Chapter 4

A Little Coco

The Next Day…

Nadia got up early the next day, 6:00 to be exact. She was so excited about meeting Vladislav. She had had guys as friends before, but never did anything like this with them. All that Nadia knew for sure was that Vladislav was turning out to be a nice guy. He had let her use his shirt and gave her a ride home when she was stranded. She looked in her closet for a nice outfit that said, "I'm am a nice girl and want to get to know you." She looked up and down her closet and finally found the perfect. She chose a light blue tank top, white jeans, a light yellow scarf, black boots and a white coat. Nadia even put on some makeup, something she didn't usually do.

At 7:00, Nadia was finished getting ready and had plenty of time to spare. She went down to the hotel restaurant to get some breakfast. There was only one other person in the restaurant besides herself and the waiters. She ordered a small roll with butter, just to hold her stomach before she met up with Vlad. As she was eating her roll, she remembered something that would make it very difficult to see him. She had to go to the ski slope with her group. At first, Nadia thought that if she told them she didn't want to go, they would be happy because then they could be alone. But then, reality struck her. If they knew that she had a new friend and wanted to see him, they would do anything to keep her from being happy. Nadia chose the last option on her list, something that she had never wanted to do, but had to do. She was going to fake sick.

"Ugh, I really don't feel well Mr. Ryan." Whined Nadia, "My vision is blurry and I can't breathe through my nose."

Mr. Ryan looked at her with worry, "Maybe you should stay here."

Nadia faked a cough, "No, I can't stay."

"You look awful Nadia." He said, "You're all flushed."

"To tell you the truth, I feel worse than I look." She said gloomily, "I guess I'll stay. It's for the best…"

Mr. Ryan patted Nadia on the hand and left the room. She could hear him in the hallway telling Tina and Gary about her staying back. Tina and Gary sounded so happy to hear that she was sick, and ran away to Gary's room to get ready. Nadia waited a few seconds until she couldn't hear anyone and then got up silently to check if the coast was clear. The hallway was empty so she took off her robe, which was covering her clothes and snuck out of the hotel.

When she was outside, she called for a cab that took her to the hotel where the USSR team was staying. She walked up to the door and asked in Russian, "Is this where the Soviet Olympic hockey team is?"

"Yes it is. Do you have a reason for being here?" the man replied.

"Yes, actually, I am supposed to go to the park with Vladislav Tretiak for some hot chocolate and…"

"All right, all right. Just go." He said, rudely.

Nadia smiled and went in. She asked what floor they were on and was told the top floor. Nadia walked up 5 flights of steps and reached the top. She knocked on the room labeled '306' and Vlad came to the door. He was in a pair of jeans and his shirt was off.

"Oh," he said with shock, "Hey Nadia."

Nadia blushed when she looked at him, "Am I early?"

He looked at the clock by his bed.

"No, actually, you're right on time."

"Oh, well that's good." She said, "So…"

Nadia and Vlad both looked like they had never seen each other before and both had no idea what to say.

"You look nice." Said Vlad quickly.

"Thanks!" said Nadia, "May I come in?"

"Oh, oh sure. Yeah!" He said, taking her coat.

Nadia came in, sat down on Vlad's bed and looked around his room. It was very neat. She got up and looked at a picture that he had on his nightstand. It was he and a young girl hugging each other. The girl had her lips on his cheek and looked happy. That's when it hit Nadia; he didn't have a crush on her. They were just going to be friends… nothing more. Vlad came out from the bathroom, fully dressed and looked at Nadia. He saw that she was looking at the picture with fear and embarrassment.

"That's my sister." He said.

Nadia almost choked on her tears that were starting to form in her eyes, "Your sister?"

"Yeah." He said, "Why, did you think she was my…" he started to say, "Because I've never had a… well, you get the idea."

Nadia giggled and said, "Me either. In fact, you're my first real friend who's been a boy. I really only have one other friend besides you."

Vlad looked at her, dazed, and changed the subject, "So, let's get out of here! It's really nice out!" he said.

"It's 30 degrees!" she said.

"Yeah, I know." He said, happily.

Nadia laughed and said, "Okay, let's go!"

They walked out of the hotel and took Vlad's car to the park.

When they arrived at the park, Vladislav and Nadia got out of the car and walked over to the path. It went through the park and came out by a little food stand and an ice rink. They decided to go ice-skating after. As they walked, they talked about everything.

