Chapter 45

Chapter 45

A few weeks passed, and Lauren slowly adjusted to life in a new city, full of new people and experiences. She cried herself to sleep the first few nights, missing Sidney and hating that she was all alone in her bed. She tried not to let him see how homesick she was because she didn’t want him to worry, but he could tell anyways. He sent pink roses every couple of days, and they were constantly texting.
“Hey baby!” she said cheerfully when he called one evening.
“Hey! Where are you? It sounds kind of noisy.” He replied.
“I’m out with a few friends from work. We’re at this great restaurant and brewery. I’ll have to bring you here – their burgers are amazing.”
“Mmmmm sounds wonderful. Well, I won’t keep you then. I was just thinking about you and I wanted to say hi.”
“Okay, I’ll call you when I get home, okay?” she said.
“Sounds good. I’m glad you are out having fun with your friends, baby. I love you.” He said.
She smiled. She never got tired of hearing those words come out of his mouth. “I love you too. Talk to you later.”
“Was that your boyfriend?” Carrie, one of her co-workers, asked.
“Yeah.” Lauren said shyly. She had mentioned to them that she had a boyfriend, but hadn’t really revealed too much about him. Carrie was from Detroit and was a huge Red Wings fan, so Lauren knew she would recognize his name.
“When are we going to meet this guy? He sounds wonderful.” Angela said. Angela’s boyfriend went to school with them, so they saw him all the time. And Carrie’s boyfriend came up every weekend, so they saw him a lot too.
“He is wonderful. And I’m not sure when you’ll meet him. His job keeps him pretty busy.” Lauren said.
“What does he do?” Carrie asked.
“Well, he works for the Penguins.” Lauren said, hoping they wouldn’t care to know more, but knowing that Carrie would ask.
“Ooo, fun! Does he work in like PR or something?” Carrie asked.
“Kind of, I guess you could say.” Lauren said with a small smile, then continued. “Actually, he’s a player.” She said, blushing.
“He’s a hockey player?! Why the heck didn’t you tell us? That’s so exciting!” Carrie squealed. “Wait a minute, what’s his name?” she demanded.
“Okay, don’t freak out. His name is Sidney.” Angela gave her a blank look but Carrie practically jumped out of her chair.
“Your boyfriend is Sidney Crosby?!” she yelled.
“Sit down!” Lauren hissed, blushing fiercely. “And yes.” She grinned.
“Seriously, when can I meet him?” Carrie asked, calming down a little bit.
“Next time he comes up, I swear we’ll all hang out. But just so you know, he thinks it’s weird that I’m friends with a Red Wings fan.” Lauren grinned.
“Yeah, well, I can’t help it that they’re better.” Carrie said. “Although, your boyfriend is pretty damn good too!”
Angela spoke up. “So, is he like famous or something?” Being from Cleveland, Angela wasn’t really a hockey fan and didn’t really know who Sidney was.
“Do you live under a rock or something? He’s like the face of the NHL!” Carrie exclaimed. “Seriously, we’ll Google him later.”
Lauren pulled her phone out and opened it up so Angela and Carrie could see her wallpaper. It was a picture of the two of them, taken in Nova Scotia that summer.
“Oh my gosh! It’s really him!” Carrie said.
“Wow. He’s hot.” Angela remarked.
“Wait, can you call him right now?” Carrie asked.
“Uhh, sure, as long as you promise not to act like a crazy person.” Lauren laughed as she hit the speed dial for Sidney’s cell phone.
“Hello?” he answered.
“Hey baby.” Lauren said, causing an eruption of giggles from Carrie.
“I thought you were going to call me later – aren’t you still out with your friends?” he said, confused.
“Uhh, yeah, I am. But they started asking about you, and now Carrie, the Red Wings fan, wanted to know if she could talk to you.”
He laughed. “Oh okay. Put her on.” Lauren handed the phone to Carrie and she froze.
“Hello?” she said meekly.
“Hey. Carrie, right?” Sidney responded, trying to hold back the laughter at how star-struck she sounded.
“Yyyyyeah” Carrie stuttered, causing Lauren and Angela to giggle loudly.
“Listen, can you keep a secret?” he asked her.
“Uhhh, yeah.” She responded.
“I’m going to surprise Lauren tomorrow. Can you make sure she’s home around one? Tell her you want to hang out at her place or something. Can you do that? And don’t tell her I’m coming!” he said.
“Uhh, yeah, sounds good. Here’s Lauren again.” She said.
“Sid? Are you alive?” Lauren said, still laughing at Carrie’s facial expressions.
“Yeah, Carrie sounds nice. I’ll have to meet her sometime. I’ll have to pull the old Crosby charm and turn her into a Pens fan.” He said.
“Well, don’t lay that Crosby charm on too thick – I don’t want any competition.” Lauren replied.
“Oh, there’s no competition. You’ve already won.” Sidney replied. “I’ll talk to you later baby – go enjoy the rest of your evening. Love you.”
“Love you too. Don’t play video games for too long – it’ll rot your brain.” She said, knowing he was sitting in front of the TV with Austin.
“You know me too well.” He laughed before they hung up.

