Chapter 3
Garrett manages to get through Thursday without ruining Krasnov's life.
He dodges calls from someone named Mikhail, texting Krasnov diligently to let him know about the calls.
Kate never calls, not that Garrett would pick up.
Garrett: and just now three calls in a row from Mikhail.Krasnov: no one else?
Garrett: no Krasnov: copy and paste this into text to him Krasnov: [wall of Rodavian text]Garrett: Done.
Garrett does Krasnov's bidding.
Then he runs the Rodavian script through a translator.
"Leave me alone, you parasite.
This is extortion.
I will call Papa on Saturday only if you don't contact me before then.
Go do more drugs, you absent father." Jesus.
Some of this must have been translated wrong, surely.
Garrett feels terrible for sending that text.
Garrett: Wow.
Sweet message.Krasnov: Is my brother.
He will live.
It occurs to Garrett he has no idea about Krasnov's family and he checks the InfoPedia page for the player (which already comes up in the phone's favorites, the megalomaniac).
Apparently his mother died when he was 12, his father has some terminal disease, and his brother keeps giving negative interviews to the Rodavian press...
Garrett feels less bad about sending that Rodavian text.
He also feels more sympathy for Krasnov, against every impulse to hate him.
Garrett has the foresight to switch to private browsing before researching beyond the InfoPedia page.
"Nikolai Krasnov girlfriend" is the first thing Garrett searches.
He kind of wants to see a picture of Kate.
Instead, he finds picture after picture of someone named Tatiana, whose father's name Garrett recognizes as a hockey great.
She has texted but Garrett hasn't told Krasnov that.
Should he?
He wants Krasnov to end up with Kate but it sounds like Tatiana also knows hockey.
Plus, she's Rodavian.
Maybe she'd be a better match?
In a sick attempt to compare Krasnov's love options, Garrett opens the text thread with Tatiana.
It's mostly in Rodavian, with some "lol" and emojis he understands.
He picks a recent long message from Tatiana to copy and paste into the translator.
"My new job is great.
I know you didn't ask.
Spending all your time with Kate has distracted you from the most important thing in your life-- me."
So even his only rumored girlfriend knows about Kate.
Garrett pastes Krasnov's response into the translator.
"Fuck off, Tanya.
I'll be home this summer."
Garrett catches himself wanting to translate more of this conversation, but the copying and pasting gives him an extra few seconds to really think about what he's doing.
He hopes Krasnov isn't doing the same type of crazy stalking with his phone, but really there's nothing similar he could do.
Garrett is sort of an open book.
Throughout the day, Kate sends a few little slices of her life.
Garrett feels bad for the girl.
Garrett: Kate is still texting.Garrett: will she get mad if you don't respond?
Krasnov: no.
Do not text Kate.Garrett: too late for that right?
Garrett: this one is about hockey, I think I can talk about hockey?
Garrett: in good strong Rodavian texting accent, da?
Krasnov: You could not point to Rodavia on a map.
And it is very large country.
Do not text Kate.Garrett: she's gonna get pissed.
Girls are weird when you don't text them back.Krasnov: I am not accountable for what Kate sends back.Garrett: I'm a big boy, I can handle it.Krasnov: you are average boy.Krasnov: I have seen pictures.
And oh shit, that's right.
It's not just Marissa's body on his phone.
He's too mortified to try to clip back at him, opting for a middle finger emoji.
He gets his revenge with the hockey text from Kate.
Kate: Wade out on injury for 2 weeks Nikolai: I'm glad he's out.
Wade is better than me.Kate: lol
Garrett: [screenshot]Garrett: nailed it.Krasnov: you nailed nothing.Krasnov: Kate knows I am the best player in the world.Garrett: last night she said Evan Carver was better Krasnov: I will sext your grandmother if you don't stop texting Kate.Garrett: my dead grandmother would sext better than most of the women on your phone Krasnov: Krasnov: Nash is funny.
Who knew?
Garrett smiles uncontrollably at that.
He outchirped Nikolai Krasnov.
Evan needs to hear about this one, for sure.
One more day and the phones will be switched back and he can tell his friends about the weird week he spent bantering with Krasnov.
He kind of can't wait to play them again in a few weeks, actually sling these insults on the ice.
That night, just before an early bedtime to catch his flight tomorrow, after dodging another call from Papa, Garrett gets a text.
Kate: remember 2301?
Kate: thinking about that tonight.
This is excessive.
Do they sext every night?
He scrolls up past where he had before and... yeah.
It's not every night, but there's at least something hot and flirty before bed most nights.
Krasnov is usually instigating it.
This poor girl probably thinks he's ghosting her.
He shows Marissa.
She takes the phone.
Nikolai: Tell me. Garrett looks incredulously at his wife.
Kate: when I came once on your fingers Kate: then again on your cock Kate: thinking about that to get off rnMarissa and Garrett both blush.
"Krasnov will kill me." Garrett whispers.
Marissa shrugs and types again.
Nikolai: You can't do this to me Nikolai: When I'm not there to help
Garrett snatches the phone away from her and pounces.
Turns out his wife sexting Krasnov's girlfriend really does something for him.
Kate might have texted back.
He'll check in the morning.
It's Friday evening before their games, in the away team locker room, when things start to unravel.
They're set to return the phones after their respective games tonight, it couldn't have waited?
Kate hasn't texted since she finished off her own late-night sexting (which Garrett wished Marissa was awake early enough to read, it was hot), and Garrett is starting to think maybe he and Marissa were too risky last night by reciprocating.
Maybe Krasnov had somehow told Kate what was happening, and she'll be texting Garrett's phone or, God forbid, she'll live without Krasnov's horny texting thumbs for an evening.
No such luck.
Kate: EC presser?
Insane shit.
The press conference announcing a big trade literally just ended— some guys in the locker room are still hearing about it for the first time right now.
Kate is following hockey that closely?
Garrett is still impressed with this lady.
Marissa doesn't even do that.
In fact, it reminds him of when Marissa was trying to impress him before they got married.
Kate is clearly working hard to lock down the hockey royalty.
He looks at it and smiles.
Dex breaks him from his spell, "Look at you both heart-eyes at your phones, in love.
You two are so whipped, texting your girls."
"I'm watching the presser, asshole." Evan responds.
Garrett looks over his shoulder.
Evan does have a video of the presser pulled up on the screen.
Dex knows the Rose-Texting face, though, so maybe he's doing both.
Garrett doesn't correct Dex about his own heart-eyes.
He could be mean.
He could announce to the room, no, it's not Marissa, it's Nikolai Krasnov's girlfriend.
He could out the playboy as a kinda-monogamous softie.
This close to game time the team wouldn't have time for a full blown prank.
But, nude-picture-blackmail aside, he doesn't really want to out Krasnov, even after the phones get returned.
Kate seems really nice, they're obviously not in the public eye for a reason, and knowing this team they'd definitely do something terrible with the info.
Krasnov seems sweet (enough) to Kate in their texts, and anyone who makes Krasnov less of an asshole while trolling him right back doesn't deserved to be fucked with.
The other weird part about this is Garrett's weird protective urge toward Krasnov.
This week, Garrett has realized that being an asshole is Krasnov's love language.
If you're close enough for him to insult you, it means he already kind of likes you.
Being cold and ignoring the press and rookies and some fans?
That's the actual asshole part of him.
But insulting, teasing, being an active menace— that's how Krasnov shows affection.
He only chirps at people he respects on the ice.
None of the random women in his phone get "fuck you" or "fuck off" like Kate or Tatiana do.
That's a phrase of endearment for him.