I Will Remember You

Like a Date?

“If you value your life, you will give me back my shoes right now,” I snarled at the boy who was dangling my favorite pair of boots out the ninth story window of my hotel room.
“What are you going to do about it, Rae, huh?” he called playfully as I slowly crept across the room towards him. Jordan let out a laugh as I growled and dove at him. He dodged easily and I hit the wall. “You’re going to have to do better than that,” he laughed and jumped over my head as I lay on the ground rubbing my now sore shoulder.
“Do you want me to hate you?” I snapped as I got gingerly to my feet, making sure that my shoulder was the only casualty from the wall. Jordan continued to laugh like an idiot and widened his eyes, pretending like he’d just dropped one of my precious shoes.
“You could never hate me,” he bragged and I rolled my eyes. I decided to use a different tactic. He had been prancing around my room for the past half hour with my shoes claiming that he was bored and felt like tormenting me.
“Oh really?” I purred as I sauntered over to him. His smile faded as I pressed my body up against his. “What makes you so sure of that?” I asked as I slipped my arms around his waist, bringing us even closer together. I smirked as he lowered his head, taking the bait. Thanks to the fact that he was exactly one foot and one inch taller than me, it took longer than usual for our lips to meet, giving me enough to time snatch my boots from the hands that were placed on my hips before something happened that would be out of my control. As soon as the precious cargo was in my hands, I leapt back and spun around, shoes held above my head in victory. “I can’t believe you fell for that, Staal!” I shouted.
“You are going down!” he yelled and tackled me on to my bed and began tickling my sides.
“Ah! Stop!” I shrieked between giggles. Tears were falling down my cheeks. “Truce! Jordan, please!” I begged as I struggled to breathe.
“Only if you say you’re sorry for tricking me,” he laughed as I squirmed between his legs.
“I’m-“ I started to say before he interrupted me.
“And that you’ll love me for the rest of eternity no matter what!” he demanded and I started again before I got cut off. “And that I’m the most amazing guy you know and-“
“Enough!” I managed to choke out while he laughed. “I’m sorry for tricking you and I’ll love you for the rest of eternity no matter what because you’re the most amazing guy I’ve ever known!” I gasped in one breath and the torture stopped. “Thank you,” I moaned and crawled out from under him to bury my head in my pillow. I felt him flop down beside me and surfaced to glare at him.
“You promised,” he smirked, raising an eyebrow at me. I put my face back in my pillow to hide my smile. “Don’t try to hide that smile, Rae,” he said smartly, poking my side, causing me to giggle and let out a shout of, “No!” He started tickling me lightly again until someone burst through the door.
“Whoa, am I interrupting something?” Kris asked, grinning from ear to ear. I rolled my eyes and shoved Jordan down on to the bed before getting up to give him a hug. “And hello to you, too, Rae.” Max’s nick name for me was catching on apparently.
“What cha need, Krissy?” I asked, spirits high now that I had successfully embarrassed Jordan and got my shoes back.
“Sid’s looking for you,” he laughed and pushed me away. “Follow me.”
Jordan shot me a look and I just shrugged and motioned for him to come with me. Instead of following Kris and I, Jordan went to his room where the rest of the guys were playing some kind of video game. I heard a shout of, “You owe me fifty bucks!” and laughed. Kris led me to a door a few down from my own and walked in. I followed hesitantly.
“Wait here,” Kris said and left me standing in the middle of the bedroom.
“Sure, no problem!” I yelled at his back. I sighed in frustration and took a seat on one of the beds.
“Raya,” I heard someone say and turned around to see Sidney standing by the door.
“Why am I here, Sidney?” I asked, wanting to get straight to the point.
A blush crept up Sidney’s face before he answered. “Well, I’m, uh, not sure how to ask this,” he mumbled. I rolled my eyes and smiled while I walked over to him.
“Just ask me,” I said when I was standing right in front of him. I looked up into his eyes and a wave of butterflies soared through my stomach when he smiled down at me.
“Raya,” he started and the butterflies started beating their wings faster, “would you like to go out to dinner with me this evening?”
My eyes went wide as I said the first thing that came to my mind, “Like a date?” I squeezed my eyes together as I blurted out my response, feeling like a complete moron. I wanted to slap myself. Sidney simply laughed.
“Yes, exactly like a date,” he nodded when I opened my eyes again.
“I’d love to,” I smiled and then blushed when an identical smile lit up his face. I pulled him into a hug and he kissed my cheek, my face turning even redder from the gesture.
“Great, I’ll see you at six,” he said and I took that as my cue to leave. I smiled and waved from the door before I left. As soon as I went to take a step I tripped over something on the floor and would have done a face plant had a pair of strong arms not caught me.
