Chapter 39

Just so everyone knows, I only recently discovered that I had my blog disabled for anonymous users to comment and that has now changed. Everyone can leave comments on any of my stories now. Sorry about that!










“You’re really going to go again?” Talbot asked in surprise as Sidney buttoned up his dress shirt.

“Misty’s only here for another week so I want to make sure she has a good time,” Sidney replied. “It’s not like I’m turning into you.”

“Funny,” Max deadpanned.

Sidney finished getting dressed and walked out with Talbot and Flower to go get Misty and Vero and head out to Diesel. He understood the surprise his teammates were showing him in his willingness to go out, but it was all for Misty. He wanted her to have a good time and really get to know everyone. As much as he’d love to keep her locked up at his house and only with him, she was too social for that.

He followed his teammates into the family room and spotted Misty immediately. He’d obviously already seen her today since he’d driven her into the rink, but something about seeing her at this moment caused his breath to catch in his throat. She was just laughing with some of the girls, but it struck him how beautiful she was, and he knew. Not tonight because they’d be out, but tomorrow. Tomorrow he was going to tell Misty how he felt about her.

He walked over towards her and she turned to look at him as he did. He watched her smile grow when their eyes locked. It was difficult not to just pull her into his arms and kiss her right then and there. Somehow he felt she wouldn’t appreciate the gesture in front of his entire team and their families. Instead he took her hand as they walked out to his car and he marveled for probably the millionth time that she didn’t pull away. It gave him hope.

“I’m going to be sad to leave,” she announced when they’d gotten into the car. He liked hearing that.

“Oh yeah?” he pushed, hoping to hear why. Maybe she’d make it easy on him, and tell him she had feelings for him right now. Wouldn’t that be nice?

“They have the best jalapeño cheese here,” she responded. He laughed because he couldn’t help himself. Not only was it random and so Misty, but he was a fool to think she would just confess everything sitting here in his car outside the rink.

They drove over to Diesel and went inside where some of his teammates had already taken up post. Sidney spent most of the night by Misty’s side, with either his hand resting on hers or his arm around her waist. He couldn’t help himself. It just felt so good to be in any sort of contact with her. He never wanted to let go of her.

Eventually Misty pulled away to go to the bathroom and he was left standing with some of the guys looking out over the railing down at the people below. A waving hand caught his attention from the corner of his eye and he turned to see who was waving and who they were waving at. He felt his stomach drop in annoyance. Sabrina was waving right at him, and smiling.

He gave her a small nod, but didn’t smile or wave back. He didn’t want her up here jeopardizing anything with Misty tonight. She didn’t seem to take the hint when he turned away, because he found her making her way towards the stairs to come up. Sidney hoped she’d be turned away, but unfortunately security recognized her as being someone who had been up here and let her through.

“Hey, Sid!” she greeted him with a smile, bee lining right over to him.

“Hey,” he responded less than enthusiastically.

He kept an eye out for Misty as Sabrina talked his ear off. The second he spotted Misty he was out of there. Minute after minute ticked by and he pretended to be listening to whatever Sabrina was prattling on about while searching for Misty. Eventually he got worried when he couldn’t see her anywhere. That worry escalated when Talbot ran over to him.

“Misty’s gone,” Max announced, cutting Sabrina off.

“Who’s Misty?” he heard her ask, but he didn’t respond.

“What do you mean she’s gone?” Sidney questioned.

“She ran out. I begged her to wait for one of us to give her a ride, but I’m worried she won’t,” Max told him. Sidney immediately ran for the exit, Max on his heels.

“Why would she do that?” Sidney asked in a panic when they got outside and Misty was nowhere in sight.

“You’re fucking oblivious, aren’t you?” Max shot at him.

Sidney knew exactly what he meant, but he didn’t have time to argue. He’d been watching for Misty the whole time, but just never saw her. Sidney turned to a bouncer at the door and asked if he’d seen Misty, doing his best to describe her and what she was wearing. The bouncer told him she’d taken off, walking around the corner and disappearing.

