Showing posts with label Evgeni Malkin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Evgeni Malkin. Show all posts

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Chapter 33:The Beginning of the End of an Era

Sorry guys, I've been trying to get this out. But I've been subbing almost every day and it's fries my brain! LOL!! Thanks for stickin' with me*

“… going 1-4-1 in the preseason you’ve gotta wonder how the Defending Stanley Cup Champions are …”

Sid smacked his alarm clock, he didn’t need to hear anymore. The season hadn’t even officially started yet and they were already doubting the ability of his team. I’d like to see some of them do any better. Not that he was pleased with the way the preseason had gone either, but c’mon.

Preseason didn’t count. At least that’s what Mel kept telling him whenever he started to get into a funk. Sid cracked open one eye and stared at the woman sprawled all over his chest. How she ever got up on time for school he had no idea, because she slept through his alarm whenever she came over for afternoon naps.

Then again, he always slept through her joining him. It was weird since they hadn’t done this very much. But she fit his schedule in with hers and for the past few weeks they’d been in sync with naps and such. Sid brought up a hand, stroking it lovingly over her cheek and smiling as she curled into him more, her body completely plastered to his.

“Time to wake up sunshine. We have a hockey game to prepare for.” He watched her eyes flutter open and then close again. She mumbled something unintelligible and burrowed her head into his arm. He chuckled and pulled himself up, sitting against the headboard.

“Melany, wake up, opening night. Gotta get ready.”

Instead of waking though she used his lap as her new pillow and Sid immediately tensed up. No, no. Not good. No sex on game day. I’ve broken the rule before but… opening night. Stick to rituals. But he looked down and saw her face on his thigh and watched as he started to tent his shorts. Fuck.

“Someone doesn’t seem to want to get out of bed just yet,” he heard her murmur as she brought a hand up and, with just one finger, traced the length of his rapidly growing length. Sid groaned. I could break the rules once… again…

Sid was saved by the ring of her phone. The chorus of ‘Sleeping Sickness’ rang out as her phone tried to vibrate its way off the night stand. Only she would use that song as someone’s tone. At least it wasn’t his ringer. He listened as she answered to see if he could gauge from her greeting who it was.

“Allo bel ami!”

“Why are you calling someone handsome?”

“No, it’s just Sid. He’s playing the part of jealous boyfriend right now. If only he knew the truth about us,” she giggled into the phone. “No! I’m not going to tell him that!”

“Tell me what??”

“I think he’s getting angry. Are you sure you wanna make him angry before the game?”

“Give me the phone!”

“Uh-oh. He wants the phone now. Maybe I should hang up quickly and delete my call list!”

“Melany… who are you talking to?!”

Sid could hear someone talking but couldn’t make out the voice, or the words. She was smiling and laughing at whatever was said. He was about to move from his comfortable position in bed when she crawled over the mattress and plopped down on his lap, straddling him. Boing! Damn. Hissing through his teeth as she moved against him a time or two, Sid grabbed her hips to stop any future movements.

“Would you like to talk to my friend now Sid?” Mel had an innocent smile on her face as she handed him her cell. He started to ask who the hell was calling when she leaned down and traced her tongue from the collar of his Reebok shirt, up his neck, nibbling on his ear.

“Wh-who is this??”

“Mon ami, you should no’ be so jealous so easily. It’s not like I could whisk her away!”

Sid heard the laughter in Max’s voice and wanted to laugh as well, but his girlfriend was grinding on him at the moment and any witty retorts that he could’ve said emptied out of his head with the rest of his brain.

“Fuuuu… Max, we gotta hang up now…”

“Just remember Sid, no sex on game day. You made the rule. Unless you’re going to give us all a break, you should remove yourself from your bed now. I will see you at the arena.”Click

“Babe… Mel… shit… I-I can’t… rule… please…”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Anything other than please and she would’ve tortured him more. But when he said please… she had to give in. She’d taken a half day at the school so that she could be here for his pregame nap and everything. It wouldn’t be possible all the time, but tonight was special.

“Okay Sid, because you said please.”

Rolling off of him, Mel wondered if it would be in bad taste to get herself off while he was in the shower to relieve the tension she was feeling at the moment. It wasn’t that she wanted to make him break his rules, but he was hard, she was horny, it made sense. She could do all the work and that way he still had energy.

“I’m going to go grab a quick shower. Will you start my pasta?”

She nodded yes and Sid leaned over to kiss her, his lips brushing hers and one hand blazing a trail down her body to cup her already tormented sex. She moaned and her hips lifted on their own, wanting whatever it was he was willing to give her. One more brush of his lips and he was off the bed and practically sprinting into the bathroom.

“Asshole!”

She heard his laughter and walked slowly to the bathroom door, whipping her shirt over her head in the process. Pushing the door open she saw him glance up, his eyes widening at her standing there in a pair of his shorts and a lacy black bra.

“You said pasta, right?”

As she asked the question she nonchalantly leaned against the door frame, arching her back as the cool frame hit her back. She let out an honest gasp before she got used to it and she noticed his fingers clench into fists. He just nodded. She wandered away, letting him drink in his fill as she dropped the shorts in order to change into her game outfit.

Mel smirked, hoping he was now as tortured as she was. The worst part was that they wouldn’t have any free time tonight, not since the guys were leaving on the plane for the Islanders game tomorrow. She turned to get her clothes from her overnight bag and bumped into Sid’s chest.

He was standing there behind her, his breath coming in short gasps as he reached out one hand, tracing the outline of her nipple through her bra. Her body betrayed her and the skin tightened in awareness, making her grit her teeth as his thumb ran over the hardened tip.

“I’ll make you a deal,” he whispered as he leaned down, his fingers running inside the band of her panties. Mel’s breath caught in her throat.

“A-a deal? What kind of deal?”

“I will… take the edge off for you, but you have to promise me two things.”

“But… you said no sex before a game.”

“No sex for me. You aren’t playing in a home opener tonight. You can get off.” He said the last part with a smirk. “What do you say?”

“What is it that you want?”

“First thing, you have to promise to give me what I want, before I tell you what it is. If you agree to the first stipulation then I’ll tell you what I want from you. But I won’t tell you until I go to the locker room to get dressed for the game.”

She thought about it, contemplating what he might want from her. He was humming the Jeopardy theme song and Mel watched his eyes. He was smiling at her, but his eyes were flashing desire. It would probably be sexual.

But if he was waiting until almost game time, it wasn’t something she’d have to do until they returned from New York. The humming stopped and he looked at her. One eyebrow was cocked and he was still rubbing his thumb in circles over her nipple.

“Okay,” Mel whispered and Sid smiled before he crushed his lips to hers. They stood there, in the middle of the room, pressed close together as his lips moved over hers, his tongue sweeping in between her lips quickly. She loved when he got all macho and ‘take control’ with her. Then he pushed her back until her legs hit the bed. But he didn’t push her onto it.

His hands moved down her ribs, gently caressing her skin as he wound them around her, running back up her spine and unfastening her bra with ease. Bringing his hands up he slid the straps off her shoulders and tossed the lacy contraption over his head before bending over to take one of the hardened nipples between his lips.

“Oh geez,” Mel groaned out as her fingers tunneled through his short hair. He’d cut it back to the ‘season’ look a week ago and she found herself missing the wicked curls that she’d gotten so used to over the summer. Definitely not as easy to drag his head in directions now. She squeaked as his teeth sunk into her flesh, tugging the tip as his lips suckled her quickly heated body.

Mel found herself pulling his hair to drag his mouth back to hers for another searing kiss. She knew he would do as he said, but she just wanted to feel his lips on hers for another minute. It was amazing to feel all that emotion rolling off one person. He was sweet and caring yet rough and take-charge and her panties were ruined by the time he lifted his mouth.

“Now, onto the fun stuff,” he breathed against her lips and then he was on his knees in front of her, his fingers peeling off her underwear and pulling them to the ground as he leaned in and lightly licked her center.

“Siddddnnneey.”

“Yes love?”

Bracing her hands on his shoulders she tried not to dig her nails too deep into him as he flicked his tongue out again. His fingers moved down into the mix, holding her open for his pleasure… or hers… she couldn’t’ really figure out the right answer at the moment. Sid looked up at her and winked before pulling her clit into his mouth.

“Fucking hell Crosby!”

All he did in response was chuckle and sucked, her previously trembling body all but collapsing as sparks of pleasure shot behind her eyes. He wasn’t wasting time, wasn’t teasing or torturing. No, he was trying to flat out kill her.

“Sid, baby… I can’t… I can’t keep standing like this. I feel like I’m going to pass out and I haven’t… even… Oh fuck…”

Mel tumbled backward onto the mattress, thinking that this would help since she didn’t need to be on her feet now. Instead, she just moaned as he spread her legs and set about fulfilling his half of this unknown deal. Working his tongue furiously, she wondered what on earth he was spelling out so quickly. Damn him and that Alphabet Game! He had entirely too much fun using his tongue to do his A, B, Cs or spell things out.

“Yes, don’t stop! But what are,” gasp, jerk, “What are you spelling?”

Sid pulled back long enough to grumble ‘mine’ and then he dove back in. She focused on the movements, reciting each letter over and over in her head as he licked away. She decided that he must not want to give her any chance to breathe as he slipped two fingers inside her while he tongued her flesh.

“Come for me,” he growled and Mel felt her body tense up as he played her like a violin, her scream of ecstasy like a bow sliding over the strings in the final measures of a composition. His tongue swirled around as she came down from the delicious high and her body jerked as the rough pad of his tongue now raked the overly-sensitized area.

“Remember, we have a deal,” Sid said as he pulled her into a sitting position. He leaned up to give her one more kiss and then he stood and spun around to go back to the shower. This better be good. Then, on shaky legs she smiled and changed, heading downstairs to help Nathalie finish up the pregame meal, but not before popping into the bathroom to flush the toilet and listen to a grown man squeal like a small child.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sid pulled into the driveway, down into the arena where he always parked and sighed. It was 4:06pm and he was late. At least this time he didn’t almost run over anyone. He smiled as he remembered the day, only six months ago, when he had first laid eyes on the woman who would be wearing his jersey tonight.

Okay, there would be tons of women wearing his number, but only one of them would be in the freshly washed Game 7 jersey that he was wearing when the time ticked down and they won the Cup. Unable to stop himself, Sid dialed her number and listened to the breathy greeting and the other female voices in the background.

“Hi again gorgeous. You know, if you don’t give me enough time, I won’t get ready and I’ll be late and you’ll have to punish me.”

“I think I’ll keep you on the phone for the next few hours then,” he chuckled.

“What’s wrong Sid? Nervous?”

“No, just… I was being sentimental and mushy. I was a few minutes late and found myself recalling the day we met, unofficially.”

“Did I ever tell you that I was completely lost in how sexy you looked to even realize you were yelling at me in the beginning?”

“No. Did I ever tell you that I was staring at your ass as you walked up to meet Erin?”

“Why do you think my hips were sashaying so much?”

“Tease.”

Sid heard her laugh and heard the girls making gagging noises and chattering on about whatever it is that women talk about while they’re getting ready. He was walking into the locker room when Max came running out, Tanger hot on his heels, whipped cream or shaving cream all over his face.

