Monday, August 31, 2009

Chapter Three - Aquatic Adventures

I’m not quite sure how I drove back to the hotel after that because I was positively delirious with happiness. But, by some miracle of the Gods, I made it in one piece and back into bed without even waking Ally. When I opened my eyes a few hours later, it was of my own accord and not because someone was opening the curtains and blinding me to death. The room was empty besides myself and I got up and walked over to the desk where Ally had left a note. ‘Spence, I went out to get some breakfast for us and you’ll never guess who asked me to hang out with him?! Well, I’ll keep you on your toes because you wouldn’t believe it if I put it in this note. Anyway, now we can do our own thing today! Maybe meet up for dinner? I’ll text! Love ya, Ally.’ I put down the note, not really giving it a second thought. I was glad she found someone to keep her occupied for the day. I tossed the paper aside, grabbed some clothes, and hit the shower. About twenty minutes later, I was out the door and looking for something to do. I set out on foot in a quest to find the nearest Tim Horton’s. No sooner than when I sat down, my cell phone started ringing. I cringed at the fact that I forgot to change it from the “Gimme That Fillet O’ Fish” song that Ally had set it as. I opened it quickly to silence the ringing and didn’t even check the name.

“Hello?” I asked, trying to avoid the stares of those who had heard that awful ringtone.

“Hey, can you get away from whatever you’re doing?” Sid asked on the other end. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. I had completely forgotten that we exchanged numbers.

“Hmm, I have to think about it. You know I’m an extremely busy person,” I said playfully into the phone.

“I’ll take that as a ‘I’m not doing anything because I have no life’,” he retorted.

“Okay, you got me. Why what’s up?”

“Come hang out with me today.”

“Hang out with you? Didn’t we discuss this last night? The press, Sidney, the press.”

“Exactly, that’s why I want you to come over. To my house. It’s gated so it’s hard for the press to catch me there unless I let them in.”

“But won’t they see me pulling up or whatever?”

“Yeah, but you could be anyone. My cleaning lady for all they know.” I couldn’t help but laugh. The stuff he comes up with.

“A twenty year old cleaning lady? Very believable.”

“Okay, I’ll take that as a ‘yes’ you’re coming.” He proceeded to give me directions which I wrote down on a napkin and he ended with, “bring aquatic essentials.”

“Aquatic essentials? Really? You couldn’t just say bathing suit?”

“I like to be different. You should know that by now, Spencer. See ya in a bit!” And with that he hung up. I rolled my eyes, but the smile couldn’t be removed from my face. I basically sprinted back to the hotel, shoved a bathing suit into my purse, grabbed the keys, and hopped into the car. It wasn’t long before I was arriving at the gates and to my surprise, Sid was standing there, ready to let me in.

“Hey,” he said smiling as he hopped into the passenger’s seat.

“Hey,” I replied, not sure what the proper greeting was. We only had one kiss last night so it would probably be way too forward to expect anything in greeting. Thankfully I didn’t have to make the decision because in the middle of my pondering, Sid picked up my hand and kissed it.

“Completely lame,” I laughed as he joined in.

“Well, I didn’t know what the proper greeting was! So I figured I’d go classic. You can’t go wrong with classic.”

“Well that one’s a swing and a miss. Keep trying.” I continued to laugh all the way along the drive up to his house. Once I finally pulled up, we got out and made our way inside. It was the cutest summer house I’d ever seen. “What, no masses of people? I thought your life was a constant party, Mr. Crosby.”

“I like to make time for the VIPs every now and then. How was that?”

“You’re so lucky that you’re not trying to pick me up. That was rough.” He playfully shoved me and led me down a long hallway.

“Here’s the bathroom. You can change in there.” The bathroom was adorably decorated and the soap smelled like heaven. I had to remember to ask where he got it. I changed my clothes in twenty seconds flat, replaced my t-shirt, and stuffed my shorts into my purse. When I got out, I walked into the living room where Sid was sitting on the couch.

“So what exactly are we doing today?”

“You’ll see.” He led me out the back door and down onto the dock where his Sea-doo was waiting in all of its aquatic glory.

“I am not getting on that thing!” I said, refusing to go any further.

