Chapter 28

Someone started a fire and Zara, Valerie, and I took seats where we could gaze out over the rest of the party. We talked and laughed as I kept an eye on Sidney most of the night. I could feel my heart starting to ache as I thought about the fact that I only had a couple of more days in the same town as him, but I kept on the smile and kept laughing hoping that no one would notice.

“Is she serious right now?” Valerie asked. I followed her gaze and my eyes settled on Callie.

“Why would she even come here after what happened?” Zara added in amazement. I’d told them both about what had happened the night Mason had proposed.

“Apparently she doesn’t get it,” I responded.

We remained seated by the fire as I watched Callie search out Sidney. I’m not going to lie, seeing her here made me sick. I wish that I could have just gone up to her and told her to leave, but it wasn’t my party. Instead I simply sent her a glare every time she looked in my direction and clenched my jaw every time I watched her touch Sidney.

“Slut!” Valerie exclaimed when Callie wrapped her arms around Sidney’s neck and whispered something in his ear.

“I need a new drink,” I lied. Really, I just needed to get away from the sight of her throwing herself at him.

I walked into the kitchen and dumped what was left of my drink down the drain. Then I rested both hands on the counter and took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. Sidney was not my boyfriend, so I had no right to get as worked up about this as I was. When I felt a little calmer, I mixed a new drink.

“So no ring?” I heard a female voice ask from behind me. I turned to see Callie standing there.

“No. No ring,” I replied coolly. It really wasn’t any of her business.

“You wanted someone with a little more notoriety and money?” I narrowed my eyes at what she was implying.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” I wanted to just go back outside, but like she’d done before, she was blocking my way.

“No? If it walks like a puck slut, talks like a puck slut…..” At this point I wasn’t just annoyed, I was angry.

“Hello pot, meet kettle.” She narrowed her eyes right back at me.

“Right, because you really care about him.”

“Dammit, Callie, he’s my best friend. Of course I care about him. I want nothing more than for him to be happy. I just don’t think being with you would do that.”

“I’ve known Sidney most of his life,” she told me.

“And I just want to go back outside,” I returned.

She moved aside and gestured towards the door, signaling that I was welcome to walk by. I picked up my drink and made my way towards her and the back door. As soon as I got to her I felt something cold and wet on my chest. I looked down to see her empty glass hovering upside down over me. When my eyes met hers there was a smile in them.

“Oops,” she half laughed out.

I shook my head at her and put my drink down on the counter. I turned and made my way back into the kitchen where I opened the cupboard door that I knew held the cleaning products. Then I found the paper towels and made my way over to the puddle that had formed on the floor. I knelt down and began to wipe it up.

“You know, Callie, if you cared anything for Sidney like you claim you do, you would stop pissing off his friends and trashing his house. In fact, you’d think you’d be more considerate in general. If I wasn’t here to do it, you would have left this mess on the floor, and what would happen if Sam came in here and lapped it up? Do you think it’s good for a dog to ingest all this alcohol? Sam could have gotten sick, which would have upset Sidney, but you didn’t think to consider that at all, did you?”










Sidney walked inside just in time to hear Misty telling Callie that he was her best friend and she just wanted him to be happy. He had no idea what was going on between them right now, but that statement in itself made him smile and depressed him all at the same time. He made his way past a couple of onlookers in time to watch Callie dump a drink down Misty’s shirt.

He was about to intervene in fear of a fight when Misty’s actions stopped him in his tracks. Instead of retaliating he watched in amazement as she calmly grabbed cleaning supplies and cleaned up the mess on his floor. After Misty gave Callie a little speech she put her head back down to the mess and finished cleaning.

“He’s not yours, you know. Long after you’re gone, I’ll still be here,” Callie said. This time Sidney did step forward.

“I’ve heard enough.” Both Misty and Callie turned to look at him in surprise.

“Sidney!” Callie exclaimed.

“I just don’t even know where to start. Callie, I really don’t know how else to do this, because you seem to not be able to figure it out, so I’m just going to say it. We will never be together. Never. You need to accept that.” Callie opened her mouth to say something, but he wasn’t done yet. “One more thing. I don’t know exactly what your problem with Misty is, but you will never be her and she’s not ever going anywhere. Until the day you can accept that, you’re not welcome back in this house.”

Sidney watched as Callie made a quick exit out the front door. The second the door was closed behind her applause broke out from the crowd that had formed around the kitchen. Someone shouted, “It’s about time!” Sidney rolled his eyes and then smiled before making his way over to Misty. He put away the cleaning supplies and turned back to her.

“I’m really sorry about Callie,” he apologized. She smiled and shrugged.

“It’s not your fault she’s an idiot,” Misty joked. He laughed and then remembered her shirt.

“Come on. Let’s go get you another shirt to wear.” She nodded and followed him up the stairs.

They walked into his bedroom and he began opening dresser drawers and looking for a shirt for her to wear. He finally pulled out a t-shirt that shouldn’t be way too big on her. He handed it over and she took it, giving it a once over. With a shrug she pulled her wet shirt over her head and then put his shirt on. It had been just a brief moment that he got to see her standing there in just her bra, but he thoroughly enjoyed that brief moment.

“How do I look?” Misty asked him. He had to shake the visual out of his head before he could respond.

“Like you’re wearing a dress over jeans,” he replied. She laughed and grabbed a corner of the shirt. He watched as she tied a knot at the side, tightening the shirt, and exposing part of her abdomen.

“I know, so 90’s, but it’s the best I can do,” she said. He didn’t mind one bit.

They made their way back down to the party and everyone else. For the next little while he was told multiple times that he’d made the right choice kicking Callie out of his house. He couldn’t help but agree with them. Good riddance.

As the night went on, he couldn’t help but seek Misty out every few minutes. The more he saw her in his shirt, the more he liked it on her. Was there anything sexier than a hot girl wearing your t-shirt? He imagined getting it back and being able to smell her on it. Then he imagined being the one to take it off of her.

He hated that it took for Mason to show up and propose to Misty to make him realize how he really felt about her. He’d been able to justify not telling her how he felt before by saying that he was only interested in a summer fling and it wasn’t fair to her after all she’d gone through. Now he knew he wasn’t at all interested in just a fling, but it was too late to do anything about it.

He only had a few days left in Cole Harbour, which meant only a few days left with Misty. It was unbelievable how much it hurt to know he’d be leaving her in a few days with no idea when he’d see her again. It wasn’t supposed to hurt that much when you left someone you’d only known for two and a half months.

The party began to break up long after midnight and he had to say goodbye once again to his friends. He probably wouldn’t see any of them again before he left due to saying goodbye to his family and packing. Once everyone was gone or passed out somewhere in his house he made his way upstairs to bed, with Misty right behind him.

“Thanks for letting me wear your shirt,” she said to him. He turned back to tell her she didn’t need to thank him, and saw that she’d taken it off and tossed it into his pile of laundry.

“I doubt your shirt is any cleaner than it was earlier,” he said, caught off-guard by the sight of her half naked in front of him again.

“You’re probably right.” She turned and dug into his laundry to get it again. He walked over and grabbed her arm to stop her.

“I’ll give you clothes to sleep in.”

She turned and looked up at him with a smile. Oh, God, why does she always have to lick her lips at times like this? Somehow he managed to keep himself in check and make his way to his dresser to get her clothes. When he turned back to give her the clothes, he found that her jeans were now on the floor.

“Clothes,” she said, holding a hand out for them.

He should have just tossed them to her, but he didn’t. Instead he walked over and handed them to her. Their fingers touched just as she licked her lips again. Someday he was going to have to ask her if she did that on purpose. Now was just not the time, because currently his mouth was too occupied with kissing her to say anything at all.

