Chapter 36

- May 2009 -

Avery woke up and could feel the result of the wine from the night before. She had drank a lot of it. She had needed to. It was a boring, boring dinner and the only way she managed to get through it was constantly lifting her glass to her lips.

The flump of an evening had been no one's fault in particular. Charles had been a perfect gentleman, the kids had been on their best behaviour and everything went just the way it was supposed to - according to Nathalie's plan. After dinner, upon Nathalie's encouragement, Avery had taken Charles on a tour of the grounds. Charles had done everything right, offering her his jacket when she got chilly, offering his hand down the stairs and ending the evening with a soft kiss and a promise of a phone call in the next coming days.

It was just boring. There were no arguments, no heated discussions, no passionate debates. Granted that also meant there were no food fights, insult wars and temper tantrums but something inside of Avery wished there had been. She knew what, or should she say who, was missing from the dinner table.

Avery got dressed and made her way down to the kitchen. It was 8:30 which meant everyone would be off already, Nathalie took the kids to school on Friday and then had breakfast with a women's group. Mario would already be at the rink and the cleaning staff wouldn't be here for another hour. She wandered over to the coffee pot and poured herself a big cup full. Just smelling the dark liquid made her feel better, as she lifted it to her nose and took a deep breath. She put the cup down and went to the fridge to grab some milk, adding what she needed to her mug and putting the container back. She turned around to the island to grab a spoon from its place and looked up for the first time.

Sid was sitting at the breakfast nook, watching her. She drew in a quick breath from shock, wondering how she hadn't noticed that he had been sitting there the whole time. She backed away from the counter and turned to leave, as quickly as she could but heard him call out from behind her.

"Avery! For fuck sake's! You don't need to run away from me!"

She froze in her path not knowing what to do.

"You need your coffee…" Sid added in a much softer tone. She knew he was right and wished she had thought to grab it before trying to escape. Her head was pounding and just seconds ago, she was convinced that it was the medicine she needed. She slowly turned around and went back to the drawer to get her spoon without looking up at him.

"See, we can be in the same room…" He continued. Avery didn't acknowledge his comment, just lifted her cup to her lips and took her first sip, letting her eyes close and the creamy liquid take over her body.

"Do you want some fruit? Nathalie cut it up this morning… there's lots…" Sid offered, watching her intently, as Avery opened her eyes again.

"Yeah… that would be good…" She responded softly with a nod.

Sid practically jumped to his feet. "I'll get you a bowl…"

"I can get my own bowl," She snapped, stopping him in his tracks.

"Okay… I know… I just… I just wanted to help," Sid stuttered, not wanting to step on her toes. The fact that she had said spent all of three minutes in the same room as him was a step in the right direction and he wasn't about to mess it up.

"I don't need your help," She insisted, reaching for a bowl.

"I know that," He offered softly. He sat back down at his place at the table and watched as she slowly walked over to the table and reached for the fruit bowl. This was the closest they had been since… that night.

"We won last night," Sid stated, watching her face for any sign of excitement.

"That's good," She nodded, placing the serving bowl back down on the table.

"Will you come to the game tomorrow? I'd like it if you were there…" Sid asked. He instantly wished he hadn't asked as Avery shook her head. The hope of seeing her at a game was what he had been living on and now that he knew she wasn't going, he felt deflated. "That's okay. Maybe the next one?" He asked hopefully.

Avery made no motion in response of Sid's optimism but instead began lifting her bowl and coffee mug from the table "I'm going to eat in the other room…"

"No, please stay… please sit," Sid placed his hand on hers. "We used to eat breakfast here all the time… that doesn't have to change…"

Avery squeezed her eyes together and took a deep breath in. Sid thought that he had pushed it too far and wished he hadn't sounded so desperate but to his surprise instead of bursting out in tears and bolting from the room, Avery slowly took a seat across the table from him.

"I heard you guys had a dinner party last night? How did it go?" He asked, as she stabbed some fruit onto a fork.

"It was okay…"

"Steph said it was boring… some country club people?" Sid continued.

"Yeah… it was, um, quiet," Avery admitted. "Very proper."

