Kara woke the next morning to an empty bed. The sheets were tangled around here legs and she smelled bacon. Images of last night flashed before her eyes, making her smile like crazy. Last night they’d stayed in bed for a little while, then they’d decided to test how much room they’d have in his shower together. Boy, thinking about this made her face turn crimson.
Slowly she sat up and looked around herself. There was enough light for her to see everything around her. Her dress lay on a chair, her shoes stood beneath it. Oh God, she had nothing to wear, but she could hardly go downstairs wearing nothing. Benoit would probably appreciate it. She got up from the bed and opened his wardrobe. Quickly she grabbed a black t-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts. They fit pretty well and she hoped Benoit wouldn’t mind.
A trip to the bathroom made her groan. Her hair looked like a mess, which was the result from going to bed with still damp hair. She used her fingers to comb them and flatten them a bit. There. At least it wasn’t that bad anymore.
As quietly as possible she tip-toed downstairs and looked inside the kitchen. Benoit was standing with his back to her, dresses only in cut-off sweat pants. He was cooking something. She stepped inside the room when he turned around.
“Good morning, beautiful.” He put the scrambled eggs down again and walked towards her.
“I hope you don’t mind me borrowing your clothes.” Kara looked up at him, a smile playing on her lips. “But I didn’t have anything but my dress upstairs, so I thought –“
“It’s perfectly fine.” Gently he pulled her towards him, placed his hands on her sides, leaned down and kissed her lips. “How did you sleep?”
The instant his lips touched hers, Kara was hungry for more. What did this man do to her? “Really good, but why did you get up?”
“Because I didn’t want to wake you. Already worked out a bit and prepared something to eat. You need to recover from last night.” He kissed her lips again, tracing her curves with his fingertips. She sighed and her eyes drifted shut. That was when he took a little step back. “Let’s eat, okay?” He took her hand in his, grabbed the pan with the other one and led her to the table.
Kara couldn’t remember the last time she felt so cared for. She didn’t feel hungry, but Benoit was right. She had to get some food inside her to survive the day. And how could she say no to delicious food cooked by a handsome man?
“Can you take me home after this?” Kara didn’t want to leave, but she didn’t want Mika to return to an empty apartment as well. “I would really love to stay, but I don’t know when Mika will be back and I’d like to spend as much time with her as possible.”
“No problem.” Benoit looked at her before concentrating on his food again.
“Really?”
“I understand that, Kara.” He smiled at her and put his fork down after he’d finished off everything on his plate. “You two should spend as much time together as possible. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t want you to stay, but we can spend time together when Mika is back in Los Angeles.”
“So, you want to repeat this?” Kara’s stomach did an unwelcome somersault.
“Hell yes!” He couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “Yesterday was truly amazing and I‘d love to repeat that, spend more time with you. You said that you’re not looking for anything serious right now and I feel the same way.”
“Okay.” Kara put down her fork as well. “That sounds good to me.”
After they finished, Kara changed into the clothes from last night and Benoit drove her home.
“I’ll see you at the game tomorrow then.” Benoit said with a smile.
Kara nodded her head. “Yes. Thank you for driving me home.”
“No problem, Kara.”
She grinned at him once again, and then she got out of the car and practically ran up to her apartment. When she closed the door from the inside she breathed a sigh of relief. His had gone better than expected. When she entered her living room, a little scream escaped her lips.
There, on her sofa, was Mika, looking fresh and full of energy.
“Where have you been all night, missy?” Mika got up and crossed her arms over her chest. She already had a pretty good idea, but she wanted Kara to say it herself.
“I was… Well… I stayed with Benoit.” Kara took a deep breath. “And before you judge me in any way, may I point out that you stayed with Tuukka, whom you have known for two days?”
“Kara”, Mika started, took her friend by the hand and led her to the sofa where they both sat down. “Why would I ever judge you? I’m the first one to scream YOU GO GIRL and cheer you on. I’m so happy that you were with him last night. You look happy and I hope he wasn’t a disappointment. Tell me, I need to know!”
The giggles erupting from her chest felt so good and Mika joined in. After they’d calmed down, Kara told her everything. What had happened, this morning and especially how they’d handle it from this day on.
“I’m so happy for you.” Mika hugged her friend. “I just hope this works out for you.”
“Why shouldn’t it?”
“I know you said that you don’t want anything serious right now. If you realize that you’re getting stronger feeling for him, if you fall for him, break things off, okay? I don’t want to see you get hurt in the end.”
The concern in Mika’s voice made Kara question herself for a moment, but she brushed it off. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Now, what about you and Tuukka?”