“What? Why not?! It doesn’t bite, I promise,” he said, taking my hand.

“It can’t possibly be safe,” I responded looking from it, to him, and back again.

“Can you swim?” he asked. I nodded and he continued. “Then it’s perfectly safe. Plus you’ll be wearing a life jacket. Plus, I’ll save you if anything happens.” At that last statement I could help but smile. I agreed to go on it and I followed him down to the end of the dock where he handed me a life jacket and put on one of his own. I took off my shirt, neatly folding it, and placed it next to Sid’s which was in a wrinkled heap. After I adjusted my bathing suit top and put on my life jacket, I turned back to him and had to remind myself to breath. His perfect physique almost knocked me off my feet. He smiled back at me, not noticing me drooling all over myself. “Ready?” He got on first and then held out his hand for me. I said a silent ‘Our Father’ before hopping on the back and clinging to his waist. We started off slowly, just meandering around. “See it’s not so bad.” I was beginning to agree until he picked up speed and we were flying across the water. At first I absolutely hated him, but then I couldn’t get enough. The combined rush of speeding on that thing and holding on to the actual Sidney Crosby was enough to give a person a heart attack. At one point Sid even let me drive his precious Sea-doo, until he claimed I was an awful driver and made me switch back. By the time we finally docked, the sun was starting to set. We both climbed up onto the dock continuing our debate about who was the better driver. It ended in Sid throwing me into the water after I had already put my shirt back on so, needless to say, I was a little irritated. However, I soon forgot my irritation when we got back to the house and he gave me one of his to wear. It was ten times better than wearing anything I owned.

“So what’s the game plan?” I asked sitting next to him on the couch. I was tugging at a string sticking out from my shorts and he was fiddling with his cell phone.

“Actually, one of the guys is coming over for dinner. I’d love it if you’d stay. He’s even bringing a girl along.”

“Of course I’d love to meet one of your teammates when I’m wearing absolutely no make-up and my hair looks like a disaster area. How did you know that’s my dream come true?!”

“Oh please. You look gorgeous. And believe me, if you look gorgeous like that, they’ll think you’re absolutely stunning when they see you all dolled up.”

“Um, people haven’t used the expression ‘dolled up’ since 1922.” Just as he was about to come back with a snarky remark, my phone started to ring. That hideous ringtone once again taunted me. I really had to change that. It was a text from Ally.

“you’ll never guess what! we’re going to dinner at some hockey player’s house! i’ll explain later!!! love ya!”

And at that moment, it all fell into place.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Chapter Two - A Sleep Schedule Disruption

“Holy Shit! You sleep like the dead!” Ally sighed as she pulled back the hotel curtains. Blinding light flooded the room immediately and I pulled the covers up to shield my eyes.

“Ugh, Ally! What time is it?!” I asked, fearing the answer.

“Oh, it’s 8:30! And you need to get up right now because we have to be out of here by 9:00,” she said pulling various make-up essentials out of my bag and throwing them at me.

“Why? We have somewhere to be?” I eyed her suspiciously.

“Well, Sidney’s doing this little signing at some local sports store at 12:30 and we have to go down there and get in line. And I am not going without you.”

“We have to be there three and a half hours before?! You’re insane. You’re friggin insane!” I rolled over in bed and buried my head underneath the pillow.

“Look, Spence. I know you’re not a morning person, but can you please just do this for me?” I hated how close we were. I couldn’t say no.

“Fine! I hate you, you know.”

“Ah! I love you so much!” I managed to drag myself out of bed, take a quick shower, and dress. I wore denim shorts, a blue and white checkered short sleeved shirt, and my favorite cowgirl boots. “Wow, you look like you just stepped out of The Dukes of Hazzard!” I looked at Ally and smiled. I hoped my outfit impressed someone else too. We ended up with a really good spot in line inside the store. I felt bad for the other people who had to stand out in the sun. When Sid finally emerged to a roaring applause, Ally dug her nails so far into my arm I’m pretty sure she left permanent scars. “Oh my God!”

