The Dream

The Penguins were one win away from the Stanley Cup so when they lost game five to San Jose the players and fans were devastated. It would've been the first time the franchise has won the cup in Pittsburgh since the league expansion. I watched on the TV as the players hung their heads and walked into the locker room. It was going to be tough to lift their spirits but if anyone could it was Mike Sullivan. I decided to give Evgeni time to cool off and stayed in the office to finish paperwork.
"How does it feel knowing your internship is going to be over soon?" McLane asked, smiling despite the loss.
"You know, it went by so fast and I honestly don't know what I'm going to do for the rest of the summer." I replied, putting some player assessments into the correct player folders.
"You seem to have gotten close with the guys I'm sure they'd love to keep in touch with you. And you are always welcome to stop by and see us. Shoot me an email and I'll get you a pass and you can come back and shuffle papers for old times sake," she says as she takes the folders from me and walks over to place them in the filing cabinet. We both chuckled.
"Well thank you I appreciate it. It really has been an amazing opportunity and I feel so honored to have this experience and to be a part of the cup finals, I couldn't have picked a better season to intern here."
She flashed me a smile. McLane and I didn't get as close as I wish we did but I still felt like she would be a great reference for me in the future and that I performed my job well here. It was close to midnight when my phone vibrated with a text from Geno:
"Waiting in car."
I grabbed my stuff and exchanged goodbyes with McLane before walking to the parking garage. Geno's car was one of the only ones left. I opened the door and slumped down, throwing my laptop bag to the back seat. We went the whole way home without talking. I texted Nicole to see how Sidney was handling the loss, figuring that she went with him after the game.
She replied: "He's not that bad. Upset but we're watching TV and talking. How's Geno?"
"Hasn't said anything to me since I finished work. He'll be alright though."
The next time I looked up from my phone, Evgeni's house was there, being illuminated by the car's headlights. The drive was quick but what else did I expect, he's always speeding. We walked through the front door, kicked off our shoes and he went to the kitchen. I walked in the same direction but turned left to enter the living room instead. I threw myself onto the couch, not realizing how tired I truly was until that moment. I heard Geno shuffling around with some wrappers and opening and closing the fridge a couple times before he finally broke the silence.
"Hungry?" He said from the open kitchen.
I picked up the remote and turned on HGTV grinning at the fact that house hunters is on, one of my favorites.
"No thanks G. I'm still full from the Primantis sandwich before work."
After a few minutes I heard his loud steps heading into the living room then his hand lightly grips my forearm and I turn my head to look up at him. He bends down and kisses my lips. I moaned a little, wanting more of him but knowing we were both too tired.
"I go to bed. Are you coming?"
"Yeah I'll be up in a couple minutes"
He slowly made his way back to the front of the house and up the staircase. I could hear him rustling around in his bedroom, but before I could join him my eyes got so heavy they gave up and I fell into a deep sleep, with the TV playing in the background.

