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Pietr was twisting a drinking lid onto his blender cup for the ride home when Felicity darted into the lounge, skidding as the tile turned to carpet.
“Pietr!”
“Felicity,” he replied dryly, “you should walk so you don’t run anyone over.”
“Harper.” She was breathing heavily. She pressed a hand into her side, wincing. “Isaac. KongKon.”
“Take a deep breath please and tell me what happened,” Pietr blinked at her and took a sip from the blender cup.
“Some lady...very rude...”
“Fuck Pietr,” Guy’s head popped up from one of the couches, “Harper got spat on by some crazy lady at the con. It’s all over Twitter and Instagram.”
“Let me see.” Pietr approached the couch.
“No!” Felicity gasped. “You’ll get mad.”
“Felicity, I can’t not know if it’s right here.” He took the phone after Guy popped off his headphones and stared down at the screen. It started mundanely enough. Harper was smiling, signing a couple of books. The angle was weird. The cameraperson being a few people back in line. An arrow popped up, pointing at a woman in one of his jerseys that stepped in front of Isaac and Harper, taking up the space in front of the two of them.
“I think the two of you are disgusting. You should be absolutely ashamed of yourselves.”
“Excuse me?” Isaac’s voice was clear and loud, drawing attention to himself.
“Lying at the panel when everyone can clearly see the two of you are fucking.” The woman continued. Pietr gritted his teeth.
“You can call me a liar if you want. We don’t owe you anything.”
Pietr’s eyes were on Harper, who looked simultaneously surprised and horrified. Isaac looked angry.
“Pietr Ivanov deserves better than an oversexed whore like you.” The cup dropped to the floor as he watched the woman spit on the table in front of Harper. “No one buys your genderless bullshit either. You’re a–”
“You’re going to stop now.” Isaac stood, blocking the view of Harper from the camera. “And you’re going to leave of your own volition. If you don’t, security will be more than happy to escort you.”
The video ended as Isaac sat back down and someone in an orange shirt appeared behind Harper to clean off the table.
Pietr was sure that he’d never felt more angry in his entire life.
“Whatever you’re thinking, stop.” Felicity touched his arm. “Don’t break Guy’s phone.”
He looked down loosening his grip on the device. “Sorry. Here.” He handed it back to Guy. “Thank you for showing me.”
“I’m not sure I should have,” Guy admitted. “You okay, Tesla?”
“I’m fine.” Pietr got a grip on his anger and pulled out his phone. “When was that posted?”
“About five minutes ago?”
He tapped the phonebook icon and clicked on Harper’s name before raising the phone to his ear. It rang too many times and went to her voice mail. He tried again. Still nothing. He sighed, switching to Isaac’s number.
“Hey man,” Isaac sounded tired. “What’s up?”
“Harper is not answering their phone.” He looked down at the cup he’d spilled and swore. “They are with you?”
“Yeah, right here. You want to talk?”
“Yes, please.” He knelt to pick up the cup. He carried it over to the sink, rinsing it out.
“Hi.” Harper hesitated. “Let me guess. You saw the video?”
“Are you okay?” He picked up the paper towel roll and walked back over to clean up his mess. Felicity followed with a trash can. She took the paper towel away from him.
“Talk to your girlfriend,” she mouthed ushering him back to the kitchen.
“Pietr, I’m fine, really,” Harper was saying.
“Where are you right now?”
“We’re waiting for our car in the lobby of the convention center. We have two security people here if that woman, or someone else, shows up to start shit.”
“You are going home?”
“Yes,” she answered. “We’re going to order in something for dinner instead of grabbing it on our way.”
“Good.” Relief flooded his chest. “Please turn your phone back on.”
“Oh shit, I’m sorry. I had it on silent because the WAGs were blowing up the Discord chat.”
“I understand, but I worry when you don’t answer.”
“I’m turning it back on right now.”
“I love you. I’ll see you in about a half hour.”
“I love you too. What do you want to eat before the game?”
“You and Isaac order whatever you want. You know what I like from what you choose. Or we have food at home. I’ll find something. Don’t worry about me.”
“Pietr, I really am fine. It’s not like she tried to beat me up or something.”
“She is obviously a hateful woman. I’m deeply offended that someone like that would wear my jersey and call themself my fan,” he answered.
