Chapter 24

Into Another World Chapter 24

“So, Pitt’s finest, you can start playing again,” Dr. Carr stated before continuing on. “Now, ‘play’, is a very general word. What I mean by play, is go out to practice, run, do a few drills, but don’t sprint. You can jump and all that fun stuff, but no sprinting for a few more weeks,” my doctor concluded, writing me a note with all the information he just threw at me.

Apparently my knee was the best thing Dr. Carr’s seen since… well he couldn’t remember. I thought that was pretty miraculous, seeing as I have an extremely low pain tolerance, but Sidney says he almost expected it from me. He says I’m a fighter; I’d like to think I am, and if he thinks so, then I must be, seeing as he’s always right.

“So just go see your physical therapist once more to have him check you out and make sure he’s done with you, and if you have any questions, I’m sure Todd’ll know,” he finished, opening the door to walk out. “And Mr. Crosby, I’ll be watching you play Washington tonight,” he said with a wink before walking out of the room completely.

I looked over at Sidney and his scruffy playoff beard that was beginning to get a little greasy, and jumped onto his lap before he could get out of his seat. I straddled his torso, something I hadn’t done in a long time, and kissed his neck, trying my best to avoid his beard.

The feeling I had was indescribable. I felt like running down the hallway screaming at the top of my lungs. I felt like skipping through a field of daisies, and most of all, I felt like going home with Sidney and doing some pre-game warm-ups.

“Did you hear that? I can run, I can play, and I can jump. I can do anything,” I said, smiling what seemed like the biggest smile ever.

“I see that,” he said with a slight smile and a hint of sarcasm to his voice, but I ignored it and pulled him out of the chair after I stood up, leading him down the hall to the checkout counter where I paid my co-pay and bound into the elevator all within five minutes.

Once the elevator doors were shut, I kissed Sidney with the most passion I’ve felt for anything in a long time. I separated myself from him when the elevator came to a stop, and he had a completely bewildered look sketched across his face.

“There’s more where that came from,” I said with a wink and a tap on his huge ass before walking out of the elevator with some swing to my hips. I never quite realized how much I swung my hips until I couldn’t do it with my brace and now that it was gone, I was going to be back to normal.

“I have an appointment with Ken in about an hour,” I stated once we got out to his car. “Drive me?” I asked with a cute little smile and a kiss on his lips. I knew he wouldn’t say no to me either way, but I figured I’d give him some sort of incentive. He looked at me with burning eyes and I could tell he was willing to do anything for me at that given moment. Love.

“Do you have time to, oh, I don’t know,” he started, shrugging his shoulders and glancing at the ground before looking back at me with those same burning eyes. “Maybe do some extracurricular things before your appointment?”

“Ohh, what do you have in mind?” I asked, catching his drift and drawing closer to him, placing my arms around his neck. I could feel his hands slide across my ass and give it a quick squeeze before he looped his fingers through my belt loops and pulled my hips closer to him.

“Use that creative mind of yours,” he said, kissing my neck. I craned my head away from his lips, relishing the feeling his lips created on my skin.

“I might possibly have time… if we hurry on back to your place,” I said, letting out a small moan of contentment, feeling his hands run across the bare skin above my jeans and below my shirt.

“Who said anything about going back home?” he asked with a devilish grin, backing me into the side of his Range Rover and running his hands up and down my sides under my shirt.

As much as my mind was telling me, ‘Abort abort! Bad idea!’, I really, really, wanted to have hot sex with him in the back of his car for the second time, but this time I wouldn’t have a big brace hindering me. This time with a purpose, not just because he was in a good mood. This time because I wanted him, and he wanted me. This time, because I’ve never felt more for someone in my life.

He opened the door to the Range Rover while I wasn’t paying attention and began to back me inside. I was sitting on the seat with my legs still dangling out the door when he began to pull at my shirt, but before he could get it off, I pulled him into the Range Rover with me and shut the door.

-

“You have a certain… glow about you today…” Ken said when I walked, yes walked, into physical therapy on that breezy May day.

“Uh, yeah…” I sat down on my usual table and rolled my pant leg up for him to look at my knee for my final physical therapy, hopefully, ever.

“Why are you so sweaty?” he suddenly asked, pulling on my leg to make sure the ligament healed the way it was supposed to.

“I’m just super excited that I get to play…?” I said it almost like a question, and Ken, with his super senses, picked up on the fact that I was lying almost immediately

“Whatever you say Mrs. Crosby…” he stated, smiling his impish little smile that I had seen way too much of in the past three months.

“We’re not married, Ken,” I snapped at him, losing my patience with his childish little games.

“Alright. Let me know when you two DO get married. I want to see proof of this.”

“Oh you’ll get proof. I’ll send you our wedding picture, SIGNED by one Sidney Crosby,” I stated with a smirk. “And I’ll be back, with the Stanley Cup in tow, when they win.”

“Whatever you say. Anyway, your knee. This is the best post-op knee I’ve ever seen. Ever. Let me emphasize that. EVER. You can thank your genes for that,” Ken said with slight shock to his voice. It’s kind of ironic, seeing as all I ever did when I was younger was complain about how I got all the bad genes in the family, and now, these bad genes, were coming in handy.

“Thanks?” I said it almost like a question, wondering if there was some hidden insult behind what he was saying.

“No I’m serious,” he stated, stepping away from the table and looking at me with that look that made me blush no matter how much I looked away. I wanted to slap him across the face when he did that. He’s married for God’s sake and hello, I’m dating Sidney Crosby.

“Well, thanks. Sid’s waiting for me in the car, so I’ll see you around,” I said, sliding off the table and walking out the door, for the last time, pulling on my jacket as I went. I was finally rid of that place for good. I never had to go back in there again. I never had to do leg lifts or calf raises ever again. I was free of my knee. I felt like flying.

Chapter 23

Without further ado, Chapter 23. :)

By March, my crutches were completely gone and I was walking only with the help of a big brace. I had been wearing sweatpants for the past 3 months, but once March rolled around, I started getting a little crazy and wore jeans for the first time in months. Oh and I shaved, which was slightly miraculous. My leg hair had started to look like man-hair. You try shaving with a big brace. It’s just easier to ignore it.

“You look cute,” Sid said to me as I hobbled down the stairs one at a time. We were going out to a movie, an actual date.

“Thanks.” I replied, giving him a peck on the cheek once I reached the bottom of the stairs a few moments later. “I hate this stupid brace. I hate my knee.” I said, looking down at it.

“Oh hush. I will not have you ruining my night,” he said with an impish grin before kissing me again. “Now hurry up, we’re going to miss our movie.”

“You’re asking me to hurry? I can only go so fast Crosby.”

“Well by all means, take your time,” he stated with a giggle before opening the door so I could hobble out and down the stairs, once again, one at a time. “I’m pretty positive a snail could beat you.”

“Shut up!” I yelled at him, smiling, still making my way down the stairs. “Just because it could doesn’t mean you have to point it out. Asshole.”

“You know, you’re moving way too slow.”

Before I knew it, I was being picked up off the ground and thrown over his shoulder. My knee honestly never entered my mind. I just didn’t want to fall and bust my head open.

“Sidney Crosby! Put me down!” I shrieked, wrapping my arms around his torso so he couldn’t drop me and digging my hands into his shirt.

“Jess, be quiet, people will think I’m murdering you,” he said, trying to suppress one of his girly giggles.

“Help help!” I screamed as loud as I could before he shoved me into the SUV and closed the door behind me. I was laughing uncontrollably now and he was turning a shade of pink as he opened the driver’s side door. I just smiled at him when he looked at me.

“I hate you,” he stated with a slight smile as he put the car into reverse and headed towards the theater. I kept looking at him even as he drove. Whenever there was a traffic jam or he wasn’t going to make a light, he bit his lower lip and glanced in the rearview mirror. I wanted to reach over and run my hand down his jaw line, to feel the stubble that was beginning to grow for the playoffs, still a week away.

“Sidney,” I started, reaching over to fulfill my wish. “You’re so cute.” I smiled at him as he took his chocolate eyes off the road for a split second to look at me.

“That’s it? All I get is a ‘You’re cute?’” he asked me, playfully hitting my good knee.

“After you dragged me across your yard, you’re lucky I didn’t just drop your ass,” I said, laughing at his facial expression. He looked slightly surprised that I would ever say something like that. Evidence that I was getting to be myself again. This surgery took so much out of me. I didn’t even feel like myself the past 3 months.

“Well-I,” he stammered, trying to come up with the words.

“That’s right, be afraid,” I said growling a little and making a face at him before turning in my seat to face straight ahead again. I could feel his eyes darting back and forth from the road to me and I could feel him smiling at me, willing me to turn and look at him. I wasn’t going to give in to his little mind game, so I kept my eyes straight ahead, like I didn’t even notice that he was looking at me. Once we got to a red light, his hand made its way onto my thigh and up my leg. Only then did I turn to face him, and when I did, his lips were suddenly on mine.

The car horn behind brought us out of what he had just created, and honestly, I didn’t want it to end.

Sidney!” I scolded, hitting him across the arm. “Eyes on the road. What’s wrong with you?” I mocked, laughing at the expression on his face when the car honked. I’m sure they could probably see our silhouettes going at it, which is slightly embarrassing on all accounts.

“You’re what’s wrong with me Jess! You drive me crazy!” he said, taking his eyes off the road again and smiling at me. I grinned at him before pecking him on the cheek when he turned his head forward again.

“Thanks,” was all I could think of. I love you didn’t quite fit, and kissing him would be a little too much, so I just sat back in my seat and waited until we got to the movie theater.

We ended up seeing I Love You, Man, a movie Sidney insisted upon. I was not so sure about it, but he convinced me that I’d love it, and miracle of all miracles, I did. Sometimes it surprised me how often he was right, not just about me, but about everything. He practically knew me inside and out… literally. I wanted to be with him forever, but I knew that wasn’t likely. I always had a tendency to get bored with people, but so far, he was doing fine. I wasn’t bored. Maybe it was the fact that I went through such a life shaking experience with him that he’s just become my crutch, metaphorically and physically. I can’t even say how many times he carried me to the bathroom and up the stairs to my room. I wouldn’t have made it anywhere without him. Maybe we would be together forever, as lame as that sounds. It's what I wanted.

Chapter 22

This is a pretty fluffy chapter, but I figured I'd update it before I leave for Maine. I know I've been totally neglecting this story, so I'd feel really bad if when I leave for a week and half, I hadn't updated it. Anyway, enjoy! (:
-Jenna


On February 15th, 2009, a few days after my worrisome physical therapy, the Pittsburgh Penguins fired Michel Therrien and hired, in his place, Dan Bylsma, as Interim Head Coach. All of the guys, Sidney included, thought he was exactly what the team needed. I had started to go to their games again, dragging my brace with me. Mario and Nathalie were always happy to see me, saying that if I wasn’t there for Sidney during the losing streak, they didn’t know what he would have done. I always smiled and thanked them graciously.

