For Love of a Brother Ch. 02

With him still inside her, she bent forward and kissed him, her damp hair falling onto his face and tickling his nose. He brushed several strands aside, smiled, and kissed her back. Her hips were sore by now and reluctantly, she let him fall out of her as she moved to his side. Silently, they held and kissed each other and tried to store this memory within their minds forever.

* * * * *

Serena and Sergei met at the library at eleven o'clock for the game. They didn't expect a full house at the stadium, but they wanted to get there early anyway. Northwestern was not supposed to give the Hoosiers much difficulty that day and Serena hoped for a win.

As she found out, Sergei enjoyed football, loved basketball, and liked sports in general. He had played a little basketball in high school, mostly second string, and became acquainted with martial arts as a youngster. His parents thought he needed more discipline in his life and felt this would steer him in that direction. Sergei liked it immediately and found he had great hand-eye coordination necessary for the moves and techniques involved. He was a black belt in both karate and judo, but he wanted to get better so he could become a master. Sergei didn't appear all that interested when Serena told him about her high school softball days and why she decided to enroll at Indiana. It irritated her a little bit, but she decided to let it slide and not worry about it. She thought perhaps he didn't care for softball as much as other sports.

They cheered and yelled throughout the game whenever Indiana scored, which was often. They won easily 30-0 and as they thought would happen, only about thirty-five thousand bothered to show up.

After the game, they strolled around the entire campus, enjoying the crisp, cool October air. Others seemed to have the same idea as there were many students outside. When it was time for supper, they went to a sandwich shop inside the student union. They talked only about general things, much to Serena's dismay. Whenever she tried to go a little deeper and try to find what made him tick, he would either clam up or change the subject. She was even more puzzled by the fact that he seemed either bored or disinterested whenever she tried to talk about herself. Serena thought he might want to get to know her a little better, but apparently that wasn't on his mind. He seemed to be a lot different than from the times he walked her back to her dorm. She honestly didn't know what to think.

"I had a good time," she said at the entrance to Anderson Hall. "Thanks for asking me." They had finished their supper a while ago and when the conversation dragged miserably, Serena decided it was time to go.

Sergei nodded and smiled slightly, seemingly preoccupied with something else. "You're welcome," he replied politely. "Maybe we could do it again sometime."

Serena looked at him and thought about saying something flippant, but said nothing. Was he messing with her mind or what? If he was as bored with her as he acted, why would he say something like that? Maybe he was just being nice. She had no idea.

"We'll have to see," she finally answered. "I'm sure I'll see you in the library some more, though," she added. She certainly wasn't going to stop studying in a quiet place just because Sergei wasn't quite what she thought he was.

"Yeah," he answered. "I guess I'll see you there."

"See you later," Serena said before she disappeared through the doorway.

"See you," he said as he waved to her before he began his walk home.

Frustrated and a bit angry, Serena trotted up the stairs instead of taking the elevator to her floor. Christy saw the look on her face when she came through the door and knew something had gone wrong. Serena proceeded to tell her about the entire day and Christy listened carefully.

When she finished, Serena asked, "Am I right to feel this way, or am I off base?"

"He's weirder than I thought," Christy said truthfully. "I don't know what to tell you."

"The funny thing is," Serena said, "I still like him. He's very nice and polite. I mean, he wasn't rude or anything. I guess he's just not interested in me."

"He's nuts, but it sure looks like it," Christy replied. "Hey, tell you what," she said as her eyes brightened. "Some friends of mine from the volleyball team are having a little get together tonight. We need to let off some steam from last night. Want to come?" They had played Michigan State the previous evening and got beat three straight games.

Serena knew she had some homework to do, but she could put it off until the next day. Besides, she needed to loosen up and have a good time. "Sure, why not?"

A few minutes later, they were ready to go. It wasn't a long walk to the house off campus, perhaps only ten or fifteen minutes, but Serena enjoyed the walk. She always liked fall and the cooler temperatures it brought. As much as she liked spring and summer for playing softball, fall suited her just as well. She truly hated winter and the cold, snowy weather it brought. Sometimes, she kicked herself for turning down scholarship offers from warm weather schools such as Florida State, Texas, and U.S.C. She even turned down the University of Hawaii!!!. She knew she was crazy to do that, but she really wanted to be close to home.

