“Erik!” You screamed and raced down the stairs when you heard a car pull in the driveway. You stood in the doorway, expecting it to be your boyfriend returning from a 12 day road trip, but your smile vanished when you realized it was not Erik, but a FedEx delivery man. He walked over to the porch carrying a box, which you assumed was something Erik had ordered.
“Good afternoon, miss. Are you Mrs. Karlsson?” The delivery man asked and you blushed. “No, I’m his girlfriend; I’m just watching his house for him while he’s away.” You explained and he handed you the box. “That’s fine, I just need you to sign here,” he said, and you tried to sign your name on the screen. You brought the box inside and sat down on the stairs, setting it next to you. For the hundredth time that day, you check your phone, but there were still no new messages from Erik. To take your mind off of not seeing him for almost two weeks, you started watching a movie. Scrolling through Netflix, you tried to find something that didn’t remind you of Erik, or hockey, or Sweden, or anything else that might make you sad.
You were anxious to see him because this was your first long road trip since the two of you started dating earlier this season. You realized for the first time that you really missed Erik; you missed getting coffee with him after practice and seeing weird random movies at an obscure theater in Ottawa; you missed his beautiful hair and comparing styling techniques; you missed his adorable laugh and his Swedish accent; but most of all, you missed just having him around, feeling his arms wrap around you and hold you close. The more you thought about it, the more it scared you. Erik was a star NHL player, an Olympic athlete, ridiculously good looking, and overall a really great guy, so why the hell was he wasting his time on an ordinary, average, boring girl like you? This question was the cause of most of your anxiety recently and often kept you awake at night.
Halfway though ‘Mean Girls’ you heard the front door open and you jumped off of the couch. “Erik!” You screamed again, and this time he was actually there. He wrapped his arms around you and leaned down to give you a kiss. “I’ve missed you so much,” you said and pressed your face closer to his chest.
“I missed you too, prinsessa,” he said and kissed the top of your head. “What were you watching?” He asked and you turn around to see the tv paused at a really awkward time. “Ummm, ‘Mean Girls,’ we don’t have to keep watching it,” you turned way, kind of embarrassed, and tried to find the remote. But Erik sat down on the couch next to where you had been curled up all afternoon, and pulled you down next to him. He wrapped his arm around your shoulders and you leaned in closer as the movie started again. “I missed this,” he said quietly and leaned his head on yours. “Just spending time with you, holding you, playing with your hair, things like that.”
“I missed you too, Erik,” you said and snuggled closer to him. “(Y/N), I realized on this trip, after our first game, that I need you. You’re always there to cheer me up after a loss, or celebrate with me after a win, or to just sit around on a Saturday afternoon and do absolutely nothing,” he said, and you could tell he had been thinking about. You relaxed when you realized he felt the same way you felt about him; missing him more than just not having him around, but realizing you need him, and he needs you.
-Lila
