Merry Christmas to all of my wonderful readers! I hope you have a wonderful time with your family and friends!
Sadly, there will be no white Christmas in Pittsburgh this year - it's 52 degrees and rainy today :( Below is an adorable holiday greeting from the Pittsburgh Penguins - Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Chapter 77
“I just figured you weren’t ready for…that, yet. We can wait until you’re ready.”
“Sidney, I love you.” Lauren said, emphasizing each word.
“I know you do, babe, and God knows how much I love you. I just don’t want to pressure you into anything. I can wait. I will wait for you as long as you need.”
Lauren thought for a moment. “Sidney, I don’t want to wait. I love you. I want to be with you.”
“But are you sure it’s okay? I mean, are you able to?” Sidney asked quietly.
Lauren gave him a reassuring smile. “The doctor said I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you.” Sidney looked deeply concerned.
“You won’t hurt me. I trust you, Sid. I want this.” She said, running her fingers lightly along his jaw line.
“I want this too.” He whispered. “But if you change your mind, if you’re not ready, you just say the word and we’ll stop. I promise.”
“Sidney, I want you. I want this. Right here, right now, in our house.” Lauren whispered back, staring directly into his eyes.
“Okay.” He whispered. Sidney’s lips curved into a grin as he leaned in to kiss her, cupping her face in his hands. Lauren put her smaller hands over his as she kissed him back.
Sidney gently scooped Lauren up in his arms and laid her down on the makeshift bed, resting her head on a pillow. He stood up and she smiled up at him as he slid his shirt up over his head. He laid down next to her and kissed her mouth again, running his hands along her hips.
As they made love, Sidney was slow and careful in every motion, still fearing he might hurt her. Afterwards, he pulled the sheets and blanket up around them and she laid with her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat as it returned to a normal rate. He couldn’t see her face, but when he heard Lauren sniffle, he gently turned her head so he could look into her eyes. “Hey there,” he said quietly. “Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he said, his voice breaking with concern.
She smiled up at him, tears glistening in her eyes. “No, you didn’t. You were perfect and wonderful, as always.”
“Then what is it?” he asked softly.
“After I was raped, I didn’t know if you and I would ever be able to be together again without me thinking about him.”
“And did you?” Sidney asked, almost fearing the answer but desperately needing to know.
“No.” Lauren said, smiling wide. “I just thought of you and how much I love you.” She softly pressed her lips against his bare chest.
“That’s what I thought of too.” Sidney said with a grin. “I was a little scared about something too.” Sidney admitted.
“What were you afraid of?” Lauren asked, rolling over so she was resting her chin on his chest and watching him.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t want to be with me anymore.”
“Sidney, how could you even think that? I love you!”
“I know you do, babe. I just wasn’t sure that you’d want to be…intimate anymore…given everything that’s happened.”
“I wasn’t sure about that either. But I love you, and I trust you, and I’m safe with you.”
The next morning, Sidney woke up before his alarm went off and he quickly shut it off before it could wake Lauren up. He loved these few minutes in the mornings when he could just watch her beautiful, peaceful sleeping form. He suspected she didn’t sleep very soundly when he wasn’t there, and while he loved that it made him feel needed and important, he hated that she had to face her inner demons alone.
Sidney looked over at his phone and realized that he had to get going if he was going to make it to practice on time. He ran his fingers lightly along Lauren’s cheek and kissed her softly on the lips. After a minute or so of planting soft kisses on her face, she kissed him back, a smile forming on her lips.
“Morning, darlin’.” Sidney whispered softly.
“Is our camping trip over already?” Lauren said, knowing he had practice that morning, but sad to see their time alone together ending so soon.
“I’m afraid so. But we can come camping again sometime if you want.”
“Pinky promise?” Lauren said, holding her pinky out to him.
“Pinky promise.” He said with a grin, linking his pinky with hers and further sealing the deal with a kiss.
They cleaned up the living room and packed everything into the back of Sidney’s SUV. They drove the quick drive back to the Lemieux’s where Lauren decided to go back to sleep for a little while. Before Sidney left, he tucked her in and kissed her cheek. “Sweet dreams.” He whispered as she snuggled further under the covers, inhaling his sweet scent on the pillows. Sidney grabbed his bag from the corner and quietly left closed the door behind him.
A few hours later, Lauren woke up and took a long hot shower. By the time she got out, Sidney was home from practice. When she stepped out of the bathroom, he was talking quietly to someone on the phone. When he saw her standing in the doorway watching him, his tone quickly changed. “Uhh, I’ll call you back later.” He hung up before the other person could say anything.
“What was that about?” Lauren asked curiously.
“Nothing. How long have you been standing there?” he asked, trying to keep his tone casual even though he knew she would see right through him.
“Not long enough to have any idea what you were talking about. What were you talking about?” she pressed.
“Don’t worry about it.” Sidney said sweetly, kissing her lips.
She kissed him back, conceding that the conversation was over for the time being. It wasn’t like him to keep things from her, so she hoped it was only a matter of time before she could wear him down enough to tell her what he had been talking about.
“Sidney, I love you.” Lauren said, emphasizing each word.
“I know you do, babe, and God knows how much I love you. I just don’t want to pressure you into anything. I can wait. I will wait for you as long as you need.”
Lauren thought for a moment. “Sidney, I don’t want to wait. I love you. I want to be with you.”
“But are you sure it’s okay? I mean, are you able to?” Sidney asked quietly.
Lauren gave him a reassuring smile. “The doctor said I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you.” Sidney looked deeply concerned.
“You won’t hurt me. I trust you, Sid. I want this.” She said, running her fingers lightly along his jaw line.
“I want this too.” He whispered. “But if you change your mind, if you’re not ready, you just say the word and we’ll stop. I promise.”
“Sidney, I want you. I want this. Right here, right now, in our house.” Lauren whispered back, staring directly into his eyes.
