You Can Let Go Now

"So tell me a little about yourself," Sidney said as they sat down on a picnic table. "Where'd you grow up?"

"I lived with my mom, my little brother Matthew, and my grandparents in the suburbs of Chicago. I was into school a lot and president of student council. My dream was always to go to Colombia, my mom went there. I realized Colombia isn't as good as I thought after my first month, " Elizabeth said.

"Why's that?" Sidney asked.

"I like it, don't get me wrong. It's a great school academically and right in New York City, but there are a lot of pretentious people there. I'm glad it's my last year there."

"And how'd you meet McKenzie?"

"She was my roommate freshman year and I've lived with her ever since."

"I see, and you don't get sick of each other?" Sidney asked. He knew that if he lived with one of his teammates that long he would go insane.

"Not really, I mean obviously we get in fights here and there but nothing serious. What about yourself?" Elizabeth asked, taking a sip of her lemonade.

"What about me?" Sidney returned.

"What was your childhood like? And don't just tell me all hockey stories, I want to know about you," Elizabeth exaggerated.

"Well, I grew up in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. To be completely honest, most of my childhood was hockey. I didn't have time for normal things like going to the movies or whatever. My childhood was hockey, Elizabeth," Sidney told her seriously.

"That's a lot of sacrifices for a sport," Elizabeth said, and Sidney gave her a small smile and shook his head.

"Yeah, but it was worth it in the end. I'm living my dream, I mean we just won the cup. I couldn't ask for anything more," Sidney reminded her.

"Well, even though I am a Ranger's fan, I must say that what you guys did out there was impressive. Detroit is a great team, and I don't know if I ever congratulated you properly. So, congratulations," Elizabeth said.

Sidney smiled and said, "Thanks. So what about you? What do you like to do?"

"Help people, mostly kids. Ever since I can remember I've always wanted to help those in need. I'm going into my senior year of Social Working program. I know it's not the most high paying job ever, but that's not what I'm about. And that may sound weird seeing as I sit here with my blackberry and my coach purse, but I know money isn't what life's about," Elizabeth told him, looking him straight in the eye.

Sidney was shocked, he wasn't going to lie. He knew she had money-she had expensive clothes and an expensive car- but by no means did he think she was spoiled and snotty. Still, he didn't imagine her doing social work when she said she went to Colombia.

"Good for you," Sidney said sincerely, "that's gotta be a hard job."

"Yeah, but it's rewarding. Kind of like what you do, there's lows but the highs make everything okay," Elizabeth said.

"Point taken. Now, do you want to go on more rides?" Sidney asked.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows in surprise and asked, "Excited to go on some rides?"

Sidney shook his head and said, "No, but I know you want to so I decided to suck it up and try and enjoy them."

"Aww, how nice," Elizabeth said sarcastically.

"That is one ride I refuse to go on," Sidney said, looking at the Zipper with disgust.

"Fine, only cause I agree that it's the one ride that could make me sick," Elizabeth admitted. She was about to suggest they should go before it closes and have terrible traffic, but she saw McKenzie and the group she was supposed to be with standing near the exit.

She really didn't want to run into them. McKenzie would ignore her and her good mood would be ruined. She had a great time with Sidney all night, and she didn't want to leave in a crabby mood.

However, McKenzie saw her and called her over. Elizabeth excused herself from Sidney, who went to the bathroom, and walked over to her friend.

McKenzie immediately hugged her and whispered, "I am so sorry. I was being immature and selfish. I saw you guys earlier and you looked so happy and I was just jealous. I understand if you're still mad at me but-"

Elizabeth laughed and reassured her by saying, "Kenz, it's fine. I'm not mad, I understand, I'd be jealous if I were you, too."

McKenzie laughed and lightly hit her arm. "So, you guys do have a thing?"

Shaking her head, Elizabeth quickly said, "No, no. We're just...friends. I can tell he's still caught up with everything that happened this past year and I don't blame him."

McKenzie gave her a quick silencing gesture as Sidney came walking back toward them. He politely said hi to McKenzie, who smiled and said hi before she excused herself to go back to her group.

"Ready to go?" Elizabeth asked, turning to Sidney.

"Yeah," Sidney said, following her to the car.

The car ride was filled with small conversation and a few silences, none of which were awkward. Finally, they got home around twelve. Sidney said, as he got out of the car, "Thanks for the ride and the whole night. It was the most fun I've had in a while."

"No problem, I had fun too. Thank you for coming with me," Elizabeth said.

"Yeah, we should do it again. Goodnight, Elizabeth," he said, smiling at her before he closed the door and walked back to his house.