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Kent thought that he’d had enough negativity for this week. A mere couple of hours earlier, not only had he had his long-awaited first meeting with Jack as professional hockey players, which he’d been scared shitless for and nervous about for the past week, but Jack had looked straight past him with no sign of recognition, as if he was merely some annoying insect- not worth killing, but a nuisance nonetheless. It had rattled him more than he’d thought it would. Then his risky, desperate play had backfired and he’d gone careening into Snowy and the Falconers’ net, hitting his head, before being insulted by the other Falconers and picked up and shaken like a naughty puppy by Mashkov, who’d then proceeded to yell and intimidate him. And then to top all of that off, they’d lost. It was almost too much for him. He’d somehow given his soundbite to the media before driving home, turning off his phone and crying into a glass of wine until he fell asleep.
He really, really needed to catch a break.
So he woke up the next day, tried not to succumb to his hangover and got a ride to practice with Swoops and Kuzzy, blasting Britney the whole way to the rink before giving an extended pep talk and having probably one of the most inspired sessions he’d ever had, before hitching a ride to Americana, his favourite brunch spot, waving off offers of company and insisting that he’d just Uber home, it was fine.
As soon as he walked in, he already began to feel healed. The place had become a friend to him through his many trips there ever since he’d been drafted to Vegas- the staff immediately greeted him, leading him to his favourite table, by the window, and he was immediately supplied with mimosas, fresh orange juice and sweet, foamy coffee, which he sipped happily, before ordering, on a whim, some zucchini frittatas along with his standard order of a large eggs benedict. Merely smelling the aroma of the wonderful food, and hearing the clatter and chatter throughout the restaurant made him feel like he could get back on his feet again.
When alcohol only brought him regrets and disappointment, food had always been his saviour and therapist.
Once his food arrived, with a smile from his favourite, adorable waiter, he immediately started taking pictures to send on Snapchat and post on Instagram, because let’s be real, this food was just too pretty not to. Then he put his phone back in his bag and dug in, revelling in the richness and deliciousness of the eggs benedict, and the new tanginess and fried goodness of the frittatas, accompanied by the lovely drinks, while his phone began to ding with notifications and messages.
He’d just ordered some choc chip pancakes as a special treat when the bell at the entrance dinged and someone very large walked in. Kent tried to crane his neck to see if they were someone he knew and/or attractive, but upon identifying just who it was, Kent promptly buried his face in his phone and pancakes and tried to look busy, while spamming the Aces group chat with SOS messages.
He was, in fact, so busy with this that he failed to notice the very large man currently sitting opposite him and saying, “Hello, little rat!”, in a booming voice, punctuated by poking Kent repeatedly in the shoulder.
“Hello…oh, it’s you. Hey, Mashkov”, Kent replied nervously, keeping his eyes strictly on his pancakes.
“It’s so nice to see you here! You like food here too? I come here every time we in desert”, said Mashkov, winking visibly.
“Yeah, I do. In fact, it’s my favourite brunch spot, I come here every weekend and after Wednesday practice. How do you know about it?”
“Well, actually, it always looks so nice in your Instas, they always make me hungry! So I decided to try it out for myself.”
“Wait….you follow me on Instagram???!!!”
“Why would I not?? How else will I keep up with adorable cat and equally adorable owner then, huh?”
Kent began to feel himself getting more and more flustered and confused. Why was Mashkov being so nice to him all of a sudden? Their rivalry had been famous ever since they’d both entered the league. Had he somehow realised that he liked him? What did he want? Was this some kind of trap?
So he decided to deal with these questions like the composed adult he pretended to be.
“So...um…I thought you hated me? You certainly didn’t seem very happy with me yesterday. I thought you were going to beat me up after the game, actually. I didn’t think you’d want to be on speaking terms with me.”
Kent could actually see the sadness piercing Mashkov’s normally cheery demeanour.