“Okay.” He whispered. Sidney’s lips curved into a grin as he leaned in to kiss her, cupping her face in his hands. Lauren put her smaller hands over his as she kissed him back.
Sidney gently scooped Lauren up in his arms and laid her down on the makeshift bed, resting her head on a pillow. He stood up and she smiled up at him as he slid his shirt up over his head. He laid down next to her and kissed her mouth again, running his hands along her hips.
As they made love, Sidney was slow and careful in every motion, still fearing he might hurt her. Afterwards, he pulled the sheets and blanket up around them and she laid with her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat as it returned to a normal rate. He couldn’t see her face, but when he heard Lauren sniffle, he gently turned her head so he could look into her eyes. “Hey there,” he said quietly. “Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he said, his voice breaking with concern.
She smiled up at him, tears glistening in her eyes. “No, you didn’t. You were perfect and wonderful, as always.”
“Then what is it?” he asked softly.
“After I was raped, I didn’t know if you and I would ever be able to be together again without me thinking about him.”
“And did you?” Sidney asked, almost fearing the answer but desperately needing to know.
“No.” Lauren said, smiling wide. “I just thought of you and how much I love you.” She softly pressed her lips against his bare chest.
“That’s what I thought of too.” Sidney said with a grin. “I was a little scared about something too.” Sidney admitted.
“What were you afraid of?” Lauren asked, rolling over so she was resting her chin on his chest and watching him.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t want to be with me anymore.”
“Sidney, how could you even think that? I love you!”
“I know you do, babe. I just wasn’t sure that you’d want to be…intimate anymore…given everything that’s happened.”
“I wasn’t sure about that either. But I love you, and I trust you, and I’m safe with you.”
The next morning, Sidney woke up before his alarm went off and he quickly shut it off before it could wake Lauren up. He loved these few minutes in the mornings when he could just watch her beautiful, peaceful sleeping form. He suspected she didn’t sleep very soundly when he wasn’t there, and while he loved that it made him feel needed and important, he hated that she had to face her inner demons alone.
Sidney looked over at his phone and realized that he had to get going if he was going to make it to practice on time. He ran his fingers lightly along Lauren’s cheek and kissed her softly on the lips. After a minute or so of planting soft kisses on her face, she kissed him back, a smile forming on her lips.
“Morning, darlin’.” Sidney whispered softly.
“Is our camping trip over already?” Lauren said, knowing he had practice that morning, but sad to see their time alone together ending so soon.
“I’m afraid so. But we can come camping again sometime if you want.”
“Pinky promise?” Lauren said, holding her pinky out to him.
“Pinky promise.” He said with a grin, linking his pinky with hers and further sealing the deal with a kiss.
They cleaned up the living room and packed everything into the back of Sidney’s SUV. They drove the quick drive back to the Lemieux’s where Lauren decided to go back to sleep for a little while. Before Sidney left, he tucked her in and kissed her cheek. “Sweet dreams.” He whispered as she snuggled further under the covers, inhaling his sweet scent on the pillows. Sidney grabbed his bag from the corner and quietly left closed the door behind him.
A few hours later, Lauren woke up and took a long hot shower. By the time she got out, Sidney was home from practice. When she stepped out of the bathroom, he was talking quietly to someone on the phone. When he saw her standing in the doorway watching him, his tone quickly changed. “Uhh, I’ll call you back later.” He hung up before the other person could say anything.
“What was that about?” Lauren asked curiously.
“Nothing. How long have you been standing there?” he asked, trying to keep his tone casual even though he knew she would see right through him.
“Not long enough to have any idea what you were talking about. What were you talking about?” she pressed.
“Don’t worry about it.” Sidney said sweetly, kissing her lips.
She kissed him back, conceding that the conversation was over for the time being. It wasn’t like him to keep things from her, so she hoped it was only a matter of time before she could wear him down enough to tell her what he had been talking about.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Commercial Break...
Hello everyone! Sorry I really suck at updating - I'm on Christmas break for a few weeks now so hopefully I will get some inspiration and get some writing done! In the mean time, I've got some goodies I think you all will enjoy!
I changed the title picture - I love the picture, so I wanted to use it, but I'm not sure how I feel about how it came out with the lettering, so I might change it again soon - let me know what you think!
I hope you all are continuing to vote for the Penguins on the All-Star ballot (you can do so by clicking on the button on the right sidebar) - Sidney has received a record-breaking number of votes (when I last checked, he had over 1 million!) and Fleury has surpassed Carey Price as the starting goaltender. If you're looking for some Western Conference players to vote for, I would suggest anyone from the Chicago Blackhawks (they're my fave Western Conference team).
I got the chance to go to not one, but two Penguins practices last week! The first one, on Monday, was an optional practice so there were only about ten guys there.
It was great to see Whit back out with the team, as well as Fleury! Fleur was sporting some new Reebok goalie pads that aren’t as bright as the yellow pads he wore before, but are a mustard-gold-ish color! Dany’s pads were this color too, but it looked like he had been breaking his in for a little longer.
Kris Letang always seems like he’s kind of a soft-spoken guy but today he was laughing and joking and ‘beaking’ his teammates with the best of them! Him and Sidney seemed to have a lot of fun playing together today – at one point Sid stood in net and Kris took shots on him – I couldn’t hear what they were saying to each other, but it looked like they were placing bets on if each puck would go in or not!
I changed the title picture - I love the picture, so I wanted to use it, but I'm not sure how I feel about how it came out with the lettering, so I might change it again soon - let me know what you think!
I hope you all are continuing to vote for the Penguins on the All-Star ballot (you can do so by clicking on the button on the right sidebar) - Sidney has received a record-breaking number of votes (when I last checked, he had over 1 million!) and Fleury has surpassed Carey Price as the starting goaltender. If you're looking for some Western Conference players to vote for, I would suggest anyone from the Chicago Blackhawks (they're my fave Western Conference team).