Geno gently shook me awake while saying my name softly. I sat up and looked at the clock, realizing that he let me sleep in a little. I could smell the food he made for breakfast. I began rubbing the sleep out of my eyes as I asked, "Bacon, G? Seriously?"
"What? I like bacon," he said as he turned and walked back to the kitchen. I got up and walked to the dining room table, taking a seat and watching him plate everything. He didn't bother to wear anything other than his boxers, but I wasn't complaining. I adored his long skinny legs and of course his toned abs. It wasn't a bad thing to wake up to. His hair was out of control and his eyes still possessed that sleepy quality. How could someone try so little but look so good. He sat down a plate of scrambled eggs, a plate of sausage and bacon, wheat toast, and home fries that were clearly from the bag but I wasn't about to say anything. He walked to the fridge and began to pour two glasses of orange juice and two glasses of water. I plated my breakfast, taking a little bit of everything.
"Евгений! Вы делаете меня жира! (Evgeni! You are making me fat!)"
He walked over setting down the glasses. His hands were so large he could easily transport all the glasses at once.
"Вы совершенны. Независимо от того, что ты моя любовь и вы очень сексуальны. (You are perfect. No matter what, you are my love and you are very sexy.)"
He pulled out his chair but, before sitting down, leaned over to me and brushed my hair from my face, tucking it behind my ears, and kissing me fervently on the lips. We stayed connected, our lips just as in love with each other as our hearts were, until I broke them up with an unexpected chuckle.
"What? Why you laugh?" Evgeni said without distancing his face from mine.
"I uh. I haven't brushed my teeth and you're kinda making out with me and that's kinda gross."
We both began laughing. It wasn't even funny but I think we were just well rested and genuinely lighthearted. He sat down and we began to dig in, making plans for this week while shoving our faces with eggs.
"You know, once you win the cup I'm just going to be your girlfriend and not your coworker," I said with a grin.
"Thank god. You bossy at work oh my god," he replied, trying to be serious but his dimples gave him away.
"Zhenya! I am not bossy," as I picked up a piece of bacon and ate it in practically a millisecond.
"When we win cup we go to Russia and you meet family."
I swallowed the remains of the bacon and looked at him with wide eyes.
"You want me to go to Russia with you?"
"Да." He was 100% serious and, I think, a little bit offended that I would even question his seriousness.
"Wow. I. I don't even know what to say Evgeni," I pause for a second, seeing the anticipation in his stare. I glance down at my nearly empty plate and then back up to him, "I love you so yes. Yes I will go to Russia with you." A smile was immediately plastered on both of our faces and we stood up and took a few steps towards each other to close the gap between us. He wrapped his arms around my waist; I stood on my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck, resting my head between his neck and shoulder. All of a sudden I felt his grip around me tighten and my feet lift off the ground. I wrapped my legs around his waist and held on for dear life, laughing loudly as he began carrying me towards the steps. When we finally got to his bedroom door, he struggled to open it so much that I threw my head back in laughter. He was clearly frustrated but still laughing as he lowered me back down to earth.
"It's ok baby, you'll get it next time." I said between giggles. He didn't bother responding verbally but instead grabbed my face with both hands and reunited our lips. He opens his bedroom door with ease now, and without stopping the kiss, he backs me up to his bed, where I fall backwards and am overshadowed by the dominant Russian. We had to leave for practice soon and I still needed to shower and change into my clean uniform. Evgeni helped me by removing the one I accidentally slept in last night and we spent the next half hour catching up on all the nights we were too exhausted to work each other out on.
We both had a renewed amount of energy walking into PPG Paints for practice. I separated from him when we got close to the hallway that led to the locker room and medical offices. Everyone says sneaking around increases the intensity of intimacy in a relationship but it really killed ours. Being apart from him made me sluggish and unmotivated but with him in my sights and his hands on me I felt invincible and intoxicated. I wanted my internship to be a permanent career but I also felt relieved that it was ending and I could be with Evgeni completely. Practice went well. There were three days until game six and the desperation was obvious as the guys gave everything they had at practice. After showering, Evgeni met me at his car in the parking garage. On the way home I called Nicole to see if she was interested in flying out to San Jose with the team tomorrow for the game. Sidney only gave her home game tickets but I figured he wanted her at game six as much as I did.
"HELL YES. WHAT TIME? I WILL BE THERE."
I love the idea of having a WAG I not only know, but that I am best friends with, so I am doing everything in my power to help her and Sidney end up together.
"Why I not meet Nicole yet? You always talk about Nicole. She be with Sid, you know, best friends but don't get to meet her."
Nicole began laughing so loud Evgeni probably heard her through the phone.
"Geno, you got to meet Nicole you were just drunk and probably don't remember."
Evgeni and I were still in a great mood from our 'pregame ritual’ we did earlier.
"I not meet her. When was I drunk? I mean best friend. You know Sid he's my best friend but I don't know her and Nicole is best friend for you so."
I put my left hand on his right shoulder and massaged it a little.
"Relax G. You clearly don't remember meeting her but you'll get to meet her again tomorrow anyways."
"Put me on speaker Mae! Put me on speaker!"
I clicked the button and Nicole's voice filled the car.
"Hi Geno!!! Sid and I took you home after the Eastern Conference Finals party. You were a little drunk but if it makes you happy I'll formally introduce myself to you tomorrow."
I never realized that they really have never formally met. That needed to change.
"You date Sid and I don't know you. What if you no good? I don't know."
"I'm a great person thank you very much! How do I know you're good for Mae?"
"Она является самое лучшее, что когда-либо случилось со мной (She's the best thing that's ever happened to me)."
I smiled after translating what he said in my head, but the pause on the line showed that Nicole was clearly caught off guard with the Russian.
"Yeahhhhhhh, nope. I don't know Russian so you win this one."
After a few seconds of laughter, I took the phone off speaker.
"The flight leaves early tomorrow. Spend the night at Sidney's and we can carpool."
She agreed and we hung up.
"Like her. She's funny."
"She's alright" I replied.

