and smirked.

“Sit down and shut the fuck up,” he repeated, and my cheeks flushed in anger. I was not used to people talking to me like this, but then again, this was playoff hockey, and nobody was being exactly classy. I clenched my fists and turned back around.

“That’s right, you turn around. You’re wearing the wrong colors girlie!” someone else jeered, but just then I saw Evgeni steal the puck from Chris Pronger.

“GO EVGENI GO!” I screamed as he raced towards the net on a breakaway. Bobrovsky prepared himself, but Evgeni waited until the last possible second to shoot, and snapped the puck in the top right of the net. The lamp lit up, and I started to cheer, but I quickly stopped cheering as someone shoved me into the glass.

“Who the fuck..?” I asked, spinning around once more. Nobody said anything, so I sat back down in my seat.

“Filthadelphia,” I muttered darkly.

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

We lost the game 4-3, and I was not in a good mood. The series was at 3-1, but the Flyers had made comebacks before. I knew that if we moved on, we’d either face the Rangers or the Devils, who were locked in a rivalry battle of their own right now. Either team would be difficult to beat, but I was silently praying that the Devils tanked, because I knew the Rangers were easier to beat. I got out of the locker room as fast as possible and almost barreled over Ashley. She took one look at me and smiled sympathetically.

“You played great,” she smiled.

“Not good enough,” I scowled, and Ashley simply laced her fingers through mine and led me to the parking lot, where the bus was waiting to take the team back to the hotel.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, kissing me on the cheek.

“You not come tonight?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“Nah, I’ve gotten enough of the Philadelphians for one night. I’m going back to my hotel and sleeping,” she chuckled before flouncing off.

The next evening, I walked into my apartment, and could instantly tell something was different. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water, and then took my luggage into the bedroom. Ashley was sitting on the bed, grinning from ear to ear, and I let out a yell as I saw her.

“You scare the crap out of me!” I gasped, and Ashley simply laughed and leaned back on her arms.

“Sorry Evgeni,” she smiled. I shrugged and opened my suitcase before pulling out my dress shirt that I hadn’t worn. I opened the closet, and then froze. The side of the closet that I had emptied for Ashley before I asked her to move in was full…and it was full of her clothes.

“Ashley…” I said quietly.

“Yeah?” she asked, and I looked at her again. Her Cheshire grin wasn’t fading, and I looked back at the closet in disbelief before dropping the shirt and tackling her to the bed. She let out a shriek and started to laugh as I kissed every inch of her face I could.

“You’re moving in?!” I cried happily, sitting up so that we could both catch our breath.

“Yeah…I did a lot of thinking and well…my lease is up in a few weeks anyway…and I really care about you so…I figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Ashley explained, and I kissed her gently. I leaned my forehead against hers and stared into her big blue eyes for a long time. She nuzzled her nose against mine, and I smiled softly. My heart was humming, and as I rolled over to lie down beside her, she rolled on top of me and smiled. She kissed me softly, and then slipped off of me to snuggle into my side. I wrapped my arm around her and she kissed the inside of my neck. Her hand rested gently against my chest, and I toyed idly with the edge of her shirt as we just lay there. It was peaceful, and I felt a grin spread across my face as I realized that I was going to come home from away games to this a lot more often. Every so often one of us would move, and kiss the other, and then we’d just go back to snuggling. My eyelids were growing heavy quickly, and we both fell asleep in each others’ arms.

I woke up tangled in Ashley’s limbs. Her right leg was between mine, her arm was draped across my chest, my arm was holding her to my chest, and my head was nestled in the crook of her neck. I yawned and shifted slightly, but Ashley snuggled closer to me, so I decided not to move. I kissed her neck lightly, and a small smile formed on her face.

“You’re awake,” I smiled, and she nodded.

“Don’t move…I’m comfy,” she muttered, and I chuckled quietly.

“What time is it?” I asked, and she turned her head to see the alarm clock on the end table to her right.

“Its 7:30 in the morning,” she yawned.

“Wow, we didn’t even eat dinner last night,” I mumbled, and as I said that, my stomach let out an enormous growl. Ashley laughed quietly and then rolled out from my grasp.

“I’ll make breakfast,” she said before trotting into the kitchen. I took the opportunity to get in the shower, and when I was done I pulled on a pair of tan shorts and an olive green tee. Ashley was humming quietly as she made breakfast, and I wrapped my arms around her while she flipped the eggs. She jumped slightly when I did it, but a smile spread broadly across her face.

“I like waking up with you,” I muttered into her ear.

“I do too,” she said, and she turned so she could kiss my cheek. This is amazing.