The first game I went back to, I watched them lose to New York in a shootout, the first game Byslma coached. Compared to how they had been playing, like students from a school for the blind, they looked amazing.

I hobbled down to the locker room after the game, expecting the worst from him, but I got a happy, smiling, Sidney. Not grumpy, I-hate-the-world, Sidney.

“You look beautiful,” he said, wrapping me up in a hug.

“Thanks. You do know you lost, right?” I questioned, slightly confused.

“Yeah, but you did see how we played, didn’t you!?” he exclaimed, holding me away from him. “What’d I tell you about us turning it around?” he asked excitedly. I thought for a minute he was going to pick me up off the ground, and then I’d have to start screaming.

“You’re right, you guys did play amazing,” I said. He pulled me back to him again, burying his face in my hair.

“Let’s go back to my place,” he whispered in my ear, nipping at it a little.

“Sidney, I don’t know…” I trailed off, looking at his pleading face. I knew all too well what would go down at his house, and I wasn’t too sure I wanted to take part in it, but then again, he was in a good mood. I guess I had to take advantage of it. “Fine.”

“I need a little more enthusiasm than that once we get home,” he said, kissing my neck. I figured I’d play along.

“Oh Sidney! I’ve never wanted you more!” I practically yelled in the hallway, causing it to echo and reverberate off the walls. I even threw in a moan for effect. Everyone in the hallway looked at us and whistled. Sidney flushed a shade of pink and I just laughed at him. “You set yourself up for that one.”


“Shut up,” he growled in my ear, dragging me down the hallway and out to his car. “You’ll pay for that.”

“Oh, I’m so scared,” I joked, hopping up into the Range Rover.

“You should be,” he said, starting the car.

“I am,” I said with mock seriousness, as he leaned over to kiss me, burning a fire on my lips. “Oh God, you haven’t kissed me like that in a long time,” I whispered, taking his face in my hands once he pulled away. “Where have you been all this time?”

“Vacation,” he uttered quickly before kissing me again with even more fire. “Forget going home,” he said against my neck, and before I knew it, we were in the trunk of his car, getting undressed. I wanted to say that someone could and would walk by, someone would see us, but this passion? I hadn’t felt this in at least 2 months. Maybe it was the fact that I was on crutches for 6 weeks, or the fact that the Penguins lost almost every game they played, but now I had my Sidney back, and I didn’t intend to let him go.
-
I was curled up against Sidney, my eyes closed, after the best sex of my life, when I heard a tap on the glass. I couldn’t exactly see who it was; the windows were fogged up like in those sappy love movies. I never actually thought that that would happen, but apparently it happens. Sidney sat up and looked at the blurry figure illuminated by the harsh street lights standing outside the car.

“Hold on,” he murmured to me, sitting up and pulling his shirt and pants on. He crawled up to the front seat and turned the key once in the ignition before rolling the window down, letting the cold February air rush through the car, and revealing one Kris Letang.

“Dude. Why are you so sweaty?” was the first thing out of his mouth when he saw Sidney.

“Duh, we just played a hockey game…” Sidney said, blushing and trailing off.

“Jess’s in there isn’t she?” he asked, sticking his head through the window and looking back in my direction. I ducked behind the last row of seats and listened.

“No,” Sidney said a little too quickly.

“She is. I hope you used our gifts,” Kris said with a snigger. His gifts? What gifts?

I heard a sigh and assumed it was Sidney’s. “Yeah man, I did.”

“I knew it,” he exclaimed, like in those detective games when they find out Ms. Scarlett killed someone in the ballroom with a revolver.

“What’d you want?” Sidney asked, exasperated.

“Just to see if you were in here,” he said. “I thought you’d left and I saw your car and didn’t know if you had.”

“I haven’t left yet, thanks for asking. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Sidney said, rolling up the window with Kris’s head still inside.

“Bye Jess!” he called into the car. I forgot I was hiding for a second and answered.

“Bye Kris.” Dumb.

“Ha! You think I’m dumb. See you later man,” Kris said, pulling his head out of the window and walking away.

Sidney crawled back into the backseat with me and wrapped me up in his arms, burying his face in my hair.

“Mmm, I love you,” he mumbled. “I know I haven’t said that enough lately, but I really do. Don’t ever doubt it.”

“I know,” I replied, snuggling closer to him. “I love you too.”

Chapter 20

“Sidney Crosby is a wuss,” was all Ken said to me when I walked, more like hobbled, into Physical Therapy on a bright day, early in February. The Steelers had just won the Super Bowl and all of Pittsburgh was riding high except for the members of the Penguins, who continued their atrocious losing streak.

“Ken! Stop insulting my boyfriend. My God,” I said with exasperation as Dan, a physical therapist in training, led me to my usual table. He gave me a sympathetic look as if to say, “I’m sorry he’s such a dick.” I actually didn’t mind being teased. It made physical therapy so much easier to get through.

“So how’s school going?” Dan asked as he got me everything I needed for my exercises.

“Horrible,” I sighed. “I can’t get anything done because of this stupid brace. It’s just too hard to get everything together. And Sidney hasn’t been in a great mood lately because of how they’re losing, so I feel bad if I ask him…” I trailed off. I was making myself sad about everything that had been happening. My grades were slipping, and Sid and I hadn’t been doing too well, what with the team’s losing. He always came home in a bad mood and I was always scared to bother him.

“It’ll get better,” Dan said before walking off to help another patient. I did my exercises with thoughts flying through my head about Sidney and I and where we stood relationship-wise. Our relationship was still intact, I mean, we had sex almost everyday, but that was usually a direct result of him yelling at me about minding my own business when I asked about his games, and then some 20 minutes him later apologizing to me. But sex isn’t everything in a relationship. Our communication level had dropped tremendously. It seemed like he was always in a bad mood, and I never wanted to bother him. My thoughts were then interrupted by Ken coming over to work out my knee.

“How’re you doing Miss Crosby!?” he boomed at me as he walked up. I had taken to wearing a Penguins shirt or a Crosby shirt every time I went to physical therapy.

“Fine,” I snapped at him before surrendering my knee to him.

“Ohh, a little touchy today are we?” he asked mockingly. I glared at him and he recoiled a bit. “Sorry, sorry. So, how’s the knee been? Giving you any trouble?”

“No,” I said with a huge sigh for emphasis. I plopped myself back on the table and let my head rest on the pillow.

“Then what’s the problem?” he asked, concerned.

“Nothing’s the problem,” I said with a grimace as he began to stretch my knee.

“Trouble in paradise?” he asked with a laugh and a smile.

“Not really…” I trailed off. I wasn’t about to talk to Ken about Sid. He hated him. There was silence for awhile as Ken worked on my knee.

“Did he give you that necklace?” he asked, pushing on my knee. One thing about Ken is that he had the eyes of a hawk. He definitely noticed when I wore my Sidney Crosby brand sweatpants and that brought on the ongoing argument about who’s better. Ovechkin or Crosby.

“Yes. He did,” I replied stiffly. “It was a Christmas gift.”

“He obviously cares about you if he’s taken care of you during your surgery, and as a plus, he got you that necklace.”

“Alright Ken. How about I ask about your personal life now? So how’s the wife?” I said sarcastically with an edge to my voice.

“Barbara’s fine,” he replied. I just sat there in stunned silence. Ken and Barbara? Barbie and Ken? Honestly?

“Your wife’s name is Barbara?” I asked in amazement.

“Yeah,” he said, giving me a look. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Uh, Barbie and Ken? Ever heard that one before?” I asked, raising my eyebrows at him. Dan had wandered back over by now and was doubled over in laughter.
“Oh, good one Crosby,” he mocked. “I’m sure before you actually met Sidney, you had a poster of him on your ceiling and everyday you’d wake up and say, ‘Good morning Sidney! I love you!’ and blow him a kiss.” Dan was now on the floor in laughter and I was on the verge of tears, laughing so hard. All of this nonsense took away from the fact that my life was falling apart. I looked forward to going to physical therapy and joking around with Ken and Dan. It was an escape from the arguments that were waiting for me back at Sidney’s house.
-
“Sidney?” I called timidly when I walked into his house a few hours later. I knew he was there somewhere, they didn’t have practice. I walked down the hall and into the living room where I saw him on the couch, hands over his face. “Sidney?” I asked again, this time a little softer. He sat up and looked at me, surprised by my entrance.

“Hey babe,” he said, getting up from where he was sitting and greeting me with a kiss. I was surprised, to say the least, by his gesture. I stepped back and looked at him. He looked a little weary and tired.

“What’s wrong?” I asked concerned.

“Nothing’s wrong. I actually think that things are going to turn around for us here in the next few weeks.”

“You’re sure?” I asked, skeptical.

“Weren’t you the one who said nothing’s ever for sure?” he countered, making me laugh a little at what I said about my knee. “I just have a feeling. Go with me on this one, OK?”

“That’s what I’m here for,” I said as he pulled me into a massive hug.

