Chapter 5

Sidney finally finished up with the media and made his way into the shower. Sometimes he hated who he was. Most of the time he was fine with the interviews and the fact that no matter what happened in a game the reporters always wanted to talk to him. Other times he was envious of the guys who didn’t get as much attention because they got out of the rink after games at a decent hour.

He got dressed and noncommittally told the guys he’d think about going out to Diesel tonight. Usually after a win he was up for going out with the guys after a game, especially on a Saturday. For some reason he just wasn’t in the mood tonight. After signing a few autographs out of his car window he drove away from the arena and then picked up his phone dialing Tanner’s number. It rang a few times before going to her voicemail.

He left a message telling her that they’d won and he’d had two assists. He wasn’t even sure she knew what assists meant. After he hung up he began to wonder what she was doing. It was a Saturday night and she was a college student. She was probably at a bar, house party, or God help him, a frat party. He didn’t want to think about the last option.

He’d only known her for a few weeks, but she was always on his mind. The more he talked to her, the more he liked her. Despite his reservations, he’d had a great time at the Halloween party the night before. She was beautiful, funny, smart, and normal. Oh yeah, and she had no idea who he was.

Sure she knew that he was Sidney Crosby and he played hockey in the NHL for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but with her lack of interest in sports she didn’t seem to have a clue what most people thought of him. To her he was just a normal person with an odd job. He wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not. He was curious how she’d react when she found out.

He’d thought of telling her a few times, but had decided against it each time. Eventually he would, because she’d find out on her own at some point if he didn’t. He just liked the fact that she didn’t have a clue, which meant that any feelings she may or may not have for him had nothing to do with what he did for a living and everything to do with him as a person. He never knew who was truthful with him and who spent time with him because of who he was.

He sighed as he continued to drive. She was probably at some party with her friends enjoying a Saturday night and if he couldn’t be with her, he’d do what she was doing. He made a u-turn at an intersection and headed back towards Diesel. He walked right through the door and up to where his team always was, grabbing a beer on the way.










I groaned and rubbed my temples as I stared at my Social Justice paper on the laptop screen. I was five pages in and had seven more to go by Monday morning. I hated the class and was having a difficult time pushing myself through all the research I had collected and transferring it into the paper. Damn university wide required courses.

I managed to get through another two pages before saving what I had and closing my laptop. It was three in the morning on Saturday night and while all of my friends were out enjoying an alcohol filled night at a bar I was stuck in the house writing a paper I had put off way too long.
I knew I should have started the paper before the weekend since it was on a topic I could really give two shits about, but I hadn’t. Then Halloween had come and that made Friday fly right out the window. I’d had a pretty decent hangover this morning and only made my way out of bed at 2:00 to force some greasy and cold home fries into my stomach that were left over from Hailey’s brunch about three hours earlier. They didn’t go down well, but I knew in the long run they’d make me feel better.

I thought about the night before and smiled when I thought of Sidney. I picked up my camera for about the 80th time that night and flipped through the pictures. I smiled at the self portrait I’d taken of us, and laughed as I looked through the ridiculous ones I’d taken of Sidney, Jordan, and Ryan.

I remembered then that he’d had a game that night and wondered how they’d done. I checked my phone and saw I had a missed call from Sidney. I groaned when I realized he’d called as I was blasting some Foo Fighters and trying to remain focused on my paper. I listened to the message and smiled when I heard that they’d won, but what exactly did an assist mean? I shrugged and decided it was definitely too late to call him back, and instead chose to go to bed.

I woke up the next morning and got right to work on my paper. I was determined to have it finished by dinner. Somehow I managed to do just that and was glad that I could sit back and relax the rest of the night. I’d texted Sidney earlier telling him I was glad he’d had a good game and was hoping he’d call back at some point. Just after dinner he did.

“Hey, sorry I missed your call last night,” I told him when I picked up the phone.

“Not a problem. You were probably out enjoying your Saturday night,” he said.
“Not so much. I was locked up in my room writing the worst paper ever until I finally cashed out at 3 am,” I corrected him.

“Oh, wow. That sucks.” I laughed.

“You’re telling me. At least it’s done now.”

