Nef’s POV
A three game skid followed by a crushing defeat by Canada at the Olympics did not make for a happy Sasha. It made for a moopy, depressed, and moody Sasha. Most of our phone conversations were me trying to cheer him up and him grunting or sighing at me. The US won the Silver Medal and I was sad that they lost in overtime but still happy that they’d placed. I couldn’t exactly be happy when I talked to Sasha. I was playing the role of the kind and understanding girlfriend.
I didn’t get the chance to see him until after they got back from Buffalo. And by see him I mean I went to the game against Tampa Bay the day after. I met him in the lounge by the locker room for all of three minutes.
“Happy Belated Birthday,” I said pulling him into a fierce kiss. It felt good to kiss him.
“Thank you…We have dinner together tomorrow?”
Tomorrow we were going out to dinner for his birthday. I had decided not to spend the night at Sasha’s after the game because I had a test the next afternoon. I had spent most of Thursday morning in the library studying followed by work in the afternoon.
“Will you come to my parents’ anniversary dinner with me at the end of the month?”
“What day?”
“It’s on Friday, the 26th. After you get back from North Carolina. “
“Ok. I go with you.”
The Caps beat Tampa Bay and it was good to see the boys smiling. Ovie and Sasha took the loss at the Olympics hard. They refused to talk about it – only looking forward to the rest of the season and the chance to win the President’s Trophy and the Stanley Cup.
After dinner his birthday Sasha wanted to spend a quiet night at home. We crawled into my bed and he rested his head on my chest. It was heart breaking to watch him go from the highest of the high to the lowest of the low.
”I don’t know what went wrong. It was like toddlers playing against adults,” he said.
Everyone thought that it would be a show down between two superpowers: Russia and Canada. But that didn’t happen. Russia didn’t even place. They were destroyed by Canada. It had been a painful game to watch. I told him that dwelling on it would help and he agreed. He knew that he couldn’t change the past and that his sour mood would spread to other parts of his life. He couldn’t let it consume him.
”I won’t bring it up again, promise.” Just take this experience and learn from it.
Sasha’s POV
I had missed Nef while I was in Vancouver. There wasn’t a day that went by when I didn’t think of her. Most of it was silly things; like I would hear a joke and want to share it with her, or the text messages that she would send to me while she was watching a game, or how she would always seem to know just what I needed after a game. Sometimes she give me back rubs, sometimes she’d yell at me if I was being too moody or angry, sometimes she was just there for me to talk to, just there to listen and sometimes she would see things that I didn’t. You’re trying to hard or you’re not trying hard enough. God, I missed her so much.
My parents met me in Vancouver – their flight to DC had been canceled and they hadn’t been able to make it home before the end of my road trip. I always enjoyed having my family with me. They made things so much easier. When I spent time with them I realized that I wanted Nefertiti there as well.
When I got back from Buffalo Nef was there waiting to me in the lounge next to the locker room. As soon as I saw her I scooped her up into my arms and kissed her.
”I missed you,” It felt good to hold her in my arms again. It felt good to see the dazzling smile she always gave to me.
We confirmed our plans for the following evening and she invited me to go with her to her parents’ anniversary party at the end of the month. I wanted her to go home with me tonight but she told me that she needed to study and rest for an exam she had tomorrow. We both knew that if we went home together tonight there would be no sleep involved. I wanted to lose myself inside of her.
The next day I went to her place early. Our dinner reservation wasn’t until 8pm but I wanted her too badly to wait. I attacked her as soon as she opened the door to let me in. I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist. It was difficult to walk to her room with her attached to my lips but I didn’t want to stop. I felt someone grab my arm – it was Jesse. She was guiding me down the hall to Nef’s room. I heard a giggle when Nef stopped long enough to shout a “Thanks Jesse!” over her shoulder.
We were almost late for our reservations. Every time she tried to move from the bed I would pull her back to me. I couldn’t get enough of her.
“Sasha, stop it. We need to shower or we’re going to be late.”
When she left her room to shower I followed her and we made love in the shower.
“No more! I’m not kidding. We’re going to be late.” She wasn’t very convincing. She always said no more but she never really tried to stop me or pull away.
Later that night I was able to talk to her about what happened in Vancouver. I couldn’t explain why it all fell apart. I couldn’t figure out how to fix it. I knew that dwelling on it wouldn’t be helpful or useful. Nef told me that I was obsessing over it. I promised her that I wouldn’t bring it up again.
-------------------
”This girl is no good for you. She’s taking your focus away from hockey.” Oh god, not this again. Ever since the disaster that was the Olympics my mother had been telling me that somehow what happened in Vancouver was Nef’s fault. She was trying to convince me that Nef was a distraction that resulted in me playing terribly.
It’s been months. Why hasn’t she figured it out yet? I want to be with Nef. I want her around me. I want to share my life with her.
At her parents’ party I got to meet more of her family members and more of the people that were close to her.
“And who is this handsome young man?” her maternal grandmother asked.
“Jaddah, this is Alexander. Babe, this is my Jaddah, my grandmother.”
Her grandmother’s name was Nefetari, like Nefertiti and Nefetiri but a little different. There was a family naming convention with the girls. Those three names alternated through each female child born through the maternal line. So almost every girl born on that side of Nef’s immediate family had one of those three names. How did her father keep up with this? I was glad that Nef was the only girl. I don’t think I could have handled her having a sister with a name that similar.
“So if we have daughter she already have a name?” Holy crap where did that come from? I can’t believe I just asked that in a room full of her family members. It’s only been 6 months, slow down Sasha.
“Yes,” Nef responded. “Nefetari will be her first name. Alexandrovich will be her middle name and Semin is her last name.”
She smiled at me. Had she been thinking about this? It just seemed so natural for me to bring it up. Nefetari Alexandrovich Semina. I like it. What would we name our son?
“What if we have three girls? Or more?”
“Then one will have the same first name as my mother and one would have the same first name as me but hold on partner. I only want two kids: one boy and one girl.” She pointed two fingers at me emphasize her point.
“But I want lots! Like the Dugger lady, she has 19.”
“The hell you do!” She said. Her eyes were wide with shock as I started laughing.
When I told her I was joking she hit me on the side of the head. I didn’t really want 19 kids but I did want to pay her back for forcing me to watch that silly show with her. I could see myself having children with Nef. She would look beautiful with her belly swollen with my child.
Her grandmother laughed at us. She said that we amused her. The women in Nef’s family seemed to fall in love with me. I tried to be as charming as I could. One day I might need these women as allies.
Nef and I seemed to fall into a routine. We spent a lot of time together and before I knew it April had come and we were preparing for the playoffs.
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