Harper was quiet for a minute before finally saying, “Our car is here. We’re headed home now. We’ll see you in a little bit.”
“Okay. Be safe.”
“You too.”
Pietr hung up the phone and tucked it back into his pocket. “I am sorry Felicity. You should not have to clean up my mess.”
“Don’t worry about it. Go home to Harper. We’ll see you at the game later,” Felicity tossed the last of the paper towel into the trash. “Take whatever time you need. I’ll let the heads know what happened. You only need to get there before puck drop.”
“I will not be late,” he promised.
The drive back to the city from the training facility never felt like such an eternity. The hired car dropped him off at the front of his building. He waited impatiently for the elevator. His key seemed to stick in the lock, which irritated him further. When the door finally swung open, Harper was on her way toward him, a worried expression on her face.
“Oh, it’s you.” She sighed relieved. “What’s wrong with your key?”
“Nothing. I am annoyed.” He dropped his bag and pulled her into his arms. The tension he’d been holding dissipated completely. He held her close, exhaling deeply. “I am home now, and you are here. Safe.”
“Nothing was going to happen to me, Pietr. She wanted to call me names.”
He closed his eyes, squeezing her tighter. “You know you are not those things. No one has the right to call you any of it. I am so sorry.” He buried his face into her hair. “This...this is my fault.”
“How is it your fault?” Harper pulled away from him to look up into his face “Literally anyone could have said those things to me for a variety of reasons. She happened to be wearing your jersey.”
“I sheltered you last season. I should have prepared you better. I should have introduced you to the WAGs sooner. They could have helped.”
“They did help.” Harper squeezed his biceps. “Helen, Kirk’s wife, has a trending warning set and found it immediately. A half dozen of them started blowing up the Discord to make sure I was okay. Seth offered to come get me from the convention to make sure I got home safely. I was surprised, and yeah it was gross to have someone spit at me, but she didn’t lay hands on me. The convention security took care of it quickly, and...” she shrugged, “I’m right here. I’m okay. I’m still going to your game tonight.” She tipped her head to the side. “You need to focus.”
“Where is Isaac?”
“Taking a nap in the guest room.”
“Come on.” He bent down, scooping her over his shoulder. “We will do the same. I need you close to me. And a nap.”
“Dinner will be delivered at four-thirty,” she said. She didn’t even try to persuade him to put her down.
“Do you have an alarm set?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” He patted her butt, carrying her through the apartment. In the bedroom, he set her down on the mattress before kicking off his shoes. Rather than circling to the other side of the bed, he crawled over top of her, pulling her close again. He hooked his leg over hers, and rested his chin on top of her head.
“Pietr, I can’t breathe like this.” She pressed a palm to his chest.
“Shh,” he coaxed, “let me hold you.”
Harper sighed and rolled her eyes. He let go of her as she reached into her back pocket, pulling out her phone to toss it onto the far side of the bed away from them. Then she got more comfortable, letting him wrap his arms back around her in a more breathable position.
He was quiet for a few minutes, closing his eyes and feeling her breath rise and fall. Reassuring, soft, and heavy against him.
“Pietr?” She tilted her head to look up at him.
“Hmm?” He brushed the back of his knuckles against her cheek before leaning down to kiss her forehead.
“I was really scared today.”
“I would have been too.”
“I’m glad Isaac was with me,” she said, “but I think if you’d been there, she wouldn’t have done that.”
“You can’t guess what other people might do. Who knows? Maybe it would have been worse if I’d been there. Maybe she would have tried to attack you.” His grip tightened. “I got very angry watching that video. Isaac kept himself together. I don’t think I would have been able to. The second she called you a whore? I wanted to rip her tongue out. I was not a fan of her tone from the beginning. Calling you liars.”
“What if she shows up again somewhere?”
“She will not,” Pietr promised. “People like that, they want to incite a reaction. Make you mad. They want you to make the first move. She was probably hoping you would attack her, so that she could be the victim. It didn’t work. She will move on.”
“How can you be sure?”
“If she was a stalker, I would be aware of her. She would be sending letters or e-mails or trying to message me on Instagram. You don’t need to worry about it happening again. We will be more careful. More aware.”
“Should I not go to the game tonight?”