"But the food was good?" Sid struggled to make small talk and keep the conversation going. He knew as soon as there was an awkward pause, Avery would shut down again.

"Of course... Nathalie made lamb," Avery offered, taking another bite.

"I love her lamb. With the rosemary?" Sid asked and Avery nodded.

"I think there are leftovers in the fridge, if you want, for later…" She offered.

"I'll definitely look for that…" Sid smiled. Avery looked up from her bowl momentarily and caught Sid's eyes. She quickly looked back down and clenched her fists, as if she was trying to remain in control of herself.

"We can do this Avery… we can make it through breakfast…" Sid insisted, feeling the tension creeping in.

"I don't think I can…" Avery whispered, holding back tears.

"Okay… whatever you want… I don't want to rush you…" Sid wanted more then anything for this to feel right but he didn't want to scare her away. He watched as Avery reached out with trembling hands and picked up her coffee mug, pulling it up to her lips.

"I should get going, anyways. I have to head to the rink and…" Sid trailed off, as he stood from the table and gathered his dishes. "I'll see you later though, okay?" Avery nodded without looking up. He felt like shit as he left the kitchen but knew that they had just made major progress.

-.-

"What time is Charles coming over?" Nathalie asked, as Avery helped her dry and put away dishes.

"Um… one o'clock," Avery responded, placing some plates on the shelf. "We are going to work on my serve."

"That's great," Nathalie smiled, as she wiped down the counter around the sink. "I am so glad to see you guys hitting it off."

"He is a nice guy," Avery shrugged. They had been out twice in the last week, for drinks and then dinner and a movie. Charles was coming over today to take advantage of the Lemieux's backyard tennis court. Kind of a mid-day date.

"See, what did I tell you? They are out there. You just need to learn to make better decisions," Nathalie boasted.

"Yeah, maybe you are right," Avery shrugged and looked up at her god mother with a smile. The truth was, Charles just wasn't doing it for her. He didn't make the butterflies swirl. Avery had told herself time and time again, that there must be something wrong with her. Charles had done nothing wrong and a lot of women would be happy to find a guy just like him. He was the complete package. Good job, good family, good manners. He was in the right circles, seemed to have no surface flaws. Their couple of dates had gone well and he hadn't made any inappropriate moves on her. The kiss good night had been nice… soft, sweet, patient, not too long, not too short. Breath wasn't bad, chin stubble wasn't too itchy… but it certainly wasn't anything to write home about. 'Maybe my expectations are just off,' She told herself, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. A part of her wanted this to work to make Nathalie and Mario happy but she wasn't sure if she was ready to live a ho-hum life to please someone else. God knows she had put them through enough and they had done everything for her, so she definitely owed them an honest try but how much of a try was good enough?

-.-

Sid pulled back the curtains in his room, just enough so he could peer out. He could see Avery and some blonde guy playing tennis from where he stood and had been trying to determine their relationship for the better part of an hour. He was supposed to be napping in preparation for the game tonight but every time he laid down, he could only hear laughing coming from outside and needed to get back up and spy. They seemed closer then he wanted them to, the blonde guy always touching her arm when he talked to her. It was making Sid mad.

Sid craned his neck a bit further to watch as Avery returned the serve perfectly. Her lean body was perfect for tennis and he had often enjoyed watching her play. They had only played against each other a handful of times, for good reason. Neither of them wanted to loose and the games often got quiet competitive. They were great as a team for mixed doubles, able to read exactly what the other was going to do and never had any problems on the court but nobody ever wanted to play them because their in sync-ness was evident and it pretty much guaranteed the other teams loss.

Sid watched Avery celebrated a victory, as the blonde guy missed her last setup, ending the game. The blonde playfully jumped the net to tackle her, lifting her up and spinning her around. She was laughing, as he placed her back down on the ground and pressed his lips to hers. Sid's heart jumped up in his throat and he hit the wall with his fist. Sid threw back the curtains with a force that threatened to tear the rod from the wall. He slumped to the ground, working on controlling his rage which was threatening to spill out and make him go rip shit apart. He knew he had to leave. He had to get out of the house and far away from here before anyone saw him like this.

Sid jumped to his feet and grabbed his pre-game suit, slipping it on quickly and not caring, like he usually did, about the small details of cufflinks and a coordinating watch. He just needed out.

