As I drive away from Cat's building, I say "thanks for coming to lunch."

"Thank you for inviting me" she replies. "Where are we going?"

Ok, this is the tricky part. I asked her out before really thinking it through and now I need to come clean.

"Well, ok, this is awkward. Cat, it's really hard for me to go out, in public I mean. In Pittsburgh, I'm recognized everywhere which means pictures and autographs. Fans are great, don't get me wrong, but there really is no privacy." I pause and glance over to see Cat frowning. Shit.

"I guess that's hard for you, isn't it?" She says.

I breathe a sigh of relief; she gets it. "I don't want you thinking I'm complaining; I realize how lucky I am and being recognized is part of it. It's just hard to, well ..." I don't know how to finish the sentence.

"Date?" She finishes for me.

"Yeah, if you consider this a date." Why am I suddenly so awkward? It's like I'm twelve years old again.

"Is that why you're acting so odd Sid? Yes, I consider this a date. And yes I understand about the public thing. So where are we going for lunch then?"

Wow, she really does gets it. "I was thinking my place. I have an apartment downtown."

"Are you just trying to get me alone Sidney?"

I hear the teasing tone in her voice. "Maybe I am Cat."

She chuckles and replies "I'm ok with that."

I'm laughing as I pull into the underground parking at my place. We go up the elevator and arrive at my floor where there are two doors.

"This one is mine" I tell her pointing to a door.

"Are there only the two apartments on this floor?" She asks me.

"Yeah, the couple in the other place are great neighbours. They're in Florida half the year and are really nice too."

We head into my apartment.

"Wow" Cat says and, after kicking off her shoes, walks directly to the wall of windows overlooking the city.

"Seriously Sid, wow. How do you ever do anything but look out at this view?"

I leave my jacket and shoes at the door before joining her at the windows.

"It's what sold me on the place." I say and help her off with her jacket. She turns and gives me the most beautiful smile. I lean down and give her a soft kiss. When I pull away, her smile is still beautiful but the wattage is definitely turned up.

"Hungry?" I ask her.

"Starving" she replies.

As we walk to the kitchen, I make another admission.

"I don't cook" I tell her.

"Doesn't that make it odd for you to invite me to lunch at your place?" She replies with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess so; but, I can buy and serve really well."

"Ok then, I'm looking forward to what you bought and will serve."

In the kitchen, I take dishes out of the oven where I left the food to warm.

"Can I help?" Cat asks me.

"There's not much to do. What would you like to drink? My fridge looks similar to yours for drinks but I do have a white wine chilling."

She pauses and replies "actually, I think I'll have some juice." She pulls out some orange juice then asks "what would you like?"

It's nice of her to ask and I agree. During the season, I usually don't drink too often so if she isn't having any then I won't either.

When Cat comes back in the kitchen after taking our juice out to the dining table, she asks "Can I help with the rest?"

"You're the guest" I tell her. "I didn't cook so the least I can do is serve. Go sit down."

"Yes sir" she replies and heads to the table.

It doesn't take me long to plate everything on serving dishes. I'm glad mom suggested that I buy them.

"Ok, I have grilled chicken, green beans and roasted potatoes. I hope you like it" I say as I sit down with her at the table.

"Wow Sid, it looks and smells delicious."

We dig in and I'm surprised by how much Cat puts on her plate and the enthusiasm with which she eats. I'm so used to women who eat sparingly. They always say either they aren't hungry or they get full very quickly. Then they sit there while I eat which is always weird.

"Not only does it smell good but it tastes even better. You can buy lunch anytime."

I can't help smiling at her comment given where my thoughts had just gone.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it" I tell her.

We chat during lunch about Lizzy and the diner. I talk about the team and our crazy schedule since it's only half a season. She's so easy to talk with and most often makes me laugh.

When we're finished eating, Cat insists on helping me clean up. She tells me that I can't put the serving dishes in the dishwasher so she's washing while I dry. When she hands one to me, the suds and water on her hands flies to my cheek and into my hair. I give her the withering look that I use most often in face offs. Cat immediately starts laughing. It over takes her and soon she's doubling over in uncontrollable laughter. I make a quick decision and grab the faucet to pull the hose out. I push the button and spray water at Cat. She reaches out to grab the hose and water sprays everywhere soaking us both. We both slip and fall to the floor. I manage to make sure that Cat falls on me so that she doesn't get hurt. The hose has snapped back into place so the water has stopped. We're both laughing now. When we finally stop, I help Cat up and our shirts are both soaked.

