From Boston to Pittsburgh With Love

Adriana's P.O.V.

****

As Geno and I began to walk back towards the hotel I couldn't help but grin wildly to myself. My insides were fluttering madly and I couldn't think straight. I was finding that when I'm around this adorable Russian I couldn't make sense of anything. My thoughts were a jumble and coherent and logical sentences just didn't seem to exist right now for me. What the hell was wrong with me? I'd never in my entire life felt like this before. I thought about what Sid had told me when we dropping him off at the airport,

"Take care of him will ya? He's a wall, and you gotta break down that wall brick by brick. Good luck." He said before leaving Geno and I alone together.

I looked down at our intertwined hands and let out a long sad sigh, realizing where we would be going shortly.

"What is wrong sunshine?" Geno asked looking down at me with those big basset hound eyes.

"Spending another night in that judgmental hell whole my grandmother calls a house is making me sick." I said quietly staring up at the stars. God how I loved looking up at the stars, something about them made me long for a different life.

I begin losing myself as I stare up at the diamonds in the sky. Geno snaps me back into blissful reality, "Then don't go back." He said it in such a matter-of-fact way that I couldn't help but grin up at him.

"Oh? Well let me ask you this superstar, where am I going to spend the night then?"

I realize we had made it back to the front of the hotel, he walks us over to a bench that was under a cherry blossom tree near the entrance of the hotel. He still hadn't answered me yet, so I figured he hadn't hear me.

"Geno?! Did you hear me?" I ask as we sit down and he takes my hands in his.

"Da. You stay with me." He said shrugging and smiling over at me.

What?! I mean believe me, I wanted nothing more then to spend a blissful night with this goofy boy. But this was all happening way to fast, I had too many secrets in my closet that I wasn't ready to share. My biggest one of all would definitely pose a serious problem here......I was still a virgin. I wasn't ready for something as big as my first time to happen right now, not with everything going on at the castle and with Milan and I. My breathes became short and quick and my palms began sweating heavily as I thought over what this night would inevitably lead to.

I didn't realize I had started to hyperventilate until Geno shook my shoulders, "Adriana?! Adriana?!"

"Huh?" I napped out of my trance and looked up Geno who's eyes were wide with despair and pain.

"Talk please! Why you no breathe? You scared! Why? Please talk!!" His questions were coming out so fast they were making my head spin, and the scared look in his eyes made me want to burst into tears.

"Geno, I'm sorry but I'm not ready for something as big as our first time to happen tonight. Now, um...I'm sorry if that means the end of whatever this is.But I'm not gonna be sorry that I don't want to sleep with you on the first night. I mean we've only had like what one date? I'm sorry but I'm just not ready for that yet!" I didn't realize my voice had gotten louder and louder until the end and Gino was looking around to make sure no one else was overhearing this somewhat personal conversation.

"I don't no what you mean? I no want sleep with you tonight. Sunshine, you are perfect, I wait as long as you want." He said cupping my face in his hands and placing a feather light kiss on my nose.

Holy shit, was this really happening? A guy who was actually willing to wait. I had heard from my girlfriends that their boyfriends and previous boyfriends had absolutely hated waiting and eventually guilted them into sleeping with them. But now I was lucky enough to have found Geno.

I smiled up at him, "Then lead the way my beautiful Russian."

We made our way into the hotel and up the elevator not uttering a word, instead letting our lips do the talking. Let me say the passion filled kisses in the elevator almost had me begging for him to rip my clothes off. As we walked into the elevator it was like a whole new Geno appeared out of nowhere.

Whoever this new Geno was I liked him. As the doors to the elevator closed he picked me up pinning me against the wall. I wrapped my legs around his waist and hit the 'Emergency Stop' button on the control panel. No way was I going to let anybody interrupt this. I needed a breathe first, Geno had other ideas in mind. When I came up to breathe his mouth found its way down to my neck. He began carefully and intricately kissing all the way down. When he reached the bottom I felt the tip of his tongue creep its way back up by neck and coming to rest behind my ear. Holy shit, I had never been so turned on, goosebumps surfaced all along my legs. I threw my head back against the wall and bit down on my lip and Geno went to work kissing and caressing his way along my neck. I felt him begin to suck and kiss a sot near the side of neck. Well, I though, it's a damn good thing I brought concealer with me. Because he was definitely gonna leave a mark.