“It was… not what I had expected.” Kara frowned at her friend. What? “No, no. It was good, wonderful, but after everything I’ve heard about Tuukka Rask, I had thought it would be different. I was pleasantly surprised.” Mika sighed and smiled to herself. “It was really passionate the first time and then we lay in bed talking for hours about Finland, about our families and our dreams. The second time he was really gentle.” She sighed again. “I don’t know. I haven’t felt this good and confident around a guy in ages.”
“Maybe because you two have a connection”, Kara suggested. “When was the last time you really talked Finnish to someone in person?” She waited for an answer for a couple of seconds. “See…”
“He asked me to go out with him after the game tomorrow.” Mika looked up, still fighting with herself whether she should go or not. “If that’s alright with you.”
“Of course it’s alright!” Kara squeezed her friend’s shoulder. “Schätzchen, if you want to spend time with him, you should do that.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I came here to spend time with you.”
“We still have enough days to spend together. And we’ll spend this evening together and the whole day tomorrow until after the game, so that’s perfectly fine.” And Benoit would probably find out about this as well, giving them the possibility to spend the evening together. Did she want this? She wasn’t sure. On the one hand it sounded like a great plan, on the other hand staying at home alone and getting some work done sounded appealing as well. She would have to decide that the next day. Maybe Benoit already had plans, so she wouldn’t have to make a decision then.


When Mika and Tuukka had left the party, he’d given her his cardigan. He didn’t give it to everybody, so this was pretty special. Mika didn’t know that. After all, they’d only known each other for a day, but they’d felt a strong connection straight away. Maybe it was because they’d both grown up in Finland.
When they rode the elevator up to his apartment, Tuukka couldn’t keep his fingers off her. He leaned into her, put his hand on her hip, slowly sliding down on her thigh, all the while kissing her senseless. When he touched his rough fingers to the naked skin of her thigh she shivered and sighed against his lips. His hand vanished under the fabric of her dress. He used his other hand to take the pins out of her hair. He wanted to feel it wrapped around his fingers, the smooth texture against his skin.
After a few seconds they realized that they’d arrived on the right floor and got off the elevator quickly. Tuukka fumbled with his keys while Mika hugged him from behind. He was more than a foot taller than her and even with her high heels on, she barely reached his lips with the top of her head. She pressed against him, closing her eyes, letting her hands travel over his chest, down his stomach to the waistband of his jeans.
Tuukka sucked in a breath and tried to concentrate on unlocking the door. “Mika, you’re not helping!” But that didn’t stop her. Her hand went lower and lower. “Dear God”, he mumbled to himself, trying even harder to concentrate. When he finally unlocked the door, he dragged her inside, slammed the door shut and scooped her up. She was so tiny in his arms and so light that it was no problem for him to lift her up and carry her to his bed.
This was no question of wanting something, but rather needing it. He needed to get his hands on her naked body, kiss her lips again, kiss other parts and feel her close to him. He’d never experienced it like this before. He’d been with his fair share of women, but he’d never felt like this before. No need to overanalyze it now.
He put her down in his bedroom. Laying her down on the bed right now wasn’t such a good idea. Taking of her clothes was easier this way. He quickly took off the cardigan she was wearing, then opened the zipper on her dress. Mika dragged her arms out of it and put her hands on the hem of his T-shirt, taking it off him.
“Oi Jumala!” Mika breathed out. She ran her hands over the hard planes of his chest, down his stomach. Tuukka grabbed her hand, lifted it up and kissed her palm. He pulled her against his chest, flattening her breasts against it. He leaned down and kissed her lips. With one skillful move he’d opened her bra. He traced her spine with his fingertips and when he reached her bottom, he left his hand there.
Meanwhile Mika’s hands were opening his jeans. She didn’t waste any time und pushed them down along with his boxer briefs. When his erection came in touch with her naked stomach, she gasped. Tuukka gently kit down on her lower lip before he kissed her again. Before she could get her hands on him again, he removed her bra completely.
Mika’s fingers closed around his dick, making him suck in a breath again. “Jeesus!” This was too much. He needed to get inside her, feel her. He lifted his hand from her butt to take off her panties. Now she was only wearing her shoes, but he didn’t care about them. She could leave them on for all he cared. Taking them off would only take more time. Time he didn’t want to lose.
He threw her down on the bed, immediately covering her with his own body. A smile was playing on Mika’s lips, her eyes were only halfway opened and her hair fanned out around her head. Tuukka lowered his head, placing open-mouthed kisses along her throat and down to her breast. When he entered her, her body arched towards him, her eyes drifted completely shut.
“Oh Tuukka”, she sighed. She ran a hand through his hair and opened her eyes again. Looking at him, seeing his face and the expression on his face made her feel really good about herself. There was this gorgeous Finn, looking at her with hunger and need burning in his eyes because of her. He wanted her.
