Chapter 19

Sidney walked out of the bathroom after washing his hands and made his way through the line of people waiting for their cones. He’d never seen so many people in line for ice cream before. The line wound around a stanchion and was almost out the door.

When he finally got outside he found Misty standing near the bench they’d been sitting on in front of a guy. He noticed that Misty’s body language was completely different from anything he’d ever seen before. Her eyes were cast down at the sidewalk, her body was tense, and her hands were fidgeting like crazy. Something wasn’t right there.

“I guess I just never expected to see you back here,” the guy was saying when Sidney reached them. Misty just shrugged in response, avoiding eye contact with the guy.

“Is everything okay?” Sidney asked Misty, looking warily at the other guy. Her head shot up and he saw something in her eyes he’d never seen before. Fear?

“Why wouldn’t it be?” the guy asked, sizing him up. Sidney had an immediate aversion to this guy. Something told him he wasn’t good news.

“I just wanted to make sure,” Sidney said, putting his hands up in a signal that he didn’t want any trouble.

“You must be the hockey player,” the guy said to him, eyeing him. Sidney took offense to the comment.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Sidney questioned, a hint of anger in his voice. Misty spoke up for the first time then.

“That’s not Mason,” she said, her voice just above a whisper. Okay, what exactly was it about this guy that had Misty acting like this?

“Oh, there’s a new one, huh? Getting passed around the NHL are we now? Did you cheat on the last one too?” the guy spat at her. Sidney didn’t know where this was coming from, but he didn’t like it.

“Hey, I think that’s enough,” he defended Misty.

“Oh, I’m sorry. She hasn’t told you? Misty can’t seem to keep her legs closed,” he accused. Sidney felt rage boiling up in him. It was obvious this guy had dated Misty, and something had happened between them, but that was no excuse. You just didn’t treat girls that way.

“Shut up, Zeke!” Misty suddenly shouted, whipping her head up. After the way Misty had been acting, Sidney was surprised at the outburst. So was Zeke, and he didn’t like it.

“What did you say to me?” he asked. Misty’s head dropped back down, and it looked like she was cowering from him.

“Okay, it’s time to go. Come on, Misty,” Sidney interrupted, putting his arm around Misty and guiding her away from this creep. He could feel her shaking.

“But we’re not done,” Zeke growled, stepping back in front of them, his gaze directly on Misty. He could feel Misty pulling back against his arm, trying to move away from Zeke, but he held her in place.

“I think we are. Get out of the way,” Sidney demanded, clenching his teeth. Zeke’s glare turned to him.

“Sidney, please,” Misty begged in a hushed tone. Sidney watched as a shocked expression followed by a smile crossed Zeke’s face.

“I knew you looked familiar. So Misty’s fucking Sidney Crosby now. Moving up in the world, aren’t we?” Enough was enough. Without responding Sidney tightened his grasp on Misty and dragged her out into the road, through traffic, and crossed the street. “See you around!” he heard Zeke call after them.

Misty moved like she was on autopilot as he guided her up the side streets to his car. She was now clinging to him like she’d collapse to the ground if she let go. Her eyes were cast down to the ground and she seemed to be seeing nothing. He was worried, but he figured the best thing to do was to just get her back to the hotel.

She didn’t say a word the entire car ride back. She just sat motionless as she stared at the dashboard. He was worried. Real worried. He’d never seen her like this. Even the one time he’d seen her cry, well he saw the one tear fall, she hadn’t been catatonic. This guy had done something to her, and he didn’t like it at all.

They pulled up to the hotel and Sidney parked the car. He got out and noticed that Misty hadn’t moved. He walked around to open her door and helped her out of the car. She let him lead her into their room. Once inside she just stopped in the middle of the room. He wasn’t sure what to do. He just wished that she’d do something.

A second later she did. She started to shake as tears began to stream down her face. He rushed over to her and put his arms around her. She buried her head in his shoulder and let the sobs come. He felt her start to slip to the ground. Instead of letting her fall he led her to the bed where she collapsed, pulling him down with her, remaining in his arms.

“It’ll be okay,” he whispered, not really sure if it would or not.

“He tried to kill me,” she announced through tears. He felt his body stiffen in shock. Had he just heard her right?










The moment I’d heard Zeke’s voice, I’d frozen. It had been a few years since I’d seen him and almost as long since I’d heard from him. I knew it had only been that long simply because he had no idea how to find me. There were no mutual friends and I’d completely cut him off long ago. Running into him had been my biggest fear every time I was home, but it hadn’t happened. Not until today.

I only vaguely heard the conversation between Zeke and Sidney on the sidewalk. I was too lost in my fear to follow it. I’d had a momentary burst of courage when I knew Sidney was there, but when Zeke’s eyes glared into mine, I’d lost it. I just needed to get out of there, but I couldn’t make my feet move.

I didn’t even realize I had moved until Sidney helped me into his car. I was too busy reliving all the things Zeke had done to me in our relationship. He’d almost destroyed me. I was almost gone when I’d met Mason. I thought Mason had saved me until I’d later realized he was destroying me too. He’d just done it a whole lot less violently.

My thoughts were interrupted again when I felt Sidney unbuckling my seatbelt. I hadn’t realized he’d already driven away from Lake George and back to the hotel. I let him pull me up to our hotel room. I walked into the middle of the room and heard him closing the door behind me. That was when I realized Zeke couldn’t get me here.

Relief, anger, and anguish flooded through my body and I released them through tears. I didn’t cry often, rather choosing to joke my problems away, but this wasn’t funny. And now I couldn’t make the tears stop. I felt Sidney wrap his arms around me and along with every other emotion I was feeling now, I felt safe.

Sobs escaped my body as I clung to Sidney and I felt my knees go weak, unable to hold me up any longer. Sidney practically carried me over to the bed and I fell to the mattress, bringing him with me. I didn’t want to let go of him. I was afraid to let go of him. I wasn’t ready to have that feeling of safety leave me.

“It’ll be okay,” he whispered as he stroked my hair.

For the first time in my life when I thought of Zeke, I knew it would be. As long as Sidney was in my life, no matter what the capacity, I was going to be okay. I was closer to him than I was with anyone else in my life. I don’t know how that happened or why after only a month and a half I felt that way, but it was there.

I had the burning need to get things out. I’d never told anyone everything about Zeke, not even my family or Mason. It had been too difficult to think about, to relive. I’d kept everything locked inside. For some reason telling Sidney, explaining everything to him, didn’t fill me with dread. It gave me the hope that I could move on.

“He tried to kill me.” I felt Sidney’s body tense as he took in what I said. Just saying that felt like a huge relief.

“What did you say?” he asked a moment later. I pulled away from him and looked at him for the first time. I couldn’t read the expression on his face. I decided instead of just repeating myself that I would start from the beginning.

“Zeke and I met at a party the summer before 11th grade. We started dating. Things were fine for the first few months, but then things slowly started to change. I started hearing stories about him dating other girls. We didn’t go to the same school so I didn’t know what to believe. Each time I confronted him he assured me he wasn’t and had a story to go along with each accusation. The stories came so easily to him that I figured there was no way he could be lying.” I paused after that remembering all those lies and feeling like an idiot for believing them. The tears came again.

“We don’t have to talk about this,” Sidney told me. I shook my head, determined to go on.

“My friends hated him, but I couldn’t understand why. They refused to spend time with him. Pretty soon he’d alienated me from everyone. I just had him and my family, who hated him too. A year into the relationship was when it got really bad. I was fighting with girls I didn’t even know over him. I’d hear Zeke was hooking up with them, and he claimed they wanted him and were trying to break us up by starting rumors. I eventually didn’t even recognize myself. I’d never had an argument with anyone before him, and I was fighting with a dozen girls I’d never even met face to face.

