Chapter 13

Sorry there was no update last night. I've been working a lot of long hours this week and last night, I could hear the clean sheets on my bed calling my name, so I watched some stupid summertime TV for a while then went to bed. No fears, though! Here is chapter 13 and chapter 14 is 90% ready to post, so look for it *hopefully* later tonight! Enjoy!

Chapter 13
When they arrived in the lobby, Sidney was surprised to see Pat there, pacing the floor. “There you are! I’ve been trying to reach you all morning! I knocked on your door, but no one answered.” He said, obviously annoyed. It was then that Sidney remembered he had turned his phone off after Pat called the night before. He glared at Lauren, and Sidney quickly whispered in her ear, “Give me a few minutes to talk to him. Hopefully he’ll calm down.” He smiled warmly at her before guiding Pat over towards the side of the lobby to talk privately.
Sidney and Pat had only been talking for a moment when Sidney’s family came into the lobby. “Lauren! Good morning – hope you slept well!” Trina greeted her warmly.
Lauren’s lips curled into a half-smile as she remembered falling asleep in Sidney’s arms. “I did, thank you.” Trina gave her an odd smile. It was almost as if she knew that Lauren’s smile had something to do with Sidney.
“Have you seen Sidney yet this morning?” Troy asked, but then glanced around the room and spotted him in the corner talking with Pat, who didn’t appear to have calmed down at all. “Oh. I found him. Excuse me for just a moment.” Troy walked over to Pat and Sidney.
“Good morning Pat, Sid.” Both men looked over at him briefly before continuing their heated discussion.
“Who is that?” Pat asked, furiously waving his hand in the direction where Lauren was talking with Taylor and Trina.
“She,” Sidney said, “is my girlfriend, Lauren.”
“Sidney, there’s no room in your life for a girlfriend right now. The media would have a field day with this. Please tell me that you haven’t been seen in public anywhere with that girl.” Pat said. Sidney didn’t like the way he had used the term that girl. Lauren was different from any girl he’d ever met before, and he wasn’t about to let his agent do anything to jeopardize his new relationship with her.
“Pat, that’s such bullshit. I have plenty of room in my life for hockey and my family and my friends and Lauren. Last time I checked, I was an adult, capable of making my own decisions. And my decision is made. Lauren is part of my life now and you will just have to learn to deal with it. In fact, I hope someday you’ll be happy for me.” Sidney said in a very angry, yet still hushed tone.
“Sidney,” Troy spoke up quietly. “Maybe Pat has a point. After all, you just met her what? A week ago? I’m not saying you can’t be friends, but maybe you should just take things slow and keep it casual.”
“Dad, I’m 20 years old! You can’t keep me locked away forever. And Lauren is definitely more than a friend. I can’t change the way I feel about her and I don’t want to.” Sidney said, his eyes blazing with anger and frustration. He sighed and spoke again, more calmly. “It’s different with her. She’s different. I can’t explain it. She’s just really special and I don’t want ‘Sidney Crosby the hockey phenom’ to screw anything up.”
Troy’s expression softened and he looked at his son with a glimmer of pride in his eyes. Sidney had never spoken about a girl like that before. In fact, hockey was the only thing that he had ever been that passionate about before. “Hmm.” He said, smiling at Sidney.
“What?” Sidney asked him blanking, with a hint of frustration still evident.
“She must really be something special. I’ve never seen you so worked up about a girl before.”
“She is special, Dad. I mean, look at her.” Sidney replied, looking over to where Lauren was laughing with Taylor about something Trina had said. Troy raised his eyebrows and smirked at Sidney.
“No, that’s not what I meant, Dad. Well, I did, I mean, she’s beautiful. But she also has this awe-inspiring inner strength. And look at the way she is with Taylor. And look at how much fun we had at dinner last night. She fit right in, telling stories, laughing with all of us. I just feel really good whenever I’m with her.” Sidney said all of this without taking his eyes off Lauren’s smile. She caught his eye, and he blushed, even though she couldn’t possibly have heard what he said. She gave him a worried look, and he gave her a reassuring smile.
“Well, I guess that’s that then.” Pat spoke up, pulling Sidney from his thoughts.
“Look, Pat, I know that it’s better for your marketing plan that I remain single, but if my fans can be happy for me, and they can’t accept that she makes me very happy, then I’m not sure they’re really my fans after all. But if it makes you feel any better, we’re not ready to go public with our relationship yet anyways. Yesterday I introduced her as my friend. We talked about it, and we agree that when the time is right, we’ll tell people. But for now, only our families and closest friends now.” Sidney explained.
“Sidney, I’m sorry if I come off as harsh. It’s just my job as your agent to look out for what’s best for your career. And sometimes that means I forget to look out for what’s best for you as a person. But I would like it if you two kept things private for a while. At least until the season is over. Then we’ll have the summer to figure things out.” Pat said.
With that, the three men walked back over to wear the three women were standing. Sidney immediately went to Lauren’s side and grabbed her hand and held it tightly.
“Is everything okay, gentlemen?” Trina asked, obviously worried about what had transpired in their conversation.
“Yeah, mom, everything is great.” Sidney said, smiling at Lauren. She smiled back at him. Lauren just hoped that she hadn’t caused Sidney any grief with Pat, or with his Dad.
Brunch was fairly uneventful. Pat grilled Lauren about herself, her parents, her career plans, etc. He trusted Sidney, but he wanted to get to know Lauren for himself and to understand exactly what her intentions were. He knew that Sidney was a genuinely kind person, and he wanted to make sure Lauren’s intentions were just as genuine. She answered all of his questions honestly and patiently. She seemed to understand that he was just looking out for his client.