At the last second, he grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her in with him. She felt his arms encircle her under the water. He pulled her to him and they breached the surface together. He shook his head, sending his wet hair flying and grinned at her.
“That was not nice,” he smirked and put his large palm on top of her head and pushed her under again.
“Hey,” she cried, as she surfaced for the second time. He was standing there laughing at her. She swam up close to him and held on to his arm. He was much taller than she was and at this part of the pond, she could only touch the bottom with the tips of her toes. He slid his arm under hers and held her up. He pulled her close and swam a few strokes with his powerful arm and deposited her in more shallow water. She was a little disappointed when he released her. She liked the feel of his arm around her. The water was warm, but not too much and it was very refreshing. Mishka jumped from the deck into the water and splashed them with a great wave. Alex released a slew of Russian phrases that Zoey thought could have been light-hearted profanities and then splashed his friend back with a great sweep of his hand. He then turned to her and lifted her chin up to look in her eyes. He wiped the water droplets from her eyelashes and cupped her cheek in his hands. He leaned down and kissed her lips softly. She suddenly felt completely weak, looking up into his deep, blue eyes.
“Sorry, he a jerk sometimes,” he said with a chuckle. “Next time, be prepared, you know. It sure to happen again.”
All she could do was nod at him. She couldn’t find her voice.
Mishka tossed at ball at him. Alex caught it deftly and grinned at Zoey like a little boy before moving away and throwing a bullet straight at Mishka. She watched them play like children for a long time. Mishka seemed to be the same age as Alex, though he was shorter and did not have nearly as muscular a build. She watched Alex jump out of the water and lunge after the ball as Mishka threw it wide. She was still impressed by how big and powerful his upper body was. She expected his legs to be large. How could they not be, with all that skating? She guessed hockey must be a good workout. She might have to start watching when she got back home. She smiled to herself and watched Mishka take exception after he was pelted in the head. He moved quickly across the water and grabbed Alex, trying to pull him under. Alex was the stronger and only laughed as he wrestled with his best friend. He finally pushed Mishka’s head under the water just as he had Zoey’s. He turned to look at her. When he laughed his whole face lit up. He relinquished his grasp on his friend and came over to where she was sitting at the edge of the water.
“You want drink?” he asked her breathlessly. She nodded and he said something to Mishka in Russian. Apparently, he asked his friend the same question because Mishka nodded in answer.
Alex headed inside grabbing a towel from the bench on the porch and disappeared inside. Mishka joined her.
“You like Moscow?” he asked her, his eyes not exactly meeting hers.
“I do. It’s a beautiful city,” she said and despite the warm air, goose bumps broke out on her skin.
“How you know Sasha?” he asked screwing up his face slightly, trying to find the right words. She wasn’t sure she could explain so that he would understand.
“St. Bazil’s. I met him there,” she decided would be the easiest answer.
Alex returned with the refreshment. He handed his friend a bottle and nodded his head as if asking Mishka to move away. He sat down between Zoey and Mishka and handed her a bottle as well.
“Kvass. You will like it. Trust me?” he asked with a grin.
“Sure,” she said a little breathless, returning his smile. And it was the truth, though she didn’t know why.
The Kvass was similar to beer, only slightly sweet and it was very good. It was strong with the taste of Rye though and she wasn’t expecting it. She exhaled a bit and Alex laughed.
There it was, the sparkle in his eyes that she’d never seen before in anyone, as if he had so much joy inside, it couldn’t help but leak out.
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