One day when I was at Zeke’s house and he ran to the store I found myself snooping through his things, even though I would never have dreamed of doing that before. I had to know if the stories were true. I found notes, pictures, and internet conversations with all of these girls. When he got home I threw them all at him, screaming, and crying. He pinned me against a wall and bruised my arms. That was the first time he got physical. I was too scared to fight with him. I tried to break up with him later, but he told me he’d kill himself.

I didn’t want to be responsible for that so I stayed. We had another argument after that about where I wanted to go to college. That was the night he really hit me. He elbowed me in the ribs, knocking the wind out of me. Things continued on like that for the rest of the relationship. I was too scared of him to do anything until I went away to college and met Mason. I didn’t tell him everything, but I told him I wasn’t happy. He convinced me to leave Zeke and being a few states away I found the courage to do it.

He began to call and send me messages online and through the mail threatening me. He said he knew where I lived and that when I got home we were going to talk whether I liked it or not. He kept saying that I belonged to him. I just ignored him. Despite what he’d done to me in the past I didn’t think he’d really hurt me.

That summer I was driving home from work late one night when a car came out of nowhere. I was alone on a back road and this car kept flying up onto my bumper before backing off enough to do it again. Then suddenly it flew into the oncoming lane so it was right next to me. Then it veered right at me. I had to hit the brakes and veer off the side of the road to avoid hitting it. I missed slamming head first into a tree by two feet. In the second I’d managed to look over before it happened I saw Zeke in the driver’s seat.”

I stopped there as the fear and memories came back. I began to sob again and Sidney wrapped his arms around me once more. Once again I was crying on his shoulder, letting it all out. I suddenly didn’t care anymore. I just wanted those memories gone and if this was how to get rid of them, it was what I was going to do. I pulled myself together and looked back up at Sidney to finish.

“The rest of the summer I didn’t go anywhere alone. I’d just started to get my old friends back and they wouldn’t let me out of their sight. Mason left school the following year to go pro and asked me to go with him. I know now that I jumped at the chance not because I wanted to go with him but to avoid ever living at home again. All along I thought Mason had saved me from Zeke, but really I went from one trap to another. I left Zeke to escape the abuse and I stayed with Mason to escape Zeke.”

“Jesus, Misty,” Sidney whispered when I finished. He pulled me into another hug, but this time I didn’t cry. Not another tear would ever be shed over Zeke for the rest of my life. “I’m so sorry,” he told me after a moment.

“Don’t be. I did it to myself. At least I can see that. Now I can move on and get myself back.” I looked back at Sidney and forced a small smile on my face. “I’m sorry I dumped all of that on you. I’ve just never told anyone all of that before.”

“I’m glad you did. No one should have to go through that let alone keep it a secret.”

I stood up from the bed and found that after my soul purging I was exhausted. I grabbed a change of clothes and walked into the bathroom to get ready for bed. When I came out Sidney was lying back on the bed, his hands behind his head, dressed in the same shorts he wore to bed the night before, staring up at the ceiling. I got into bed next to him.

“Is there anything I can do?” he asked quietly. There was one thing he could do. I just hoped he would.

“Can you just hold me tonight as I fall asleep?” I saw a flash of something in his eyes that I didn’t recognize. A moment later he nodded.

“I can do that.”

He got under the blankets and pulled me into him. I closed my eyes as I felt new tears forming. This time they didn’t come from pain. In my last waking moments that night I was thankful to have Sidney in my life and savored the feel of his arms around me. With him, I was going to be okay.

Chapter 18

I woke up to the sound of a groan mixed in with a giggle. I turned my head to see Bauer standing up on the bed, wagging his tail, and sticking his nose right into Sidney’s face. Sid turned his head only to have Bauer hop over him and stick his nose right into his face again. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Would you get your dog out of my face?” he growled, still trying to get away. Bauer thought it was a game and kept going back in for more.

I pulled the blankets off of me and got out of bed. When Bauer saw I was up, he jumped off the bed and ran over to me. I pet him for a minute before slipping on a pair of flip flops and strapping his leash onto him. Then I took him outside, which is what I knew he wanted. When he was done I brought him back inside and saw that Sidney was up and standing on the balcony overlooking the lake. I paused for a moment, seeing him standing there in just a pair of shorts, and admired the muscles in his back.

“How does it compare to home?” I asked him, finally joining him out there.

“It’s not bad,” he replied with a smirk. I rolled my eyes at him.

“Let’s get dressed. I’ll show you around a bit before my parents are out of work and we head over there,” I suggested. Sidney agreed and we took turns using the bathroom to shower and get ready.

When we were ready we made our way to Sidney’s car and I gave him the directions to the house where I’d grown up. When we rounded the corner onto my street I could see my parents both sitting outside on the porch reading, like they often did in nice weather. Sidney pulled into the driveway and my parents both looked up. I could see the confused looks on their faces when we pulled in, not recognizing the car.

“Hi guys!” I called out when I opened the passenger door. My parents looked at me in surprise as I let Bauer out of the back.

“Hi,” my mom replied, still looking questioningly at the car. Sidney slowly got out and smiled at my parents.

“Sorry I didn’t tell you guys this, but it was kind of last minute. This is Sidney. Sid, these are my parents, Wade and Ada,” I introduced them. Both of them looked at Sidney in surprise. My dad made the first move, holding his hand out to Sid.

“It’s nice to meet you, Sidney.” My mom followed him doing the same.

“It’s nice to meet you both too. Misty’s talked about you both a lot,” Sidney told them politely.

I wouldn’t necessarily call the introductions awkward, but I could tell that my parents weren't exactly sure how to act around Sidney. They both knew who he was and what he was to hockey. I could see they were both in a little shock that he was standing in their driveway shaking their hands. Thankfully Bauer couldn’t hold himself back any longer and jumped up onto my mom.

“Well, hello, Bauer,” she said laughing and petting him. He wagged his tail for a bit before repeating the same thing with my dad.

I laughed as I saw the interaction between him and my parents. He’d been living with them for a couple months before we’d gone up to Cole Harbour. He obviously missed them. As I was watching him I heard the front door of the house open. I looked up to see Nick walk outside. He smiled at me and then froze in his tracks when he saw Sidney standing next to me.

“Nick, this is Sidney. Sid, that’s my brother Nick.” I tried to hold back my smile and laugh as I watched Nick narrow his eyes at Sidney before making his way down the front steps and over to us.

“Hi,” he mumbled as he shook Sidney’s hand.

“I swear I’m not an asshole,” Sidney replied. That was it. I couldn’t hold back the laugh anymore, and it burst out in a loud guffaw. I doubled over in laughter as my family looked at me like I was crazy. Sidney turned and grinned at me, knowing exactly why I was laughing.

“Um, okay,” Nick responded, looking questioningly between the two of us. I finally composed myself as I rested a hand on Sidney’s shoulder to keep myself propped up.

“I told Sidney you hated him,” I explained. Nick’s eyes opened wide in horror and both of my parents started to laugh.

“No I don’t!” he exclaimed shaking his head.

“Wasn’t it you that just said to me about a month ago that Sidney was an asshole even after I told you he was a nice guy?” I loved embarrassing my brother.

“Misty!” he yelled. I doubled over in laughter again and everyone but Nick joined in. “I hate you.” That only caused me to laugh harder. Nick rolled his eyes at me and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at me until I was done.

“I’m sorry. Sometimes I just can’t help myself,” I apologized.

The five of us made our way inside and I gave Sidney a tour of the house. He looked into my room and glanced back at me in confusion. I had to explain that when I’d moved out to live with Mason, my parents had given me everything and then turned it into a guest room/office. There was absolutely nothing left in that room that would imply I’d grown up in it for 19 years aside from the walls remaining purple.

My father got to work making dinner for us since in the Wilson family my mom didn’t cook. I talked away with my family like I usually did about everything going on back in Cole Harbour. I’d kept them somewhat up to date, but talking on the phone just wasn’t the same as talking in person to me. Nick finally managed to relax in Sidney’s presence and be himself. If I wasn’t mistaken he seemed to like Sidney.