Chapter 13

Jess’s Point of View
The few days we had left before leaving for Atlanta were spent driving around Southern Virginia. We went down to Virginia Beach and wandered along the deserted boardwalk, just enjoying each others company, chasing the seagulls, and scaring the ghost crabs that came out when it began to get dark. The next day was spent in Williamsburg, wandering through the colonial houses, many of which were haunted, and fighting the chill that was constantly trying to break through our coats. That place was so magical, with all the old houses and cute gardens, the wind whipping my hair around. At one point, Sid had said, “I love being here with you. You know I’ll never leave you, but Jess, don’t ever leave me.” And then kissed me deeply and passionately right there in front of the Governor’s Palace on the lawn. Many people passing by whistled, but I didn’t care. All that mattered was Sid, and how close we were to saying those three little, so carelessly thrown about, words that meant so much.
-
On the 17th, our flight left relatively early; around 9:00 in the morning, but with airport security and all that nonsense, we had to wake up around 6:00 and be there by 7:00.
“Bye Mommy,” I said, hugging her close. “I’m going to miss you so much.”
“Bye Jess, be good, and please, be careful,” she said, her eyebrows wrinkling a little with worry. Mitch was next in line for a goodbye.
“I’ll talk to you later Mitch. Text me if any girls get on your nerves,” I said with a smile as he enveloped me in a hug. My dad was last in the procession. Sid was taking everything out to the car while exchanges were being made and I could see him coming back up the front walk.
“Daddy, thank you for everything you’ve done,” I said, hugging him, my head against his chest.
“Bye Sweetie,” he said, and then to Sid as he walked in the door, “Take care of her.”
Sid nodded, a smile dancing on his lips, and took my hand. “I loved seeing everyone! Have a nice Christmas. I’ll miss you,” I said with a smile, and I could feel my eyes welling up. This would be my first Christmas away from them, and just the thought made me sad. I couldn’t stand to be there anymore, I had to leave then, before the waterworks started.
-
Sid and I boarded the plane at exactly 9:00. We had to make a detour when I got hungry and wanted something else to eat, and then again when I decided I should go to the bathroom one last time before getting on the plane. I hated public bathrooms, especially when they were flying through the air at hundreds of miles per hour.
“You two just barely made it!” said a hostess with a stiff smile glued to her face and perfectly coifed hair. When I looked at her I pictured Airplane Barbie from Toy Story 2.
I just looked at her and tried to keep myself from laughing. I would hate to have her job. We found our seats in the business class as the engines started up. Sid started talking about what we would do when we got to Atlanta, but really, I didn’t want to plan anything. I’m more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type, and making plans just wasn’t my style. His words eventually put me to sleep, and he was left to create his own form of entertainment.
After what seemed like minutes, I felt a strong hand on my shoulder shaking me awake, and a cute Canadian voice telling me it was time to get up.
“Are we there already?” I asked groggily while simultaneously wiping the drool off of my chin with a napkin Sid handed me.
“You know, you’re really cute when you sleep,” Sid said, a devilish grin on his face, his voice dripping with sarcasm. I of all people knew how ugly I look when I sleep: mouth wide open, and drool spilling out of my mouth in what could be compared to a waterfall.
“Oh shut up,” I snapped. “You didn’t take pictures of me did you!?” It was a hobby of all of my friends whenever I fell asleep in class.
Sid genuinely had a good laugh at that one. “No, I didn’t,” he said, still giggling that cute, endearing laugh of his. I had to smile.
“OK, well, if you didn’t take pictures of me this whole time, what did you do?” I asked. After all, I was asleep the whole time.
“Oh, I just played my PSP,” he said, embarrassment mixed in his voice. I looked up at him from where I was leaning over to get my bag out from under my seat, and just stared at him.
“Mitch plays PSP,” was all I said with a straight face. For a second, I knew he couldn’t tell if I was being serious or playing around, but once I smiled at him, he knew I was only joking, and his face crinkled up into a smile of its own. “You think I care if you play some videogame?” I asked.
“Well, I wasn’t sure for a second,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.
“I honestly don’t care what you do, as long as you’re here with me,” I said with a smile as I stood up in my seat, stretching my arms and shaking out my bad knee. Sid stood up with me and kissed me on the cheek.
“I’ll follow you anywhere,” he whispered in my ear before pulling away. “Drool and all,” he joked as he got his bag down out of the overhead carrier.
“That’s so not funny!” I said with a laugh, and punched him lightly in the arm. He feigned injury and said, “I still like you, don’t worry, even if you did just cripple me for good.”
“So now I really know what all those other players mean when they say you whine,” I said, forming my lips into an “o” to emphasize the insult I’d just dealt him.
He put his hand to his chest and said, “That was a blow to my self-esteem.”
“Suck it up,” I said with a smile as we began to file out of the plane.
We wandered down to the baggage claim, hand in hand, still bantering back and forth. We got our bags without any trouble and Sid, once again, had to rent the biggest possible SUV, even though we wouldn’t need the car long; his teammates were meeting us later that day when they arrived in the city. We finally got out of the airport and were on our way to the hotel after Sid signed about 80 autographs.
“Turn here!” I yelled, laughing at the same time. I had realized that Sid was horrible with directions, and I wasn’t much better. “Turn right!”
“No! It’s the next one! I’m sure of it!” he yelled back.
“I’ll bet you,” I said, a smile on my face.
“You’re on. What’re the stakes?” he asked, taking his eyes off of the road for a second to look at me.
“Winner has the loser do an act of their choice,” I said, a smile creeping across my lips. “Kind of like a dare.”
Turns out, he was right. We had to turn left at the next street up and come back at the hotel because of all the one way streets. “Well Mr. Crosby, I think you’ve just earned your merit badge in navigation,” I said as we pulled up to the hotel. He just smirked at me, probably coming up with some sort of torturous thing for me to do later, and jumped down out of his seat when we came to a stop. I walked around the back of the SUV and asked, “So, what are we doing now?”
“Well, first, we need a room. Then I need to decide what you’ll do for me, and then we can go get lunch. How does that sound?” he said with a laugh and his signature grin.
“Fine, but I’m not doing anything ridiculous Sid. Nothing involving me naked in public…” I replied, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. His lips were lingering on mine, and his hand had moved to my belt loop, pulling me towards him. I let him deepen the kiss, but when he set down the bag he was holding to have another free hand, I pulled away. He let out a soft growl.
“Jess…” he whined like a little kid.
“We’re standing outside a hotel in a city I’ve never been to. Try and behave yourself,” I said with a playful tone, tugging slightly on the shirt he was wearing, and putting it back into place. “It’ll happen, and don’t forget I’ll do anything you want.” I was getting in deep now and I knew it.
We wandered into the elaborately decorated hotel lobby and checked ourselves in, saying we were with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The girl behind the desk looked a bit skeptical.
“What’s your name?” she asked Sid. I guess they had a list of people who were on the team.
“Sidney Crosby,” he said in a hushed tone, probably to keep from drawing attention to himself. The girl’s eyes widened and she flushed a light pink, probably from the embarrassment of not recognizing him, but Sid didn’t seem to mind. He actually looked quite amused. Her eyes flashed to me and back to Sid. “She’s with me,” Sid said, wrapping his arm around my waist and twining his fingers in a belt loop, bringing me to his side. He placed a kiss on my temple and the girl blushed even more.
“I’m so sorry Mr. Crosby,” she apologized.
“It’s not a problem,” Sid said as he signed for something.
“Really, it’s my mistake.” She apologized profusely for the next two minutes until we had our key in hand and were walking away. I could still here her behind us, muttering to herself.
“So where’s our room?” I asked, curious.
“Uh, 817? The guys’ rooms should be near ours,” he said as we walked down the hallway on the 8th floor until we reached 817. Sid opened the door to an extravagantly decorated living room. Off on the side was another room with one of the biggest beds I had ever seen in my life, topped with pillows and down blankets. I squealed like a little girl and ran and jumped onto it, face first, pillows flying everywhere. Sid laughed and set the bags down before joining me on the bed, minus the jumping. I had turned myself over and was on my back now, laughing hysterically, looking up at the canopy above the bed. We sunk down into the softness of the bed, pillows and blankets billowing up around us. Sid was laughing now, watching me as I rolled around in all the pillows and blankets like a four year old hopped up on cake and ice cream.
-
Sid’s Point of View
“I love your laugh,” I said, kissing her when she had calmed down enough to lay flat on her back.
“Mmm, I love your lips,” she said into my mouth before I silenced her words seconds later with another kiss. “What else do you like about me?” she suddenly asked, curious, pulling herself away from me and sitting up amongst with the abundance of pillows.
I let out a soft moa, but obliged to her request. “Well, I like your wildly crazy hair,” I said, putting my hand to her face. “And that smile you’ve got going right now has got to be one of the best I’ve seen, besides Flower’s that is,” I joked. “And your courage,” I continued, serious. “Your courage is absolutely staggering. You’re having this surgery, but that doesn’t even seem to bother you. You’re here, with me, rolling around in a bed full of pillows instead of moping around about what could happen. You just take life as it comes, for good or bad, and that’s what I like about you,” I finished, pulling at a feather that was sticking out of a pillow. When I looked up at her, her eyes were burning and the next thing I knew, she was on top of me.
-
Jess’s Point of View
I leaned forward, towards him, and kissed him passionately. He deepened the kiss to the point where I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I pulled away only long enough to take a breath before I dove back into him, my hands under his shirt, wandering over his abs. His hands were searching my body, roaming from my breasts to my butt. When they reached the hem of my shirt, he pulled it up and over my head, revealing my bra. I, in turn, pulled his shirt over his head, and began to place kisses on his torso. His mouth was on my neck, but his hands were fumbling with the button of my jeans. He got them undone and was sliding them off, when I put my hand on his, keeping him from pulling them all the way off.
He looked at me with those deep hazel eyes filled with desire, and whispered, “Jess, I dare you.”