As he kissed her and slowly removed the rest of her clothing he wondered if she’d caught on to how he felt about her. As he let her remove his clothing he wondered if maybe she felt the same way. As they moved in sync and called out each other’s names, he wondered if he’d ever find out the answers to the two previous questions.

Chapter 27

I glanced at myself in the mirror. I concluded that I looked appropriate for a summer hockey game that would have basically no fans. I was cute without trying too hard. When Zara and Valerie showed up at my door I saw that they were dressed the same way, much to my relief. I got into the car and we headed to the rink.

Sidney had been playing hockey all summer with his friends and other guys that played, but I’d never gone. It wasn’t exactly closed to the public, but it also wasn’t advertised. Fans never went to watch the summer hockey games. The guys didn’t take the game seriously, they just wanted to skate to keep up their skills. Today was the last game of the summer and Zara, Valerie, and I had decided to go cheer on the guys.

A few days had passed since the night Mason had shown up at my door. Sidney and I had woken up the next morning and didn’t really talk about it. We’d just gone on like it was a normal day. I wasn’t sure how else to go about things. Yes, I was in love with him, but he was leaving for Pittsburgh in less than a week. The last thing I wanted was for the last few days with him to be awkward, so I went on like I always had with him.

“Do you want to go down and see the guys before the game?” Zara asked.

“Is that a good idea?” I returned.

“We do it every time we come. They’re always dressed this close to starting, and no one gets mad because they don’t take the game seriously,” Valerie explained.

“Okay then, let’s go.” I followed the two of them down a hallway to a door. We could hear male voices on the other side. Zara knocked loudly on the door before opening it.

“Cover up, boys!” she called out.

We walked in to the locker room to a bunch of greetings. I realized that I recognized just about every guy in there. Most had been at Sidney’s at one of his parties, or out with us at some point. Sidney caught my eye as I walked in, and he smiled over at me. I walked away from Zara and Valerie and made my way over to him.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. He was mostly dressed, but on top he was just wearing an underarmor shirt. It showed off the muscles in his chest. I had to tear my eyes away.

“We decided to come watch the last game and they wanted to come down and say hi to everyone beforehand,” I told him.

“Well, since you’re going to be here, want to grab dinner with everyone after?” I smiled and nodded.

“Sounds good.” I looked past him into his stall. I’d never been into a locker room with Mason before, and I’d always been curious about how guys kept their stuff. “These your sticks?” I reached out to grab one, and Sidney grabbed my hand before I could.

“Don’t touch them, please,” he said in complete seriousness. I looked at him strangely.

“Sid hates having people touch his sticks after he tapes them up before a game,” Caden threw in from the stall next to us. “One of his little superstitions.” I looked back at Sidney and laughed.

“It’s not funny!” he exclaimed. I laughed harder.

“I didn’t realize. I apologize,” I told him between laughs.

He rolled his eyes at me before putting on his shoulder pads. I turned and started talking to Caden and playing with his sticks when I noticed Sidney walk away from his stall and around a corner. I put Caden’s stick back and stepped in front of Sidney’s stall. I stretched a hand out towards a stick, and then hesitated. He’d kill me if he knew I’d touched it.

“You’re playing with fire,” Wes called over to me. The entire locker room went silent as I grabbed one of Sidney’s sticks and posed with it.

“It was nice knowing you, Misty,” Walker cracked. I grinned and pulled a pen out of my purse.

“What the hell are you doing? What the hell is she doing?” Caden asked as I took the top off and made a little smiley face on the tape just under the knob. It was small enough that unless you really looked, you’d never see it.

“I’m going to see what happens if he uses the stick I touched before a game,” I announced. I placed the stick carefully back in its place as the locker room broke into nervous laughter. A moment later Sidney came back around the corner. I simply grinned over at him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.

“Have a good game, Crosby,” I said. I turned and Zara and Valerie followed me out of the locker room.

We took seats at center ice and the game started not long after. There were only five other people at the game, and they looked like family members. Not wanting to be “those” girls, we kept quiet during the game, talking only amongst ourselves as we watched. I couldn’t help but smile and laugh at each of the five goals Sidney scored that afternoon. I couldn’t be sure until after the game which stick he’d used, but I had a feeling.

Once the game was over, a public skate began and the three of us grabbed some hot chocolate and sat in the lobby to wait for the guys to shower and get dressed. As Walker, Caden, and Wes filed out of the locker room ahead of Sidney, they each shook their heads at me with smiles on their faces. Despite not having any media to speak of here, Sidney was still one of the last out of the locker room. I saw him carrying the couple of sticks he'd brought with him.

“Which stick did you use today?” I asked him. He gave me a confused look.

“What? Why?”

“Just show me what stick you used,” I demanded.

He held one out and I took it from him. I turned it around and looked just under the knob, where I’d placed the smiley face on one of the sticks. There the smiley face was, staring me right in the face. I began to laugh hysterically when I saw that the stick that had gotten him five goals today was the one I had played around with. There was just one more thing to check.

“Is five goals typical for you in these games?” I asked.

“Not at all. I just felt like I couldn’t miss today.” He was still giving me a strange look as I began to laugh again. I turned the stick and pointed at the face I’d made. “What the fuck is that?”

“When you walked away, I grabbed a stick and made that so I’d know which one it was after. I was doing an experiment to see what happened if someone touched your stick,” I told him.

I watched his eyes narrow at me and his lips tighten into a straight line. He was obviously less than amused at what I’d just revealed. He grabbed the stick and ripped it out of my hands. Then without a word he turned and stormed out of the lobby and towards his car. I knew I’d crossed a line and took a deep breath before following him out.

“We’ll miss you, Misty!” I heard Wes call after me. Sidney slammed the trunk closed after putting his stuff in the back before turning and seeing me standing there.

“I specifically told you I don’t want anyone touching my sticks, but you couldn’t help yourself, could you?” he half asked, half yelled angrily. The smiles and laughter were gone from me now.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was going to be this big a deal. I wouldn’t have done it if I thought it would be,” I apologized. He stayed standing there, glaring at me for a moment without speaking.

“God, you just always do that. You just think you can fuck with people’s stuff and if nothing bad happens, it’s not a problem!” His scathing words hurt and I took a step back from him. I could see him making fists with his hands.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.

“I don’t ever ask for anything from you. The one time I do, you can’t listen. You have to disregard it!”

“I’m sorry!”

Sidney turned away from me and I felt like shit. Then I saw him start to shake. I’d made him so mad that he was shaking? Then I heard the sound coming from him. It took a minute for me to recognize it. Was he laughing? He turned back around to me with a shake of his head and a smile on his face.

“I scored five goals with a stick you messed around with,” he said in disbelief. I smiled back at him and giggled. “God, why can’t I ever stay made at you?” I put my palms face up and gave an exaggerated shrug.

“I guess I’m just too damn cute,” I joked. He threw his arm around me with a laugh.

“Let’s get everyone and grab dinner,” he suggested.

Two days later I was on Sidney’s boat with the usual group. He’d completely forgiven me for messing with his stick and even threatened to force me to touch every stick for each of his games for the upcoming season. Now we were just hanging out, enjoying a late summer day before Sidney had one last party at his place before he left for the season.

After lying in the warm sun for a while, I jumped into the lake to cool off. I was off in my own world as I swam around the boat, getting in a little exercise as I went. No one had jumped in to join me, and I didn’t mind. After a while I swam back over to the boat and pulled myself up the ladder that had been left down for me.

“It’s about time I move out and get my own place,” I heard Sidney saying.

“I don’t know. It’s not such a bad deal living with Mario. You don’t even have to see them if you don’t want to,” Walker replied.