Dinner ended and Sidney and I hung around for a little bit. As the sun started to fall I decided that I should show Sidney what the night life in my hometown was like. My parents agreed to take Bauer for the night so that we could do what we wanted. We drove back and once again parked off the metered streets.

“Dessert?” I asked Sidney as we walked down the street.

He nodded and I led him into an ice cream shop. There was a line, but I walked right up to the register. Sidney tried to stop me, but I shrugged him off. It was about time I got to be the one with the perks, as small as they may be. I’d worked there in the past. The manager saw me and ran over to talk. I introduced them before putting in the order. We received our cones for free and talked for another minute before walking back outside to eat our ice cream. Oatmeal Cookie Chunk for me of course.

“I’m going to go inside and wash my hands,” Sidney told me when he’d finished. I nodded and left alone I finished my cone and did some people watching.

“Misty, is that you?” a male voice I’d hoped to never hear again asked from behind me.

Chapter 17

Sidney pulled up to Misty’s house at 6 am Monday morning like they’d agreed upon. As soon as he’d placed the car into park the front door opened and Bauer tore outside. He got out of the car and smiled at Misty who followed Bauer out the door. Before he could say anything, Bauer jumped up on him. He greeted Bauer before making his way over to Misty.

“Morning,” she said to him chipperly with a smile. He made a face.

“How are you this awake right now?” he grumbled as she practically bounced down the sidewalk to put the bag she was carrying into his car.

“It’s called coffee. Want some?” she offered. He actually considered drinking some of her “coffee” as she called it. He must be tired.

“I’ll just stick with energy drinks, thanks,” he declined. She shrugged and walked back into the house. He followed her in, with Bauer on his tail. “Need help?”

“If you can grab those two bags there, that would be great,” she directed him.

He picked them up and looked inside. One held toys for Bauer and the other held food for him. Misty picked up Bauer’s bed and followed Sidney out to the car. He threw the bags in the trunk while Misty situated the bed in the back seat. She told him to hold on and ran back inside. She was back out in a minute with a travel mug and locked the door behind her.

“Ready?” he asked once they’d gotten into the car.

“A few ground rules first,” she started. He groaned.

“What Misty-isms are we going to deal with now?” he asked, only half joking. If he'd learned anything about her, it was that there was always some rule and it had an exception.

“I’m kind of offended by that!” she exclaimed. The pout on her face made her look hurt, but he could see the twinkle in her eyes that told him she wasn’t.

“I don’t take it back. Continue.” She narrowed her eyes at him before a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“Asshole,” she muttered before continuing. “Okay, we only stop when it’s time to get gas. We get food and take bathroom breaks at the same time. No stops between, got it?”

“I can deal with that,” he agreed with a nod. No exception to that rule. He was surprised.

“Also, we split time with the music. Since it’s your car you get two hours of your choice to my one hour. Only exception is if one of us is sleeping. Obviously if your two hours are up, but I’m asleep, you don’t have to put my music in.” There was the exception. He knew it was coming.

“Sounds fair.” She smiled over at him.

“Then let’s hit the road.” He started the car and backed out of her driveway. As he started driving he realized something.

“Hey, where are we stopping for the night?” he asked. Misty nearly choked on a sip of coffee she’d just taken.

“Stopping? Good one,” she said with a giggle. He looked over at her in confusion. Her gaze turned to him and her smile faded. “You’re serious?” He nodded. “We’re not stopping.”

“What do you mean we’re not stopping?” he questioned.

“I’m not sure where I lost you,” she commented.

“It’s a 14 hour drive!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah, but there’s two of us to alternate driving,” she responded. He didn’t respond. Instead he just looked at her like she was crazy. When she saw the look on his face she started to laugh. “Oh, I get it. You don’t want me to drive your car!”

“No, that’s not it,” he argued. He couldn’t even believe himself.

“I’ll have you know, Crosby, that I’m a very good driver. Now we’re not stopping for the night. Either you’re going to have to do the whole trip yourself or you’re going to have to suck it up and let me drive.”

“Fine,” he growled. “If you so much as put a scratch on this car, I’ll-“

“You’ll what?” she asked, cutting him off. “Calm down, it’ll be fine.”

He settled into his seat and shut up about it. There was no sense in worrying about it now. They both fell silent as he drove. His mind wandered to the day before. He’d told his parents what he was doing and his father had lost it. The Stanley Cup was coming the week after they got back and there was still a lot to be done.

His dad told him he was being irresponsible running off for a week with a girl he’d just met when they were starting to prepare for the arrival. Maybe it wasn’t great timing, but he wouldn’t call it irresponsible. His phone was on him if anyone needed to talk to him about anything and his dad knew that.

Even so, he knew that the cup coming to town soon wasn’t why his father was so upset. He was upset over Misty. He simply refused to believe that they were just friends. His dad just couldn’t understand how two people spent so much time together without dating. Just like with everyone else, it was hard to explain.

It had taken about a week for Sidney to find that he and Misty had a lot in common. They’d gotten close fast, and as strange as it was for that to happen to him, it just felt right. They’d only known each other for a month and a half, but he felt like Misty had always been in his life. It hit him as he thought about it. It sounded crazy, but she’d become his best friend.

He glanced over at her and saw that her head was resting back on the seat and her eyes were closed. She had no makeup on, her hair was in some sort of messy ponytail, and she was wearing a pair of lululemon capris and a plain t-shirt. Despite her lack of effort she looked beautiful.

Misty had turned into the person he wanted to call first with good and bad news. When he was bored he went to her. He knew that he’d always be able to tell her everything and he could trust her with it all. It was absolutely crazy but they were connected somehow. He didn’t care what his father said. Misty was in his life and he didn’t want that to end.

“Hey, Sid? I forgot to tell you something,” she said interrupting his thoughts.










Sidney looked over at me with his eyebrows raised. Okay, just tell him. Just get it out there and see how he reacts. There was nothing that could be done about it now. I gave him a small smile before I opened my mouth.

“I kind of didn’t tell my family that you were coming with me,” I told him.

“What?! Why not?” he asked in shock.

“Okay, you have to understand something. I love my family. They’re really great and I wouldn’t trade them in for anything. The thing is my parents have big mouths. If I’d told them you were coming, the whole state of NY would be outside of their house when we pulled into the driveway. It’s not because they’re trying to name drop or anything, they’re just not good at being discreet,” I explained. Sidney didn’t say anything for a moment and I waited for his response.

“Dealing with the whole state of NY after a 14 hour road trip is probably my own personal idea of hell,” he joked. I smiled in relief before remembering there was more.

“Well, I’m glad we have that cleared up. There’s just one more thing.” Sidney gave me another look. “My brother’s kind of a superfan. Not in a bad creepy way, he’s just a really big Rangers fan. The thing is he kind of hates you.”

“He doesn’t even know me!” Sidney exclaimed.

“I know, I know. You should be able to understand. There are plenty of people out there that don’t know you that hate you simply because of rivalries and such. If it makes you feel better, he hates Ovechkin too.” Sidney turned his head and glared at me. “Sorry.”

“You’re lucky we’re too far from Cole Harbour to turn around right now.” I laughed and rolled my eyes.

“Can I ask you something?” I asked a few minutes later. Sidney nodded. “Why did you want to come with me?” Sidney didn’t respond for a moment.

“I told you. I wanted to see where you grew up,” he finally responded.

“Yeah, I know what you said. I just never believed it. Why did you really want to come?”

Sidney pulled off the highway at a service area. I looked at him questioningly and he pointed to the gas gauge. It was almost on empty. How convenient. We both got out of the car and I put Bauer on his leash and let him out. I figured Sidney was going to head straight inside to grab food but he followed me over to the patch of grass I was taking Bauer to.

