Chapter Twenty-Two

Well, I promised myself that I would finish this fic before the end of the year... and I technically will... tomorrow the Epilogue will be up for you all to read.
This has been quite the journey with this story, never in a million years would I have thought I'd be writing an Ovechkin fic... Never in a million years did I think that fic would make it to 22 Chapters... completely crazy. Still can't say that I'm a huge Ovie fan, but I will admit that I will always be a sucker for his beautiful baby blues and I'll always be fascniated by this man. He's definitely one of a kind it seems.
Your comments are most definitely the reason I've kept writing this story, especially since I was afraid since day one that there wouldn't be many fans of it, but you proved me wrong! Thanks for letting me write out my twisted fantasy. I have to say the sex on the Batmobile will probably be one of my more proud writing moments. LOL
I'd love to say that this will be my last full story until I'm done school, but we all see how that worked out... I couldn't stay away... the ideas get caught in my head and run away once my fingers hit the keyboard.  I will say though to keep an eye out on my short-stories blog, Ulterior Motives because there is definitely some new material being posted on there. At some point I will also be posting another one of my long-fics that I have in my archives... So I'll keep ya'll in the loop.
Thank you so much again to all my Anonymous commentors, Nealskanen, Bublbabie, JD89, Erin, Daroxygirl, Mimi, RebelHeart87, and of course K... you peeps are what make this story!!

...I have been taught,
Love is a vice.
So go these thoughts
and I put them on Ice.

thank God you're here
I need you to hear this,
So sick of my shit
I promise, I'm through tempting faith.

I know I'm in love now
And you are what love is to me,
Please tell me this isn't too little, too late.

Ooo, let's move fast.
Making up time would be nice.

I'm so sorry, I put these things on Ice.

-Chris Thile

Ch. 22

“I never thought I’d see the day you’d be dressed in your very own hockey jersey!” Faith exhaled, feigning faintness and dropping back into the wall of the living room as soon as I emerged from the basement in one of my early Christmas presents from Alex.  Despite my protests, he insisted on giving this to me, claiming if I was to be a real hockey fan, I needed to look like one.  I’m fairly sure something was lost in translation somewhere along the way, especially since I never said anything about wanting to be a hockey fan.  All I had asked was for him to explain the game to me a little, so I at least knew a little bit more than how you got a point by scoring a goal.  He took it as me wanting to know every single detail and even had me out on skates with a hockey stick at one of the outdoor rinks just the other day.  Luckily I had no problem ice skating, but I still lost my balance almost every time I would take a shot at the net.  Alex of course found this all too humorous and seemed to laugh even harder when I’d scowl at him.  The only plus in all this was…Alex was laughing again.

Nicky stopped by the bakery the one day just to tell me that he was glad Alex and I were together and mentioned that it was nice to have his old friend back.  I’m not quite sure what that all meant, but I assumed it was a good thing.  All I knew was that Alex had me with every word, kiss, and smile.

Of course not everything was butterflies and rainbows.  It took a little for Alex to get used to the fact that unlike the majority of his other girlfriends, I had a business to run, so I wasn’t always able to be out every night until the wee morning hours.  In fact, if I didn’t have him in my bed and actually see him sleep; I would have never believed the man slept. 

In turn it took me a little to be cool with him being out all night without me.  It didn’t always help my self-esteem when I would be out with him at a club and beautiful girls would literally throw themselves in front of him.  He of course would oblige them a smile or a small flirt, but I quickly realized that it wasn’t worth getting upset over.  There was something I had that they didn’t and that was Alex’s respect and love.

“At least this one doesn’t smell like beer,” I giggled, unable to not remember my terrible date with Trevor while looking down at the brand-new red jersey.

“I still think mine is better though,” Faith joked, feeling the need to turn around and pimp the back of her jersey where CARLSON was spelled out on the back.

“You two make me sick!” Becky cried, fake pouting.  “Where is my hockey player?!”

“You and Green looked a little close the other night,” I ribbed her.

She suddenly blushed and turned away from Faith and I as we sniggered at her reaction.  No more complaints were heard.

This was the first game I was going to since the game Alex bribed me into going in October.  Even though I’d never tell the hockey twins or Alex, I was actually excited to be going to the game.  Our tickets were once again by the home bench, but high enough up so we could see the whole rink.

“Thank God for the boys and their awesome ticket selection skills!” Faith exclaimed bouncing up and down in her seat as the team began taking the ice for their warm-up.  Despite the place not being filled up yet, the crowd was still loudly cheering for the team.

Alex skated by and gave me an acknowledging look before putting on his game face for the next 3 hours.  The look included his cocky smirk and for some reason I had a distinct feeling he was going to score a goal tonight.

The more time I spent with Alex, the more I was beginning to understand that he was really having a tough season.  Things didn’t seem to be going his way like they had supposedly gone for him since he entered the league.  According to the girls, Alex was considered an elite hockey player in this league.  I knew he was a good player, but I didn’t realize how good of a player until I sat down with his mom one night and looked at her photo albums.  I was floored when I she got to the pictures of him with all the prestigious awards he had won during his time thus far with the NHL.  It was obvious that she wasn’t just talking up Alex because he was her son.

“Why didn’t he play basketball?” I asked Tatiana after she told me about herself being on the national stage for the Olympics.

She smiled and shook her head.  “After Alex see his first hockey game, he never stop talking about it.  He born to play.”