“Oh no, no, little Ace, I leave all that on ice. Don’t worry, you not in any danger from me. I was angry, you almost hurt Snowy…it can happen on ice, you know. I’m still not entirely happy, what you did was very reckless, but then, after game, I saw something that changed my mind. As I was passing your locker room, I saw you comforting everybody, even though I see how upset you are, giving them good talk. And then I see how sad you look. Your eyes were just…there was no light in them, you see. It really upset me to see that. Nobody deserve to feel like that, and I feel responsible, you know. Want to see you happy.”
“No, no, man, it wasn’t you. It was…just stuff”, said Kent hastily, not wanting Mashkov to feel guilty for his many mental and emotional issues. And to hide the fact that yesterday had wrecked him even more than he’d thought.
“Still”, said Mashkov kindly. “Want to make better. So let’s be friends?”
“Um, sure? That would be nice, actually?”, Kent replied, feeling like all his Christmases had come at once.
Mashkov held out his hand- “Hi. I’m Alexei. Teammates call me Tater, but you can call whatever you like.”
Kent took the hand that was offered to him and shook it, enjoying how firm and large Mashkov- wait, Alexei’s hands were.
“Hi Alexei. I’m Kent. My team calls me Parse, but I prefer Kent, to be honest.”
“Can I call you Kenny?”, asked Alexei hopefully, batting his lashes at Kent.
Kent fought the sudden twinge of pain he felt at that old, familiar nickname.
“I think Kent is better”, he replied, trying to put the sadness he’d so far managed to control shove back in its box.
“Kent, then. Now onto important stuff. What I order? What good here?”
“Literally everything. There’s nothing here that isn’t good, to be honest.”
“Those pancakes look so nice! Can I try? I want try before I order.”
“Yes, yes, go ahead”, said Kent, cutting some to give to his new friend.
“Oh, crap, you don’t have a plate, right.”
“It ok! You can feed me”, said Alexei, winking.
Kent chuckled.
“Haha, okay then, if that’s what you want. Open wide.”
And so Kent fed Alexei small bites of pancake, laughing the entire time, as Alexei made exaggerated noises at how good they were and chattered in between mouthfuls about his team, his dog and the latest pranks he was planning on his team.
Two more stacks of pancakes had been demolished in this way before they were finished, and were now joking about the food coma they now had before Alexei suddenly stopped and looked at Kent.
“I really like you, little Kent”, said Alexei softly, taking Kent’s hand in his. “Can we do this again when we play here in desert? And maybe we go out for dinner when you in Providence?”
“Of course! You’re such a cool guy, how could I refuse?”, said Kent, giggling.
“Give me your phone so I can put number in and add you on Facebook then. You do same for me.”
And in a flash, both their numbers and Facebook requests had now been stored and accepted.
They left together, and just as Kent was about to go call an Uber, Alexei said “I can drop you off, no problem. We can go to my place for coffee now, actually, if you like.” Kent had obviously agreed immediately. Alexei had also somehow managed to catch hold of Kent’s hand and by the strength of his grip, didn’t plan to let him go anytime soon.
Unfortunately, this was also when Swoops and Kuzzy suddenly appeared to pick Kent up, despite his earlier refusal.
Both of them stared, open mouthed, as the two apparent rivals chatted and giggled at each other, for all intents and purposes smitten.
“So this is why both of you came out, then?!”, yelled Swoops from down the road. “Why didn’t you tell us you guys were dating, huh?”
“I should have realised much earlier”, said Kuzzy wisely. “I thought that bitterness was covering something up. Imagine how much we could have chirped them!!”
It was quite the spectacle- Kent looking like a cornered rabbit, Alexei looking as smug as a cat that’s got the cream, and Kuzzy and Swoops belly laughing from across the street.
Just as Kent was about to deny these blatant accusations, Alexei cut him off and bellowed out “We’ve been dating for two months! How you not notice??”, before giving Kent a quick peck, not noticing how red he promptly went, and getting into his cute little car.
Kent waved at his teammates and indicated that he’d call them later to explain the situation. For now, he’d keep this new and exciting beginning to himself.