“I was worried about you traveling so far by yourself. I found a way to make sure you were okay and I took it. I just didn’t like the thought of you being alone and doing this,” he explained. I was surprised by his answer.

“I’ve done this plenty of times by myself. I’m completely capable, you know.”

“I know, but I can’t help it. I worry about people I’m close to.”

He turned and walked away to head inside, leaving me standing there in shock. I felt myself start to smile as I watched him walk further away. My heart felt like it was fluttering as I thought about him worrying about me. He cared. Even if it was just as a friend, he cared about me. I’d take whatever I could get from him, because I knew that my life would never be the same with him in it.

When everything was taken care of we got back on the road. We finally reached home and walked into the hotel we’d booked a room at. It was too late to stop over at my parent’s house, so we decided to do that the next day. Sidney walked inside to check us in as I pulled our stuff out of the car. I smiled over at him when I saw him walk back outside.

“So, there’s a little problem,” he told me. My face fell.

“What happened?” I asked.

“They gave us a room with just a king size bed. I tried to get another room but they’re booked full.”

“That’s okay. King size beds have plenty of room,” I told him, not thinking much of it at the time.

“I can sleep on the couch,” he offered.

“Don’t be ridiculous. We’ll both fit.” It didn’t seem like a big deal to me at all. It was sweet however that he offered to sleep on the couch and let me have the bed. Such a gentleman.

We got inside and unpacked our stuff before settling in for the night. We were both tired from traveling those 14 hours and we just collapsed on the bed. We turned on a random movie on HBO and barely made it through the whole thing. When we crawled under the blankets it was obvious we were both trying to avoid overstepping boundaries. There was a huge gap between us which Bauer took over. At least he’d be a barrier and would make things a little less awkward at night. Sleep took me over quickly and didn’t allow me much time to think about the fact that only a dog separated us in bed.

Chapter 16

“Pay up!” Wesley called out. I turned my head to look over at the four guys playing poker.

“Keep it down over there!” Zara yelled over to them.

“Oh, sorry. We didn’t mean to interrupt your tanning, Princess,” Caden joked. The group was out on Sidney’s boat. We were just floating around the lake on a beautiful day. Zara and I were stretched out on the back taking in the sun while the guys played poker.

“What is it with boys and poker?” Zara groaned as I flipped over onto my stomach.

“I have no idea, but it’s obnoxious,” I replied. We both laughed at their expense.

“We should do this again next weekend if the weather’s nice,” Zara suggested.

“Oh, I’d love to but I think I’m heading home for the week.”

“What for?” Walker asked, interrupting our conversation.

“It’s my best friend’s birthday,” I explained.

“Isn’t that a bit of a hike?” Sidney threw in.

“Like a 16 hour drive or so.”

“What is wrong with you?! Just fly!” Wesley exclaimed.

“I don’t want to do that to Bauer. He’s never flown and he’s scared of everything. He’d be traumatized. It’s no big deal, really. Hardly my first road trip.”

The conversation changed after that. The guys went back to their poker game and Zara and I got back to tanning. When the sun started to fall we headed back to Sidney’s. Zara and I grabbed drinks while the guys started up the grill and argued over who could cook a steak better. Getting annoyed, Zara and I grabbed the steaks and tossed them on the grill while the guys were still arguing.

“What the hell?!” Caden called out, looking at the steaks on the grill in horror.

“You’re going to ruin them!” Walker agreed.

“Then someone just cook the damn steaks! I’m hungry and you were all acting like 5 year olds,” Zara demanded.

Sidney claimed the grill pulling out the home field advantage card. Happy that someone had finally taken control, Zara and I went inside to make up a bowl of salad. I found a mixture of vegetables in Sidney’s refrigerator and sliced them up before covering them in oil and a garlic herb seasoning. Then I brought them out in a grill basket and ordered Sidney to grill those too.

“She’s ordering you around like you’re married,” I heard Wesley joke as I walked back into the house.

“Fuck off,” was Sidney’s reply. I laughed to myself before heading back into the house.

When the food was done we sat around the table talking, laughing, and eating. Once it was done Zara and I cleaned up while the guys sat on their asses like they’d had a rough day. Just as we were finishing, a few more people showed up. Apparently we were hanging out at Sidney’s for the night.

It turned into a small party not long after. Drinks were flowing, card games were being played, and drunken conversations were being had. I’d spent most of the night talking with Zara and Valerie, who had come over not long after dinner. As we sat around a fire that had been started we looked up to see Callie walk around the house.

“Who invited her?” Valerie asked.

“Looks like your competition’s here,” Zara said looking at me. I gave her an annoyed look.

“I’m sorry, why are we competing?” I questioned.

“She’s still hung up on Sidney,” Valerie replied.

“Still not understanding,” I told them. They looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Was my crush that obvious?

“Come on, Misty. We know you like Sid,” Zara prodded. I groaned and stood up.

“Is he cute? Yes, and there are plenty of cute guys out there I can appreciate. Do I want to date him? No. I need a drink.”

I walked away from them and into the house to grab something strong. I hated having that conversation with them. No matter what I said, they were still dead set on the fact that Sidney and I belonged together. We were just friends and that’s where it was going to stay.

As I poured myself a drink I saw Callie walk into the house. She was looking just as slutty as she always did. While I’d heard plenty about her, I’d never talked to her before and I wasn’t really looking forward to being alone in the house with her right now. When she saw me pouring a drink she smiled over at me.

“Hi, we haven’t met. I’m Callie,” she said a little too sweetly. I had a feeling the smile on her face was as fake as could be.

“Misty,” I returned as I put the cap back on the bottle of Captain. I grabbed a diet pepsi and didn’t offer up any more to the conversation. I watched Callie grab a beer out of the corner of my eye and pop the top off before taking a sip.

“You and Sid have been spending a lot of time together this summer,” she started. I smiled over at her and shrugged.

“I guess. I don’t really know a lot of people here,” I offered, starting to feel a little uncomfortable with the direction this conversation looked to be headed.

“I heard about your ex being a hockey player. Decided to trade up to a superstar?” she asked.

“Excuse me? Sidney and I are just friends, that’s it. I’m not looking to trade up or down right now, thank you.” I was annoyed and went to walk out of the house suddenly dying to talk to Zara and Valerie about my possible feelings for Sidney. Unfortunately Callie blocked my way.

“He’s mine. We belong together.” I rolled my eyes at her.

“Good luck convincing him of that.” I started to try to push past Callie but she stepped in front of me again.

“I don’t like you and I don’t like that you’re around. If you try to take him from me, I’ll end you.”

Her eyes were narrowed on me in an attempt to look menacing, but I felt myself start to laugh. I was pretty small in stature, but it was obvious that I was stronger than Callie. I practically lived at the gym and it showed in my body. It looked like Callie was skin and bones. I’d kick her ass if she ever tried to “end me.”

“If you don’t get out of my way right now, you won’t have to wait to try.”

I’d never fought anyone and I certainly wasn’t looking to get in my first one right now, but I was a little drunk and didn’t like being threatened. Callie didn’t move but I saw a flicker of fear in her face. I smiled at her. She knew she was in over her head with me. I continued to glare at her, giving her time to back down and let me by.

“Hey, Misty, can you make me that drink you concocted for me at your place with the pomegranate?” Sidney’s voice called out interrupting our staring contest. Callie looked over at him and then back at me before storming out of the house.










When Sidney heard Misty say that she was going home for the week, he was surprised. She hadn’t mentioned it before. Then when she said she was driving, he wasn’t happy. He was worried. She’d be by herself on the road for 16 hours and a lot could happen. There wasn’t anything he could do about it right now, but he was going to come up with a solution.

“She’s ordering you around like you’re married,” Caden joked when Misty had handed him a grill basket of mixed vegetables and told him to grill them.

“Fuck off,” he replied, not wanting to hear it.

