Heartbeat

We walked over to my driveway and I clicked open the doors of my uncles black Range Rover.

“This. This is your car?” he asked as he got in, noting the tinted windows. I just shook my head with a grin, putting the key into the ignition.

“Nope. It’s my uncles. It’s bulletproof too.” I said, half joking. It really was, but that was only because this sucker was meant for going over rocks in Iran, not cruising through the streets of downtown Pittsburgh.

“So what does your uncle do exactly?” he asked as we pulled out of the driveway and began driving out of the suburbs. I just shrugged and turned on the radio.

“I don’t really know, to be honest. We lived in D.C for a few years after my parents died and he was always gone and then we just moved to Pittsburgh. He leaves once in awhile for work but he’s never really told me what he did.”

“I’m sorry about your parents.” He said and I smiled, making a right turn onto the highway.

“Thanks. It’s not a big deal though. I didn’t really know them well—they were journalists and there were so many things happening. The Soviet Union coming down, Chechnaya—that’s where they were killed—that I never really saw them. So it wasn’t that tragic.”

“So is that why you want to be a journalist?” he asked, watching me as I stared ahead at the road. I shook my head.

“No—I mean, I guess it’s a reason. It’s like your sister wanting to play hockey. I doubt she did it just because her big brother did it, but when you’re exposed to it all your life, it just seems natural. My uncle works overseas, my parents were foreign correspondents. “

“I get it. My dad was a hockey player too. He got drafted and everything. People think I did this because of him but it wasn’t.”

“A whole family of hockey players.” I said with a small laugh, just as my phone rang.

“Hey, what’s up.” I answered, cradling the phone on my shoulder.

“What are you doing right now?” Marc-Andre Fleury asked excitedly.

“Actually, I’m having a lovely chat with your teammate right now. Telling him all your dirty secrets.”

“Sidney? You’re talking to Sidney? Is he nice? And hey, why would you do that?”

“Aw do you have a crush? And as revenge, for those dates.” I said and Sidney chuckled, looking out the window at the Pittsburgh skyline. It was pretty impressive, I had to admit.

“I do not. “ he huffed, before realizing why he had called in the first place. “Oh, so guess what!”

“What?” I asked as we drove away from the city and closer to the Universities campus.

“I’m in Pittsburgh! I just flew in today. So after your little date, you can come meet me for lunch and tell me all about how much you love him way more than Luke.”

“Shut up, or I’m going to tell Nathalie about how you were playing hockey in the house and broke her vase.” I threatened lightly causing Sid to give me strange look.

“You’re so mean to me.” He said in his French accent, and I mentally gloated as I pulled into campus.

“Oh hey, I’m at Carnegie. I’ll call you later okay? Don’t think I won’t collect on that lunch. Bye Marc.” I said and hung up, tucking my phone away into my purse before parking.

We stepped out and walked over to the student union area quickly, I had every intention of going in and out in less than five minutes. Sid pulled open the big glass door when got to the office and we stepped in, feeling the chilly relief of central air conditioning.

“Hi, I’m Lily Svirnova. I’m here to pick up my uniforms and schedule for the Cheer Team.” I said and the lady at the counter looked me over once before boredly rolling to the right in her chair and getting a package off of the counter.

“Thanks!” I said vibrantly, but she just stared at me dismissively. Sidney and I turned to leave but before we could, she called us back.

“Wait a minute.” The woman said suddenly and we both looked at her expectantly. “You’re Sidney Crosby, aren’t you?” she questioned and Sid nervously rubbed his neck.

“Uh yeah, Hi.” He said shyly as I fought off the urge to laugh.

“We watched the draft—the Sidney Crosby sweepstakes—we’re all looking forward to the season to see you play.” She replied, her voice less monotone than before.

“Thanks, I hope it’ll be a great season.” He said and she waved us out, we walked back to my car hurriedly.

“Well look at you, superstar.” I joked and he gave me an awkward laugh, brushing off the incident without further comment. I had taken this to be a soft spot for him, the feeling of recognition being strange and foreign. He looked so taken aback in that office and so nervous. I shook it off and we walked back to the car, ready to tour the city.

---

It was almost eight by the time we had finished the tour and it had surprisingly gone well. I mean we got lost a few times, but Pittsburgh was a big city. I’m sure even the most skilled navigator would have had a difficult time roaming the streets.

“I cannot believe you asked that guy for directions.” Sid said as we walked along the sidewalk next to the river with paper cups of frozen yogurt in hand. I just laughed and leaned against the rail, not bothering to look down at the dark water.

“I honestly didn’t know he was homeless.” I said, mockingly defensive. Sid just laughed, the two of us leaning against the railing. If I hadn’t known any better, this would have been a date. But it wasn’t because I was controlling the situation and my life and there was no way anything was going to happen.

“But that was a good trip downtown. Pittsburgh is definitely more exciting than Cole Harbour. “ he said, throwing his paper cup away.

“So what would you do in Cole Harbour for fun?” I asked, taking another bite of my own frozen yogurt and turning to him.

“Well, I was always busy with hockey. And I went to boarding school too. But when I went back for the summers, there were some parties.” He shrugged and then gave me a smile. I tapped my spoon against my lips, thinking. I knew there was a party tonight and we could make it if we left now, and it was only about a mile or two away from my house. But I wasn’t exactly sure bringing Sidney there was the best life choice. But then again, I wasn’t exactly the person to go to for good life choices. So I threw away my cup and turned to face him directly, trying to be as casual as possible.

“There’s a party at Luke Hanson’s house, he’s a…friend from highschool.” I hesitated. It would have been a little awkward to say ‘hey, lets go to my ex-boyfriends party!’ But my best friend would be there and all my high school friends and I didn’t want to miss it. But I wanted to spend more time with him too. He was nice, genuine—everything that every normal high school and college boy was not. “If you want, you can come with me. Meet some kids around Sewickley since you don’t know anyone—and pretty soon you’re going to be forced to spend time with Marc-Andre and you’re going to be wishing you had other people to make plans with. Trust me.” I said. Sidney laughed and nodded, the two of us wandering over to the car.

“That sounds awesome.”