ONE FOR ONE
VIKTOR
I CAN TELL FROM THE MOMENT SHE WALKS INTO THE HOUSE THAT SOMETHING’S BOTHERING EVIE. Once we’re in my room, seated on the edge of my bed, I ask directly.
What happened tonight?
Her eyes widen. What makes you ask that?
You’re preoccupied.
She waves her hand dismissively. A lot of political nonsense. You know, I don’t see the point in creating a big gala to raise funds. It’s more about partying than the charity.
I shrug. This can’t be what’s really bothering her.
Her grey eyes meet mine. I quit Alpha Z.
Ahh, finally the real problem.
Over the charity problems?
She shakes her head. It wasn’t a good fit for me.
You can only live your own dreams. Evie mentioned that her mother idealized that sorority.
Belonging to a fraternity has never been something that appeals to me.
I have hockey teammates, and we’re bonded by a love for the sport and shared experiences.
Most people want to belong to something bigger, but Evie is strangely removed from that.
I had all these dreams about what college life would be like, but my dreams keep shifting.
I nod. That happened to me as well. I came to university expecting to excel at D1 hockey and possibly get signed by an NHL team. Instead my first year sucked and now I’m here, enjoying a lower level of hockey with little future in the game.
When I look up, Evie is staring at me. I know that look. That look means that a woman is going to ask for something big from me. It was too much to hope that Evie wouldn’t be the same.
I inch away. Look, if you’ve had a bad night, I’ll walk you home and you can unwind.
Her smile is sphinx-like. Want to make a trade?
Trade what? I face her, which lets me move even further away.
Information. We both get to ask one question.
I shake my head, but she plows on. I want to get to know you better, Viktor. And you like to figure out what makes people tick, so here’s your chance.
She’s right. Evie’s entire past is a big mystery. In fact, I don’t know if one question would be enough. Still, I’m intrigued. Even if we end up splitting tonight, at least my curiousity will be satisfied. Okay. One for one.
Her genuine smile appears. Great. You go first.
I have so many questions about where exactly she has lived, why she was completely home-schooled, how the hell someone who looks like she does has never dated and has no idea how pretty she is. But I settle on the one that makes her the most uncomfortable.
What’s your father’s job?
Oh. The colour drains from Evie’s already pale face. I wasn’t expecting that one. Well, I’ll tell you, but can you promise me that—when we break up—you won’t tell anyone?
I’m taken aback at the way she’s phrased the question, like our breakup is a foregone conclusion even though that’s exactly what I’m considering. Evie is too good at reading my moods.
Fine. Who would I tell anyway?
I know it’s ridiculous, but it’s not really my secret. She straightens, puts her hands on her knees, then speaks in a flat, formal voice. My father works for a federal agency that specializes in worldwide information gathering and analysis.
I squint at her. Do you mean the CIA?
Instead of nodding, she gives me an obvious wink, and I can’t help laughing.
Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic? It’s not like anyone is listening to us.
I’m just establishing plausible deniability, she replies, sounding exactly like a lawyer…or a spy.
A lot of things about Evie now fall into place. I’m pretty sure that she speaks Russian or at least understands it. Maybe this even explains her poise in a crisis and her ability to shoot a laser gun.
Now I have a dozen follow-up questions, I complain.
Evie giggles. Go ahead, if you want me to have that many questions for you.
Nope, one is enough. I can predict what she’s going to ask me. Some version of the questions that all the women I date ask: What’s wrong with you that you can’t commit to a relationship? Did a girlfriend hurt you? Aren’t you worried that you’ll end up alone and lonely?
Evie watches me intently. In the glow of my bedside lamp, her eyes are emerald-green.
Go for it, I urge, running through my repertoire of stock excuses, since the truth is something that keeps changing. At first, I didn’t want a girlfriend because of trust issues, then because I had too much going on around school and hockey. Now it’s because I need to be free once I graduate.
Maybe they’re all excuses anyway. For someone so obsessed with understanding the motivation of others, I’m not very introspective. Besides, the more unsatisfactory my answer, the greater the chance we’ll break up soon.
Her eyes are fixed on mine. Where in Ukraine does your grandmother live?
At first, I’m so taken aback by her question, I can’t even answer. This is the last question I would have predicted. It has nothing to do with relationships.
Horodok. That’s near Lviv, I reply, wondering if that’s enough information.
Evie nods, as if she has the full geography of the country memorized. And maybe she does. Then I panic, wondering exactly why she wants to know.
Wait, you’re not going to get your dad to locate her or anything, are you? My words tumble over each other.
She cocks her head. Why would I do that? She’s not missing, is she?
No, but why would you want to know that?
I know how much you worry about her. So I wondered how close she is to the war zones. But since she’s in a relatively safe area, you must be worrying about power outages and how she’s getting along as the weather gets colder.
Hearing my true worries articulated by someone else is a complete shock. Evie’s kindness breaks me. Almost the first thing that she said to me was Can I help you? There have been so many times I’ve almost confided in her, but now I’m ready.
I practically tackle Evie, pulling her onto the bed on top of me.
She reaches back to unclip her hair; it falls around her face and tickles my cheek.
Have I told you how beautiful you are? I ask.
She smiles. Not in the past half hour.