It always made my heart squeeze a bit when she talked about her son.  It was so obvious how proud she was of him.  He truly did have a special family support system; reminding me of my own family support system.

Just in the last week, things seemed to be starting to turn around for Alex.  He didn’t seem as frustrated about the game when he talked to me about it.  In fact even he said the one day that he felt the team was about to turn a corner.

A little under 8 minutes into the game, Alex scored the first goal.  It was a long fed pass from Karl, in fact even after watching the replay on the jumbo-tron; I was still in awe that the puck ended up on Alex’s stick from such a long distance.  He made it look so easy.  The three of us stood up, screaming madly with the crowd as Alex celebrated with the rest of his line mates.  Nicky scored almost 7 minutes later with a wrap around goal.

Despite no goals being scored during the second period, to me, the team seemed to completely dominate Nashville.  I knew it was going to be a good night.

We were still getting our feet under us, but I felt like we were finally starting to see some results.  Nashville is a tough defense team, so it was a good win for us to get and even better to get it at home.

For me personally, I was finally seeing how important it was to stay grounded.  All the super-star treatment had seemingly taken its toll.  Spending most of my free time with Lana and my family was making it easy to see.  Finally I was achieving that balance that my grandmother so often told me I would find.

“Did ya hear me cheering?!” Lana squeaked happily, jumping into my arms as soon as I emerged from the locker room after the game.

I laughed and breathed in her now very familiar scent.  “I’m positive I heard some Southern accent yelling something about getting a piece from her tonight,” I growled into her ear on purpose.  Of course she immediately began squirming and making some lame as excuses about her having to get home so that she could get into the bakery early tomorrow because of all the holiday orders.

“I’m sure I announced to you more than once that this week is pure and utter hell for me,” she pouted as I set her back down onto the floor in front of me.

“But starting Saturday, you all mine for two weeks,” I happily reminded her, patting her on the head for added dramatics.  She sighed and smiled, attempting to keep herself from looking as excited as she was, but she failed miserably.

She had already planned to shut the bakery down for the week between Christmas and New Year, but I talked her into closing it for two weeks for the simple fact that she deserved to have a vacation.  The schedule for me between the holidays was jammed packed with games, but it was already determined that she would be coming to all the games, home and away.

“Exactly!” she smiled over my way as we walked out to my car.

“I’m still staying over tonight,” I declared right as she climbed in the car, slamming her door shut before I could hear her protests.  When I got in on the driver’s side she was sitting in her seat with her arms crossed and not looking at me.  “If you keep biting your lip that hard, you are going to draw blood, Little Lana,” I laughed.

She turned to me, stuck out her tongue and went back to biting her lip.  All I could do was laugh and damn it felt good.  She made me feel good.  She felt even better when he was riding me about an hour later.

“Fuck, where do you get the energy after playing a game?” she whined when I forced myself deep into her as she screwed herself down over my dick.

I just smiled, grabbed her hips tightly and took control, despite the fact she was on-top; not that she minded.  Lana’s head dropped backwards and left out a low moan and roughly grabbed her own tits in her hands.  It was all to easy to think about how she was that first time on my dining room table, all nervous and worried.  Now she was a complete sex kitten, willing to try different things.  Not even a shred of nervousness could be found when it came to our bedroom antics.  In fact, Lana quickly became a fond user of the sex swing I had.  Tonight however, we were at her place, so no swing, just plain old hard sex.

“So hot and dirty when you do that,” I murmured, sliding my hands up her body and squeezing her hands and breasts.  She bit her lip until I bottomed out in her once more, causing her mouth to open allowing for sound to come out again.

“I blame you,” she said in between bounces.

I just smirked and fucked her even harder, flipping positions quickly to take the breath from her.  Pulling her to the edge of the bed and cupping her ass, I lifted her up off the bed, making for an angle that put me deep inside of her and had us both crying out for Mercy in the matter of moments.

Later that night she snuggled against me and I wrapped my arms around her body, holding her close.  She felt so perfect lying against me.  This is what life was made for.  Kissing her head, I breathed her in.  “Lana?”

“Yeah?” she whispered sleepily.

“I love you,” I said quietly, but firmly so she didn’t think I wasn’t serious.  It was quite possibly the first time I had ever said the words to a woman and meant them.

“I love you too,” she cooed easily.

Chapter Twenty-One

Adult Content. And no, I'm not sorry for it. LOL

Ch. 21

Her lips felt so warm and soft.  Most of all they felt familiar…comfortable.  I can’t say I’m surprised that she kissed me back, but I also can’t say that it didn’t make me happier than I had felt in over the last month and a half.

“Little Lana, mmm, I have missed you so much,” I murmured into her ear.  I had pulled her to the edge of the counter and she was now hugging me tightly, resting her head on my shoulder.

“I’ve missed you too,” she said in a barely audible whisper.

I began lightly running my fingers through her hair and she left out a sigh.

“If you keep doing that, I’m going to fall asleep on your shoulder…”

“Then please, just stay here tonight.  We are going to get a tree tomorrow and I want you to be here for that so you can help decorate and what not,” I said gently.

“I can come back in the morning,” she yawned.

Instead of arguing, I just scooped her up and began carrying her through the house.

“Alex…” she whined.

“Ssh, you don’t want to wake my parents,” I whispered, biting back a laugh.

“This is not the way to get back in my good graces,” she grumbled, but still not picking her head up off my shoulder, so I knew she wasn’t overly angry.

