***
There were times when Manny really, truly appreciated the presence of Curtis Joseph. Now was not one of those times.
Manny sat, scrunched up as tiny as he could make himself against the passenger door of Curtis’ truck. He was grateful for the ride back to his house, of course. He just wished it were possible for the ride to be silent.
“Manny loves Sergei!” Curtis said again as he drove along I-75. He had been saying this ever since the doors had shut and he’d turned the engine on. He was saying it the right way too, in a smirking sing-song voice. “Manny loooves Seeeeergeeeeiiiii…!”
“You’re ridiculous,” Manny muttered. “You sound like a fourth grader. And I do NOT.”
“Do TOO,” retorted Curtis in true fourth-grader style. Then he began singing. “Manny and Sergei, sitting in a tree! K – I – S – S – I – N – G! First comes love, then-”
“Oh, shut up!” Manny said, glaring out the window. What was even more annoying than having Curtis sing it at him (and that was bad enough) was the fact that what he was saying might be true. He wasn’t sure he was in love, but there was definitely something there. He really liked Sergei as a person, and they had a lot of fun together. But there was something more than friendship going on. Manny felt a clear attraction to him. It was a certain energy that flooded his veins every time Sergei was near, one that drove him to be wherever Sergei was. He couldn’t resist speaking to him at every opportunity, just for the thrill that came with holding his attention. He gloried in every celebration hug; out of everyone in Detroit, he was the most excited over Sergei’s game-winning goals, purely for the embrace that would come after the game.
So, it had become clear to Manny that he had an unspoken crush on one of the greatest players in the game today. That wasn’t really the problem. The problem was that if Curtis could see it, who else knew? True, Curtis had better eyes than most, and he saw a good deal of what went on below the surface. But maybe Sergei had noticed his almost irresistible attraction. Maybe-
His thoughts were interrupted by the singing goaltender who would not be hushed by his back-up.
“First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Manny in a baby carriage!” Curtis laughed at his own humor, allowing the truck to wander to the right.
“Watch out!” Manny shrieked, and Curtis pulled the truck back on course, still laughing.
“You could have killed us, you idiot!” Manny slumped back against his seat and resumed glaring out the window.
“There’s no need to be upset,” Curtis said calmly. He and Manny had hit it off as soon as Curtis had walked into training camp, and the two had a unique relationship. Basically, they liked and admired each other, and showed it by delivering insults and relentless teasing. “You’re just pissed that I’m calling you on your mancrush.”
“I don’t have a mancrush.”
“Suuuuuree,” replied Curtis. “Then that wasn’t you pulling Sergei in for a hug the other night.”
“Everyone was hugging him!” Manny said. “He got the game-winning goal!”
“Yeah,” replied Curtis. “But I didn’t see anyone else holding him with his head in their neck. And I didn’t see anyone else discretely touching his ass.”
Manny’s face flushed and he turned away. It was true. He had. He couldn’t help it, really… it had just happened. The moment was so high, so exciting. He had hoped no one else had noticed. Sergei hadn’t, though he was exulting over his goal at the time. Apparently, though, someone HAD noticed. And it was just his own bad luck that that person was the one driving him home. The one who refused to keep his trap shut. Curtis piped up again.
“But I could be wrong. Maybe it was some other short guy out there on the ice in pads and skates with a ‘Legace’ jersey on. I guess anything’s possible.”
There was no answer.
“Then it WAS you. C’mon, Manny, don’t deny it. You’re seriously crushing on him. Admit it!”
Manny stayed resolutely silent.
“Fine, be that way,” Curtis said, changing lanes. “I guess I won’t tell you what Sergei was saying about you, then.”
“What?” Manny turned, attention riveted on Curtis. “He was talking about me? What did he say?”
“What do you care?” responded Curtis, infuriatingly off-hand. “It’s not as if you LIKED him, or anything.”
Manny looked imploringly at Curtis. Curtis turned, caught the pleading look in Manny’s eyes, gave him a sweet smile, and then turned back to the road. Curtis began to whistle.
“You know I do, godammit!” Manny growled at last. “Now tell me!”
Curtis’ triumphant grin lit his face. Curtis had one of those smiles that made everyone who saw it want to smile, too. Manny would ordinarily have joined in, but right now he was too busy trying not to slide over and choke the life out of him.