Christy was her normal chatty self from the moment they left the dorm and Serena appreciated it. It was a stark contrast to trying to get Sergei to talk about himself. They reached the white, two-story structure and Christy led her in. There were perhaps twenty people milling around, guys and girls, and loud music was playing from an old stereo system. Christy introduced Serena to seven or eight of her teammates and after that, they made themselves at home.

There was a keg of beer in the kitchen and Christy offered her a glass. Serena declined, she didn't drink, and looked instead for a soft drink. Finding none, she followed Christy back to the livingroom where most everyone was gathering.

Serena found she was enjoying herself as the night wore on. The crowd didn't seem to get much bigger, but the beer was flowing and everyone was in a good mood. More than once, one of the guys would sidle up to Serena and engage her in conversation. They all seemed nice enough, but none really appealed to her.

At around eight-thirty, one of the guys, a bit drunker than the rest, came up to her as she was speaking to someone else.

"Hey there," he slurred.

Serena turned to him and could smell the alcohol on him. "Hey," she said before turning back to whom she was speaking.

"Hey!" He said it belligerently, his hand grabbing her wrist. "I was talking to you."

Serena stopped talking and looked at her wrist, then at him. "Let go of me," she said flatly. She wasn't angry, but merely annoyed. She tried to turn her wrist to wrench free, but he had a strong grip.

"Hey Mark," Christy said as she came to Serena's rescue, "let her go, man."

"I just want to talk to the bitch. What's wrong with that?" His grip became tighter.

"Come on, Mark," Christy tried to reason. She knew from past experience he could be difficult when he drank, and he had drunk quite a bit. She had seen this before.

Out of nowhere, a familiar voice said, "I think she wants you to let her go."

Now, Mark was not a big person, perhaps one hundred and eighty pounds, but when he saw the tall, thin guy talking to him, he knew he had an easy target.

Serena's head snapped in Sergei's direction as she tried to wrestle her arm away from Mark. Her eyes met his and he smiled reassuringly.

"What are you going to do about it?" Mark asked menacingly.

"Oh," replied Sergei, "I know karate and a few other Japanese words." Serena remembered him saying that to her on their first walk together. She looked at Sergei and tried to smile.

Mark let go of Serena and pushed Sergei hard in his chest. Sergei moved back a step or two, only because he allowed it. He was reeling Mark into a false sense of security. Mark moved forward and pushed Sergei again, moving him back another step.

"I don't want to fight you," Sergei said. "You just need to leave the girl alone."

"You're going to fight me," Mark spat out. "You stuck your nose where it didn't belong and you don't know who you're messing with." He came towards Sergei with clenched fists.

"Not in here," Sergei said. "I don't want your blood all over their furniture." He was baiting Mark to throw the first punch.

Mark smiled crookedly before he stepped forward and threw a punch towards Sergei's face. A girl screamed. Sergei blocked the punch with his left hand. Angered, Mark tried to throw another punch. Sergei blocked it easily with his right hand.

"We could do this all night if you like, but you're just going to get tired," Sergei said. "Why don't you leave before you get hurt?"

Incensed and frustrated over not being able to hit the thin guy, Mark tried to rush forward, but was met by Sergei's foot in his chest. He was knocked backward and almost fell down, but he was able to remain upright. The kick happened so fast that he didn't even see it, nor did most of the people watching. Serena was amazed at the speed of the delivery.

"Mark," Christy pleaded, "just go before he hurts you." She had her hand on his arm. Mark flailed away from her, his fist striking her on her forehead. She brought both hands to her head. "Damn it, Mark," she exclaimed, "you didn't have to hit me!" Serena quickly moved to her side.

Sergei's demeanor changed dramatically once he saw Christy holding her head. He strode quickly to Mark, who didn't have time to react. Sergei spun, planted his left foot, and then kicked Mark across his face with his right foot. Mark went down in a heap, falling down to his knees. Sergei reached down, grabbed Mark's hand and began applying pressure on one of the nerves, causing extreme discomfort. Mark grimaced and tried pull away, but Sergei applied more pressure.

