“Hey Pens fan,” her phone rang 30 minutes after the game ended.
“Hello Alex,” she smiled to herself at the sound of his voice.
“Like game?”
“Yes, you really taught Avery to watch out. How’re your hands?”
“My hands fine. Not hit him really hard,” he snickered.
“Alex -” she started, then took a deep breath.
“Not only fight in game, you know. I got two assist too,” he said thinking he needed to defend himself.
“Alex, I need to tell you something.” She was nervous all over again.
“What wrong?” he said apprehensively. “What happened?”
She told him about the attack at school. He was quiet on the other end long enough for her to think that maybe she lost the connection. Then he broke into a tirade that made her hold the phone away from her ear. The tone of his voice was very angry, but he was roaring in Russian, so she didn’t understand anything he said.
“You come now.”
“What? Alex, I can’t. I have to go back to work tomorrow.”
“No you not. You not go there anymore. You come here and stay,” he insisted.
“No, Alex, it’s the end of term. I can’t leave my professor that way.”
“You not go back. No protection there. Someone else can help your professor. You come here. Come now,” he was adamant and stubborn and he was bringing out her own obstinate side.
“Alex,” she protested. But he cut her off.
“You come here or I come there.”
“You have to fly to California tomorrow.”
“I no care. I miss game. You come here or I go there.” He was giving her an ultimatum that she knew in her heart he couldn’t possibly stick to. There was no way he would miss a game. He would not let his team down that way.
“Alex, you can’t,” she pleaded, “and Catherine is here. I’m fine.”
He burst out in Russian again before answering her. “Katerina is good friend, but you come here. Bring her if want, but you come here. I not go to California if you not here.”
He was very upset. She couldn’t fight with him anymore. He was probably right anyway. Not only would she be safer, but he wouldn’t worry if he knew she was at his house. Dave didn’t seem to know who Alex was and he surely didn’t know where he lived. She would be safe, but the whole idea made her nervous. What was she going to do for three days all alone in Alex’s house? After playing the Kings, they were stopping in Arizona to play the Coyotes before coming back to DC. He wouldn’t be home until late Thursday night. She sighed and added a novel to her small bag before leaving. Catherine did not come with her. She had a job she couldn’t live without. She did wait and followed Sophie for a few miles to make sure that she wasn’t being followed before going home.
The drive felt like it flew by and before she knew it, she was on his doorstep. He met her at the door before she could even knock and took her into his arms. She held on to him for several minutes. The feel of his strong arms around made her feel so safe. He pulled her inside the house, looking around outside. He did not see any headlights in his neighborhood. She turned to see another tall Russian man standing in the entry way.
“Sophia, my brother Mikhail.”
“Здравствуйте”, he greeted her extending his hand.
“Privet,” she pronounced slowly, doing her best to remember the Russian word for hi that Alex had taught her. They both smiled at her.
“Not bad,” Alex said. “Just little more on end, pri-VYET.”
“It nice to meet you, Sophia. Sasha talk about you all da time,” Mikhail said and she was relieved to know he spoke English. “I see for first time, what he say is true. You very beautiful girl.”
“Um… thank you,” Sophie looked up at Alex with a soft smile. He leaned down and kissed her lips and gave Mikhail a solid shove in the chest as they walked by. He led her on a quick tour of his house. It was large and beautiful. He wasn’t kidding about many rooms. He had a huge television in the living room in front of a large luxurious sofa. There was gaming paraphernalia on the floor in front of it. There were large windows on the south side that must let in so much natural sunlight during the day. Now it was so dark outside that the windows stood out in sharp contrast against the white walls. He led her to his bedroom. It was also on the south side and had the same windows, but also French doors that led to a balcony. He had light oak furniture and white bedding. The room was very minimalistic.
He set her bag near the closet and stood close to her. He brushed the hair from her eyes and bent to kiss her again. She wrapped her arms around his waist and lay her head on his chest.
“Time for sleep. Bathroom through there if you want to change clothes,” he said. Suddenly she felt so tired she could sleep for a week. But she wasn’t sure sleep was what she really wanted.
“Just sleep?”
“Just sleep,” he sighed. She collected her things and put on her Ovechkin t-shirt to sleep in. She brushed her teeth and made sure her legs were smooth, took a breath and returned to the bedroom. He was in bed, shirtless and she wondered what might be hiding under the sheets. She crawled under covers and snuggled up to him. He was already half asleep and barely stirred as she brushed her bare legs against his. He slid his arm around her and murmured softly. She smiled. She felt safe. In his arms, she was safe.
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