“You’ll be safe there,” he promised. “Isaac will be with you. The other WAGs will be there too. Maybe spend some time in WAG room if you feel uncomfortable.”
“It looks bad if I don’t, right? Everyone has seen that video. I look weak if I don’t.”
“You are not weak,” he whispered roughly into her hair. “I would never have fallen in love with you if you were. I don’t have the patience for such people.” He tipped her chin upward. “You are a strong, beautiful person who I love more than anything. It makes me so fucking angry when other people cannot see that. But it doesn’t matter what other people say or think that they know about us. They are idiots. No one knows us better than we know us.
“I want you to come to the game,” he continued. “Cheer me on. Buy a stupid amount of stuff from concessions. Maybe even buy another Osprey shirt.” He leaned back. “Oh! Shit!”
“What?” Harper let out a little laugh.
“I got you a present, but I was so pissed off, I left my bag at the training center. Fuck.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She relaxed into him again. “Give it to me after the game.”
“Maybe one of the guys will see it and grab it to take over to the Garden.” He lifted a hand, stroking her hair. “Besides the horrible woman, how was the convention? Did you have fun?”
“I did,” she admitted. “I signed some copies of my books. That was interesting.”
“Good. I am glad people are buying them.”
They talked a little more, Pietr’s annoyance and anger dissipating. It left him feeling very tired. Harper went quiet too, relaxing against him. Before he knew it, they’d both fallen asleep. Only to be jerked awake as Harper’s phone alarm began going off a little before four-thirty.
Pietr grunted, rolling away from her. He picked up the phone, trying to focus on where the stop button was. It silenced after a moment and he dropped it back to the mattress.
“I have to get up.” Harper snuggled closer. “Food will be here soon.”
“Isaac can get it,” Pietr retorted. “Stay here with me.”
Harper kissed his scruffy cheek. “You need to get a shower and shave. Start clean for the season.”
He grunted, peeking at her with one open eye. “Fine. I will do this. But only because you asked.” He cast a look down her body. She wore a t-shirt with Isaac’s channel logo on it and a pair of capri pants. “You need to change too. What are you wearing?”
“Probably an Osprey hoodie, jeans, and my rainbow chucks.” She hesitated. “Is that okay?”
“That is perfect. I don’t want you to get cold. In case I can get you my present before the game, perhaps wear a t-shirt and a zip-up instead?”
“What did you do?”
“I got you a present.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“You will like it, I promise. It will look very cute on you.”
“Oh really?”
“Really, really,” he promised.
She leaned back, giving him a disapproving expression. “I don’t like it when you’re too extravagant.”
“I hardly ever give you presents,” he argued. “It’s something useful. You will like.” He lifted her hand to kiss the three-banded ring he’d given her at Christmas the year before. “Like you liked this.”
“Mkay,” she said flatly. She lifted a hand, patting him on the backside. “I have to get up, but if you want to try and get a little more sleep you can.”
“I’ll get up. What did you order?”
“Sushi.”
“Of course you did,” he laughed.
“I got you lo mein. Extra chicken,” she said.
He gave a happy hum. “I am ninety-five percent sure that is not approved by Georgina’s diet plan.”
“It has carbs, protein, and vegetables,” she countered. “It should be more than enough calories to keep you going tonight.” She kissed him firmly, pushing him onto his back. He grunted, letting her settle on top of him. “You’re going to win your first game tonight, in spite of today’s bullshit. Then we’ll come home, relax, have some fun with Isaac, and go to bed. Tomorrow, we’ll do it all over again...and so it goes for the next nine months.”
“Ten,” he corrected. “Because I am bringing you home a championship ring. We will get to put the Stanley Cup in our living room at the manor and enjoy looking at it –and seeing my name on it once more.”
She laughed, leaning in to kiss him again. “Okay. You should probably plan to do something at least a little less boring with it, you know? Maybe visit a children’s hospital or something?”
“That’s what a lot of the guys do. Perhaps we go see Misha that week. Rub it in his face. Crash one of the clinics with the kids. If Adam is coaching again, I bet we could line it up so each of the classes gets to see it.”
She laughed again. “Putting the cart before the horse. Focus on winning tonight’s game first, huh?”
“Ah, yes. One game at a time.”