Got It Bad

Clara’s mood quickly deteriorated as the game went on. Talking to Mario, Nathalie and their young kids was fun and she loved it, but it didn’t help the fact that the Penguins handed the Flyers their asses on platinum platters. On her way down, Mario just patted her shoulder and Nathalie gave her a hug. Austin, bless him, surprisingly made her smile when he asked if she would be a Penguins fan forever now. The thought was comical.

As unhappy as she was for her team, she was happy for Sid. He scored a goal and helped on three of the four others. His amazing season was continuing to get better, and she knew that the team would go far in the playoffs.

Clara waited outside the hallway for Sid, not wanting to be with all the happy teammates and their family. She was being a Debbie downer and she knew it, but she couldn’t help it. She hated when the Flyers lost, and growing up hating the Penguins? Yeah, it didn’t help. She was in the hallway for what seemed like forever when Sid came into the hallway, looking around. She just looked up from her seat on the floor and smiled. His hair was a mess and still damp, and his suit was rumpled. Finally Sid looked down, a smile lighting up his face as he saw her.

When Clara stood up, his gaze was confused. He was staring at her chest and she looked down, realizing he could see the Penguins jersey under her coat. “Surprise?” she said weakly, before she was attacked in a giant hug and being kissed like never before. When he pulled back she laughed, feeling surprisingly light and airy. It was probably because the kiss left her breathless. “I guess you like it?”

“I love it,” he stated emphatically, kissing her again. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise… And I didn’t know which one I had ended up grabbing this morning so…” Sid just nodded, pulling Clara against his side tightly. “Great game, by the way.”

“Thanks,” he said, squeezing her side gently. They were quiet as they walked to Sid’s car and quiet all the way to his house. Clara was starting to get nervous once more, her thoughts going back to Staal’s comment before the game. She had thought about sex with Sid for a long time, but she had never wanted to bring it up. She didn’t want to seem like she was one of those girls, one that just wanted sex. She actually enjoyed Sid’s company, something that six months ago she would have never thought possible. If someone had told her she would be dating Sidney Crosby within the year, she would have laughed at them and walked away as fast as she could.

But now Clara had been dating him for some time. And she wanted to take the next step in their relationship, because he was worth it. She was nervous, sure, but she was excited. Even if they ended up doing nothing but cuddling, it was a giant step in their relationship. She was just barely out of her jacket inside Sid’s house when he had her pressed up against the door, kissing her.

They’d had some intense make-out sessions, but nothing like this. Once Clara’s hands hit Sid’s tie, all hope was gone for them having an innocent night cuddling. She tugged at it until it was off and he pulled her closer to him and they were both breathless within seconds. It was when Sid’s hands found their way under the jersey and shirt to the warm skin underneath that Clara made any noise.

“Bedroom, now,” she managed to get out between their kisses and Sid picked her up and began walking up the stairs, still kissing and nipping her lips. They didn’t even get to the bedroom before Clara was against the wall again, being kissed like never before.

When Sid finally moved down to her neck, she breathed out a “holy hell,” and jerked against him. She felt Sid hiss against her neck and she grinned. She sucked in a deep breath as Sid stopped what he was doing and looked up into her eyes. She was surprised at how much darker they turned, making them appear almost black. He tucked her bangs behind her ear, letting his thumb brush over her cheek gently. It was a drastic change from the almost animalist way her pushed her against the door and wall.

“Clara, are you sure about this? I don’t want to push you to do something you don’t want to,” he said softly, staring into Clara’s eyes and seemingly straight into her soul.

“Sid,” she said softly, slowly. “I’ve wanted this for the longest time. So either undress me now, or I’m leaving.”

He didn’t need to be told twice.



“You don’t know how hard it was for me to take off the jersey,” Sid said sleepily, laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling of his darkened bedroom. Clara giggled into his side, kissing his ribcage.

“Next time I’ll keep the jersey on, how about that?” she asked, propping herself up on her elbow and looking down at Sid. His hair was still a mess and his face was relaxed. He was so close to falling asleep and Clara smiled, putting her chin on his chest, still looking at his face.

“There’ll be a next time?” he asked, opening one eyes too look at her. Clara just grinned, kissing his sternum.

“If there wasn’t a next time I don’t know what I would do with myself,” she stated, before getting out of bed. She heard Sid groan and grab her wrist.

“No, stay in bed,” he said, opening both of his eyes this time and giving her puppy dog eyes. Clara just shook her head.

“I can’t sleep naked,” she stated, shaking her hand free and walking over to her bag, which she brought all the way with her upstairs before they went to the game. Clara pulled out a new pair of panties and her comfy plaid pajama bottoms, before slipping into them quickly. She grabbed Sid’s shirt, which was just lying on the floor next to the lamp, and slipped that on as well, before climbing back into bed with Sid. She gave him a quick kiss and they both smiles, until she tried to settle into his hold.

Between her forehead and his chest there was a piece of metal and it was bothering her. She sat up and looked at the necklace. It was a little circle with the words “I love you” in it. She blinked, but the necklace was still there, in her fingers. “Who gave you this,” she asked mildly, watching as Sid opened his eyes and sat up a little bit, taking the necklace from her fingers gently. There was no mistaking the widening of his eyes.

“Uh, no one got it for me. I… bought it.” Clara just looked at him, a confused look coming over her face. She sat up and sat cross legged facing him. Sid sighed and sat up, running a hand over his tired face, before reaching back to unclasp the necklace.

“You don’t have to take it off on account of me finding it,” she said quietly, watching his. Sid just shook his head, clasping the necklace and turning the circle over in his hand. She watched his face as he did this, only seeing the movements out of the corner of her eyes.

“But I did need to take it off. I was only wearing it until I found the right time. But you found it first…”

And then the most amazing thing happened. Sid held out of the necklace to her. She furrowed her eyebrows before taking the necklace and again looking at the little pendant. Only this time, she wasn’t looking at the engraved “I love you.” Instead, she was looking at the number eighty-seven, with her first name written on top and her last name underneath it. She ran her fingers over it once, not really feeling it sink in. She turned the necklace over in her hand and looked at the “I love you” side. She could feel a smile breaking onto her lips, stretching her face impossibly wide.

Clara looked up to see Sid with his hands over his face, and she frowned. She shifted so she was on her knees, and then swung a leg over Sid’s legs. At that he peaked out from between his fingers and Clara gave him a bright smile. She was so happy she didn’t have words to describe what she was feeling; he smile couldn’t even properly describe what she was feeling.

“I love it,” she said quietly, still smiling, and Sid finally brought his hands down from his face. Once he did, Clara attacked him in a hug, made just the slightest bit awkward because Sid was still naked under the thin sheet. But that didn’t matter, because Sid was taking the necklace from her fingers and putting it around her neck, before kissing her soundly.

They were both smiling after the kiss and they got comfortable in bed facing each other. “And Sid?” Clara said, just as Sid closed his eyes with a contented sigh.

“Hmm?”

“I love you too.”