“So when are you going to man up and make a move?” Walker asked. Sidney groaned and flipped the steaks.

“Not going to happen,” he told them.

“Why not? She hot, she’s funny, she could care less that you’re Sidney Crosby, we like her, and you like her. What’s stopping you?” Wesley questioned.

“The fact that we’re just friends is what’s stopping me. It’s just not like that with us,” he argued. He was sick of having this conversation with the guys.

“Come on. You’re telling me that you two haven’t hooked up since Canada Day?” Caden asked.

“No, we haven’t.” Sidney started to get annoyed and suddenly wished he hadn’t pulled the home field card to make sure he was the one grilling so he could get away from them right now.

“But you two could-" Walker started.

“Steaks are done!” Sidney interrupted, extremely grateful. He pulled them off the grill and brought the steaks inside, ending the conversation.

When dinner was over the guys made a few calls and people started coming over. Sidney didn’t mind at all. They were all his friends and he much preferred to stay in than go out. They built a fire in the backyard and made their way out there for the night. In the middle of a conversation with the guys, Zara ran over to him.

“Sidney, you need to get inside now!” she yelled out. He immediately turned toward the house.

“Why?” he asked.

Then he spotted them. Callie and Misty were the only two in the house and neither looked very happy. Callie had her arms over her chest and was glaring at Misty. Misty had a drink in her hand and looked ready to dump it over Callie’s head. Nothing good could be coming from this. Who the hell had invited Callie anyway?

“Hey, Misty, can you make me that drink you concocted for me at your place with the pomegranate?” he asked walking into the house. Callie looked between him and Misty before storming out of the house.

“Thank you,” Misty thanked him.

“What was that about?” he asked. Misty sighed and took a sip of her drink.

“Apparently you belong with Callie and she doesn’t like that I’m around. She thinks I’m a threat which is ridiculous of course,” Misty explained. Sidney felt disappointment at the last statement. She thought the two of them together would be ridiculous. He tried to hide the disappointment and laughed at the first part.

“I belong with Callie? That’s good for a few laughs.” Misty laughed with him about it and headed for the door.

“You picked a crazy one, Sid,” she joked.

“I’ll come home with you.” What? Where had that come from? Misty spun around to look at him in surprise.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“When you go home I’ll go with you. That way you don’t have to travel so far by yourself,” he offered.

He had no idea where that idea had come from or why it had popped into his mind at that time, but it had, and now he liked the idea. He could make sure nothing happened to her on the drive if he was with her. Now she just had to agree.

“You don’t have to do that. I’ve driven that far alone before.” He shrugged.

“It’s fine, really. You’ve seen where I grew up. I think it would be kind of fun to see where you grew up.” Misty thought about it for a minute and nodded with a smile.

“I guess if you want, it’s fine. I want to leave Monday. I hope that’s okay with you.”

“Sounds good.” He followed her back outside with a smile on his face.

Chapter 15

A loud boom woke me up. I opened my eyes slowly and saw Bauer still curled up and asleep at the end of the bed. That’s when I heard the rain and saw the flash of light. It was just a thunderstorm. I fell back to the bed and looked up at the ceiling. Great. Now what was I going to do today?

After trying to fall back to sleep with no luck, I finally got up and got my coffee going early. When it was ready I took a mug and sat down in front of the TV. I flipped through channels and groaned when I saw that nothing interesting was on. I put on the weather and saw that the storm was going to last all day. I groaned again.

Usually I would have gone to the gym to kill some time, but my ankle was at least a week away from any sort of physical activity. I grabbed one of Bauer’s toys and threw it down the hallway for him to chase, but apparently the storm had put him into a lazy mood. He merely lifted his head, watched it sail through the air, and then returned his head to the throw pillow he’d been laying on.

I was going to go stir crazy just sitting here all day. I was an active person. I needed to be doing something or be around someone to be happy. Currently I didn’t have either. I sighed as I wracked my brain for a solution to my problem. Only one thing came to mind. Sidney.

I shook the thought off. I still wasn’t sure I was ready to be around him alone just yet. I needed to find a way to squash this crush before it got any worse. I was just not emotionally ready to have feelings for anyone right now. There was just too much hurt left over from Mason and too much uncertainty about what my future held.

Then I got angry at myself. This whole thing was stupid. When had a silly crush ever kept me from spending time with anyone before? Growing up, I’d had a new crush every week. In fact, I’d never had a crush that lasted longer than a few weeks. I just needed to continue on like I would normally and the crush would go away.

I felt my fears and hesitations fall away when I realized all of that. There was nothing to be worried about. I smiled and picked up my phone. I knew it was early, but I figured Sidney would probably be up anyway. He was an early riser.

Are you up? I sent.

Yeah, why?

Any plans?

Not anymore thanks to the rain.

Movie day at your place?

I’ll see you when you get here.

I smiled to myself as I got dressed. Everything was going to be okay. Bauer got into the car with me and I headed towards Sidney’s. I took a detour on the way and stopped at the grocery store. What was a movie day without movie snacks? After quickly loading up on junk food that I knew Sidney would say he couldn’t have and then sneak some of, I finished off the trip to his house.

“What the hell is this stuff?” he asked, looking down at the bags in my hands when he opened the door.

“Snacks,” I told him simply as I walked in. I made my way into his kitchen and started grabbing any bowls I could find.

“Are other people coming?” he asked. I shook my head as I began emptying the contents of one of the boxes into a bowl. “Then who exactly is going to eat all this?”

“We are,” I stated. He laughed at me, but I ignored him and continued filling bowls. “Help me carry these out there, will ya?”

He obliged and grabbed as many of the bowls as he could. We covered his coffee table with the bowls of candy and popcorn. Then we poured ourselves glasses of soda and sat down on the sectional. I pulled out all the movies I had brought and began to peruse Sidney’s options on the DVD holder.

“What do you want to start off with?” Sidney asked, taking a bite of a Twizzler.

“I don’t know. I say we can’t watch anything that’s not a comedy all day. What do you think?”

He looked through my collection of movies before getting up to look through his own. We definitely had a fair amount in common, which showed me that we had the same taste. He finally grabbed a DVD off the shelf and held it up. I rolled my eyes and snorted out my laughter.

“You would pick that to be first.”

“It’s a classic!” he defended himself. “Are you okay with it?”

“Is the answer Jesus?” He grinned at the quote from Slap Shot, which he was holding up. It didn’t take long for us to be in complete hysterics as we bantered back and forth like we were characters in the movie.

“She underlines the fuck scenes for ya?” Sidney responded.

“You’re bullshit, you’re really bullshit!” I returned.

“You take the van, I’ll keep the dog!”

“They’re fuckin’ horrible lookin’!”

“I’m listening to the fucking song!”

“Johnny always says you can just drink so much and screw so much.”

“You’re stupid when you do that. Just some English pig with no brain.”

“You make me sick when you speak, Morris.”

When we finally settled down from our laughter and quote-fest we put the movie in. We snacked on all the pure sugar I’d brought over as we cracked up at the movie. We continued to shout out quotes from the movie as they came on and by the end we’d practically acted the whole thing out.

“I’ve never met a girl who knew that movie as well as hockey players do,” Sidney told me when it ended. I laughed.

“I actually hated it the first time I saw it. Mason put it on and he kept talking it up before it started. I watched it and at the end I looked at him like he was crazy. ‘That was it?’ I’d asked him. Later on he wanted to watch it again and I insisted on drinking while watching it. I was drunk before it even started and I found it hilarious. It grew on me,” I explained.

“Now, you have it memorized,” he finished. I grinned back at him. Keeping with the theme I put in Major League next without asking Sidney’s permission.

“Do you mind?” I asked.

“You trying to tell me Jesus Christ can’t hit a curveball?” he replied. I burst out into laughter and we fell into the same pattern with Major League that we did with Slap Shot.