I got the chance to go to not one, but two Penguins practices last week! The first one, on Monday, was an optional practice so there were only about ten guys there.
It was great to see Whit back out with the team, as well as Fleury! Fleur was sporting some new Reebok goalie pads that aren’t as bright as the yellow pads he wore before, but are a mustard-gold-ish color! Dany’s pads were this color too, but it looked like he had been breaking his in for a little longer.
Kris Letang always seems like he’s kind of a soft-spoken guy but today he was laughing and joking and ‘beaking’ his teammates with the best of them! Him and Sidney seemed to have a lot of fun playing together today – at one point Sid stood in net and Kris took shots on him – I couldn’t hear what they were saying to each other, but it looked like they were placing bets on if each puck would go in or not!
Around noon, the players started trickling off the ice. Letang, Wallace, and Goligoski played keep-away with each other for a while and were having fun joking around. At one point, Kris playfully ‘slashed’ Go-go and tried to take him out by the knees!
As Sid left the ice, a little kid ran clear around to the other side of the ice where Sid was exiting to the locker rooms. It was so sweet to watch them talking and laughing and I think Sid must’ve signed five different things for him!
Even though it was raining, I waited outside to get some pictures of the players leaving. When Boucher approached in his car, some very intelligent (read: sarcasm) girl saw his license plate and loudly stated, “why the heck would anyone have a Texas plate? I mean, who lives in Texas?” Uhh, maybe someone who used to play for the Stars? That’d be my guess.
Sidney and Tanger and a few others must’ve exited through the other side of the lot because I didn’t see them.
Fleur probably took the longest time signing autographs for people – he signed for everyone that asked! At one point, someone asked him to sign one of those square foam seat cushions (the kind you’d take with you to sit on bleachers) and he almost dropped it down the side of his muddy car (which some fans wrote ‘wash me’ on) and everyone took a collective gasp and then laughed about it – which is what he was doing in the picture where he’s got that big smile on his face!
On Wednesday, Cookie Monster and Flower engaged in a water/gatorade fight during a water break!
At one point, I was close enough to Sid to count his eyelashes! I wish I had gotten a few more pictures, but I had a momentary lapse of sanity!
**Please note that this blog is under a Creative Commons License . While I am more than happy to share my photos with all of you (and hope that you share yours too!), I ask that you do not re-distribute them in any way (e.g., post them in your own album) or blog them without permission (just ask - I'll let you use them!) Thanks and enjoy!**
Friday, December 12, 2008
Chapter 76
**Sorry for the long wait! My trip to Denver was amazing - it was 55-60 degrees and sunny every day! Then I got back to Pittsburgh and it was 16 degrees - yikes! And of course, my luggage didn't make it so I spent most of Monday tracking it down when I should've been studying for my final. Alas, I managed to do very well on my final! I spent the rest of this week finishing some other projects, sending off some internship applications, and taking my LAST final of the semester last night! I've got 3 more days of work next week and then I'm off for 3 weeks, so hopefully I'll be able (and inspired) to write a lot! How about that 9-2 win last night?! I missed most of the game but I was jumping up and down when I got the text alert with the outcome of the game!**
Chapter 76
“He bought you a house?” Vero asked excitedly. Lauren had called her to tell her she had some news and now they were sipping tea at Marc and Vero’s kitchen table.
“He bought us a house.” Lauren corrected.
“That’s wonderful!” Vero said with a warm smile. “Wait, is this what you want?”
Lauren smiled at how easily Vero was able to read her emotions. “Yeah…I was just really shocked at first. I kind of reacted poorly initially. He tried to hide his disappointment, but he was pretty upset.”
“Oh yeah? Do you think you guys aren’t ready for this or something?” Vero raised an eyebrow.
“No no, nothing like that. I was just…shocked. Sometimes our relationship seems so surreal. Like I question if it’s all a dream, or if I’m just imagining that we’re really together and we’re really in love. In my previous relationships, if you could call them that, I could never pictures us being together for the long haul, buying a house together, getting engaged, having children someday, all of that…but with Sidney, everything’s different. It just feels like I’m dreaming sometimes and I feel like I have to stop and check myself occasionally.”
“His love for you is as real as it comes. Otherwise all of us have been dreaming about it too, and it would be just a little bit weird if a bunch of hockey players were all having the same dream about one of their teammates and his fairytale romance.” Vero said, giggling.
Lauren laughed too. “I suppose you’re right about that.”
“But seriously, I think this is great, Lauren. You two deserve a place that you can have all to yourselves.”’
“Yeah, I am looking forward to not having to pack an overnight bag every time I stay over at the Lemieux’s. I suppose it’s about time Sidney move out on his own anyways.”
“They’d let him stay forever. They really seem to love him.”
“They do. The kids are really going to miss having him around.” Lauren said quietly.
“Well, good thing you’ll only be a street or two away.” Vero said, patting her shoulder.
They both looked up when they heard the door open and close. “Lauren!” Marc said cheerfully when he entered the kitchen. “Sidney told me the exciting news!” He said, leaning down to hug her and kiss her lightly on the cheek.
“It’s nice to see you too, sweetheart.” Vero said sarcastically.
“’Allo, beautiful.” Marc said, leaning down to kiss Vero’s lips. She smiled back at him.
“So you guys will have to help us pick out furniture and stuff.” Lauren said.
“Not again.” Marc groaned, remembering the long hours he had followed Vero around furniture galleries when they had moved in.
Vero rolled her eyes at him. “Of course we will help! Marc won’t admit it, but he had fun working on this house.” It was Marc’s turn to roll his eyes.
“Well, I should probably get going. I’ve got a ton of homework to get caught up on if I’m going to finish my classes this semester. Thanks for the tea, V, and for everything else too.” Lauren said, standing up and hugging Marc and Vero goodbye.