“Start calling her,” Sidney ordered to Max as he ran to his car and peeled out of his parking space and started racing around the downtown Pittsburgh streets searching for Misty.










I walked out of the bathroom and instead of walking back over to Sidney I decided to take a detour and see if any of the girls were in the mood to dance. I made a stop at the bar for a round of shots for the girls, a drink for me, and carried the tray over, setting it down on the table.

“Shots first, dance second,” I said as I sat down between Vero and Heather.

Everyone picked up a shot glass, but there were no smiles or laughs coming from the group. I looked around at all of them, lifting my eyebrows in question. I watched as they all forced smiles on their faces and clinked our glasses together before taking the shot. I prepared to stand up to go dance, but no one else moved. Something was going on. I turned around to look behind me and saw Sidney and that girl, Sabrina, standing by the railing and talking.

“It’s not a big deal,” I heard Vero say from next to me. Despite the ache in my chest I turned back to the table and shrugged before taking a sip from my drink.

“I know,” I replied. I sat with the group instead of dancing, but remained quiet. He was going to do this again? He was going to ditch me all night for this girl again? Yeah right he didn’t have any feelings for her.

“Ladies!” Max called walking over and flopping down practically on my lap. “What’s going on?”

“You’re a Neanderthal,” I joked as I pushed him off of me. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and laughed.

“Care to dance?” he asked. I shook my head.

“No thanks,” I declined. He looked surprised first, and then sympathetic, like he understood why I didn’t want to move.

“It’s not a big deal,” he told me. I felt my anger boil over then and shot out of my seat.

“Why does everyone keep telling me it’s not a big deal?! I’m a fucking big girl. I don’t need you all babysitting me!” I shot at him.

I stepped over his legs, which were in my way, and ran down the stairs, and towards the exit. I slipped my jacket on as I stepped outside and I held my hand up trying to flag down a taxi as it drove by. It continued on, full of people and I waited for another one. I just wanted to get out of there. I couldn’t watch Sidney and that girl anymore and I couldn’t be around everyone when they were feeling sorry for me.

“Hey, hold on!” I heard Max call as I waved down another taxi. It pulled over just as Max got to me.

“I’m going home,” I told him when the taxi stopped. Max ignored me and turned to the taxi, waving at the driver to continue on. I scowled when the driver listened and drove off. “What the fuck?!”

“I’ll take you home, okay? I just have to tell Sidney you’re leaving,” he said.

“Why would he care? I’m going home,” I returned as I held my hand up for another taxi. Max grabbed my hand and pulled it out of the air.

“Fine, I won’t tell him, but let me get you home. Just let me go grab my keys.” I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest.

Max ran back inside as I stood on the sidewalk waiting for him. Eventually I got sick of waiting and without seeing any more taxi’s I just started to walk. Maybe I’d find one to take me home on another street. I began to wander, not sure where I was going as I searched for a taxi to take me home. I felt my phone vibrating, but ignored it. If it was Sidney, I didn’t want to talk to him.

“Are you fucking insane?!” I heard Max call after me long enough after I left that I was shivering and lost.

“I just wanted to get home,” I told him, my anger completely deflated now, and pain taking its place.

“Yeah, and I told you to wait for me,” he said angrily.

I watched him hit a button on his phone and give an address. A moment later I watched Sidney’s car fly around the corner and come to a stop on the side of the road next to us. Sidney jumped out of his car and ran over to me, pulling me into a hug.

“Are you okay?” he asked worriedly. The anger returned and mixed in with the pain and I used every ounce of my strength to push him away. He looked shocked and hurt at my reaction to him.

“Just take me home,” I ordered before getting into his car. I watched out the window as Sidney and Max had a short conversation before Max turned and walked off down the street and Sidney got into the car. This was not going to be a fun ride home.