They were talking about Sidney being back in Pittsburgh. I felt a knot forming in my stomach. I didn’t want to talk or think about Sidney not being in Cole Harbour anymore. Especially since after he left, I was leaving as well. After that, I had no idea when I’d see him again. I just knew that he’d no longer be a short drive away and I wouldn’t be able to see him whenever I wanted.

The conversation about Pittsburgh and Sidney looking for a house there continued as I lay back on a towel and remained quiet. Zara and Valerie both realized pretty quickly what was going on with me, since I wasn’t known to not participate in a conversation. Zara gave my hand a squeeze and gave me a small smile. I tried to return the smile, but just couldn’t. I spent the rest of the time on the boat doing everything in my power to ignore all the Pittsburgh talk.

After a few hours on the boat we made our way back to Sidney’s where the girls and I made up some appetizer like food for the party and the guys went on an alcohol run. Once we were done with the food, we took turns with the showers and began to get ready. We finished up just as the first of the people coming began to show up.

We made our way downstairs and mixed up some drinks before heading outside to hang out. I stood among the group of friends I’d made and knew that it might be the last time that would ever happen. Even if I were to come back and visit the following summer, it was still the last time this summer, and that saddened me. I wondered if I’d ever have another summer like this one.

Chapter 26

I received a question on the last chapter asking why Mason Raymond. It's a pretty simple answer. I knew what I wanted to be the background for Misty. I wanted her to have given up her life and dreams and drop out of college to be with her boyfriend, a hockey player. I also knew what her age was, so I had to then find a list of NHLers who would have been in college at the same time as she would have been. Then I wanted to pick someone that was probably least likely to know Sidney and was still cute at the same time. Hence, Mason Raymond. I hope that helps! Thanks for all the comments on the last chapter too, everyone! I really appreciate it all.










Sidney turned his head at the unexpected voice. He didn’t get up, didn’t even move when their eyes locked. He was too upset about everything and too stunned at who was standing there to do much of anything. It took him a minute to respond and even when he did he couldn’t muster any emotion into his voice.

“What are you doing here, Callie?” he asked. She smiled over at him and flipped her hair over her shoulder, showing off the revealing strapless top she was wearing. He then noticed the six pack in her other hand.

“I heard you were coming home from Olympic camp today. I wanted to come over and see how it went.” She was lying, and he knew it. She’d never given a shit about how anything in hockey had gone before unless it made him money he could spend on her.

“It was fine,” he responded shortly. She either didn’t notice the mood he was in, or didn’t care. She made her way from the doorway and sat down next to him on the couch.

“If it was so fine, why are you here alone instead of out celebrating?” she asked.

“I’m sorry, Callie, I’m just not in the mood right now. Can we talk later or something?” He didn’t care if he sounded like an asshole or if he was giving her hope by saying they could talk later. He just wanted her out of his house.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, giving him her best concerned look he was sure she’d practiced in front of the mirror. The day she cared what anyone else was feeling was the day hell would freeze over.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” She pouted at him before grabbing a beer and opening it.

“Take this and tell me what’s going on.”

Reluctantly he took the beer from her and took a long swig. He figured his friends were going to be there soon with something stronger. For now he was going to take whatever alcohol he could get and if that meant he had to deal with Callie, then so be it. She sat there quietly as he took another swig.

“Sidney,” she prodded. He sighed. She was the last person he wanted to talk to about this, and yet he couldn’t seem to stop himself. He just wanted it all out of his head.

“Misty’s engaged.” Callie looked surprised, and he wasn’t sure if she was surprised about the engagement or him being upset about it.

“To who?” Sidney had a quick fantasy of running Mason through with a stick.

“Her ex, Mason.”

“The other hockey player,” Callie concluded. Sidney nodded and took another drink of his beer. “You’re not happy for her?”

“Not a fucking chance.” It was out before Sidney realized he’d said it. It was one thing to tell Callie that Misty was engaged. It was another to tell Callie how he felt about Misty.

“You’re in love with her?” There was hurt in the question, but Sidney didn’t give a shit about Callie’s feelings right now.

“No.” He’d lied, but this was not something he was going to discuss with his ex-girlfriend. Callie smiled a little and moved closer to him, putting her hand on his knee.

“I could help you forget,” she whispered into his ear.

“Not what I’m looking for, Callie,” he declined. She didn’t seem to want to take no for an answer. She moved her hand further up his leg and shifted so that if she were any closer to him, she’d be on his lap.

“Maybe not, but I promise it’ll help.”

He turned his head to tell her she should go. Before he had a chance, she’d planted her mouth to his. He was stunned and it took him a minute to register what was going on. By the time his brain had caught up to the kiss, Callie was straddling him. He grabbed her by the hips and prepared to practically throw her off of him.

“Sidney? Sid, we have to talk about…..oh, I’m sorry.”

Callie pulled her mouth from his just as he whipped his head around to look at the door, where the voice had come from. He felt nauseous when he saw Misty standing in the open doorway. She was looking at him with red-rimmed eyes that told him she’d been crying, and a look of pure shock. Her eyes shifted back and forth between him and Callie. It took him another minute to realize Callie was still straddling him.

“I can see this is a bad time. I’ll get out of your way.” Misty turned and bolted out the door.

“Misty!” he called after her. He shoved Callie off of his lap and jumped up from the couch. She didn’t reappear in the doorway.

“Awkward,” Callie muttered behind him with a giggle.

“Shut up!” he spat at her. She looked utterly stunned at his tone.

“Excuse me?”

“You need to leave,” he demanded, glaring at her. She opened her mouth to argue, but thought better of it and walked out the door.

He grabbed his car keys and walked out the door himself a moment later. For the first time since he’d seen the box Mason was holding at Misty’s he felt something. He wasn’t numb anymore. It wasn’t because Misty had caught him with Callie on his lap. It was because when she’d bolted out the door, closing it behind her, he’d noticed that there was no ring on her left hand.










I pulled back into my driveway and shut off the car. I let my head fall to the steering wheel and started to cry. A car door slamming next door jolted my head up. Not wanting to look like a lunatic crying in my car in the driveway, I got out and made my way inside. I paced around the living room with the image of Callie straddling Sidney, their lips interlocked, burned into my brain. I picked up my phone, walked into my bedroom, and called the one person I could talk to.

“Misty!” Evanne’s voice greeted me cheerfully. I sobbed in response. “Jesus, Mist, what’s wrong?” I took a deep breath before starting.

“Mason was here.”

“What? Why?” she asked in surprise.

“He asked me to marry him.” I heard her sharp intake of breath and there was silence on her end for a moment.

“What did you say?” I collapsed down onto my bed.

“I turned him down.”

“Good.” I was too shocked at the comment to respond. “Look, I know you loved him, but I never liked him. You were too good for him. He treated you like a trophy, not someone he loved and respected.”

“I know.” It was hard to admit, but deep down I’d always known. “Sidney was here when it happened.”

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Sidney was here when Mason came. He left before the proposal, but he knew what was going on.” Evanne sighed.

“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” she asked. New tears started to fall down my face.

“Yes,” I choked out.

“You have to talk to him.”

“I tried. I went over after Mason left. Evie, I found his ex-girlfriend straddling him on the couch,” I sobbed out. Evanne cursed.

“Listen to me. I know how he feels about you. I saw it firsthand. The guy’s crazy about you. He was probably upset when Mason showed up and just needed something to forget. I might have done the same thing if I were him.”

She was right. At least I hoped she was right. I hoped more than anything that Sidney felt the same way about me that I felt about him and he had just been doing what she’d said. I could get over what I’d seen if that was the case. I was about to respond to Evie when I heard my front door fly open.

“Misty!” Sidney’s voice rang out.

“Who is that?” Evie asked.

“Sidney.”

“Call me back tomorrow.” I hung up the phone without responding and slowly made my way out of the bedroom.