Lauren spent the afternoon writing papers, reading, and e-mailing assignments off to her professors. They had all been very understanding of her situation and they had all told her to finish her coursework when she could and they would take care of making sure her credits went through. She had been handling a lot of work things through email as well, but they were starting to ask about when she was coming back.
The truth was that Lauren had started to question whether or not she even wanted to go back. She loved her job, and the students she worked with, but she had hated being so far away from Sidney and her family and friends. Lauren had been thinking a lot about ways she could still have the job she loved, but stay in Pittsburgh. She also thought a lot about all the philanthropic projects that Vero and the other girlfriends and wives were always working on and she wanted to be a part of that too.
On the other hand, she didn’t want to give up her career. Not only did she love it, but she didn’t want to ever become one of those hockey girlfriends who has no life of her own and sits at home pining away. Not that Vero was like that – she was always working on some sort of fundraiser or something. Lauren was just really torn up about what she wanted to do. And while Sidney was always a good listener and always gave her great advice, she knew that deep down he wanted her near him, so she wasn’t sure how much help he would be in this situation.
The next day, Lauren met Liz for lunch and some shopping before heading back home to do some more work. She had been working at her family’s dining room table when Sidney texted her saying he was on his way there.
A little while later, Sidney got there and burst excitedly through the door into her kitchen. Lauren and her family had insisted he stop knocking about 10 months ago, so Lauren smiled to herself when she saw him come in.
“Hey!” he said breathlessly, leaning down to kiss her.
“Hey. What are you all wound up for?” she asked, eyeing him curiously.
“Can’t I just be excited to see you?” Sidney said, looking at her with puppy dog eyes.
Lauren rolled her eyes. “That’s sweet, but you’re up to something. I can tell.”
“Do you want to go camping tonight?” he asked.
“It’s March. I don’t camp out in the cold.” Lauren answered.
“Don’t worry baby, I’ll keep you warm.” Sidney said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.
Lauren rolled her eyes again. “I’m sure you will Casanova. What are you plotting?”
“Like I said, do you want to go camping? I promise it will not be cold at all and you will like it.” Sidney said, tucking a section of hair behind Lauren’s ear.
“Okay…let me get some clothes together and we can go on this little adventure of yours.” Lauren said with a bemused smile. She wasn’t sure how it was always so easy for him to talk her into playing along with his hair-brained ideas.
A little while later, Lauren had an overnight bag ready and they were headed down the road towards Sewickley.
Lauren’s lips curled into a curious smile when they pulled into the driveway of the new house. “Sidney?”
“Lauren?” he countered with an innocent smile.
“This is our house.”
“I know.” Sidney said, his grin widening. “I love hearing you say that.”
“But we haven’t bought any furniture yet.”
“Which is why we’re camping. Come on.” He said, coming around to her door and taking her by the hand, both of their bags slung easily over his shoulder.
The house was dark when they stepped inside except for a glow coming from the living room. Sidney dropped their bags in the hallway and kissed her forehead. “We won’t need these right now anyways.” He took her hand and led her down the hall.
When they stepped into the great expanse of the living room, Lauren realized the glow she had noticed was caused by candlelight. There were dozens of candles of every shape and size scattered around the room. In the middle of the room, a large aerobed had been inflated and there were jersey sheets, a fluffy down comforter, and several pillows on it. There was a portable CD player plugged into one of the walls and music was softly playing in the background. A fire was roaring in the fireplace and there was a picnic basket settled on the hearth.
Lauren’s jaw dropped in pleasant shock as she surveyed the room. Finally she turned to face Sidney, who had a lopsided grin on his face. “I’ve never really been camping before,” he admitted. “Is this acceptable?”
Lauren nodded her head eagerly and Sidney closed the gap between them, kissing her softly on the lips.
“Who did all this? The candles I mean. They were already lit when we got here, and you’ve been with me for several hours now.”
Sidney chuckled. “Apparently you didn’t notice Marc and Vero driving past us as we turned down the street.”
Lauren laughed. “I should’ve known those two would be in on this too.” It was then that she noticed a picture frame perched on the mantle and walked over to it to get a closer look.
“Yeah, they were pretty excited to help out.” Sidney said, following her towards the fireplace.
Both of them laughed when they saw the picture. It was a picture of Sidney, Lauren, Marc, and Vero. It had been taken a few months earlier when they had all gone to a party at Max’s after a game one night.
“What’s in the picnic basket?” Lauren said a moment later.
“Camp food. Well, according to your mom it is.” Sidney said.
“My mom?”
“Yeah, I remembered you told me once how your mom was always the camp cook when you went away to Girl Scout camp, and so I told her about my idea and asked if she could help me out.”
“You’re so cute.” Lauren said, kissing the corner of his mouth.
“Wait right here. There should be one more thing in the kitchen. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Sidney said, disappearing into the kitchen.
A few minutes later, Sidney returned with a steaming plate in his hands. “Don’t worry. I didn’t make this. I just heated it up. Your mom said this was an ‘absolute must’ for camping with you.”
“Camp mac and cheese!” Lauren said excitedly.
“Yeah, that’s what your mom called it too.” Sidney responded, confusion creased across his forehead. “I always just thought this was Velveeta shells and cheese.”
“No, this was always everyone’s favorite. Mom’s camp mac and cheese is like, famous.”
“How come I’ve never had this ‘famous’ mac and cheese before?” Sidney teased.
“Okay, well maybe it’s not like Sidney Crosby famous, but don’t mock it till you’ve tried it.”
Sidney rolled his eyes at her joke and sat down on the floor by the fireplace and offered her a fork. “You know, I really shouldn’t be eating this during the season.” Sidney pointed out.
“Oh shut up and just eat it.” Lauren replied. She watched him carefully to see his reaction as he took a bite. “Well?”
“Mmm this is so good.” He said with his mouth full. She laughed.
They ate the macaroni and cheese and then made some s’mores from the items in the picnic basket. “You’re trying to make me fat, aren’t you?” Sidney joked as Lauren offered him another perfectly toasted marshmallow.
