Malkin and Me

Chapter Two

A/N: I've decided to put English speaking in bold, to avoid confusion.

In the morning, I awoke before Evgeni. I wrapped myself in my warm purple housecoat and trudged downstairs. I was useless without coffee, so I decided to make some. I stared at the coffee maker Geno had. It was black and bigger than the microwave. I tried opening some of it, but it was like a rubix cube. Giving up in frustration, I kicked the cupboard. I sat down on the stools at the bar, resting my head against the granite. I sighed and closed my eyes. I hoped to fall back asleep until Evgeni came down. My jetlag was making it difficult. At least, I had thought it was.

"Lida?" a deep voice interupted my sleep. I opened my eyes, suddenly very aware of the hard and cold counter. I sat up quickly and Evgeni laughed. "Your head is all... red."

"Oh, shut up. Your coffee maker is possessed!" I sighed. He laughed harder, but quickly began to brew me a cup. He wore a pair of plaid pajama pants and a plain white t-shirt. When he reached up to grab two mugs from the shelf, a wide strip of skin was exposed. I couldn't help but look at his solid stomach, and the dents inside his hips. I closed my eyes, trying not to stare too much. Something about him made me feel weak in the knees, and my heart pounded.

"Falling asleep on me again?" he asked. I snapped my eyes open.

"No, no... Maybe, a little," I lied, rubbing my eyes. It was easier than to try and come up with some other reason I had closed my eyes. He set the coffee infront of me, and leaned against the counter facing me.

"Is there anything particular you would like to do today?" Evgeni asked. I shrugged.

"Did you have something in mind?"

"Well, I talked to Letang yesterday. He thought we should take you to the zoo. At least when the animals can't speak English you won't be left out." Evgeni laughed again.

"Why do you make fun of me so much? This is the first time I've left Russia! Why would I speak English?" I exclaimed.

"All the easier to woo American boys, of course," he joked.

"I don't want to woo anybody. Incase you forgot, the last boy I was interested in almost killed me," I said, and stalked out of the room. When I pushed my bedroom door shut, coffee sloshed on my hand. I felt guilty, then. I hadn't finished my coffee yet. Evgeni didn't know not to talk to me until I had. I sighed.

After drinking my coffee, showering and getting dressed in a simple navy summer dress, I headed downstairs.

"Evgeni?" I called, looking for him. When he wasn't in the kitchen, I put my mug in the dishwasher and headed to the living room. I finally located him in the entrance.

"Lida!" He exclaimed, a smile lighting up his face.

"About this morning," I started.

"I'm sorry. I just meant to joke, I wanted to make you laugh," he said at the same time that I said, "I'm horribley awful until I've finished my coffee. I'm sorry, I wish I could take it back." We both laughed. When the door swung open, Kris Letang walked in.

"Oh my God, Geno, she's tiny!" He said. I looked at Evgeni, lost already. He laughed.

"Lida, Kris, Kris, Lida," Geno said, tying up his shoes. I expected a handshake, but instead he put his hands around my waist and picked me up.

"Jesus, what do you weigh, 100lbs? My dog weighs more than you!" Kris laughed, setting me down. I looked at Geno.

"Geno! It's not fair you have to tell me what he's saying!" I demanded, putting my hands on my hips. "And who does he think he is, just waltzing in here and picking me up?"