Chapter Eight
- January 2006 -
"Only an assist?" Craig Patrick, the Pens GM, turned to Mario and Therrien. "This is not how we need Sid to play up here… he seemed distracted and depressed… is the Olympic thing getting to him?"
"No, he is fine about it. He seems to understand all that…" Mario shook his head. "You just can't expect the kid to be a multi point guy, every night…"
"We know that… but tomorrow night is a big night for him, a lot of pressure… if there is anything that we can do to ensure a win, we need to do it…" Craig stood up from behind his desk. Tonight's game against the Maple Leafs had left a lot to be desired… including a win.
Therrien and Mario exchanged looks, knowing full well what was going to change the mood of their young superstar. They had heard rumours and jokes around the dressing room about Sid's superstitions, the latest of which was his post game ritual. Most conversation died off about the subject when Mario was around, out of respect to him and his family, but he still heard it.
"Non!" Mario shook his head. "Il doit apprendre a jouer sans cette fille."
"He will," Therrien assured him. "Just not for such an important game..."
Mario hated the situation in front of him. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain to his wife... that he was now in charge of arranging booty calls for their boarder… never mind Sid's parents but he wanted the win just as much as the other guys did. He knew deep down that he wasn't going to be able to finish the season and wanted to collect as many highs as he could before it all ended.
"I'll make the call," Mario grumbled, gathering his jacket and heading towards the bus. He knew that Avery wouldn't say no to his request but he felt bad using her like this.
-.-
"It's so nice of you to come in for this game," Trina greeted Avery as she took her spot beside Taylor in the seats of the Bell Centre.
"Yeah… it's hard to pass up tickets to a game here… it's such a great hockey environment…" Avery agreed awkwardly. Mario had made it clear to her that she was not to let Sid's parents know the real reason she was there. Nor was she supposed to let Sid know who arranged her arrival.
"Excuse me…" Everyone turned and faced the page, standing in aisle facing them.
"Yes?" Troy asked, assuming that he was being requested.
"Um… I have a request from the Penguins dressing room…" the page nervously continued. Troy was practically on his feet when the young boy blurted out Avery's name.
"What?" Troy asked confused, turning towards his family. Avery raised to her feet, feeling the need to apologize to the Crosbys for being the one getting the call.
Avery followed the page towards the 'Staff Only' entrance to the dressing room hall and followed his instructions to the room. Mario was standing outside the door of the visitor dressing room, talking to some of the other veterans that didn't prepare the same way as the younger guys – more of a have a cup of coffee and good shit preparation system then the intricate systems taught to the younger guys. Mario acknowledged her with the head tilt, as she walked up beside him.
"I am guessing you requested me?" Avery asked sarcastically.
"I'll go get the kid… just remember what we talked about…" Mario warned her. Avery rolled her eyes, as Mario turned into the dressing room. She could hear Mario bark for Sid from the hall and soon Sid stumbled into the hall, as if he had been practically thrown.
"Hey," She greeted him as he stumbled towards her.
"Holy fuck! What are you doing here?" Sid couldn't contain his happiness at seeing her.
"I told you I would do what I could to get here…" Avery responded with her pre rehearsed line, as per Mario's instructions.
"I am so glad you are here!" Sid reached out grabbed her, lifting her up and into his arms for a bear hug. Avery smiled down at him, while squirming to be let down. She didn't want to make a scene.
"I know you are busy with your prep, so I'll leave you to it… I just wanted to say hi…"
"Where are you sitting?"
"With your parents…"
"Great! I'll be able to find you!"
"Don't get caught looking around to much… you are still here to win a hockey game," Avery teased him.
"Thanks for the reminder," Sid chuckled. "Kiss for good luck?"
"Of course…" Avery leaned in and pressed her lips to hers.
"Whooooooohooooooo!" Avery pulled back as she heard a couple of the guys behind them making cat calls. The last thing she needed was to draw more attention to herself… the media would have a hay day with this and she would have a hard time explaining this one back at school.
"I'll see you after the game…" Avery whispered suggestively.
"Oh yeah?" Sid asked eagerly, leaning back in for another kiss. Avery stepped back just out of his reach.
"Well, only if you win that is…" She winked, turned and walked away, as Sid watched her disappear through the crowd.
-.-
Sid rolled over in bed and smiled. Avery laid beside him, her hair sprawled out across her pillow and a peaceful look on her face that he wished he could wake up to every morning. Thank god they had won last night. It meant more to him then just beating any team. Montreal was the team he cheered for growing up, the team his dad had been drafted by but never got a chance to play for, the team that mattered more to him then any. He wanted to win here more then anything. His reward plan had yet again come in handy. Having Avery that close and not taking her to bed would have killed him, so he worked harder then any player on the ice, getting two goals and being selected the game's first star.