Evgeni is the worst person to travel with. This was making me miss when I was just the intern traveling with the team and I didn't have to help my hockey playing boyfriend pack. Everything he wanted to take was dirty so the night consisted of loads of laundry and lots of folding clothes, for me anyways. His night was consisting of Madden16 on the Xbox and only coming to help me when I made obviously loud complaints.
"Wow this is like my third load of someone else's clothes I'm having so much fun," I yell from the laundry room.
"You uniform is in there too! Drama" he responds from the living room.
"I’m going to be so tired from doing laundry that I'm not going to have the energy to sex up my boyfriend for at least two weeks."
I could hear the noise from the Xbox pause and in less then a minute Evgeni appeared in the laundry room, grabbing a pair of gym shorts and beginning to fold. I look over at him and can't help but laugh. I close the gap between us and stand on my toes, placing a kiss on his cheek. I stood flat-footed again and focused back on the laundry. It only took us another half hour or so and all our clothes were finally clean and packed. We spent the rest of the night playing each other in Madden (I felt accomplished because out of the three games we played, I won one) before finally heading up stairs and snuggling down for the night. I enjoyed days like this with Evgeni, being able to just relax and talk. It was nice to have a break from the stressful week that the finals have brought, but the idea that in two days the Penguins could be 2016 Stanley Cup champions made the stress worth it.

We pulled into Sidney's driveway around 9am. I was driving because Geno is not the biggest morning person and I secretly have been longing to drive his badass Audi. I beeped the horn a few times before the front door opened to reveal Nicole. She was dressed comfortably for the flight but still had her hair and makeup done. You could tell that she was still in the "honeymoon phase" of her relationship with Sid, where she still cares about how she looks when she's with him. I, on the other hand, am in an oversized Penguins Hockey tshirt (Geno's) and black leggings with my old tennis shoes, I don't remember the last time I had makeup on and I used my fingers to brush my hair this morning. Another thing I love about Evgeni is that he looks at me adoringly whether I'm in a cocktail dress, my work uniform, or sweatpants. It was great not having to put any effort in but still having a boyfriend that made you feel like a model. Nicole walked out with only a duffel bag and purse but Sidney followed behind her with two smaller suitcases. What a gentleman. He stopped and turned to lock the door before they made their way to the car. Evgeni reluctantly got out of the car to greet his friend and teammate and to help them load the car. I watched as he dapped up with Sidney and smiled as he hugged Nicole. He grabbed the duffel bag and walked around to the back of the car. I popped the trunk open for them while Nicole opened the door to the back seat, sitting down and buckling up.
"Hey! You ready for this?" I said, probably too excitedly as Sid and Geno joined us in the car.
"Yes!!!! I am more than ready." Nicole replied. We talked the whole way to the airport. Geno complained to them about me for making him do his own laundry and Sidney talked about their trip to Kennywood and how long it's been since he's been there.
"Mae go to Russia with me after season is over." Geno said rather randomly, looking back at Sidney and grinning.
"Oh really? That's cool. You know Russian don't you?"
"Yeah. I'm not fluent or anything but I went to Russia last year to study abroad and I loved it," I replied.
"You go to Russia before? I did not know," Geno turned his attention to me.
"Yeah I have G. I took a couple courses at Moscow University."
He smiled, took my right hand from the steering wheel and held it tightly all the way to the airport.

I spent the whole flight sitting with and talking to Curtis Bell, an assistant athletic trainer. I've spent a lot of time with him over the internship; he was an incredible asset to the team and has become an important resource to me and my study of medicine. Although we were having a nice conversation, I couldn't help but think of Evgeni. I would give anything to be asleep on his shoulder right now but that would give away our relationship. The charter plane was completely full this time. All the guys brought their wives/girlfriends for the big game and even some of the medical staff had a family member or two tag along. My plus one, Nicole, was snuggled up to Sidney sharing headphones and watching a movie on his IPad. So much for chicks before dicks, am I right? We were about an hour away and I was struggling to keep my eyes open. Screw it. I unbuckle and walk back to where Geno is sitting next to Patric Hornqvist, with an empty seat in between them. Evgeni was in the aisle seat so I nudged him until his eyes slowly opened and he flashed me a smile.
"Scoot over big guy," I said softly. He obeyed, being extra careful not to wake Hornqvist. I sat down in the aisle seat, next to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He put an arm around me and I nustled myself into his side. We both were smiling even as we closed our eyes to sleep. I don't care anymore if the staff knows. There were, at most, two games left in the season, my internship is essentially over and I love this crazy Russian.

