The Love to Live For

I awake the next morning in Olli's bed. Olli isn't in the room. I am still in my clothes from last night. It's a wonder how I was able to sleep. I can never sleep in jeans. I roll out of bed and walk downstairs. Olli is making breakfast.

"Morning," says Olli not turning around. He continues to flip the pancakes.

"Morning," I say as I take a seat at the table.

"You like pancakes, sausage and bacon?"

"Of course! Who doesn't?"

"Good point. Hey, you wanna come to practice later?"

"Sure. If it's not weird."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the guys teasing you. They will probably do it some more."

"They will do it whether you come or not. Honestly, I don't mind the teasing. I will get them back eventually," says Olli as he puts a plate of food in front of me. "What do you want to drink? I have milk, orange juice, water, coffee or hot chocolate."

"Coffee sounds good, but if you want to eat, I can make it."

"No, you're the guest in my house. I will make it," says Olli with a smile. He hands me a cup of coffee and he sits across from me.

"What time is your practice?"

"Well, we don't have a game tonight, so practice is going to be around two. Tomorrow, we leave for a few away games. We have to go to Tampa Bay and Washington, so I won't see you for a few days."

"You better win those games for me."

"Of course."

"Do you want me to help you with dishes?"

"Nope."

Even though he said "no" I decide to help him anyways. I bring my dishes in the kitchen and put them in the sink. Even though I am his guest, I want to prove to him that I am not a slob.

"I wash, you dry?" I ask as I walk over to the sink and pick up a sponge.

"Sure," he says as he grabs a towel. I start to wash the dishes. We are done with the dishes in no time. We finish picking up the rest of the kitchen. Olli goes and gets ready for practice when my phone rings. It's my mother

"Hello mom," I say as I answer the phone.

"Hey honey! How is Pittsburgh?"

"Feels just like home."

"Make any new friends yet?"

"Well, my roommate. She's pretty cool," I say lying through my teeth. I cannot tell them about Olli yet. I don't know how she would react. She would probably tell my dad and then he would question Olli for hours and then Olli would break up with me because he would be scared of my dad. That's what I think will happen.

"That's good. I remember my first roommate. She introduced me to your father."

The conversation drags on for what seems like hours. This is how it is with over protective parents or even parents in general. I get it, they love their kids and they want whats best for the kids. I can't wait to go back home for Thanksgiving. It is still almost two months away, but I want to see my family. Maybe I will invite them to visit me and meet my roommate and maybe Olli. I need to think that one over. Olli comes down the stairs.

"You ready to go?" I ask as I put my phone back in my pocket.

"Yes, are you? Want to skate with the team after our practice?"

"I am really bad at skating, but it sounds like fun."

"Yeah, don't be surprised if the guys mess with you," we laugh at the thought of that and we head to the car so that Olli can get to practice. I can't believe that it is already November. Classes have been good. I have had a lot of work to do. It has been a month since he asked me to be his girlfriend, but it doesn't seem that long. We get to the rink and like i expected, the team was waiting for us.

"Hey lovebirds," says Tanger as he approaches us. "So, you guys going to the charity event together?"

"Of course," says Olli. Well, now it looks like we are definately going. Olli didn't give me a choice. It's okay though. I would have gone even if he asked.

"See you there," says Tanger as he goes back into the locker room.

"I better get ready for practice," says Olli giving me a kiss on the cheek and heads into the locker room. I head out to the seats by the glass so I can watch his practice. They get on the ice to start their practice. They are pretty fast skaters. I wish I could skate like that.

***

After Olli's practice, I throw on a pair of skates and go out onto the ice with the Penguins. I can skate, but not very good. They were showing me all sorts of cool things they can do on the ice. They are a bunch of show offs.

"You barely skate?" asks Geno as he approaches me.

"He's still learning English so his grammar is horrible," whispers Olli.

"Yeah, I can skate, but I'm not very good at it."

"It's okay, we will just keep showing off to make you jealous," Tanger jokes. He is very funny. Sid and Tiffany skate over to us.

"So, Alysha, how's school going?" asks Sid. I swear he acts like my mother.

"Pretty good. Tiffany has been helping me adjust."

"That's good."

An hour has passed and me and Olli are heading back to his house. We stop and get groceries so that I can make us dinner. I love cooking. I really hope I get to help cook for Thanksgiving. That is a tradition with my family. I love to make everything besides the turkey. I love spending time with my family and I love them so much that I want to ask Olli to meet them. I think it's about time. This is still a month away, but I need to figure out how my family is going to react to me having a boyfriend. Halloween is next week though. Me and Olli are dressing up as super heros. I am going a Wonder Woman and he is going as Superman. The team is doing a Halloween party at Tanger's house with his wife and kid. Better get ready for more teasing. It's fun to go along with it. We get back to Olli's house with all of our groceries. I set them on the counter and turn on the stove to make chicken parm. I get things ready so that I can make mashed potatoes. I am making my special homemade mashed potatoes. They are so fluffy and delicious. Olli sets the table. This dinner is going to be nice. I give the chicken about an hour to cook. The mashed potatoes are done too. It takes awhile to make homemade potatoes because you got to mash them up and put them in a mixer with sour cream and milk. I bring the chicken out to the table and Olli carries the mashed potatoes. We fix our plates and start eating.

"Olli, can we talk about something?"

"What's on your mind?"

"Well, I have been on social media and someone found out about us. The media just kind of realsed a whole story on it. They don't know that I am the girl you're with, so they are calling me a 'Mystery Girl.'"

"Someone found out?"

"Wel, the media follows the Penguins around."

"Yeah, I just don't want you to get attacked on social media."

***

We finish eating our dinner. I realy hope no one finds out about us. Well, they have but I hope no one finds out that it's me. I really want this whole dating thing with Olli to work. While I am washing dishes, I check my phone. The dish I was washing crashed the floor at the post someone has posted on Olli's Facebook Profile...

Notes

Sorry I got a little busy with school and other stuff that has been going on recently. I started this chapter a few days ago, but never posted it. I hope you guys like it! I think I could have done better, but I have a small case of writers block.