I lift a hand and cup her cheek, letting my thumb trace her soft mouth. She nips at my thumb and then licks it. My beautiful, sexy girl.
I already know exactly how I want to make love to her: gently and sweetly.
No games tonight—all I want is to bury myself in her heat and feel her pleasure as she comes.
I start to unbutton her blouse, and Evie matches my actions, pulling off my sweater and jeans.
In no time, we’re both naked. I always want to fuck Evie, but right now I want to have sex so we can get to that intimate time afterwards.
Something about sex takes down the fences I erect around myself.
I kiss her and run my hands over the hot skin of her shoulders, her back, and her rounded ass. She shudders against my touch. Naked Evie is my favourite Evie.
Sit up. I position Evie on my stomach, legs spread.
Then I hold her by the hips and drag her centre over my hard cock back and forth until she groans with the sensations.
I blindly reach for the lube and messily apply it to her pussy.
Evie is accustomed to the size of my cock now, so maybe we could skip the lube, but she loves this step, practically coming as soon as her clit is touched.
Once the condom is on, I hold up my stiff cock and Evie slowly sinks down on me.
There’s this moment when we both tense and then surrender to the feeling of being joined so fully.
I rock my hips so I can enjoy the friction as she starts to move.
Her lifts are shallow, like she needs me deep inside her at all times.
My thumb pulls out the wetness that’s a mix of lube and Evie, and I circle her clit as she bucks against the sensation.
Oh, Viktor, she breathes, half plea and half praise. She throws back her head. Oh god. I’m coming.
As she comes, I lift my hips and thrust harder into her. I watch her face, the beautiful flush of her orgasm sweeping over her. I thrust up hard as I come too, then fall back on the bed with Evie collapsing on top of me.
Wow, she says.
I kiss her gently, then excuse myself. I go to the bathroom, lose the condom, and piss. Then I splash water on my face. Am I ready for this?
When I return to bed, I lie on my back with Evie curled into me. And for the first time, I tell someone about my summer.
Baba is a very stubborn woman, just like my dad.
She insisted on staying in Ukraine after the war began.
At first, it wasn’t too bad. Like you said, she’s not really in a battle zone.
But as the power shortages got worse, we worried a lot more.
My father runs a construction business and my mother works as a teacher, so it’s hard for them to visit during the winter.
So my older brother would go visit, just to make sure she was okay.
Then he started staying for longer periods.
I stop, needing more strength for the next part of the story. Evie cranes her neck to kiss me on the cheek, but doesn’t say a word.
He made friends there and got involved with the war effort, although not with the official forces.
He’s seen so much more than I have, and he’s passionate about our heritage.
I feel guilty sometimes for not being more like Marko, who learned the language and the history of Ukraine.
I used to think history was useless compared to something concrete like hockey. But I’ve learned so much since then.
I swallow. Then in August, Marko disappeared.
I hear Evie’s shocked intake of breath.
At first, we thought he was staying with friends.
But nobody could reach him. When my dad went to search, he couldn’t find out anything.
Marko could have gone underground, or he could have been captured by Russian troops.
I laugh humourlessly. Is it bad when you hope your brother was taken by the Russians?
But the alternative is far worse. He’s not a soldier, but he might be involved in something suspicious or violent. I love my brother, but I can no longer imagine what goes on his mind.
You know what’s really shitty? The last time we spoke, we got in a fight.
I accused him of wasting time there. Just get Baba to come to Edmonton, then you can get on with your own life.
I was echoing my father instead of listening to Marko.
If he had told me what he was doing, then maybe we would have some clues to find him.
Evie wraps her arm over my chest. And you’ve been living with this since August?
Yeah. I wanted to go to Ukraine myself and search, but my mother begged me not to. I promised to finish my senior year before doing anything else. My father’s hired investigators and visited several times, but there’s no news. And now Baba refuses to leave in case Marko returns to her house.
As a younger brother, I always looked up to Marko.
I’d tag along after him, and I wanted to do everything he did.
But there came a time, when I was around fourteen, that we were play-fighting and I won.
I realized that I was stronger, more skilled at hockey, even better at school.
I’m not sure if Marko resented me, or I just gave up my hero worship.
But it’s been a few years since we were really close.
After university, he kept changing jobs and searching for direction. Maybe that’s why supporting Ukraine appealed to him. It was an important cause and something all his own where he far outshone me.
If we don’t hear anything before May, I’m going there and do whatever I can to find him. I’ll stay for as long as it takes.
I wait for Evie’s reaction. I haven’t even told my parents yet.
My mother will be completely against it, and my father is hoping I’ll pursue hockey after I graduate.
I’m not the best person for the job—I don’t have language skills or connections.
But he’s my brother, and I’m an adult. I won’t be able to live with myself unless I try.
Evie’s eyes shine with tears. I can’t believe everything you’d been through. And how hard you’ve been working at school and hockey while this was hanging over you. You’re such an incredible person.
I don’t need praise for what I’m doing, but it does feel nice to have someone who is completely in my corner.
Tonight’s question proves that Evie doesn’t prioritize relationships or commitment.
She genuinely cares about me with no personal agenda.
And that’s a completely new and seductive feeling.
I pull her closer to me and let myself relax into the warmth of her support.