When We Were Young

Three

Three

"Are you seriously going to stand there all-night waiting, like an attack dog?" Ivan Kaminsky asked Aleksander Morozova, who was standing in the kitchen, a drink in hand, watching the front door with a hungry look in his gray eyes.

"Do you know how long I've waited for this, Kaminsky?" Aleksander said. "Oretsev has had that picture up of that girl on our wall with the words protected virgin for three years. I've had fantasies about Alina Starkov and those little sun dresses she wears in my head for three years. Oretsev is gone for the weekend, I finally befriended Genya through David, and I am going to take Alina Starkovs virginity."

Ivan rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot, and she's a boring prude."

"Those are usually the girls that are the kinkiest." Aleksander grinned.

"She's not going to fall for your usual bullshit, you know? She's completely in love with Oretsev. Ten bucks says that they get married straight out of college and have a boat load of kids together. They're ridiculously attached. It's annoying. I bet Oretsev hasn't fucked her yet because he's waiting until marriage, or some noble bullshit."

Aleksander rolled his eyes. "Please. I've heard him talk about that girl. Nothing is ever going to happen with the two of them. He told me himself that he thinks of her like a little sister."

Ivan snorted. "Yeah, I believe his exact words were, Alina Starkov is like a sister to me, and if you do anything to hurt her, I'll cut your dick off."

"I'm not going to hurt her," Aleksander said, "I'm just going to show that girl a good time. That's it."

"You must be an idiot. Even Nikolai was smart enough not to try and seduce her, and he will sleep with anyone."

"Genya wants the girl to get laid almost as much as I do, and we're friends. She's bringing her here tonight. You just watch. Everything is going to be fine."

"Except," said Ivan, "aren't you forgetting something? Like the small little detail that she hates you because you hate Mal?"

Aleksander snorted. "Oh, please. She doesn't hate me. That's just unresolved, sexual tension. Tonight, we're going to resolve it. It's all going to be great. You'll see. And in the morning, I'll have something that Mal Oretsev has never had before. Alina Starkov."

"Okay, what's your deal with this kid?" Ivan said. "You've had it out for him since he was a freshman. Are the rumors actually true? Because you know, he was adopted, and there are some people that say that the two of you are---"

Aleksander glared at Ivan. "That the two of us are what?"

His friend sighed. "Never mind. Just, be careful, okay? Alina's a nice girl. She doesn't deserve to get hurt. She's innocent. She's sweet. Don't be responsible for her losing that part of herself, oaky?"

Aleksander frowned. "I'm surprised you care."

"Look, she tutored me in geography, alright? If it weren't for her, I wouldn't even be on the football team still."

Aleksander patted Ivan on the shoulder. "All I'm going to do is show Alina Starkov a good time. That's it."

"Sure," said Ivan, not even bothering to hide the disbelief in his voice.

Aleksander glanced at the door. "She'll be here, right? I mean, Genya said that she was going to be---"

The door opened then, and in came Genya, followed quickly by a wide eyed, Alina Starkov. Her black hair was down for a change when it was normally pulled up in a messy bun. She was wearing a red, velvet, spaghetti strap dress and black little kitten heels. The clothes were so decidedly not her that Aleksander knew that they must have been Genyas doing.

The pretty, redheaded fashion major spotted him and walked over. "Alina, meet your hookup for the evening," Genya said, "Aleksander Morozova, the one person who isn't scared of Mal because he completely and totally hates him."

"Hey," Aleksander said, his voice gruff and deep.

Alina looked from Aleksander, to Genya, back to Aleksander, back to Genya, disbelief etched on her features. "Genya!" she exclaimed. "You have got to be kidding me. The guy you want me to----to have sex with is the guy that has been making Mals life a living hell since he came to Ravka U? What makes you think that I would ever, ever agree to do anything with Assholeorzova?"

Ivan, who was still standing next to him, snickered. "Clever, Starkov."

Alina smiled at him. "Thanks." Then she looked back at Genya. "You have got to be kidding me, Genya. There's no way in hell that I am sleeping with him."

Aleksander frowned. "Why the hell not?"

Alina glanced at him. "Are you kidding me?" she said. "You once ruined all of Mals hockey gear, you tied him naked to the flag pole, you left him out in the woods by himself when you got drunk on your pledge night, you got him so drunk once I had to take him to the hospital----you know he has asthma, right?"

Aleksander rolled his eyes. "Last I checked, drinking didn't give you trouble breathing. Anyway, what does it matter what I've done to Oretsev or not? This is about you, Starkov. Safin tells me that you have a little problem, and I'm willing to take care of it."

"Fuck you," she snarled.

"I'm trying to fuck you," Aleksander replied with a smirk.

Alina shook her head. "Listen to me now, Morozova, never, ever in a million years, or however long eternity is, am I going to fuck you. I'd sooner drop dead."

Aleksander snorted. "Oh please. You're too hot to be wasted on death."

She scowled. "I'm leaving, and I'm going to pretend that this conversation never happened. Do what you want, Genya, but I am going back to the dorm."

She stormed off, and Aleksander stood there, shocked. Had that really just happened? Had he actually been rejected by little Alina Starkov? He glanced at Genya. "What the fuck was that?" he demanded.

 Genya smirked. "That was your match, Morozova. Go get her."