12:10…

Nadia walked down to the café. She could see Vladislav sitting at a table for two alone. He had ordered two drinks, one for himself and one for Nadia. Nadia walked over to him and sat down at the table. He smiled at her and started to speak.

"Nadia," he said, "I've been thinking about this all morning…"

Nadia moved closer to him to listen.

"It's not fair to make you wait." He said.

"The games are almost over," she said, "And you'll kick butt later!"

Vlad laughed, "Yeah!"

"And then we can be together." She said quietly, moving closer to him.

"Yes… and we can spend everyday forever together, and have children and live in a huge house." He said, moving in.

Nadia felt a burst of energy inside of her and couldn't ignore it. She remembered to a while back when all she wanted was a boyfriend in Russia. And her dream had become a reality.

"I just want to forget about last night." Said Vlad, taking her hand in his.

"Okay… so," said Nadia, grinning, "How will you make it up to me?"

Vladislav made a face to show he was thinking.

"How about dinner and a movie?" he asked thoughtfully.

"Well, I suppose…" she said, jokingly, "Thanks."

"No, thank you," he said, "for helping me the other night."

"I just hope Tikhonov doesn't find out!" said Nadia.

"Yeah…" he replied, "So, we have two hours to kill! What should we do?"

"Let's go see some of your adoring fans!" said Nadia.

They both laughed at this comment.

"Yeah…" he said, "but seriously?"

"Let's skate!" said Nadia, "But first let me get washed up. I didn't shower last night."

"No problem" he said.

The two walked back to Nadia's room.

Nadia used her key to unlock her door. She heard the shower running and knocked on the door.

"Sally?" she asked.

A few thoughts of Sally with Boris ran through her head and she cringed and the thought. Sally opened the door slightly and stuck her head out. She saw Vladislav standing there and screamed. He quickly turned around with embarrassment.

"Sorry Sally!" said Nadia, "I need to take a quick shower."

"Wait a second." Said Sally and closed the door. A few seconds later she came out in a robe, went to get some clothes and went back in the bathroom. When Sally came out, she still looked quite embarrassed.

"So, why's he here if you have to take a shower?" asked Sally a little slyly.

She turned to Vlad who was turning red.

"No!" said Nadia quickly, "I'm going skating with him and I wanted to wash up."

"Well, have fun." She said sarcastically.

She left the room and Nadia hugged Vladislav.

"Wow…" she said, "That was funny!"

"That won't happen just yet." He said slyly.

Nadia smiled and went to take a shower. After about five minutes, she came out in a white towel. Vladislav got up off the bed and looked at his girlfriend. She blushed.

"I forgot to get clothes." She said, innocently.

She bent down into her suitcase and got a white t-shirt and jeans. She got back up with her clothes in her hands to see Vladislav staring at her full lips. She smiled at him and he grinned.

"I better get dressed." She said.

In the Hall…

Viktor was walking down the hallway to Nadia's room. He needed to find Vladislav to discuss the US game with him and he figured that Nadia might know where he was. He got to room 523 and knocked on the door. Nadia, still in her towel, opened the door slightly and peaked her head out. When she saw that it was Viktor Tikhonov, she squeaked with fright.

"Hello Nadia." He said.

"Um… hi, uh, why are you here?" she said nervously, glancing back at Vlad, who didn't know what to do.

"I was trying to find Tretiak." He said, "Do you know where he is?"

"Just a second." She said, closing the door.

It remained slightly opened.

"Nadia, I just need…" he started to say as he opened the door.

Nadia screamed.

"I told you to wait!" she said.

She was standing next to Vlad in her towel. They both turned red because they knew exactly what he was thinking.

"What!" he cried, "What's going on?"

"It's not as it seems!" said Vlad.

Viktor looked at Nadia, who looked very embarrassed. She took her clothes and ran into the bathroom.

"I told you! I told you not to fool around!" shouted Tikhonov, "No love!"

"We didn't do anything!" said Vlad, "She just needed to take a shower before we went skating!"

"She didn't do that last night?" replied Tikhonov.

"No, because we—."

"Yes?"

Vladislav sighed. He knew that Viktor would figure out that he and his teammates had been clubbing eventually.

"We went to a club."

"Finally… you've hit rock bottom." Said Tikhonov, disappointedly, "You better hope this doesn't affect you! If you let in more that one goal against the US team, you're coming out! Do you hear me?"

Vlad nodded.

"Did Nadia go?" he asked.

"Yes," said Vlad, "she didn't want to because she was worried about me."

"So… what did you do?"

"I…I don't remember…"

"Is it because you were drunk?"

Vlad gasped a little and asked, "How did you—."

"Petrov."

"Why?"

"Petrov thinks that you will let our team down. He is very jealous that you are one of the greatest players that ever lived and that he won't be remembered like you will."

Vlad nodded.

"And," continued Tikhonov, "he loves hockey more than anything."

"So do I!" shouted Vlad without thinking.

"Are you sure?" asked Tikhonov.

Then, all of the thoughts of Nadia came flooding into Vladislav's head. He shook his head and went to the bathroom door. He knocked and Nadia opened the door. She smiled at him and took a deep breath.

"I've thought this over and I think that it's for the best." She said, "You are the best goalie in the world and I'm just getting in the way."

"No Nadia…" he said.

"Yes Vlad! I can't stop you from playing, and I don't want to, but…"

Vlad put his finger to her lips and she went silent for a second and then continued, "Vlad… it can't work. You and I can't just put our love on hold for months at a time."

"Nad! What are you saying?" cried Vlad.

"I'm saying…" cried Nadia, "that you should forget about me and move on! I'm more trouble than I'm worth!"

She burst into tears because she didn't mean what she was saying. Vlad even shed a few tears, hearing these words coming out of her mouth.

"Just go…" said Nadia solemnly, hanging her head.

Vlad, half in shock, walked out of the door and slammed it shut. Nadia jumped at the thump it made and looked up to see Tikhonov still in her room.

"Well!" she screamed, "Are you happy now? My one true love, gone, all because you wouldn't let us be! What do you want!"

Tikhonov sat next to Nadia and put his hand on hers.

"Don't touch me." She said, snatching her hand away.

"Nadia, you and Vladislav can't fall in love… for the sake of him. He is a great hockey player and you are in the way." Said Tikhonov, harshly.

"No! No! Vlad told me… he told me that, he loved hockey when he was young. But now that it's his life he, he doesn't care anymore!" said Nadia in between hiccups that had started from her tears.

Tikhonov looked down at his feet and then stood up.

"If you're right… I'll support you two until the day I die, knowing that you were meant to be together." He said.

Nadia nodded and he left. Alone in her room, she cried silently.