Chapter 20

I walked into Mellon Arena and took my seat next to Grace and Hailey. The Penguins were playing the Islanders that night. It was the first game Hailey was attending as Ryan’s girlfriend. After the night at the bar they’d gone back to Ryan’s house and talked. He took her to dinner like she wanted, and they decided to give it a try. None of us knew whether it would work or not since both enjoyed their freedom, but we figured if either of them were going to settle down, the other would be the person that they would settle down with.

The team was fairly chaotic at this point. Therrian had recently been fired and now Sidney was hurt with a groin injury. We were both currently pretty useless around the house. He'd offered to let me sit up in Mario's box for the game but I'd declined because I wanted to sit with the girls.

I looked down at the game going on sadly knowing that Sidney was leaving tomorrow and would be gone for a week on the road. They made a trip to Chicago, then Dallas, then Tampa Bay, and then Florida. They’d be back for a whole day and a half before leaving for Washington. I didn’t look forward to not having him there to get me through therapy.

Therapy was going well and my hip felt better on an almost daily basis. As much as I complained about it, I knew it was best for me. I still had some bad days where I would leave therapy in a ton of pain, but Sidney always knew how to make me feel better. I hoped I wouldn’t have a bad day while he was on the road.

The Penguins won the game 1-0. We made our way into the family room and I felt like I had to wait forever. Everyone was gone before me. They’d offered to wait, but the guys had assured me Sidney would be out soon so I’d told them to all go. Now after 20 more minutes of waiting I was wishing I hadn’t told them to go.

“Babe, I am so sorry,” Sidney said rushing into the room. I stood up and shrugged.

“Media stuff?” I asked. He nodded. We walked out to his car and got in. I was pretty relieved to see that most of the autograph seekers had already left, probably thinking Sidney had left from a different exit.

“They asked about you,” he said as we drove out of the parking lot.

“Who asked about me?”

“The media,” he responded. I looked over at him, curious as to what he said to them. “Look, I know we never discussed this, and we probably should have.”

“Well, we can discuss it now. What did they ask about?”

“They wanted to know who you were and if you were my girlfriend,” he told me.

“What did you tell them?” He glanced over at me, and I could see he was worried.

“If I had said anything, they would have been all over you. People would have been looking up information on you. Pictures would have been plastered all over the internet. I also know that there would be people out there that would do whatever it took to tear you down. I couldn’t do that to you without your okay.”

“What did you tell them?” I asked again.

“I just said you were someone I’d known for a while that I was close to.” I nodded. I could handle that.

“Well, obviously everyone that needs to know about us knows. It’s not like we’re keeping it a secret. I don’t see why we have to announce it to the world. No one else has to make a statement when they start dating someone.”

He looked relieved and smiled. I smiled back. He pulled into the driveway at the Lemieux house. We’d already agreed to go back there so we could have some time alone before he left the next day. I started up the stairs and winced when I stepped weird.

“Dammit, Tanner, we're useless,” Sidney announced.

"A perfect couple," I told him laughing.

With a little bit of effort we both made it up the stairs and into his room. I collapsed down on the bed while he made his way into his closet. He came out in just sweat pants, and carried a pair along with a t-shirt for me. He handed them to me and I changed into them.

“I’m going to miss you tomorrow. I don’t know how I’m going to function without you with me,” he said getting under the blankets. I followed suit.

“That’s just stupid,” I told him.

“I guess I’m stupid then,” he joked grinning.

“Well, as Jane Austen says, ‘Stupid men are the only ones worth knowing after all.’”

“Can we not discuss literature on our last night together for a while?” I laughed and cuddled up to him.

“I’m going to miss you too,” I whispered.

He ran a finger along my jaw and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled myself as close to him as I could get. I ran my tongue along his lower lip and he moaned.

“Tanner, not the best idea ever,” he said.

“Why not?” I asked innocently. I started to nibble along his collarbone.

“Because of your hip,” he replied.

“It’s fine,” I told him, continuing with the nibbling.

“And my groin,” he protested. I grinned at him.

“Haven’t you read the research? Sex is a natural pain blocker.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. He pinned me back on the bed and pulled my shirt over my head. He started placing kisses around my hip and then moved his way over my stomach and all the way up to my collarbone. He trailed kisses up my neck and along my jaw until he reached my ear. He lightly bit my earlobe before making his way back down.

I ran my hands along his sides and back, feeling his muscles work. He came back up and pressed his lips to mine. I grabbed the tops of his sweatpants and began to push them down. He stepped out of them as I did and then he got to work removing mine. As he kissed me some more I noticed that he was holding himself up so that he wasn’t putting any of his weight on my hip. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him down.

“I’m not a china doll,” I told him. He bit my lip.

“Then I won’t treat you like one.”

After we’d gone almost three months without touching each other, he didn’t treat me like one at all. We were both completely breathless afterwards and I didn’t think I could move. I knew that I was definitely going to be in pain when I woke up the next morning and he probably would too.

“Are you okay?” he asked pulling me to him.

“Never better,” I assured him. "How about you?"

"Never better." He kissed me on the forehead and we fell asleep. I groaned when the alarm clock went off the next morning.

“I’ve got to get up,” he said to me after another 10 minutes had gone by and we hadn’t moved.

“Nooooo,” I whined. He laughed and started to shift out from under me. That’s when the pain hit. “Shit!” He froze.

“What? Are you okay?” he asked.

“You did a number on me last night,” I said slowly pulling my right leg off of him. I stayed on my back, squeezing my eyes shut until the pain started to fade.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized kissing me.

“It’s my own fault. I’m the one that told you not to treat me like a china doll.”

"I'm not feeling so great myself," he told me.

I stayed in bed but watched him pack his bags for the trip. I sighed when he was done and said he had to get me home. He pulled into the driveway and I saw that Jordan and Ryan were already there. I told Sidney I needed help out of the car and he obliged.

“Jesus, what did you do to her last night, Sid?” Jordan asked when he saw me limping out from behind the car.

“Hey, watch it. Don’t make me bring up the make up thing,” I warned him. He groaned and covered his face with his hands.

“Wait, what make up thing?” Ryan asked. Grace, Hailey, and I laughed while Jordan hung his head and Ryan and Sidney looked at us expectantly.

“I think that will be a story for another day,” I said. Jordan made a face at me and I laughed again.

“Okay, it’s time to go. I’ll call you when I land,” Sid said to me, giving me a hug. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” The three of us watched the guys drive away and then they helped me into the house.

“Do you really think last night was the time to try out Kama Sutra positions, Tan?” Grace joked. I rolled my eyes at her and collapsed down on the couch in the living room.