“Oh, please. Like you’re not going to work out twice as hard tomorrow to burn it all off anyways.” She said, patting his hard abs.
He just laughed and she leaned over and kissed his mouth. “Thanks for tonight. You never fail to amaze me.”
“I just thought we needed a little fun. And I didn’t want to share you with anyone else tonight.”
She scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her.
“I like it when I don’t have to share you too.” She said wistfully.
“I love you.” Sidney said.
Lauren lifted her head to look into his eyes. “I love you too, Sidney.” She said, offering her lips to his. He cradled her chin in his hand and kissed her, slowly at first, but gradually their kiss gained intensity.
After a few minutes, Sidney pulled away breathlessly. “Sorry.” He said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Sorry for what?” Lauren whispered back, still trying to catch her breath.
“I didn’t mean for things to go too far.” Sidney explained.
“Why not?” Lauren asked, a big lump forming in her throat. She was terrified of what he would say. She was terrified that since she had been raped, he wouldn’t be attracted to her in that way anymore.
Chapter 76
“He bought you a house?” Vero asked excitedly. Lauren had called her to tell her she had some news and now they were sipping tea at Marc and Vero’s kitchen table.
“He bought us a house.” Lauren corrected.
“That’s wonderful!” Vero said with a warm smile. “Wait, is this what you want?”
Lauren smiled at how easily Vero was able to read her emotions. “Yeah…I was just really shocked at first. I kind of reacted poorly initially. He tried to hide his disappointment, but he was pretty upset.”
“Oh yeah? Do you think you guys aren’t ready for this or something?” Vero raised an eyebrow.
“No no, nothing like that. I was just…shocked. Sometimes our relationship seems so surreal. Like I question if it’s all a dream, or if I’m just imagining that we’re really together and we’re really in love. In my previous relationships, if you could call them that, I could never pictures us being together for the long haul, buying a house together, getting engaged, having children someday, all of that…but with Sidney, everything’s different. It just feels like I’m dreaming sometimes and I feel like I have to stop and check myself occasionally.”
“His love for you is as real as it comes. Otherwise all of us have been dreaming about it too, and it would be just a little bit weird if a bunch of hockey players were all having the same dream about one of their teammates and his fairytale romance.” Vero said, giggling.
Lauren laughed too. “I suppose you’re right about that.”
“But seriously, I think this is great, Lauren. You two deserve a place that you can have all to yourselves.”’
“Yeah, I am looking forward to not having to pack an overnight bag every time I stay over at the Lemieux’s. I suppose it’s about time Sidney move out on his own anyways.”
“They’d let him stay forever. They really seem to love him.”
“They do. The kids are really going to miss having him around.” Lauren said quietly.
“Well, good thing you’ll only be a street or two away.” Vero said, patting her shoulder.
They both looked up when they heard the door open and close. “Lauren!” Marc said cheerfully when he entered the kitchen. “Sidney told me the exciting news!” He said, leaning down to hug her and kiss her lightly on the cheek.
“It’s nice to see you too, sweetheart.” Vero said sarcastically.
“’Allo, beautiful.” Marc said, leaning down to kiss Vero’s lips. She smiled back at him.
“So you guys will have to help us pick out furniture and stuff.” Lauren said.
“Not again.” Marc groaned, remembering the long hours he had followed Vero around furniture galleries when they had moved in.
Vero rolled her eyes at him. “Of course we will help! Marc won’t admit it, but he had fun working on this house.” It was Marc’s turn to roll his eyes.
“Well, I should probably get going. I’ve got a ton of homework to get caught up on if I’m going to finish my classes this semester. Thanks for the tea, V, and for everything else too.” Lauren said, standing up and hugging Marc and Vero goodbye.
Lauren spent the afternoon writing papers, reading, and e-mailing assignments off to her professors. They had all been very understanding of her situation and they had all told her to finish her coursework when she could and they would take care of making sure her credits went through. She had been handling a lot of work things through email as well, but they were starting to ask about when she was coming back.
The truth was that Lauren had started to question whether or not she even wanted to go back. She loved her job, and the students she worked with, but she had hated being so far away from Sidney and her family and friends. Lauren had been thinking a lot about ways she could still have the job she loved, but stay in Pittsburgh. She also thought a lot about all the philanthropic projects that Vero and the other girlfriends and wives were always working on and she wanted to be a part of that too.
On the other hand, she didn’t want to give up her career. Not only did she love it, but she didn’t want to ever become one of those hockey girlfriends who has no life of her own and sits at home pining away. Not that Vero was like that – she was always working on some sort of fundraiser or something. Lauren was just really torn up about what she wanted to do. And while Sidney was always a good listener and always gave her great advice, she knew that deep down he wanted her near him, so she wasn’t sure how much help he would be in this situation.
The next day, Lauren met Liz for lunch and some shopping before heading back home to do some more work. She had been working at her family’s dining room table when Sidney texted her saying he was on his way there.
A little while later, Sidney got there and burst excitedly through the door into her kitchen. Lauren and her family had insisted he stop knocking about 10 months ago, so Lauren smiled to herself when she saw him come in.
“Hey!” he said breathlessly, leaning down to kiss her.
“Hey. What are you all wound up for?” she asked, eyeing him curiously.
“Can’t I just be excited to see you?” Sidney said, looking at her with puppy dog eyes.
Lauren rolled her eyes. “That’s sweet, but you’re up to something. I can tell.”
“Do you want to go camping tonight?” he asked.
“It’s March. I don’t camp out in the cold.” Lauren answered.
“Don’t worry baby, I’ll keep you warm.” Sidney said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.
Lauren rolled her eyes again. “I’m sure you will Casanova. What are you plotting?”
“Like I said, do you want to go camping? I promise it will not be cold at all and you will like it.” Sidney said, tucking a section of hair behind Lauren’s ear.