“Can you calm the hell down, please?” I asked even though my own nerves started to take a hold on me. I really hoped that he wouldn’t say anything about our meeting last night. I wasn’t sure at all if I wanted Ally to know yet. But if he remembered, of course he’d say something right? I hoped to God that he’d be able to read whatever subtle signs I tried to give him to keep his mouth shut. When we were five people away from the front of the line, the picture in Ally’s hands began to shake. “Relax, Al. It’ll all be fine.”

“Hey,” Sid said when we finally reached the table.

“Oh my God, it’s so nice to meet you!” Ally gushed, turning about a million shades of red. She controlled her shaking hand enough to hand him the picture. “Say something, Spence!” She whispered as she took back her picture and thanked him a million times. Surprisingly she managed to walk away without fainting.

“Hey there,” he said as he began signing the picture I handed him. “I’m not good enough to introduce to your friends?”

“No, that’s not it,” I said. “It would just take too much…explaining.” He smiled and handed me back the picture.

“If you think that will take explaining, you better not show her that.” He pointed at the picture then moved on to sign the next person’s autograph. I looked down at the picture in my hand. ‘Spencer, hope we’re still on for later. –Sid’.

“He was writing for such a long time, what’d he say?” Ally said, peering over my shoulder.

“NOTHING!” I practically screamed at her and shoved the picture inside of a magazine I had bought earlier and then shoved the magazine in my purse. She was looking at me like I had five heads which was to be expected. “You know, he just wrote his name. It didn’t take any longer for him to sign mine than it did yours.” Ally was still giving me a peculiar look, but she let it slide.

“I totally can’t believe we just met him,” she said, returning to her former swooning. “I wonder where he hangs out, you know, to get away from the fans?”

“Yeah, I wonder too,” I muttered. We stepped outside into the warm sun and looked around at the hundreds of fans who were still waiting on line.

“Glad I made you wake up early, huh?” Ally asked, noting the crowd.

“Yeah I guess. Well what do you want to do today?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Just hang around.” And that’s all we did. Hang around. All day. We pretty much covered all of Cole Harbour on foot until both of us were too tired to even move. By the time nine o’clock rolled around, I was ready to just crash. So, I set my phone alarm for 2:00, shoved it under my pillow and was off to sleep. By the first ring of the alarm I was out of bed. I dressed as quietly as I could, grabbed my keys and headed for the door. I love promptness and I was a little disappointed that Sid had beaten me there. He was sitting on a little bench a few feet away from the diner with his ice cream and apparently mine.

“I was starting to think you wouldn’t show,” he said handing me the cup of chocolate ice cream.

“I’m always true to my word,” I replied, taking it from him. “How’d you know I wanted chocolate?”

“Oh I tend to remember when something stains my favorite shirt forever.” He smiled and I stared at him in disbelief.

“Oh my God! I had no idea I got any on you. I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t worry about it. I was only kidding when I said it was my favorite shirt. I can live without it. And besides, whenever I look at it, I’ll think of you.” I was suddenly more than grateful that we were sitting, because if we weren’t, I might have fainted dead away. “So, how are you enjoying your time in Cole Harbour so far?”

“Do you want the honest answer, or the polite one?”

“The honest one.” He laughed and started eating.

“Well, there’s not much to do around here. I mean it’s been a day and I think I’ve seen it all.” [A/N: Once again, I’m so sorry if Cole Harbour has a hoppin’ night life. I know nothing about it =p]

“Well I’d love to show you around sometime.” He said it as nonchalantly as if he were stating that it was dark outside or that the world was round. Another look of disbelief floated across my features.

“I’d love to be shown around sometime, but the media is hot on your trail right now, with all of the Cup stuff, and I wouldn’t love to be shown around by you and the media.”

“Fair enough. I can take a hint when I’m being rejected.”

“No no! I’m not rejecting you at all…I’m just saying.”

“Jeeze Spencer, lighten up. I was only kidding.” Great here I was making myself seem like an uptight moron. “You’re not an uptight moron.” Oh my God. Did I say that out loud?

“Wow, I have no idea what’s wrong with me tonight.” This had to go down in history as one of the most awkward first dates ever in the century of the world. But to my surprise he was laughing again and that put me at ease.

“Relax Spencer, I already like you. You don’t have to try so hard.” To say I was floored could probably be the understatement of the century. “Tell me about yourself.”