That evening the team had a practice at SAP Center. Since it was such an important game tomorrow, the coaches had them working hard. I sat with McLane and a couple other medical staff members on the player’s bench. They had us watching from the sidelines today, not only as a special treat but also to see if there were any outstanding issues with how any players were skating. Everyone was doing really well health wise, especially after how long of a season we’ve had. I was talking to McLane about grad schools when Evgeni skated up to the half wall in front of the bench.
“Mae, my wrist,” he said while extending his right arm towards me.
“Are you kidding?” I said with a hint of disappointment over the thought of him not being able to play tomorrow. I open the gate and walk out onto the ice to assess the wrist. Before I even got near his arm he swept me off my feet and gracefully skated away from the player’s bench. At first I screamed but then I couldn’t help but laugh. I look up at him and he is laughing too, that silly giggle he does. He skates around the rink rather quickly before arriving back in front of the player’s bench. As he put me down onto the ice I realize the whole medical staff was watching. I stop smiling and hit his chest with my fist, pushing him back a little on the ice.
"Evgeni! That's inappropriate." I say looking over at the bench for their reaction.
"Mae it's fine." McLane said between chuckles. "We already talked to coach it's fine."
I look over at Geno, who now has the biggest smile on his face, and I couldn’t help but copy his grin.
"Does anyone have any skates I could borrow?" I ask excitedly.
It's been a while since I've ice-skated but after practice ended, Curtis lent me his skates and Evgeni helped me lace them up. Thank god I have big feet so I could actually fit the skates I had to borrow. I held Evgeni's hand tight as we walked through the tunnel and back out onto the ice. The first couple strides were mostly me being pulled along by him but I eventually got my legs warmed up and managed to skate beside him. He still had his padded shorts on but he took his upper body gear off and was in just his underarmor shirt. I was still in my work uniform, khakis and polo, and we were the only ones out on the ice.
"Skate good. So proud," Evgeni said while turning himself around and skating backwards in front of me.
"Show off," I joke.
He stops too quickly for me and I run directly into him, expecting us both to tumble to the ice, but I underestimated the strength of my giant boyfriend. He wrapped his arms around me tightly and worked to regain his balance saving us both. I was in a fit of laughter at this point. I look up at him and it’s like his romantically brown eyes can see straight to my soul. I bring my arms up and wrap them around his neck, running my fingers lightly through his sweaty hair.
“Ew sweat,” I whisper.
“Love you Mae.”
“I love you too Evgeni.”

Sunday, June 12th....it was game day. The guys had an early morning practice which, again, the medical staff attended from the player’s bench. The only difference from yesterday was that everyone, including me, was extremely focused and serious. The coaches emphasized the importance of this practice before it even began and the players took mental notes and gave 100% the whole time. The medical staff matched the players' intensities in that we watched every stride they took, every hit they made and were extremely interested in ensuring that their stretching would keep them loose for tonight. I think we all had the mentality that today was the day the Penguins win the Stanley Cup. Probably for the first time since the first week of my internship, I saw Geno as just another player and not my love interest, and I think he felt the same way considering that he only looked over at the bench once during the practice. We are both extremely competitive people and I am willing to bet that I want the team to win the cup as much as he does. We did a few evaluations on players like Matt Cullen, who were recently injured, at the end of practice just to make sure the lineup was completely healthy for tonight. With the exception of a few guys who sustained major injuries before the post season, the Penguins seemed to have avoided the injury curse at least for the final series. I was doing paper work when I heard a few knocks on the door. I look up to see Geno, almost as tall as the doorframe.
“Ready for nap?”
“Yeah, let me finish updating Matt’s file.”
He walks forward and sits down in one of the two empty chairs in front of the desk. Everybody else was out helping the equipment staff get ready for tonight. I finish the file and place it in the appropriate spot in the filing cabinet. I look over at Evgeni, who had his head in his giant hands and appeared exhausted. I walk around the desk and up to where he is sitting, place my hand on his back and lightly start rubbing.
“Babe, you’re that tired?” I ask quietly.
Without even picking his head up, he shakes it yes.
“I better drive then. Come on.”
When he stands up, I reach my hand into his gym short pockets and found his car keys. We walk out of the office and down the hall, where I stop by the locker room to let McLane know I am leaving. I walk beside the Russian zombie. His left hand reaches for my right and I accept the request, figuring that having a grip on my hand would help him stay awake for the walk to the car. It was nice being able to walk out of PPG Paints hand in hand.
We walk into Evgeni’s house and go straight up to the bedroom. I’m not really tired but I know he was even after the nap he took on the ride home. I took off my uniform and put on one of his huge Red Machine Russian hockey tshirts. He stripped down to just his boxers and beat me into bed. I starred at him in lust, mad that he covered himself up with the comforter so quickly. I gracefully climb onto the bed and shuffle myself under the covers and up to him. We were facing each other and even though the lights were out, sunlight filled the room thanks to the open window curtains. I could see his eyes close and I could feel his breath on my face as his inhales and exhales deepened but I scooted closer to him, wrapping my free arm around his waist and kissing his nose lightly.
“Proud of you Zhenya.” I whispered before closing my eyes and giving into sleep.