Chapter 10

Sid’s Point of View
We arrived in Philly around11, and after getting checked in and settled, it was almost midnight. Jess was lying on the bed watching TV and I was organizing the suitcases in the corner, but by the time I had turned around to join her on the bed, she was out; mouth open and everything. I just laughed to myself as I changed into a pair of pajamas. She still had her street clothes on and I wasn’t sure if I should wake her. I figured she should be comfortable after a 5 hour drive, so I leaned over and nudged her awake. “What? What is it?” were the first words out of her mouth.
“Here, put something else on to wear to bed,” I said.
“Huh? OK,” she mumbled all in one so it sounded like, “Huhkay.” I pulled a shirt of mine out of my suitcase and handed it to her as she pulled the shirt she had on over her head. There was that polka-dotted bra again, before she slipped the shirt I had handed her over her head and fallen back down on the bed. I was hooked, and I knew it. This girl had me, and I don’t even think she knew how far I’d fallen.
-
The next day, after our embarrassing 3-6 loss to Philly and getting everything together from the hotel, Jess said that we had to go visit her uncle before we left. We had the bus stop at the airport so we could rent a car that would get us to her uncle’s and back to the airport. I said goodbye to my teammates and told them I’d see them in Atlanta. I was in a bad mood the whole time, grumbling on and on about how every time we had a game at 1 in the afternoon, we lost. She directed me down towards the Ben Franklin Bridge, and had me get off at the last possible exit before heading over the bridge to New Jersey. We pulled up to an upscale looking building and walked into the lobby where her uncle was waiting for her.
“Jess! How’re you? Your mother said you’d be here, but I can’t figure out…” he trailed off as he saw me. I stepped forward to introduce myself.
“Hey. Sidney Crosby, nice to meet you,” I said extending a hand. He glanced at Jess who shrugged and smiled before reaching out a hand of his own and saying, “Patrick Farrell. This is really an honor. So are you dating my niece?” he prodded.
“Well sir, I’d like to think so,” I said lacing my fingers in Jess’s as she blushed.
“So do you have time to do something? Or do you have to leave?”
“Well, actually,” Jess said, “we’re heading down to Yorktown before I have my surgery. Sid has a game against Atlanta on the 18th, so we figured we’d stop off there, but before we leave, I’m feeling some ice cream.”
-
We walked about five minutes out the back door of his building and down a little alley before we came to Franklin’s Fountain, apparently one of the oldest ice cream shops in the country complete with old fans turned by actual fan belts, an extremely old fashioned telephone with separate ear and mouth piece and an assortment of old-fashioned candy. “I once ate a whole banana-split from here when I was 16. It was amazing,” Jess said as we walked into the ice cream shop. “Let’s get one. It’ll probably be the best thing you will ever taste in your life.”
“I can’t. I don’t eat junk food, or sweets or anything like that. I can’t,” I said sheepishly. Her mouth hung open as she looked at me.
“Are you serious? I definitely couldn’t be a professional hockey player. I have no self-control or self-discipline. You’ll be lucky if you can get me to work out. Whatever, I’m ordering one, and if you want any of mine, you’d better speak now.”
“Why?” I was genuinely curious now.
“Oh, you’ll see,” she said with a smile.
She proceeded to order the most expensive and biggest banana split I had ever seen in my life; 6 scoops of ice cream, two each of chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla, two whole bananas thrown in there somewhere, pineapple and walnut toppings, and to finish it off, two cherries perched on the center mound of ice cream. I had to admit, my mouth was watering and I really did want some, but as she started eating it, I realized I wouldn’t have had the chance to eat any even if I could. It was gone in 2 minutes flat. That’s what she meant by speak now. “I told you you’d better ask beforehand,” she said as she sat back in her chair like an old man wearing suspenders would in the movies.
“And you don’t feel sick now?”
“Not really… This ice cream doesn’t fill me up for some reason.”
“You obviously haven’t seen her in action,” he uncle chipped in. “She could eat for days without stopping.” Jess nodded her approval and grinned.
“I guess I haven’t,” I said, still in shock from the disappearing banana split.
Jess sat forward in her chair, checked her phone and said, “Alright Uncle Patrick, Sid and I have to get going. It’s 6 o’clock and I told my mom we’d be there around 8 or 9.
“So you’re flying?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’ll make sure to stop by the next time Sid has a game here, but we really have to go now. Bye.”
Hugs were exchanged and I shook his hand again. He seemed pretty chill, and I saw a lot of him in Jess. “You really like your uncle don’t you?” I asked once we were in the car and driving back to the airport.
“Yeah, I do actually,” she said skeptically. “How’d you know?”
“I see a lot of his mannerisms in you, and that’s a good thing.” I smiled at her as we pulled up to the airport and unloaded our luggage.
-
Jess’s Point of View
Our plane landed sooner than I expected, around 8:30, and I really wasn’t ready to brave my parents. I wasn’t used to not having anything to do or anywhere to go; welcome to Virginia. I remembered just how much I hated this airport; there were a total of 6 gates, one place to buy coffee, and 2 places to claim luggage. Talk about small town. We stood in the line for a rental car and when we got up to the front, the man working just so happened to know who Sid was, and made a huge fuss about the fact that he was renting a car out to Sidney Crosby. Sid had to be nice, and sign a few autographs for what seemed like the entire staff of the airport. As much as I wanted to just grab the keys and walk out, I controlled myself and waiting patiently for him to finish, with a fake smile plastered on my face the whole time. We walked out in silence and I finally asked, “What am I going to tell my parents about us?”
“The truth?” he asked innocently.
“That doesn’t always fly with my parents Sid. You want me to say ‘Hey mom! This is Sidney Crosby. He’s seen me in my bra and we’ve made out a few times since we met two weeks ago.’?
“No… Why don’t we just go with, ‘We’ve been seeing each other.’?”
“My mom thinks I’m throwing my life away being with you and bringing you here.”
“Did she say that?”
“No, but when I talked to her, that’s what it sounded like,” I said.
“Well, we’ll find out soon enough, won’t we?” he said reassuringly.
-
We pulled up around the house in our rental Escalade around 9ish. Sid just had to get the biggest SUV there was. “Are you ready?” I asked sincerely.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be OK,” he replied.
“Alright, let’s go then,” I said and grabbed his hand as we walked up the front path and up the few stairs into my house. The second I opened the door and walked into the small foyer, I knew everything would be alright. My brother Mitch was home, and he always managed to diffuse situations. He was currently a junior in high school and girls called the house almost everyday; I was thrilled when I got to answer it and scare them if he didn’t like them.
“Jess! It’s been so boring around here without you!” he said as he hugged me. Even though I was 3 years older than him, he towered over Sid and me at 6’4”. I stood at 5’11”, and Sid at 6’0” on a good day. “Mom’s in the kitchen,” he said and pulled out his phone to finish texting whoever it was that he had been talking to.
“Thanks Mitch. Come on, let’s go,” I said to Sid. We walked down the narrow hallway with me leading the way into the kitchen. My dad, Ted, was sitting in the recliner watching what appeared to be a re-run of SportsCenter and my mom, Jillian, was cleaning up the kitchen.
“Hi Mommy!” I said, and ran to hug her. I could hear the leather creak on the recliner as my dad got up to come over and say hello. I let go of my mom and gave my dad a hug when he reached me. Sid stepped forward and said, “Hi Mr. and Mrs. Spade, I’m Sidney Crosby, nice to meet you. My dad responded with a grunt and my mom said, “Well, Jess did tell us you were coming, so we made up the guest bed for you. Jess can show you. It’s very nice to meet you.” And with that, she turned around and continued cleaning. My dad actually stepped forward and shook Sid’s hand.
“Young man, I hope you have only the best intentions with my daughter,” he said. “And I think you’re a phenomenal player by the way. You’ll have to tell me how you two met later, but why don’t you go upstairs now; you’ve probably had a long day.”
I led the way up the stairs and into the room that housed our family computer and guest bed. After knowing where to go, Sid went back and forth to the car a few times before he got all of our stuff in; mine in my old room and his in the guest room. I sat on my old bed after changing into a pair of flannel pants and a sweatshirt, wondering what had just occurred with my parents.
-
Sid’s Point of View
Jess’s room fit her perfectly. A huge daisy was painted on one wall, while different pictures filled up the others. Every picture was a different style and of something different than the last. She caught me looking at them and said, “My uncle, the one we just met, did all of these.”
“They fit your personality really well. This whole room is just what I expected from you,” I said as I sat down on the bed next to her. I paused before continuing. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m not sure what just happened with my parents. I’m pretty sure they don’t mind you, I think it’s just that they don’t want you to turn into a mistake.”
“Why would that happen? I asked.
“I had this boyfriend in high school, his name was Steven Merrin. We dated for a long time, and then he up and left me for a hockey school up north. They don’t want that to happen again,” she said, picking at her nails the whole time.
“Jess, you know I’m never going to do something like that to you,” I said sincerely, intertwining our fingers.
“I was a mess after that happened. They just don’t want me to get hurt again. Their intentions are good, but the way they’re going about it is all wrong.”
“I promise you that I’ll never just up and go. Really. I expect you to hold me to that.” This must be hard on her, always having that memory, and here I am, a hockey player; she must constantly think that something like that will happen again.
“Thanks,” she replied, and pulled away from me to lie back and look up at the lantern hanging over her bed. “I really like you Sidney. A lot. Just thought you should know that before my parents kill you,” she said jokingly as she turned over stifling a yawn and laid her head on the pillow.
“I know your parents won’t kill me,” I said as I got up off of the bed. “And I really, really, like you Jess. I hope you like me as much as I like you.” But I knew there was no way that was even possible. Then I leaned down and kissed her forehead before saying, “I’m exhausted. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“If my parents haven’t killed you in your sleep that is,” she replied, pulling the covers up around herself. I could only laugh.
“Goodnight,” I said, and shut the light switch as I walked out of the room.
-
Jess’s Point of View
As I laid there in the darkness of my room, with so many things being so familiar, and so many memories flashing before my eyes, I remembered what it was like with Steven.

“Jess! Hey baby! I was amazing out there wasn’t I?!” he said after getting right off of the ice, still smelling of the game.
“Steve, you’re always amazing. You’ll always be amazing to me,” I said, and leaned in to kiss him. He kissed me back, and lifted me up into the air.
“I love you. So much,” he said.
“I love you too,” I said, leaning my forehead against his.

He was my first love, and now here was Sid; another amazing hockey player, and I was spiraling down into him, and I could only hope he felt the same way about me. I didn’t want to let him all the way in; I didn’t want to get hurt again. I know junior year was a long time ago, but I know there’s a scar on my heart from when Steven left.

“Baby, I’m going to a hockey school up north for senior year,” he told me.
“What? When did this happen?”
“I got the letter the other day.”
“You didn’t even tell me that you applied,” I said.
“I’m leaving in a few weeks.”
“You’re going to just leave me? Just like that?” I asked, hysterical.
“I’m sorry. It’s what’s best for me and my hockey,” he stated emotionlessly.
“What about what’s best for us!?” I screamed at him, a glass clenched in my hand from the dishwasher I had been emptying. “I love you!” I yelled, hoping that would make him stay.
“You weren’t even a factor in my decision. I’m going to the school. I have to leave now,” he said, and with that, he walked out of my house and out of my life. I slid down the side of the counter and pulled my knees to my chest, letting the glass fall out of my hand and the tears run down my face.

I pulled myself out of one of my most painful memories and realized I had tears running out of the corners of my eyes. I threw my covers off and tip-toed down the hallway to where Sid was sleeping in our guest room. I opened the door, stepped over the creaking floorboard and got into bed with him. He must have been sleeping, because he sat up with a start and said, “Jess! What’s wrong?”
“Don’t ever leave me,” I said, snuggling up against his chest and wrapping my arms around him. His arms mimicked the movement and brought me even closer to his body.
“Why would I do that? You know I won’t.”
That was what Steven had said, but I didn’t tell him that. I just let him wipe the tears from my face and after a few minutes, I fell asleep in his arms.