“What’s all that racket?”

“What do you think?”

“Go play captain then. We’ll be down to give you good luck wishes and kisses before the ceremony starts! Love you!”

“Love you. Bye.”

Flipping the phone shut he went into captain mode and barked out orders. First to find out what on earth was going on, then what needed to be done to corral the two Frenchies, and then he went to find Flower. Sid found his friend sitting in the locker room, in the corner, half in his gear already.

“Little early to be puttin’ on the pads, eh Flower?”

“Non. I need to get used to them all over again.”

“You look like you’re going to puke.”

“I don’ know what to do about this…”

Marc lifted his left hand, the one that now had a gold band around the ring finger. Sid smiled, remembering how they’d tricked him that day. It was a good thing he loved Marc and Max like brothers.

“What do you mean?”

“Do I leave it on? Take it off and leave it in here? Put it on my necklace? I don’t know! I don’t like change Sid…”

“Listen, it’s no big deal.” Sid turned, his eyes scanning the room until he found who he was looking for. “Johnny! Hey, come ‘ere!” Brent Johnson, the new back-up goalie, strode over to stand in front of them.

“Gentlemen?”

“What do you do with your wedding ring?”

Sid was looking at Flower and didn’t notice the sort of pained look that flashed across the man’s face. He didn’t notice until that moment that Johnny wasn’t wearing a ring. He wasn’t playing tonight, and he wasn’t in his uniform yet… shouldn’t he still be wearing it? No matter, we need answers, cuz we need Marc in the zone. Sid looked up at Brent expectantly.

“Oh, my ring… I always to… take it off before the game and place it in a small velvet bag that my wife had made for me. Then it goes in my stall, right next to my cell. It’s the last thing off before a game, and the first thing on after one.”

“See, no worries. We’ll get you a bag an--”

“What if Vero has a bag for me?! I should wait. But if she doesn’t… then what?”

Glancing around the room, Sid found Max in the corner talking with Jordan and caught his gaze, beckoning him over. A couple seconds later, he was promising to find out what to do as he dialed his girlfriend yet again.

“Wow, you must really miss me!”

“Are you still at Flower’s?”

“Yeah, we were just getti--”

“I need to talk to Vero.”

“Okay. Let me get her.” There were a couple yells and he heard shuffling and then V was on the line.

“Allo Sid, what can I do for you?”

“Do you have a small bag, maybe one that used to have a necklace in it that Marc gave you? Or something special like that?”

“Oui, I have a ton of them. Why?”

“I need you to do me a HUGE favor. Your husband is going to have a mental breakdown if we don’t figure out what he can do with his wedding ring. So look through the bags, pick out your favorite, and bring it with you to the arena. Okay?”

“Okay Sid. Do you need to talk to Mel again?”

“No, tell her I’ll see her as soon as you guys get here.”

Flipping his phone shut, Sid walked back over to talk to his teammate.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“What was the weird phone call about Sid? And why did V come out the room with a million little bags?!” Mel was standing in the locker room beside Sid, watching as Vero sat on Marc’s lap, the two of them going over bags that she had spread out on her lap.

“Flower was about to have a mental breakdown. ‘Johnny-On-The-Spot’ over there came up with a fast solution.”

Sliding her gaze to where one of the new members of the team. Brent Johnson. She had yet to meet his wife, which was odd because everyone’s family was supposed to be here tonight. She’d just met Rupper’s wife and kids, who were really freakin’ cute! And Jay’s little girl, can you say precious! But ‘Johnny’ as the guys seemed to be calling him, he didn’t seem to care that his wife didn’t make it to opening night.

“Sid,” she whispered.

“What,” he asked in an overly dramatic whisper. She punched him and then shook her hand when she hit nothing but shoulder pad. He chuckled and brought her fingers to his lips. “You wanted something?”

“Where is Brent’s wife? I thought he was married…”

“You know, it’s strange. When I called him over to help with Flower, he seemed reluctant to talk about it. And he’s not wearing a ring.”

“Maybe he already took it off. And perhaps she can’t be here tonight. They still have to finalize things in D.C., don’t they?”

She watched Sid nod and decided it wasn’t something she needed to worry about. All of the guys were getting antsy and she could feel the excitement in the air. Pulling him down closer to her level since he was too tall in his skates, Mel pressed what she meant to be a quick kiss on his lips. Then he growled and damn near shoved his tongue down her throat.

Mel closed her eyes, forgetting that there were entirely too many people in the room right now. She didn’t think about how they were probably the center of attention. Didn’t care that she had to stand on the tips of her toes so that she could kiss him. And she certainly didn’t care when he brought his hands under her ass and lifted her up, helping her wrap her legs around him.

She didn’t care about any of that. Until she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Forcing her mouth away from Sid’s, she turned her head and saw Mario and Disco standing there, trying to hide the amused smiles on their faces.

She cleared her throat and Sid let her legs fall, sliding down to the floor so she could stand on her own. Mel turned away from everyone and grabbed the jersey Sid had for her to wear. He hadn’t told her how significant it was yet, but it was an away jersey, so she figured it was from the Final. Taking a deep breath she turned back around and the room exploded with cat calls, whistles and a round of applause.

“Oh you all suck!”

Then she pulled Sid’s jersey until he was face to face with her and she whispered ‘I love you’ and pressed one more chaste kiss to his lips. The guys were making kissy noises and Max was facing away from her, wrapping his own arms around himself to make it look like he was making out with someone.

Laughing, she started to leave with the rest of the family members and significant others. Erin and Geno were having a heart-to-heart in the corner and Mel wondered if everyone knew it was her birthday. Well, I can fix that right quick.

“Happy Birthday Erin!! See you upstairs!”

Mel continued out of the room amidst a chorus of professional athletes singing Happy Birthday to one very angry looking redhead. If looks could kill, or at least injure, Mel knew she’d be in the hospital right now. Especially since Geno seemed to be the loudest and very off-key. Giggling, Mel started the trek up to the family section when she heard Sid yell.

“Wait! You didn’t get to hear my end of the deal from earlier!”

“And here I thought I’d get away without you realizing,” she chuckled. Sid stopped in front of her, his helmet on, even though they still had like forty-five minutes before the ceremony started. He was staring down at her.

“Remember, you promised.”

“I know, I know. And I’m guessing it’s something perverted. So… what do I have to do when you get home from New York tomorrow night?”

“Tomorrow? We’ll plan something else for tomorrow. This is for tonight,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

“Tonight?? You guys are leaving on a plane right after the game! How in the wor-”

“You just better be down here after the game ends. I’ll have everything covered. Deal?”

“Deal,” she said rather reluctantly.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“And please, welcome back, your captain, number 87, Siiidddnneeyyy Crooooosssbbyyyyy!!”

Hearing the cheers that were only rivaled by the ones for Max, MAF and Geno, Sid took a deep breath and stepped onto the ice, skating over to stand by Geno, who promptly put a glove up for a fist bump. They smiled and laughed as they were told to come down to stand by the Cup.

This was it. This was the moment. He wondered if Mel was smiling or crying. It amazed him that the woman cried over things like this.

Yes, he was damn proud that he’d helped to win the Cup and bring it back to Pittsburgh. But she was getting teary-eyed last night just talking about the ceremony and how it was going to be, seeing the banner lifted in the arena. He smiled at the way he’d wiped the tears from her eyes, and brought a blossoming smile to her lips before they fell asleep.

“What you think about Sid?”

Turning to Geno, he just shrugged his shoulders and looked up to the section where Mel was seated. She refused to be cooped up in one of the boxes tonight.

“Erin with her. Amanda too. They cause big ruckus when we score tonight, okay?”

“Okay Geno, we’ll score goals for them tonight. I like that idea.”

“Da. And we get win for Erin birthday. Or she give me heck in locker room!”

Sid and a couple of the guys laughed and nodded as 17,000+ fans started chanting ‘Let’s Go Pens!’ as loud as they could. When they were all there, surrounding the banner, Sid overheard Steiggy’s voice.

“Okay! Let’s raise the roof, as we raise the banner!”

As the material came out, inch by inch, it hit Sid. They were the defending Stanley Cup Champions. They were the best team from last season. They had to watch their backs every single game. And we’ll start with tonight. That was when he realized that if he didn’t start blinking or something, he was going to cry.

The men gathered around with him, watching the raising banner, had been a part of something special. There were the newcomers as well, but they’d fit in. Ray seemed to have a keen eye at grabbing people who would help in the future.

After everything had been finished, and the red carpet rolled back up, the guys took their spots either on the bench or on the line for the anthem. Jimerson rocked out the Star-Spangled Banner and the lights came on for the start of the first period.

The first five minutes were brutal, the itch to get the first goal, the need to get a win for the crowd, the drive to stay focused and play hard. Then, as the guys were swooping into the zone, Drury held one of them up and the crowd was cheering as the man in white went to the box.

“Okay boys, first power play of the new season. First power play of the game. First chance to make it count. I don’t care if it’s pretty, I don’t care if it’s dirty, but let’s show them why you’re the Champs!”

They tried, they did. And Sid came back to the bench for relief angry with himself that he hadn’t scored a goal. They still had over half of the PP left though, plenty of time to go back out there. After a whistle for play to stop, Disco tapped his shoulder and he, Geno and Kuni went back out to try again.

Flying down the ice with Gonch and Goose, Sid took the puck into the zone. He made a drop down pass to Geno and went down low. Glancing back, he saw the Russians pass it back and forth. Then Geno shot the puck to Goose, who passed it to Gonch. Goose moved down the half wall and Geno came to the point. With a sure hand, Gonch passed the puck to Geno and he let go with a wicked shot.

The crowd stood, cheering madly. Lundqvist laid on the ice, being dramatic. Sid moved quickly to Geno’s side, the others joining in a group hug before all five of them went down the bench for fist bumps.

Godsy let the gloves fly and went rounds with Brashear after that. Sid smiled internally. It wasn’t that he liked to fight, but he was having Eric teach him a few things. Sometimes you just need to be able to throw some punches. Fucking Drury scored and the insults started flowing freely.

There were guys talking trash all over the place and Sid found himself letting it roll of his shoulders until, of all people, Marc Staal crunched him into the boards and made a dirty comment about Mel. Seeing red, Sid turned and whacked with his stick. The ref’s arm came up and, glaring at the Staal not on his team, Sid skated over to the penalty box. Should’ve known he’d try something like that.

Luckily they killed the penalty and held the Rangers at bay for the final minute of the period. In the locker room Sid checked his phone, seeing a message from Mel that made him smile.

Whatever the fucking ginger said was about me, wasn’t it? I’ll kick his soulless ass after you guys win this game. Don’t worry about it babe, I got your back*

“Staalsy, you’re brother’s going to die.”

“I’m sure he didn--”

“You don’t make derogatory remarks about Melany.” His tone was final. Sid watched Jordan’s face. His eyes narrowed and he nodded.

“You’re right. That’s low. I’ll take care of it.”

