This is a Sidney Crosby fictional story. It begins with his visit to Cannes June 2011. It's my first story, please be kind ...

Chapter One

I can't believe I let my sister drag me here. I knew Mariah would be off flirting and getting her picture taken and I would be left alone - the pathetic girl in the corner, sipping her wine and glancing at all of the pretty people. The party just had to be on a boat, excuse me 'ship' as I was corrected earlier. All I know is that I'm bored, tired and it's really hot in this stuffy boat. I thought the south of France was supposed to be cooler in the summer with the breeze from the water. Of course we're not allowed above deck; something about insurance and too much alcohol.

Shit – I need air right now. Ah, maybe through the door by the washroom that says 'no exit.' Of course no one notices me slip from the room. Yep, no one sees me and, score, the door's unlocked. Great, now I'm in a dark stairwell and, damnit, the door behind me is now locked. So much for being genius, I can't even escape a party. Of course, if someone asked me the square root of pi then I could tell them to the last decimal, doesn't help me here so I guess up I go into the dark.

Another door, thank God, and air – beautiful, cool air. The ocean looks gorgeous from the deck of the boat. Dark but beautifully lit from the moon. I can't help going to the railing to see more of the water.

"Don't jump," this deep voice says behind me. I wasn't going to jump but his voice startles me so much that I feel I could fall in. I turn around but only see a shadowed outline of a man. Great, from a stuffy room to a deserted staircase and now alone with a stranger.

"I was just looking for some air" I tell the shadowed stranger. "Me too" he says and finally steps out of the shadows. You know how you see in the movies when the girl sees the boy and her eyes go wide and her mouth falls open – that was almost me when I saw him. Almost six feet tall, checkered dress shirt and jeans. And built, I mean you can just tell he's got an incredible body. Of course, now I realize I'm staring so I look back toward the water.

I feel him step up next to me and ask "how did you enjoy the movie?" I reply "actually, I didn't go to the movie. My sister had to come to this after-party so I came with her. Predictably, she's meeting and greeting people and I'm sneaking up back stairs to get some air." "The stairs by the washrooms" he asks. I chuckle and say "those are the ones. I'm Angelia by the way."

Wow, she has an incredibly sexy laugh. It takes me a full minute to realize she's just introduced herself and is looking expectantly at me. So here's when I weigh in my head what I say – from her accent, she's obviously from North America. Will she recognize my name? When I came out of the shadows she did stare at me for a while. Did she recognize me and isn't saying anything? "I'm Sidney" I tell her and look at her face closely. "Nice to meet you" she responds. Nope, doesn't seem to know me, interesting.

As I shake her hand, I feel a spark work its way up my arm. Ok, this is weird. We both turn back to the water. I can smell her perfume, vanilla and something else I don't recognize. I look at her out of the corner of my eye; long brown hair loose around her bare shoulders, form fitting sleeveless dress and a beautiful face in that not-too-obvious sort of way. Max would say 'nice tits, great ass.' I would never say it but it doesn't mean that I don't notice and appreciate them.

This is when you have the awkward moment and I'm no good at this, making conversation when I don't know someone. Max would know what to say, so would Jordan for that matter; better than me. Wait, she said she is here with her sister. "Is your sister in the movie?" I ask her. "She's not in the movie but she was asked to come to the party. Her name's Mariah" she tells me. Now it clicks who her sister is. "The model?" I ask her. "Yes" she answers. Silence again, until she asks "and are you associated with the movie?"

"No," I tell her. "My friends and I are here on vacation and we were invited. I think through Paulie's agent, I can't remember." "Agent?" she asks. Now I've done it. Why did I have to say agent? "Um, yeah." I hope she'll leave it alone. "Was he in the movie?" Guess she's not going to leave it alone. Well here goes. "No," I answer, "we're hockey players and when his agent heard we were coming to Cannes he suggested a few movies and parties."

I look over at her and she's smiling at me. A lock of hair flies across her face in the wind and, without thinking, I reach out and push it behind her ear. Damn, there's that spark again as I touch her skin. I just stare at her and her eyes widen then she turns quickly back to the water. Shit, I just met her and I'm offending her. I'm really no good at this!

Holy crap, what was that? He's just touched me, on the hand and now the cheek, and it feels like we just kissed or more, much more! That shiver ran right down my spine and landed a little deeper. I can feel my cheeks get red and turn away quickly. I've got to ask him something, anything, to give my cheeks some time to calm down. "What team do you play for?" "Pittsburgh" he tells me. "That's a professional team, the NHL, right?" I ask him. He chuckles and says "yes." "I'm sorry" I apologize, "I know very little about sports. Neither my sister nor I got involved in them as kids. I was more into school and Ri was totally into fashion, of course. I guess you guys aren't playing now, being summer. How did your team do last year?"

I don't know why, but I can tell immediately that I've hit a nerve. His face becomes blank of expression and he turns back to the water. "We got knocked out in the first round" is his answer. Seems like there's more to it than that but I don't even know him so I'm not going to ask. I sneak another glance at him. He is breathtakingly beautiful. I was too busy noticing the body before that I didn't see the short, thick, dark hair and great eyes and, wow, those lips, definitely worth staring at. 'Change the subject so I can see those lips smile again' is all I can think. "Is this your first time in Europe?" "No" he responds, "I've been a few times for hockey. My first time to Cannes though. I love the water." "Especially when you're on the deck and not below" I say and am rewarded with a smile from those kissable lips. "Yes" he says "I don't know why anyone would want to be down there when it's so beautiful up here. So what do you do?" he asks me.

"I'm a physicist. I teach at a university and do research." As I say this, I sigh because I know that this conversation is over. This is always when their eyes roll back in their heads and they ask where my sister went. She's the gorgeous and interesting one and I'm the forgettable and brainy one. No gorgeous hockey player is going to want to keep chatting with the brainy one. "So" he says, "you must be a genius like on the Big Bang Theory" and he chuckles. "Kind of, yes" I answer. He is quiet for a while and now I know the 'kiss-off' is coming. "You don't have an unhealthy attachment to Star Wars, Star Trek or comic books do you?" I look up at his face and finally let out the breath I didn't know that I'd been holding. He's teasing me and those gorgeous lips are smiling. "Nope" I answer. "Good" he says "although I could get into the comic book thing." Now we're grinning at each other.

It's then that I notice the dock is very close. "Wow" I say "We're docking already" and I look up into his eyes to find him looking at me too. I could swear I saw disappointment in them. I feel the same way. I've never clicked like this with a man and definitely one that looks like a Greek God! Now we're just looking at each other, staring really. "Angelia" he says, "um, when we dock, would you like to grab a drink or go for a walk?" I think about my sister and the next party she's dragging me to tonight, which I'll be alone at again, and then I look into his beautiful eyes. Before I can think, I say "yes, I'd really like that Sidney." Then he takes my hand again, spark, and smiles and I know I'm in big trouble.