Chapter 8

Sid’s Point of View
Jess’s hand was in mine as we drove down towards the rivers and the Andy Warhol Museum. Jess was giving me background info on the whole museum, like the fact that it was sponsored by Carnegie Mellon and that Andy Warhol had actually gone there when it was know as Carnegie Tech. “Both of my parents went to Carnegie Mellon,” she added as we got out of the car. “My dad went for engineering and my mom went for graphic design. I take after her,” she said with a smile. I knew how good of a school Carnegie Mellon was, and I was impressed that not only one of her parents went there, but both.
“Your parents must be really smart”, I said as I kissed her cheek. Her response surprised me; she said matter of factly, “Not really. My mom only got in because of her portfolio, and my dad transferred there from West Point.” I found this comical and stifled a laugh. “You can laugh. I know it’s ridiculous. That’s their claim to fame: ‘I went to Carnegie Mellon!’.”
“No, it’s good that they went there, no matter how they got there.” She didn’t answer, but just leaned into me. By that time, we had gotten to the front desk, and the receptionist just happened to be a Penguins fan, so I was obliged to sign an autograph before paying for Jess’s and my ticket. We wandered into the first room where it went through Andy Warhol’s life. I learned he was gay, he was born in Oakmont, and he was famous for his silk-screen prints. I got bored with the masses of information, so I walked up to Jess and put my hands around her stomach, and proceeded to kiss her neck. She leaned into it without saying anything and brought her hand up to my cheek, but then quickly grabbed my hand pulling me towards the stairs and the other exhibits. “I promise the others aren’t as boring as that one. We’re supposed to start at the top and work our way down. The top is where they put the new exhibits.” We made our way up the stairs, stopping every once and a while for me to kiss her, and for her to pull me up the stairs after only a few seconds of my lips on hers. Every time, I grumbled a little, hoping the next time she’d let me kiss her longer, but she never did. We finally made it up to the top floor where they had photos by a guy named Ansel Adams. All of his pictures were of nature, and most were in black and white. I marveled at the awe-inspiring beauty he managed to capture in every shot.
“Can you believe how beautiful his photos are?” Jess asked in amazement, “I mean, I couldn’t do anything like this in a million years. I’m better at making things “pleasing to the eye”.” She winked at me, and I could only imagine what she meant by that; whatever it was, I wanted to find out. I’m pretty sure I wandered around after her like a puppy the rest of the time we were in the museum. I kept feeling like I was forgetting something, and checked my watch to see that it was around 4. I then remembered that the guys were heading to New Jersey at around 8 o’clock that night, which left me with a good 2 hours to spend with Jess before I had to get ready.
“Hey,” I whispered in Jess’s ear from behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist.
“Mmm?” She murmured back to me.
“What do you say we get out of here?” She turned around to face me and said in mock hurt, “What? You don’t want to see the rest of the great, gay, Andy Warhol’s artwork?” before smiling at me.
“It’s not that I would LOVE to spend the last 2 hours here before I go to New Jersey for our game tomorrow, but I’d much rather do something with you. Somewhere not in public.”
-
Jess’s Point of View
I knew what he was implying; I’m not stupid, and to be honest, I kind of wanted to just curl up with him in a bed on a cold and windy day like today.
“Can we go back to your place, and maybe just curl up by the fire?” I asked in a pleading tone.
His face softened, and he replied by saying, “Of course.” I really felt like doing something with him; being close to him. We left the museum as quickly as possible and ran out to his car, fighting the wind and cold the whole way there. He unlocked the car and we jumped in, and cranked the heat.
“Let it just run for a little while and get the heat up,” I said to him. He nodded and reached for my hand, placing both of ours on my knee. I reached up to take his face in my hands and kiss his lips. He kissed me back with more passion than anything I had ever felt. I really wanted him, right at this moment, but now was not the right time. I didn’t want to be that whore that slept with their guy after only a few times out. I pulled away and said, “Not now. I know what you want, and I want it to, but not right now.” He groaned and started complaining.
“Jess, come on. If not now, when?”
“Don’t be like that. It’ll happen eventually. We’ll be together. Don’t worry, I promise.”
He mumbled something and sat back in his seat, put the Range Rover in drive, and drove off in the direction of his house.
-
“I don’t understand how you can be so sure of everything that’s going to happen,” he said, referring to my promise that we’d be together, as we got out of the car and walked up the walk to his house.
“Honestly? I’m not sure about anything anymore,” I said with a small smile. “After this whole knee thing, I’ve learned that I can’t be sure about anything that’s going to happen. But I do know, that I need to have faith in whatever it is, and that it’s happening for a reason.” We had stopped walking towards the house and were now facing each other.
“Maybe, like you almost falling on me out in that student rush line?” he said with a smirk and a step closer to me. The wind was biting my cheeks as I too took a step closer.
“Exactly like that,” I said as I stepped into him and my eyes closed as our lips made contact. He wrapped his arms around me, and I pressed my hands to either side of his face, just like in the movies. With the wind blowing my hair around, and snow beginning to fall, I felt like I was in a fairytale, and at that moment, there was nothing more that I could have asked for.
-
Sid’s Point of View
She felt so good in my arms, and I never wanted to let go. This wasn’t that same burning passion I had felt earlier. This was softer and more loving, like I wanted to always take care of her, then it hit me. I really cared about this girl. I wanted to make her happy. I really wanted to be with her. She pulled away, smiled, kissed me one last time on the cheek and pulled me up to the door. I fumbled with my keys for a bit before opening the door and leading the way in, and up the stairs to my room.
“I didn’t see your room before,” she said as she flopped herself on my bed and grabbed a blanket off the bottom.
“Well, you kind of passed out on the couch last night,” I said as I crawled in next to her. We propped ourselves up with pillows and just lay there, watching a hockey game on the TV opposite my bed.
“This is really nice,” Jess said after awhile, snuggling up even closer to me. “It’s exactly what I needed after a horrible night last night, even if we did plan one of the best vacations ever today.” She smiled and looked up at me. I smiled back and thought to myself, ‘This girl I’ve found has got to be amazing.’ I glanced at the clock and realized it was 6. I didn’t want this to end, but I had to go. The guys were leaving in 2 hours.
“Jess, I have to be at the Arena by 8. We’re leaving for New Jersey tonight.”
“Oh, OK,” she said, and sat up.
I rolled off of the bed, and started getting my stuff together while Jess still sat there, an amused look on her face, just watching me run around getting stuff together. I got everything together in record time: an hour and a half, and both of us were out the door by 7:30.
-
I pulled up to Jess’s dorm at around 7:45, and she got out, but not before kissing me. I wanted so much more than that, but she was right, now wasn’t the time. “Sid, that was really nice. Seriously, just sitting down and relaxing was really nice. We need to do that more often,” Jess said with a small smiled as she was shut the door.
I leaned over the armrest and said, “I’ll be back tomorrow for our game against the Islanders. You need to be there. I want you there, OK? I’ll leave you a pass for the box upstairs with Mario and Nathalie at the window. They want to meet you.”
“Sid! I don’t want to be in the box with them! I’m definitely not worthy! What will they think of me?! I’m just some college kid! You told them about me?” Jess said as her voice turned from anger to curiosity.
“Of course I told you about them. I go round there every once and a while to visit with the kids, and they always ask if I’m seeing anyone. I can’t just lie.”
“You could have! You could have told them you weren’t seeing anyone!”
“Now, Jess, would you have wanted me to do that? Just pretend like you don’t exist?” I smiled knowing I’d got her with that one.
She kicked at the tire on the car like a little kid, and deep down I was convinced she really was one, and said, “No…”
“Well then come to the game and sit in the box with Mario and Nathalie. You’ll have fun. I promise,” I said, mimicking her words from earlier.
She looked up at me and smiled before saying, “Fine. I’ll do it, but I hope I get something for this.”
“You’ll get an amazing prize,” I said and smiled at her as she looked back at me as she walked up the path to her old decrepit dorm.

