Chapter Four

"Good game."

"Thanks. I didn't actually do anything but I haven't been that nervous in a really long time."

"Just 'cause you didn't score doesn't mean you didn't do anything."

"Actually it does."

Amber rolled her eyes at Sid. "I am guessing you didn't come here to argue with me?"

"I am not arguing, I am just saying…"

"Well now you're arguing that you aren't arguing…"

Sid grit his teeth and starred at her. She didn't seem like a woman that would give in and he certainly wasn't the type of guy too, but he didn't see this conversation going anywhere.

"I was told to come and grab a new press schedule."

"Right, I'll just print you a copy." Amber turned to her computer to open the file. "So now you play Slovakia?"

"Yup. Should be a good game. Are you going?"

"For sure. Only perk to the job."

"Other then, of course, the privilege of re arranging schedules for over entitled sports stars…"

"Oh right, that, silly me…" Amber laughed as she turned the power off of her computer. "Maybe this game you could actually do something?"

"Ouch. Straight to the heart on that one," Sid replied, pretending to have been shot.

"Goodnight." Amber offered, as she gathered her purse and jacket. Not that she needed her jacket, at these so-called 'Winter' Olympics. Back home, weather like this came in June. She headed towards the door, hoping the Sid would get the hint to go. She was tired and ready to pack it in for the night. She took another step towards the light switch. He didn't move but instead locked eyes with her. He hadn't realized how beautiful her eyes were. Royal Blue, surrounded by lush brown eyelashes. He couldn't look away, didn't really want to either.

"Sid…"

"Right… sorry, good night." His cheeks flushed again. He hadn't realized that he had been staring, the silence had been awkward but he had zoned out starring at her. He turned and headed down the hall to the exit of the make shift Team Canada building. Now he was embarrassed. He needed to concentrate on hockey and here he was acting like a stupid teenager, drooling over some woman with big blue eyes.

Gorgeous, big, blue eyes.

And lush full lips, he couldn't help but think about. And her skin, he was sure, given the opportunity to test his theory, that it would be the softest skin he had ever touched. She always wore very professional clothes but now he found himself wondering what was on underneath them. Was she a practical underwear sort of girl? Or maybe she was actually not as she appeared in her cloths but instead wore black lace with a little bow in the middle?

Sid stopped before climbing on the bus, and felt the need to adjust his pants, which had gotten significantly tighter along his walk to the bus. The guys would never let him live it down, if there was even a slight indication that he was thinking about anything other then hockey.

Tomorrow was a practice day, followed by yet another press conference, a photo shoot and a private lunch for some investors that had paid an awful lot of money to have lunch with the team. Then they were going to watch the women's gold medal game. He would have no time to think tomorrow. And that was probably a good thing.

-.-

'What was that?' Amber wondered as she walked down the busy streets of Vancouver to her hotel room. She choose not to drive home but instead took a car service and had the driver drop her off a few blocks early, in the hopes that the cold night air would shake the burning red from her cheeks.

It felt like he was locked onto a target, about to shoot a torpedo through her head… or worse, kiss her. But she decided that it was clearly the torpedo, because unlike in her own head, not every guy was flirting with her. Some guys, guys like Sidney Crosby, really only thought about hockey… he had probably just zoned out envisioning shooting a puck.

'It was nothing more then that.' She told herself over and over. 'Get over yourself'

As she entered her hotel, people where gathered talking about the game. People couldn't believe 8-2 win over Russia and Sidney Crosby didn't even score? Is he sick? Is he injured? Maybe he shouldn't have been on this team after all. Maybe Gretzky was right not to include him in 2006.

The comments were too much to take. Working in the hockey world, she had gotten used to tuning out the negative comments. Everyone in Canada seemed to think they would be a better Team Canada manager then the guy actually doing the job. Normally it didn't bother her. But today, she found herself sensitive to it. People just had no idea, what it took to win at this level. Sid wasn't exactly sitting around, twittling his thumbs. It took more then scoring to win at hockey. And he was still one of the highest point producers on the team and they still had two games to play, hopefully. Saturday against Slovakia and then Sunday's gold medal game, which they just had to be in. Just had to.

Amber made her way through the crowded lobby and into an elevator. She finally got to her door and went in. It was good to be in the peace and quiet. Moments of calm were few and far between here. Tomorrow would be a calm day for her, calm before the storm she thought, as the team moved closer and closer to Sunday's big game. She would need to clear her head, maybe get a chance to do some shopping…

-.-

Friday went by quickly… too quickly. The women's hockey team won their third straight Gold Medal. The pressure was on now for the men to produce as well. The medal count was climbing and the patriotism was palpable. It was so un-Canadian to be so visibly proud but nobody seemed to mind. In fact, even some of the biggest Olympic ney-sayers had joined into the spirit, if for no other reason then the overwhelming love of country.

Saturday looked to be like a regular hockey game schedule. Practice. Nap. Eat. Play. The only difference being one of the teams was potentially going home without a medal and the other team was going to play the USA in the Olympic gold medal game.