In fact, that ended up being the pattern with every movie we put on. The entire day passed and I didn’t think either of us said anything that wasn’t a quote from some movie. My abs hurt because we were laughing so hard the entire day. Despite the snacks all day my stomach started to growl that evening, craving something substantial.

“What do you think we should do for dinner?” Sidney asked, obviously feeling the same way.

“Do you have to ask?” I answered. He rolled his eyes at me, knowing exactly what I meant.

“This has been the most unhealthy day of my life,” he joked when he picked up his phone to make the call.

“I’ll whip your ass into shape tomorrow. Today, we eat.”

The Chinese food arrived half an hour later and he carried the containers into the living room. We held off on starting another movie until we were done eating. When we’d had our fill of the take-out we added the containers to the mess on the table and collapsed back onto the couch in a near food coma. I realized that we were laying on separate sides of the sectional, but our heads met in the corner.

“What are you going to do when you leave Cole Harbour?” Sidney asked me, turning his head to face me.

“Go back to my parents’ house and get my job back I guess,” I said.

“No, I mean in the future. What does your future hold?” he clarified. I thought about it for a moment.

“I don’t know.”

“Well, what do you want to do?”

I was surprised by the question because of how unexpected it was to me. It occurred to me that no one had ever asked me what I wanted to do. Everyone seemed to have an opinion about what I should do, but no one ever took what I wanted into consideration. I don’t know if I’d always known what I wanted but had put it to the back of my mind to appease other people or if it only just hit me when Sidney asked, but I suddenly knew.

“I want to go back to school. I want a degree in Exercise Science and Nutrition.”

Things felt clear to me now. It was too late to start going to school somewhere in the fall, but maybe I could start in the spring and if not, I’d start the following year. There was a resolve in me that I hadn’t felt before. My life had a purpose. I knew what I wanted to do and it felt amazing.

“So get it.”

I rolled over and looked at Sidney with a smile on my face. He was probably the first person in my life that had ever been supportive of a decision I’d made. Sure, there was still a lot to be done to ensure that I did it, but just knowing that I had a destination in mind made everything else seem less daunting.

“Thank you,” I said to him. He rolled over and faced me.

“For what?” he asked.

“Everything.”

He looked at me in confusion, but I didn’t elaborate. I wasn’t sure that it would make any sense. How would I explain it to him? You were the first person to ask me what I wanted and suddenly it dawned on me. It sounded crazy in my head and it would probably sound crazier if I said it out loud.

Instead I just looked back at him and smiled. After a while a smile broke out onto his face too. We stayed like that, silent and smiling at each other. The butterflies in my stomach flared up just then and I found myself wanting desperately to feel his lips on mine. That’s when the fear hit.

I couldn’t kiss him right now. I was going to need his support because I didn’t know if I’d have anyone else’s. I couldn’t risk our friendship by kissing him. He probably didn’t even have any sort of feelings towards me past friendship. Thankfully our relationship had remained intact after that night on Canada Day, but I sort of felt that was the case because neither of us remembered it. If I kissed him and he didn’t feel like that about me, I could lose him.

But what if he did feel that way about me? Then what? That would be just as disastrous. I know how I get when relationships start. I rely on the guy and my dependence on them starts almost immediately. I fall in love quickly and I’ll do anything to make the guy happy, including giving up anything I want. I couldn’t do that this time. I needed to fulfill my dreams before starting another relationship. It was the only way I could guarantee that I wouldn’t lose myself again.

“So what movie do you want to watch now?” I asked, breaking the eye contact and standing up.

“Anything you want,” he replied. If only it were that easy.

Chapter 14

I made the last turn on my run and headed back towards my house. I sped up to sprint the length of the street. As I neared my house I saw someone walk down off the doorstep. I didn’t see any cars and I strained my eyes to try to figure out who it was. The closer I got the more I could see, and I realized it was Sidney.

It had been a few days since the day at his house, and we hadn’t really talked. After realizing how I felt about him, I was trying to avoid him. Now was just not the time for feelings like this towards anyone. He smiled as I reached the house next door. I wanted to try to play it cool, like nothing had changed.

Just as I smiled back, I felt myself plunging forward. I put my hands out to break my fall as I hit the pavement. I yelled out in pain as I felt stinging in my hands and my right knee. I noticed the throbbing in my right ankle after the initial shock of the fall. Then I cursed myself for forgetting the pothole in the road next to my driveway.

“Are you okay?” Sidney asked, concern laced in his voice, as he rushed over to me.

“I think so,” I replied, forcing a smile to my face. He grabbed my hands and turned them over to look at my palms.

“You’re bleeding,” he stated. I just shrugged.

“It’s hardly the worst injury I’ve ever had,” I told him.

“Let me help you inside.”

He slid his arm around me and I couldn’t ignore the shiver that went through my body. He helped me up and I visibly winced as I put pressure on my ankle. Suddenly I felt myself being lifted up into the air. I let out a small noise in protest, but Sidney ignored it and carried me in a fireman lift to the front door, where he managed to open the door with me in his arms. Once inside he put me down on the couch and immediately lifted my leg up to inspect my ankle.

“It’s fine, it’s just a tear,” I told him. He looked at me in confusion before going back to inspect my ankle.

“It’s not swelling or bruising right away so that’s a good sign. It’s probably just a mild sprain.” I shook my head.

“Nope, it’s a tear,” I argued. Now he looked at me skeptically.

“How do you figure?” he asked.

“I’ve done it before. I have an extra bone in my ankle called an os trigonum. I didn’t know about it, and thought that I just sprained my ankle all the time playing sports. When I did actually break my ankle one time I found out about the bone. I have os trigonum syndrome. Basically it means that I crunch it between my ankle and heel bones and it stretches and tears the tissue connecting it to my foot. I just need to keep off of it,” I explained.

“But it’s not bruising or swelling.” I shrugged.

“My body doesn’t respond to injuries normally. I almost never bruise and I’ve probably noticed swelling on my body after getting hurt once in my life. Trust me. I’ll be fine. There’s nothing that can be done. It’ll just be sore for a while.”

“Are you sure?” he checked. I nodded.

He got up off the floor where he’d been kneeling and walked into my bathroom. He came out with disinfectant, bandages, and a towel. Then he walked into the kitchen and grabbed some ice to put in the towel before placing it on my ankle. He sat down next to me and I bandaged my hands and knee.

“So what are you doing here anyway?” I asked as I worked.

“I actually wanted to see if you wanted to come over for dinner tomorrow,” he told me.

I stopped what I was doing and looked over at him. I wanted to say yes, but I was worried about how I felt about him. I didn’t need to be encouraging that. He noticed my hesitation and spoke up again before I could give him an answer.

“I should probably warn you that it’s a yearly thing. My family comes over and cooks dinner at my place. Wesley, Caden, Walker, and Zara always come too. It’s just kind of a fun night for close friends and family,” he explained.

“I’d be meeting your parents?” I asked.

“Well, yeah, along with my sister. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I just thought I’d invite you in case you wanted a nice home cooked meal made by my mom. Everyone loves her food.”

“What time should I be there?” I asked.

“The guys show up a little after 5,” he answered. I thought about it for a moment.

“So, you’re mom’s cooking, right?” He nodded. “She’s cooking for 9 people. Who’s helping her?” Sidney shrugged.

“No one. She does it by herself.”

“What time does she get there?”

“Usually around 4.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow at 4. Tell her I’ll take care of dessert if she doesn’t mind.”

Sidney laughed at me but said he’d tell her. He left not long after and I hobbled into the bathroom to take a shower. I winced in pain as the water ran over the cuts on my hands and knee and once again cursed myself for forgetting about the pothole in the road. It was all Sidney’s fault. Why did he have to show up unexpectedly and surprise me like that?

The next day I packed up the dessert I’d made and carried it out to the car, with Bauer in tow. We both hopped in and headed over to Sidney’s. I pulled up and saw a teenage girl chasing Sam around the yard outside. She stopped when she saw me pull in, and watched me curiously as I got out, allowing Bauer to hop out behind me.