“Okay…let me get some clothes together and we can go on this little adventure of yours.” Lauren said with a bemused smile. She wasn’t sure how it was always so easy for him to talk her into playing along with his hair-brained ideas.
A little while later, Lauren had an overnight bag ready and they were headed down the road towards Sewickley.
Lauren’s lips curled into a curious smile when they pulled into the driveway of the new house. “Sidney?”
“Lauren?” he countered with an innocent smile.
“This is our house.”
“I know.” Sidney said, his grin widening. “I love hearing you say that.”
“But we haven’t bought any furniture yet.”
“Which is why we’re camping. Come on.” He said, coming around to her door and taking her by the hand, both of their bags slung easily over his shoulder.
The house was dark when they stepped inside except for a glow coming from the living room. Sidney dropped their bags in the hallway and kissed her forehead. “We won’t need these right now anyways.” He took her hand and led her down the hall.
When they stepped into the great expanse of the living room, Lauren realized the glow she had noticed was caused by candlelight. There were dozens of candles of every shape and size scattered around the room. In the middle of the room, a large aerobed had been inflated and there were jersey sheets, a fluffy down comforter, and several pillows on it. There was a portable CD player plugged into one of the walls and music was softly playing in the background. A fire was roaring in the fireplace and there was a picnic basket settled on the hearth.
Lauren’s jaw dropped in pleasant shock as she surveyed the room. Finally she turned to face Sidney, who had a lopsided grin on his face. “I’ve never really been camping before,” he admitted. “Is this acceptable?”
Lauren nodded her head eagerly and Sidney closed the gap between them, kissing her softly on the lips.
“Who did all this? The candles I mean. They were already lit when we got here, and you’ve been with me for several hours now.”
Sidney chuckled. “Apparently you didn’t notice Marc and Vero driving past us as we turned down the street.”
Lauren laughed. “I should’ve known those two would be in on this too.” It was then that she noticed a picture frame perched on the mantle and walked over to it to get a closer look.
“Yeah, they were pretty excited to help out.” Sidney said, following her towards the fireplace.
Both of them laughed when they saw the picture. It was a picture of Sidney, Lauren, Marc, and Vero. It had been taken a few months earlier when they had all gone to a party at Max’s after a game one night.
“What’s in the picnic basket?” Lauren said a moment later.
“Camp food. Well, according to your mom it is.” Sidney said.
“My mom?”
“Yeah, I remembered you told me once how your mom was always the camp cook when you went away to Girl Scout camp, and so I told her about my idea and asked if she could help me out.”
“You’re so cute.” Lauren said, kissing the corner of his mouth.
“Wait right here. There should be one more thing in the kitchen. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Sidney said, disappearing into the kitchen.
A few minutes later, Sidney returned with a steaming plate in his hands. “Don’t worry. I didn’t make this. I just heated it up. Your mom said this was an ‘absolute must’ for camping with you.”
“Camp mac and cheese!” Lauren said excitedly.
“Yeah, that’s what your mom called it too.” Sidney responded, confusion creased across his forehead. “I always just thought this was Velveeta shells and cheese.”
“No, this was always everyone’s favorite. Mom’s camp mac and cheese is like, famous.”
“How come I’ve never had this ‘famous’ mac and cheese before?” Sidney teased.
“Okay, well maybe it’s not like Sidney Crosby famous, but don’t mock it till you’ve tried it.”
Sidney rolled his eyes at her joke and sat down on the floor by the fireplace and offered her a fork. “You know, I really shouldn’t be eating this during the season.” Sidney pointed out.
“Oh shut up and just eat it.” Lauren replied. She watched him carefully to see his reaction as he took a bite. “Well?”
“Mmm this is so good.” He said with his mouth full. She laughed.
They ate the macaroni and cheese and then made some s’mores from the items in the picnic basket. “You’re trying to make me fat, aren’t you?” Sidney joked as Lauren offered him another perfectly toasted marshmallow.
“Oh, please. Like you’re not going to work out twice as hard tomorrow to burn it all off anyways.” She said, patting his hard abs.
He just laughed and she leaned over and kissed his mouth. “Thanks for tonight. You never fail to amaze me.”
“I just thought we needed a little fun. And I didn’t want to share you with anyone else tonight.”
She scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her.
“I like it when I don’t have to share you too.” She said wistfully.
“I love you.” Sidney said.
Lauren lifted her head to look into his eyes. “I love you too, Sidney.” She said, offering her lips to his. He cradled her chin in his hand and kissed her, slowly at first, but gradually their kiss gained intensity.
After a few minutes, Sidney pulled away breathlessly. “Sorry.” He said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Sorry for what?” Lauren whispered back, still trying to catch her breath.
“I didn’t mean for things to go too far.” Sidney explained.
“Why not?” Lauren asked, a big lump forming in her throat. She was terrified of what he would say. She was terrified that since she had been raped, he wouldn’t be attracted to her in that way anymore.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Chapter 75
**Sorry about the wait! Hope all my American readers had a great Thanksgiving! I certainly enjoyed all the great Penguins games! How about 'ol Sid and his hat trick?! Anyways, I'm going out of town tomorrow until Sunday, and then I have a HUGE final on Monday (keep your fingers crossed - I need a good grade), so I won't be updating until probably late next week at the earliest. Thanks for your patience - enjoy!**
Chapter 75
The next day, Sidney had a new text message on his phone after practice.
Meet me at the house you showed me after practice. Love you.
He was confused about why she would want him to meet her there, but he got a shower and drove over there anyways. When he pulled up, her car was in the driveway and he assumed she was inside. When he got the front door, there was a post-it note stuck to the door.
Yes.
That was all it said. He smiled, thinking of all the times she left post-it notes in his luggage for him to find or stuck them to the bathroom mirror or the inside of a cupboard. Sidney didn’t know what to think of this one, though – did that mean she wanted to move in?
