Malkin and Me

Chapter Three

Evgeni's POV

I woke up early, staring at my ceiling. I wondered vaguely if Lida was still asleep. I replayed last night's events over in my head. I told myself she was more hassle that anyone was worth. Two days and she was already freaking out? Yea, like that's what I need. I got up and went to the gym, trying to fight the feelings I had building. I don't know what it was about her, it's not like she was some bombshell, but I just wanted to be around her all the time.

"Gen, pushing some heavy weights!" James Neal hollered at me as he entered the gym. I finished my set and went over to him.

"Hey, man," I said.

"So, what's the deal? Letang told me some family friend is staying with you and she's a snipe!"

"I not know about that... She covers in bruise and sew on eye and arm."

"Stitches?"

"Oh. Yea," I hoped that my face didn't flush. I was tired of English, and glad Lida spoke Russian. At least I had someone to talk to.

"Dude, what happened to her?"

"Ex-boyfriend," I answered. I wondered how Lida would feel about everyone knowing her business. I told myself I wouldn't talk about it anymore.

"Nice, get her while she's on the rebound," Neal said. He held his hand out for a high five, and I gave it to him, but walked away after that. I felt uncomfortable with the way he talked about her. Sure, I had railed plenty of puckbunny fans since joing the penguins, but Lida was different. First of all, she was a family friend, we were living together and things just felt different. She made me want to be my best. I didn't want to just wheel and never talk to her again.

When I got back home, I could hear music blaring. Inside, I found Lida cooking away in the kitchen, singing her heart out. It was one of the cutest things I had ever seen. When she saw me, she stopped dead. The knife slipped from her hand and she grabbed for it. It clattered against the counter and she grabbed the remote. She clicked the music off.

"I... Look, varenyky! I called home, your mama said they are your favourite," she said,  giving me a half smile. I fought the urge to kiss her. I really did love varenyky.

Lida's POV:

Evgeni just stood looking at me. When I had woken up, first I was worried that he wasn't there. After reminding myself that he is a grown man, I relaxed. I called home, talking with my mama and Kat for a little while. I decided to do something nice for Evgeni. I appreciated him letting me stay with him. Now, I wasn't sure it was the best idea. I was holding a plate of half finished varenyky and he was just staring at me.

"Did I mess up? You don't like varenyky?" I said, biting my bottom lip.

"I love varenyky. I just wasn't expecting this." He shrugged. Evgeni fidgeted with his bag strap. "I'm just going to... put this away." He left the room, looking over his shoulder at me. I shook my head, thinking that was weird.

We had an uneventful week. I caught a cold, and spent a lot of time lying around, watching movies. Evgeni stayed busy, going to the gym every day. Even though it was technically the off season, he still worked out with the team. Sometimes he would go to the other guys' houses, always inviting me, but I stayed home. When my cold was finally gone, I was relieved. I lay in my bed pondering how nice it was to not feel sick. A gentle tapping on my door disrupted my reverie.

"Yes?" I said. Evgeni cracked the door open.

"I brought you coffee." He half smiled. I gave him a full one.