Sidney was already on his way down the hallway when I walked out. He froze in place when our eyes locked. We stood there for a moment just staring at each other until he broke the stare. I watched as his eyes shifted from my face to my left hand. I covered it self-consciously and turned my gaze down to the floor.

“You’re not wearing a ring,” I heard him say. I shook my head before looking back up at him. “What happened?”

“They say that if a man really knows and loves his girlfriend he’ll have no problem buying her a ring that she’ll love when he proposes. He’ll buy a ring that matches her perfectly. The ring Mason bought was amazing,” I said. He looked at me in confusion.

“I don’t understand.” I wiped a few tears from my cheeks before continuing.

“It was amazing, but it didn’t feel right. I looked at it and I couldn’t imagine wearing that ring for the rest of my life. It made me realize that Mason doesn’t know me at all. He never did. I can’t marry someone that doesn’t know or understand me.”

“I’m sorry.” I shrugged at his comment. At least now he knew I wasn’t going to marry Mason. “I was in the middle of pushing Callie off of me when you walked in.” I hadn’t expected the comment and it took me by surprise. Too many things were surprising me tonight.

“What?”

“I didn’t ask her to come over. She just showed up and before I knew what was going on, she was on top of me. I was about to push her off of me when you came in.”

I felt such relief hearing that, that I laughed. I didn’t just laugh, I nearly doubled over in laughter. Sidney looked at me strangely for a moment, before joining in. The two of us stood in the middle of my hallway laughing for no reason other than the fact that we didn’t really know what else to do.

“God, I’m tired,” I finally managed to say. Sidney smiled at me understandingly.

“Me too.”

“Bed?” I suggested. He just nodded before following me back into my bedroom.

I crawled into bed with him right behind me. He wrapped his arms around me before pulling me into him. I rested my head on his chest and closed my eyes. I think we were both too emotionally exhausted from tonight to talk about anything else right now. Instead I turned my brain off from everything except the feel of his arms around me as I fell asleep.

Chapter 25

I was dreaming. No, my eyes were playing tricks on me. No, someone was really trying to fuck with me, weren’t they? It couldn’t be him. I hadn’t talked to him in months. How did he know I was here?

“Come on, Bauer, it’s Daddy!” Mason called over my shoulder to Bauer, who was still growling with a few aggressive sounding barks mixed in.

I stepped back from the door to turn and look into the living room at Bauer. The hair on his back was standing up and he was baring his teeth, not appearing to remember Mason. Apparently having Sidney right next to him was giving him the balls to act tough. Oh, God. Sidney. I felt my stomach clench as I watched Sidney pull himself out from under Bauer and stand up.

My emotions were in overdrive. I wasn’t sure what made me feel worse. Was it the fact that Mason was here in front of me? Maybe it was Bauer not recognizing his “daddy.” Maybe it was having Sidney in my house without Mason knowing I even knew Sid. Or maybe, just maybe it was because I was worried about what Sidney was thinking seeing Mason.

“What are you doing here?” I managed to choke out as I turned back to Mason. He wasn’t looking at me. Instead he was glaring over at Sidney who looked highly uncomfortable. Bauer continued growling and I snapped. “Bauer, shut up!” I yelled. Bauer was immediately quiet, leaving the three of us to stand in an uncomfortable silence. I almost wished for him to start barking again.

“Am I interrupting something?” Mason asked, bitterly.

“Uh, no. Sidney and I were just watching a movie. Do you two know each other?” I was being awkward, but I was still having trouble processing what exactly was going on right now.

“We haven’t met,” Sidney answered, speaking up for the first time. Neither made a move to greet the other. Instead, they stood there glaring at each other.

“We’re just friends,” I blurted out, trying to ease the tension. I regretted it immediately. Both of them turned their glares on me. I watched as Sidney’s body tensed up and some emotion I’d never seen before flashed through his eyes. Was it hurt? It couldn’t be.

“Friends?” Mason asked skeptically.

“I dumped coffee on him one day. We’ve been friends since,” I explained. Mason’s glare softened. “Mason, what are you doing here?”

“I’ve missed you and I had something I needed to say.” He reached a hand into his coat pocket and I watched him pull a small black box out. My heart stopped and my eyes went wide. That couldn’t be what I thought it was. Apparently Sidney had the same thought.

“I should go and let you two talk.” He didn’t give either of us a chance to respond. Instead he brushed past us with another glance at the box in Mason’s hand before walking out of my house.

“How did you know I was here?” I asked, doing everything in my power to not only avoid looking at the box, but to change the topic away from it.

“Andrea told me.” I cringed inwardly at my stupidity. You should never tell the wife of your ex-boyfriend’s teammate where you’re living if you don’t want him to know. Damn Andrea Kesler. “Misty, I miss you.”

I looked up into his eyes at those words and I could feel everything rushing back. I felt every emotion I’d ever felt with him. Tears welled up in my eyes at those words. Those were words I’d so desperately been hoping to hear him say to me months ago. Now that he was here saying them, did I still want them said?

“I don’t know what you want from me.” I felt myself slipping. I felt the inner strength I’d been working on all summer crumbling away. Despite what I was fighting to keep from doing I looked down at the box and I felt my hope rise.

“I was stupid back in February when I let you go. I’ve been miserable since you left. I should have fought for you. It took me all this time to realize how selfish I was being in our relationship and I’m going to change that.”

The words sounded so good and so full of a promise I’d longed for. I felt the tears begin to fall down my face. I battled internally to not let myself fall back into my old self. I didn’t want to slip back into being dependent on someone else. I’d fought so hard this summer to be a strong person, but now I couldn’t seem to remember why. All I could see in my head was what my left ring finger might look like with the ring that was possibly in that box.

Mason lifted a hand and cupped my face with it. He used his thumb to brush away the tears that had fallen. It was a useless gesture, because more fell in their place. Even so, it felt more intimate than I wanted it to. He lowered his face and pressed his forehead against mine. I felt my heart flutter and my breath caught in my throat.

He hesitated for just a moment before I felt his lips. I nearly collapsed at the touch. Then I kissed him back. I kept waiting for something in my brain to tell me this was not a good idea, but that never came. Instead I was flooded with good memories and every feeling I'd ever had when it came to Mason. Eventually I pulled away, needing to hear what he had to say and find out if what I thought was in that box really was.

“Mason, I just…..I don’t…..you told me back then that-" He cut me off.

“I know what I said and I regretted it every day that you were gone. I love you, Misty. I need you in my life. I’ve been lost without you. I may not have been ready then, but I’m ready now. I’m ready to be the man you want and need. I know this isn’t exactly romantic, but you know that’s not my style. This is me and it's the best I can do. Misty, will you marry me?”

My breath caught in my throat as images of my wedding day flashed through my head. I’d been dreaming of that day since I was old enough to know what a wedding was. I saw myself in my dream wedding dress. I saw the flowers, the bridesmaid dresses on the girls I’d long ago chosen, and the background scenery. I saw the look on Mason’s face as I’d come around the corner to walk down the aisle.

I watched as he flipped open the little black box that contained the ring. I looked down in anticipation of what it would look like. I watched it sparkle and shine in the lighting as I put a hand to my mouth. It was beautiful. More tears fell down my face as I looked down at it in shock. Any girl would kill for that ring and it was for me.










Sidney felt sick as he watched Mason pull out a small black box from his pocket. He knew what was in that box. He’d have to be an idiot not to know what was in that box. He waited for Misty to tell Mason that he should put it away. He waited for her to tell Mason it was too late and to leave. Misty didn’t say a word.