He opened the door and walked in, finding another post-it note on the wall.
This is where we’ll greet our family and friends when they come to visit.
He looked down and found a post-it on the floor.
This is where your shoes will pile up, until your mom comes to visit and makes you put them all away.
Sidney chuckled and wandered into the living room.
His eyes widened when he saw post-its scattered all over the room. He took his time wandering around, reading each note.
Here’s where we’ll curl up on the couch and watch movies on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
This is where you can keep your collection of Friends DVDs, right next to my Disney movies.
This wall will be filled with pictures of our families.
We’ll put a coffee table here so we can eat Chinese takeout in front of the TV.
You and I can pick out our favorite pictures of us to put across the mantle.
We’re going to need some matching Christmas stockings to hang up, too.
He made his way to the kitchen where he found more post-its.
This is where we’ll store the boxes of pasta and jars of sauce, since neither of us knows how to cook anything else. Hopefully the Lemieux’s will still let us come over for dinner once in a while.
We’ll sit at the table here and drink coffee and you’ll wrinkle your cute nose and whine about my French vanilla creamer.
I’ll bake chocolate chip cookies (from refrigerated dough, of course) and guilt you into eating at least one.
Sidney wandered back out into the hallway.
This hallway is perfect for some random dance parties, Risky Business style. (You know, before Tom Cruise went all crazy Scientologist).
The post-its continued throughout the whole first floor of the house and eventually he made his way up the stairs. He saw the light on in the master bedroom, so he headed there first. Sidney’s eyes lit up when he saw Lauren sitting on the floor, leaning up against a wall. He scanned the room and was a little surprised to see the walls were bare. “No post-its in here?” he asked.
Lauren smiled and stood up. “Just one, but I wanted to give it to you myself.” She explained, pressing a post-it into his hand.
Here is where I want to make love to you every night, and wake up next to you every morning.
He looked up and into her eyes, reading her expression. “So is this a yes?”
“Of course this is a yes, silly boy.” She said with a smile.
“Good. Because I really want to make them all come true. Especially this one.” He said, holding up the post-it note in his hand.
“Me too.” Lauren said, leaning up to kiss his lips. “I’m sorry I reacted the way I did. I don’t know what I was thinking. It just came up so suddenly and I wasn’t expecting it and I just didn’t think it would be right to make a decision that big without at least thinking about it. Please don’t think I ever had any doubts.” She said, staring into his eyes.
“No, I’m sorry. After everything that’s happened lately, I shouldn’t have just thrown this on you like that. And it’s not like we have to move in tomorrow or anything like that. We can take our time getting things the way we want them and picking out furniture and stuff.”
“That sounds good.” Lauren smiled, leaning up to accept Sidney’s lips. “What if I decide to go back to school?” Lauren asked, biting her lip nervously.
“Then you go back to school and I’ll miss you like crazy. But this will still be our home. We made it work thus far – we can still do it.” Sidney said, kissing her again.
After a few minutes, Sidney broke away and smiled at her. “Say, you don’t happen to have any of those post-it notes left, do you?”
“Yeah, there’s some in my purse, why?”
“Because I have one of my own.” Sidney said, grinning.
He just winked at her as he accepted the pad of post-its and the pen she handed him. She tried to look over his shoulder but he kept turning around, blocking her view. She finally gave up trying to sneak a peek, and with a sigh, walked over to the large bay window and looked out over the backyard.
A moment later, Sidney stuck a post-it on the window right in front of her nose.
This place, with YOU by my side, is where I’ll always want to be.
Lauren’s eyes shot up to look at Sidney and her lips curved into a grin that matched his. “How did you remember this?” she asked.
**Flashback**
“Every time I come home, you have your cute little nose in a new book.” Sidney said, grinning as they laid in bed one night. She was reading and he flipped through the channels looking for the NHL network.
“What can I say? I love to read. And this one is pretty cute. The main characters remind me a little bit of you and me, actually.”
“So it’s about a really hot girl and a devastatingly handsome guy?” Sidney said with a coy smile. Lauren rolled her eyes but couldn’t help by smile back at Sidney, who was indeed, devastatingly handsome.
“Well, you see, the girl, who is a redhead, by the way,” Lauren explained, pointing her finger in the air in a very matter-of-fact manner. “And she’s very career-oriented and she thinks she’s got her whole life figured out. Then one day, she meets her next door neighbor and he just turns her whole world upside down.” Lauren paused and looked over at Sidney, who was listening intently. “He was an adventurer – they live right on the water, and he loved to spend time out on his boat or just fishing on the dock. He, too, thought he had everything figured out, but then they both realized what they were missing out on before they met.”
“That sounds like a good story. And you’re right – it does sound a little bit like us.”
“Listen to how sweet this is. This is a part where the story jumps to the future, after they’ve been married for like a year. They built a new house, and their first night there, she curls up to him and says, ‘This place, with you by my side, is where I’ll always want to be,’ isn’t that sweet?”
“Mmmhmm.” Sidney mumbled, kissing Lauren’s neck. “It’s beautiful, and so are you.”
**End Flashback**
Sidney chuckled. “I do listen when you talk, you know. I don’t know if I got the wording exactly right, but it’s from that book you were reading. You know, the one by the guy who wrote ‘The Notebook,’ right?”
“Mmmhmm, you’re right. It’s perfect. I think the post-it is better than all of mine.” Lauren said, smiling up at him with pure adoration in her eyes. How the heck did he possibly remember that? They had talked about that book months ago. Lauren thought to herself as Sidney tucked her under his arm and they stared out the window for a while, each dreaming of all the memories this new house had in store for them.
Chapter 75
The next day, Sidney had a new text message on his phone after practice.
Meet me at the house you showed me after practice. Love you.
He was confused about why she would want him to meet her there, but he got a shower and drove over there anyways. When he pulled up, her car was in the driveway and he assumed she was inside. When he got the front door, there was a post-it note stuck to the door.