“How so?  I’m just making sure you are safe.  You are too tired to be driving home and I’m sure you had one or two many glasses of wine tonight,” I played.

“I think it was that shot of Vodka before dinner that already had me,” she sighed.

I chuckled at this, kissed her hair and placed her on my bed.  “You are a light-weight.”

“I’m not Russian.”

“This is truth you speak,” I smiled.

“Do you have a t-shirt or something that I can sleep in at least?” she yawned again.  She already looked like she was asleep as she snuggled into the pillow.

I nodded, walked into my closet and pulled out a hockey jersey.  It would be the most oversized thing I owned and perfect for her to snuggle in.  Plus, a girl in just a hockey jersey was just fucking hot.  When I walked back into the room her eyes were closed and I was certain she was sleeping.  I stopped and just looked at her.  She looked peaceful and perfect.  The best part being, it was obvious she belonged right there.

“Stop staring at me, Alex,” she whispered.

“But it has been a while since I have seen you,” I chuckled, scolding myself for being caught.

“It’s your own fault,” she chided.

Alex stood there for another moment before he spoke again.  “Sasha say since day one that I have a thing for you…”

I nodded, but didn’t say anything, willing him to keep going, he looked like he wanted to talk.

“I of course did not want to believe him, but after you said those things after we fucked,” he paused and wiggled his eyes at me, despite the fact that he probably saw me flinch when he used such a harsh word to explain what we did that night, even if it was the right word to use, “It made me think some more.  Of course it took me awhile to realize it all, but I am starting to see that he was right.”

“He was right about what?”

“That you don’t need to be Russian.”

“Is that what it all comes down to?!” I asked incredulously.  “If I was Russian, we wouldn’t have gone through all this?!”

“Maybe this is true,” he said slowly.

“I should slap you right now,” I sighed, throwing my arms up over my face, debating on if I should just walk out right now.

“I liked it when you did…” Alex winked.

“Then if that is the case, I will be leaving now,” I grumbled, making a move to get up off the bed and head home like I had originally planned.

“But I like that too,” he growled, immediately thwarting my attempting by quickly moving onto the bed and pushing me back down into it.  I began to squirm, but my strength was no match to his, especially when he began kissing me again and nuzzling his face into my neck.  Suddenly the playful Alex I had remembered was coming to life once more.

“Is there anything you don’t like?” I squeaked, trying to push him away, but not with too much effort because he was warm and smelled so good.

“Not when it comes to you,” He admitted.  “This is the whole problem.”

“Oh, so now it’s a problem that you like me?!” I scoffed right before he began tickling me mercilessly.

He only stopped when he had me completely pinned underneath him.  When I finally stopped squirming and putting up a fight he whispered into my ear, “Little Lana, I need you to love me tonight.”

I turned my head and looked into his crystal blue eyes.  “I just need one promise from you,” I said quietly.

“What is that?”

“If you decide that ya want out, have the respect to tell me and not just leave me hanging,” I said honestly.

Alex leaned back in and kissed me gently on the lips once more.  “I knew you wouldn’t give up on me,” he whispered.

This was probably the dumbest thing I could do.  There was no reason for me to be in his bed tonight and no reason to allow him to keep having his way with me except for the simple fact that he always got his own way when it came to the sexual aspect of our relationship.

His hands were all over me and as soon as he began whispering in Russian to me, I knew all bets were off.

“Milaya…” he whispered over and over again, trailing kisses down my neck.  I gave him a playful frown at the last minute before he pulled my sweater dress up and over my head.  He just laughed as he threw it onto the floor and turned back to lay more kisses on my now uncovered skin.  Suddenly I didn’t feel as tired as I just did a few moments ago.  My body came alive at his touch and the dragging of his gold necklace initiating a familiar ache between my legs and in my thoughts.

Alex’s calloused fingers, lightly tracing my lace covered breasts made me cry out and arch my back.  I felt him laugh but he continued his torture for another second before just taking both of my breasts in his hands and firmly squeezing them as he drew his tongue up between my cleavage.  “Mmmmm,” I moaned, pushing my head back into the pillow and drawing my knees up while a toe-curling shiver ran through the length of my body.  “Is this a Russian thing?” I asked, my voice cracking because I could barely form the words with my lips.

“What?” he breathed into my neck before latching onto it, making me shiver once more.  This time, I dug my fingers into his back.

“This melting thing…you know the way you seem to know what to do with my body to make me feel like it’s the best thing every time you touch meeeee…” I drew out when I felt his one hand slid between my legs and up to my cleft.

He let out an evil laugh and shrugged.  “You make this all too easy.”

“I’m not easy,” I growled, slamming my legs back together to get my point across, but the problem was his hand was still between them, completely ruining my attempt to keep him out.  I left out a blissful hiss when his` finger slipped underneath my panties and in between my folds.  “Okaaaayyy…” I moaned, relaxing once more so that he could continue his work.

“Don’t worry Lana,” he spoke, watching my facial reaction.  “I only meant you are easy to please.”

“Suuurrrreee,” I rolled my eyes and laughed until he hit another spot of true elation with his fingers.

“Just relax,” he purred into my ear, sliding another finger inside of me.  “I like doing all the work.”

A drunken smile tugged at my lips and I soon gave in, allowing him take full control.  In a matter of moments, the first orgasm was rolling over me.  His mouth and tongue brought me to my second one.