The second period started to fly by. A few good hits here and there and then Sid found the puck on his stick. He went soaring into the zone and saw Marc in his way. He slid the puck to Billy and went full force into the Staal brother not on his team. Marc went down hard, Billy passed the puck to Tanger, Tanger shot it to Sid and he buried it behind Henrik.

After the celebration he was skating by Marc.

“Call me any names you want Marc. Take me out of the game with a hit. But don’t, and I mean don’t, repeat what you said earlier. You know her, and that was low.” Still catching his breath from the hit, Marc nodded and Sid went to the bench.

TK scored a minute later and the guys went into the locker room feeling confident that they could keep it up and win this. Sid was laughing with the others when they lined up to take the ice for the third period. Geno was behind him.

“We almost finished Sid. We both score. Now we win it for them.”

“I’m with you one hundred percent buddy.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Mel stood with the final few seconds left. New York had pulled the goalie and they were in desperation mode, trying to get the tying goal to send it to OT. IT never happened though and she found herself jumping up and down and cheering madly as the guys all skated to Flower to bump heads.

She made her way down to the locker room in record time despite a amount of people. Some recognized the three of them and lifted hands up for high-fives as they traveled in the opposite direction of the usual flow. Okay, maybe the suite or the family section wouldn’t be such a bad idea next game.

Waiting in the lounge with everyone else, Mel talked with V and Erin while the guys spoke to the media and got cleaned up for their trip to New York. Erin was trying to insist that the fireworks that were going off right now were for her birthday, and not because of the game/ceremony.

Even Mario was playing along with it. He would say yes, they were for her birthday, and when she turned he would shake his head no and wink. Mel was laughing when the door whooshed open and Geno came bounding through it. He ran over and picked up Erin, spinning her around. When she finally hit the ground again, she was smiling from ear to ear.

“Happy Birthday. You good luck, I score for you. We win game for you. Is best birthday ever, yes?”

“Yes! And the fireworks were the icing on the cake!”

“Fireworks? Cake? We no have cake… But I show you fireworks!”

With that said Geno grabbed her hand and dragged her down the hallway promising not to be late at the airport. Mel burst out laughing, because Erin never, ever did things like that. Good for her, a very happy birthday it will be. Lost in thought, she didn’t hear Sid approaching her until his arm snaked around her waist and his lips were pressing against her ear.

“Time to go fulfill your end of the deal babe.”

“Well, don’t take me that way,” Mel said, pointing in the direction Erin and Geno had ran.

“Oh, and why is that?”

“Geno’s making Erin see fireworks…”

“But to see them they’d need to go out… side… OH!”

“See, I knew under that helmet you still had a fully functional brain!”

“Ha, you’re funny. Let’s go. I’ll give you your own show.”

Mel felt a shiver run down her back as his fingers laced with hers and they walked, almost ran, to his car. When they reached the vehicle, Sid pressed her back against it, slanting his mouth over hers as his fingers traced the waistband of her jeans. Another shiver wracked her body as Mel wove her fingers through his hair.

“Sid… you don’t… no time… airport… gotta go to New York.” In-between kisses Mel plead her case. Sid just growled against her lips and pressed his body against hers, pushing her completely against the door to the car.

“We aren’t leaving until I’ve had you. You were all I could picture during the game. I saw you on the bench, in the penalty box, on top of the net. Hell, I was in the shower and I pictured you under the spray! I think Max was getting the wrong idea because I almost couldn’t ‘keep myself down,’ so to speak.”

She believed him. She could feel his hardness through his dress pants.

“Is anyone else going to come this way?”

“No, I may or may not have told everyone to be gone by the time we were out of the locker room. It’s just you and me. So, now it’s time to pay up.”

Pulling her away from the car, Sid opened the hatch and practically pushed her inside. He’d put down his back seats and now it was more like a flat floor. Plenty of room. He crawled in behind her, laying his body over hers as he brushed wet kisses from her ear down her jaw line.

“Mmmm, Sid… shut that…”

Mel watched his eyes flare as he lifted himself up long enough to fish his keys out. He hit the button on the fob and the hatch started to shut, putting them alone in a vehicle with tinted windows.

Wasting no time, which was good since they barely had any, Sid had her jersey and the t-shirt under it off in seconds. He placed heated kisses over her exposed flesh as his fingers came around the back of her bra to unhook it. Three pops and the cups fell away.

Mel moaned as Sid bent his head, his teeth taking hold of one breast, sucking the rapidly hardening tip as his fingers toyed with the other. She had herself propped up, her hands sort of behind her, and she gasped as Sid’s free hand wove down, under her jeans.

As he mauled the upper half of her body, Sid’s hand worked furiously to free the lower half. She knew he would have trouble though, because these pants were practically painted on. She’d been about to tell him when he tore himself away and, in a very gruff voice, commanded her to kneel with her hands on the front seat’s headrests.

She moaned as he finally unsnapped the denim and peeled it down over her hips. With her legs now bound by her jeans she had no way to escape as his fingers started to play. Mel blushed as Sid pushed two fingers inside of her. She was soaking wet and he made sure to comment on the fact.

“God, you’re so wet for me. I need you Melany. I need you badly.”

As he continued to toy with her, Mel could feel the pressure building within her body. She wanted him inside her when it burst though. Attempting to tell him that while he curled his fingers inside her and brushed against her sweet spot was extremely difficult though.

He must have understood though because he stopped his torment long enough to help her pulled her pants off the rest of the way. Sid wasted no time in undoing his trousers. With them open and his cock free from his briefs, he pulled on her leg, motioning for her to straddle him.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take those off fir—Oh fuck!”

The question died and her breath came out quickly as Sid slid his head inside and pulled her body down on top of him.

“Ride me,” he told her.

Mel swiveled her hips and rose up slightly before crashing back down, loving how he filled her. She bounced up and down, her hands clenching at the sweet friction caused by their movements. Fuck, I’m going to ruin his suit jacket. Then everyone will know… everyone’s going to know what we did. He’s going to smell like sex on the plane ride.

“Grab the ‘Oh Shit’ handles babe.”

Reaching on both sides of the car, she grabbed hold of the handles and held on as Sid started lifting his hips to meet her plunging and Mel was certain she saw stars as he pounded away.

The car had to be rocking like crazy and she found herself uncaring as one thumb ran over her clit and the breath held in her lungs came out in a drawn out moan. Her thighs were burning, her calf was cramping up and she could feel her body starting to tense up with her impending orgasm.

“Sid… close… so close baby. Oh god you’re amazing!”

Looking down at him, Mel felt her walls tighten around his cock and as Sid pressed his thumb over her button once more she came. The stars she had seen before burst into a shimmer of white light. It felt as though she had been a bottle of champagne and he’d just popped her open.

There were noises coming from somewhere and she finally realized they were coming from her mouth. She watched him grit his teeth as he tried to stave off his own release. Letting go of the handles she fell forward, her head falling beside his.

“Come on baby. Come for me. Let me feel it Sidney.”

She heard him grunt and felt his hands tighten on her hips. As his fingers dug into her sides she listened to his labored breathing. Tilting her head she licked the racing pulse at his neck before biting him gently. Mel felt the muscle tick and then he yelled out her name as he held her down, impaled on all of him, and pumped his release as deep within her as he could.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Are you okay?”

He whispered the words as his fingers tunneled in her hair. Tilting her head back he saw the smile on her face. Sid smiled back before tucking her to him and rolling them over. Mel brought her legs up around his hips and he wanted nothing more than to stay like that forever.

“We need to go, don’t we?”

“I’m afraid so. I’m sorry sweetheart.”

“Don’t be. I’m not,” she chuckled.

Sid pulled himself off of her slowly, savoring the feeling as he slid out of her inch by inch. He grabbed the container of wipes that he always had in the back of his car. I knew these would come in handy some day! Using one to clean himself off, he tucked his junk back into his pants before running the cloth gently over one very sensitive area.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m going to be sore in the morning,” Mel responded with a smile. “I’m going to take a nice, long bubble bath when I wake up.”

“We need to get to the airport,” he said with a sad smile. “I wish you were coming with me.”

“I do to. This is kind of new for us. Last season I was able to go to most of the away games. I’ll cheer really loud while we’re all watching the game, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Sid helped her get dressed again and they straightened up his back seat before heading out of the arena. There were no fans to stop and sign for, which only made him realize how long they really had been . Hopefully he wouldn’t get in any trouble.

The drive to the airport was quiet, and he saw Melany smile as he took her hand in his before getting off the highway and getting to the parking lot. Everyone was in a group talking when they pulled into a spot. He kissed her knuckles and they let go of one another to get out of the vehicle.

Max was the first one to speak up as the two of them walked over to join the rest of the group.

“It’s about time. I was starting to think you got lost!”

“Have you heard from Geno yet? I tried calling him on the way over but got no answer.”

“If he was doing anything like what Sid just did, he probably can’t form full sentences yet… in English or Russian!” Everyone laughed at Duper’s comment and Sid smiled at the blush that crept up Mel’s cheeks. They were still smiling about it when the little white car came zipping into the lot.

Geno parked beside him and the two popped out of the vehicle. Geno had the biggest, goofiest smile on his face. Erin was smiling too and as they got close to the group she ran to Mel. Sid jerked as Erin literally pulled her from his side. He looked at them with curiosity as Erin started speaking.

“Hey, you remember how well we plan things? Bistro stuff at the church, parties for after hockey games, things like that?”

“Yeah, I love doing that it’s fun! Why?”

“We have a new mission.”

“What’s that,” Sid heard Mel ask.

Erin released her and stepped back into Geno’s arms. The two of them looked around at everyone and then Geno brought Erin’s hand up. Her left hand. Her left hand that had a shiny new diamond on it.

“Because Geno asked me to marry him!”

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Chapter 32: Untitled

I couldn't figure out a good name for this one. So it's just Chapter 32... Enjoy!
Can't wait to hear from you guys in the comments section*
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Sid opened his eyes, blinking a couple times and looking around the room. He and a few of the guys had helped her move everything that had been at her mom’s house. One woman should not have that much stuff. But she did. With all of her things, plus everything that Tanger’s girlfriend brought from Montreal... most of the house was already full of stuff.

The library was coming along nicely. He’d already spent some time in there, relaxing on the window bench while Mel tried to sort out a system for stacking the multitude of paperbacks that she just had to keep.

Turning, he expected to see her all curled up under the blankets, but the other half of the bed was empty. Looking around, he finally took in the sound of water running. Smiling to himself, Sid flipped the covers over and swung his legs off the bed, heading toward the bathroom.

He looked back at the iron bed frame once more, images of the first night spent in that bed. With the four posters… it was perfect for putting ‘the kit’ to good use once again. That was how they had spent the first night in the house. Only this time, this time he’d been the one unable to move.

It was scary to trust someone like that, but so worth it.

With a smirk, Sid pulled off his shorts and opened the bathroom door. He could see Mel through the steamy shower door. Stepping over her pajamas, he opened the glass, stepped in and shut the door before placing a hand on her shoulder.

Whirling around, Mel let out a scream and her fist flew out, clocking him in the jaw and sending his feet slipping until he landed on the wet floor of the shower.

“Oh Jesus! Sid, I’m so sorry!! I thought… I don’t know what I thought! But I’m sorry! Are you okay?!”