“Ok, I’ll tell you, but I’m not supposed to know,” Curtis said. “So you can’t tell anyone else.”
“What are we, in high school?” said Manny. “Just freaking tell me!!”
Curtis, thoroughly enjoying the whole process, giggled.
“Ok. So we were in the locker room the other day, right, and Sergei is having this whispered conversation in Russian with Datsyuk, and I-”
“How did you know it was in Russian, if they were whispering?” interrupted Manny, his curiosity for the details of a story taking over.
“Because I was eavesdropping,” said Curtis. “I’ve been noticing that you and Sergei take any and every opportunity to sit together, to talk together, to look at each other… I’ve been expecting him to take you in his arms and kiss you for weeks now. So I had my suspicions, and I wanted to see if I was right. Any other questions?”
“N… nope,” Manny gulped.
“Good,” Curtis replied. “Where was I? Oh yeah. So I tried to hear what they were talking about, but my Russian is limited to what Sergei and Igor have taught me, which is “this is my new Porsche,” and “this wine is truly excellent,” respectively. Not much help there. But then I had a lucky break. Igor was walking by.”
“Oh, did he stop to talk to you?”
“No, he was in a hurry. So I tripped him.”
“You… what?!” Manny was aghast at Curtis’ treatment of quite possibly the most respected man on the team.
“I tripped him,” repeated Curtis. “He stumbled and fell onto the bench next to me. Luckily, Sergei and Pavel were too deep in conversation to notice we were behind them. Then, I convinced Igor to eavesdrop with me and find out what they were saying.”
There was silence for a moment.
“Well?” Manny squeaked.
“Well, what?” Curtis asked.
“You dick!!” Manny yelled. “What did he say about me?!!”
Curtis laughed.
“Apparently? Sergei thinks you’re sweet. So sweet, in fact, that he wants to lick every inch of your body.”
Manny blushed a bright red. “You’re making that up.”
“I am not!” Curtis huffed. “All my gossip is authentic. And you don’t have to worry about Iggy lying to get back at me for tripping him. He listened for a second and then his eyes got all wide. And after the part where Sergei was talking about how much he watched your ass when you walked, he got all embarrassed and wouldn’t translate anymore.”
“He said what?” Manny gasped. He was suddenly having problems breathing correctly.
“He said he wouldn’t translate anymore,” said Curtis. “I hope you’re happy. You and Sergei have officially traumatized Igor Larionov.”
Manny sat in stunned silence. Was it really possible? Did Sergei really, really have a crush on him back? He tried to think.
There had been times when it seemed like Sergei might be interested in him. Manny thought back to every time Sergei had materialized out of thin air to sit next to him, that beautiful drowsy smile on his face. Always it was just to talk about some aspect of the game, and Manny had blown it off as nothing significant. But was it?
How many times had he turned around to find Sergei behind him, his eyes on the ground? Once or twice Manny had caught him as his eyes just flickered away. Had he watching him? Had he in fact made a habit out of watching him?
Manny snapped back to reality when he realized that he was nowhere near home.
“Where are we going?” Manny asked. “I don’t live this way.”
“Nope,” replied Curtis. “But Sergei’s house isn’t too far.”
Manny’s mouth dropped.
“It’s… you… we…”
“Concise,” complimented Curtis. “After I found out what Sergei was saying, I called him on it.”
Manny squeaked, but no words would come out.
“I cornered him and flat-out asked him whether or not he had a crush on you. He got all red and muttered something about it being none of my business. He changed his attitude when I told him you liked him, though.”
Manny found his words at last.
“You told him WHAT??” he screamed. “You told him I LIKED HIM?? I’m gonna KILL YOU!”
“No, you aren’t,” Curtis said calmly. “Because then you won’t hear about how much he was afraid you didn’t care.”
Manny quieted.
“Afraid?” he said gently. “Sergei?”
“Oh yeah,” said Curtis softly. “He thought you only wanted to be friends.”
Manny shook his head slowly. “I didn’t think Sergei was afraid of anything.”
Curtis turned the truck off the road and up the drive to a huge, stately house.
“Oh, no,” said Manny. He ran a hand nervously through his light hair. “No, I can’t do this.”
“Sure you can!” Curtis said. He stopped the truck in front of the house and put it in park. He turned to Manny. For once he looked absolutely serious.