It was true.  She was all too easy to please and I reveled in the control I had over her.  Maybe I wouldn’t always be able to have my way in our relationship, but I already knew this was the one thing that I would have control of.  Otherwise, I was resigned to the fact that I wasn’t always going to get my way when it came to our relationship and for once I was okay with that.  If what she was asking for was respect, then she would get it.  If it meant I would be able to have her like this every night, then I was willing to be the man she expected me to be.  I’m not quite sure when that thought process changed, but then I’m not quite sure why half of the things in my life had changed thus far.  Suddenly everything was upside-down in my life and the only thing that seemed to make sense was Lana.

“Alex?” Lana asked in a worried tone that brought me back to the present.  “What’s wrong?” My head was lying on her stomach.  I had just devoured her sweet pussy and was giving her time to come down from the last orgasm before I entered her and made her mine once again.

I looked up at her.  Her brow was furrowed and her chocolate eyes shown with raw worry.  I shook my head and smiled as I crawled up and covered her body with mine.  “I just got lost for a moment,” I said quietly before kissing her firmly.  She seemed a little surprised, but soon her fingers were threaded in my hair and she was kissing me.  A moment later she pulled me back and looked into my eyes before just closing her eyes smiled. 

No more words were said.  Instead the physicality took over once more and in a few moments I was pushing inside of her.

He looked like he was far away in another land as he lost himself in his thoughts.  If you would have asked me in Alex was an emotional person after the first couple times in meeting him, I’m not quite sure I could have agreed.  However, the look in his eyes tonight and the sound in his voice when he said he needed me to love him tonight put a whole different spin on things.  This was the beginning of another level.

I left out a quiet cry as he entered me.  I hadn’t slept with anyone since our romp in the garage, and despite being dripping wet, his thickness still took my breath.  Alex kissed me deeply while he slowly pushed fully into me and held himself there for a moment before setting a slow but languid pace.  It might have been the most vanilla sex we had have, but neither of us were complaining because it was nice just taking our time and feeling every jolt of electric current passing through us.

“Amazing, you feel so amazing,” he kept repeating into my ear and skin.  The longer we went, the more Russian he kept mixing in and the closer I came to have my third orgasm of the night.  I wrapped my thigh-high tight-clad legs around his muscular ass and pulled him deeper into me while holding on for dear life.  As much as I wanted to cry out loudly, I muffled my cries in his shoulder that was tensed for his own release that came soon after mine.

Alex collapsed on top of me and we stayed joined together for a while longer, just holding each other.  Suddenly my sleepiness returned and a yawn escaped my lips.

“Sleepy?” Alex mused with a cocky smile.  I smiled back and nodded my head.  “So will you stay here with me tonight?” he asked.

I playfully ruffled his hair and attempted to push him off of me, but he kept his weight on me for just a moment longer and kissed me softly on the lips.

Somehow I was certain this was the way things were meant to be all along.

Chapter Twenty

got lots of writing done!!! yay!!

Can't believe I could think that she would just follow me everywhere I go
I was wrestle with you in my dreams and wake up making love to a pillow

Ch. 20

“Lana’s Sunshine Bakery, how can I help ya?” I answered the phone, not sounding as chipper as I wanted to.  Maybe it had to do with being exhausted, or maybe it was the simple fact of not really feeling chipper.  Thanksgiving had come and gone and suddenly everyone was in the Christmas mood but me.  I was dreading it this year.  Despite finally finding a decent helper for the shop, I still felt overwhelmed with all the orders that were pouring in.  I’m sure it also didn’t help that I was feeling those lonely holiday blues.

Brooks called…a few days later to tell me that he was going to give it a go again with Carrie.  I couldn’t blame him for doing so.  In face, I would like to think that if I was with someone for 7 years, I wouldn’t just throw the relationship out the window, but that still left me single and miserable.

So, here I was; swamped, over-worked, and alone once more for the holidays.  There was definitely nothing to be jolly about in my mind.

“Do you make holiday cookies?” A thick female Russian accent filled my ear.

“I do,” I answered, unable to hide a small smile.  Is every Russian accent going to remind me of Alex?!

“I’d like to place an order for some and a few of your other pastries.”

“Okay,” I said, grabbing a pen and paper to take the order.  Soon it was all set up for her to pick them up tomorrow at 4:45pm, right before I closed for the weekend.  When I asked for her name, she just said Sasha, leading me to believe that everyone in Russia was either named or nick-named Sasha.

“I need you to stop by this place and pick-up the order I placed,” my mother said as I walked into the house.  I had just finished having a meeting with Coach Hunter and the rest of the Caps management.  Unfortunately it wasn’t a meeting about how well things were going, because we all knew how bad it truly was going.

“I’m not in the mood to go out and run errands right now,” I grumbled, flopping down on the couch.

“I don’t care.  I told the girl I would be there to pick them up at 4:45pm and it says she closes at 5pm, so you have to go now.”

I looked over at my mom and frowned.  She knew I was unable to say no to her.  I had too much respect for her.  So I held out my hand.  She slapped the business card in my hand and walked away.  I looked down at it.  On the back, in scribbled Russian it was written, “Make sure you bring home a date for dinner.”  When I flipped the card around, all I could do was close my eyes and drop my head back into the couch.

I heard the store bells jingle, but I was in the back finishing up a birthday cake that was going to be picked up on Monday morning.   I smiled to myself, thinking about how nice it was to have a helper at the store again because if it she wasn’t there, I would have had to stop what I was doing and go out and help the customer.  Instead I stayed put and finished dotting the “i” when I heard Tracey loudly say, “Sir!  You can’t just walk back there.  I have your order already out here!”

