Rise and Fall

Sid looked around the restaurant, and he realized that Jocelyn was right. “We have been set up,” he muttered. He looked over at Jocelyn who suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Listen, I’ll just go,” he told her, beginning to stand up.

“No,” Jocelyn called out, and Sid stared at her. Did she actually want him to stay? “Sid, I think we need to talk,” she told him, and he sat back down.

“Okay,” he said slowly. “What do you want to talk about?” he asked.

“I lied to you,” she told him.

“You lied?” he questioned. “About what?”

Jocelyn was quiet for a moment while she thought about what she was going to do. Was she really about to tell him that she was actually in love with him. That she needed him in her life?

“Jocelyn,” Sid called out when she didn’t say anything for a few moments.

“I lied about Kris,” she suddenly blurted out, losing all the courage she had. She couldn’t tell him that she was in love with him. At least not right now.

“What are you talking about?” Sid asked, confused.

“I’m not dating Kris,” she confessed.

“It sure looks like you are,” he said, pointing to the table, indicating the date that it appeared Jocelyn was on with Kris.

“We’re faking it,” she admitted. “I was angry after you told me that I was just a distraction to you, and I wanted to make you jealous. So, Kris agreed to pretend to be my boyfriend, hoping you’d be so jealous that you’d want to get back together with me.” She inhaled deeply, having just admitted everything in one breath.

Sid stared at her for a minute, trying to digest everything that she had just told him. “You and Kris aren’t really dating?” he asked slowly.

“No, we’re not,” she said.

“But, I got into a fight with him and everything. I mean I about punched the guy,” Sid said, remembering back to the time in the locker room when he had first found out that they were dating. Or pretending to date.

“Yeah, Kris went along with it pretty well,” Jocelyn said jokingly. Sid was quiet for a little while, and Jocelyn looked over at him. “Sid, please say something,” she begged.

“I lied, too,” he suddenly spoke up.

Jocelyn looked up at him, a puzzled look on her face. “What?” she asked.

“About Tia,” he explained. “I lied about Tia.”

Jocelyn opened her mouth, ready to tell him that she already knew all about that, but he silenced her. “Jocelyn, I’m not dating Tia. We went on one date, and we realized that we’re better off as friends,” he admitted.

“Sid, I—“ she tried once again, but he cut her off.

“I wanted her to continue to pretend to be my girlfriend, though, to make you jealous.”

“Sid, I know,” she said quickly, trying to get the words out of her mouth before he interrupted her again.

“What?” he questioned. “You know?”

“Yeah,” she admitted. “When Tia and I met at the game, she ended up confessing everything to me. She said that you two were just friends, and that she was pretending to be your girlfriend.”

“Damn it, Tia,” he muttered under his breath.

“Don’t be mad at her. She said she was going to try to get us back together,” Jocelyn told him. “I think tonight was her big plan.”

“Wait a minute,” Sid said suddenly. “You said that you and Kris weren’t dating. So, why did you come here tonight with him?” he questioned.

“Kris asked me out to dinner. He assured me that we were going out just as friends. When he brought me here, I was actually pissed at him, thinking that it was really a date,” she added with a laugh.

“So, what does this all mean?” Sid asked, looking over at her. “I mean, we’ve figured out that we’re both pretending to date someone else just to make the other person jealous. But, I still need to focus on hockey, and you still only started dating me because my teammates told you to,” he reminded her.

Jocelyn looked up at him, knowing she needed to tell him the truth. “Sid,” she began, and he looked into her eyes, which caused her to become even more nervous than she was before. “Sid, I love you,” she said quietly, breaking eye contact to look down at the table, scared for his reaction.

“What?” he questioned, and she quickly glanced over at him to find him more in shock than anything else.

“I love you,” she repeated. “Sid, I’ve fallen in love with you. Yes, the reason I originally started dating you was because of your teammates, but they didn’t make me keep dating you. I lied when I said the only reason that I was dating you was because of your teammates.”

Sid tried to say something, but she cut him off. “And, I realize that you might not feel the same, but I need you to know that I do love you. I should have told you from the beginning that Max had asked me to date you, but everything else I told you was the truth. I never lied to you about anything else,” she told him.

“Jocelyn,” Sid said, and she looked up at him, taking a deep breath.

“Yeah?”

“I love you, too,” he said with a smile.

“You do?” she asked.

“Of course,” he said with a small laugh. “I mean why else would I pretend to date someone just to make you jealous? Why would I try to fight with one of my teammates because I was jealous that I thought he was dating you? Why would I still want to be with you even after I find out that you started dating me at the request of my teammates?”

“I love you,” Jocelyn said, standing up from the seat she was sitting in and walking over to sit next to Sid. She leaned over, putting her hands on the back of his head, pulling him close. “I love you,” she said again before slamming her lips against his.

“I love you, too,” Sid murmured into her lips as he smiled into the kiss.