I leaned my head down wanting in on the action, when his lips came up to my ear "Mine." He whispered huskily before continuing to kiss along my neck and my collarbones. Something about the way he was asserting this dominance had my even more turned on.

It felt like hours drifted by with the two of us essentially playing tonsil hockey in the elevator. The speaker in the elevator broke the two of us apart for the first time, "Excuse me? Is there a problem in the elevator? We can send help?"

I giggled as Geno let me down to the floor, "Nope not a problem, just got stuck for a minute. All good thank you!" I said into the speaker as Geno hit the button, allowing us to continue on up to the pent house.

As we walked into into the penthouse I feel the giddiness of the hot makeout session leave me and are replaced by uneasy feeling. I look around at the room, thanking all the gods in existence that there were two beds. I really didn't feel like having that awkward conversation interrupt our luxurious high we were still attempting to ride from the elevator.

I watch Geno walk over to his bed and peel his shirt off of him. Holy shit! As I scanned over his torso taking in every curve of every muscle I forget to breathe. He was absolute perfection in human form. He drops his jeans to reveal white boxers with little hockey pucks on them. I muffled a giggle, reminded myself to breath, and walked over to the other bed.

I sit down on the bed beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable as Geno stretches out on the bed.

"You going sleep?" He asks looking over at me with his big brown eyes begging for answers.

"Mhm. Just a little...um flustered..." I said as I begin to unzip my knee high black boots.

"Safe here. Always safe with me." He said coming over to sit down next to me.

The way he looked down at me with these fiercely protective look in his eyes makes me a lump in my throat form. I hadn't seen that look in anyone else's eyes other than Milan. My head was spinning, my heart and brain battling back in fourth. I had no idea what Milan would do when he found out what I was about to do, but I could almost guarantee it wasn't going to be pretty.

I bite my lip and stare back at him, raking my fingers from his messy hair, "There's something about you Geno. You make me want to leave everything behind. I've never felt this way in my entire life. And frankly it's scaring the crap out of me." I said with my voice cracking in the end.

He pulls me to his chest as lay down across the bed, he strokes my hair, "Da. Feel same way. Something special here. But never be scared with me, I always protect you." He says kissing the top of my head.

All I could think about was the look on Milan's face when he finally put the pieces together only a few months ago when he figured out I was going behind his back and seeing his friends.

*Flashback*

Milan had been letting me stay at his place while I looked for my own in the city. As I walk into the apartment I notice Milan sitting at the dining room table with his head in hands.

"Milan?" I ask slowly walking over, knowing my brother I should be cautious in this situation.

He looks up from his hands and stares me dead in the eyes. Shit. I've seen that look before, it's not a good one.

"How could you Addy?" He asks standing up walking towards me.

I gulped knowing immediately what he was talking about. I had no idea how to handle this, I wasn't planning on telling him that I had become pretty close friends with his teammates the past two months.

"Answer me Addy. Don't just stand there. You know better. Well? Say something! Defend yourself!" He said forcing me into the corner of the dining room. His eyes never leaving mine.

I didn't know what to day to him. What could I say to fix this?!

"Milan! Please you have to understand, it's not what you think!" I said pleadingly.

"Yea, yea it is! Not only have you gone behind my back and gotten yourself involved in my team but now I find out you're sleeping with them! HOW COULD YOU?!" His voice booming so loud it shook the china plates in the cabinet.

I flinched back before responding, "Could you just listen to me please?!"

"NO! Because you have clearly decided that you couldn't give two shits about what your brother thinks!" I look down to see his knuckles turn white as he begins pacing back and forth in front of me.

"What the hell happened to you Addy? How could you turn into one of them?!" His voice quivering in the end. I hated seeing him like this, angry and sad. Who was he talking about though?

"Who the hell are you talking about?!" I asked feeling anger bubbling in my chest.

"A PUCK SLUT!" He yells as he slams his hand into the wall.

I flinch back attempting to shield myself from the debris.

"You've got to be kidding me?!? DON'T YOU DARE THINK THAT! YOU DON'T GET TO MAKE WILD ACCUSATIONS WITHOUT ASKING ME MY SIDE!" I said not realizing I was screaming at him.

His eyes remained in shock for a quick moment before anger glazed back over, "NO! I don't need to hear what I already know! All I know is that somewhere along the way my innocent sister lost her way." He said collapsing into a chair in the kitchen.

I had never seen him like this. I wracked my brain thinking of how to handle this, deciding to just be upfront with him.

