Here's Your Sign

1

“I’m so getting you back, you Russian bastard!” James Neal threw a dirty sock at his teammate.

“What?” Evgeni Malkin smiled sheepishly, “I don’t know what you talk about.”

James laughed with half of his teammates, “You’re just jealous I’m getting all this TV time.”

Evgeni laughed, “Yeah, jealous.”

Evgeni had just danced around in the background of one of James’ interviews again, making the news and a dent in the viral world. He and his teammates got a kick out of it and Geno just claimed it was because he was proud of James and his goals that got him the interviews. He said it was just a joke and that he would have done it to half the guys one the team if given the chance. The last part was true, but the beginning was only half true.

The laugh he aimed for spread through the locker room and he jolted upright. All the boys were dressed and half of them had already left, but Evgeni was slow that night.

“You, my Russian, are too funny.”

He stood and slid his jacket over his shoulders, “Me?” he asked in an innocent voice.

Meg nodded, “You.”

“Nah, not me,” he shook his head as he grabbed his bag.

“I can’t believe you did it again, doesn’t Neal hate you?”

“No,” he replied, “He knows.”

“Knows what?” she asked.

“Why I do it.”

“And why is that Geno?” she walked up to him slowly.

“Make you laugh,” he slung his arm around her shoulders and led her toward the door.

Evgeni had met Meg a while back, but they hadn’t really gotten to know each other until recently.
She was James’ and Pauls’ neighbor and the three were close. It had seemed to him that James
had staked a claim on her because he would flirt with her incessantly and always invite her out, but
Evgeni realized later that they were purely friends.

Still, Evgeni had a girlfriend and he was trying to do right by her, even though he shouldn’t have.
The two had been on and off for years, too many really, and both had done their share of cheating
on the other.

He decided to start this season fresh though. He ended the relationship, vowing never to go back,
and found himself out with some of the single guys on the team. He tried to shy away from the bar
scene because he didn’t want to be in the media, but, when James brought Meg around, he always
went out.

Meg was cute, funny, and friendly. She always included him and make him dance or just talk. When
he just needed a shoulder on those nights he thought about his ex, she was there, with two. She
gave and gave and never asked for anything in return and he knew that was rare to find in his line of
work.

A month or so into the season Evgeni went to James’ place for what was supposed to be a boys’
night. He walked in with food and beer in hopes of catching the Steeler’s game, but instead caught
sight of something completely different.

Sitting on Paul’s lap was a sobbing girl with her head buried in the crook of his neck. Paul rubbed
her back and whispered to her, to which she only nodded and cried harder.

“Meg and that ass got into it again,” James came up and whispered, “I could hear him yelling over
here.”

Geno stared ahead at the sight before him, “She okay?”

“I went over there and walked in. I scared the shit out of her when I started to go after him, I think I
pushed her back and she hit the wall…that’s my fault though, he didn’t hurt her at least.”

Evgeni looked at his friend and knew him pushing her back with too much force was a complete
accident. James might have had an anger issue or two, but he would never direct it at Meg or any
woman. He was, as most hockey players were, softies when it came to this sort of thing. They
were big tough guys on the ice, but off the ice, the sight of a puppy with a broken leg or a girl in
tears got them.

“Meg,” Paul looked up, “Look who’s here,” he nodded in James and Evgeni’s direction.

She wiped her eyes and then squinted through her tears, “Geno?”

Evgeni set everything in his hands down and smiled, “I here.”

James stepped aside and Paul helped her to her feet before leaving the room.

“I ruined boys’ night, didn’t I?” she asked.

“No,” he walked up to her and hugged her.

“I’m sorry,” she shook her head in his chest.

“I kill him…if you want,” he offered with a smile as he looked down at her.

She snorted out an unladylike laugh, “No, it’s fine.”

“He not still at your place, is he?”

“Doubtful, I think Nealer scared him and he shit his pants.”

“Good!” Evgeni laughed, “I would have done worse.”

“Yeah, a big Russian man like you would have given him a heart attack.”

“Sit, we talk,” he led her to the couch.

“No talk,” she leaned her head on his shoulder, “My Russian’s here, I’m better now.”

After that, Evgeni couldn’t get his mind off of Meg. She was his first and last text of every day, in his dreams, and she was the first thing that flashed into his mind when he scored a goal.

He swore he would give himself at least a season to just be himself. He wanted to date and be one of the guys for at least one full season…he hadn’t even made it half a season before he was whipped and basically in a relationship he wasn’t really even in.

Meg and Evgeni hadn’t gone on a date, they hadn’t shared a kiss or a bed, and they hadn’t even expressed that there was more than just a friendship between them, but it was there. He knew it wasn’t just him who felt that way, but even with that knowledge, he didn’t do squat about it. He was afraid he’d hurt her or she him. He was ready to take that leap, but at the same time he wasn’t. He did swear that if he got a sign, he would let his feelings be known and he would make that jump.