“Careful there, Rae,” Max laughed, helping me stand up right. I glared at him and turned to see Jordan laughing on the ground.
“You’re dead Staal,” I growled and he got up and sprinted down the hall. I ran after him and Max followed.
“Markie’s got a date! Markie’s got a date!” Jordan started shouting as he turned into one of the doors on the right side of the hall way. I skidded to a stop as I turned to follow him. I ran through the still open door and tackled him to the floor. Well, that was my plan, but I ended up hurting my already damaged shoulder instead since he was so much bigger than me.
“I hate you,” I moaned as I lay on the ground in pain. Laughter erupted around us and I lifted my head to see most of the team crowded around a TV. I groaned again and let my head drop to the floor with a ‘thud’.
“No you don’t,” he beamed and picked me up and set me on one of the beds. I rolled my eyes and snuggled into him since he had placed me on his lap.
“You’re right, I don’t,” I smiled and pulled away a little bit.
“So, this date,” Kris grinned and I blushed a deeper shade of red.
“What are you wearing?” Marc-Andre asked me.
“No idea,” I shrugged. “I don’t have very many nice clothes with me.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you have us,” Tyler smiled.
“We can make any outfit look fabulous!” Max exclaimed and I started cracking up.
“Oh really?” I asked, still laughing.
“Yep!” he replied happily.
“Now let’s go, we don’t have any time to waste!” Jordan exclaimed, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the room. Kris, Tyler, Marc, Max, and, to my disappointment, Evgeni followed. I had been avoiding him since my run in with Addy and felt his eyes on me from the second I had burst into his and Sergei’s room.
Five minutes later, my room looked as if a hurricane (not the team!) had ripped it apart (okay, so it could've been the team...). The boys were arguing over several outfits and were clearly disappointed with my lack of “date-worthy” clothes.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” Kris announced after they had a whispered conversation.
“What?” I asked, sitting up on the bed I had been laying on while they were debating.
“We’re going shopping!” Jordan cried excitedly.
“Guys, I just went shopping,” I groaned. “Besides, I don’t have the money to buy anything,” I added as an after thought, realizing I had been saving up to put myself through college and buy a car.
“What kind of guys do you think we are?” Tyler asked in a hurt voice, placing a hand over his heart.
“No, I don-“ I started to protest.
“Rae, don’t worry about it, it’s nothing,” Max said, carelessly waving me off.
“Bu-“ I started again.
“Raya,” Evgeni said. The way he said my name sent shivers up my spine. I wondered if he’d always have that kind of effect on me. “No use to argue,” I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. There was an amused smile playing at the corner of his lips but his eyes had an almost betrayed gleam to them. My only response to his statement was to blush, avert my gaze, and nod.
“Alright, then let’s go!” Jordan exclaimed happily. He grabbed my hand and whisked me out the door again.
“Jordan, slow down!” I laughed.
“No!” he yelled back as the rest of the guys jogged behind us. “We’ve got less than two hours to get you looking perfect,” he said.
“Psh, you act like that takes a long time for me,” I said sarcastically, causing him to laugh.

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“No, it shows too much skin,” Kris said as I came out in what had to be about the tenth outfit they had thrown at me and disapproved of.
“I hate all of you!” I exclaimed and slammed the dressing room door as they all whined. “Except you, Flower!” I yelled as I changed out of the beautiful, but likely expensive, dress.
“Love you, too, Rae!” he yelled back. I heard several ‘thuds’ and a “Hey!” and started laughing.
“This is the one, Rae!” I heard Max yell as yet another outfit was thrown over the door. I picked up the pile of expensive, black material that had fallen on the floor beside me.
“Regardless, this is the last thing that I’m trying on,” I grumbled as I slipped into the dress. It fit tightly at the top and flowed to my knees. It was sleeves with thick straps that crossed in the back, which was bare until just above my hips. The dress hugged my curves perfectly, making it look like I actually had boobs and making my butt look smaller.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” I heard Jordan complain. I only opened the door in response. Mouths dropped. I wish I had a camera to capture their faces. Had I not been amazed by the dress myself, I would have found it kind of comical. They recovered from their shock faster than me, though.
“Is that still you, Rae?” Tyler joked.
“Yep, I know you find that hard to believe, seeing as I could have filled an Olympic sized pool with your drool,” I countered and everyone burst out laughing as Tyler’s face turned fire-engine red.
“Go change so we can get you ready,” Tyler grumbled.
After I changed, we found a pair of black heels to go with the dress and went to check out.
“Okay, so now all you need is to do your hair, right?” Marc asked, apparently completely clueless to a girl’s routine.
“And make up,” I added as they all made faces. “What?” I asked.