He was still so stunned that when she straddled him, his eyes didn’t take in the warm, soapy feeling of her skin. All he could do was stare at her, holding his jaw with one hand.

“What the hell were you thinking sneaking in on me?! You know that’s not a smart idea! After we spent the night watching horror movies… Geez! Let me see your face.”

He felt her pull his hand away and then she turned his face, getting a better look at where she’d hit him.

“You should be fine, it doesn’t even look red. Either you have a really strong jaw or I hit like a girl…”

Finally recovering, he took in Mel’s words and chuckled.

“Thank god,” she said. “I thought I’d knock your brain out or something!”

“You hit me.”

“Thank you Captain Obvious. I’m pretty sure I realize that since my knuckles are throbbing like a bitch!”

“Hey now Lieutenant Sarcastic. I’m the one who should be complaining. We have season tickets to deliver today and I’m gonna look like I got in a bar brawl!”

“Big baby… I barely touched you…”

“It still hurts…”

“Come here, I’ll make it better.” Sid smiled as she pressed a kiss to his chin. He drew in a breath as her teeth nipped at his lips and her fingers curled in his hair. “Mmmm, how soon are they picking you up at Mario’s?”

“Nine.” He pulled her closer, feeling her body slide against his. She was cradling him between her thighs and all he’d need was to lift her body up slightly. “Tell me again, how long does it take you to get to the school from here?”

“Seven minutes.”

“Plenty of time,” he said against her lips as he shifted their bodies and brought her down hard. The water from the shower was hitting the wall above his head and Sid could feel the spray sloshing down the wall. Grabbing onto her hips, he helped control the tempo, lifting Mel up and down like a rag doll.

He let go of one hip and flipped a chunk of hair around his fingers, tilting her head back as he assaulted her neck. His lips moved quickly over the moist skin, his teeth nipping at her collarbone.

“Touch yourself,” he growled against her throat. She did as he asked and Sid watched her eyes glaze over as she brought herself closer to that sweet release that made her scream his name. Whether she was still hot from last night, or reliving the memories they’d made, she swiveled her hips a few times and then he felt her body go taut, her back arched and her breasts pressed almost in his face. As her mouth opened in a moan of completion, Sid drew one nipple into his mouth, sucking hard as he thrust his hips up twice more before his orgasm took control.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Mel kissed Sid once more as she ran out the door. He held her tightly against him as he plundered her mouth, his tongue sweeping between her lips. She finally pulled away, her body already turned toward the driveway.

“Mpgh, Sid… I gotta go!”

Sid chuckled and she laughed back as he nuzzled her neck. She finally wrenched herself from his grasp and jogged to her car. Thank god it’s Friday and I can wear jeans and a school t-shirt! As she pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street she waved to Kris and Lexie who were on their way back to the house.

When she got to the school, Mel grabbed her two totes and headed inside, pausing to tell a few students ‘good morning’ as she made her way to the office. After picking up her mail and the morning teacher announcements, she wove through the throngs of students to her room.

Unlocking the door, she flipped the lights on and smiled. Her own classroom. She’d spent an extra day in here, setting up the desks the way she wanted and getting all of her things placed throughout. You could definitely tell it was a history class. She had posters on the walls, cutouts standing in the corners. There was a giant globe that Trina and Troy had bought at a flea market, and… Pens gear. There was a one side wall completely dedicated to the Penguins.

She had the students bring in pictures of themselves in jerseys, at the arena, with the guys. With her and Sid standing by the Cup in the center. Mario had given her one of the street banners to hang and it was perfectly sized for the wall. She’d also taken quotes from some of the guys and stuck them by photos she’d taken of them.

Godsy was giving a thumbs up, Jordan and Brooks were high-fiving one another. It was a great idea. It made the kids think history was cool because the guys thought so. Mel was staring at the picture of her and Sid when she heard a knock at the door. Turning, she saw one of her favorite students.

“Good morning Nate! What brings you by so early?”

“Remember how you were telling us that we should try to find a way to make a difference this year? Even if it was something small?”

“Yes. Have you been thinking about it?”

“I have. And I know what I want to do Ms. Huston.”

Mel slid around the desks and walked to the front of the classroom where Nate was still standing in the doorway. He was such a sweetheart. Senior this year, played football and baseball for the school, and hockey in his free time.

“Well, have a seat and tell me all about it.”

He sat down and explained how he’d heard about how the Pens always went to the children’s hospital around Christmas time to give presents and spend a day with the children. But that was just one day. What about all the other days when the only people who came in were the doctors and nurses. Nate said that over the weekend his cousin in California had been diagnosed with some sort of illness, he wasn’t sure what it was… but she would be hospitalized for awhile.

“I’m so sorry Nate. That’s got to be hard on her and her parents.”

“It is. And she’s like a little sister to me. And I can’t be out there to visit her a lot. So I’ve decided that I’m going to go to the children’s hospital here. And I’m going to volunteer a few days a week to go hang out with the kids. That way, I’ll know how to deal with a child in the hospital and when I visit her during Christmas Break I won’t freak out if she’s got tubes everywhere. And, I’ll be putting a smile on someone’s face when I’m visiting the kids here. Is that something like what you wanted us to do?”

“That is perfect Nate. Absolutely perfect. Those children at our hospital would love having someone like you to hang out with for a few hours. And your cousin will love the visit when you go out there.”

He smiled and stood up, telling her he’d see her in class later that day. After he walked out, Mel rummaged through her bag and found her phone. She sent Godsy a quick text and waited for a reply. She didn’t have to wait long, and she smiled at the response.

Of course I’d come in and give the kid a couple tips. Can I do it today??

She made plans to have him stop by during fifth period, when she had Nate in class. She got the okay from the principal to have Nate and Eric talk in one of the rooms in the main office area.

The day flew by and when Nate came into class with his pass from the office, Mel didn’t think his smile could get any bigger. He lingered for a second when class was over and thanked her for helping him. She just smiled and told him not to forget his homework for tomorrow.

When the day was over she packed up and headed out the door with her nice stack of papers to grade. There goes my Friday night and half of my Saturday. She was almost there when she saw a sign for the annual corn maze near them. A light bulb went off and she detoured over to the maze, hopping out to look over the map of the maze.

With all the twists and turns it spelled out the word ‘SAFARI’ and you could see how it shaped up like some safari animals. It was perfect for what Sid had been talking about the night before. A team bonding exercise. In a corn maze. It was kind of lame, and they’d probably have no issues with it, but it was fun and light-hearted.

Mel took a pic on her phone and sent it to Sid with the title “Bonding.” Getting back into her car, she finished her drive home, pulled in the driveway and dragged her bags inside. Lexie was sitting at the bar in the kitchen, looking through a catalog of some sort.

“Bonjour Melany. How was your day?”

They fell into a relaxed conversation as Mel pulled this and that out of the fridge. She was feeling domestic tonight and decided a good home-cooked meal would be nice for a change. After making sure Lexie and Kris would be there, she grabbed a couple mixing bowls and a couple plastic spoons. Setting everything out on the counter, Mel made sure she had all of her ingredients. She was just getting ready to start when Lexie spoke up.

“Don’ you need to get the measuring cups and spoons?”

“No, I’ve made this a million times. I just throw in the different spices and stuff and it comes out fine. It tastes a little different each meal, but still delicious!”

“What exactly are you making?”

“Meatloaf, cheesy potatoes and biscuits.”

“All three with no recipes??”

“Yep, wanna help?”

“No, I’ll mess it up for sure! Maybe if you were using an actual recipe…”

“I’ll grab the book if you would like to make the dough for the biscuits. You can follow it step by step and use the exact measurements,” Mel said with a smile. Lexie laughed and nodded. Turning, she perused the line of cookbooks near the stove. Grabbing one she held it out to Lexie.

“How do you remember which book it’s in,” Lexie asked as she took the book from Mel’s hand.

“That one is always covered in flour,” Mel laughed.

They worked together, listening to music, and dinner was almost done when the guys came in. Kris wrapped Lexie up in his arms, attempting to drag her away.

“No! Kris… I’m trying to make these! Ahhh!”

“But you don’t cook.”

“Mel is going to teach me, right Melany?”

Mel nodded her head yes and laughed when Kris came over, hugging her and yelling he loved her over and over. They all laughed and Mel shooed the guys out so they could finish.

“Go set the table or something you goofballs!”

Sid jogged over for a quick kiss. He tasted like strawberries and she knew he had gotten into the dessert she had made the night before.

“I loved the idea. I told Disco and he thought it was great too. We’re going to close it down tomorrow morning and have it to ourselves.”

“That’s great! I’m so amazing,” Mel laughed.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Get out of here before I hit you with a frying pan!”

“Ha ha, love you,” Sid yelled as he grabbed plates and headed into the dining room.

The biscuits turned out great, and Lexie was already asking what Mel was going to teach her next. After dinner Sid grabbed the totes of assignments to be graded and took them up to the attic. Mel grabbed a couple bottles of Gatorade and headed up too. He had things spaced out on her desk when she got to the top of the stairs.

“I’m going to grab a book and read while you grade, okay?”

“You don’t have to stay up here Sid. Go downstairs and watch a movie with the others. Or turn on the TV in my room.”

“I don’t think that I want to be down there right now… Kris has some plans for her tonight… And I don’t mind just hanging out up here for now.”

“Well, okay then. Here,” she said with a smile, “I brought you a drink.”

He smiled as she chucked the flavored water at him and then they sat in companionable silence for what seemed like hours. Mel was smiling at one of the papers she was grading when she heard a thunk. Turning around, her smile grew wider as she stared at the sleeping man in the double papasan chair, a gift from Vero.

Looking back at her papers, she felt like the giant heap that she’d gone through was good enough for the night, and she’d be able to get the rest done tomorrow while the guys were ‘bonding.’ Mel stole a glance at the clock on the wall. Twelve-thirty, four hours of grading, two-thirds of the way done. Yes, time to relax.

She stretched and stepped over to the pull out couch that they’d decided to set up in the library as well. Smiling to herself, Mel tossed the cushions to the side and flipped out the mattress before sending Lexie a text that they may not want to come up for the night. There was a response quickly sent back that was a mix of English and French so she figured either Tanger had written it, or he was having a good time and Lexie couldn’t think straight.

Mel grabbed a couple pillows from the big window and one blanket, tossing them haphazardly on the bed, before setting her phone alarm so that Sid wouldn’t be late. Then she walked alongside the chair and ran her fingers through his hair. Leaning down, she whispered for him to get up and come to bed. His eyes opened briefly before closing again and Mel giggled as she pulled him to his feet.

They made it over to the couch and she told him to get in bed with a gentle shove. He must’ve been more awake than he was letting on because he grabbed her hand and hauled her with him. They tumbled onto the mattress together and she slid the blanket over them as he tucked her into his arms.

“Good night Sidney. I set the alarm so that you’d have plenty of time. And no one will come up here tonight so we can just rel--”

He tilted her head back and kissed her. Mel gave in to her feelings and just let go. Besides, Kris would end up waking him if the need arose.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“But do you think she’d go for it Lynn? I don’t want her to freak out. Especially not after the house.”