Bauer started to run towards Sam, but froze when he saw the girl, who I could only assume was Sidney’s sister Taylor. He cautiously made his way towards her until he was only almost a foot away from her. From there he stretched out his body as far as he could to sniff at the hand she held out to him. To my amazement he licked her hand and wagged his tail. I don’t know what it was about the Crosby’s, but he seemed to like them. He let her pet him for a moment before he took off after Sam.

“Hi, you must be Taylor. I’m Misty,” I greeted her as I shut the door to my car and carried the pans towards the house. She smiled at me.

“It’s nice to finally meet you. Sidney talks about you all the time.” I felt my face flush, and hated that he had that effect on me.

“Well, don’t believe anything he’s told you,” I joked.

“Oh, so you’re a total bitch then,” she replied. I started to laugh at her comment.

“You’re quick. I like you.”

I followed her up to the house and thanked her as she held the door open for me. I heard voices coming from the kitchen and started to hobble my way in that direction. My ankle was still sore enough to cause me to limp. Sidney walked out with a beer in his hand, followed by a man that had to be his father.

“Hey, Misty, you’re here!” he called.

“I’m here!” I returned. He looked down at the pans in my hands.

“I’ll take those for you,” he offered as he took them out of my hands. He headed back towards the kitchen probably to put them down somewhere.

“They have to be sliced before they can be served, so it’d be blatantly obvious if you tried to sneak any before dinner!” I called after him. He stopped and looked back at me.

“Now why would you say such a thing?” he asked.

“I know your track record with sneaking my desserts before dinner, Crosby,” I replied. He laughed.

“Well, you’ve outsmarted me this time,” he joked. I grinned back at him.

“I always will.” He turned and walked back into the kitchen with the pans and I turned towards his father. “Hi, I’m Misty.”

“Troy. It’s nice to finally meet you,” he said shaking my hand. I felt like he was sizing me up, which made me slightly uncomfortable. Before either of us could say anything else, Sidney walked back into the room, followed by his mom.

“Misty, I want you to meet my mom, Trina. Mom, this is Misty,” he introduced.

I froze as I saw the woman standing in front of me. No way. I was looking right at the woman I’d talked to for a while at the crafts fair. She wore the same expression I was sure I was wearing. Suddenly we both burst into laughter. Both Sidney and his father looked between the two of us and then at each other in confusion.

“What’s funny?” Sidney asked.

“I should have known you were Sid’s mom!” I exclaimed. “You were talking about your son having the same kind of dog and saying that he took his job too seriously and needed to loosen up. That should have tipped me off!”

“And I should have known you were Misty when you said you’d just come here for the summer and didn’t know anyone. How blind we both were.” We both laughed again.

“You two have met?” Troy asked.

“I met Misty at the crafts fair not too long ago! Remember? I told you about the sweet girl I met that I thought would get along well with Sid. I guess I was right,” she told him.

“Moms always know best,” I joked. We both laughed again. “Can I help you with dinner? I heard it gets left to you and I felt bad. Please put me to work.”

“I think I can find something for you to do.”

I spent the next two hours helping Trina prepare dinner. Sidney kept popping in to check on how we were doing, but Trina and I were chatting like we were old friends. He eventually stopped coming in when he heard some of the childhood stories she was telling me. It was strange how comfortable I felt talking to her. We had some sort of weird connection and by the end of the night I almost felt like I had another mom.

Everyone else showed up and hung out outside with Sidney, Taylor, and Troy. When dinner was ready we all gathered around a table that was set up outside and ate. I sat next to Taylor while we were eating with Sidney across the table. We spent all of dinner talking about boys which creeped him out to no end.

Even by the end of the night I still felt a little strange around Troy. He hadn’t actually done anything to make me uncomfortable, but there was something. Despite me trying to make it obvious that I wasn’t gunning for his son, I still felt like he thought I was. I was going to have my work cut out for me there.

Sid’s family only stayed for a while after dinner before saying goodbye and heading home for the night. The rest of us stayed much later just hanging out and goofing off. Overall it had been a pretty great night.

“Did you have fun?” Sidney asked as he walked me out to my car.

“I did. I’m in love with your mom and sister,” I told him.

“Not my dad?”

“I feel like he thinks I’m going to get you in trouble.” Sidney laughed.

“You probably will,” he replied. I laughed too.

“Hey, you heard your mom. You take things too seriously and need to lighten up. I don’t take anything seriously.”

“Well, thanks for coming. I’ll talk to you later.” Sidney gave me a hug before Bauer and I got in the car and headed home.

Chapter 13

I walked into the gym and saw other volleyball games going on already. I made my way over to Aiden and the rest of my team. We chatted for a few minutes before everyone started their warm ups. Aiden and I jogged and talked before stopping to stretch like we usually did. Suddenly there was a loud commotion.

It sounded like a group of people yelling and cheering. I turned towards the entrance of the gym where the sound continued to get louder. The door burst open and I watched as Wesley, Caden, and Walker ran into the gym wearing cheerleading outfits and yelling at the top of their lungs. Zara and Valerie followed them in with their arms full of stuff. Sidney filtered in behind them all, dressed like he normally is, shaking his head, but with a smile.

“What the hell is going on?” I heard someone ask.

The games currently going on had halted to see what the deal was. I watched in horror as the three guys ran straight for me. I put my hands out and started shaking my head, but it was no use. In front of the entire gym Wesley grabbed me and lifted me into the air while they all continued cheering.

I began laughing as he ran around with me hanging over his shoulder before he passed me on to Caden. Caden started to spin around with me in his arms before passing me off to Walker. Walker started bouncing me up and down to the rhythm of the cheers and I just could not stop laughing. Walker then practically threw me at Sidney.

Sidney hadn’t been prepared for that and barely caught me against his chest with me facing him. My face had ended up mere inches from his. He looked into my eyes and broke out his lopsided grin. I stopped laughing as I smiled back at him. Our eyes were locked and it didn’t seem like either of us wanted to look away.

Everything around me faded as I continued to stare into his eyes. Suddenly a feeling I hadn’t experienced in a long time resurfaced. Yep, there they were. Butterflies. Then came the pounding heart. Oh, Jesus, this can’t be happening. Yet, it was, and I felt the urge to kiss him.

“I hope you don’t mind that we came to cheer you on,” Wesley said coming up next to us. It snapped me back into reality. Sidney slowly put me down once our eye contact was broken.

“Not at all. I just wasn’t expecting this!” I exclaimed.

“Sid told us you were playing tonight so we thought we’d come support you,” Caden added.

“That was really sweet, thank you.”

I looked over at Zara and Valerie who had laid out what looked to be signs they’d made. They both gave me smirks as I backed away from Sidney. I narrowed my eyes at them before turning away. I knew they’d seen how long I was in Sidney’s arms and I could tell exactly what they were thinking. They enjoyed bringing up my non-existent crush on Sidney.

Well, if it was so non-existent, why the hell had I had the urge to kiss him moments ago? I groaned inwardly and scolded myself. The last thing I needed was to have a thing for Mr. NHL. There was just no way that I did and no way that I ever could. I’d done the dating a hockey player thing. It wasn’t for me.

“Good luck, Misty!” Walker called as they made their way over to the side to wait for my game to start.

“You know Sidney Crosby?” Aiden asked when I made my way back over to the group.

“Yeah, I dumped coffee on him one day and the rest is history,” I told him with a shrug.

“I guess that’s a good way to snag an NHL superstar,” he commented. He sounded jealous.

“There was no snagging,” I said. He looked at me in surprise.

“You two aren’t dating?” I shook my head.

“No, not at all.”

“Could have fooled me.” I rolled my eyes and let the comment go, not wanting to get into it.

