New Beginings

The next morning I slept in for once and woke up by myself. Hailey and Luc went to their Boutique already so I was at my apartment alone. The only food I could find was half a box of cheerios, but there was no milk and I wasn’t going to dig through millions of boxes to find a bowl. My out fit was a simply tank top and soffee shorts, so I walked across the hall with cereal in hand.
“James! It’s an emergency!” I yelled and banged on the door. The sound of feet shuffling to the door was heard and I hoped I didn’t just wake him up. James opened the door and stared at me. He was wearing normal clothes and looked like he had been up for hours.
“What is the emergency?” He asked and leaned against the door.
“My bowls are MIA and we have no milk.” I said in a desperate voice. He stared at me like I was crazy, but didn’t move. “Can I borrow a bowl and some milk?” I asked plainly and cut the acting crap. He nodded and walked into his apartment. I closed the door and followed him in. His place was exactly like mine, minus all the boxes. When we made it to the kitchen, James pulled out a bowl and handed me some milk.
“Do you have cereal?” He asked. I nodded and place my box of Cheerios on the counter. After pouring everything in, I looked around and noticed three other people staring at me besides James.
“I hope you know its not polite to stare.” I said and focused back on my cereal.
“How do you know we are staring?” A voice yelled from the living room.
“Were you staring?” I yelled back with a mouthful of cereal.
“That is disgusting!” Another voice yelled and I pointed towards them.
“You are staring!!” I yelled and swallowed my cereal. They all put there hands up in surrender and walked into the kitchen. Dustin Jeffery, Deryk Engelland, and Ben Lovejoy walked in and smiled at me.
“So I hear you got a date with the captain tonight.” Deryk was the first one to talk and everyone else stared at me in shock. I nodded and looked at all of them.
“Yeah I guess.” I replied and took another spoonful of cereal.
“This is scandalous! A captain of the Penguins is dating the Captain of the Nitro.” Ben said in an excited voice. I laughed and nodded, then froze and looked at him.
“It’s one date. We are not boyfriend and girlfriend.” I stated.
“Yet.” Dustin said and pointed at me with an open-mouthed grin. I flicked him off and went back to eating my breakfast.
“What are you all doing up this early anyway?” I asked with another mouthful.
“It’s noon.” Deryk stated and I stared at the clock on the stove. It was noon, and I needed my phone.
“Well, I need to get my phone. Thank you for letting me use you milk and bowl. It was nice talking to all of you. See you later.” I said and walked towards the door. They all yelled goodbye and I made my way to my apartment. My phone was on its charger on the kitchen counter and as soon as I got to it, it vibrated with a text message.

Hey! Can I pik u up at 2? He texted me. I smiled and nodded, even though he couldn’t see me.

Sure! Where are we going? I replied.

It’s a surprise. Dress casual.