Less than seven minutes into the second period, Logan Couture of the San Jose sharks scores on Murray to tie the game at one. The crowd is alive in San Jose, encouraging their players to try and force a game seven. Since I finished the pregame stuff before puck drop I was able to watch the game with Nicole and the other WAGs in a suite. We were all on the edge of our seats the whole time, no one looked at their phones, and we really only talked when there was a pause in play. Less than two minutes later, Kris Letang got the puck past Martin Jones and the Penguins were ahead again by one. We all scream from excitement, hugging and high fiving.
“You think they’ve got it?” Nicole asks over the noise. I was too into the game to reply so I shook my head in agreement. The third period is intense and with just minutes left in the game San Jose pulls their goalie. My anxiety is so bad I could throw up. I see Patric Hornqvist shoot the puck towards the empty net and make it with half a minute left on the clock. I stand up out of my chair and throw my hands up, we were so loud in the suite I thought I was going to go deaf. I hug Nicole tightly, feeling tears well up in my eyes, I am so proud to be a Penguins fan. We all crowd up to the open window of the suite to watch the players react. When the clock hits zero and the buzzer sounds, they rush the ice, throwing their gloves and helmets off and going straight to Murray forming a huge mass of extremely happy hockey players. They did it. They are 2016 Stanley Cup Champions. We clap and cheer as they bring out the cup and go to hand it off to the guys. Captain Crosby was obviously first to hoist it. As soon as the cup went into the air, Nicole screamed so loud I knew I’d never be able to hear as well as I did ever again. I laughed and gave her a little shove. He passed it off to Trevor Daley, who not only had a hard season injury wise, but recently lost his mother, then Dupuis hoisted it after being forced into retirement this season and then it was finally Evgeni’s turn. He took a couple strides with it before finally raising it up over his head. I wanted to scream but I couldn’t. I just stood there with tears running down my cheeks and a smile on my face, knowing how ecstatic Geno must feel right now. As he went to hand it off to Kunitz, I felt a tug on my arm.
“Let’s go. We get to go down onto the ice after this.” Nicole said, already heading towards the door. A few of the other WAGs followed us as we fought our way through some disappointed Sharks fans and down to the concourse that led out onto the ice. We stood and watched from beside the ice as every player got his chance to skate around with the cup. When they were finally done and we were allowed onto the ice, it wasn’t long before Nicole left my side and ran up to Sidney who greeted her with a passionate kiss, then grabbed her hand and lead her over to where his family was. Everyone was reuniting but I couldn’t find Evgeni anywhere. After fighting through the crowd of players, staff, and family, I finally heard his voice calling out over the loud celebration.
“Mae!!!!” he yelled skating straight up to me and hugging me so tightly I lifted off the ice. I wrap my legs around him as he continues to skate around, laughing his dorky little chuckle in my ear. He finally stopped and I lifted my head from his shoulder, looking him in the eyes.
“I love!” he yelled before his lips collided with mine. That minute we were together, all the commotion around us disappeared, like it was just he and I on the ice. I felt his hands begin to let me down as my feet reconnected with the ice and our lips gave up on each other. He let his forehead fall down so that it rested on mine as I looked up into his tired, yet amazingly alive dark brown eyes.
“Baby you’re a Stanley Cup Champion again….you’re going to get so lucky tonight.” I said as we both giggled. Without breaking eye contact he grabbed both of my hands in his and said just loud enough for us to hear, “Already am lucky. I have Stanley Cup and you.”

Notes

Over 5,000 words later!

Bless, it's finally done.