"Why don't I get you a shirt to change into?" I ask her.

Still giggling, she replies "that's a good idea."

I take her hand and lead Cat down the hall. As we walk, I realize that we're heading to my bedroom. Hopefully she doesn't think that I'm trying something. I leave Cat in the bedroom so that I can go to my closet and grab a tee shirt.

"Here's a dry shirt. You can use the washroom to change" I point to the en suite. Cat smiles and heads in to change.

Looking down I realize that my shirt is soaked too. Back in the closet, I hang my wet shirt up to dry before the laundry. I go into the bedroom to get a dry shirt as Cat is coming out of the bathroom. She's wearing my shirt that reads 'Property of the Penguins.' I feel an odd sensation at seeing the 'Property of' across her chest. It's probably completely sexist and wrong but it reads to me like she belongs to me. When I can move my eyes from the shirt, I see that her eyes aren't looking at my face either. She's currently staring down at my bare chest. I don't know what to do. She's obviously taking me in and I can feel the pull of attraction. I know what I want to do. When Cat's eyes find mine, I can see that she feels the same. Now I really don't know what to do. I decide to go on instinct.

Slowly I walk toward Cat and watch her lick her lips. Standing directly in front of her, I cup her neck and lower myself until our lips touch. Cat sighs at the contact and my control snaps. I take her lips in greedy bites and moan when I feel her small hands on my bare skin. My free arm snakes around Cat and pulls her up, flush against me. Her small body curves into mine and I can lift her easily off of her feet. Her fingers dig into my bare shoulders and I moan again. She feels so good against my hard body; soft and warm. Her legs wrap around me and I take the few steps left to my bed. I follow her down.

With Cat on her back, her neck is exposed and I pull my lips away from hers to taste her now exposed skin. I can smell a faint trace of perfume or maybe soap and something that is uniquely Cat. Her hands slide from my shoulders into my hair. I love the way her nails dig slightly into my scalp. I move lower to the base where her neck and clavicle meet. My hands slide lower too; down over her waist, hip and then leg. I pull her leg so that it wraps around me and I can feel the instant she can tell that I'm getting hard. Cat freezes beneath me so I immediately pull back to look at her. I see the half apology half regret in her eyes. I hate the apology I see, she has nothing to feel bad about, so I softly kiss her lips and then roll to lay beside her on the bed.

"Sid, I'm sorry."

"Cat, don't apologize, it's ok."

"It's just too fast, you know?"

I get that in my head but my body isn't quite up to speed yet. It is still craving hers, intensely, but my head over rides all other body parts.

"Yeah, I get it Cat. This really isn't why I asked you to come here for lunch you know."

I hear her chuckle and feel her turn into my side.

"I know that Sid. Things just got a little out of hand."

At least she doesn't think I'm a lying ass. That's good news although, again, some of my body parts don't quite agree. Lying like this isn't going to help much either so I sit up or pull Cat with me. Her small hand slips through the curve of my elbow and she lays her head on my shoulder. We sit like that for a few moments and I can feel my body finally returning to normal.

I'm unsure what to do next. I'm definitely not conceited but I've never had a woman put the brakes on like this; not since I was in juniors. How do you get out of this uncomfortable situation?

"Sid, what time is it?"

I look at my watch and reply "two thirty."

"I really should get home. Lizzy will have had lunch after her nap and I promised we'd go to the park."

That's when I remember that this girl, this woman, is a mom with responsibilities for a little girl. Of course she's careful and cautious.

"Ok, let me take you home."

I stand and pull Cat with me. She immediately wraps her arms around my waist and lays her head against my chest. I sigh and hold her close.

"Thank you for a wonderful first date Sid."

"You're very welcome Cat. I hope that means we can have a second date."

I can feel her smile against my chest.

"I hope so too" she replies and pulls back.

I look down and then lean in to kiss her softly. I can't resist.

