Sequel: Picking Up the Pieces

Bringing the Devil Out of Me

Seventeen

The smell of barbecue caused my stomach to growl as I milled around the house, bumping shoulders with some of the Penguins. Much to my surprise, Geno had invited Ilya Kovalchuk, Martin Brodeur, and Mattias Tedenby to join the festivities as well.

"It's because you like the Devils. Sidney warned me, so I figured it'd be fun for you!" he had said. I couldn't decide who I wanted to punch more for the surprise, the ever scheming Geno or Sidney, who was the sweetest creature on the face of the earth when he wasn't breaking my face. Ugh my face. I hadn't dared look in the mirror too long, but when I did I saw that my face was marred by hideous bandaging and bruises. Sidney got a horribly guilty look on his face whenever he looked at me, even though he knew I didn't blame him for it. I jumped as I felt two hands curl their way around my waist, but smiled as I felt Sidney's unmistakably soft lips kiss my neck gently.

"This is a great party and it isn't even the 4th of July yet," Sidney whispered into my ear. I blushed and nodded.

"It really is, but you can thank Marc for that. He did all the invites, I just booked the place," I murmured. Sidney chuckled.

"So you look pretty exhausted...why don't you say we go take a nap?" he asked. I raised my eyebrows.

"We?" I asked.

"Yes, we," he laughed, unwrapping his arms from around my waist and twining his fingers through mine. He led me up the stairs and when I walked into the bedroom that I had claimed, I noticed that a large black Reebok hockey bag had been placed next to my suitcase.

"You're sleeping in here?" I asked. He nodded.

"There were only so many rooms, and I figured that most of the guys are going to pick up chicks or are married...so I decided to sleep in here," he shrugged. I tried not to notice the bashful blush that tinted his cheeks, and instead flopped onto the bed. He immediately followed suit, jumping onto the bed and making me pop up a few inches. I laughed as I crashed back onto the mattress and scooted over so that I could curl up into his side. He wrapped his left arm around my waist and held my right hand with his. For a while I just sat and listened to his breathing and heart beat. His heart beat strongly, and I knew that it was because of his athleticism, but it was still stunning how strong and slow his heart beat was. Although he didn't look freakishly huge, he was incredibly muscular and in full control of his body. He bent over after a while and pecked my forehead, so I looked up and kissed his jaw bone. He smiled softly, and I chuckled quietly.

"What?" he asked.

"You have such an adorably dorky smile," I muttered before kissing his lips. He smiled against my lips and simply held onto my waist more tightly. I soon found myself sitting on his lap, my hands wrapped around his neck while his ran through my hair. He was an incredibly good kisser, and it wasn't long until my entire body was tingling. I forgot about the pain in my nose, and allowed myself to slip into a blissful abandon as we kissed. It wasn't racy really...in the short amount of time we had been together there was almost an unspoken agreement that we didn't need racy moments to be happy. I barely know him, and here we are making out and I am the happiest girl in the world. I felt his fingertips brush against my hips, and broke away in surprise. He raised his eyebrows and I just kissed him again. What the hell? He allowed his fingers to dance up and down my sides, feeling my curves but never wandering up towards my breasts. It was lovely actually, the way he touched me without showing some crazy sexual desire. After a few more moments he broke away and stared me in the eyes.

"Aren't we supposed to be napping?" he asked. I pouted, but nodded and slipped off of his lap. I was out cold in minutes.