"So, how old are you? When's your birthday?" asked Nadia.

"I'm 27, going to be 28 on April 25th."

"Oh, well then, I have to get you a gift, considering it's April 20." said Nadia sweetly.

"How old are you? When's your birthday?" he asked.

"23, March 7th." She replied.

They went back and forth asking each other questions until they reached the end of the path.

"One last question?" asked Nadia, "How long have you played for the USSR Central Red Army?"

"I've been playing in the CRA Organization since I was 17." He replied.

Nadia looked at him in awe, "17?"

Vladislav smiled at her. Nadia, open mouthed, put her head on his shoulder.

"That's amazing." She said.

They walked up to the little food stand and each ordered a hot chocolate and a big chocolate chip cookie. They went over, besides the ice, and sat down at a picnic table.

"So, are you glad you took a little time off from hockey?" asked Nadia.

Vladislav looked at her seriously, "I love hockey." He said, "I love it more than anything. When I thought about coming here with you, I really didn't know how I would feel. But now… I'm happy that I came… I can't even… You're a sweet girl."

Nadia smiled at him, "I liked you from the first time we started to talk, a few days ago. You seemed really nice and all I wanted to do was see you." She hugged him and said, "I really think that this is turning out well. Considering that I've only know you a few days."

"Yeah…" he said, "So, want to skate?"

Nadia smiled, meaning ''yes''.

Vlad and Nadia each got a pair of rental skates and went onto the ice. Nadia, having not skated very much, fell as soon as she got on. Vladislav pulled her up and held onto her. Nadia blushed as her held her hand.

"Vlad, you're so good at this." Said Nadia.

He laughed and said, "I've had many years of practice."

Nadia looked up at him and said, "No… I mean…" She stopped because she knew that she was moving too quickly. Vlad was a pro hockey player and she was just Nadia. 'He's probably just hanging out with me because he feels sorry for me.' Thought Nadia.

"Yeah?" asked Vlad.

"Nothing…" said Nadia.

He looked at her, puzzled, then said, "You know, Nadia, I play hockey everyday and I enjoy it more than anything."

Nadia nodded.

"Or so I thought," he continued, "Since I started hanging out with you, the past few days, I've felt different. Like, hockey isn't the only thing in my life that matters anymore."

Nadia smiled a little, "And… is that a good feeling?"

Vladislav stopped skating and looked at her, "It feels great. I can actually enjoy myself in places other than the ice rink."

"But what about Tikhonov? How will he feel about this?"

Vlad, all of a sudden, got very serious. "Please don't mention this to him." He said and stared deep into her eyes.

"I won't." She said.

Nadia and Vladislav skated a little more and then thought that they should leave. They only had a half of an hour left to make it to the rink on time.

"Don't worry, I'll go with you!" said Nadia.

"Thanks!" he said and they drove off in the direction of the rink.

It took about 20 minutes to get there from the park and they made it with 10 minutes to spare. Nadia and Vlad got out of the car and walked into the arena. Tikhonov spotted them on the way in and pulled Vladislav off to the side to talk to him.

"Why are you with that girl?" he asked.

"Because she's my friend." He replied, "Nothing's going on between us. We just went for hot chocolate."

"You know what love can do to you, Tretiak. That's why I quit playing, because I fell in love."

"That won't happen to me! Nadia and I are just friends!"

"Just make sure it stays that way."

"And, even if I was in love with her…" Vlad started to say, "I wouldn't quit."

"Oh no… this is how it started for me." Replied Tikhonov.

"She's a nice girl but I've only known her for 3 days! How could I be in love with her?" he asked, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Just be careful." Said Tikhonov, "Now hurry up and get your gear on!"

He walked away and Vlad went over to Nadia.

"Thanks for standing up for me." She said.

"No problem. I hope you don't mind staying here."

"No way, this is defiantly better than going to see skiing with Tina and Gary!" she said.

He laughed and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks." He said and went into the locker room.

Nadia sat down in a chair that was by the door and silently cried. The tears she cried were of both happiness and sadness. She was falling further and further in love him and couldn't help it. Maybe this was the love that she dreamed of. But, she couldn't help feeling sad because of his hockey. He was an amazing player, and Tikhonov didn't want him to fall in love. 'Maybe this isn't love,' she thought, 'I mean, I've never been in love before… how am I supposed to know if it is happening?' Nadia got up, wiped the tears from her face and went into the rink to watch Vladislav.