Tuukka started moving, first slowly then picking up his pace. Mika’s nails dug into his neck and she arched her back a bit more. He knew he wouldn’t last long. He’d been running around with a boner pretty much since he’d talked to her at the party, when they’d sat down at the table to talk and she’d touched his thigh while telling him a story.
Mika put a finger under his chin, guiding his face further up so that she could kiss his lips. She enjoyed the attention he gave her, but kissing his soft lips was the best thing.
Tuukka steadied himself with on hand on the bed. He stroked her side with the other one, wandered over her body with it and let it vanish between her legs to stimulate her further. Mika moaned his name, her eyes drifted shut again. She buried her hand in his hair, holding on to him, afraid she might shatter like glass from what was coming now. Her climax spread throughout her whole body, making her toes curl and her head spin. She didn’t know whether she’d opened her mouth or not. She realized that Tuukka said or moaned something but she had no idea what it was.
She was trying to catch her breath, calm down, when Tuukka lay down next to her. She turned her head to the side and just watched him. His damp curls were pushed back from his face, his chest was rising and falling in a rapid manner.
“Come here”, he mumbled and carefully he pulled her towards him, placing her head on his chest. This was what he’d wanted all the time. To feel her hair fan out on his chest, her body close to his and his fingers tangled in this beautiful blonde, pastel pink hair.
They stayed like this in silence for minutes, just enjoying each other’s presence, but then Mika raised her head, looking him straight in the eye. “Do you miss Finland?”
“Yes.” He pushed her hair from her face and played with her hair. “Every day. But I would miss America the same way if I were in Finland.”
“I know what you mean.” A sigh escaped her lips. She put her hand on his chest and closed her eyes again. “I love it here, but I also miss Finland. I miss the landscape, the people, the food. Oh God, especially the food.”
“Well, that’s not a problem.” Tuukka watched her and couldn’t suppress a smile. “There is this thing called the internet where you can find recipes.”
“Oh, haha. Very funny.” Mika slapped his chest and smiled despite herself. “I know that. But nobody is interested in eating Finnish food with me. Except for Kara and when we’re together we hardly use the time to cook. And cooking Finnish only for myself is boring.”
“Well, we can do that together if you want to.” Mika raised her head again, practically staring at him. “I mean, I’m not a good cook, not at all. But I would love to eat Finnish food. We could do this after the game tomorrow, if you want to.”
Mika still stared at him. Instead of answering him, she kissed his lips and stayed like this for a moment. Tuukka looked in her eyes, shut them again and pressed his lips on hers. His hands wandered down her back, pulling her even closer to him.
It was a deal.


Kara and Mika spent their day with shopping. Mika wanted to look for some new dresses and inspiration. Kara needed a new blazer, but knowing Mika, she would probably return with more than she actually needed.
They spent most of their time in the last shop. They’d already bought shoes and new swimsuits, but hadn’t really found anything else. Mika had said that she’d organize a pool party when Kara came to Los Angeles. She already knew when that would be because of the Bruins schedule. She would travel with them and they would be there for four days. Enough time to have a little party.
“Here, try these on.” Mika shoved a couple of dresses in her friend’s arms and smiled up at her. She’d already found dresses for herself and decided that she didn’t need to try them on. “They will look really good on you.”
“But I didn’t want to buy a dress, Mika.” They had this discussion every time they went shopping together and Kara always ended up buying dresses. In Mika’s opinion she wore jeans too often. Well, she had to wear skirts and stuff for business meetings and she happened to like her jeans.
“Please, do it for me.” Mika flashed another smile, making Kara groan and submitting to her friend’s plea. She vanished in the fitting room, leaving Mika with the armchair where she could sit down and put the bags on the floor.
Why did she always let Mika talk her into this? Why? Oh, because in the end Mika was always right. “Damnit”, Kara mumbled to herself when she looked at herself in the mirror. All the dresses ended just above the knee and the first one she’d put on was black and buttoned up the front. It looked good but something was missing.
“Will you come out by yourself or do I have to drag you out here?” Mika sent her message to Tuukka and put the phone away. She looked up at Kara when she got outside. “It looks really good, but you need a belt. Either a brown one or a red one. I’d go with a red one. Next.” Kara listened to her and came out in the next dress. It was colorful with lots of flowers and a flared skirt. Thin straps ran across her shoulders and exposed a lot of skin. “You can wear it with a thin cardigan if you want to. Okay, show me the last one and then we can pay.” Her phone rang again, causing Kara to look her way, but she then turned around and got into the cubicle again. The message brought a smile to Mika’s face and she sighed. She had no idea where this was going, but she’d just wait and see, go along with it and enjoy it while it lasted.
“Okay why are you smiling so much and who are you texting?” Kara crossed her arms over her chest, standing in front Mika in a gorgeous midnight blue dress with a squared neckline that exposed just the right amount of cleavage and a lightly flared skirt.
“You look stunning, Kara!”