Surprise, disappointment, and hurt ran through him as she just stood there looking at the box in Mason’s hand. He saw the look in her eyes and recognized it. She wanted what was in that box. He could see it plain as day. And just like that any chance for the two of them was crushed. It wasn’t like he had high hopes for them, but he’d always felt there was a small chance that maybe someday.....but now it was gone.

“I should go and let you two talk,” he barely managed to choke out.

Neither of them argued with him. Neither told him he didn’t have to go. Obviously they wanted their privacy and he’d give it to them. It wasn’t like he wanted to be there to witness the actual proposal to the girl he was in love with. That's right, seeing this happen made him realize it. He was in love with Misty. He walked straight out of the house and to his car. He felt numb the entire car ride back to his house.

How could she let him stay and propose? After everything she’d told him this summer about her relationship past, how could she still want him? Hadn’t she said she was only using Mason to get away from Zeke? Or was she lying to him, and maybe herself in the process? He figured maybe she didn’t know what she wanted. Or maybe she was just so hurt by Mason letting her go that she’d tell herself anything to get over it. And now Mason was standing there in her house with a ring and was about to propose.

Somewhere deep inside of himself he knew she was going to say yes. When she’d first told him that Mason had said he didn’t want to marry her he’d seen the pain in her eyes. This must have been a dream come true for her. He’d chased her down to tell her how much he missed her and that he was ready to commit.

Sidney flopped down on the couch and laid his head on the back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling. He wished he’d stopped being a fucking pussy and had told Misty he liked her at some point. Then again, maybe he was glad he hadn’t. What would have happened if they’d started dating and Mason had shown up. Who would she have chosen?

Sidney let out a yell in frustration and anger. He didn’t want to think about Misty and Mason anymore. He needed a distraction. He needed to forget. He wanted to numb everything out of his brain. He grabbed his phone and made a call.

“What’s up Siddo?” Caden answered after a couple of rings.

“I need you guys to come over now. Bring alcohol. Anything,” Sidney told him.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, concern in his voice.

“Misty just got engaged to her ex.”

“Fuck. We’ll be right over.” The phone went dead and Sidney dropped it beside him on the couch.

He didn’t move from that spot on the couch as he waited. He didn’t have the strength or energy to move right now. He wouldn’t be able to move until his closest friends were here and he was good and drunk. Something inside of him told him this wasn’t a good idea. He shouldn’t be drinking tonight. He didn’t care.

He heard a car pull into the driveway a little while later. He remained sitting the way he was. He watched the reflection of the headlights on his wall turn off as the sound of the running engine died. He heard footsteps climb the stairs to his front door and listened as the doorknob turned and the door opened.

“I hope whatever alcohol you brought was strong. I need it,” he muttered without glancing over at the door.

“I don’t have any alcohol.”

Chapter 24

Sidney got off the plane, grabbed his bag from baggage claim and found his car where he’d parked it when he flew out to Calgary. He started to drive home and decided he wasn’t in the mood to be alone. He considered heading straight to his parents’ house knowing his father would be dying to hear about camp, but he wasn’t really in the mood for that either. He’d head to Misty’s.

He decided against calling her and hoped that she’d be home when he got there. He pulled into her driveway and saw that her car was there, but as much as Misty walked and ran places he knew that didn’t mean anything. He got out and heard barking and laughter floating out to him from the backyard.

He walked around the side of the house and spotted Misty standing on the patio with a cup of what was probably coffee in her hands, laughing at Bauer who was chasing birds around the yard. He stopped and watched Bauer for a moment as well and laughed to himself. The birds were scattering and then landing again, and Bauer was just beside himself trying to chase them away.

“Hey!” he finally called. Bauer bounded over to him when he heard him and Misty turned and smiled.

“Hey back! How was the trip?” she asked walking over.

“It was fine,” he replied as he pet Bauer.

“How long have you been back in town?” she questioned. Bauer took off to run back after the birds who had returned.

“Pretty much since now.” Her eyes widened in surprise.

“You came here first?” He smiled and shrugged.

“Even before my own house,” he told her. She shook her head at him.

“Your father is probably dying to talk to you about camp and you didn’t go straight there?” she chastised. He rolled his eyes.

“I am so not in the mood for that right now,” he responded. She smiled at him knowingly and invited him inside. He followed her in through the back door and into the house.

“Coffee?” she asked, holding up the half full pot.

“You’re kidding, right?” She narrowed her eyes at him before a smile broke out onto her face.

“Stick with me, Crosby, and you’ll learn to love it.” He realized music was playing when the start of a new song came on. He laughed at the opening notes and shook his head.

“You’re a Hip fan?” he asked.

“Can you spend time with Canadian hockey players and not be?” she retorted. He laughed and had to agree. “You should probably go see your parents.” He sighed.

“I know.”

“Go see them now and get settled back in. Come back tonight and we’ll have dinner and watch a movie,” she suggested.

“Sounds good. I’ll see you tonight,” he agreed.

He got back into his car and headed over to his parents’ house. His father was out the door as soon as he pulled into the driveway. He’d obviously been waiting for him to get there and Sidney rolled his eyes. He had to get it over with sometime, right?

They went inside and spent the next two hours talking about the camp, who was there, what they’d done, what they’d said, blah blah blah. His mom had tried numerous times to change the subject but his father kept finding a way to go right back to the camp. It was too early for him to be thinking that hard about the Olympics. The season hadn’t even started yet.

They finally got off the topic of the Olympics when Taylor came home from a camp she was attending. Taylor had basically no interest in hearing about the camp and made that quite clear to their dad. Eventually Sidney got up to head home and unpack before heading over to see Misty.

“Hey, Sid, hold on a second,” his dad said at the door. Sidney stopped and wondered what his dad had to say now. “Make sure to bring Misty over for dinner some night before you both leave town.” Sidney looked at his father in shock.

“You want me to bring Misty over for dinner some night?” he asked.

“Yeah. We just all want to make sure to say goodbye before she leaves,” he explained. Sidney narrowed his eyes at his dad, wondering what the catch was. Oddly, he seemed like he genuinely wanted her there.

“Sure, I’ll do that.” He called another goodbye to his family before heading back to his place and spent the entire drive curious as to what had gotten into his father.










I’d spent the last couple of days after hanging out with the group while Sidney was gone locked up in my house. I was almost afraid to see any of them. While only Zara and I had the conversation I felt like all the emotions it had drawn out were clearly written on my face. I just couldn’t face any of them right now.

Do you love him?

No. No no no. Absolutely not. I, Misty Jaden Fontana, was not in love with Sidney. It just wasn’t a possibility. There was no chance. I repeated it in my head. I said it out loud. I sighed at Bauer every time he gave me a look that screamed that he didn’t believe me. It didn’t matter what they thought. I knew how I felt, and I didn’t love him. At least that’s what I thought until I saw him standing in my backyard, fresh off the plane from Calgary.

The butterflies went wild, my heart started to race, and it took every ounce of my strength not to rush over into his arms like a fool. Then he told me he’d come straight to my place and that fluttering feeling took control of my body until I thought I might fly. Despite all that, I still didn’t love him. Right?

I went for a long run after he left, running until I thought my lungs would burst and my legs would give out. I vetoed every song on my iPod that so much as mentioned love as I ran. Then when I was done I went to the gym and attended a boot camp class. I only survived on sheer will to sweat out the feelings in me.

It seemed to work. I left the gym sore, exhausted, and with no more fluttering. I showered, dressed in yoga pants and a t-shirt and threw my wet hair up into a ponytail, clipping my bangs out of my face. Then I fell asleep for a couple of hours. I woke up barely in time to hear Sidney ringing my doorbell.

“So I have some surprising news,” Sidney said as he walked past me into the house.

“Is it good or bad?” I asked.

“I have no idea,” he replied. I furrowed my brow at his response.

“What’s going on?” I questioned.