"Now," Sergei said in a low, steady voice, "you're going to leave quietly and not come back. You haven't pissed me off, yet, but if you stay any longer, I may lose my temper."

"Okay, okay," Mark said, wincing, and suddenly more sober. "I was just fooling around. I just wanted to talk to the bitch, that's all."

Sergei's eyes narrowed and he frowned, the first expression he had made since it all began. "Okay, now I'm pissed," he said. Without warning, Sergei slapped him with an open palm and left an imprint on his cheek, all the while holding onto his hand. The blow was quite forceful as Mark's head jerked to the side.

Sergei jerked Mark's hand back with even more force. Moving towards his face, Sergei hissed, "Don't you ever call her that again! Do you understand that?"

Mark nodded, his eyes fearful. He knew the thin guy could break his wrist if he wanted to.

Sergei felt a hand on his arm and saw Serena standing next to him. She was scared, but calm as she looked at him. "I think you can let him go now," she said quietly.

Sergei looked at her, then to Mark. "You're leaving and not coming back, right?"

"Yeah."

Instantly, Sergei let his hand drop. Mark rubbed it momentarily before slowly getting up from the floor. He looked at Sergei and Serena before walking to the door and into the darkness. Sergei followed him and stayed on the porch until he saw him no more.

Serena stepped out from the house and was by his side. The October night had turned quite cold and she shivered a little. She really didn't know how to approach him. He helped her, yet he could have really hurt Mark. He didn't, but the thought of the damage he could have done to him scared her. "How did you know I was here?" she asked.

"I didn't know you were here," he replied. "I just decided to take a walk and I happened to see you at one of the windows. Things got a little crazy there for a moment, though, didn't it? Who was that idiot?"

"Some guy named Mark. I think he's friends with Christy and her friends."

"Oh." Sergei looked at her and then down to his shoes. He could see his breath. He looked back at Serena. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No," she shook her head. "He just grabbed my arm, that's all." She waited for him to say something else, but he was silent. She touched his arm. "Thanks for helping me," she said softly.

Sergei smiled. "You're welcome," he replied. He went silent again as he contemplated his next move. He put his hand over hers. It was the first time he had touched her with any type of affection and she liked it.

"About this afternoon, you didn't really have much fun, did you?"

The question caught Serena off guard and she couldn't think of an appropriate response for a second or two. "I had a good time at the game," she said, "but after that, I can't say that I did."

"I thought so," he said.

"I don't know," Serena went on, "you just didn't seem to have any interest in anything I had to say, as if I wasn't important or interesting."

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, "I didn't mean to. I just had a lot of things on my mind today."

"What's going on?" she asked. Serena zipped up her sweat jacket.

Sergei evaded the issue. "I really don't want to talk about it right now."

"It might help," Serena countered. "I'm a pretty good listener."

"I'm sure you are," he replied. "I just don't want to talk about it to anyone." He leaned against the wooden column on the porch and stared out into space.

"Okay," she said softly. "Why don't you come in? It's kind of chilly out."

"I think I'll stay out here for a while." Secretly, he hoped she'd stay there with him.

"Well, I'll be inside," she said, a bit sad. She still couldn't understand why he was so reluctant to talk to her.

As she turned to go in, she heard Sergei say quietly, "Wait a minute, Serena." He truly didn't want to be alone at that time.

With her hand on the door handle, she turned back and said, "Yes?"

"Maybe Ido need to talk about it." His shoulders were slumped and he was clearly uncomfortable with what he was about to say. It was never easy for him to talk about his family, but he sensed Serena's confusion throughout the day. He was starting to like her a lot and he didn't want to push her away.

With her hands inside her pockets, Serena came back to him and stood a few feet away, waiting patiently for him to begin.

Sergei avoided her eyes as he looked to his feet and then out towards the street. "It's kind of hard to talk about," he said quietly, almost in a whisper. "From what you've said about your family, they're pretty neat."

"Yes, they are. I love them to death."

"Well, I don't come from such a cozy environment," he admitted. "Both of my parents are functioning alcoholics. My mom called me last night, drunk as a skunk, complaining that my dad beat her again. She wanted me to come home, but I really didn't want to." He looked off into space again. "I mean, what good would it do? He's not going to stop beating her and they're not going to stop drinking."