“You don’t need it,” Evgeni said unexpectedly.
“Well, thanks, but I beg to differ,” I blushed, trying to recover from his compliment. My embarrassment quickly faded when he shrugged.
“No, Rae, he’s right,” Jordan gushed while the rest of them nodded in agreement.
“Okay, that’ll be eleven fifty-five sixty-six,” the girl at the cash register announced.
“What!” I exclaimed angrily as Evgeni swiped his card.
“Relax, Geno just bought something for his girlfriend,” Jordan said as another girl began ringing up my dress and shoes. I relaxed but only for a second because the girl announced my total.
“Twenty-five oh-nine forty-four!” I exclaimed angrily as Jordan signed his name carelessly, like he did this kind of thing everyday. “Are you out of your mind!”
“Relax, Rae,” Max said easily as Kris put his arm around my shoulders and led me out of the store.
“Relax? That’s more than I make during hockey season!” I yelled as the seven of us walked down the busy, Chicago street.
“Well, that’s only a fraction of what we make during hockey season,” Kris winked as I continued to fume.
“I’m not speaking to any of you for the rest of the day,” I huffed and quickened my pace to try and get rid of them. Unfortunately, they’re all much taller than I am, and caught up easily.
“Is that supposed to be a punishment?” Jordan joked, causing me to throw a fist into his stomach.
“Ouch!” I exclaimed, cradling my hand.
“What? Are my abs of steel too much for you?” he asked and the guys laughed. I just glared and hit and then turned away, arms crossed over my chest, determined not to let on to how much my hand was really hurting. “Awe, I’m sorry, Rae,” Jordan whined, wrapped his arms around me from behind, pulling us to a stop. I sighed and was set on being mad, but couldn’t help the smile that fought it’s way on to my face.
“Is that a smile I see?” Max asked as the guys gathered around us. I hung my head and let my hair fall in my face as I shook my head back and forth.
“I’m pretty sure it is,” Fleury added as I bit my lip to try and hide my smile.
“Yep, she’s definitely smiling,” Kris laughed. I struggled to break free of Jordan’s grasp but managed to eventually and continued walking down the sidewalk, leaving them there to laugh after me.
“Hey, Raya!” Jordan called.
“What!” I yelled back as I turned around.
“The hotel’s that way!” he yelled back as they all laughed at me yet again. I cursed before making my way back to them, doing my best to ignore their comments as we walked back to our hotel together.

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“Holy shit,” Kris whistled as I walked out of my hotel room an hour later.
“What your mouth!” I snapped, but failed to contain the smirk I was trying to hold back.
“Rae!” Max practically squealed as he ran over to me and engulfed me in a hug. He then proceeded to spin around in circles as he picked me up off the ground.
“Maxy! Put me down!” I giggled. He laughed but did as I had asked.
“Wow, Rae, you look amazing,” Jordan said as he took his turn to hug me and take in my new appearance. I had to admit, even I was surprised how nice I looked. I actually looked like I could be dating a famous hockey player.
My hair was set in lose curls and pulled back a little to keep it out of my face. I hadn’t thought to bring much make up, so I only had the basic foundation, mascara, and light eye shadow on. I had one the dress we just bought along with a cream colored peacoat that I had picked up while I was shopping earlier that day.
“You really think so?” I asked, picking at an invisible fuzz like girls tend to do when they’re nervous.
“I know so,” Jordan replied as the rest of the guys that had gathered outside my door nodded in agreement.
“Well, thanks,” I smiled.
“It’s nice to see you’re ready on time,” a voice from behind the group said and my heart gave a little flutter. A blush crept up my cheeks as my eyes met Sidney’s and deepened as I realized how good he looked. “Shall we?” he asked, raising his eyebrows with a grin. I couldn’t find my voice so I simply nodded and made my way over to him, praying that I wouldn’t trip in the five inch heels Jordan had bought me. So now, rather than being eight inches shorter than Sidney, I was only three inches too short. We left to many cat calls and shouts. Beside me, Sidney just laughed while I rolled my eyes at our friends.
“So, where are we going?” I asked as we entered the elevator and the doors shut, leaving us in silence.
“You’ll see,” he smiled. “You look great, by the way.”
“So do you,” I said, fighting to hide a blush. He smiled wider and grabbed my hand.
We made small talk as we walked the three blocks it took to get to the restaurant he was taking me. It was a fancy and expensive looking Italian place called Marcello’s. I had read about it before and knew the food was probably the best in the city, but knew that it had a reputation for being extremely pricy. So, naturally, I stopped outside with my arms crossed.
“What’s wrong?” Sidney asked, feeling me pull back.
“You can’t take me here, Sidney,” I whined, sounding way too immature to be dating a twenty-one year old superstar.