The coaching staff had their hands full, trying to keep their team calm and grounded. Everywhere they went they were cheered as heros and they hadn't proven themselves worthy yet. It's hard to keep your head on your shoulders when you are surrounded by so much hype.

But the day progressed as it should have.

'Practice. Check. Nap. Check. Eat. Mmm… check. Play. Check.' Sid thought to himself, adding one more box. 'Win. Check.' It hadn't been as easy as they wanted but they managed to beat the Slovaks and their impossibly good goaltender. He found himself sitting on the bench, after yet another mediocre shower, wondering how the time had passed so quickly. Tomorrow was the end. The end of the Olympics. His last chance to do something, to make his mark, was tomorrow. He hadn't even had a chance to look around Vancouver. He still hadn't seen the torch. It seemed to have gone by so fast. He would be leaving Vancouver in two days. Now he was at least guaranteed a medal. But which would it be – silver or gold?

He sat back and leaned his head against the wall. He was always told during the playoffs to take it all in cause you never know if you were going to leave it a winner and when you were going to be back. It was true here too. Who knows what 2014 will look like, if NHL players will even be allowed to go. And since Canada beat Russia, leaving them medal-less, they would be out for blood on their home turf.

He closed his eyes and imagined winning Gold. He imagined being on the ice, having scored the golden goal, everyone cheering his name. He used to imagine the same thing as a kid but now it was a real possibility. There were twenty other guys on the team that all wanted to score the golden goal, so his chances were slim but he was determined to try his hardest. He imagined his father congratulating him, his mother crying, his sister being jealous and then he let his mind wander to Amber wrapping his arms around him. He could practically taste her lips on his, feel her skin under his hands. Thank God everyone had left the dressing room already, cause there was physical evidence of this thoughts, as his towel raised and his thoughts wandered through all the things he would like to do to her.

"So, you are really always the last to leave?"

Sid practically jumped, as Amber came around the corner. He quickly reached for his pants, and plopped them over his lap to cover his erection.

"The press is waiting."

"Oh right, sorry… I just sorta zoned out."

"Yeah well, sorry to interrupt but its time to zone back in. So if you could get dressed… I am sure your adoring female fans wouldn't mind you doing an interview in a towel but the male ones may not appreciate it."

Sid looked up and caught her eyes again. He had successfully avoided being alone with her for the last two days, after their last awkward encounter. But now he was in trouble. He couldn't walk away, there was no one to interrupt and he wanted her… bad.

"I'll let you get dressed and be waiting just outside."

"I'll be quick. Promise."

"Good, I hate waiting." Amber turned around and walked out of the dressing room.

Sid stood up and quickly gathered his clothes. He had to stop thinking about her naked. He had to think about anything but… smelly jock straps, dirty showers, nasty hits… 'shake it off Crosby' he thought to himself. He pulled his Olympic sweater over his head, before heading out of the dressing room.

Amber was talking on the phone. Clearly to a friend, as she was relaxed and joking. She threw her head back and laughed. Sid smiled. She was gorgeous, he couldn't help but think it. He tried with all his will power to shake any further thoughts from his mind. He walked over to where she was standing.

"K, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later. Luv ya too. Bye." Amber hung up the phone and slid it into her purse.

"Boyfriend?" Sid asked, trying to act non-chalant. The idea of another guy getting to touch her was more then he could handle right now.

"Mom. Just checking in. Doesn't trust hockey players…" Amber said with a smile, sensing the tension in Sid's voice.

"Oh…" Sid's exhaled in relief. Maybe a little too obvious, he thought to himself.

"Down the hall, door on the right. Probably the same old questions, but a little more emphasis on your up coming opponent. Ready?"

"This part is easy," Sid offered, as they headed down the hall. "Winning tomorrow is the challenge."

"Don't think about it."

"I only have time to think, there is nothing else to do."

"Well there is something…" Amber said with a coy smile, as she opened the door to the Press room. Sid felt his cheeks turn red again as flashes started going off.

"You kill me." Sid shook his head and headed toward the press table. Amber watched as he handled the questions with ease. He seemed relaxed in front of the cameras, something she imagined came with experience. His life was far from normal, questions about everything he did all the time. The PC answered just rolled off his tongue, nothing too revealing, nothing that would lead to a storyline. He made the media work for their own storylines. He was a PR advisors dream – boring and polite.

-.-

After the presser was done, Sid left the stage and walked down the hall to where the bus normally waited. Because he had taken his time leaving the dressing room, the bus had left. He was going to have to call the car service for a ride.

"I can drop you off," he heard a familiar voice coming up behind him. "The bus left about twenty minutes ago. You didn't think that they would wait all night did you?"

"No, I just thought I would check. I can call the car service. You don't need to drive me." Sid offered pulling out his phone.

"It's no problem," Amber reassured him. "And maybe we could take a little detour…"

"For real? You would do that for me?" Sid said excitedly, knowing exactly what she was referring to.

"If I get fired for kidnapping you, you are going to have a new manager, you understand… and I am not cheap!"

"It's a deal!"

"I am parked out back."

