Chapter 8

Sidney laid out all the DVDs he planned on throwing in when Tanner got there. Of course he had classics like the original Mighty Ducks and Slap Shot. He’d also gotten the game tape from the night before that they could watch together. She’d already seen the game so he could just point things out about plays she remembered. He also didn’t believe for a second that she would be a slow learner.

She didn’t miss much, that was for sure. He never even expected her to pick up on the fact that they were leaving from a separate exit than everyone else last night. He still hadn’t told her that he was more than just an average hockey player and he wasn’t sure how to do it. He was enjoying being treated like a normal person with her and was afraid that was going to change when she found out.

Still, he knew he had to tell her, and soon. All she needed to do was get bored someday and type his name into any search engine to find out. Even though he wasn’t exactly hiding anything bad from her he knew that it was probably best if she heard it from him.

He’d just have to tell her tonight at some point and hope it didn’t change things with them. He’d only known her for a month but he really enjoyed spending time with her. He’d just have to make sure not to screw anything up. His phone went off and he smiled when he saw the text. He made his way downstairs to let Tanner in.










Sidney insisted we make it a full day of hockey so I agreed to be at his house at 2:00. I knew he lived with Mario Lemieux and I was nervous about meeting him. I may not have been a sports fan, but it’s impossible not to know who Mario Lemieux is when you're family loves hockey. I texted Sidney when I pulled onto his street. He was waiting outside when I pulled into the driveway.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked up at the house. I hadn’t been paying much attention to the neighborhood as I drove through since I was trying to send Sidney a text while not crashing my car. The house was enormous. I’d never seen anything like it in person. Sidney lived here?

“Hey,” he said as I got out of my car.

I smiled and he gave me a quick kiss. He took my hand and led me through the front door. I stared in awe at the inside of the house. This house was what people dreamt of living in, not what they actually lived in. I was gawking at everything as Sidney led me through a few rooms, and I heard people talking. I took my eyes away from the décor and saw a man and woman sitting on a couch. They both stood up smiling when they saw us come in.

“Mario, Nathalie, this is Tanner,” Sidney introduced us.

“Hi, it’s really nice to meet you,” I said shaking each of their hands.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Tanner,” Mario said, a genuine smile on his face.

“Sidney’s told us so much about you. I’ve got to say, I’ve never heard of anyone meeting the way you two did,” Nathalie told me laughing. I blushed and laughed too.

“Yeah, my nephew is really something else.”

“Sidney says you don’t know anything about hockey and he’s putting on a bit of a clinic for you,” Mario said. I blushed again.

“Yeah, I was never much of a sports fan. I guess it’s time to learn though.”

“Can I get you anything to eat or drink before you head into Sidney’s wing?” Nathalie asked. Wing? Sidney had his own wing?

“Oh, no. Thank you though,” I said.

“Okay, I’ve got a full day planned and Tanner said she’s a slow learner so we’re going to head over,” Sidney told them.

“Okay, let us know if you need anything,” Nathalie offered. I smiled and followed Sidney into a completely different section of the house.

“This place is amazing,” I said gazing at everything we passed. He laughed and didn’t respond as he guided me into the living room in his wing. I still couldn’t get over that whole separate wings thing.

“So I thought we’d start off easy. The hockey’s terrible but I can teach you the basics from it,” he explained. I sat down on the couch and waited to see what he’d put in. “Pay attention, you will be quizzed.” I laughed at him and rolled my eyes. When I saw that it was Mighty Ducks, I laughed again.

“I’ve seen this. Of course I was a kid when I saw it,” I told him.

“Yeah, but you haven’t seen it with me.”

I curled up on the couch and sat back to watch the movie. Sidney began to explain some of the fundamentals as we watched and then denounced the stereotype that goaltenders should be the fattest guy on the team saying Fleury was just livid about that.

Somehow as the movie went on Sidney and I got closer to each other on the couch. By the time it ended our shoulders were touching. Sid got up to change movies saying the next one would have some better hockey action. He told me it would provide him the chance to get a little more in depth as far as the game went. Once again, I’d seen the movie he popped in, but I sat back to watch Miracle with him anyway.

“Is this boring you?” he asked not long after the movie started. I looked over at him and shook my head.

“Not at all, why?” I asked. He shrugged but didn’t look away from me.

“I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t slowly torturing you with hockey movies,” he joked.

“You’re not,” I assured him. He leaned over and kissed me. He didn’t pull away right away, and I didn’t try to either. Eventually I ended the kiss, but kept my forehead pressed to his. “I thought I was being quizzed.”