Chapter 7

Jess’s Point of View
“What the hell Jess?!” were the words I was greeted with as I walked through the door to my dorm. That was practically Melissa’s catchphrase. “You couldn’t call me to tell me you weren’t coming home last night?!” she screamed at me.” Mel, listen, I told Sid about my surgery.” At those words, her face instantly softened and she lowered her arms that were just seconds ago waving wildly through the air gesticulating her anger towards me. “And?” “He took it a lot better than I thought, but I had a breakdown. I haven’t told you anything lately about my knee, because it’s been so hard to talk about. All the emotions I’ve been holding in came out last night.” “Is that why your face is so puffy?” I nodded and she finally seemed to calm down completely. “Oh boo, you could have told me. I know I’m not always the most sensitive, but know I’m always there for you.” I sat down on the bed, tired and exhausted. “Mel, you have no clue how hard this is.” “Then tell me about it.” “I’ve never had any form of surgery before. I’m terrified of needles, and I can’t get blood work. I’m going straight to the top with knee surgery and in 2 weeks.” “You’re right. I have no clue what it’s like to have surgery, but I’ll be there for you. I promise”, she said, echoing Sid’s words from last night. “And the fact that you have Sidney now can only help.” I grinned knowing she was right. “He really cares about me and my knee. I think he’s almost as scared as me though. He’s never had any surgery before either, and he probably won’t ever have any.” “The important thing is that he’s there for you when you’re going through all this.” “I know. I feel like all this could just go away in an instant.” Being the boyfriend queen, I felt pretty dumb telling her this stuff. “Any relationship is like that at the beginning. I know that all my boyfriends never really helped you out in high school, but trust me on this, he’s good for you.” So she did know about the high school thing! That hoe. I let it go, figuring it was in the past, and all that mattered now was my current situation. “I mean, I really only had Steven in high school and all those sleazy wingmen that always tried to hook up with me because of you.” I shot her a look and she looked embarrassed at me bringing up the way she worked her way through our guy pool in high school, I continued, “Even though Steven lasted a long time, it never quite felt right, but this? This feels like it’s what I’m supposed to be doing.” Steven Merrin was my boyfriend for all of junior year in high school. He played hockey and I loved going to his games, but for senior year he went to some sports academy in upstate New York to pursue hockey, leaving me back home. Mel loved talking about boys unless I brought up her history with them or Steven. I had brought up both, so needless to say, so was getting a bit uncomfortable. I on the other hand, felt like I was glowing just talking about Sid and what we had together.
-
Sid’s Point of View
After dropping Jess off and getting insulted all in one, I ran into the arena still laughing at her tease remark. I knew I’d have a lot worse to face in the form of Max, and by now, he’d have told the whole team about his walking in on me and Jess going at it in the storage room. I ran down hallway after hallway until I got to the locker room where I slowed to a trot to catch my breath. 9:10. I had 20 minutes to get ready and be on the ice. I walked into the locker room bracing myself for anything the guys had to throw at me. Max, Staalsy, and Tanger were all finishing gearing up when I walked in. “Have a nice night?!” Max shouted at me. He didn’t know the meaning of indoor voice. “I did actually. Thanks”, I replied with a smile, trying to play it all off. I walked over to my locker to find it filled with condoms. “Just thought you should be safe!” Tanger yelled as Max and Staalsy bust out laughing. “Max filled us in on what happened last night”, Tanger explained as a smirk grew on his face. I knew I was probably a wonderful shade of fuchsia by now. “So’d you do her?” Staalsy; always to tactful. The other two didn’t seem to see how rude that was and just looked on eagerly like, ‘Yeah. Did you?!’ I stared back and proceeded to pull out my gear and set it among the condoms. Tanger then tried to get me to talk with, “Come on man! Fill us in! The whole team knows about your little stunt in the storage room. There’s nothing to hide, and going by what Max said, this girl’s a looker.” All three of them grinned at me and I felt like punching Max in the face. “Nothing happened last night, and that’s the truth.” They looked disappointed and skeptical at the same time. “Dude, when’s it going to happen?” Max asked, unaware of the fact that I did not want to discuss this. “She’s having knee surgery in 2 weeks so-“ I was cut of by Max yelling, “You gotta hit that soon dude! She won’t be able to move for a long time afterwards!” I had finished putting my Under Armour on and was about to start putting my pads on. I was doing my best to ignore them, and I think Tanger, one of the more soft-spoken in the group, picked up on my telepathic waves that I didn’t want to talk about this because he said, “So tomorrow we’re playing New Jersey, and I personally intend to bring it!” Max and Staalsy seemed interested enough in this because they started talking about the game tomorrow with Tanger. I was happy they left me alone as I began lacing up my skates, all the while thinking about Jess and how upset she’d been last night. I speed-laced my skates and made it onto the ice with Tanger, Staalsy and Max right at 9:30 to be greeted by the rest of the team and Coach Therrien making an announcement. “So we just beat the Devils 4 – 1 about 2 weeks ago. It’s not going to be that easy again. We need to…” I was day dreaming by now about how that day we beat the Devils, I met Jess. I knew I should be paying attention to what coach had to say, but I couldn’t focus, and I would catch every other word as my mind would flicker back to Jess’s pained face on that day; her knee. She had surgery in 2 weeks. 2 weeks. What Max about her not being able to do anything for awhile afterwards flashed across my mind, as I heard coach say, “…move the puck around more.” I figured he was still going over keys to the game, and someone would tell me later anyway, so I went back to day dreaming. This wasn’t like me; not paying attention. I knew Eaton had had to have knee surgery on a torn MCL last year, but I was almost positive that a torn ACL was much more serious. I decided to ask him and the trainer after practice. I looked up to see coach yelling, “Alright! Let’s go!” I had no clue what we were doing, so I skated off in the direction of everyone else. Practice was a blur. I just went through the motions and was the first off the ice; that was a first. I was usually the last. I took off most of my gear and headed down to the training room to talk to our trainer, Chris about ACL’s and what the rehab time was for them.
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I ambled down the hallway to the training room and poked my head in. No one was in there except for Chris. I startled him by saying, “Hey, Chris, you got a minute?” “Yeah man, what’s up, you hurt?” I hesitated, knowing what I was about to say was ridiculous. “No, but remember the girl I brought in here with the torn ACL a week and a half ago?” Chris looked confused as he replied warily, “Yeah…” “OK, because me and her, we’re sort of seeing each other now, and, let me finish.” Chris looked like he was about to interrupt me, and I wanted to get everything out before he said anything. “And she’s having knee surgery in 2 weeks. I want to be there for her. I want to know what to expect, and I want her to know what to expect. Can you help me out man?” Chris paused, digesting the information I had just thrown at him. I was nervous for his answer, fearing it would be a bad one. All he said was, “ACL tears in women are very common. Did she tear her meniscus?” “I don’t know. She just told me she’s having surgery in 2 weeks.” He thought about this some more. “So here’s what’s probably going to happen with her. If she tore her meniscus and her doctor can fix it, she’ll be on crutches for 3 weeks. If it’s just the ACL, only 1 week.” I nodded, absorbing all the information he was handing me. “If you’re going to be the one helping her while she’s recovering, be ready. She really won’t be able to move on her own for at least a few days.” My head was reeling, just imagining Jess going through all this. “Then, she’ll probably have a brace to wear right after surgery all the way till she can walk normally without it. That’s pretty much all you need to know for recovery, is that it?” “What about rehab?” I asked, frightened by what he may have to say. “The normal recovery time for walking with crutches is about a month or so, and then she’ll probably work her way up to walking without the crutches, walking without the brave, and then walking normally before she’s cleared at around 6 months. Is that everything you needed?” He seemed eager to get back to work, and I felt a little dizzy. It took me a minute to respond. “Yeah. Yeah that’s all. Thanks…” Chris nodded and turned around to continue the work he was doing when I walked in. I stood there for a few seconds letting it all sink in, and turned around to walk down the hall a little drunkenly. Oh my God. She really had to do all that. She had to hobble around on crutches for up to 3 weeks. The gravity of the situation was stunning. It took be a minute to regain my focus, but once I did, I felt strong and capable of handling this horrible situation for her. I felt like I could have the knee surgery for her. I needed to see her, now. I quickly undressed and showered, put on fresh clothes, threw all my stuff in my bag and hustled out to the car.
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Jess’s Point of View
Around noon that afternoon, I heard a knock on the door while I was studying. Mel had gone out with Adam, her new boyfriend, and I was back at the dorm chilling. I got up to get the door, setting my books and notebooks down, and was extremely surprised to see Sid, of all people, standing there, looking extremely intense. “What’s wrong? Are you OK?” were the first words out of my mouth. He didn’t reply, but just pulled me into him. He smelled so good, like he had just taken a shower, and I never wanted to leave his arms. He began kissing my neck feverishly, and pushing me towards the bed. I knew something was up, and I had to stop him before this got too crazy. “Sid, ahh, Sid, stop for a minute. Stop.” His kisses came with less force and he finally let up after I asked him to stop about three more times. “What’s up? Why’d you look so intense?” He was still on my neck as I said this, but he looked up and said, “I talked to Chris, the trainer for the team, and he told me what to expect for your surgery and recovery. I’m ready to help you through this.” His sincerity touched me, but it really did seem like he was getting a little worked up about this surgery. He was preparing more than me. I knew it would probably be one of the hardest things I would ever have to do, but I had gotten used to the idea. I guess any new information he got made him on edge about it. Nevertheless, I liked that he wanted to be there. “Thanks Sid”, I whispered as he twisted around so I was standing in the space he had just vacated. He backed towards the bed, pulling me on top of him as he sat on the edge, me straddling his torso. “I want you”, were his only words as he kissed my neck again, and then brushed his lips over mine before really, truly kissing me. All I could do was hold onto him to keep myself from floating up into the ceiling from the happiness I was feeling at the moment. I had forgotten that Sid left the door open, and as someone walked by, they of course had to stop and yell into the room, “Get it Jess!” That pulled me out of my fantasies and brought me back down to earth. Sid stopped his kisses and sat back a little. I got up off of him to close the door, fixing my slightly disheveled shirt as I went. I turned around to see Sid lying on the bed looking at the ceiling. I walked over and lay down next to him. We laid in silence for a few minutes before I said, “We never finished our talk this morning; you never told me about you.” “What do you want to know?” He turned his head towards me, eyes still burning intently. I scooted closer to him and snuggled up under his arm lying on my side as close to him as I could possibly get, and laid my head on his chest, listening to the rhythmic beating of his heart. “Everything. I want to know where you went to high school, and what you like to do. I want to know who you are.” He smiled as I brought my hand up to rest on his muscular chest, and his arm curled around me to rest on my thigh. “Well, we both know I was born in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia along with the rest of the hockey world, and I attended Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Minnesota in high school to pursue hockey.” “Do you like to play anything else? Maybe basketball?” He chuckled at me and said, “I fish off my dock in the summer, and I do like to golf, and maybe a little baseball. I’ve never really played basketball.” “Well, maybe I could teach you. I am, after all, ‘Jess Spade, basketball extraordinaire’”, I said quoting him from the first night we went out together. “I’ll let you teach me basketball if I can teach you hockey. After you get your knee fixed.” This was depressing to me. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do anything for a long time after I had surgery, and I wanted to do everything now, but I knew I couldn’t do that either. I just lay there, as Sid continued with everything he liked. I only caught every few words until he said, “I really want to go see where you’re from. Yorktown. It always sounded like such a neat place.” I was in a little disbelief when he said this. It seemed kind of sudden. All of sudden saying you want to go to the place where the girl you met 2 weeks ago is from? Despite how sudden it was, I actually liked the idea; a lot. Really, I did. I sat up letting his hand fall off of my thigh. “Sid, that’s really not a bad idea. I need to see my parents before I have surgery anyway, and I’ll be on break. You could come with me!” His face lit up and it was almost as if a light bulb had gone on over his head. He sat up saying, “After we play the Flyers on the 13th, we have five days off, well really four, until we play the Thrashers on the 18th. You should come with me to Philly and then from there, we could fly down to your place.” This plan was probably one of the best things for my knee and the slight depression I had fallen into as a result. It would be nice to be home for a week. We were sitting cross-legged and face to face on the bed now, overly excited with our plans. Sid was practically yelling with jubilation. “You could come down to Atlanta with me on the 18th, and then we could head back up here on the 19th!” “Yes! Yes! Oh my God. Sid, you’re probably most definitely the best.” I smiled at him and said it as I leaned in to kiss him. His hand was on my face, and mine was on his knee when Melissa walked into the room with Adam in tow looking totally enchanted by her. “Oh, sorry. Adam wanted to see our room.” She winked at me, and I threw her a look as Sid and I got up off the bed. I decided I’d be nice and introduce myself to this poor boy she had. “Hey Adam, I’m Jess, Mel’s roommate.” “Nice to meet you, Mel’s told me about you.” He seemed nice enough. Poor guy had no clue what he was in for. His gaze wandered over to Sid, and his mouth hung open a bit in shock as he said, “Whoa, you’re Sidney Crosby?” “Hi, nice to meet you. Adam, is it?” What a nice Canadian boy I’d picked for myself; and by accident! Adam nodded and looked at Mel who just shrugged and said, “They’re dating I guess.” Adam turned his gaze back towards me and Sid who had laced his fingers in mine. “So anyway,” Mel continued, “have you seen the new art exhibit they have at the Andy Warhol Museum Jess?” I hadn’t. I glanced at the clock, realizing it was almost 2. “Uh, no, I haven’t. I guess we’ll go check it out?” I said it as a question, inquiring about her motives for asking me. Sid seemed to pick up on what she wanted, and I finally did too because he said, “Yeah, we were just about to go get something. Bye Mel, Adam.” Adam still had a look of disbelief on his face, and Mel was grinning as we went out the door. “Well, Adam seemed nice”, Sid said as we walked down the hall. “Oh, he’s really nice until Mel works him over. She likes the chase and gets kind of bored when she actually has the guy.” Sid laughed and pulled me into the elevator after him. We shared a few kisses as the elevator brought us closer to the ground floor. Most of the people on the ground floor caught on to the fact that Sid visited, so some of the hardcore fans took to sitting around on the couches near the elevator waiting to see if he would go in or out of one. Luckily, there weren’t any diehards there today, so we could go outside without fighting people off. “Do you actually want to go to the museum? You don’t have to. I know Mel just wanted to get us out of there so she could be alone with him.” We walked towards his car as a massive gust of wind blew my curls into my face, leaving me spitting them out of my mouth. Sid laughed at me, and I knew I looked ridiculous. “Yeah. I’ll go. I think it’ll be fun to see everything he’s done. I’ve never been and I don’t really know anything about him, but you can tell me.” “I think he’s probably one of the most amazing artists ever.” Sid stopped walking, I kept walking and he grabbed my wrist and twirled me around back to him. I screamed from the surprise, as he pressed my body to his, wind blowing around us. My scream had turned to a giggle and he said, “But I’m the most amazing guy you’ve ever met.” “Of course you are.” I smiled, and he pecked me on my smiling lips, satisfied, and let me go. We continued to amble in the direction of his car, hoping the wind wouldn’t blow us away. Sid unlocked the Range Rover and I hopped in the second we got to it. The wind was absolutely biting, and I wanted some warmth and relief. As soon as Sid turned the car on, I threw the heat on high and blew it right into my face. He laughed at me and kissed my cheek before working his hand into mine and driving off towards the museum.