When I turned to see what was going on, Alex was already walking through the door of the kitchen.  He looked quite the ragged mess.  A backwards, red hat adorned his head and he was wearing a black Nike hoodie and a pair of plain grey sweatpants.  The winner was his footwear; a pair of Nike sandals and socks.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, feeling annoyed.  After not hearing from him since Halloween and seeing the picture he had tweeted of him and Maria a few weeks ago, I was fairly certain he had forgotten about me.

“Since when do you have such a bossy helper?” he asked at the same time.  We both froze and stood there looking at each other for a bit.  Of course, Alex was the first to speak again.  “My mother ordered a cookie tray from you…”

“It wouldn’t happen to be under the name, Sasha, would it?” I asked, trying to hide a smile.

A smile crept over Alex’s face as he nodded.  “Yes, it would.”

I nodded and laughed nervously.  He looked at me and smiled, but it was a tired, defeated smile.  I could tell that he wasn’t his normal self-assured person.  “So that was your mother I talked to?”

He shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the counter.  “Yeah, my parents are over from Russia.  She is making a big dinner tonight.”

“Oh I see,” I spoke quietly, turning my back towards him and making myself busy with the cake once more.

There was a long moment of silence in the room before Alex spoke again.  “Lana, you look good,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.

I looked over at him and paused before saying, “I’d say the same to you, but honestly, you don’t look like your normal self.”

He left out an ironic laugh and shook his head.  “Life has been…how do you say it?  Hectic?”

I nodded my head.  “Ah, I see.”

“The girls say you aren’t playing your best hockey.”

“The girls are right.  But haven’t you been able to tell that for yourself?” he asked, suddenly taking a step towards my personal space, but I was trying my hardest to not notice.

“I probably could if I actually watched the games, but I’m not into hockey, remember?” I reminded him easily.

“Oh, right,” he said quietly.  “I want you to come meet my family, come to my house for dinner tonight,” he suddenly blurted, placing his hand on my upper arm, fully capturing my attention.  I took a breath but didn’t dare look at him.  “I don’t really think coming to your house for a family dinner is really on my list of exciting things to do at the moment.”

“It’s just me, my family and a couple of my friends…My mom wants to meet you.”

“What did you tell her about me?  That I’m the pathetic girl who fell in love with you or the girl who left you walk upstairs in nothing but your underwear after she stole your clothing?” I asked, unable to stop the tears of anger from boiling over.

Alex’s other hand cupped my cheek and forced me to look at him.  “She just knows you as girl who has finally made her son realize there is more to life than hockey, money, fast cars and girls.”

I looked at him and bit my lip.  The look in his eyes seemed sincere enough.  “You know, I meant what I said that night.”

Alex smiled and nodded his head.  “I know.”

“If I say yes to coming over tonight, it does not mean I am your girlfriend,” I continued slowly.

“Ah, but it does mean that I still have my way with you,” he joked.

“Will you ever be serious when it counts?” I laughed, wiping the tears from my eyes.

“If I’m not laughing, then I’m not myself.”  The pad of his thumb gently caressed my cheek, despite everything, I was still unable to keep myself from leaning into his hand.  “We will do things your way, Lana.”

“Slowly?” I asked, sounding like a scared child.

“If that is what you want, then yes.”

Seeing her again instantly made me ache and brought back all the memories I had tried to push away.  Like it or not, I had fallen for the southern girl and I knew I needed to step up big-time to prove to her that I was not leading her around this time.

I offered to follow her home and then take her to my house for dinner, but she said that she would be over at 6:30.  It wasn’t like I didn’t believe her, but I was slightly afraid she’d chicken out.

The doorbell didn’t even finish ringing when I opened the door.  Despite nervously biting her lip, her eyes were smiling as she handed me a bottle of wine.

“I couldn’t come over here without bringing something,” she said quietly as she stepped across the threshold.

Only Lana would go out of her way to bring something along.  I’m fairly sure she was right out of the Southern Hospitality Magazine.  “My mother will appreciate it,” I chuckled, before leaning down and kissing her on the cheek.  I heard her suck in a breath, but when I pulled back she was smiling broadly.

“You smell good,” she whispered when I took her coat.

“And you look delicious,” I said, licking my lips as I looked her up and down.  She was in a dark grey sweater dress and black tights.  Her hair was pulled back in a low pony-tail.  It was obvious she was dressed to impress.

“Well I’m just glad you have clothing on tonight,” she joked, poking me in the stomach before taking back the bottle of wine so that she could personally give it to my mother.

I took her by the arm and led her out to the kitchen where my mom was putting on the finishing touches of dinner.  She was scolding Sasha for tasting the gravy right out of the pot when we walked in.

“Ah, Lana!  I glad you’re here!” he exclaimed, quickly escaping my mother’s wrath.

“Hi, Sasha,” she blushed easily accepting a hug from my teammate.  As soon as he stepped away, my mother walked over to her and took Lana’s hands into her own.  It was how my mother greeted everyone for the first time.  I always believed as a child that she was a gypsy who was able to read minds when she touched you.  Lana didn’t act a bit nervous; instead she just smiled and said, “Hello, Mrs. Ovechkin, it’s wonderful to finally meet ya.”