“Rae,” he laughed, “You worry too much,” he grinned and pulled me inside.
As soon as we walked through the double doors, a wave of intoxicating aromas hit my nostrils and had me practically drooling. My stomach grumbled loudly as I remembered that I hadn’t eaten since the pizza at the boys’ apartment. I looked around, much like a child visiting their first museum, trying to take in every detail. The décor was very Italian Renaissance-esque but somehow comfortable.
“Reservations for Crosby,” Sidney was saying to the hostess behind a podium that I just now noticed.
“A table for two, correct?” she asked, batting her eyelashes. I wanted to roll my eyes but refrained from doing so. Sidney seemed completely oblivious to her attraction to him. He gave her a heart-stopped smile and nodded his head as he reached for my hand. She shot me a glare before leading us to the back of the building. “Your server will be right with you,” she said before leaving us alone.
“Well, what do you think?” Sidney asked after we placed our drink order, him a red wine, me a water.
“Of what?” I asked.
“This,” he replied, gesturing around us.
“It’s very nice,” I said. “Too nice,” I laughed, making him smile. “Do you take all of your girlfriends out to this nice of restaurants?” I asked.
“To be honest, I don’t take girls out period,” he said, turning serious. My mouth formed an ‘o’ and he suddenly looked alarmed. “I mean, I don’t really have time for dating. I’m not into one-night stands like a lot of guys in my profession,” he quickly said. I nodded my head, thinking of what had happened earlier that day with Malkin. “So, tell me more about yourself, Rae,” he said after a few seconds of silence, smiling once more.
“Well, I don’t really know that much about myself, remember?” I laughed.
“Right,” he laughed, blushing. “Well, tell me what you can remember.”
“Hmm,” I said, thinking hard. “I like to run for fun,” I began, just saying things as they came to me. “I set my Chicago school’s cross country records and made the states both my freshman and sophomore years. Hockey is my favorite sport. I’m an only child. My mom was my best friend but I was also close with a girl named Adelina who I apparently stopped talking to when I moved for some reason. My favorite color is yellow. My favorite number is seventeen. I like any kind of rock and bands that nobody knows about. And I was born on May 17th, 1991,” I finished, grinning as I studied Sidney’s serious expression. “Are you always so serious?” I joked and watched the corners of his lips turn up into a slight smile.
“Only about the important things in my life,” he replied, causing my breath to get caught in my chest.
“Well, aren’t you going to tell me about yourself?” I asked, breaking his intense gaze.
“There’s not much to tell you,” he shrugged, taking a sip of his wine.
“You’re Sidney-freaking-Crosby!” I exclaimed causing him to laugh. “Surely you can tell me something interesting. I just gave you a boring lecture on my life, you owe me at least a few sentences,” I pouted, making him laugh a little harder.
“Okay, you’re right,” he agreed. “Well, I’m twenty one years old. I play hockey for the Pittsburgh Penguins,” he started and I glared at him. “What is that look for?” he asked with a chuckle.
“I already know that,” I rolled my eyes and he laughed before continuing.
“Well, I’ve never had a serious girlfriend,” he stated.
“Why?” I asked curiously. This kind of surprised me. He was good looking, fun to be around, talented, and had pretty much everything going for him.
“I’m just trying to focus on my career right now. And in high school I was always practicing and doing everything I could to make it into the NHL,” he said. I nodded my head. “Most girls I’ve even thought about dating couldn’t understand how important reaching my dream is.”
“So why’d you even ask me out?” I wondered aloud. He smiled at me again and took a sip of his drink before answering.
“I can just tell you’re different from the rest of them, Rae,” he said, leaving me feeling very light headed once again.

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Dinner passed quickly as Sidney and I continued to get to know one another. Before I knew it we were walking back to the hotel hand in hand. The night had ended much too soon but I was very ready for bed. It had been an extremely long day.
“Thanks for tonight, Sidney,” I smiled as we reached my hotel room door.
“Thank you for accepting my invitation,” he smiled back. “I had a really good time tonight.”
“So did I,” I said and without even thinking about it, I placed my lips on his. I could tell I had taken him by surprise, but after a second he was smiling into the kiss just like I was. We both pulled away a few seconds later to the sound of a door slamming angrily. I sighed, having a good idea who’s door it was. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Good night, Rae,” Sidney said as I opened my door.
“Good night, Sidney,” I smiled as I stepped inside. He gave me another smile before heading back down the hall towards his room. I shut the door behind me and began to change for bed.
After removing the small amount of make up from my face, I stepped out of my dress and pulled on a hoodie of Jordan’s that I had stolen earlier in the day and then crawled into bed. For the first time in a long time, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.