Chapter 5

“So what happened!? Tell me everything!” Melissa screamed as soon as I was inside the doorway of our room. “Don’t leave anything out!” She smiled at this trying to be sweet and it always worked at me. I just couldn’t say no to her. I proceeded to tell her about the drive, the bistro, and the crazy fans in the lobby. “Aw this is just what you need Jess! You’re always mopey about your knee and you never want to do anything with me. You need this; you need him.” Honestly, that was the most sincere thing I had ever heard come out of her mouth. “Thanks Mel!” I gave her a huge bear hug in return. “You’re welcome! I want you to be OK! I know this whole knee thing is hard on you and I feel like this will help you.” I could still tell she was jealous, but like I said before, she’s happy for me. I was bubbling over with the happiness that I felt at this moment. My life really seemed to be turning around for the better. So what if I had a torn ACL. I was so extremely cheerful that I couldn’t get myself to sleep until about 2 in the morning. I knew I’d pay for it tomorrow, but right now that wasn’t even a concern.
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I had a little more than a week to wait until the Penguin’s next home game against the Sabres on December 8th, and to me, that seemed like an eternity. I rushed through my classes and homework. I barely spoke to anyone but Melissa, and I absentmindedly did my knee exercises with my trainer Todd at the Student Gym. Todd knew about what had happened with me and Sid. I told Todd everything. He was like my, older, balding, married best friend. He was probably one of the chillest people I have ever met in my life and I felt like I could trust him with anything. “What happens if everything between me and Sid doesn’t go like I think it will?” “Dude, nothing’s going to go the way you think it will. Did you think you’d tear your ACL?” he replied. Todd always told me the truth; he’d never steer me wrong. “No…” “Exactly. So just let everything happen. It’ll all work out. So when’s your surgery scheduled for?” “Uhh, December 23rd. This is pretty intense man.” “What? You could be referring to a lot of things right now, like your wimpy exercises or Sid, or your surgery.” I shot him a look and he laughed. He had one of the weirdest laughs I had ever heard, kind of like a chuckle and a snort put together, and it was almost like, he was actually saying hahaha every time he laughed. “My surgery!” “Oh, you’ll be OK”, he replied smoothly. “How do you know Todd?! Have you had ACL surgery before?!” “Nah dude, but if I had to pick any surgeon around here to do what you’re having done, I’d pick Dan.” Dan was my doctor; Dr. Daniel E. Carr to be exact. He was extremely laid back for a doctor. You always picture those stuck up, up tight guys who are anal about everything you do as doctors, but Dr. Carr didn’t care what I did as long as I didn’t run or jump. “Whatever Todd. That doesn’t make me feel any better!” “It should, and really, don’t worry! You’ll be fine. You gotta do this if you want to play next year.” I just grumbled to myself and said, “Alright then Todd. I’m done with my exercises. I’ll see you tomorrow.” “Alright dude. See you later.” I picked up my bags and books and left for my dorm room.
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December 8th finally arrived and during every single class I day-dreamed and doodled on my papers. As soon as my final class was over, I grabbed my books and my bag and bolted out the door, checking my phone as I went; 4:30. ‘OK you have an hour or so to get ready and then leave by 5:45.’ I talked myself through what I had to do, because otherwise I knew I’d forget at least one thing. I rushed home, threw my things onto the floor and hopped into the shower. I made sure to shave my legs, just in case. I towel-dried my hair and fixed it so the curls fell just right around my face. By this time it was 5:30 and I was crunched for time. I was still going for comfort, so I threw on a pair of jeans and a cute top, and ran outside to catch the bus to downtown. I power-walked to the bus stop as quickly as my knee would carry me and I got there just as the 5:45 bus was pulling up. I got on and flopped myself down onto a seat and waited impatiently for my stop, tapping my foot up and down on the gum-stained floor of the bus. There was an old woman sitting across from me and she asked, “Honey, are you alright?” It seemed like everyone was asking me that lately! “Yeah, thanks for asking. I’m just excited.” “Oh, really?” “Yeah, I’m going to a Penguins game.” “Oh, those penguins and Sidney Crosby. He’s handsome isn’t he?” I nodded my head and smiled absent-mindedly to myself, thinking she had no clue just how sexy he really is as my stop approached and I jumped out the door down onto the sidewalk outside the Mellon. I took a deep breath, made sure I looked presentable, and then made my way to the box office. “Hey, can I help you?” The clerk behind the glass said. She looked extremely bored like she wanted to shoot herself, and was chewing her gum loudly. “Uh, yeah hi, I’m Jess Spade and Sid said–. “ Before I could finish my sentence she was shoving an envelope with my name scrawled on it at me. “Here. Enjoy.” I took the envelope and ambled off to the side to open the envelope. There was a note, a ticket and another one of those all access passes inside. I grabbed the note and read in Sid’s messy scrawl: “Jess, I hope you like the seat I got you. Have fun and wait for me by the locker room again after the game. We’ll go somewhere even better than last time. –Sid” I ripped out the ticket and looked to see where I was sitting, and to my pleasure, it was right behind the bench. I let out a little squeal like a school girl and jumped in the air before hobbling over to the entrance. By the time I made a restroom stop and got myself a soda, the game was about to start and I had to hurry to my seat before the announcer called out the names of the players and they skated onto the ice. He rambled through about four names before saying, “And your captain! SIDNEY CROSBY!” The crowd went wild as he came skating out onto the ice with those long smooth strides of his. He skated around the ice once before looking in the direction of the bench, and where I was sitting. A huge smile appeared on his face and then he turned around to finish his warm-ups. The people around me slowly began to trickle in and I introduced myself to them. The older man on my left introduced himself and his wife as David and Janice Goldstrum and the younger guy, about my age, on my right introduced himself as Thomas Dulinger as he oogled my boobs. ‘Not in your lifetime’, I thought to myself as I turned away from his wandering eyes. Although he was gross, I was impressed that he knew who I was. Practically no one knew unless they read the tiny little articles at the bottom of the sports page titled with things like, ‘Who’s Next?’ or ‘What Happened Last Night’. They were usually little recaps about every game in the division and often mentioned me in the Pitt recap as the, and I quote, “monster inside”. I liked the comparison even though Mel thought it was vulgar. The only real article I got was when I tore my ACL, and everyone was finally starting to see what I could do. Whatever. That was before. He talked to me about all that stuff for awhile and even managed to keep his eyes on mine for more that 5 seconds at a time. I was un-impressed with his minimal self-control. A few times when Sid was coming back to the bench, he’d look up and smile at me. One time back he saw the creeper that was hitting on me and an angry scowl crossed his face. The next shift out, he played like a mad-man and set up Kris Letang on the power-play for a goal. Despite his best tries, the Penguins still lost 3-4 to the Sabres. When the final buzzer rang, I stood up and so did Thomas next to me. “So I was wondering if you-“ he started before I cut him off. “Well, it’s been nice talking to you, but I have to go down to the locker room and meet Sid.” I said this as bubbly and cheerfully as I possibly could. “Sid? Sidney Crosby?” “Yupp, I’ll see you later.” He looked like a deflated balloon as I turned and walked down to the door to the runway.
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I took my seat outside the locker room and waited for about 20 minutes. I was going through my purse, so I wasn’t too bored, and had so far found a lot of odd things. There was a resuscitation mask from a CPR class I took months ago, a cord of some sort for a phone I was guessing, a Tide-to-Go pen, and 4 pairs of sunglasses. I had been wondering where those sunglasses had run off to. After I went through every compartment in my purse, I started to get impatient so I got up and peeked into the locker room. I spotted Sid right away; he had the largest group of reporters crowded around him. A piece of my heart broke off at the sight of him sitting there, sweaty and exhausted, answering every question that was thrown at him. He looked so weary and for a minute, I forgot he was only 21. Then he saw me peering around the door and he looked up, smiled, and instantly, his face lit up to where I could tell he was 21 instead of 41. He said something to the reporters and they immediately dispersed out of a side door. “Hi there”, he said coming towards me as I inched my way around the door. “It’s ok, you can come in here now. Everyone else has gone.” “You’re the last?” He shrugged and said, “Always am. I’ve just gotten used to it.” “Oh, ok.” I took a step closer to him as he did the same thing and pulled me into him. Even though he was sweaty and I usually hated people touching me, this felt so good; his body on mine. It made me feel like I was wanted. His voice broke the moment. “I’m sorry. I just got you all gross.” He backed away and I looked down at myself to see sweat stains all over the front of my shirt. For some reason, I found this funny and started laughing. “It’ll dry. It’s ok”, I said between giggles. “Are you sure? I’m sure I can find a clean new shirt around here that’ll fit you.” I thought about this for a minute and decided that when this did dry, it would leave white marks where the sweat was, and that was gross, so I agreed to a new shirt. “Ok sure. A new shirt sounds nice.” He grabbed my hand and led me down a hall-way into a room filled with boxes. “There should be a decent one in here somewhere. Start opening the boxes that have ‘Shirts’ printed on the side. Oh, and what size do you wear?” I thought about it for a second, and replied, “If it’s an adult guy’s shirt, a medium, and if it’s specifically for women, a large.” “Alright, here are your choices”, he said with a sly grin. He laid out four shirts all with a Penguin’s logo and Crosby written on them somewhere. “What are you, marking me as your territory?” I laughed as I chose the mustard yellow vintage series shirt. “Possibly. I saw that guy hitting on you today, so from now on you need to wear a shirt that says Crosby on it somewhere”, he joked as I pulled off my dirty shirt without even thinking about it. About half-way through getting the shirt over my head, I realized that he was still standing there and that he could in fact see me and my brightly colored polka-dotted bra. Instead of stopping, something told me to just keep going, even though I heard him stop mid-sentence. I got the shirt over my head and looked at him. It seemed as though he wanted to keep looking, but his better side told him to look away. The better side lost, and I said, “What?” “I just thought you’d want some privacy, that’s all.” He started to back towards the door, but I was feeling very flirty and before I could stop myself I said, “You don’t like the view?” with a smile. He stopped his backwards movements, and hesitantly started towards me. I just stood there in my bra and jeans, my new shirt in one and hand and my dirty shirt in the other. He put one hand on the small of my back and pulled me to him. His other hand was in my hair as he kissed me. The shirts dropped to the floor as my hands found his hair. That moment felt like that was where I was supposed to be. It just felt so right to be doing that at that time. His hand that was on my back was slowly moving around to my stomach and down to the button on my jeans. My hands that were just in his hair were now under his shirt, searching over his abs, and then I was trying to pull his shirt over his head. He stopped his own searching to help me, and once we got his shirt off, I couldn’t keep my hands off him. His fingers had undone the button on my jeans, and he had moved on to my bra. Just as he got the clasp undone, and things could have gotten out of hand, we heard a door bang open somewhere. We jumped apart and I hastily redid my bra and re-buttoned my jeans. I wasn’t quick enough with the shirt because the next thing I knew, Max was walking down the hall yelling, “Hey Sid, have you seen my…” He trailed off as he rounded the corner to the storage room. I hadn’t even put my shirt on yet, and I’m sure my mascara was messy. The back of Sid’s hair was sticking straight out from where my hands had been, and he hadn’t put his shirt back on yet either. “…wallet”, he finished. “Nope, I don’t know where it is.” Sid tried to play it off like everything was cool. “Obviously not in the storage closet is it?” My cheeks burned and Sid grabbed my hand as if to comfort me. “Come on man, get out of here.” “Alright alright. Don’t get into any trouble”, Max warned as he backed toward the door. I found it ironic that Max Talbot was telling Sidney Crosby to stay out of trouble. Sid turned toward me, his face flushed, and with a smile said, “We’ll have to do that again, but now, I have to take a shower before we go”, and kissed me on the forehead before turning around to walk into the showers, and leaving me to burn every detail of what had just happened into my brain.