“He doesn’t know I was planning on bringing you here today. I did it because I think you guys need some time alone to figure out your feelings for each other. Look, maybe it was wrong of me to butt in like this. But I couldn’t take it anymore.”
Manny shook his head, uncomprehending.
“Manny, I’ve watched you make yourself suffer over this for too long. I’d watch you look at him with every hope in the world on your face, then watch as he turned away and the hope died. You never thought you meant anything to him, and I believe you honestly thought you weren’t good enough.”
Manny opened his mouth to protest, then shut it again. Was Curtis speaking the truth? He had to admit that he was.
Curtis nodded, not in agreement but at the admission on Manny’s face.
“But Manny, I want you to know that you are more than just good enough. You’re one of the best, funniest, and sweetest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. I’m your friend and I know that. And Sergei knows it, too. You want to know how he looked when he found out you were attracted to him? He looked like he’d been handed the keys to heaven.”
Manny’s eyes teared up and he gave Curtis a small smile.
Curtis smiled back. “No crying!” he said softly. “Get in that house and take that man for your own.”
Manny opened the passenger door, and paused. He scooted over and hugged Curtis.
“Thank you,” Manny whispered.
“You’re welcome,” Curtis replied, smiling over Manny’s shoulder. “Now go!”
Manny scooted back away. He hopped down from the truck, and frowned. He shot a look back up at Curtis.
“You know I hate you for doing this to me, right?” Manny asked. His stomach fluttered and he glared up at the man he thought was his friend.
Curtis smiled. “Yep.” Then he leaned over and closed the passenger door.
Manny heaved a deep breath. Damn Curtis for putting him in this position. He ran lightly up the stairs of the porch to the front door. He hesitated, and fussed with his hair for a second. Finally he rang the doorbell.
There was a pause for a moment and Manny grew more and more anxious as the seconds ticked by. Finally the door opened. He smiled nervously up at Sergei, whose eyes grew wide as he clutched the door.
“Hi,” Sergei said.
“Hi,” Manny answered.
Sergei looked as the black truck pulled away from his house. “What are you doing here?”
“Curtis dropped me off,” said Manny. “He thought we might have some things to, uh, talk about.”
“Oh,” Sergei said softly. He gave Manny a hesitant smile. “Come in.”
Manny came into the house and let Sergei lead him into the living room. They both sat on the couch and there was silence.
Both men struggled to find the right words to say. Thanks to Curtis, they each knew now how the other felt about them. It was an awkward feeling, and they felt the pressure of being pushed to a level at which neither thought they would ever arrive. Manny squirmed and silently cursed the day Curtis Joseph ever came to the Wings.
He and Sergei stole glances at each other. Inwardly Manny cried. This was so different from their usual light-hearted flirting. He longed to return to a sense of normalcy.
“Well, you want a drink, 9-second man?” Sergei asked finally.
All Manny’s discomfort was wiped away with that one. He scowled.
“Ha, ha,” said Manny. “By the way, I loved your goal in that game. The assist was real nice, too.”
Now it was Sergei’s turn to scowl. “You think you’re funny, don’t you?”
“You know it,” Manny said, tossing his head and shooting Sergei an arch look.
Sergei smiled, despite himself, and a warmth came into his eyes that made Manny’s body tingle. “I do,” he said.
There was a vulnerable silence and both men leaned slightly closer. Manny tilted his head to the right as Sergei tilted his to the left. Then they both changed directions. Finally, they got it right and their lips touched.
There was nothing but heat in Manny’s world now. The hot wetness of Sergei’s mouth claimed him, and he melted helplessly against his body. The universe swam in sensation, and there was no sound except gasps of breath and whispered words. Clothes got in the way and were shed on the way to Sergei’s bedroom. They eased themselves onto the bed and clung to one another, moaning with each brush of lips on bare skin.
Later, groaning into Sergei’s mouth as he pressed himself into his body, Manny figured he wasn’t really that mad at Curtis for interfering. As Sergei lay beneath him, arching up into every thrust and whimpering his name, Manny realized that he wasn’t mad at all. Afterwards, as Sergei sleepily put an arm around him as they spooned together, and as Manny leaned back into his embrace, he finally came to the conclusion that Curtis was the best friend a guy with a mancrush could ever have.
The two men soon fell into a dreamless slumber. When they woke, things between them would never be the same. But for now, the world was just heat and sleep and love, and that was enough.
***