He smiled as he listened to Mel’s mom. She was a riot. And she told him, in no uncertain terms, that her daughter might say that she’s bothered by things. But that he shouldn’t take no for an answer.

“You realize this is kind of a big deal though. And she’s got one already.”

“So get rid of it. Make it so she has to take it.”

“What do you want me to do? Rip it apart?”

“If that works. Now, go wake her butt up and put her on the phone. Have fun at your bonding exercise!”

Sid laughed as he walked over and roused Mel from her sleep. He waved the phone in front of her face and mouthed ‘mom’ before kissing her forehead and heading downstairs to grab something to eat.

He and Tanger left together, picking up Geno and Gonch along the way. They pulled into the field, parking next to Max and went up to the entrance of the maze where Dan was talking with a couple of the new guys.

“Ahhh, here are our three leaders, a quiet one and the class clown,” Sid heard Dan say with a smile.

Sid shook hands with the two guys and they started chatting while they waited for the rest of the team to arrive. Mike was a giant. He was going to give Staalsy a run for his money, and Brent was easy going but kind of quiet. So different than our other goalie, that one doesn’t shut up. After everyone had finally arrived, Dan stood up on a hay bale to get everyone’s attention.

“Alright, we’re going to split up into small groups. Go in one at a time. We’re going to see who can do this the fastest. You won’t get the map until you enter the maze, and your time will start at that moment. You will have a card to punch at the twelve checkpoints. You don’t have to go in order, but you can’t cheat because each checkpoint has a different-shaped punch. And gentlemen, no cutting through the corn. Stay on the path.”

He started calling out names of groups and the guys all paired off. Two of the guy couldn’t make it, so that left them with twenty players in four groups of five.

“Dupuis, Fleury, Letang, Talbot, Crosby.”

“What?! Why do I have to be with all the Frenchies??”

“Just the luck of the draw kid,” Dan said with a wink.

Sid just groaned as Max slipped an arm around his shoulder and directed him over to a bale of hay where the others were already standing.

“Come mon ami, it will be a true test of your patience.”

“Seriously. They stick me with the ADD goalie, one who is incessantly picking on the other, and you,” Sid laughed.

They were the final group to go and Geno’s group had just burst through the end, falling down and trying to catch their breath. But the running had shaved off some time because they had beaten the other groups by ten minutes, with a time of 52:43.

“We can beat that with no problem,” Flower chimed in.

“Really? And just how do you plan on that?”

“I can guide us.”

“You’re going to guide us through a very complex maze?”

“Oui. Do you doubt me? I swear I can get us through this in thirty minutes. Maybe a few more.”

“Maybe with we were going at the speed of light and never took a wrong turn.”

“Do you trust me Sid?”

Sid stared at his friend. Marc had never been anything other than honest with him. he knew that in a pinch there was no other guy he’d want between the pipes. And they didn’t need to win this. it was just for fun. But this was a bonding exercise. In order to bond with the guys, he needed to trust them completely.

“I do.”

“Then once we get in there, give me a second to look over the map. Then follow my lead. D’accord?”

Sid just nodded his head. The five of them walked up to the entrance and he took a deep breath. They entered and Marc took the card with the map. Disco hit the timer and Sid itched to start moving forward. Marc’s eyes darted around the card and then he looked up with a giant smile.

“ Allons-y,” he yelled and took off running. Sid stared at the others and laughed before chasing after Flower. They were taking twists and turns and before he knew it, they were at the first checkpoint, punching a hole through the 1 on the card. One more glance and Marc took off again.

“What the hell? Do we have our own personal ‘Rain Man’ or something?!”

The guys were chuckling and then Max yelled from the back of the group.

“Now, aren’t you glad you were stuck with us?”

Seven checkpoints later, Sid was standing with his hands on his thighs as he bent over to catch a couple big breaths. They were making amazing time, at least he thought they were. And there were four checkpoints left before they could head for the exit.

“Ready to move on,” Marc asked with a smile.

“Yeah, I’m good. Guess I didn’t train enough over the summer.”

“Well, I would think with all the time you spent in the bedroom these past few months, your cardio would be amazing!”

“Flower… you’re dead!”

“You must catch me first mon ami!”

Sid laughed as his friend turned and sprinted off toward the next checkpoint. The rest of them began chasing him. after the final punch, flower told them it was three turns and then a straight shot out.

“I say we do an easy jog until we hit that final turn. Then we sprint tow the end. Agreed?”

“You’ve gotten us this far,” Duper said as he chucked a couple kernels of corn at Tanger.

“Tabernak! Stop that! When we get out of here…”

“Guys! Let’s focus on getting out of here first,” Sid said. “Alright Flower. You’ve gotten us this far, let’s finish this.”

They all turned and started jogging down the path. Marc yelled that they were coming up on the final turn. Sid took a deep breath and as they made the left he saw the straight shot to the finish line. He couldn’t hear the others though. It’s a trap.

“It’s a trap! Guys, they must wait--”

Everything else he was going to say was cut short because as they ran through the finish line, they were pelted with water balloons and super soakers! Everyone was running around, it was like a giant group of teenagers had been let loose or something and somehow Sid got a giant squirt gun in his hands.

They were all chasing each other, using trees and fences as cover. He laughed as Disco dove behind a stack of hay bales. None of the guys could afford to dive like that, in case of injury, but it was nice to see the coach joining in the insanity. After all the guns were empty of water, and all of the balloons had been thrown, Sid came out from behind the giant oak he’d been using as a hiding spot.

Flower and Tanger were sitting against the bales Dan had jumped over and a giant group of the guys were stretched out in the sunlight, wet streaks and splotches covering their clothing. Tossing the gun aside, Sid plopped down beside Max, stretching his hands behind his head and bringing up his knees. He heard Dan asking if everyone was alright, making sure no one had been injured in the fray.

“You had a good thought mon ami,” Max said. Sid kept his eyes closed and just grunted. He knew he should make sure they knew that Mel had concocted this. Well, she hadn’t thought of the battle, but… wait a minute.

“Whose idea was it to have a water battle?”

All of the guys were shrugging their shoulders and looking between one another. They all looked guilty. But if it had been one of them, they would’ve taken the credit. It didn’t add up. If they hadn’t planned it, then who did? Max was trying to hide a smile. He knows.

“Spill it Max. You know,” Sid said with a gleam in his eye.

“I do, but I promised the person I wouldn’t give them up. I was just part of the chain. The mastermind behind it all sent a text to me, and I was to tell certain people. She said that the others would be tak--”

“SHE??”

“Tabernak! I say too much already!”

Sid went over to the table where they’d stowed their phones before going into the maze, it made more sense now as to why they’d done that. It wasn’t about cheating at all. It was so they wouldn’t be ruined when they exited. Picking his up, he dialed Mel’s number.

“Did you make it through the maze in one piece,” came the lilting voice on the other end of the phone.

“I’m very wet.”

“Did it start raining?”

“No, I got doused with water guns and balloons.”

“You don’t say! That’s just weird.” He heard her chuckle and knew that she had been the one to construct it all. He laughed too, sending up a prayer that he had someone like her to look out for him and keep him normal.

“We’re going to dry some and then go out to lunch, I’ll get you when I get back to your house.”

“The reservations for the Cheesecake Factory won’t wait for you to dry. I bet if you turn around, the others will be changed into street clothes.”

You’ve gotta be kidding me. Turning his head, he saw that most of them were now in clean clothes, some still pulling polos and things over their heads.

“What am I supposed to wear?”

“Look in Max’s trunk. I bet there’s a pair of jeans, polo and socks and shoes. If they really got you though, you’ll have to go commando! Love you, bye!”

Sid stared at the phone, amazed that she’d been able to go behind his back about everything. But when would she have had the chance to get clothes to Max? He’d been waiting for them here. How could he… Walking over to the car, he grabbed all of the clothes out of the trunk. He was in mid change when it hit him.

“Geno!”

Geno, who’d been in a discussion with Brooks about something, lifted his head and beamed a smile at him. Then he went back to his conversation. I’ll be damned. He was in on it too. Sid finished changing and went over to the group. They were all smiling now.

“Okay okay, it was funny. Everyone was in on it. you all suck.”

“Did she confess,” Max asked.

“More or less. She’s going to be the death of me!”

“But you will die happy,” his friend stated and Sid smiled.

Yeah, he would.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Chapter 28: Alejandro

The much anticipated Mexico chapter! Woot!
And thank you guys for your concerns, it meant a lot!

“Okay, tomorrow is going to be our fourth day in Mexico! We cannot, I repeat, C-A-N-N-O-T just sit by the pool all day, go to the bar and have dinner and possibly dance. We need to get out and do something!”

Mel looked at Erin. She knew her friend was right, but the fact of the matter, she was enjoying just lying there and doing nothing. The guys were planning on going golfing tomorrow though, so she knew that they would be able to find something ten times more fun than that to do and by the time they all met up for dinner they could brag about how much more fun the girls had had.

She mentioned her idea and Erin’s eyes lit up, and she smiled. But it was that creepy smile that Geno did in the FSN commercial a couple years ago. She’s obviously been spending way too much time with that guy, she’s emulating his mannerisms!

“That’s gooood,” Erin began, raising her eyebrows, “I think we can do better.”

“What are you thinking?” Mel asked, knowing she probably wasn’t going to like the answer.

“Well, what’s one thing you’ve always wanted to do when you go to the beach?”

“Ooooh! That bungee jumping thing, but you’re in the circular cage!”

“You’re a dork,” Amanda laughed.

“What? Those things look like so much fun!”

“Let’s pretend for a minute that you’re a normal person Mel,” Erin said with one of those looks that said she was so far from the mark it was crazy. “Try again.”

“Fine… parasailing??”Mel asked, thinking that there was no way in hell the rest of the girls would ever agree so it was probably a pretty safe bet.

“Parasailing!”

“We’re going to do what?!” Amanda looked a little concerned. Erin just laughed and pulled a brochure out of her beach bag. Mel looked it over and passed it to Amanda who was now smiling.

“This is going to be awesome! But I bet spots go quickly. We should call right away!”

“Taken care of,” Erin replied nonchalantly, humming as she spread the brochure out across her lap. “I called yesterday and set it up for tomorrow with their top guide. And, for those of you with a fear of heights, we get to go snorkeling too! How awesome will that be?!”

The three were talking animatedly when the guys walked into the restaurant and Mel licked her lips. Sid was wearing a cotton button-up shirt. He’d rolled up the sleeves to show his muscular forearms and had the top button open, mostly because it was damn near impossible to get a shirt that would fit around his thick, tree trunk of a neck, but it also meant that she could see his chest and her mouth watered at the thought of how they’d christened every square foot of their room in the condo the six of them were sharing, along with a couple of other places, Mel thought with a secretive grin.

“Whew… excuse me ladies, but I’m gonna go grab my hub-hunky defenseman!” Mel glanced up at Amanda. She was blushing and not looking at them. What’s her deal?

“You’re leaving us? Why?”

“Are you kidding? The way you were looking at your man…I got the like…contact hornies and I suddenly have the need to get up close and personal with my own hockey player!”