“So I was actually calling because I was wondering if you’d want to go to dinner sometime this week.” If I wasn’t mistaken, I’d heard a tiny shake in his voice, which would signal that he was nervous. I smiled to myself, happy that he’d finally asked me on a date.

“Yeah, I’d like that. I don’t have anything major due next week so any night would work for me. You pick,” I told him. He was silent for a moment.

“Okay, how about Tuesday night?” he asked. I smiled as I answered.

“Tuesday works.”

“Any particular food you want or don’t like?” he asked.

“Honestly, I eat just about everything. You don’t get to grow up in New York City without being able to eat diverse foods,” I said.

“Okay, I’ll figure something out.” We talked for a little while longer before we hung up for the night. I went to each of the girls’ rooms to tell them the news.

I had butterflies in my stomach all day on Tuesday as I thought about dinner. Getting a text from him that simply said “dress nice” wasn’t helping either. I spent about an hour and a half that afternoon trying on dress after dress and getting opinions from everyone.

I finally settled on a simple black strapless dress that stopped just above my knees. Kelly put some soft curls in my hair and I borrowed a pair of dark purple heels from Lisa that matched a purple clutch I had. I put on a white cardigan when I heard the doorbell ring knowing I was still going to be cold. I opened the door to see Sidney in a suit. It was the first time I’d seen him dressed like that, and boy did he look good.

“You look beautiful,” he told me while handing me a purple rose. I smiled when I took it, shocked that he’d remembered me telling him that I loved purple roses above all else.

“Thank you. You look pretty good yourself. I’ve never seen you in a suit before.”

He smiled and looked down at himself. He held out his arm to me and I took it as he led me to the car, opening the door for me, and winking. I laughed at him and rolled my eyes. Obviously he’d remembered our first conversation. We pulled up in front of one of the nicest restaurants in the city, and one I'd never expected to ever go to.

Once inside I was astonished at the view from the windows. Somehow as I looked around I thought it seemed that we had the best table in the restaurant. I wondered how we’d pulled that off. After ordering dinner and a bottle of wine Sidney and I started talking about likes and dislikes, normal first date talk.

“Favorite movie?” he asked.

“Last of the Mohicans. You?”

“Rocky.”

“Come on. You’ve got to be kidding me with that!” I exclaimed.

“What’s not to like about Rocky?” he asked.

“Pretty much everything,” I told him laughing. He laughed with me and we continued the interrogation. “Favorite book?”

“Books? What are those?” he joked. I rolled my eyes at him and lifted an eyebrow as I waited for a response. “Honestly, I don’t read much. You?”

“Pride and Prejudice. Anything by Jane Austen really, but Pride and Prejudice is my favorite,” I told him without missing a beat. He made a face.
“Are you serious with that?” he asked.

“Of course I am. It’s probably one of the best love stories ever written and it’s a classic! I’ve read it half a dozen times since senior year of high school when it was required reading,” I defended. He laughed at me and shook his head.

“Favorite band?” he asked. I thought for a minute.

“I don’t have one. I like too wide a variety of music to have a favorite. I’m never in the mood for the same genre two days in a row,” I answered.

Dinner came and the interrogation ended. We talked some more about our families and growing up and I found that Sidney and I had a whole lot in common. When dinner was over I tried to convince him to let me pay for my half of the meal but he refused.

“It’s not that I think you can’t afford it, I would just like to be polite and pay,” he said, mocking me.

“You’re a smart ass,” I said laughing.

We got back into the car and he drove me home. This was always the moment where I felt awkward. I had a great time, but did he? Would he try to kiss me, and would I let him? He walked me up to the door and I looked at him, unsure of what to say or do.

“I have a game Thursday and then I’m out of town until Saturday, but would you want to get together on Sunday? It’s really the only day I have off until next week.” I smiled at him and nodded.

“Sunday sounds great,” I agreed. He smiled back at me and he moved towards me. My breath caught in my throat as his face moved towards mine. I was pleasantly surprised when he gave me a simple kiss on the cheek.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said before walking back to his car.

I walked into the house and closed the door behind me. I leaned back against the door and closed my eyes thinking about the night. I couldn’t help but think that Sidney Crosby was perfect in every way. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps and questions being shouted at me from my four housemates. I smiled as I recounted the entire night for them.