“My father wants to have you over for dinner before we both leave town,” Sidney reported. My jaw dropped in surprise. It wasn’t a secret that Troy didn’t like me. Everyone saw it. Now I was confused.

“I’m sorry, I must have misheard what you said. Can you please repeat that?”

“That was pretty much my reaction.” I smiled at Sidney.

“I know. He wants to throw me a going away party! He’s glad I’ll no longer be near his son!” I joked. Sidney just rolled his eyes as he plopped down on the couch.

“He’s not a bad guy,” Sidney defended him.

“And I’m not a bad girl,” I returned as I sat next to him on the couch. Sidney sighed and glanced towards the TV.

“You said something about a movie, right? What are you in the mood for?” he asked.

We debated over movies before deciding on one and popping it in. A little bit into the movie my stomach started to grumble and I got up to place an order for Chinese to be delivered. I walked back to the couch and found that Sidney was sprawled out and taking up the whole thing.

“And where am I supposed to sit?” I asked, folding my arms over my chest. He shrugged.

“On the floor?” he suggested. I narrowed my eyes at him and shook my head.

“Move over, Crosby,” I ordered.

“But I’m comfortable,” he whined.

“And here I thought I was hanging out with a 22 year old and not a 5 year old,” I retorted. He stuck his tongue out at me but refused to move. “Fine.” I sat down right on top of his legs.

“Are you serious right now?” he asked, trying to push me off. I fought for every inch of couch I could get.

We ended up pushing and shoving each other for a good 10 minutes, fighting for space. Neither of us wanted to give in, yet we couldn’t stop laughing the entire time. Bauer looked on at us like we were insane. Just as I’d figured out that Sidney was ticklish and where, the doorbell rang.

“Damn, Chinese food,” I muttered.

I untangled myself from Sidney’s arms and legs and made my way over to the door. Bauer had jumped up in my place and was currently standing with his front paws hanging over the back of the couch as he straddled Sidney who was still lying down. Bauer was using the couch as a shield and Sidney as protection as he growled and watched the door.

“You lose, I win!” Sidney called.

I was still laughing at him as I pulled open the front door. The laugh died in my throat when I saw who was standing on my doorstep. It wasn’t the Chinese delivery guy. I couldn’t talk, couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Instead I just stood there grasping the doorknob and staring at the figure in front of me.

“Hi, Misty,” he said.

“Mason?”

Chapter 23

I finished my run and opened the door to let Bauer outside. He ran around and sniffed everything in sight as I stretched out. Taking even just a week or so off from running always made me sore when I started it back up, and I hadn’t run since before I’d gone home. When I was finished I walked inside with Bauer on my heels.

I made myself a peanut butter and banana sandwich and ate while dancing around to the music I had on. When the sandwich was gone I stripped down and got into the shower. Just as I was toweling off I heard my cell going off. I wrapped the towel around me and ran out to find my phone.

“Hello?” I said hurriedly, hoping to get it before it went to voicemail.

“Bad time?” I grinned at the sound of Sidney’s voice.

“I just got out of the shower. What’s up?” I asked.

“Lunch break. I’m afraid if I try to nap I’ll never wake up again,” he replied. I laughed.

“So how’s the camp been going so far?”

I listened as Sidney talked about the Olympic camp he was currently attending. We went over what they'd done, funny stories that had come out, and their upcoming schedule. I almost felt like a spy for the US. If only there was someone in USA hockey I could contact, I thought with a silent chuckle.

“I saw the picture of you in the Canadian jersey online. Must be pretty cool to be wearing it, huh?” I told him.

“It really is. Sometimes I can’t believe everything that’s happened.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not sure anyone deserves it more than you.”

“I’m glad I called you instead of home. I get compliments from you.” I laughed at him. We talked for a few more minutes before he had to go and get back to the rink. I barely had time to get dressed before my doorbell rang. I opened the door to see Zara and Valerie standing there holding up a couple of bottles of alcohol.

“It’s a little early to start drinking, isn’t it?” I asked as I let them in.

“It’s never too early,” Zara replied.

“The boys are golfing and getting drunk all day so we figured we’d hang out, tan, and get drunk all day. We’re going to meet up with them and go out tonight if you want to come along,” Valerie explained.

“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed.

I changed into a bathing suit while the two of them mixed up some drinks. Then we headed into my backyard to lie out in the sun. I turned on some music and we spent the next few hours drinking and talking. As the sun went down we all took turns showering and then ordered pizza for dinner.

“Do you miss Sidney now that he’s out of town for a while?” Zara asked as we were crowded around my bathroom mirror getting ready. I turned to glare over at her.

“Are you going to bring him up every time I see you?” I shot at her.

“Are you going to avoid answering my questions about him every time I ask?” she returned. I sighed and refused to answer her as I continued to get ready.

“Misty, I love you, but when are you going to figure it out?” Valerie asked. I completely stopped what I was doing to turn to face both of them, with my arms crossed over my chest.

“Figure what out?”

“That Sidney is perfect for you. He’s your guy. You just fit,” she responded.

“How many times do I have to tell you both that we’re just friends?” I asked in exasperation. They both rolled their eyes at me, but dropped the subject.

When we were ready I called a cab to come pick us up. Once in the car Zara gave the driver our destination and we danced in the car the whole trip to the bar. We walked in and found the guys already sitting around a table. Walker gave Zara a big kiss as we all took seats.

It took about 5 seconds before they were asking me about Sidney. I wasn’t sure how I felt about being the one they were looking to for information about how the camp was going. They hadn’t talked to him, but I had once a day since he’d left. I told them everything he had told me and we thankfully moved on from the subject of him afterwards.

As I sat there with them I thought it was a little odd that he hadn’t talked to a single one of them all week, but we’d talked every day. Did any of them think that was as strange as I did? My brain was fuzzy with alcohol and I decided it was best to just leave thinking about that until tomorrow when I was sober. I pushed the thoughts out of my head and refocused on the conversation around the table.










Troy pulled into the parking lot of the bar his friends were meeting at. He didn’t typically frequent bars, but his friend, Eddie, had gotten a promotion and they were taking him out for some beers. He walked in and found some of his friends already sitting at a table with beers in front of them.

He greeted them all with a handshake and sat down, grabbing an empty glass and pouring himself beer from the pitcher. Not long after the entire group was sitting around the table telling stories and laughing. It was nice when they could all get out together and do something like this, especially when celebrating about something. They’d done the same thing when Sidney had been drafted and then again when he’d returned to Cole Harbour after his son had won the Stanley Cup.

“Well, hey, look at that,” one of the guys said, looking over Troy’s shoulder.

He along with the rest of the table turned to look in the same direction. He heard someone else let out a soft whistle as he watched Zara and Valerie walk across the bar to join Sidney’s friends at a table. He then noticed Misty following right behind them. His eyes narrowed at the sight of her.

She was moving in on his son, and he didn’t like it. She’d moved to town by herself two months ago and randomly ran into Sidney? Fat chance of that, he thought. He didn’t trust her. She looked like one of those girls who would use her looks to get ahead in life, and he did not like the thought of her using Sid.

He turned his back to her and tried to pay attention to the new topic that had come up among his friends, but his mind kept wandering back to Sidney and Misty. Sidney had it bad for her, he could tell. Sid had never mentioned anything to him, but he could see it every time he saw them together. He knew his son well enough to see the look he had in his eyes when he saw her.

He’d tried, obviously unsuccessfully at the beginning of the summer to warn Sidney away from Misty. He’d told him that it was just the wrong time to even think about beginning a relationship with anyone. Too much was riding on this upcoming season. The whole league was going to be gunning for the Penguins now that they’d won the Cup, and the Olympics were only months away. He didn’t need a distraction.