The three laughed and when the guys got to their table Amanda wasted no time in grabbing Brooks’ arm and dragging him away before he could even say hello.

“I guess it’s just the four of us?” Mel nodded at Sid as he sat down beside her, taking the spot that Amanda had just vacated. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him close for a kiss. He tasted like fruit, and alcohol and he looked so rested and tanned and… and she wanted to tackle him!

“If you don’t stop playing tonsil hockey it’s going to be just the two of you,” Erin snorted as she sipped her drink. Mel laughed against Sid’s lips and nipped them before dragging herself away.

“Fine. I’ll be good. For now.”

“Damn,” she heard Sid whisper. She laughed again and they ordered dinner while they told the guys what they planned to do the next day. Geno mumbled he’d rather do that but Erin told him it was a girl’s only thing since the boys already had plans to go golfing. He pouted for a moment until Erin shared a bite of her pasta. He seemed just fine after that.

They called it a night early so that everyone had a chance to get some rest before their fun-filled excursions. They yelled through the door that Amanda better be up early enough tomorrow or they’d leave without her.

Brooks opened the door, ran to the kitchen to grab something and as he ran back to their room, he gave a thumbs up before slamming it shut once again. Everyone laughed before retiring to their respective rooms for their ‘rest’.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Morning came too early and Sid blinked repeatedly as the sun came through the open curtain. He was lying on top of Melany, just the loose sheet covering them. He loved that she always untucked the sheet from under the mattress. She was the only other person he knew who did that.

She had apologized the first time they’d spent the night in a hotel, but she couldn’t stand to be cocooned in the blankets. He completely agreed. They had found themselves wrapped up as if in a straightjacket a couple times, but that suited him just fine. Being wrapped up in her was delightful.

Nuzzling her neck, Sid growled her name. He could hear the smile in her voice as she told him good morning. He repeated it back and they both threw on the pjs that were strewn about the room from the night before.

He went out to the front porch and grabbed the basket that arrived each morning with breakfast goodies from the resort while Mel set the table. They had their food delivered. Most of the time they didn’t wake up in time to get breakfast in the main dining room. Not like it mattered. A five here, a twenty there and they could get just about whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it delivered right to the room. It was good to have money sometimes!

Erin had wandered into the kitchen by the time he got back and he smelled the coffee that was currently on drip. Brooks appeared too, a fresh set of ‘love marks’ crisscrossing his back. Sid raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Hello pot? This is the kettle, he thought to himself as he arched his back just to feel the fresh welts in his own skin.

“I swear,” Brooks started when he sat down. “It’s just like rooming with Geno again. Damn woman sleeps like the dead, hates to get up in the mornings.”

“We know,” the two girls laughed. Mel took a sip of orange juice before looking at Brooks. She was eyeing him curiously which made Sid offer a penny for what she was thinking.

“Amanda was talking last night and just from the way she spoke… it was kind of weird.” She returned to staring at Brooks. He was staring back. “Did something happen in Vegas?”

“No, not that I know of,” his friend replied. Sid wondered what she was getting at. Brooks hadn’t said anything since they’d arrived at the resort. And he didn’t seem different.

“What do you mean babe?”

“Nothing. I must’ve been confused. She just started to say a word but then corrected herself. You aren’t hiding anything from us, right?” Sid looked at Brooks. The man was boring holes into his plate. He had that wild look right now, the one usually reserved for those poor souls that he met on the ice. Like someone was gonna pay.

“What would I have to hide?”

“Well, she said ‘hunky’ but that was after she’d started to say another word.” Mel replied suggestively, arching her brows as she waited for an answer.

“What could she possibly have started to say that sounds like hunky?” Sid asked, looking from his girlfriend to his friend, and Mel looked away.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she replied as she looked out the window at the beach, the waves that were crashing. “Maybe something like…hubby?” Sid noticed Brooks’ hand tightening on his fork and the only thing he could think was, no way, no fucking way. Mel had turned back toward his silent friend. “You and Amanda got married in Vegas.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement and one Brooks didn’t have time to refute as Amanda showed up right at that moment.

“You told them?! I told you that I wanted to tell them today, while we were out there together. You’re a punk!”Sid almost laughed. He’d seen Brooks take on bigger, meaner opponents than Amanda and come out better than he was doing now.

“I didn’t tell them anything babe! You’re the one who almost let the word hubby slip last night, Mel called me on it. But I hadn’t said yes or no. You’re the one giving it away! You practically just told them by yelling at me.” Amanda stared down at her prey as if she was trying to decide if she was going to dole out further punishment. Luckily for Brooks, all it took was a smile as he patted his lap. Amanda sunk down on his legs, her arm going around his shoulders to keep herself upright.

Sid couldn’t believe what he was hearing right now. Brooks was married. To Amanda. A woman he’d known for like two months! Yeah, again with the pot, like you haven’t thought of asking Mel to marry you! He corrected himself as he shook his head slowly.

He schooled his features, portraying a calm face even though he was going crazy in his own mind. Did Mel expect a ring now? She hadn’t hinted at things. They both knew that this was something big, but that big? Was she thinking like that? What about Erin? Geno didn’t seem to be in a hurry.

“I want to hear all about it,” Sid heard Erin say as the three girls got up and practically ran to the living room.

“What made you do it?” Sid hissed at his friend and teammate, who, for his part, merely smiled and shrugged.

“What? Marry her? I asked, she said yes, there was a chapel. End of story. I know it’s crazy. But I also know it was the right thing to do.”

“How? I’m not judging man, I just… how did you know it was the right time?”

“I just did. I don’t exactly know how to explain it but…the minute it came into my head I was like…sure, let’s do this,” Brooks answered slowly with the sort of smile on his face that said he was actually enjoying being married. “Haven’t you ever done something on the spur of the moment?” his friend asked, turning the tables on him.

Sid thought back through his life. Everything had always been planned, mapped out and set in stone for the most part, until Mel came along and threw him for a fuckin’ loop. She was definitely not planned. He smiled as he thought about how he had blurted out that that he loved her.

“Yeah, I have.”

“And…”

“And it worked out.”

“Then go with it. Just let it happen as it will. Now, let’s go rouse Geno or we’ll never make tee time!” They were both laughing as they popped into Geno’s room and literally dumped him onto the floor. They were still laughing twenty minutes later as they stepped out of the condo and headed off toward the resort’s golf course.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**********

“Now, you just hold on tight and enjoy the ride senorita!”

Mel looked over at her friends knowing that her eyes were probably as big as saucers. They’d been about to do rock, paper, scissors for who would go first when suddenly Amanda had yelled ‘NOT IT,’ and Erin had quickly followed with her own denial, so here she was, strapped in an uncomfortable harness, waiting to be tugged up into the air by a balloon/parachute thingy.

Erin was counting out the money they’d agreed to give their sexy guide to keep him all to themselves for the entire day. It was well worth it already. Instead of the normal spot, Alejandro had taken them to a more secluded spot for parasailing, and he’d had champagne and fruit delivered to the boat.

Not that it had been all that difficult to convince him to ditch the other appointments he had for the day. They had already paid him far more than if he’d taken the other people, and besides, he’d openly admitted that he found the three of them utterly charming, which, Mel hoped, meant that at least they’d all have smooth rides. She also knew why her friends had made sure she was the first up, they were all having way too much fun flirting with the Latin Romeo, Erin especially.

“So… Al, can I call you Al?”

“You can call me anything you want, señorita” he said with a wink.

“Wonderful. Well Al, I’m just curious. How many other groups of people do you have lined up today, after us?”

“Just two. Kind of a slow day I suppose.”

“Well, what if we wanted you all day? Could you reschedule? Or pass them along to someone else?”

“I could, but I think my boss would want some…extra compensation.”

“Of course, we understand, because you’d be losing out two commissions like ours, right?”

“Si. And then of course we’d need some…refreshments and the extra gas…are you sure I’m worth it?”

“You give me a price, and we’ll decide that.”

“Okay. Two other groups and giving you ladies the grand tour until you meet up with whoever it is you’re with… let’s ballpark it at $1500.” Then he smirked, like he’d given them a huge amount. It was the one time Mel had laughed to herself about the money Sid made.

“I’ll make you a deal,” Erin told him. “Throw in a place for lunch that doesn’t just have seafood and we’ll make it an even two grand.”

Al had almost choked on his bottled water. Amanda slapped his back gently.

“We’ll take that as a yes. Now, you call your supervisors, we’ll decide who’s going first, and then you suit up the ‘winner’.” He’s just nodded and made the call.

The sudden jerk of the chute caused Mel to let out a squeak and then she was being pulled into the air. One of her friends was yelling for her to smile to the camera and as she ascended she let out a scream of excitement.

It.

Was.

Amazing.

The view that she got as she reached the peak height of her journey gave her a panorama of the beach near the resort, the resort itself, and the clear, turquoise water surrounding them. Breathtaking was the word that came to mind. Mel stayed there for a while, feeling the sun caress her skin as the breeze ran through her hair but all too soon Erin was screaming for her turn. So, reluctantly, Mel allowed herself to be dragged down and after returning back to the boat, she grabbed her cell to see if Sid had sent her any texts. She snapped a picture of Erin getting strapped in and sent it quickly to Geno as Erin tried to stop her. The reply however was not from the Russian.

Why is no one here to greet me? I’m hurt chère!

“Max is here?! Did either of you know he was coming down?” Amanda failed to keep the smile off her face. “Amanda??”

“He’s going stir crazy already! It’s not like we don’t have room, and I think he’s lonely. He can’t really do a lot. And he promised the doctors that he would only stay for a couple days.” Mel smiled because, of all Sid’s teammates, she loved Max the most. “And… he knew about the wedding and I had to offer him something to keep his mouth shut!”

“Okay Erin, ready?”

“NO!”

“Then you better hold on,” Al yelled as he started up and Erin slowly began her climb. Mel gave Amanda a thumbs-up as she started videotaping again and then she sent a quick text back to Max.

We’re having a gender day. The girls and I are parasailing and sightseeing with Alejandro while your lame ass teammates are golfing! They aren’t far away!

I shall text that runaway man of yours then. Merci!

Mel sat back and baked in the sun while Erin and then Amanda took their turns up in the air. Then, after a delicious lunch at the beach side taco stand, Al led them around, showing off those wonderful little sights that the big tours never want to show you.

By the time the sun started to set, Al had figured out who they were here with. The reason he guessed was a complete surprise though.

“You are with those Penguin men I heard about, aren’t you?”

“We are. How do you know about them?” Mel asked as she stepped off the boat and onto the dock, her sea legs a bit wobbly for the first few seconds.

“Mi… Mike mentioned that some famous hockey players were staying.”

“Who’s Mike? Another guide?”

“No… he’s… he is my boyfriend. He came down a while back for a much needed vacation and has been here ever since.”

Whether he was expecting disdain or anger, Mel knew that they shocked him when instead of letting the topic drop the three of them instantly invited the two of them to dinner.

“You, you want us to come sit and eat with you all tonight?”

“Unless you’ve got other plans. We wanna hear about this romance of yours! For being the best tour guide ever the lease we can do is buy you dinner, and of course you have to bring a date, I mean, you’ve been so great today and we’ve all had so much fun, it’s the least we can do.”