“Well, now that I know I can ramble endlessly without you hating me, you should get comfortable.” After that, I rattled on about how I’ve lived in Pittsburgh my whole life and how Ally and I are absolute best friends and that that was the reason I didn’t want him to say anything earlier. I talked about when I was younger, how summer was my favorite season, how I loved to vacation, and everything in between. Only when I finished talking did I notice that the sun was rising.

“I am so sorry that I bored you till the sun came up.” I said laughing.

“It wasn’t boring at all. You’re really interesting. And even though this is drastically screwing up my sleeping schedule, it’s worth it.” I still couldn’t believe that we were really having this conversation. I kept expecting to wake up any minute or a camera crew to run out from behind a tree and yell “gotcha!”.

“Well it’s your turn. I wanna hear everything!” I leaned closer to him and lost my balance, toppling right off the bench. When he leaned down to help me up, our faces were inches apart. I could almost taste the minty-ness of the Altoid he popped about five minutes ago. I wanted to curse the heavens when his cell phone started vibrating.

“That’ll be my mom,” he said without moving.

“You better go.”

“Yeah I better.” But neither of us moved. I was still sitting on the concrete and he was still leaning over me and frankly, I was tired of waiting for him to make a move, so I just went for it. I leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips. When we pulled apart he was smiling. “Now I can go.”

“Damn it Sidney! I hate making the first move!” He was still smiling as he began walking down the block.

“I know! Why else would I do that?” I could hear him laughing even as he rounded the corner.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Chapter One - Did That Just Happen?

Alright, so I had this idea && I swear, it just wouldn't leave me alone until I picked up the pen [[or in this case, opened the computer]] and wrote it. I honestly don't know where I'm going with this story, I just sort of...went haha. I'd love to know what you all think of it though && if it's worth continuing. Besides, a little Sidney Crosby fan-fic never hurt anyone ;) OH! P.S. I know absolutely nothing about Cole Harbour, so I'm so sorry if this is all wrong =p



“Jeeze! Can you believe it?! We’re are going to the hometown of THE Sidney Crosby! I can’t believe it! I think I might die before I get there!” My best friend Ally Mulqueen chirped excitedly from the passenger’s seat of my Mercedes. It was my delayed high school graduation gift. My high school career had ended two years ago, but my dad didn’t give me the car until now. Therefore, it counted as my graduation gift and my twentieth birthday gift.

“Seriously Ally, we didn’t even get out of Pennsylvania yet. If I have to hear this the whole car ride, I just might kill myself,” I responded in an exasperated tone.

“Come on, Spence! This is gonna be so fun. Me, my best friend, a summer road trip, Sidney Crosby. What more could you ask for?!” She grabbed my hand that was resting on the center console and squeezed. I looked at the excitement in her face and immediately softened. Ally and I had grown up together in Pittsburgh. We did absolutely everything together. Went to school, had sleepovers, dated guys, fought over guys, everything. It was Spencer Addison and Ally Mulqueen for life. Where one of us went the other followed. And on this particular day, we happened to be driving all the way up to Cole Harbour all because Ally just had to see the sign that boasted Sidney’s name or she would “positively die”. Ally and I both shared a love of hockey but for very different reasons. I loved to actually watch the game. She loved to watch the guys playing the game. Now, I love Ally to death, but hearing how “absolutely dreamy” Sidney Crosby is seventy five times during a game can be a little tiring. I give Ally so much crap about her obsession that I would never admit that I find him quite attractive too. I could never give her the satisfaction of saying “I told you so”. That would kill me.

“How do you know he’s even in Cole Harbour right now?” I asked pulling my hand away and putting it on the wheel.

“Because,” she started and whipped out a colorful chart, “his second day with the cup is today! Therefore, when we arrive tonight, he’ll definitely still be there. And I’m sure he’ll want to spend some time with his family. Trust me, he’s gonna be there.”

“And there’s also going to be a thousand other crazies just like you who are hoping to meet him there,” I replied.