"Ok" I say and pull back. "Since we're both dry again, let's get you home."

Cat smiles and nods so I turn to leave but I turn back to Cat when I feel her hand my arm. She's biting her bottom lip which I've learned she does when she's uncertain.

"Sid" she begins then pauses. "Thank you so much for lunch and, well, everything. It's been a really long time since I" she bites her lip again and I see her eyes quickly dart to the bed and then back to me. "Anyway, I've really had a great time."

I run my fingers lightly over her cheek then reach down to take her hand.

"Me too" I tell her with a smile and am rewarded with a smile in return.

Lizzy and I are having a tea party and I find my mind drifting back to my lunch with Sid a few days ago. I really felt like we started to connect. Sid has a great sense of humour which I love. We spend a lot of our time together laughing. The next day, Sid left for a two day road trip. I smile at that thought; I'm starting to get the hockey lingo now. He told me that he would stay in touch which I wasn't sure if I believed. True to his word, he sent me texts throughout each day. It was silly stuff about a prank one of the guys pulled or how there were girls trying to sneak up to their floor. I told him about my customers so something Lizzy did or said.

Lizzy didn't talk any more about Sid the next few days so I thought that she had forgotten about him. Suddenly, completely out of the blue, as I was making dinner, Lizzy held up her Iceberg and said "Sidwee, Sidwee!" then she went back to playing with Iceberg again. It's really funny how a child's mind works. Since she got the big Iceberg stuffed animal that Sid gave me, she calls it 'Sidwee.' It makes me wonder when it might be the right time for Sid and Lizzy to spend time together. It's not now of course, but how do I know when the right time is?

"Mommy!" Lizzy stands up and holds my cheeks in her hands so that I look directly at her. "Mommy!"

"Yes sweetie" I reply.

"Coooookie, coooookie!"

I think this is one of the reasons she likes to have a tea party; she can ask for a cookie.

"It's too close to dinner Lizzy. We can have a cookie for dessert after dinner, ok?"

I wait to see if this is going to cause a meltdown. I can see the decision washing over her face and decide that a diversion might work to combat a potential meltdown.

"Where's your penguin sweetie?"

That does it and she starts looking around the living room. She finds it and shouts "Sidwee" holding it up for me to see.

"Yes, sweetie, that's the penguin from Sidney."

She starts dancing with the penguin. It's funny because it's as big as she is. It was really sweet of Sid to get it for her even if it took a few times to give it to me.

Looking back at my daughter, I feel that overwhelming and all-consuming love that I didn't even know was possible until I had Lizzy. I remember watch TV or maybe it was a movie and someone said that you know you'll love your kids but you don't know, until you have them, that you'll be in love with them. Whenever I feel regret that my life is so hard or that I can't be a 'normal' twenty-something, all I need to do is look at my daughter and it all disappears.

My buzzing cell phone pulls me out of my thoughts. When I look at it, I can feel the smile wash over me. It's Sid.

'What are you doing?' He asks me.

'Having a tea party with Lizzy. You?'

'Just woke up from my nap.'

'I still can't believe that a nap is scheduled for full grown men' I tease him.

'It's a long day. We need a nap.'

'Whatever ;-)'

'Will you watch the game?'

I smile at his question. 'Yes. Miss Sally says that Philly is evil - her words - so she's coming over to watch it. You going to win?'

'Of course. Especially knowing that my biggest fan is watching.'

'You mean Miss Sally, don't you?'

Sid chuckles 'ok, yeah.'

'I may still be learning about hockey but I am a fan of yours too you know. Both on and off the ice.'

He doesn't respond right away. Oh oh, was that too serious. Did I go too far?

'I'm glad. Can I see you tomorrow? We get back late tonight after the game?'

'I'm working the day shift so I'll only see Lizzy for a couple of hours before she goes to bed. Would you like to come over when she's down?'

'Sure. Just let me know what time?'

'7:30?'

'Great, I'll see you then.'

'Good look tonight'

'Thanks babe'

Wow, that's the first time he's called me 'babe.' I feel like I'm twelve years old and the boy I have a crush on just said he likes me. Sidney Crosby likes me. A few weeks ago I didn't even know who he was and now ... Hmm, now we're what? I don't need to know the answer right now although we'll definitely have to figure it out before I bring Lizzy into the relationship.