We continued to warm up while the other games finished. Practically every time I touched a volleyball some cheering came from the peanut gallery. I was having a hard time keeping myself from laughing the entire time. The first games finished and we set our lineup.

As I stepped onto the court before the first serve I glanced over at my friends. The guys were doing some crazy routine and the girls were holding up the signs and cheering. Then my eyes caught Sidney’s. He was just sitting there looking out at me, and when our gazes met he smiled and mouthed ‘good luck’.

I turned my attention back to the court and felt my stomach tie itself into a knot. I was nervous? What the hell was I nervous about? This was just rec volleyball that meant nothing. I’d only been nervous once in my life before a game and that was when I had a college coach watching a match. I’d played so poorly that I’d never heard from her again. Now I almost felt sick and couldn’t figure it out.

Then it hit me. Sidney was here and I didn’t want to play badly in front of him. I wanted to have the game of my life with him there watching me. This was ridiculous. No, that couldn’t be the reason I was feeling like this. Just to prove that it wasn't to myself, I glanced over at him again. As soon as my eyes landed on him my stomach clenched again. Dammit.

Thankfully I managed to battle through the first couple of plays before getting into my groove. Our team ended up with another win and I’d played out of my mind. I was relieved that I hadn’t sucked it up in front of everyone, and especially Sidney. I looked over at them and saw everyone cheering wildly with Sidney standing next to them clapping with a giant smile on his face.

“Nice game!” Zara called out when they made their way over to me.

“Thanks. I couldn’t have done it without you guys.”

“We think we should grab some celebratory beers. How does that sound?” Valerie asked. I smiled and nodded.

“Just let me get this stuff off.”

The seven of us walked into a bar a bit later to stares from everyone in there. The guys were still in their cheerleading outfits and were still cheering. They proceeded to introduce me to nearly everyone we walked by, telling them that I was the next up and coming volleyball star. I don’t get embarrassed easily, but they were real close to making that happen.

“So what are you doing tomorrow?” Sidney asked me at some point in the night. I shrugged.

“No plans really. How about you?” I returned.

“Well, it’s supposed to be nice out so I was thinking of just spending the day out on the lake. Feel free to come over whenever you like if you want.”

“Yeah, that sounds fun.”

The next day I woke up and immediately started to get ready to head over to Sidney’s. I opened the drawer to pull out a bathing suit and found myself staring at my selections. Suddenly I was self conscious about which one I was going to wear in front of him. I hated this. I forced myself to just grab one and put it on.

The entire drive to his place I tried to tell myself that the day before had just been some sort of weird fluke. I didn’t actually have any sort of feelings towards Sidney past friendship. I was just thrown off because of everyone showing up to cheer me on. By the time I reached his house I had myself fully convinced that that was all it was.

When I pulled up to his house I only saw his car there. It wasn’t like I was early with it being almost noon so I was surprised that no one else was here. I figured maybe they’d had too much to drink the night before and had slept in later than me. I let Bauer out of the car and walked up to the door. Sidney pulled it open before I had a chance to knock. Hey, no butterflies!

“Hey,” he greeted me. Bauer jumped up on him for attention before taking off into the house in search of Sam.

“You were right, it’s beautiful out today,” I said as I followed Bauer into the house.

“I’m always right,” he joked. I collapsed down onto his couch and gave him a skeptical look.

“Whatever, Crosby. So where’s everyone else?” I asked casually.

“Working.” I whipped my head around to look at him.

“So it’s just the two of us today?” I asked.

“Yep, just us.”

I started to feel a little uneasy. I’d assumed that the whole group would be here hanging out. At no point had I expected us to spend the entire day together alone. I mentally smacked myself. So I’d wanted to kiss him the day before. So what? Big deal. It hardly meant I was in love with the guy. It’s not like we’d never hung out just the two of us before. Get a grip, Misty. I forced myself to forget about the night before. When I’d managed to get that out of my head I began to enjoy myself like I always did when I was with Sidney.

“I can’t believe you’ve never been on a jet ski before,” Sidney called back to me as I followed him out to the lake.

“What can I say? I’m a jet ski virgin.” He laughed.

After he reached the dock I watched him lift his shirt over his head, leaving just his swim trunks on. Aw shit, the butterflies were back. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen him with a shirt off before, but something was different this time. I felt like I was noticing him in a completely different way.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of his nicely chiseled abs and chest. How had I not noticed how ripped he was before? He looked back at me and I quickly averted my eyes from his chest to his face. He smiled over his shoulder at me before tossing me a life jacket. I stripped down to my bathing suit and put the life jacket on. I watched in disappointment as Sidney did the same, covering his torso.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Uh, Sid, there’s only the one jet ski ready to go,” I commented. This couldn’t be good.

“You think I’m going to let you take your own when you’re a jet ski virgin?” He said it jokingly, but I flushed anyway. Poor poor choice of words on my part earlier.

“I suppose not.” He climbed on and then held a hand out to me. I took his hand and climbed on behind him.

“Hold on tight,” he commanded. I wrapped my arms around his waist and felt the butterflies increase immensely. I took a deep breath and then we were off.

He drove around for a while and I held on as tight as I could. I knew at least part of the reason I was holding on so tight was because I just really enjoyed holding on to him. I found myself loosening up as we circled around and I even began to laugh as he went along. We pulled back up to shore and he turned his head to look back at me.

“Wanna drive?” he asked. My smile grew and I emphatically nodded.

He got off and I slid up. He then got back on behind me. I tensed up again when I felt his body basically engulf mine. His arms slid around me and he grabbed my hands, placing them where they needed to be, our fingers intertwined. He started to explain how to drive it. I had to struggle to pay attention to the instructions.

When he was satisfied that I knew what I was doing he gave me the go ahead. I felt him wrap his arms around me to hold on. I noticeably shuddered at his touch, immediately hating how my body was responding to him. He leaned forward a bit and I could feel his breath on my ear as he spoke.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his lips just an inch or two away from my neck.

“Yeah, sorry. I’m just excited,” I lied. Well, the excitement wasn’t a lie, but the reason I gave him for the shudder was.

“Okay, go ahead. Remember to start slow.” I nodded and started the jet ski up.

It didn’t take long for me to get the hang of it. I had a blast driving around the lake. Having Sidney’s arms wrapped around me didn’t hurt either. When I pulled back up to shore I couldn’t help but have a grin on my face. I grabbed a towel and tossed one to Sidney to dry off.

“Did you have fun?” he asked.

“I had a blast. Thanks for popping my jet ski cherry.”

He snorted and my face flushed again. It was exactly the kind of thing I would say, but again, in this situation it was a poor choice of words. I really didn’t need to be thinking about Sidney and sex at the same time right now.

We headed back up to his house where we found Bauer and Sam curled up on the couch taking a nap. They barely acknowledged that we were back, obviously exhausted from playing all day. Sidney invited me to stay for dinner and I accepted. While I was having an internal battle on the new feelings I had towards him, I wasn’t ready to leave him yet.

“Misty?” I heard Sidney say. I opened my eyes and looked at him at the other end of the couch. I’d fallen asleep.

“Yeah?” I asked groggily.

“Why don’t you just stay here tonight?” I didn’t respond right away. I really didn’t think that was such a good idea.

“I don’t want to put you out,” I declined.

“You’re tired and I don’t mind. Just stay. Please.” There was no way I was staying here tonight.

“Yeah, okay, thanks,” I heard myself say. This was bad.

We both headed upstairs where he gave me some clothes to sleep in. He gave me a hug before I went to bed and my body tingled everywhere that he’d been touching me when he pulled away. We said goodnight and I got into bed. I realized as I was lying there that I’d just spent 12 hours straight with Sidney.

I rolled over onto my side and burrowed my head into the pillows. The t-shirt I was wearing bunched up around my face and I could smell him. The smell sent chills throughout my body. Oh crap. I didn’t just have a crush. I was falling for him.