“Well, I will give him a call and have him meet us in the lobby then? Or just at the restaurant?” Mel glanced at her cell. They had thirty minutes until they were supposed to meet the guys.

“Tell him to meet us in the bar in about a half an hour, okay?”

Al nodded and excused himself to make that call. Mel sent Sid a text, telling him to meet them in 30 minutes as well. After a quick stop to freshen up at the condo, the three were enjoying a pre-dinner drink when Al got this big smile on his face.

An equally tan and sexy man came to a stop beside their high table. His hair was a little lighter than Al’s, his features less rugged, but they were positively adorable together. After the introductions were made, Mike disappeared toward the bar for a second round of beverages.

They were almost through those when some live music started player. Mike dragged Erin away and Al pulled Mel onto the dance floor after Amanda promised to watch their clutches. She mentioned something about not having fun now that she was an old married lady as she shooed them away.

The beat was electric. Al was spinning her around with the music and Mel found herself smiling as the alcohol mixed with her fabulous day tossed her inhibitions out the window. She twisted to the beat and as she was spun once again she stayed facing away from her partner.

The music slowed slightly and she rocked her body along with it, one arm up around Al’s neck. They were laughing about something when she opened her eyes and noticed a very angry pair of hazel eyes staring at her from the edge of the dance floor.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sid stared as his girlfriend held tightly to her little boy toy in the middle of the floor. His gaze took in Erin behind her, wrapped in the arms of some other tan ‘hunk’ and knew that he wasn’t the only who had noticed. He heard a string of muttered Russian curse words and turned to look at his friend.

“What she doing?” Geno asked angrily. Sid wished he had an answer, but he was wondering the same thing and wasn’t feeling much like hiding his feelings as he turned back to glare at his girlfriend, who stopped moving when she finally noticed him but her satisfied smile remained. As he watched, she tapped Erin’s shoulder and then pointed at them, waving.

As they came over, he noticed they were still holding onto the hands of their dance partners and Sid started seeing red. He’d spent all day fending off advances from one woman after another, had looked forward to having a little alone time with his girlfriend only to find her in the arms of some tanned, smooth faced cabana boy who looked like he’d walked off some run way in Milan in his barely creased expensive looking linen suit.

“What the hell Erin?! Who this??” Geno had beaten him to the punch and the big Russian was looking like he was ready to put a beating on someone, but both he and Sid waited as the girls exchanged an amused look. Erin placed a hand on Geno’s arm as she started to explain and Mel attempted the same thing but Sid backed up slightly, staying just out of her reach.

“Who the fuck is that?” he snarled, glancing down at their entwined hands and then up at her relaxed, happy smile.

“What? This is Alejandro. He was our guide today… didn’t Max tell you?” Mel looked at him as if he was the one causing a scene and he was left to stand there, getting more irritated by the moment as she leaned into the neck of the young man, whispering something in his ear before letting his hand go and watching him walk away with an indulgent grin.

Max had told him about their parasailing and he didn’t mind if their guide had brought them back to the hotel, but that didn’t explain why she was all wound around him out on the dance floor, looking just a little too damn intimate and cozy for his liking. Sid took Mel’s arm in his hand and steered her away from the group where Geno and Erin seemed to be hashing things out somewhat, with the help of Max and Brooks while Amanda was talking with the two young men with an animated smile on her face.

“He said you were parasailing and sightseeing. I’m pretty sure that didn’t include a private tour of the place and a little bump and grind afterwards,” Sid hissed, pulling Mel close.

“Okay, first,” Mel peeled his fingers away from her arm and looked up at him, tilting her head to one side and looking at him like she didn’t recognize him, “why are you so pissed right now?”

“I have had a stressful day, and I’ve been looking forward to having some time with you and then we get here and I find my girlfriend grinding against some stranger! Wouldn’t you be pissed?”

“Well, yes of course… but if you’d just… can we at least go somewhere a little less obvious to have this conversation?”

“Fine.” Sid was fuming. His anger almost at the boiling point. He took her hand and led her over to a more secluded area. “Now, it’s quieter here. So, what’s your explanation, if you even have one?”

“Seriously Sid, what the hell is your problem?! I mean, he’s ga--”

“My problem is that I’ve spent all day fending off the advances of cougars and their daughters and then I come here and find the one woman I thought that I’d never turn away… practically wrapped around some guy while her gold-digging friend is beside her som--”

“What the fuck did you just say?? If you would shut up for a minute I could tell you that him being that close to me doesn’t mean anything because he’s got a b--”

“Hey, I’ve seen you move like that before, but I thought that was something that you only did in my bed, on your back! So you tel--” Mel cut him off again, but this time it was with a slap across his face. He stared down as a shocked look crossed her face before her eyes, normally bright with laughter, filled with tears. She let out a sob and then turned and took off.

“Mon ami?” Sid turned and found Max staring at him expectantly. “C’mon, you need to meet Al and Mike! They’re hilarious! Where did Mel run off to in such a hurry and why is… Fuck,” Max’s usual shit eating grin disappeared as his gaze searched Sid’s face. “Mon Dieu, what happened?”Sid just sort of stared at him, not quite sure how to answer that question. “Sid? Sidney! Focus mon copain. Why is there a palm print on your face??”

“I… I said something… I can’t believe what I just said…. Wait, who the fuck are Al and Mike?!”

“The guys Erin and Mel were dancing with. You and Mel left to have a little private moment when Erin introduced us to them by way of explaining to Geno what was going on.”

“And what exactly is going on?” Sid asked, starting to feel like he may have just made a huge mistake.

“They’re a freakin’ couple dude! And they’re a riot! Mike’s a huge Pens fan! So now, I’ll ask again… what happened?”

Sid took in what Max had just said as he realized what a fucking prick he’d just been. Then he turned and ran out the way Mel had just gone. He needed to apologize and quick. He had to make this right, and fast! He couldn’t believe how quickly the green eyed monster had taken over. He’d never wigged out like that before but then he couldn’t remember ever being that jealous, ever.

Halfway to the condo he paused to take a few breaths and to figure out what he was going to say. How do you apologize for practically accusing the woman you love of cheating, not to mention accusing her friend of being a gold-digger. Fuck, he thought, he’d really dug himself a hole.

Starting back up he made it to the door and opened it. He called out as he took the stairs to the bedrooms. Their door was shut and he twisted the knob but it wouldn’t budge.

“Mel? Open the door… please!”he called out, realizing this was going to be even harder than he’d anticipated.

“Fuck you!” The muffled reply was all he heard. She didn’t say anything else. She didn’t call him names or go on a tirade about his being a tool, or an asshole, or worse. All that followed was silence, he couldn’t hear a sound but her shuffling around the room though when he pressed his ear to the wood.

“Please open up! I… I need to apologize… Mel?”

“Go the fuck away Crosby! I’m pretty sure I hate you right now and I’ve never truly hated anything or anyone in my life!”

“Listen, babe, I lost it for a second. I love you and…,“ The door flew open and he jumped back when he saw the anger in her gaze as the tears rolled down her face.

“Don’t. You. Dare. Don’t think that you can just come up here, say ‘I love you’ and expect me to forgive you like that! It doesn’t work that way!” Sid heard the door open downstairs and then the sound of tentative voices drifted up the stairs. He figured everyone was waiting to see if things were alright.

“C’mon, let me explain.”

“Stuff it! You could jump off a bridge right now for all I care! You just don’t want anyone to hear us fighting. Perfect ‘Sid the Kid’ could never be involved in an actual disagreement with someone. Heaven forbid that happen. Well let me tell you buster, the world doesn’t fucking revolve around you! Now, I told you once and I’ll tell you again… FUCK YOU!” And with that, Mel slammed the door in his face.

Sid heard the click of the lock and leaned back against the hallway wall before he sunk down to the floor. He’d been sitting there a few moments when he heard Erin yell from the floor below.

“He called me a what?!” Fuck, he thought as he dropped his head into his hands. Just when I thought it couldn’t, shit just got worse.

There were a few choice words said about him and then he heard someone stomping up the stairs. He glanced up and saw Erin staring daggers at him. He could tell that he was about to get reamed out big time, and he held his hands up in a symbol of defeat.

“I didn’t mean it. I was pissed and jealous and let it get out of control. I’m sorry.”

“But you still said it, so there has to be a reason behind it. Somewhere, deep down, you must really believe that, or you never would’ve said it.”

“Ugh… no, I mean…” he got up and pounded on the door for a second. “Please Mel, you can’t think that… I just meant that… It’s just that everything’s been so sudden. You only see love like that in the movies an--” The door opened again.

“Leave. Me. Alone. I don’t know how I could spend all this time loving someone who just thinks I’m after his money. You know what? I wish Franzen would’ve taken out your knee you bastard!”

SLAM! The door shut in his face for the second time and Sid reeled back as if she’d slapped him again. Even Erin looked shocked.

“Come downstairs Sid. You won’t get in that room tonight.” He turned at the sound of Max’s voice. He was right, but it didn’t make it any easier to swallow. They’d had a fight before, but this was more than that.

“Will you, will you see if she’ll talk to you Max?”

“Oui, but don’t expect me to try and pump you up in her eyes, I won’t do that.”

“No, just… she needs someone right now and if it can’t be me…,” his voice fell away as he looked hopefully toward his friend.

That said, he hung his head and shuffled down the stairs after Erin. Brooks and Amanda were sitting at the table and Amanda was glaring daggers at him. Geno came in from the kitchen and put a hand on his shoulder before rattling off something in Russian.

“Fuck Geno, I know I messed up.”

“You understand what he said,” Erin asked.

“No, I can see the pity in his eyes and the tone he used… I’m not a complete idiot.” Amanda snorted. “Okay, yeah, and I’m a fucking idiot.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Mel listened to the exchange outside the bedroom door. She couldn’t believe what she’d just said. She didn’t mean it. But neither would she apologize. Not after what he’d said.

“Mon chère, will you please let me in? He is gone. I know you’re right there against the door.”

She unlocked the door and opened it slowly. Max stood there, a plate with some food in his hands. He held it out to her in a peace offer of and she opened the door wider so that he could come in. He didn’t say anything, just set it on the dresser and turned toward her.

Mel took one look at the sadness on his face and burst into tears. She was just about ready to collapse when she felt his arms tuck her into his chest. They both slid down to the floor as her crying turned into gut-wrenching sobs. She clung to the collar of his shirt, her face soaking the material as she tried to cry out all the anger.

“Ahhh, Melany… do not cry. I have two weakness, beautiful women and crying women. And right now both of them have combined and are in my arms. This is a dangerous situation.” She hiccupped as the sobs started to dissipate. It was hard to be serious around him.

Max was rocking her gently as he whispered calmly against the top of her head. She couldn’t understand him, but it was soothing none-the-less.

“You *hiccup* you wouldn’t try anything Max, and we both know it.”

“Shhhh, no one can ever know that! You will ruin my reputation!” His dramatic whisper made her smile. “Now, let us get a little more comfortable, and then you will tell me what happened.” He was so comfortable, Mel didn’t want to leave the safeness of his arms.