This thought continues to play over in my head during dinner. It's Lizzy's favourite, homemade chicken nuggets, so she's in a chatty mood. Mostly she's talking about how much she loves her 'chik'n nugs.'

After dinner we go through our bedtime routine early so that Lizzy can watch part of the game before bed. Miss Sally, Lizzy and I watch the beginning of the game. They interview Sid on the ice before the game and Lizzy jumps up and down on the sofa.

"Sidwee, Sidwee, Sidwee!"

She's so cute; clapping her hands and saying his name over and over. It seems that my daughter is as excited about the Pens' captain as her mother is. I take advantage of a commercial to put Lizzy to bed. It takes two books to have her settled down enough to sleep. When she's out, I head back to the living room with Miss Sally.

"Our boy got another assist. That's two points in this game so far" she tells me.

I settle down beside her to watch the rest of the game. It is really exciting, fast paced and a little scary. Sid is getting hit a lot by the Philly team. I can feel myself tense every time he crashes into the boards or another player. When you are so high up in the boxes at Consol, you don't hear the hits because the crowd is so loud. On TV, they have the ice mic'd so you can hear every hit loud and clear. Sid looks like he has a target on his back with how often and how hard guys are hitting.

"He's ok Cat. This is what always happens to the best; they get targeted by the other team's thugs."

This makes sense but I don't feel any better. I know why but he's still getting hit constantly. He breaks out after side stepping a huge Philly player and that leads to a break out and Sid scores! Wow, a three point game. I'm really going to regret staying up for the whole game, especially at 5am tomorrow when I have to get up. The Penguins win the game 3-0 and Sid had a hand in all three goals. Wow, it's 10:30pm and 5am is going to come really early so I head to bed.

Much later, in bed, I hear a soft knocking that I think must be my imagination. When I'm more fully awake, I look at the clock and it's 3am. I still hear the knocking and can tell that it's coming from the front door. Lizzy is still asleep so I shut the bedroom door behind me so she stays asleep then I go to the front door. I see Sid when I look through the peep hole. He's wearing his suit so he must have come here directly from the airport.

I open the door and, before I can say more than his name, Sid takes me in his arms and pulls me up against his chest. His lips attack mine, hot and hungry.

I wrap my legs around his waist as Sid pushes me up against the wall. His body is hard and hot pressed against mine. One of Sid's hands is holding me up and his fingers are on my bare skin of my ass lifting the Penguins tee shirt I've been wearing to bed to my waist. His lips move over my jaw and then neck, licking and kissing all the bare skin he can find. I simply try to keep up. I pull his jacket off, loosen his tie, pull that off and then I rip open his shirt. I kneed and dig at all of the muscles that I find in his shoulders and back. Sid's lips have moved up to my ear lobe where he sinks his teeth. The moan that escapes me comes from a very deep place inside and causes me to move my hands between us and make quick work of his belt and pants.

For a moment, Sid stands me on the floor but still against the wall. He rids himself of remaining clothes and then strips the tee shirt off of me. Sid starts kissing me again; first my lips, over my jaw and then lower still. As Sid moves down my body, he kneels in front of me which puts his lips in perfect alignment. First, Sid takes one nipple in his mouth and I push myself further against his eager lips. His free hand pushes my legs to part for him. Sid slowly slides himself up my body so that I can feel his hot and hard body touch me everywhere. Before I can adjust to Sid's skin touching mine, he parts my legs further and thrusts two fingers inside me. Sid absorbs my cry with his lips. I've long stopped thinking. I can only feel and his fingers working me, as his lips do mine, until I'm in sensory overload. I may cum just from his small ministrations.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I think I hear something but I can't make it out. The noise becomes more insistent and louder until I can make it out.

"Mommy. Are you awake? Mommy?"

I open my eyes and Lizzy is sitting on the bed beside me. God, I dreamt the whole thing but it felt so real. I'm breathing heavy, my breasts are tingling, nipples hard and, between my legs, I'm soaked. Oh God, this was just a dream. If this is what I feel like after a dream, what will the real thing be like?