I Can't Do It Alone

All of the players of the Pittsburgh Penguins sat around, looking bored out of their minds, as they listened to their public relations person, Amy, drone on and on about this charity event that was set to take place the following month, and they were all required to attend.

“And, you all will be required to bring a date to this event,” Amy informed them. “This isn’t just some casual thing. It is a nice event. We expect to see every single one of you dressed up in a tuxedo with your date in an evening gown. And, don’t forget to tell your date that the two of you will be dancing, so make sure it is an appropriate gown,” she continued.

Sidney Crosby groaned, hating the fact that he was going to be forced to dance. Everyone knew he didn’t dance, and he was sure that his girlfriend, Jocelyn Jameson, was going to push him out onto the dance floor. Max Talbot, who was sitting next to Sid, laughed at him. Max had been dating Jocelyn’s sister, Brooklyn, for nearly two years, and he knew how Jocelyn was, and he knew that she would make Sid dance, and that was going to be a funny sight.

“Now, if for any reason, any of you cannot find a date, please talk to me, and I will find someone for you,” Amy told them. “So, remember, that will be next month, Saturday the 23rd,” she concluded.

Kris Letang, who was sitting on the other side of Sid, began banging his head against his arm which was resting on the table in front of him. Max and Sid looked over at him, beginning to laugh. “What are you doing?” Sid asked in between his laughs.

“I’m going to get put with either some crazy chick that’s completely obsessed with you,” he said, pointing towards Sid. “Or, I’m going to be paired up with some chick that knows nothing about hockey, and we’re both going to be bored out of our minds!” Kris told them.

“What?” Max asked, confused about what Kris was saying.

“My date. For this stupid charity thing,” he explained. “I don’t have one, so I’m going to get paired with someone.”

“Just ask Tia,” Sid said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Tia Ross was an old friend of Sid’s that had become best friends with Jocelyn and Brooklyn.

“I can’t do that!” Kris exclaimed. “You don’t date your teammate’s ex-girlfriend!” he reminded him.

“Um, in case you forgot, I fake-dated Tia. Remember, I was doing it because you were fake-dating Jocelyn?” Sid told him.

“Details,” Kris said, shaking his head.

“Why are you so scared to ask Tia out?” Max began before he was interrupted by Kris.

“I am not scared!” he yelled out.

“Okay, then, why won’t you ask her out?” Max questioned. When Kris didn’t answer, he continued. “It’s obvious that you like her. And, I’m sure Tia would pity you enough to go to this event with you,” Max joked, knowing that Tia liked Kris, too.

Kris glared at Max, and Sid started laughing. “Max is right,” Sid said, and Kris looked over at Sid questioningly. “She would go with you, you know that right? And, not out of pity. She’d go because she likes you, too. You two are just too scared to admit it!” Sid clarified.

“Whatever!” Kris said, rolling his eyes.

***
Jocelyn, Brooklyn, and Tia sat around a table, waiting on their lunch to arrive. “So, Tia, when are you and Kris going to finally admit that the two of you are madly in love with each other and get married and have beautiful babies together?” Jocelyn joked.

Tia glared at her. “If I hear either one of you ask me about Kris again, I swear, I’m going to go and marry Alex Ovechkin!” Tia retorted.

“Whoa!” Jocelyn said. “I’m pretty sure Sid wouldn’t be too happy about that one,” she told her.

“Yeah, that may put a damper on your friendship with Sid during the season,” Brooklyn agreed.

Tia rolled her eyes. “Guys, you know that Kris and I are just friends. Besides, wouldn’t it be awkward for me to date him after you and him dated?” she asked, pointing at Jocelyn.

“You know that we didn’t date for real. It was like yours and Sid’s relationship,” Jocelyn pointed out. “Why are you avoiding the question anyways?”

“What question?” Tia asked.

“When are you and Kris going to get together?” Brooklyn asked.

“Do you guys have hearing problems, or do you choose to ignore me?” Tia asked them as their food arrived at the table.

“We may have selective hearing,” Brooklyn said with a smile as she dug into her hamburger.

Forty-five minutes later, the three girls were heading over to Tia’s apartment. She walked up the steps and found a card in front of her door with her name on it. “What’s this?” she asked out loud as she picked the white envelope up and unlocked her door.

“Well, open it!” Jocelyn exclaimed as they walked in her apartment.

“Okay, well hold your horses,” Tia laughed as she set her keys and purse down on her table and flipped the envelope over, opening it.

“What does it say?” Brooklyn asked, trying to look over her shoulder to read it. Tia held the card out in front of her, letting Brooklyn and Jocelyn read it themselves.

Tia,

I just wanted to let you know that you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen. I hope that one day I will get enough courage to actually admit this to you face-to-face. But, until then, I just want to let you know that you have someone that likes you from afar.

“Who could this possibly be from?” Tia asked. Brooklyn and Jocelyn looked at each other with a knowing smile on their faces. “What?” Tia asked, feeling out of the loop.

“What about Kris?” Brooklyn asked.

Tia rolled her eyes. “You guys need to get off of this Kris kick. Nothing’s going on between us!” she exclaimed.

“Maybe he’s just shy,” Jocelyn suggested.

“Or, maybe it’s someone besides Kris,” Tia told them, looking at the letter again to see if there were any clues as to who could have given it to her.