“Nu-uh. You’re gonna tell me who you were texting with. I’ll take a wild guess and say it’s Tuukka.” Mika’s blushing face gave the answer away. “So, what did he write?”
“He wants to know if I want to come over later. They’ve just finished practice and he wants to cook Finnish already today.”
“When’s he expecting you?” Kara turned around to take another look in the mirror. This dress really was beautiful.
Mika cocked her head to one side: “I’m not sure whether I want to go or not. We wanted to spend the day together.”
Kara sighed: “Mika, Schatz. You should go to him. He obviously wants to see you and I can try to get some work done in that time. Go to him and come back some time tomorrow. Or we can meet at the Garden if you want to.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. And now, go and get in line so we don’t have to wait that long when I get to you.” With a smile on her face Kara turned back around to get out of the dress and into her own clothes. She would take all three dresses. She’d known she would right from the start.

Mika had left the house and Kara was all by herself. She had told Mika that she’d use the time to do some work but right now she didn’t feel like it. What could she do? Well, she could work on her plot and the development or on character descriptions, but that wouldn’t work out right now. There were a thousand things running through her mind. She’d probably just watch a movie and take a long bath, read a book. A couple of books had arrived at the beginning of the week, so there were enough to choose from.
She put a pizza in the oven and used the time to change her clothes. It was warm in her apartment so she opted for shorts and her green soccer jersey. If she got cold, she could still grab the blanket on the sofa.
With the finished pizza on a plate she sat down in front of the TV and turned it on. She zapped through the channels until she found something that was moderately interesting. It was only for the time she was eating her pizza. Afterwards she would decide on a movie.
Just as she was finished with her pizza and put the plate in the dishwasher, her doorbell rang. It was past eight and she didn’t expect anyone. One look on the video intercom system revealed that Benoit was standing in front of the complex. What was he doing here?
She buzzed him up and opened the door. Pushing her hair out of her face she awaited him. When he got off the elevator a smile spread across his face.
“Hey”. He said and put his hands in his pockets. He looked a bit uncomfortable and Kara had no idea why.
“Hi.” She took a step aside so that he could come inside. “What are you doing here?”
“I was nearby.” He got his hands out of his pockets again just to cross his arms over his chest. He was wearing a white shirt underneath a leather jacket and was way past his 5 o’clock shadow. Kara liked this very much. “And I know that Mika is with Tuukka, because he texted me, so I thought I’d drop by and see if you wanted company.”
“I actually wanted to get some work done.” It was the truth.
“Oh.” He nodded his head. “Well, I’ll better get going then.”
Just before he turned around, Kara spoke up again: “BUT I decided against it. I’d rather watch a movie or something. Care to join me?”
One side of his mouth lifted up as he took off the leather jacket. “Only if you can supply popcorn.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem.” She smiled at him. “You can have a look at DVDs and I will get the popcorn ready.” She wasn’t hungry, but how could she deny him popcorn? It wasn’t a lot of work after all. She only got the package out of the cupboard and put it in the microwave. Now she had to wait until it was finished.
Not even half a minute had passed when she felt his hands on her sides. It was so easy to relax into his touch, lean against his hard chest and close her eyes. She didn’t get a say in this. It was like her body reacted by itself. And it felt so good. One of his hands fanned out over her stomach as he touched his lips to the side of her neck.
“You smell good.” He said barely above a whisper, his voice rough.
“That’s probably the popcorn you smell.” She mumbled, a little smile playing on her lips.
Deep laughter rumbled in his chest and he held her close. He slipped his thumb under the jersey and stroked her bare skin. With his other hand he lightly touched her hip, a bit down her leg, then he went up again to the side of her breast. “No, it’s definitely you. You smell like peaches and it makes me want to eat you up. That’s much better than popcorn.”
Kara sighed and opened her eyes again. Her body was already responding to him again. Who was she kidding, it had already responded when she’d seen his picture on the intercom. She turned around in his arms and ran a hand through his hair. The grin on his face made her melt even more.
Benoit used the opportunity to lift her onto the kitchen counter. Heat spread through her whole body when he put his hands on her naked thighs. He pulled her close to the edge so he could kiss her. His lips were soft on hers, but then he turned the heat up, pressed his fingers against her legs. Kara held onto him. She didn’t want to let go and wrapped her legs around his waist. She ran her hands down the hard planes of his chest, down his stomach and lifted his shirt to touch her fingers to bare skin.
He ripped his mouth from hers and took a deep breath when he heard the sound of the microwave. He needed a few seconds to realize where he was. Running his hands up her thighs to her waist he said: “What about that movie?”
“Fuck that movie”, Kara said in a low voice before she kissed him again. He didn’t have to be told twice.

Notes

Chapter 22 was a request so I thought I'd put it in here as well