Yes.
That was all it said. He smiled, thinking of all the times she left post-it notes in his luggage for him to find or stuck them to the bathroom mirror or the inside of a cupboard. Sidney didn’t know what to think of this one, though – did that mean she wanted to move in?
He opened the door and walked in, finding another post-it note on the wall.
This is where we’ll greet our family and friends when they come to visit.
He looked down and found a post-it on the floor.
This is where your shoes will pile up, until your mom comes to visit and makes you put them all away.
Sidney chuckled and wandered into the living room.
His eyes widened when he saw post-its scattered all over the room. He took his time wandering around, reading each note.
Here’s where we’ll curl up on the couch and watch movies on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
This is where you can keep your collection of Friends DVDs, right next to my Disney movies.
This wall will be filled with pictures of our families.
We’ll put a coffee table here so we can eat Chinese takeout in front of the TV.
You and I can pick out our favorite pictures of us to put across the mantle.
We’re going to need some matching Christmas stockings to hang up, too.
He made his way to the kitchen where he found more post-its.
This is where we’ll store the boxes of pasta and jars of sauce, since neither of us knows how to cook anything else. Hopefully the Lemieux’s will still let us come over for dinner once in a while.
We’ll sit at the table here and drink coffee and you’ll wrinkle your cute nose and whine about my French vanilla creamer.
I’ll bake chocolate chip cookies (from refrigerated dough, of course) and guilt you into eating at least one.
Sidney wandered back out into the hallway.
This hallway is perfect for some random dance parties, Risky Business style. (You know, before Tom Cruise went all crazy Scientologist).
The post-its continued throughout the whole first floor of the house and eventually he made his way up the stairs. He saw the light on in the master bedroom, so he headed there first. Sidney’s eyes lit up when he saw Lauren sitting on the floor, leaning up against a wall. He scanned the room and was a little surprised to see the walls were bare. “No post-its in here?” he asked.
Lauren smiled and stood up. “Just one, but I wanted to give it to you myself.” She explained, pressing a post-it into his hand.
Here is where I want to make love to you every night, and wake up next to you every morning.
He looked up and into her eyes, reading her expression. “So is this a yes?”
“Of course this is a yes, silly boy.” She said with a smile.
“Good. Because I really want to make them all come true. Especially this one.” He said, holding up the post-it note in his hand.
“Me too.” Lauren said, leaning up to kiss his lips. “I’m sorry I reacted the way I did. I don’t know what I was thinking. It just came up so suddenly and I wasn’t expecting it and I just didn’t think it would be right to make a decision that big without at least thinking about it. Please don’t think I ever had any doubts.” She said, staring into his eyes.
“No, I’m sorry. After everything that’s happened lately, I shouldn’t have just thrown this on you like that. And it’s not like we have to move in tomorrow or anything like that. We can take our time getting things the way we want them and picking out furniture and stuff.”
“That sounds good.” Lauren smiled, leaning up to accept Sidney’s lips. “What if I decide to go back to school?” Lauren asked, biting her lip nervously.
“Then you go back to school and I’ll miss you like crazy. But this will still be our home. We made it work thus far – we can still do it.” Sidney said, kissing her again.
After a few minutes, Sidney broke away and smiled at her. “Say, you don’t happen to have any of those post-it notes left, do you?”
“Yeah, there’s some in my purse, why?”
“Because I have one of my own.” Sidney said, grinning.
He just winked at her as he accepted the pad of post-its and the pen she handed him. She tried to look over his shoulder but he kept turning around, blocking her view. She finally gave up trying to sneak a peek, and with a sigh, walked over to the large bay window and looked out over the backyard.
A moment later, Sidney stuck a post-it on the window right in front of her nose.
This place, with YOU by my side, is where I’ll always want to be.
Lauren’s eyes shot up to look at Sidney and her lips curved into a grin that matched his. “How did you remember this?” she asked.
**Flashback**
“Every time I come home, you have your cute little nose in a new book.” Sidney said, grinning as they laid in bed one night. She was reading and he flipped through the channels looking for the NHL network.
“What can I say? I love to read. And this one is pretty cute. The main characters remind me a little bit of you and me, actually.”
“So it’s about a really hot girl and a devastatingly handsome guy?” Sidney said with a coy smile. Lauren rolled her eyes but couldn’t help by smile back at Sidney, who was indeed, devastatingly handsome.
“Well, you see, the girl, who is a redhead, by the way,” Lauren explained, pointing her finger in the air in a very matter-of-fact manner. “And she’s very career-oriented and she thinks she’s got her whole life figured out. Then one day, she meets her next door neighbor and he just turns her whole world upside down.” Lauren paused and looked over at Sidney, who was listening intently. “He was an adventurer – they live right on the water, and he loved to spend time out on his boat or just fishing on the dock. He, too, thought he had everything figured out, but then they both realized what they were missing out on before they met.”
“That sounds like a good story. And you’re right – it does sound a little bit like us.”
“Listen to how sweet this is. This is a part where the story jumps to the future, after they’ve been married for like a year. They built a new house, and their first night there, she curls up to him and says, ‘This place, with you by my side, is where I’ll always want to be,’ isn’t that sweet?”
“Mmmhmm.” Sidney mumbled, kissing Lauren’s neck. “It’s beautiful, and so are you.”
**End Flashback**
Sidney chuckled. “I do listen when you talk, you know. I don’t know if I got the wording exactly right, but it’s from that book you were reading. You know, the one by the guy who wrote ‘The Notebook,’ right?”
“Mmmhmm, you’re right. It’s perfect. I think the post-it is better than all of mine.” Lauren said, smiling up at him with pure adoration in her eyes. How the heck did he possibly remember that? They had talked about that book months ago. Lauren thought to herself as Sidney tucked her under his arm and they stared out the window for a while, each dreaming of all the memories this new house had in store for them.
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