Sergei hesitated and sighed, his shoulders slumping again. "Anyway, I went back to Springfield for the night and he had done a good job on her; a black eye and a busted lip." Serena's jaw dropped. "Oh, he's done worse," he laughed sarcastically.

"Why does she stay with him?"

"She loves him," Sergei replied with a straight face.

"How could she still love him?" Serena didn't think she could ever understand that.

"I don't know..." His voice trailed off.

"Can't you do something to stop him?"

"What? Beat him up?" Sergei laughed softly at the irony. "I've stepped between them a few times and stopped him before it got really bad, but he just beat her up worse after I left."

"What about the police? They could charge him with domestic violence or assault." Serena was very confused.

"Who would pay the bills if he got locked up? Mom doesn't work, never did. Lovely situation, isn't it?"

"It's terrible."

"I know."

Sergei and Serena's attention was interrupted by the sound of breaking glass and laughter coming from within the house.

"So," he continued, "I came back early this morning and I guess I wasn't in the best of moods with you. I'm really sorry for that. I shouldn't have let what happened at home affect how I feel about you."

Serena let the words go through her and waited for him to continue, but he fell silent. She now knew why he was so reticent to talk about himself. She was now more interested in him than ever and wanted to know more about him.

A gust of wind swept through, chilling Serena and making her wish for them to be inside. The cold didn't seem to bother Sergei as he was wearing a flannel shirt and jeans. The wind barely ruffled his wavy hair, but his eyes blinked behind his glasses.

After the wind settled down, Serena asked, "What do you feel about me?"

Sergei seemed surprised by the question, but he smiled to himself. She was always asking questions of his thoughts and feelings. It was her nature, he guessed. Always a very private person, he resented, at first, all of the questions she asked, but he now realized she was interested in him and not trying to pry. A smile peeked from the corners of his narrow mouth. He just knew she was going to ask that. If anything, she was consistent. He laughed lightly.

"What?" Serena asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," he said as he shook his head. "You just ask so many questions, that's all."

"I just want to know you better," she said truthfully.

"I figured that one out."

"Is there something wrong with me asking you questions?"

"No. No, there isn't. At least, there shouldn't be. I just don't like to talk about myself, my feelings. I come from a family where thoughts and feelings aren't discussed unless it's based from anger."

"I see."

"It's not like I don't want to talk to you about things. I just don't know how."

"Okay, I can understand you not being able to talk about your feelings and thoughts, but you seemed so indifferent, so disinterested in me this afternoon. It was as if it didn't matter what I said or did. I might as well have been talking to myself." Serena's arms were folded in front of her. She glad to get that out.

A frown appeared on Sergei's face and he looked genuinely sad. "Yeah, I guess I wasn't much of a date, was I?" He looked at her and tried to smile. Even though she seemed angry with him, he thought she still looked pretty. "I don't have much of a role model when it comes to treating a girl. It looks like I'll have to work on that."

Sergei glanced down at his shoes. "Would you still consider going out with me?" he asked without looking up. "I don't drink and I promise not to beat you up." He managed a small smile as he slowly looked up. His eyes met hers and she was smiling at him.

Serena found it odd that he would joke about something as depressing and bad as his parents' personal lives, but she felt she could trust him more now, that he wasn't intentionally trying to be mean to her. She thought there was a lot of good within Sergei that was trying to get out and she was willing to go out on a limb for him.

"I think I can handle going out with you again," she replied as her hand touched his arm once again.

Sergei sighed, exhaling audibly. "Good," he said softly, happy that she still liked him.

* * * * *

The coolness of October gave way to the snow and cold of late November. As Thanksgiving approached, it was clear that the Midwest was going to be hit hard that winter. Snow and cold blanketed Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan since early in the month and Serena found it necessary to stay in Bloomington until her break instead of risking the travel back to Ohio beforehand.

Andy and Jenny had not had any more times alone since their first weekend together. Although they wished for it to happen again, it was still fresh in their memories and that sustained them. They would celebrate Thanksgiving in their own homes, Jenny's mom insisted upon it, but they had plenty of time throughout the break to get together. During the time since they made love, it seemed that it only brought them closer together, if that was possible, and their bond became stronger than ever.