“Oh my God! Your French manicure looks so good, Spence! Did you get it done at Tiffany’s?” she asked quickly changing the subject. I rolled my eyes and turned up the volume on the radio. It was going to be a long twenty one hours. We left at 12 AM Saturday morning and arrived around 10:00 PM that night. We drove in shifts because, to Ally, it was an absolute must that we get there as quickly as possible. As soon as Ally saw the sign she made me stop and take fifty million pictures of her in front of it.

“This one’s totally gonna be my new Facebook default,” she said staring at the screen on the digital camera.

“You said that about every single picture I took,” I answered focusing on the road. There were still tons of people mobbing the streets. I guess when something this big happens to someone from your town, you want to squeeze every last ounce of celebration out of it.

“Can you please pull over, Spencer? I wanna get out and walk around,” Ally begged, giving me the “puppy dog” face. I sighed, incredibly tired from the drive, but complied. After walking around for an hour with no sign of Sid, Ally finally agreed to let me drive to our Halifax hotel. After a quick shower, I was in the bed by 11:30. A time unusually early for me, which is exactly why at around 3:00 I was wide awake. My body was used to running on ridiculously low hours of sleep. I crawled out of bed, threw on a pair of jeans and my University of Pittsburgh sweatshirt and stealthily exited the hotel room. I hopped into the car and decided I’d take a drive around Cole Harbour. My eye was immediately attracted to this little 24-hour diner that had a flashing “homemade ice cream” sign. I was sold. I walked into the diner, which was mostly deserted, bought my ice cream, and made my way back out to the car. I was fumbling around in my purse for the keys when I accidentally ran into someone. I involuntarily let out a scream because, after all, it was 3:30 in the morning and I bumped into a shadowy figure.

“Whoa sorry, are you okay?” the guy asked. I wasn’t even looking at him. I was more concerned with making sure I didn’t get any chocolate on my prized hoodie.

“Yeah I’m fine,” I answered closely inspecting the “I”. After I saw that all was good, I looked up to see who I ran in to. We were under a streetlight, so I could see everything from his dark curly hair to his plump red lips clear as day. “Sidney Crosby?!” Shock filled my voice.

“Oh man! I was hoping I was gonna run into the one person who wouldn’t recognize me,” he said smiling. “But I guess I should have given up that dream after I saw the Pittsburgh sweatshirt.” I looked down then back up at him.

“Yeah, it was a longshot, but I’m sure you’ll run into that person one day,” I said smiling back at him. “What are you doing up at 3:30 in the morning?”

“I could ask you the same thing. But since you asked first, I was going to get ice cream,” he answered.

“Ah, same here,” I replied holding up my cup.

“Great minds do indeed think alike,” he said. “You’re from Pittsburgh I take it?”

“Born and bred. And you’re from Cole Harbour, I take it?” He laughed and nodded although I already knew the answer.

“Pretty crazy day today. I just wanted some peace and quiet. Did you see all the Cup stuff?”

“Nope. I just drove up here tonight with my best friend. Big hockey fan. Big you fan.” He laughed again. He probably got that all the time.

“And you’re not?” He raised an eyebrow at me playfully.

“Oh I am. But she’s more into it for…how should I put this, the…man candy.” I couldn’t think of a better way to put it so I stated blatantly what it was.

“If she’s half as cute as you are, I’m in trouble.” I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. This could not be happening. Was I seriously being hit on by Sidney Crosby on a street corner in Cole Harbour. He’s just being nice I decided. Friendly. It’s the way he has to be to deal with all of the girls he meets. “So, you already know me. Who am I speaking with?”

“Spencer Addison.”

“I like Spencer. You look like a Spencer.” More flirting? No. More politeness.

“Thanks. Most people think it’s weird.”

“Absolutely not. It’s unique. I like unique. So Spencer, I’d love to stand around and chat, but I’ve got to get back. My mom will think I got murdered somewhere. Moms.” He rolled his eyes dramatically. “I’ll see you around, hopefully.” This was it. This could potentially be the last time I ever see him. Where was my sassy attitude when I needed it? Why couldn’t I think of something clever to say? Think, think, think.

“I might be craving ice cream around 2:45 tomorrow morning.” There we go, back in action.

“Oh? Are you asking me on a date?” A cute smile played on his lips.

“That depends on whether or not you show up.” And with that I hopped in my car and drove away, feeling very confident that he would indeed be there.