Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Lauren woke up the next morning to the blaring of the alarm clock going off. Sidney groaned as she crawled over him to shut it off. After she hit the snooze button, he pulled her against his chest and kissed the top of her head.

“Morning.” He mumbled, brushing his lips against hers.

“Mmm, good morning.” She said, grinning as he kissed her again.

“Ready to freeze your cute butt off all day?” he asked with a toothy grin.

“I think my hot boyfriend will keep me warm.” She responded kissing his neck.

He just chuckled as she pulled the covers back and pulled him out of bed. He groaned, not wanting to get up. They stood next to each other at the sink, brushing their teeth and laughing at each other in the mirror. Lauren leaned over the sink to put her contacts in, and when she looked back up in the mirror, she found Sidney’s naked reflection in the mirror. He grinned wildly at the small gasp she let escape and stepped in the shower, leaving the curtain open a little bit.

“Uhh, you’re gonna let all the water out if you don’t close the curtain.” She said.

“No, you’re going to let all the water out. You coming or what?” he said, sticking his hand out of the shower.

“Sidney, as much as I want to, we don’t have time.” She said with a sigh.

Sidney responded with a whine. “Come on, pretty please?” he said, holding his hand out again. Lauren took his hand and kissed it before pulling the curtain shut. She laughed as she heard him huff loudly. She gathered her clothes from her bag and by the time she walked back into the bathroom, he was stepping out of the shower and wrapping a towel around his wet body. Lauren walked over to him and tried to take the towel from his hand, pressing her body up against his, not caring if she got her t-shirt (well, his t-shirt) wet. He pulled back from her and put his nose in the air. “Nooooo way, you had your chance and you passed this up.” He said, motioning towards his very naked body.

She rolled her eyes at him. “I see how it is. I’ll remember that when you want this later.” She said, motioning towards her own body. He looked thoughtful for a minute before pulling her into his arms and crashing his mouth onto his.

“You know me too well.” He said between kisses. “Now, you better get your own shower before we really are late.” He said. She responded by raising her arms in the air, indicating he should undress her.

“You’re killing me.” He groaned, but obliged by lifting the shirt up over her arms and tossing it on the vanity. He let his eyes wander before sliding the boxer shorts she was wearing down over her hips before they fell to the floor. He pulled her close, cupping her ass with his hands.

“It’s fun to tease you sometimes.” She replied. Lauren kissed his neck for a minute before wriggling out of his grasp and stepping into the shower, receiving another load groan in response. When she stepped out of the shower, she wrapped a towel around herself and stepped out into the bedroom, finding Sidney dressed and lounging back on the bed, watching the news. When he saw her, he jumped up and got her a cup of coffee from the kitchenette.

“Thanks babe.” She said, taking a sip, smiling when she realized he added the perfect amount of cream and sugar.

30 minutes later, they were both bundled up in their thermal underwear, jeans, sweatshirts, coats, toques, gloves, and scarves. Sidney practically got mobbed when they stepped outside, even though his dark curls were completely hidden by his hat and scarf. He signed autographs for a few minutes before a security guard cleared a path to the car that was waiting for them.

When they got to Wrigley Field, Sidney signed more autographs and a few people asked for pictures of the two of them together. Normally, Sidney would have shied away from that, wanting to protect Lauren and maintain at least a little bit of privacy for her. But Lauren wasn’t going to let anything spoil today, so she cuddled up to him and smiled for the cameras. When they got up to their box, Sidney breathed a sigh of relief. Marc and Vero were already there, each holding a big cup of hot chocolate. There was a heater in the room, but the chill from the outside was still biting.

Colby and Mel arrived a few minutes later and the six of them dug into the food that was on the buffet. The whole game seemed to fly by. They showed their box on the big screen a few times and the boys waved like excited little children each time. Nicole and Chris came up from their seats and joined them in the box for a while.

After the game, the six of them hung out for a while to let the crowd thin out a little bit before making their way to the car that was waiting for them. They had dinner at a steakhouse before they all had to part ways to head back home.

When they got back to Pittsburgh, they headed straight to bed. When Sidney was leaving for practice the next morning, he kissed Lauren’s forehead. She woke up and her eyes fluttered open to look in to his caramel-colored gaze. “Thanks for an amazing few days. I’m sad we’re back already.” Sidney whispered, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Me too. But we still have two more weeks together.” She reminded him, thankful for her long break from school and work.

“I wish we could just spend the next two weeks right here in bed.” He grinned, leaning into kiss the delicate skin just below her ear.

“I bet you do.” She grinned back, pushing him off her so they could get up. “You better get going though, or you’ll be late and you’ll never live it down.” She said, thinking of the good-natured ribbing his teammates often gave him.

“You’re worth it.” He said, kissing her lips.

Later that afternoon, Lauren got a phone call. “Hello?” she said.

“Hey, Lauren, it’s Ben. How are you?” Ben was the guy she had dated through most of college. Things ended really badly, but over time they had been able to have a weird sort of friendship. They weren’t close, and they rarely spoke to each other, but they were friendly and could hang out with their mutual friends together.

“Ben! I’m good, how are you?”

“Not too bad. Listen, I’m in Pittsburgh. I’m staying at Drew’s tonight and he’s having a party.”

“Oh?”

“Umm, yeah, and I was kind of hoping you would come. If you don’t have other plans, that is.” He added quickly.

“Sure. That sounds fun. It’ll be fun to see everyone again. Sid’s never met a lot of my college friends.”

“Oh. So, you’re coming? And uhh, Sidney’s coming with you?” He added the last part with a sense of discomfort, but Lauren didn’t seem to notice.

“Yeah, we’ll see you tonight!”

When she got off the phone, she sent Sid a text.

Hey babe, you up for a party with some of my friends tonight? XOXO, Lauren

Sure, sounds good. I love you. I'll see you in a few hours.