The next morning, Carrie called Lauren. “Wanna watch movies at your place today?” she asked.
Lauren chuckled. “Are you inviting yourself over?”
“Yep. I’ll bring taco dip. See in an hour. Call Angela and let her know.”
Lauren chuckled again as she called Angela before heading off to take a quick shower.
Around noon, Carrie and Angela showed up at her door. “Come on in, guys!” She said as Carrie put the taco dip down on her coffee table and they plopped down on the couch.
Angela held up a couple of DVDs. “Which one should we watch first?” They agreed on “She’s the Man.” Luckily, Lauren didn’t seem to notice Carrie checking her watch nervously every five minutes.
Around one, there was a knock at Lauren’s door. She looked up, completely confused. Anyone that would come to her apartment would have called first.
Carrie couldn’t keep the surprise to herself anymore. “Hmm, I wonder who it is.” She asked innocently.
Lauren looked at her suspiciously before opening the door. When she saw who it was, she threw herself into his arms. “Sidney!”
“Hey baby.” He laughed, nuzzling his face in her neck.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to surprise my girlfriend. Are you going to let me in?” he said, and she pulled him inside.
“How did you know I would be home? You didn’t call or anything?” she said, still in disbelief that he was here. He sat down on the chair and pulled her into his lap.
“Oh, I have my ways.” He said, winking at Carrie. Lauren noticed this and whipped her head around to face her.
“You knew about this?!” Lauren exclaimed.
“He might have mentioned it on the phone last night.” Carrie said, grinning.
“I love you.” She said, turning to kiss him on the lips.
“I love you too.” He said, returning the kiss.
“How long?” she asked, wondering when he would have to leave.
“Just the day. We have practice in the morning.” He said.
“Well, a day is better than nothing.” She said, kissing him again.
“That’s the spirit. Now what are we doing today, ladies?” Sidney asked, causing them all to laugh.
They gave Sidney a tour of campus and spent the afternoon hanging out at some of their favorite places. Around 5:30, Sidney’s stomach was growling. “Any chance you guys know where to eat around here?” he said, grinning.
Angela took them to one of her favorite restaurants in Little Italy, much to Sidney’s delight.
“Hey! Get your own!” Sidney playfully smacked Lauren’s spoon away as she tried to take a bite of his gelato for the third time.
“Someone needs to learn to share!” Lauren said, pouting. Sidney caved and put a bite on his spoon and offered it to her. She smiled gleefully and ate the frozen dessert off his spoon.
He rolled his eyes. “Brat.” He said jokingly.
“Maybe. But I’m your brat.” She said, causing Carrie and Angela to roll their eyes and make gagging noises.
“Okay, you two are so cute it’s disgusting.” Carrie exclaimed. Lauren and Sidney just smiled at each other, knowing it was true.
As they walked back towards Lauren’s apartment, Carrie and Angela went their separate ways. “We should probably give you guys a little bit of time alone. It was so great meeting you, Sidney.” Carrie said.
“It was great meeting you both as well. Thanks for taking care of my girl.” Sidney said, offering a genuine smile.
“Thanks for coming up today, darlin’. I just wish you didn’t have to leave so soon.” Lauren said.
“Shh…” he put a finger to her lips and pulled her down on top of him on the couch. She rested her head on his chest and just laid there for a while. After a while, she rested her chin on his chest so she was facing him.
“I guess I should let you go, it’s getting late.” She said, her voice filled with sadness.
“I don’t want to go either, angel.” He whispered.
“I thought after a while these goodbyes would get easier. But they don’t.” she said, standing up.
“It’s only temporary. These two years are going to fly by and before you know it, we’ll be buying a house together and moving in.”
“You really want to buy a house with me?” she asked.
“Of course. I can’t wait until you and I live under the same roof. Besides, I need someone to decorate.” He grinned.