Chapter 4

“Really Sid, I’m OK. Don’t worry about it.” “But you have to have surgery.” He was practically whispering again. “Come on, we barely know each other and you’re freaking out because I have to have surgery. Not you’re fault.” He turned his hazel eyes to look at me and nodded. “I feel so bad for some reason, like I can help or something…” Once again, this boy’s sincerity made me want to cry. I fiddled with my purse with my one free hand to keep myself from tearing up. Sid was still holding my other one in a death grip. I couldn’t understand why he was so worried about me, a girl who just happened to almost tackle him in the student rush line. “I, I don’t know why I feel like that”, he said. “There’s just something about you. I feel like you need someone to protect you.” My recent injuries flashed through my mind and actually, that wasn’t a bad idea. “I have hurt myself a lot playing basketball. Last year I had a high ankle sprain and was out for a few weeks. The year before that I had a concussion and couldn’t play for almost a month…” I trailed off at the look of disbelief on his face. “What are you playing?! Rugby-basketball?!” I smiled and laughed. Everyone who knew me, knew how physical I was. “No, I just get very into it.” He laughed his cute boyish laugh and said, “You need to be more careful with yourself or you’ll end up in a full body cast.” Considering it was a possibility, I just shrugged and smiled. I’m assuming he took that as an ‘OK, I will’ because he seemed to be satisfied after that. His grip on my hand loosened a little and I asked again, “Why do you care what happens to me, you’ll never see me again after tonight?” The grip re-tightened as he said, “Not if I can help it. There’s something about you that just draws me to you. I don’t know what it is, almost like a magnet. I feel you have something to offer, and that you’re different. I like different.” He smiled a huge grin at me, and all I could do to keep myself from jumping on him at that very moment was look at my recently cut curly blonde hair, smile and say “Thanks.”
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We pulled up to the Blue Talon Bistro, apparently one of the best in town. I had never been considering I’m kind of short on cash at almost all times and this place was known to be pretty pricey. Sid finally released my hand to get out of the car. He walked ahead of me into the restaurant, and as soon as I walked in, I felt out of place. Everyone had on Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, or Coco Chanel. I had on a pair of American Eagle jeans and a Pitt shirt with a black jacket on overtop. I’m a college student and, comfort’s more my style. The only thing I had with me that was remotely high fashion was my Kathy Van Zeeland bag, and even then, that isn’t really high fashion. “Sid, I look ridiculous here. Can we go somewhere else?” I hissed at him. “You look fine. I thought I was the one with a bad sense of fashion.” That remark made me feel a little better, and the fact that I was with Sidney Crosby made me feel even better. I decided I had to suck it up and show off my bag as much as possible. Everyone in here seemed to know Sid, and not just like, ‘That’s Sidney Crosby!’ but more along the lines of ‘Hey man what’s happening? Who’s this?’ and he was seated immediately after introducing me as Jess Spade basketball extraordinaire. I laughed at my introduction and hit him playfully on the arm. I still could not get over how easy it was to be around him. We sat down and began talking about anything but my knee. He told me he’s from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, and I told him I was from Yorktown, Virginia and had always wanted to go to Pitt ever since I was a little girl. “Oh, isn’t that where the American civil war was ended?” “You know about that?” “Yeah, when I went to boarding school in Minnesota we brushed over it in American History. It always sounded like an amazing battle.” “Eh, it was OK. Once you live there and you’ve seen everything at least six times, it gets old.” I laughed and looked up at him. ‘Why is he so amazingly sexy?’ I asked myself. We discussed his team and how their outlook on the season was, and just as he looked like he was about to say something, our waiter walked up and asked us what we wanted. For me? Grilled salmon with garlic potatoes and a Sprite. I was obviously not watching what I was eating. For him? Some crazy health nut dish that wasn’t even on the menu, oh and water. I stared at him in gross disbelief. “You eat that?!” I half screamed it. “I could say the same to you!” he said with a laugh. We argued about our food for a good twenty minutes until a waiter came and told us the exact things we were arguing about would be out in a few minutes. I calmed down a little bit and took a sip of my unhealthy Sprite. “I was right about you”, he said. “What?” “You are different“, he said as a small smile crept across his face. “What is that supposed to mean?” “Well, every other girl I’ve ever been out with does the same ‘I’m not hungry, I’ll have a salad and water’ routine. It’s nice to finally go out with someone who has a healthy appetite and knows what sport I play.” His smile was from ear to ear now and his eyes seemed to sparkle. “Oh, and don’t forget, I’m as tall as you, if not taller.” A laughed escaped his lips as he said, “Of course. Most girls are five feet tall, and you’re almost a foot taller than that. I like that, it’s a nice change.” The eyes were sparkling again. I could tell he genuinely meant that it was a nice change.
-
By the time I finished eating my salmon and he his healthy dish, it was nearly 11:00 at night, and I had an 8:00 AM class tomorrow, but at the moment that wasn’t really important to me. I picked up my bag, making sure to flash it around a little before Sidney grabbed my hand. Him holding my hand was all I needed to draw attention to myself, and make it look like I wasn’t as big of a bum as I felt. We left the restaurant, got in his Range Rover and headed in the direction of the Pitt campus. We were still talking and he still had my hand in his. There was a comfortable sense of belonging in the car and I never wanted it to end, but I knew that this dream-like day was going to the moment I stepped out of the car and walked up the stairs to my dorm room and an anxiously waiting Melissa. I directed him to my building; a run-down, dirty building that looked like it could be condemned at any moment. He took one look at it and said, “You really live here? This isn’t a joke?” “Yupp. Home sweet home. It’s really not as bad on the inside. They’ve renovated the inside, but not the out. Do you want to see?” I was trying to extend this night as long as possible. “Sure. I guess it can’t be that bad”, he chuckled. I shot Melissa a text telling her to wait in the bathroom until I told her to come out and that Sid was coming up. Her reply, “Ok.” I was in the clear, so I took his hand and led him towards the pathetic excuse for a building. There were a few drunks milling around on the lawn outside. Some looked up when we passed only to think they recognized Sidney Crosby, but then they realized they were too wasted to tell and fell back down onto the damp grass. Sid looked amazed at everything happening around him. I had forgotten he had never been to college. “Is it always like this? People out and everything this late? Are there always drunks on your lawn?” “Most nights”, I replied. He looked absolutely shocked at being in this environment. “It’s not so bad”, I repeated. We got into the fluorescently lit lobby and I gave him a quick tour; the bulletin board, the water fountain, oh and the beat up old couch drunks sleep on sometimes; because dorms are so exciting. He asked me where my room was. “Oh, up on the 3rd floor, do you want to see that?” “If I could.” The slightest of smiles pulled at the corners of his lips. “Right this way Mr. Crosby.” At the exact time I said that, a girl was walking out of the elevator we were beginning to enter. She did a 360 and practically shouted, “SIDNEY CROSBY!?” At this, people all along the hall stuck their heads out of their creatively decorated dorm doors to see what was happening. The words Sidney Crosby? were echoing down the hall as we scrambled into the elevator and punched the close button as many times as is humanly possible before any of the people in the hall got into the elevator. The doors closed as people came running at the doors in an attempt to get a glimpse of the great Sidney Crosby. We breathed a sigh of relief and he reached for my hand as I adjusted my purse on my shoulder. “Well Mr. Superstar, you sure are popular tonight”, I smirked. He shrugged and said in a playful tone, “Happens all the time, all the time.” The doors opened and, to our great pleasure, mostly his, this hall was quiet. We shuffled down the hall trying to make as little noise as possible. I pointed out landmarks along the way, like the hole in the wall where a guy got drunk, of course, and punched the wall, or the stain on the carpet from when Melissa’s dog that she wasn’t supposed to have in the dorm totally threw up all over the place. I dragged him past the bathrooms, hoping Melissa was still in there, and to my room. The door read, ‘Melissa and Jenna! Knock if you need us!’ “Oh, you share with your friend Melissa?” He sounded disappointed. “Yeah, but she hasn’t gotten back yet, so no one has to know you were ever here, except for the 30 or so students downstairs…” He smiled his toothy grin and his grip tightened on my hand as I fished through my purse for my keys. I had to let go of him in order to find them. They were, of course, at the bottom. This purse just seemed to eat everything I owned. I once found a water bottle and some cereal that had been in there God knows how long. I opened the door to a mess of clothes, papers and books that I had yet to clean up. I hadn’t even made my bed this morning. I walked in and threw my purse on my bed with Sidney following my every move. “See? Not so bad.” I laughed at how dumb that must have sounded. “Your room looks like a devastated third world country.” That got me laughing, hard, since no one had ever thought to compare this mess to a country. He sat down next to me and once again, took my hand, but this time, started drawing circles with his thumb on the back of my palm. The sensation he was creating felt so calming and relaxing. “Jess, I know I’ve only known you for a few hours, and I’ve already said this, but I’ll say it again. There’s something about you that I like. I like you.” His baby-face blushed and I smiled and said, “I like you too.”
-
I walked him back out to his car, careful to make sure that all the crazy fans were gone and that we were in the clear. We stepped out of the elevator and instead of grabbing my hand, he pulled me to him and put his arm around my waist. He smelled amazing, like one of those cologne ads in the magazines. We walked down the stairs onto the lawn and once again, the drunks thought they recognized him but then passed out. We walked over to his Range Rover parked a few feet away, and he got in the drivers seat, but before doing so, gave me a quick kiss on my lips. He leaned away and said, “I want you to come to my next game. I’ll have a pass there for you. Just tell them your name.” I nodded, unable to speak for about the eighth time today. “I hope I made your day better than it started”, he smiled as he said it. I nodded again and smiled. He smiled once more before he pulled away, and I smiled at him, with my fingers on my lips. My lips were tingling where his had been. I walked back up to my room in a daze, preparing myself for the questions I would be hit with.