Troy thought he’d gotten through to Sidney until Sid had announced that he was going to Misty’s hometown for a week, and right before the Cup came! What had he been thinking?! They’d argued over it, but Sidney had gone and Troy had been pissed off all week. Then he had to walk in on Sidney kissing Misty on the forehead at the Cup party. No, he didn’t trust Misty at all.

The group of his friends started to break up and he grabbed his car keys and walked outside to head home. He called out a goodbye to everyone before heading towards his car. He paused when he heard two familiar female voices talking just around the corner. He didn’t have to see them to know it was Zara and Misty. And he didn’t have to be convinced to stop and listen when he heard Sidney’s name.

“I just don’t understand why it’s so difficult for you to admit that you have feelings for Sidney,” he heard Zara say.

“Why do you keep pushing this?” Misty asked.

“Because I can’t sit around while you two pretend nothing’s there between you anymore.”

“There’s nothing, Zara. What do you want me to say? He had the chance and do you know what he said? He said that we were just friends. He kissed me and then told me we were just friends.”

Troy clenched his jaw at hearing that Sidney had kissed her. It was worse than he’d thought.

“For someone who seems to know Sidney so well, you’re being a real idiot when it comes to his feelings for you,” Zara argued.

“How? How am I being an idiot?”

“You know Sidney’s quiet and he almost never says what he feels. You’ve said that yourself to me when we’ve talked about other things, so why can’t you see that it’s the same thing in this case?”

He heard someone sniff and a small sob. Was Misty crying?

“Say it’s true. Pretend that Sidney really does have feelings for me. What then? What are we supposed to do about it?”

He hated to admit it, but he sensed from the shake in her voice that Misty was really torn up about the whole situation with his son.

“You date like everyone else does,” Zara replied. Misty let out a humorless laugh.

“No, we don’t. In about two weeks he’s headed back to Pittsburgh and I’m headed back to New York. You don’t start off a relationship when you’re 8 hours away from each other.”

“So go to Pittsburgh,” Zara suggested.

Troy tensed up at the statement. That couldn’t happen.

“I can’t go to Pittsburgh with him. People don’t meet, start dating, and move in together in the span of two months. Not to mention I’ve got other things I have to take care of.”

Well, he was at least happy to hear that response.

“So try the long distance thing.”

“I can’t do that either. Long distance relationships are stressful. Sidney has too much going on this season already. He has to go out and try to prove his team winning the Cup wasn’t a fluke. The expectations for him are sky high. Then the Olympics are coming up. I’m not adding any more stress to all of that.”

As Troy heard her talk his opinion of Misty slowly began to change. She sounded completely distressed about the whole thing. Maybe she did truly like his son. He also couldn’t discount the fact that she was refusing to act on anything because of Sidney’s career. She understood how important the year was for him, and she was willing to push her own feelings aside for Sidney. Maybe he’d been wrong about her afterall.

“I guess I just have one more question then and I’ll stop asking you about Sidney,” Zara started.

“What?”

“Do you love him?”

Troy felt his body tense as he waited for her response. Instead of hearing what she had to say, he heard ringing from a cell phone.

“Sidney?” Zara asked.

“Yeah,” Misty replied quietly.

“That’s twice in one day. I’ll see you inside.” He heard the side door open and close and heard Misty sniff again.

“Hey, Sid,” she greeted as she answered the phone, doing her best to mask any of the tears he'd heard her crying.

Troy sighed and made his way to his car. It didn’t seem like he was going to hear the answer to that question any time soon.

Chapter 22

I stood in front of my closet and perused my options. What did one wear on a dinner cruise? I’d immediately thought about a simple black strapless Ralph Lauren dress I had with a white sash around the waist then shook my head. We were going to be out on a boat on the water and it would probably be windy. That meant I needed some sort of jacket or wrap to wear over it. Maybe I should just wear a nice shirt and pants. No, I can’t wear pants on a dinner cruise. Dammit, this sucked. At this rate my hair was going to air dry before I’d even picked out what to wear.

Sidney and I had returned from my hometown a couple days ago. He’d spent just about the entire car ride back to Cole Harbour trying to talk me into joining his friends and family with him on the dinner cruise to celebrate day one of him having the Stanley Cup. I’d balked at it every time he asked telling him he deserved to enjoy it with the people who’d known him back when he’d won it, and had been supporting him for years. He wouldn’t hear it and said that it just wouldn’t feel right if I wasn’t there. Eventually I gave in.

I looked down at Bauer and asked him what I should wear. He tilted his head to the side like he was telling me he had no idea either. I sighed and went over my options again. Despite the fact that I was much more comfortable in pants and a shirt, I ended up choosing the Ralph Lauren dress and a black wrap in case it got cold and paired it with a pair of black open toed heels.

I spent the next 45 minutes getting ready. I wasn’t sure I’d ever spent that long on hair and makeup before in my life. That just wasn’t my style. Even so, for some reason, I wanted to look perfect tonight. I looked at my smokey eyes, red lips, and softly curled hair and smiled. Maybe I should make myself up like this more often.

I grabbed a clutch and threw some stuff in just as I saw headlights sweep into the driveway. I gave myself one last glance in the mirror before running out and getting into Zara’s SUV. I smiled at Walker, Caden, and Valerie as I got in. I was about to ask where Wesley was when I heard a voice come from the trunk behind me.

“Jesus, Misty, you look hot.” I laughed as I turned and smiled at Wes.

“I’m not sure whether to be flattered or offended by that,” I joked.

“You’re always hot, but this is different. You’re fucking hot now,” he returned. I laughed again.

“Wait until Sidney sees you,” Walker commented. I gave him a strange look.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked. I watched as Zara and Valerie rolled their eyes at me and the guys exchanged looks with each other.

“Don’t worry about it,” Caden told me. I let it go, not exactly in the mood to go where this conversation looked to be heading.

The car pulled into a parking lot a little while later. We all filed out of the car and made our way towards the ship. We were joking and laughing as we gave our names in order to board. Wesley wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we made our way inside to where others were standing and talking. I immediately started searching for Sidney once inside. Wesley laughed next to me.

“He’s in the corner,” he told me knowingly and pointing. I looked in the direction he was pointing and saw Sidney talking to a small group with the Cup sitting next to him. “Go on,” Wesley urged. I gave him a sheepish smile before walking in Sidney’s direction.

I took a deep breath and then slowly made my way through the growing crowd of people. I smoothed my dress probably a good 50 times and fluffed my hair another 50 in the short distance that had been between us. I was nervous and I didn’t like it. Christ, Misty, it’s just Sid. Relax.

I was almost to him when he turned and his eyes locked on mine. He halted mid-laugh and his smile faded when he saw me. What was wrong with him? Did I look that bad? Sidney’s reaction to me was obvious to everyone he was talking to and they all turned in my direction. I felt suddenly self-conscious with all eyes on me. I gave them a small nervous smile as I forced myself to finish the walk to them.

“Hey,” I greeted quietly. Sidney just stood there without saying a word. I had time to shift from one foot to another and still he said nothing.

“It seems that Crosby here has forgotten his manners. I’m Maxime Talbot, but you can call me Max,” the attractive guy next to him said, holding out his hand. I smiled at him and shook his hand.

“Ah, the game 7 hero. I’m Misty Fontana.” The rest of the group introduced themselves and still Sidney said nothing.

“So, Misty, how do you know this jackass?” Max asked me, jerking his thumb in Sidney’s direction. My eyes shifted over to Sidney and I saw his expression hadn’t changed much.

“I dumped coffee on him accidentally a couple of months ago. He was nice enough to forgive me,” I told him.

“When a beautiful girl does something like that, any sane guy would forgive her,” Max replied with a smile.