Sid practically skipped to his car, digging in his bag for his camera. 'Take that Taylor', he thought as he climbed in the passenger seat of Amber's rental vehicle.

-.-

"Wow, just wow," Sid sighed, leaning back against the wind shield of the car, with a Tim Horton's hot chocolate in his hands. "The city looks amazing, it just glows." Sid was in awe. The evening had been perfect, he couldn't have planned a better date if he had tried… not that it was a date… but if it had been, it would have been perfect. They had gone to see the torch, with a huge parka on, so that no one would recognize him. They had ended up faking bad British accents, to further throw the crowd off their scent. Not that it was needed because nobody suspected him at all, but it was hilarious and by the end of their visit neither of them could stop laughing.

They got back in the car and Amber decided that what she was missing was a Tim Horton's coffee. So they drove until they found one, which took longer then it should have, considering it was Canada and in any other community there was one on every corner, but downtown Vancouver seemed to comprise mostly of Starbucks and other higher end coffee shops. She kept saying 'I just want a freakin double double, how hard can that be?' They drove for what seemed like an eternity, then finally found one. They went through the drive through, and Amber got her double double and strawberry jam buster and Sid ordered a hot chocolate, just like when he was heading home from a game as a kid.

Now they were sitting in a parking lot, on a look-out, just off the highway. There was a light snowfall coming down, but it wasn't cold. They were sitting on the hood of the car, looking out over the city, with its glowing lights and could faintly see the Olympic torch from there. He was totally going to win the photo contest with his sister.

Amber was thoroughly enjoying her coffee. And her donut. He couldn't help but smile.

"What?" She demanded, catching Sid looking her direction.

"I think you just added another twist to our kidnapping headline…"

"Oh? Better then 'caught with girl'?" She asked.

"Caught with girl, covered in cocaine." Sid couldn't contain his laughter, as she turned to face him and had powdered sugar from her donut all over her face.

"I enjoy my food…" Amber offered in defence.

"Apparently so does your nose and forehead…" At this point, he was laughing too hard to contain himself and she attacked him with her donut.

"If I am going down for cocaine possession, you are sooo coming with me!" He tried to protect himself but she nailed him with the donut right on the nose. Jelly squirted out and powdered sugar went everywhere. He grabbed a small piece and attacked back, getting powdered sugar on her cheek before she wrestled back and attacked again.

"Oh no you don't!" Sid grabbed her arms in defense and pinned her to the windshield. They were both covered with sugar and strawberry jelly. But she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. And now he was leaning inches from her lips, with her pinned beneath him. His chest tightened, as once again, he caught her eyes. Suddenly nothing was funny anymore. The air between them got tense and serious. He knew he should back off and get in the car and let her take him home. But he was tired of making the 'right' decision. He deserved to be happy, or at least take a chance at it.

He lowered himself to meet her lips. He gently brushed her lips with his, using all his will power to take his time and not kiss her the way he imagined every time he closed his eyes. He waited to feel her kiss him back, before he deepened the kiss. He needed to know that she felt the same way, it wasn't just him, it couldn't be. Her lips slowly parted and he took that as all the encouragement he needed. He kissed her more, tasting the sweetness of her lips, feeling the blood move into his face. He released her arms, still pinned above her head and brought one hand to the side of her face, while using the other arm to prop himself against the window. She kissed him back but let him set the pace. It was slow at first, but the passion increased until he found himself short of breath and had to pull back. As he moved back inches from her face, they locked eyes.

"You are so beautiful. I think about you all the time. I don't normally do this…" Sid searched her eyes for acceptance but she quickly looked away.

"I should take you back, it's late and you have a big game tomorrow."

Sid felt his heart sink in his chest. The last thing he wanted was to go back to the athlete's village and lie alone in his bed listening to his room mate snore… especially now.

"Maybe I could go back with you?" he offered.

"No… you need to go back…" Amber sat up and adjusted her sweater. She wiped the jelly and powdered sugar off her face with her sleeve. "I had a really good time tonight but you should be concentrating on other things… I shouldn't have even brought you out here"

"I needed to get a break. I really appreciated it." Sid leaned forward to kiss her again, but Amber turned her head.

"It's time to go. Back to reality." Amber straightened her back as if it formed her resolve, then slide of the hood of the car and opened the driver's side door. "Please don't make this harder then it is."

Sid felt like punching a wall. He finally had her in his arms, where he wanted her and he blew it. If he hadn't stopped… if he had just powered through, he could have had her. He slide off the car and adjusted his sweater before climbing in the passenger seat.

The car ride back to the village was silent. Just the quiet nattering of the radio. He found himself glancing over at her, trying to get up the will to say something, but not knowing what to say. After what felt like an eternity, she pulled up in front of the gates. He had to walk from here, because she didn't have a pass and they didn't screw around with security. No one who didn't belong got in. He wanted to kiss her good night, but there were swarms of people around the gates and he thought better of it.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Sid asked quietly.

"More then likely." She replied without emotion, starring straight ahead.

"Goodnight"

"Night," and with that Sid climbed out of her car and headed towards his bed, alone - again.