Sid grabbed his wallet and keys and flung open his bedroom door, running quickly down the stairs. He was glad that no one was around because he didn't want to deal with the questions about why he was throwing off his game day routine. He opened the hall closest and bent over to dig around for his dress shoes.

"Well thanks again for coming," He heard Avery's voice approaching and froze.

"Shit, mother fucking shit," He swore under his breath as he recovered one shoe and frantically searched for the other.

"It was my pleasure," Sid heard the response and then there was a long silent pause, which he assumed was due to another kiss. He could feel his blood boiling as he squeezed the shoe in his hand and spotted the other one, quickly reaching for it and backing up out of the closet.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow night?" Sid heard as he hopped around on one foot, trying to get the shoe on and get out the door before the pair made it to the entrance way.

Too late. Avery and the blonde man stepped into the marble clad area and Sid wished he was invisible.

"Sid!" Avery gasped in shock when she realized he was standing in front of them. She quickly shook away her shock and tried to act like a good hostess, making the proper introductions. "Um… Sid this is Charles. Charles, meet Sidney Crosby."

Charles extended his hand to shake Sid's but Sid didn't extend his back. Instead he stood in his spot, staring at Avery, not able to move, still holding one of his shoes in his hands.

"Sid, please…" Avery pleaded while Charles shifted uncomfortably, dropping his hand back to his side.

"I'm just heading to the rink," Sid offered through clenched teeth. His could feel his blood pressure pounding against the inside of his head and just need to get out of this situation without exploding. He dropped his shoe to the ground and slid his foot into it. He turned and reached for the handle to the door, pulling it open and disappearing outside without another word. He got to his car and slipped inside. As soon as he pulled the car door shut, he wrapped his hands around his steering wheel, squeezing until his knuckles turned white and screamed at the top of his lungs, until all the air had been expelled from his lungs.

He took a minute to calm down before he slipped his keys in the ignition. The last thing he needed was to get pulled over for erratic driving. All he could do now is go to the rink and play. Channel this energy into something productive. There was nothing else to do.

-.-

"Umm… what just happened?" Charles asked, as the two of them stood in the hallway watching Sidney Crosby all but run away.

"Yeah… um… maybe there is something you should know…" Avery started slowly.

"Sidney Crosby is crazy nuts?" He asked with a look of disbelief still spread over his face.

"Maybe…" Avery shrugged. She wasn't really sure how she was going to explain Sid's behaviour. The last thing she wanted was to get into the craziness that was their relationship but it didn't really seem avoidable.

"Did we throw off his pre-game routine? I hear he is nuts about it," Charles asked again. "Didn't realize shaking a man's hand could determine the fate of a god-damn hockey game."

"Yeah well, you know… athletes… whatcha gonna do?" Avery shrugged. She let out a long breath of relief. Letting him believe that was probably better then the alternative conversation.

"Whatever…" Charles laughed. "I really should get going. I had a lot of fun today, though…"

Avery looked up at him and braced in anticipation of his kiss. The kiss they shared on the tennis court was actually half decent and now she wanted to see if there was anyway that Charles could actually make her feel alive.

He stepped in and leaned his forehead into hers. She licked her lips and rolled her head up to meet Charles lips. They were soft and just the right level of moist. She felt his hand wrap around her lower back and pull her into him. She raised her arms up around his head and settled in for a lingering kiss.

"Mmm…" Avery let slip, as Charles broke the seal.

"I really need to go…" Charles groaned, pulling back. "But… I am definitely looking forward to dinner tomorrow…"

"Yeah?" Avery giggled and pressed her lips back against Charles', momentarily.

"You know… I could be late… I, probably, don't need to go right away," He put his hands on her cheeks and pulled her back to him. It was the most playful he had been and Avery liked it.

"Get out!" Avery teased him, pushing him away and heading towards the door. She pulled it open and leaned against the open door.

"You… you are definitely something special," Charles added, as he stepped out the door.

Avery bit her bottom lip as she watched him walk away. Was it her imagination or were the butterflies swirling in her stomach? Or did she just want it to work so bad, she just willing them to be there?