behind your back ~ andrei svechnikov

Chapter Eighteen

"Everyone, welcome to Fort Lauderdale," the pilot said after we took a rough landing on the runway.

Andrei and I were spending the upcoming weekend in Sunrise, Florida because Andrei was selected to represent the Carolina Hurricanes at the National Hockey League All-Star Game, hosted by the Florida Panthers. Unlike last year when Sebastian Aho and Frederik Andersen were chosen to represent the Canes in Las Vegas, this year it was Andrei who got the honor, for the first time in his career.

Along with representing the Carolina Hurricanes and the Metropolitan Division at the all-star game, Andrei was chosen to participate in the Fastest Skater Competition during the Skills Competition, a day before the actual all-star game. He is supposed to compete against Detroit Red Wings' Dylan Larkin (who was a previous winner of the competition), Colorado Avalanche's Cale Makar, Minnesota Wild's Kirill Kaprizov, and Vegas Golden Knights' Chandler Stephenson.

Our itinerary was this: on Wednesday (today), we fly from Raleigh to Fort Lauderdale, then get situated at the hotel that the National Hockey League reserved for the all-stars that were selected. On Thursday, Andrei and the rest of the all-stars have a "media day" and panel, basically answering interview questions about the upcoming weekend and how the team they are representing are doing, along with meeting fans and signing some stuff. On Friday, nothing much happens except for that night, where the Skills Competition would take place. Luckily, the Fastest Skater Competition was the first, but unfortunately I would have to wait until all of the other competitions finish for the finals if Andrei were to make it. Finally, on Saturday, was the highly anticipated all-star game, and the division who wins the all-star game gets a $10,000 donation to the winning division. On Sunday, Andrei and I get on a flight from Fort Lauderdale and head back to Raleigh, leaving behind a weekend full of unforgettable memories with my favorite person in the entire world.

Andrei and I got off of the plane and headed towards the airport exit in the arrivals section.

"Ready for a fun weekend?" Andrei asked me.

I chuckled. "I didn't want to go on this dumb trip," I joked.

He rolled his eyes. "I didn't want your opinion," he retorted, blowing his tongue at me with a smirk on his face.

We both started laughing, knowing we both were going to have a great time in south Florida together. Ever since Andrei told me he was selected to the all-star game in Sunrise, I've been excited to go support him for his feat.

"If we have time, we should go to the beach," I suggested.

Andrei groaned as he sat down on one of the benches. He probably was exhausted, and I don't blame him.

But he managed to get a smile out of his tired, but handsome face. "We'll see. I'd love to, we'll just see how things play out tonight and during the weekend," he chuckled.

I sat down next to him. "I think we'll have so much fun this weekend. Not everyone gets the opportunity to represent their team at an all-star game," I said. "This year it was you for the Hurricanes,"

He chuckled again. "Yeah, and I can't wait to meet all sorts of hockey fans at the panel tomorrow. I love meeting fans," he responded.

"Awh, you're so sweet," I mentioned, lightly punching him in the arm.

His face started to redden as his smile widened.

"Oh, our taxi is here!" he exclaimed as he got up, gripping his suitcase, and started walking towards the revolving door exit.

"Wait up, Andrei!" I said as I got up, grabbed my suitcase, and walked after him.

—

Once Andrei and I got to our hotel and assigned room, we quickly got to unpacking our suitcases.