My mother just smiled and then leaned in to kiss Lana on both cheeks.  “Nice to meet you my dear,” she said in broken English.  “I understand your English, but  I don’t speak well,” she warned Lana.

“It’s okay,” Lana smiled reassuringly.  “My Russian is terrible,” she giggled.

“Don’t worry, we will translate everything wrong!” Sasha piped up, causing everyone to laugh loudly.

Thus dinner started off on the right foot.

To no surprise, Alex had changed out of his sweats and was in something more fashionable, which included a tight fitting black shirt and a pair of jeans that accented what the girls called, hockey-butt.  When he leaned in to kiss me on the cheek, the scent of his freshly clean skin and cologne filled my nose.  Knowing how he easily took comments out of context, I shouldn’t have said anything about him smelling good, but it just kind of popped out.  He did smell good and I realized I had to be on my guard because my mind was quickly becoming fogged.

Alex’s mother and father were adorable.  They talked non-stop about their son, telling stories about his childhood and divulging secrets that he refused to translate.  Of course Semin had no problem translating when Alex wouldn’t, so nothing was left out.  Abe and his girlfriend were also present.  Although he was not as talkative as the rest of the group in the beginning, he soon was also joining in the conversations and also asking more questions about me.  He was a nice guy whose stand-off attitude towards me seemed to diminish with every passing moment.  By the end of the night, he made a comment about looking forward to spending more time with me.  I was fairly sure that while Abe seemed to come across as just a friend who liked basking in the limelight of Alex, he really did care for him in his own way and I was not about to judge that.  I was just glad to finally get to know him a little more than I had known him before.

Tonight, I had learned more about Alex in just a few hours than I had during the few weeks we had been “seeing each other.”

My cookies and pastries were of course the hit of the night.  Alex’s mom even made a comment about being positive my baking skills had more than one thing to do with winning over her son.  I only blushed and looked away from Alex, knowing he was staring right at me.

During dinner Alex seemed to perk up a bit.  Despite still looking tired, his smiles seemed to come easier.  What didn’t go unnoticed by me was the way Alex acted around his family and close friends.  He was the person I had enjoyed spending time with those times we spent making breakfast together and spent alone on our few dates.  There was no superstar act put on when he was in his home.  He was just Alex, the Alex I had become intrigued with.

“I think I’m going to head out,” I yawned, placing the last dish in the dishwasher.  Everyone had left already and Alex’s parents had already retired for the night.

“But it’s early,” Alex commented.

“And I was up even earlier,” I began to yawn again but instead squeaked when he suddenly picked me up and placed me on the kitchen counter, making sure he had my full attention.

“Did you have fun tonight?” He asked quietly, pushing a piece of my hair behind my ear.

“I did,” I smiled honestly, unable to keep my eyes from connecting with his.  They were always so such a hypnotizing blue.

“Are you glad you said yes?”

“I am,” I nodded.

“Can we start over now?” He asked like an excited child.

“One night does not fix everything, Alex,” I said slowly.

“I know this, Lana.  I have a lot of fixing to do…”

I couldn’t help but laugh at this statement.  I stopped laughing and then paused before saying what I want I had wanted to say earlier today.  “I don’t expect you to be an angel, Alex, but honestly, there are somethings you need to work on to make this work.”

“I realize this, Lana.”

I nodded and closed my eyes.  Before I could open them again, Alex’s lips were against mine, gently testing me.  I kissed him back, unable to turn him away.  I had missed him more than anyone would ever know.

Chapter Nineteen

Amazing how everyone jumped on the Brooks bandwagon so quickly... does no one have faith in Alex?!! LOL

Ch. 19

“Are you bringing Lana along tonight for the Movember event?”  I heard Carly ask as I walked out of the showers.  I turned to see if he was talking to me, almost as if it was a habit for me whenever Lana’s name was mentioned, but Brooks answered, which made me stop in my tracks.

“Yeah, I’m picking her up at 6:30, do you want me to just bring Faith along?” Brooks asked John, completely ignoring me despite the fact that I knew he had seen my reaction because he almost bumped into me when I came to a halt.

“Nah, I’ll pick up my girl.  I’m sure you won’t mind having some alone time with Lana anyway,” John chirped and waggled his eyebrows.

Brooks laugh and I couldn’t keep my mouth shut any longer.

“You cheating on Carrie?” I asked loudly.  A couple of the guys in the locker room stopped and looked up.

Brooks on the other hand didn’t stop, almost acting like he didn’t hear me.  “We broke up almost a month ago,” he answered in the even tone that always annoyed me when I was pissed off at him for something.

“So you move in on Lana right away?” I asked, even though I spoke it more like it was a statement.

“No moving had to be done.  Lana was there for me just like I have been there for her, so it’s been more of a progression of sorts.”

“I knew you had the hots for my girlfriend,” I snapped.

“Fairly sure you never treated her like your girlfriend,” he challenged, finally looking me in the eyes.

“Excuse me?!” I growled, feeling my temperature rise.

“You heard me,” Brooks answered before turning back to his locker.  His nonchalant demeanor was the flame igniter.  My temp hit boiling point and I lunged at him.  Jay Beagle and Hendricks quickly jumped in and pulled me back before I could land any punches.

“Get your fucking act together, Alex!” Brooks roared.  “Instead of worrying about me, start worrying about yourself and your fucking business here at the rink!”

“I’m the fucking Captain!” I yelled back.

