Fairytales & Lullabies

I told Kris to go back to his apartment without me. I had work to do after practice and didn't know how long it would take me. He insisted that he waited for me and take me back himself. I agreed and got to work.

Several helmets needed to be adjusted slightly and there were breezers with holes that needed to be stitched. Kris grabbed his own helmet along with a few others and started working on them while I started on the other task. We got the job done quickly and were able to leave an hour later.

The ride was quiet, as the silence returned again in the car. Neither us felt the need to strike up a conversation on the short ride. I felt comfortable around Kris. With little time on my hands to go out and socialize, it was nice to have people to talk to. Kris and Jordan were quickly becoming the closest people to me.

We got to his apartment and I kicked of my shoes. Kris walked straight to his room to take what I assumed was a shower. I walked to my own room and picked up my cell phone to call Anne.

"Hello?"

"You'll never guess where I stayed last night."

"Sidney Crosby's house?" Anne had always had thing for Crosby when she first saw him play in 2006.

"Close, Kris Letang's place." I had to move the phone away from my ear to prevent her screaming from making me go deaf.

"Tell me the whole story!" I started with going out to lunch and practicing with them afterwards. I heard the water from Kris' shower turn off so I wrapped it up.

"Listen, I've got to go but I'll talk to you in a few days?"

"Yep yep! Love you!" I chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"Love you too." I hung up my phone and set down on the bed. My belongings were all packed up in my bag. I grabbed it and shoved my phone in my pocket. I was glad I got to sleep in a warm bed for a night, but I didn't want to overstay my welcome.

I walked into the living room to see Kris sitting on the couch watching "Bones" with little interest. His head turned hearing me shut my door. "Where are you going?" His gaze shifted to my bag.

"Jordan said he could pick me up and bring me back to the arena. Thanks again for letting me stay, I really appreciate it." I walked towards the door, but Kris came out now where and grabbed my wrist to pull me back.

"Greta, you can't go back there." I looked at him confused. "That's not a place where someone should live long term. What if you get caught?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I haven't been caught yet, and I don't plan on staying there all season, just until I find an apartment I like."

"When I asked you to stay here last night, I didn't mean for one night." I looked at him again confused. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Do you like this apartment?"

I nodded my head, "Of course! It's beautiful!" The kitchen was everything I had ever wanted. The bed was comfortable. The living room had an inviting feel to it that made you want to sit in there for hours.

"Then stay here." His eyes met mine and I could see how much he wanted me here. "Max and I shared a place last year. It's been lonely here so far. Please stay."

Similar to the night before, it wasn’t a question; it was a statement. I nodded my head in agreement and started walking back to my room. "But we have to set some ground rules." I put my bag back in my room before meeting Kris in the living room.

"What kind of rules?" He had a smile on his face knowing that I was here to stay.

I joined him on the couch, "No walking around naked."

He laughed, "Of course."

"If you bring a girl back I don't want to deal with her. Just make sure I don't have to interact with her."

He raised his eyebrow, "Alright... Same for you, I don't want see any guy your with."

"Okay, that about sums my rules up. Do you have any?"

"No talking about tampons in the house. I don't need hear about that shit." I laughed at that one before agreeing.

"I'm glad we're on the same page here."

"Me too." He reached across and pulled me into a hug before getting up for his daily snack.

I had only had a roommate one other time. I was in the dorms at Minnesota and we both were in the dorm at different times. We never talked, so I didn’t know much about her. Living with Kris was going to be a lot different. He was a guy for one thing and I wasn't sure what to expect. Was he messy or a neat freak? And I'm sure he had many superstitions on game days that I wouldn't want to interfere with.

Kris came back with a small plate of celery and carrots. I ignored the hunger in my stomach, I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, but it was too much. I tried to sneak a carrot off of his plate before he snatched it right back. "Hey!" I yelled at him.

He took a bite from it and looked at me innocently, "What?" I could only laugh at his actions. I walked into the kitchen to make my own snack of apples and bananas.

When I walked back in Kris eyed my plate in jealousy. I took a bite of my sliced apple and looked right back at him, "What?" I asked in same tone he had used earlier.

"I'll trade you two carrots for two pieces of apple." I grinned and put two pieces on his plate while he put the carrots on mine. After this we set the plates down between us and picked whatever we wanted. This roommate situation may be different and far from normal, but I knew we could make it work.