Max reached over and pulled at the comforter of the bed. Dragging it off and bunching it up to place between him and the dresser, he sat back against it and pulled her against him. It wasn’t the same as when Sid did it, but then again, it wouldn’t feel that way since she wasn’t in love with Max.

“Damn him!”

“Who, Sid?”

“No, Santa Claus… yes, Sid,” she grumbled.

“D’accord, but why are we damning him?”

“I was just thinking that this isn’t the same as when he holds me in a similar way. And it’s because--”

“Because you are in love with him. You and I would not last. It would be explosive and fantastic, but short-lived. You and him… that’s more of a long-term thing.”

“But he said--”

“And you said something back that was equally as harsh. I heard the Franzen bit. Whatever he said must’ve been bad for you to use that comeback.”

“He called me… he called me a whore and a gold-digger Max.”

“I think the gold digger part was more aimed at Erin, but explain the other.”

“Did you see Al and I dancing?” Max shook his head no so she explained the dance. He let out a low whistle. “And then Sid said ‘I’ve seen you move like that before, but it was in my bed, on your back!’ and that’s when I slapped him and ran.”

“I will say one thing in Sid’s defense, and one thing only. If I saw the woman I loved dancing like that, I would be jealous as well.”

“But he never let me explain Max. He just got all ‘caveman’ on me, kept interrupting me and then insulted me.”

“I know that. But you love him, non?”

“I do, but I also want to hit him and yell at him right now, but, yeah, damn it, I do love him.”

“And I know that he loves you and I know that he is downstairs right now, kicking himself for the things he said.”

“Good, he should be!” Mel sniffed, rubbing at her eyes.

“You said a couple things too though, things that weren’t so nice.”

“Well… yes, but… fuck… I thought you were on my side Max!”

“There are not sides Mel-uh-nee. Call me Switzerland if you want, but I couldn’t choose between you two. He is wrong, oui, but I think, perhaps you are a little wrong too, non?”

Mel sighed and settled back against him. She felt Max shift and he started to rock gently, as if she was a giant child that he could rock to sleep. He rubbed in between her shoulder blades as they swayed and she could feel herself slowly giving way to exhaustion.

“Thank you for being here Max.”

“I could do nothing else. Now, were I completely healthy I would carry you over to that bed. But if I even attempted that…”

“Maxime Talbot, are you calling me fat?” she asked with a smile.

“Of course,” he laughed back. “Now, get that huge ass off of me and into bed!”

“Yes dad…” She heard Max chuckle as she walked over and fell onto the mattress, crawling up until she was curled on her side of the bed. It was lonely without Sid there though. “Max… could you just lie with me, until I fall asleep?”

“Oui.”

She signed as he stretched out beside her and fluffed the pillow beneath his head. He took her hand and brought it up to his lips, pressing a quick kiss against her knuckles.

“Good night Maximus.”

“Sleep tight mon petit ami.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Alright… how do I apologize? Can I apologize? I haven’t lost her right? She still loves me… right?”

Sid knew he was pressing Max for information, but he was beyond caring. He’s been sitting and talking with Erin and Amanda for the past forty minutes and he knew now what was going on. No, he didn’t think any of them were gold diggers.

It was just that they were all so passionate about their men, and it happened so fast, that in the back of his mind he was worried that Mel didn’t care as much as she made him think she did. It just seemed like she was too good to be true.

And what was the kicker was that this was something that he knew she was dealing with. And he’d gone and pretty much thrown it in her face, made it seem like she wasn’t good enough for him.

“Max, c’mon man… tell me something. Anything!”

“Whatever you end up doing, you better not spend a big amount of money on her. While it would show her that you don’t mind throwing down cash for her, it wouldn’t make her feel loved.”

“Okay, but how do I get her back if I can’t use money?!”

“You are no fool mon capitaine. You have a wonderful woman up there who would love nothing more than to be in your arms right now. Trust me, I know this. And you want nothing more than to be up there with her, non? But you embarrassed her I think and I think, perhaps she is not feeling so different. Perhaps you should lean towards that.”

“Toward what?”

“Showing a little humility would not go amiss, mon ami.”

“Okay… but… like what?” He had no idea what he could do. It wasn’t in his nature to set out to embarrass himself. Hell, Pat or his dad would’ve had his head on a fucking silver platter the minute he did anything out of line. Anything.

He wished he could just tell the world that he loved her and be done with it. She was always on his mind, he was constantly watching her. When they were in a room together, even when they weren’t beside one another, he couldn’t look at anyone else.

Sid laughed to himself, remembering their little movie night before they left for Mexico. They each picked a flick and when she popped her choice in he’d groaned. 10 Things I Hate About You was not on his top favorites. But she’d crawled on his lap and hummed along with Heath Ledger as he sang Can’t keep My Eyes Off of You and he found a brand new appreciation for the song.

“Holy fuck! I’ve got it!”

Max jumped at his exclamation. Sid told him the idea he had and watched as Max’s eyes lit up as well.

“Are you sure you can go through with it mon ami?”

“For her, I’d do anything as long as she understands that I love her.”

“Alright, then I’ll go talk to everyone and get everything ready.”

“You have an hour Max, I won’t wait any longer to show her that I’m sorry.”

“One hour. It will be ready.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Mel? Melany?? MELANY!!!”

Mel shot up in bed, the sheets wrapped around her body. She swore she heard Sid yelling, but to her recollection he’d stopped banging on the door and everything a couple hours ago. She’d crashed like the moment Max hopped on the bed. He’d sat against the headboard and she’d fallen asleep almost instantly.

“MELANY! I know you’re awake and can hear me. I love you, and I don’t ever want you to doubt that! I’m sorry that I was such an idiot. I let things get out of hand so quick… I’m sorry. I’m beyond sorry! I don’t even know what that means, but I am.”

She listened as Sid continued to talk. He professed his love and apologized repeatedly and…and she wanted to forgive him. This was so out of character for him. He had to be serious about her in order to talk through a microphone and… wait, microphone?!

Jumping out of bed and running to the balcony she looked down and saw Sid in the lawn beneath her. He was surrounded by a couple giant speakers, tiki torches and a friggin’ mariachi band!

“What the hell are you doing Sid?!”

“I need to apologize, because I’ve been an ass. I want you to know that I’m all in Melany. I can’t… I can’t promise you anything like some of our friends have,” he nodded slightly to the left and Mel turned, noting Amanda and Brooks on their balcony. Amanda stuck her tongue out at Sid and Brooks had his video camera in his hand. Oh lord, this doesn’t look good.

“I don’t expect anything like that you fool! I just… I just don’t want you to think that I’m with you because of your money.”

“And I don’t think that!”

“But you said--”

“I was jealous woman!! You were wrapped around some tall, tanned, good looking guy. And you looked pretty pleased with yourself, you tell me how you’d feel.”

“And had you just let me explain you would’ve heard that he’s --”

“I know now, okay? Just…hey, I’m trying to prove that I love you right now and you’re kind of ruining it. So, shut up and let me tell you how much I love you before I lose my nerve or my dad’s embarrassment sensors go off and he shows up with duct tape!” Mel put her hand to her mouth to keep from laughing.

“You don’t have to do this. I forgive you, you idiot!”

“No, I made a big mistake. And I couldn’t just buy you something to say I’m sorry. That would’ve just made you think that I thought that my money could fix things.”

“Sid, you’re drawing a crowd. Please, come upstairs!”

“No, I told you, I don’t care who sees or hears me! Melany, I’m completely head over heels for you. And I know we’re young. I know that no one knows how this is going to turn out. I know that some people will always have their opinions about us, but… I just want you to know…”

She watched him lower the mic and heard him whispering harshly to someone beneath her. He was muttering that he couldn’t do this and she heard Max telling him to do it anyway. When that didn’t work she heard Erin’s voice say to ‘pull up his big boy pants’ and once again had to keep from laughing when Sid’s face got that intense look, like the one he gets just before a faceoff. He cleared his throat and looked up at her.

“I-I need you to know that,” the one guitar player plucked a string for what must’ve been his note. Sid took a deep breath and tilted his head up to her, a smile playing over his face.

You’re just too good to me true,
Can't take my eyes off you.
You'd be like Heaven to touch.
I wanna hold you so much.”

He continued singing acapela and Mel bit her lip. He really shouldn’t try to sing. But it was by far the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her. She turned real quick to see Amanda and Brooks smiling at her, and one the other side Erin had come up to their balcony and Geno was smiling that goofy smile and booing him as he kept on singing.

Then the band came in and her attention was focused on Sid again. He wouldn’t really… oh god, he’d going to!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Okay Sid, here comes the big part. You can do this, you can do this.

He heard Geno booing him again and glanced up long enough to flip him off before listening for his entrance. He took a deep breath and pointed his free hand up at Melany. She was standing on the balcony with wide eyes and shaking her head. If I’m going to embarrass myself, I’m goin’ all out! Fuck my life, just hit the right note!

I love you, baby,
And if it's quite alright,
I need you, baby,
To warm a lonely night.
I love you, baby.
Trust in me wh – Dammit Geno stop throwing shit at me!! – pretty baby,
Don't bring me down, I pray.
Oh, pretty baby, now that I found you, stay
And let me love you, baby.
Let me love you.”

The band continued to play but he was done. He clicked the mic off and set it on the ground. Then he grabbed one of the rolled up towels that Geno had thrown at him and threw it back, nailing the big lug in the forehead as he stood there laughing at the spectacle Sid had just made.

There was a decent-sized crowd all around, people were clapping and Sid knew it was time for the piece-de-resistance. Mel was yelling at him to come upstairs and he jogged over to the area beneath the balcony.

“Please, come up and we’ll talk!”

“I’ll be right up babe!”

Then he grabbed a ladder that he’d laid down earlier and propped it up against the building. It was tall enough that he’d be able to get all the way up and over the balcony with it.

“Sidney, what the hell are you doing?!”

“I’m doing this the right way Melany, or I’m not doing it at all!”

“You’re going to kill yourself and then your dad is going to kill me slowly and painfully!”

“Shhhh, I’m trying to be romantic,” he yelled as he started climbing the rungs of the ladder. He looked up at her as he made step by step. She was grinning like a fool and he knew his expression had to be similar. He stopped when he got to the ledge of the balcony.

“You’re insane Sidney Crosby!”

“I love you, and I don’t ever want you to doubt that, understood?”

Mel nodded her head as tears filled her eyes. He climbed the final few rungs and pulled himself over so that he was standing in front of her.

“I love you, you crazy ass hockey player! And promise me one thing…”

“Anything!”

“Don’t ever sing in public again,” she laughed.

“Deal, now come here and give me a kiss,” he laughed as he pulled her against him and lowered his mouth to hers. He knew the crowd cheering, their friends were clapping and hollering, and the band had started to play a slower love song. But all he could hear was Melany telling him that she loved him. That was all that mattered.

“We should take this inside, don’t you agree,” Mel asked as she rubbed against him. He liked the way she thought and as they ran inside their room and shut the double doors he was already whipping his shirt over his head. He’d tell her about the plans for the rest of the trip later.