He reached over and brushed back the strand of hair that laid out of place across her forehead, then lowered his lips softly to her shoulder.
"Sid stooooop…" Avery moaned as she stirred beneath his lips.
"Good morning," he whispered, leaving a trail of kisses from her shoulder to her jaw line, ignoring her request.
"Sid…" Avery squirmed, rolling away from him.
"I have to get my fill… who knows when I will see you again…" Sid pulled her towards him, pressing her back against his chest, kissing any exposed skin he could get to.
"Your fill? Did you not get enough last night?" Avery giggled.
"Of you? I could never get enough of you…" Sid assured her.
"Well unfortunately you had your chance and now we need to get up, get dressed and go back to real life…"
"You're sure we can't – "
"No Sid! I have a flight to catch and you have a practice to get to before you head off to Atlanta," Avery reminded him. "I am going to hop in the shower…" Avery sat up and swung her legs out of super comfy hotel bed.
"Maybe I'll join you…"
Avery rolled her eyes and headed off towards the bathroom. Sid collapsed back against the pillows and listened as the water turned on, imagining the water flowing down over her body, over the curves of her breasts, between the silky skin of her thighs. Sid shook his head, he had to keep his mind rated PG because he doubted after the late night acrobatics Avery would be willing to help him out with yet another hard on and he certainly didn't want to get to the rink with giant boner. 'Maybe while she's in the shower, I should just take care of it,' Sid thought to himself, lifting the sheet to check exactly how desperate of a situation he was in.
*buzz*buzz*
'Saved by the bell,' Sid lowered the sheet which tented over his erection and reached over and grabbed his phone, flipping it open to check the incoming message. 'No new messages', the screen read as Sid put his phone back down on the side table.
*buzz*buzz*
"Hey Avs, your phone is buzzing,,, you want me to check it?" Sid called to her as he lifted himself out of bed and headed towards where her phone was sitting on the desk.
He couldn't quite make out the sounds from the shower but it sounded like a 'yeah sure' as he reached down and grabbed her phone, unlocking the screen and opening her inbox. He heard the water turn off, as he looked up to catch a quick glance of her body in the reflection of the mirror, as she opened the shower curtain and stepped out of the shower, reaching for a towel.
His erection returned as he watched her dry off her chest, moving the towel slowly over her body. Forcing himself to look away, Sid averted his eyes and attention down at her phone.
'I hate waking up without you.'
"What are you doing?" Avery demanded, stepping out of the door of the washroom, wrapped in a towel.
"Your phone… I just…" Sid stumbled on his words, not entirely sure what to say. He read the message again, this time looking at the name of the sender. "Who's Josh?" He finally asked, looking up at her, unable to disguise the pain in his eyes.
Avery just stood in front of him, her eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. "Um… he's a friend…"
"A friend? A friend like how we are friends?" He hissed, his chest tight and his jaw clenched. He felt like he was going to throw up.
*buzz*buzz*
As Sid looked back down at the phone in his hand, he felt a tremble take over his body. Despite the knot in his stomach telling him it probably wasn't a good idea, he scrolled up to the newest message and clicked it open.
'I can't wait to be in you… hurry home'
"Sid, I… um…"
"You said you weren't seeing anyone…"
"I wasn't… I'm not really… I mean, I don't really know…" Avery lowered her eyes to the ground. "Sid…"
"DON'T FUCKING TALK TO ME!" Sid yelled at her, not really knowing what to do, what to say. Avery jumped as he yelled but continued to stand there, staring at him. He needed a minute to think. Maybe it wasn't as bad as it seemed, maybe he was reading to much into it… after all, she had said that they were just going to be fuck buddies… it wasn't her fault that he had fallen for her. 'And… and… she was there to see him, that meant something… it had to,' Sid thought as he took several deep breaths.
*buzz*buzz*
The phone shook again in his hand and instead of checking it, or handing it back to her, he slammed it into the surface of the desk, feeling it crack and break to pieces as it made contact. His attempt to calm himself failed as the idea of another man so much as touching her boiled his blood. Sid turned away from her and leaned over the desk, steadying himself, gripping the sides so tight his knuckles turned white, forcing himself to take deep breaths.
"I'm gonna go…" Avery said quietly.
"That's probably a good idea," Sid growled, not moving and not looking at her.
Avery quickly got dressed, without saying a word and grabbed her bag, which was all she had brought with her. She paused momentarily at Sid's side, debating if she should kiss him good bye or just slink out. He could feel her presence beside him but refused to look up. He was shaking and couldn't trust himself to open his mouth. He felt her hand touch his shoulder and shrugged it off violently. With that she stepped back and headed towards the door, Sid looking up momentarily while she slipped out the door. As soon as the door closed, Sid felt his knees give out and he collapsed to the floor, feeling like his heart had been ripped out of his chest.