“Hey, Sidney, your grandmothers are here!” I heard Troy call from behind us. Sidney gave a small smile and a nod to me before walking away to follow his father. I watched him walk away, wondering what the hell was going on.

“Can I get you a drink?” Max offered, wrapping an arm around my waist. I smiled and nodded. I was going to need a drink to deal with Sidney if he was going to be like this all night. Maybe I shouldn’t have come afterall.










Sidney walked away from Misty to follow his father and wanted an anvil to fall out of the sky and land on him. He was a jerk. Why the hell hadn’t he said anything? He hugged both of his grandmothers as he thought about it. He hadn’t said anything because he’d been stunned into silence. Misty looked incredible.

When he saw her walking in his direction he’d lost all capabilities to think. He’d been mid-conversation and suddenly couldn’t even remember what they’d been talking about or even who he’d been talking to. His mind was just a jumbled mess the moment he’d seen her. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she looked, but his brain wasn’t sending the message to his mouth. Even as he heard Max introducing himself to her he still couldn’t form words. He was lucky he’d understood what his father had said. Now he looked like a royal asshole.

He made his rounds and talked to everyone on board as the ship pulled away from the dock. Even as he tried to concentrate on them his eyes kept finding their way to Misty. Every time they found her she took his breath away. It was a struggle to think of anything but her.

Then he slowly realized that every time he saw her he saw Max as well. He recognized all the signs as soon as he focused on it. Max was hitting on her. Goddammit, why did all his friends hit on her? First Jack and now Talbot. Of course it had to be the two guys who had the most success with girls too. Those motherfuckers.

Jealousy raged through him as he watched Max snake his arm around Misty’s waist and saw that she didn’t pull away. He should have said something earlier. Maybe if he’d said something Max would have left her alone. Now he could do nothing but watch since he had to make sure to make time for everyone.

“Dude, you’re an idiot,” Walker managed to tell him at one point. He couldn’t agree more.

When it was time to sit down for dinner Misty sat at a table far from him and right next to Max, who seemed to have attached himself to her hip. Sidney clenched his jaw when he saw that Misty didn’t exactly seem to mind. When dinner was over and the ship was headed back he finally broke away from everyone and made his way over to Misty, who for once was without Max.

“You look beautiful tonight,” he told her. She turned and looked at him in surprise, her eyebrows lifted.

“Thank you,” she said with a small smile. She sounded unsure.

“I’m sorry about earlier, I’m just not used to seeing you like this. It took me by surprise,” he explained. She furrowed her brows together as she thought about that.

“Yeah, I guess this look just doesn’t work for me,” she said glancing down at herself.

“No, it does. It really does,” he assured her. She gave him a real smile for the first time and he returned it. “Let me introduce you to some people.” She nodded and he took her by the hand and led her around the ship. She joked and laughed with everyone and they all seemed to love her.

The ship docked and his group of friends and family began to file off to head home. Tomorrow was another day and another celebration. Sidney had to say goodbye to everyone but he made sure to catch Misty before she left. He made sure to tell her again how amazing she looked and told her he’d see her tomorrow at his house.

The next day he was busy running around and talking to everyone who came to his house for the party. He didn’t even know when Misty had gotten there, only that at some point he had turned around and she was standing there talking with Max with a drink in her hand. He started to make his way over to her, but was called away for something else. By the time he was done, he couldn’t find her.

When he did see her again she was carrying a tray of food outside and replacing an empty one with it. As he talked with some of his family he kept an eye on her and saw her do the same thing with a few more trays. He finally broke away and made his way over to her. She turned to him and smiled after arranging some food around.

“Hey!” she called to him.

“What are you doing?” he asked. She shrugged.

“The food was running out,” she said simply, like it was her job to replace it.

“Did someone put you up to this?” he wondered. She shook her head.

“No, I just saw that it needed to be done and your family deserves to enjoy this day instead of working on it.” Was she serious? She was doing it on her own because she saw that it needed to be? They talked for a few more minutes before he was pulled away once again.

The next time he saw Misty she was sitting at a table with his two grandmothers. As he watched she listened to them talk, laughed along with them, and chatted away. She even looked like she was having a good time doing it. He noticed that she kept getting up and bringing back plates of food and drinks for them so they wouldn’t have to get up and deal with the crowd of people themselves.

As the day wore on they hardly talked, but he was always aware of what she was doing. She had basically overtaken the job as the hostess so that his mother, who had been doing it, would be able to enjoy the day. Misty was running back and forth making sure everyone there had anything they would need.

He couldn’t even begin to describe how amazing that was. She was doing it on her own with a smile on her face. He found himself realizing that he would probably never find another girl who would do this for him and his family without a complaint. God, she was perfect.

He walked inside for a break from the crowd for a moment and found Misty in the kitchen doing something at the counter. He saw Sam and Bauer standing at attention, wagging their tails as they watched her. Sidney realized that she was feeding them dinner. Even with everything going on, she hadn’t forgotten about them.

“Thanks for doing that,” he said, walking over to stand next to her. She glanced over and smiled.

“I figured their food was better for them than the scraps they’ve been getting all day from everyone,” she joked. “Why aren’t you out there mingling?”

“I needed a break.” She gave him an understanding look before she placed the dog bowls on the floor. Sam and Bauer immediately rushed to their dinners.

“Do you need a drink?” she offered, grabbing a bottle of water for herself. He shook his head. Then he put an arm around her waist and placed a kiss on her temple.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done today.” She didn’t have a chance to respond.

“Sidney?” Troy interrupted them. He turned to see his father standing in the kitchen looking at the two of them. He looked like he'd witnessed the kiss and he was not very pleased about it. Sidney dutifully followed his father outside to continue to mingle.

Hours later almost everyone was gone, and the few that were still around were currently inside scoping out a place to crash. He stood at the end of his dock staring out at the water, grateful for some peace and quiet. He was thankful for these past two days, but they had been exhausting. He heard someone walk up behind him and turned to see Misty.

“I’m tired,” she said when she stopped next to him. He just nodded as they stood there in silence for a while. At some point she rested her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her. They stood like that for a while until he felt like he was going to pass out.

“I have to get to bed,” he told her. She nodded and followed him inside. She grabbed a blanket and started to settle herself onto the couch. He wasn’t having any of that and grabbed her hand, leading her up to his room. They’d slept together before so he wasn’t letting her sleep on a couch now.

“Misty, I know I already said this a little earlier, but thank you. I don’t know why you took over today, but I know that I and my entire family appreciated it. My mom thought she’d be too busy to enjoy today, but you made it possible for her to. Thank you.” She smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Congratulations,” she whispered to him.

She slowly began to pull away, her arms just sliding down from his neck. He caught her gaze and fought the urge to kiss her. Then she did it again. He still wasn’t sure if it was on purpose, but she licked her lips. He lost the battle and pressed his lips to hers. She returned the kiss and he backed her up to the bed where they fell back, with him on top of her. She cuddled up to him when they were spent and he fell asleep with her in his arms.

“Good morning, sleepyhead!” a voice yelled out, causing both he and Misty to bolt upright in bed. He looked over to see Max standing in the doorway. Max’s eyes went wide in surprise before he grinned. “I guess I should say sleepyheads.”

“Max, really?” Sidney grumbled as Misty pulled the sheets tighter around her.

“What? We have to go.” Sidney glanced at the clock and knew he was right. The Cup was leaving this morning and he had to accompany it.

“I’ll be right down.” Max closed the door and Sidney got out of bed and got dressed. “You can stay here and get more sleep if you want,” he said to Misty.

“I have to get Bauer outside anyway. I’ll talk to you later though.” He nodded before walking out of the bedroom and heading downstairs.

“Good for you!” Max called out when he got down there.

“Don't even,” he shot at him as they walked out the door.