“The hockey part hasn’t started yet,” he responded. I smiled and kissed him again. “Tanner, I should probably tell you something.” I pulled back from him a bit and felt a tiny knot in my stomach. He didn’t exactly make that sound like it was a good thing.

“What is it?” I asked nervously. He looked away from me and bit his lower lip obviously struggling to find the words he wanted to use. This was it. We were over before we even really started.

“Being with me isn’t easy,” he started but then hesitated again. When he didn’t immediately say anything else I cut in.

“What does that mean?” He thought for another minute before continuing.

“I play hockey. I travel a lot and it’s my first priority. I’m not around a lot, even when I probably should be.” I waited to see if he said anything else but he didn’t.

“Sid, I’ve never complained. I understand. That’s how it’ll be as I try to realize my dream. I’ll have to put in long hours and travel a lot. My passion for animals existed long before guys did to me. They’re going to be my first priority. It’d be pretty unfair of me to get upset at you for that if I was going to do it too,” I told him. He attempted a smile.

“I really like you, Tanner. I want us to work out but I need you to know what you’re getting into. You told me once that guys tend to be scared off by your independency, but I’m attracted to you because of that. If you’re not ready, or can’t handle the fact that I can’t put you first all the time, then I understand if you leave now. I just really hope that you won’t leave. I want you to stay and be here with me.” I smiled and put my hand in his.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

He smiled back at me and kissed me again. At this point the movie had gotten to the hockey and Sidney fell back into explaining the game to me. When the movie was over we ordered some Chinese food and he put in Slap Shot. I’d never seen it before and he told me it was simply a comical break from the lessons before we continued.

When he said comical he was right. I spent most of the movie laughing, not at the movie, but at his reenactments of the scenes. He’d obviously seen the movie way too many times. When that one had ended he stuck in the game tape from the night before, telling me it was time to get serious.

Instead of explaining things during the game he really did start quizzing me during certain plays. There was one incident that was really frustrating me. He asked me what his team had done wrong and rewound the play. I watched it half a dozen times and still couldn’t figure it out. I began to get angry and he started to laugh at me. The more he laughed, the angrier I got, which made him continue to laugh. It was a really terrible cycle.

“It’s not funny!” I yelled swinging a pillow at him. He grabbed the pillow before it hit him and pulled it out of my hands.

“Do you give up?” he asked trying to catch his breath from all the laughing. I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed, but nodded. “There was nothing wrong with the play.”

My jaw dropped in shock and anger. I grabbed another pillow and swung it at him. He caught that one as well and made sure all pillows were out of my reach at that point. I just narrowed my eyes at him and shook my head in disbelief.

“You’re an asshole,” I said.

“Aw, Babe, I’m sorry.”

His use of the word “babe” threw me off, and my anger melted immediately. It was the first time he’d called me anything that wasn’t my name. He saw the anger fade and used the opportunity to lean in and kiss me. At first I refused to kiss him back, but he was relentless and I eventually gave in. It was impossible to keep from kissing that boy.

I wrapped my arms around his neck as the kiss continued and his arms encircled my waist. I shifted on the couch so my entire body was facing him, and he pulled me all the way to him. I ran a hand through his hair and I was all too aware of our bodies pressed together.

“I think I’ve had enough hockey for now,” I told him pulling away slightly. Before I knew what was happening he’d picked me up and carried me into his bedroom. He laid me back on his bed and positioned himself over me.

“You should stay here tonight,” he whispered into my ear as he trailed kisses down my neck to my collarbone.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I don’t want to cause any trouble with Mario and Nathalie in their house. I just met them.”

His response was to simply put his mouth to mine and there was no turning that down. I reached for the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head. I had to bite my lip to keep from audibly expressing my surprise at just how cut he was. I’d never seen a body like that in person, let alone touched one. I did just that, feeling the muscles in his chest and abs as he continued to trail kisses along my neck and jawline.

In my experience the first time people have sex tends to be a bit awkward as you struggle to fall into the same rhythm while worrying about pleasing them, but there was nothing awkward about sex with Sidney. It was like we just knew what the other needed, and I never wanted it to end. It was the perfect mix of sweet and raw, and completely mind-blowing. After we were both completely satisfied, he pulled me to him and kissed me on the forehead.

“You’re the first person I’ve met since I was a teenager that made me completely comfortable to just be myself. You have no idea how much that means to me,” he said. I smiled and looked up at him.

“I don’t know why you’d be afraid of being yourself. You’re pretty great.” He smiled, kissed me, and we fell asleep like that.