Chapter 31

Chapter 31
The next day, Sidney went to work out with his trainer, and Lauren had lunch and went shopping with Taylor. Lauren had always wanted a little sister, and Taylor had always wanted an older sister, so the two of them were like two peas in a pod. A few people recognized Taylor and approached them. They asked who Lauren was, and Taylor excitedly told them that she was Sidney’s girlfriend. She had had to keep it a secret for so long, and now she was finally getting to tell everyone about it. Apparently, the people called the local newspaper or something because a little while later, a photographer was there and took some pictures.
Lauren wasn’t used to the attention, but she just sort of ignored them the same way Taylor did.
The next day, they went to Sidney’s parents’ house for lunch. Trina was in the kitchen getting the food ready when they walked into the house, and she smirked as she slid the day’s paper across the counter at them.
Sidney just rolled his eyes, expecting another picture of him coming out of the gym yesterday or something. Lauren’s eyes widened in shock when she saw a picture of her and Taylor at the café from the previous day. The headline read: “Future Sisters-In-Law? The hometown hero brings a gal pal home.” Sidney smiled as he skimmed through the article.
“Well, it looks like you’ve won over Coal Harbour now, too. They call you ‘beautiful’ and ‘charming’ and ‘lovable’.” He kissed her cheek. “I would have to agree with all of that.” He kissed her nose.
Lauren still looked worried. “Sid, I noticed the photographers, but I just never thought something like this would happen. I’m really sorry.”
“Sorry for what? You have nothing to be sorry about. It’s not fair that they intruded when you and Taylor were hanging out, but unfortunately, it’s part of my life. And besides, I actually like what they wrote about us.” He said warmly, wrapping his arm around her.
Trina spoke up. “I agree, Lauren. This article was really nice. And I know it sucks to see your face on a newspaper, but try not to worry about that too much. Another thing to remember is that Cole Harbour is a small town and they have nothing else to talk about except their ‘wonder boy’” she explained, making bunny ears with her fingers. She rolled her eyes towards Sidney, but they all knew that she was one proud mama.
After lunch, Sidney wanted to take Lauren and show her around town. “Come on, I want the whole town to see me with my beautiful and charming and lovable girlfriend.” He teased.
“Lead the way, ‘wonder boy’.” She teased back.
They spent the afternoon visiting his old hockey rinks and Sidney’s old schools and all the ponds he used to play shinny on in the winters. They got coffee from a little café and sat down on a bench near a pond. They sat in content silence for a few minutes until they noticed a photographer nearby, snapping pictures of them. A few people were also not-so-subtly gawking at them. Sidney rolled his eyes at them but then looked at Lauren with a grin. “Want to give them something to talk about?”
She just rolled her eyes and grinned at him as his lips met hers. It was a short, sweet kiss, but it was enough to turn some heads and fire up the gossip. He smiled into her lips as he kissed her again.
They stayed at the pond a little longer, laughing about the small crowd that was still gawking and gossiping. After a while, they headed back to Sidney’s house because he said he had a surprise for her.
When they got to the house, he told her to wait in the living room. He went upstairs and returned a few minutes later. “Okay, go ahead upstairs. And don’t come down until I come and get you.” He winked, and she cocked her head to the side and gave him a confused look, but did as he asked.
When Lauren got upstairs, she wandered into the bedroom and her face broke out into a huge smile. There was a dim glow of candles all around the room and a fluffy white robe was laid across the bed. She noticed a trail of pink rose petals leading into the bathroom and followed where they went. When she got to the bathroom, she found that he had drawn a bath in the large Jacuzzi tub, and there were pink rose petals floating in the bubble bath. There was a note sitting by the sink.
I love you more than anything in the world.
Love,
YOUR MAN Sid
P.S. NO sneaking downstairs until I say so! :-)
She smiled and ran her fingers over Sidney’s handwriting as she recalled their conversation earlier that day.
**Flashback**
Sidney and Lauren giggled like children as the two older ladies walked away. They had spotted Sidney and he had signed autographs for them and even spoke to one woman’s grandson on her cell phone.
“Sid the Kid! Sid the Kid!” Lauren said, mimicking the older lady’s voice. “I think she forgot the rest of her vocabulary for a few minutes.”
Sidney chuckled. “Yeah, I know. I don’t really even like that nickname. I just don’t see myself as a kid, ya know?”
“Yeah, I know, babe. I certainly don’t see you as a kid either.” She winked at him and he raised an eyebrow.
“But I guess I still am kind of a kid compared to a lot of people, so I suppose I’ll suck it up.”
“Don’t worry, baby. You’re definitely a man to me.” Lauren said, kissing him softly on the lips.
“I like being your man.” He grinned, kissing her again.
**End Flashback**
Lauren slipped out of her clothes and slipped into the tub. The hot water felt amazing and she could instantly feel all her muscles relaxing. She rested her head on the back of the tub and closed her eyes. She had a grin plastered on her face as she thought of how lucky she was. Seriously, there were thousands of girls who would cut off their own hand (or give up a kidney) for just a few minutes with Sidney, and he called himself “her man.” She had never been in love before, and she always thought that when she finally fell in love, she would just know, just like they always say. But she couldn’t believe how quickly she had fallen in love, and the fact that he loved her back just blew her mind.
Suddenly, Sidney’s voice interrupted her daydreams. “Hey beautiful.”
She opened her eyes to find him standing in the doorway grinning at her.
“Hey, sneaky. This was such a nice surprise. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. You deserve it after putting up with me and the drama in my life. And this isn’t the only surprise. Come on.” He said, waving his hand and walking back out into the bedroom.
She opened the drain on the tub and stepped out and dried off with a towel. She wrapped the towel around herself and walked out into the bedroom. Sidney was waiting there with the robe opened for her. She slipped her arms into the robe and slipped the towel off her just before closing the warm robe around her body. It was just long enough for Sidney to sneak a peek. “God, you’re beautiful.” He said huskily in her ear before kissing her neck.
She smiled and kissed him passionately on the lips. “I love you, Sidney.”
He laced his fingers with hers and led her downstairs, where the entire living room was lit by candlelight. Lauren loved candlelight and the way the light bounced off the walls. Sidney had made dinner – spaghetti, her favorite. He had set the food out of the coffee table, along with two glasses of raspberry lemonade. He led her to the large floor cushions and they sat down to eat. “Sidney, this is all wonderful. Thank you.”
“Thank you, Lauren. You’ve put up with a lot of attention in the last week or so, and I know it’s not always fun. It just amazes me how well you deal with everything. Like, you just take everything in stride. That’s what I love about you. Well, I love a lot about you.” Sidney said, kissing her forehead.
“Sidney, I’d walk on hot coals if it meant I got to be with you. You have no idea how you have turned my whole world upside down. And tonight was a perfect example of that. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the evening than curled up here with you.”
“Well, I will admit my intentions were slightly selfish. I wanted you all to myself tonight. No guests. No interruptions.” He pulled her up onto the couch and into his arms, kissing her passionately as he did so.