I walk over and sit beside him at the kitchen table, "Milan...please."

"No. Addy...I just can't do this right now. I can't believe you'd do this."

"What happened?..." He mumbled into his hands as he rakes his hands through his hair.

I knew I needed to defend myself but the words couldn't come out of my mouth.

"It's gotta be this city. This city is so hockey oriented, it isn't good for her." I realize he is not longer speaking to me, instead trying to explain it to himself. "She needs to leave. Maybe there's still hope. I can't believe those guys would do this to me."

I watch as he gets up from the chair and walks out to the balcony. I watch him grab his phone from his pocket and dial. I don't want to stick around and watch this. So I head into the dining room and clean up the mess by the wall. I cleaned the debris off the floor not bothering to touch the gaping hole in the wall.

I walk into the kitchen and sit for a second and think. I couldn't jut sit here. But I knew that trying to buck whatever orders Milan was putting into action wasn't going to have a positive outcome. So I left a note on the counter 'Went to the park to calm down then spending a few days with some girlfriends. I suggest you hit the gym to calm down. Please let me explain when I get back.'

Little did I know that when I got back just two days later I would be seeing some unwelcome faces.

****
Geno's P.O.V.

We lay across her bed in silence. I stroke my fingers through her hair and down her arm. She's leaning against my chest with one hand over my heart. I feel her breathing begin to even out and the muffled sobs subside. I could feel her drift off to sleep. Good, I thought, she needed to happiness. Hopefully she could find that in her dreams tonight.

It killed me to see how broken up she was as she explained the fight her and Milan had. It took her an hour just to get through the story, she was crying so much. I hadn't realized how much it affected her. The way she described those last few days with Milan made me realize how close the two were. It must have killed her when he got his grandmother and mother to send her away. The only way I knew to help was to hold her as tight as I could and make her feel as safe as possible.

I hadn't been kidding when I told her she was always safe with me. This girl already had my heart and I had only known her for three days. I laid on the bed with her wrapped against me thinking of what it would be like to whisk her off to Pittsburgh.

Man was I falling hard and fast, I had never in my life felt this way. All I wanted to do was to protect her from everyone and everything. As we lay there I thought of Milan. Even though I knew what he did came from a good heart it still made my blood boil. Who was he to think he could control her every move? And her mother! HOLY SHIT! I already knew I didn't like her. She thought she could control every aspect of my sunshine's life.

I wondered absentmindedly what I would do the next time I saw Milan on the ice. I couldn't worry about that now.

I heard my phone my phone beep, turning it on I see that a text from Sid had arrived. 'Don't screw this up. You deserve to be happy dude. And she makes you happy.' I smirk as I reply back, 'Thanks Sid. I trying my best. It hard to hear everything about her family. Makes me mad.' Seconds later Sid texts back, 'Don't worry about her family now. Worry about making each day count.' I respond saying, 'It hard though. She talks about them and cries... a lot.'. Being a good friend Sid responds fast, 'If she's really telling you something personal enough to make her cry as much as you day she is, then shes trying to see if she can trust you.' I respond quickly, "Didn't think of that. True. I try harder now. Night Sid...Thank you.'. He replies, 'You've put this team first for so long you deserve it G. Night.'

As I drift off to bed I think of what it'd be like to have Adriana come home to Pittsburgh with me. I tried to make sense of Adriana's somewhat awkward behavior has she entered the penthouse. She seemed so nervous, I didn't want her to be scared or nervous so I tried to go about my normal routine by taking all my clothes off and flopping down on the bed. I had seen her eye up my boxers and smirked, I was glad she liked them. I thought about how she thought I was asking her to come upstairs and sleep with me. It killed me a little to think she though I was that shallow. As much as I wanted to make it known to her and the world that she was mine and only mine I knew I had to take it slow for her; I had a feeling she had more to tell me, more secrets and I was willing to wait for her to tell me them. I wanted her to trust me completely. Sid was right, this girl was special. I couldn't just play the same moves I had with Oksana, Adriana was so much better then that. I wanted to take it slow.

I knew Sid had been thinking that Thursday would 'the big day' for us but I didn't know if that was the right time. I didn't want to pressure her, but my territorial male instincts were kicking in telling me that I needed to make sure she knew that she was mine and only mine. But I knew I was going to have to suppress those feelings for a bit. I drift to sleep thinking of how the next few days were going to more than amazing. I close my eyes thinking of how glad I was that I agreed to come on the trip with Sid.