“That’s right, you are, so start fucking acting like one!” somebody called out, only starting a slew of one-liners from several of the other guys in the locker room.  Some calling me out, some sticking up for me.  A minute later Hunter came in and called us all out.

“Are you sure I look okay?” I asked nervously as I looked down at my outfit.  This was my first time going to an event as a WAG and after hearing some of the war stories Faith and Becky had filled my head with in the last couple days, I was really feeling self-conscious.

In one breath Faith would say how nice the other women were, but in the next she was talking about how I was going to need to make sure I had the latest fashions, something I never worried about before.  Of course I was always keen on looking good, but getting out to the store every week was not on the top of my priority list.  I sighed and bit my lip.  Brooks had said the event was a casual event.  So I had decided a pair of dark jeans and a classic, black, turtle-neck, sweater with plain black boots was casual, yet chic.

“I’m fairly sure Brooks wouldn’t care if you showed up in a pair of your flannel jammy pants and one of your worn out rodeo t-shirts,” Becky giggled.  “You have that boy wrapped around your finger!”

“Whatever,” I shook my head and rolled my eyes.  “We are just good friends,” I defended for the hundredth time.

“No, I’m fairly sure Brooks sees it as more, Lana,” Faith interjected.  “I mean this is an event that the WAG’s are involved in.”

“Exactly,” I sighed.  “And that’s why I’m going along, so he doesn’t have to go stag.”

“But didn’t he go stag before when he was with Carrie?” Becky asked.

“Well that is different,” I mumbled, immediately chewing on my lip.  Anytime they brought up the “Brooks situation” I’d go into a nervous lock-down of sorts.  I never wanted to talk about it, for the simple fact that I wasn’t even sure how I felt about it.  If anything, it seemed we were both feeling out where we were going with things.  His relationship with Carrie had been long and involved, so jumping into something quickly didn’t really seem like the smart idea.  As for me, frankly, I was gun shy.  Obviously Brooks was nothing like Alex, but he was still a hockey player and I was still learning what that exactly meant.  It was nothing for people to come up to us while we were out for a walk or eating at a restaurant and ask him for his autograph.  Plus, don’t even get me started on the terrible looks I would get from women who thought that we were a couple.  This fact was another reason I was worried about the looming event.  How many looks would I get tonight and what kind of wrong ideas were people going to get?  What kind of wrong ideas am I going to get?

“No, pretty sure it’s not,” Becky pushed.

“He hasn’t even kissed me,” I announced, which caused Becky and Faith to stop in their tracks and stare with open mouths.

“What do you mean he hasn’t even kissed you?!  What do you two do when you’re downstairs in your room?!” Faith squeaked.

“Watch movies…” I said slowly and truthfully.

“Oh, my god, she’s telling the truth!” Faith scowled at Becky, who just shook her head slowly back and forth in disbelief.  “She is actually downstairs watching movies with him and not making out with that beautiful specimen.”

“Come on guys!” I cried.  “He just broke up with his girlfriend and I just…whatever with Alex, you can’t expect us to just both jump into something!”

“So you doooo like him that way!” they yelled together.

I bit my lip and tried to hide my smile, but it was useless.  “He’s really sweet.”

“And beautiful!” Becky swooned as she feigned fainting onto the lazyboy.

“But this just feels a little awkward…” I admitted.  “I mean with Alex and all…”

“Fuck Alex!” Faith practically screamed.

“Poor choice of words,” I mumbled, slapping my hand across my face, wishing I could get the last memory of us together out of my head for good.

Faith frowned for a second and continued on her rant.  “He really is just a big piece of poo who totally used you for whatever reason.  I too am still disheartened at the fact that I thought I saw something there between you, but now with all the facts in our basket, I have to conclude that he is just one hell of a smooth talker and player.”

I slowly nodded my head in agreement and sighed once again.  She was right.  All I could do was hope to get that one memory out of my head.  The memory of how he looked at me when he was above me as I laid on the hood of his car.  It was a raw look, a look that told me I was getting the real Alex, the one who wasn’t always as good at hiding his emotions as he thought he could.  The several times we had spent together I had seen that look more than once and I knew that it was special.  I was sure that there was a side to Alex that very few knew and I had been privileged to see it.  That was the only thing that was keeping the tiny sliver of hope alive in my mind and heart.  Of course I would never admit that to the two girls in front of me or even myself except during pure moments of insanity.

“Something troubles you my dear son,” my mother said quietly as we sat at my kitchen counter together.  She and my dad arrived this afternoon from Russia and were planning on staying thru the New Year.  I was glad they were here.  They always made me feel a little more grounded, plus I confided in my mother about everything.  She was the only person who knew the real me, the man who wasn’t always strong.

I shrugged my shoulder and placed my head in my hands.  “It’s long and complicated,” I answered in our native tongue.

“It’s a woman,” she said in a simple, knowing tone.

I peeked at her through my fingers and blinked.

“And it’s not Maria,” she continued.

I chuckled sadly, “No, it’s not Maria.”

“Then why do you play such games with Maria?  Playing house with her only confuses your heart.”

“Because Maria fits what I always pictured.”

“So what you are telling me is that you are finally ready to settle down, but because the girl you truly like is not the perfect paper doll, you settle for something less?  This does not sound like the things your Grandmother and I have taught you,” she scolded.

“But she’s American, Mother.”

“Is she a good girl?”

I laughed at this for a moment, picturing how perfect and innocent Lana really was.  “A good Southern Girl to be exact.”

