Let's Run

Things had quieted down drastically since the end of the season. Most of the guys on the team went back to wherever they were from or on fun vacations with their families. Very few of them actually stayed in Pittsburgh during the off season.

I yawned tiredly as I flicked the turn signal in Ev’s large SUV. When we got to the airport he was dead on his feet and in no shape to drive at all. I glanced in the mirror into the backseat and smiled fondly at my sister as she dozed. The flight from Russia had been incredibly long. I was fortunate to sleep for most of it, but Lena’s always had trouble sleeping on planes and Ev stayed up with her for a long time to keep her company.

He was sweet like that. Those moments always reminded me how lucky I am to have a best friend like him in my life.

The entire time we were back home my mother hounded me about our relationship. No one wanted Evgeni and me to get together officially more than Natalia Malkin and Yelizaveta Petrov.

And I really couldn’t disagree with them.

I knew I loved Evgeni when I was eighteen. Unfortunately, that was the same year he moved to Pittsburgh to begin playing for the Penguins. I was destroyed, but I managed to put all of that emotion into becoming the best figure skater in Russia. In 2008, two years later, I got a bronze medal in Torino. I don’t think my success would’ve been possible had I not been so motivated by his leaving me.

We’ve always had a little more than friendship. It’s been an unspoken agreement for many years that he and I will eventually end up together. He knows it, I know it. We’re very affectionate. We call each other pet names. I’d been sleeping in his bed since my third week in America. Everything about our relationship screamed couple, but neither of us had ever said the words.

It was extremely frustrating. I’ve never wanted anything more than Evgeni Malkin.

“Where are we?” I heard his rough voice mumble from the passenger seat. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes, glancing around our pitch black surroundings.

“We’re almost home.” I responded quietly.

I parked the car in the garage a few minutes later and turned to see Evgeni already out of the car and gently shaking Elena awake. I smiled at him and went around to get our suitcases from the trunk.

It had taken a lot of convincing to get my mother to agree to let Lena stay with us for a few weeks. We had to agree to force her to do summer work whether she wanted to or not and we had to keep a close eye on her and make sure she didn’t get into any trouble.

”It’ll be like you’re training to be parents!” my mother beamed.

Natalia gasped happily and clapped her hands in agreement.

I had to roll my eyes at that one. The two of them weren’t secretive at all about what they wanted. They weren’t happy that Ev and I shared a bed and weren’t producing grandchildren or even married yet.

It went against a lot of traditional Russian customs. My mother would’ve absolutely detested it and would’ve let her opinion be known had it been anyone other than her precious Evgeni.

A few minutes later after I’d shown Elena to her temporary room I fell back with a sigh into the comfortable bed. It was the biggest thing I’d ever slept in and the soft white sheets were all the welcome home I needed. Ev climbed in not too long after and cuddled close to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his head on my chest. I ran my fingers through his hair and leaned down to press a kiss on his forehead.

“Hmm, night.” He mumbled and kissed my chest right above my heart. “Love you.”

I blinked in surprise and stopped moving my fingers through his hair. My breath caught in my chest and I knew he could tell. He slowly lifted his head until he was looking into my eyes. We stared at each for a few moments before a slow smile spread out across my face. He smiled back bashfully.

“I love you too.” I responded a few silent moments later.

He smiled and leaned forward, pressing a quick, soft kiss to my mouth before going back to his previous position against my chest.

I sighed happily and continued running my fingers through his hair until we both fell asleep.

The next morning I woke up far before Evgeni would and easily slid out from under him. I yawned and ran a hand through my dark hair as I hopped down the stairs. I stepped into the kitchen and smiled a greeting at my younger sister. She smiled back and then went back to her phone, rapidly typing a message.

After a brief scan of the refrigerator I was reminded that we’d been in Russia for almost a month and didn’t have anything as far as groceries in the entire house. I sighed and turned back to Elena.

“Want to go grocery shopping with me?” I asked her.

She shrugged and stood from the bar stool. We both trudged up the stairs and into our separate rooms. I took a brief shower and then got dressed. I pressed a kiss to Ev’s head and left a note on the table next to him in case he woke up before we got back, though I suspected that he wouldn’t.

The drive to the grocery store was spent mostly in silence. I grabbed a cart as soon as we got there and made quick work of picking up everything we could possibly need. I allowed Elena to pick out a few things she thought she might like and then went to checkout.

Before long we were back in the house and I was making pancakes in the kitchen.

Evgeni came down not too long after. He yawned as he stepped into the kitchen and rubbed the back of his head. I rolled my eyes at his lack of a shirt, even in the presence of my younger sister who was ogling him from her seat.

“Morning, baby.” He smiled sleepily and pressed a kiss to my temple before grabbing a plate and dishing up pancakes and fruit.

“Morning, love.” I replied as I turned off the burner on the stove and took my own plate to sit on the other side of Elena.

Our quiet breakfast was interrupted by the doorbell ringing a few minutes later. I hopped off of the bar stool and made my way to the door. I opened it with a large smile when I saw James, Marc, and Vero standing on the other side.

“Come in!” I reached for Stella almost immediately and happily cooed at the little girl as I led the way back into the kitchen.

Evgeni was out of his seat and hugging his friends in no time. Elena smiled politely and waved.

“This is my sister, Elena.” I introduced. “Lena, this is Ev’s teammates, James and Marc-Andre and Marc’s wife Vero.” I pointed everyone out. “And this little love muffin is Estelle.” I smiled and pressed a sloppy kiss to the little girl’s cheek.

“She’s missed her Auntie.” Vero smiled.

We all chatted for a bit about our time in Russia and about Elena’s plans for her summer in America. Before long Vero and Marc had to leave to get Stella in her bed for a nap. I waved goodbye from the door and then walked back into the living room.

Elena had excused herself not too long before to her room. I could hear her playing music and knew she was probably reading or texting her friends or whatever it is she liked to do.

I joined Ev and James on the couch and cuddled close to Ev’s side. He wrapped his arm around me easily enough and turned back to whatever conversation he and James were having before I came back into the room.

“So basically, I’m moving to Nashville in a few weeks.” James shrugged. “I don’t mind it, the Preds are an okay team, but it’s not Pittsburgh.” He frowned.

“We miss you.” Ev replied sadly.

“I’ll miss you guys too.” James replied with a small smile.

I knew it was going to be hard for Evgeni to say goodbye to one of his best friends in Pittsburgh. It’d be even harder for him to play against James in the upcoming season when he’d become so used to playing with him. Things definitely wouldn’t be the same without him coming over and passing out in our guest room whenever he got lonely or insisting I make him authentic Russian food for dinner. It wasn’t goodbye by any means, especially with the ease at which the guys could travel back and forth to see each other, but it would be much harder than the routine we had.

I left the boys to play video games and headed upstairs to finish unpacking our suitcases. I hung everything up while quietly humming to myself in the walk in closet.

“Have I told you how beautiful you are today?” I turned quickly to see Ev leaning in the doorway of the closet. I smiled bashfully at him and shrugged. “You’re beautiful.” He responded, standing up and walking towards me.

“You’re sweet.” I replied and wrapped my arms around his waist when he was close enough.

“I love you.” he murmured before leaning down and kissing me as if he’d been doing it forever.

“I know.” I smirked.