“Do you love her?”

I knew the question was coming.  In fact I had rehearsed this answer a hundred times but it still came out wrong when I opened my mouth.  “Yes.”

“Then I do not understand your whimsical ways,” my mother grumbled, throwing her hands up at me before turning to walk away.  “Is this why you have been playing so terribly this season?!  Is it because of this girl?”

“Not all because of her…”

“Is it because you are finally seeing that you need love in your life to actually be satisfied with everything you have?”

I sat quietly for a moment and thought about it.  As simple as it sounded, it made a lot of sense.  Of course I would have never been able to see it myself.  Only my mother would be the one to point out the obvious.

“Seems you have some things to fix,” mom said quietly before wrapping an arm around me.  It made me jump because I didn’t even realize she had walked back over to me again.

“I don’t know where to start,” I breathed, holding my mother close to me.

“You will figure it out.  You are strong headed like me, so I know you will figure it out.”

“I knew I could count on you to be creative!” Brooks exclaimed with a broad smile when I showed him some of the items I had wrapped to put in his basket.  For the fundraiser, the guys were supposed to make up a basket with their favorite things along with other things they thought people might like.  The basket was then going to be raffled off to the highest bidder.  All the proceeds would go to supporting prostate cancer research.  He already had some cool things in it, including a signed jersey, signed puck, a pair of tickets to a game and a few of his favorite DVD’s but he said he wanted to add a couple other items.  He mentioned that the idea was for the basket to be from the hockey player and their significant other and it was decided that since I was going to be his date, I should also donate a few items.  So I wrapped up a few baked goods and put in a gift certificate for my bakery.  I also donated the large basket that held all the items and decorated it with the team’s colored ribbons.

“It won’t look like a blatant advertisement move?” I asked.

Brooks laughed and shook his head, looking at the basket sitting on the counter.  “No, in fact I’m thinking that once they taste those samples, they will be running into the bakery for more!”

I rolled my eyes and pushed at him playfully.  “Yeah, ooookaaaay,” I said sarcastically.

“Obviously you forget how much business you got just from our team,” he reminded me.

I shrugged my shoulders in defeat and nodded.  He really did have a point.

“So what should I be expecting tonight?” I asked quietly as I finished tying the cellophane around the basket.

Brooks leaned against the counter aside of me and stretched out his arms, cracking his fingers before speaking.  “Uh, nothing much.  It is more of a mingling thing with a speaker or two.  They said something about having some carnival games set up for us to participate in with playing the donors…they might enlist your help if you don’t mind…”

I looked over at him and smiled easily.  “No, of course I wouldn’t mind,” I reassured him before turning back to fluffing the bow.  As I was reaching to fold the one end of the ribbon, Brooks’ hand stopped me.  He threaded his fingers through mine gently pulled me over to him.  The sparks of anticipation threaded through my body as silence fell between us.  I couldn’t take my eyes off of his, allowing him to position me against him as his other hand rested at the small of my back.

“Lana…” he said hoarsely.  All I could do was nervously bite my lip.  Of course I had a feeling about what he was going to say next, but it still was nice to hear the words from him.  “I have really enjoyed the last several weeks getting to know you better…” he paused, also seeming a little nervous, “and I don’t want to rush things, but this all just feels right,” he continued, his hand now lightly caressing my cheek.

I nodded my head, like the bobble-head version of Flo on that creepy guy’s dashboard in the Progressive commercials.  There wasn’t much to say, especially since he was now leaning towards me.  I willingly lift my chin-up and awaited his lips to touch mine.  As expected, they were soft and undemanding.  Everything about this kiss was different from the last first kiss I had experienced with his teammate.  It wasn’t reckless or assuming, instead it was…just what one might consider your normal run of the mill first kiss and at the moment I was okay with that.  A slight shiver went up my spine when he pulled back with a small smile gracing his thin lips, which in turn caused me to mimic it.

We were just about ready to leave for the fundraiser when Brooks’ cell phone rang.  Sure, I could only hear one side of the conversation, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who he was talking to.

“I think we’ve talked enough,” he chewed into the phone, dropping my hand so that he could pace my living room floor.  “No, it was your decision…You are where?!  Jesus, I’m…I’m just about ready to head to a fundraiser…”

He looked over at me with a look that I couldn’t quite decipher. It was a cross between, “I’m so sorry,” and “we might have a change of plans.”  I decided at this point to just head downstairs to my room and allow him some privacy to talk.  It was obvious tonight was not going to go as planned.

A few minutes later Brooks came down the steps and found me flipping through the TV channels.  “Hey,” he said quietly.

“Carrie?” I asked backed.

He nodded and frowned.  “She’s taking a cab over to my house as we speak.”

“So she’s here?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s here to fix things?”

“I guess,” he sighed, sitting on the edge of my bed.

I crawled over and placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed it.  “Then go,” I said gently, not really sure what I was feeling at the moment.

“I meant what I said upstairs, Lana,” he said quickly, turning towards me.

“I know,” I said quietly.  “But sometimes life changes things,” I smiled sadly.  Once again my grandmother’s words easily came from my mouth.

“I’ll call you later,” he said in a questioning tone.

“Of course,” I nodded.

He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.  My first tear fell when I heard the front door close.  I can’t say I was crying about Brooks.  I’m fairly sure I was crying because I was fairly sure I had the worst luck ever when it came to relationships.