Okay c u l8r

Bye

I smiled to myself and skipped to my room at find something to wear. After deciding on a pair of American Eagle shorts and a pale pink v-neck shirt with a white cami under it. My hair took longer than usual to straighten and I had to use Luc’s make-up because I couldn’t find mine. All I put on was a light shade of pink and some eye liner. I didn’t know where we were going, but Sidney said casual so I was going casual. I heard a knock on the door when I was putting on my last coat of mascara.
“Coming!” I yelled and pulled on my worn out, black converse shoes. I walked up to the door and didn’t bother to look in the peep hole. Behind the door, Sidney was standing with his hands in his pockets.
“Hey.” He said and I smiled.
“Hey. Come on in. I just need to grab my phone.” I said and let him in. I grabbed my Iphone and some money. I didn’t want to bring a purse because they are too much of a hassle to keep track of. Every time I go somewhere wit hone, I lose it. Sidney waited patiently in the living room and we walked out together. We made small talk about the weather and our day as we got to his car.
“So where are we going?” I asked when he pulled onto the street. I was excited, but hated surprises.
“It’s a surprise. We will be there soon though.” He said with a smile. I laughed as he turned on the radio and Party Rock Anthem was playing. I got him to fist bump and we sang along to the rest of the song. By the end we were both cracking up and I had to remind him to keep an eye on the road.
“Do you know how to shuffle?” I asked and he looked at me like I was crazy.
“No.” He replied. I stared at him and pretended to be shocked and let my mouth drop.
“Then I’m going to teach you.” I said. He agreed with a laugh and turned on to the Fort Pitt Bridge. We were leaving the city. I looked around and tried to figure out were we were.
“So, what kind of shop does you sister and friend have?” Sidney asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.
“They own a clothing boutique downtown. They design clothes then my friend Hailey makes them. My sister, Luc, does all the business stuff they need.” I explained.
“That’s cool. When is it opening?” He asked.
“They want to open it in a few weeks, but they have to get all the clothes and designs sorted so it will probably be like a month.” I said and he turned into a street past a gas station. I was confused why we got off the main highway when I saw the sign.
“Very creative Mr. Crosby.” I said and looked at the parking lot. There weren’t a lot of cars, so it wouldn’t be very crowded.
“I try.” He replied and pulled on a hat and sunglasses. I put on a pair of sunglasses to even though the chances of me being recognized were slimmer than Sidney’s. He parked the car and we walked to the booth to get tickets. He insisted on paying and we walked to the freakishly tall escalators. Once we got to the top, he stepped off first and smiled.
“Welcome to the Pittsburgh Zoo.” He said and I smiled. At first there is no animals, just a gift shop and a food court. We walked down the path and under the bridge before we saw the first animal. It was a spotted snow leopard and it was walking right by the glass.
“Favorite animal?” Sidney asked when we walked away from the leopard.
“Shark, but also a tiger.” I replied. “How about you?”
“Monkeys or polar bears.” He said. We walked around the zoo and looked at all the animals. We made it halfway through the zoo before we slowed down and took a seat at a table. Sidney ordered fries and we shared them.
“Are you ready for your own team?” Sidney asked while we were eating. I thought for a minute. I was put on the team last March, but they asked me to be captain after the third game in Germany. I already scored two goals and was a huge factor in the team. I accepted because everyone told me to and never really thought twice about it.
“I was captain of the nation team before. I don’t think it will be that hard, I know most of the girls. My assistant captain was on the Germany team with me and played outside mid. She said she would help me.” I replied. He nodded. “Is it hard?” I asked.
“Is what hard? Being a captain of a profession sports team?” He asked for an answer. I nodded. “Yes, it’s the hardest thing I have ever done. I was young when I became captain and I was overwhelmed. Then there is the media. You have your family though. Your sister and best friend are here. I had just me, my family was two thousand miles away.” He explained. I smiled and thought. I wasn’t on my own. I had my family, and I could always talk to Sidney.
“What are the people like on your team?” He asked. I laughed and shook my head.
“Nuts.” I said simply. “Everyone is really young. There is only 5 players over the age of 30. There is Stacie who is the Max Talbot of our team. She will party and hook up wherever and when ever. Then we have Marley. She is the Kris Letang of our team. All the guys think she is hot and she is incredibly shy. Addie is one of the older players and like all of our mom. She will take care of us and I crashed at her house for at least 8 months when I was 18. Everyone else is loud and obnoxious. We are all friends and are like a family.” I said and tried to explain the most prominent people. I related them to his players so he had an idea of what I was talking about.
“You guys need to be close. That is a key factor in playing. The teams that aren’t as close don’t do well.” Sidney told me and we started talking about the dynamic of teams in our respective sports. When we finished the fries, we headed towards the aquarium. On our way there, our hands came together and intertwined. I smiled to myself as we walked into the large building. There was every kind of fish imaginable there. We saw the fish from Finding Nemo and sand ‘Just Keep Swimming’ for at least five minutes. People looked at us like we were crazy.
“Sid, look! It’s you!” I exclaimed and pointed to the penguins when we passed. He started laughing and fake punched my shoulder. Some people looked at us, but didn’t recognize him. We watched them for a few minutes before walking to the shark tank. I jumped up and down and could name every shark in the tank.
“Tiger shark, Bull shark, Hammer head, and that is a nurse shark.” I said and pointed to each one. Sidney looked at me impressed and we passes the tanks of murky river fish. Once we got out of the aquarium, we walked to the polar bear exhibit. They were playing in the water and I stood against the glass with Sidney behind me. Our hands were still together and his other hand found my hip.
“Excuse me, are you Danni Rossi?” A little girl asked and poked my leg. She had to only be about 5 and was soo cute.
“Yes I am, what is your name?” I asked and crouched down to her level.
“Alex.” She replied with a huge smile. “Will you sign my jersey?” She asked and pointed to her shirt. She was wearing a USA white jersey. I smiled and nodded. Sidney pulled out a sharpie that came out of no where and I thanked him. I singed the shirt quickly. She smiled gratefully and gave me a hug before running back off to her family. I handed Sidney back his sharpie and stood next to him.
“She was cute.” Sidney said.
“Yeah. That never gets old. Where did the sharpie come from?” I asked. He shrugged and pulled it out of his pocket.
“I get asked for autographs a lot, so I carry one around. It’s a habit.” He explained coolly and we walked away from the polar bear tank. The sky was getting noticeably darker with black clouds as we walked towards the seals. We decided to skip the playground and made our way towards the deer. To get to the deer, you have to walk along a dirt path and periodically walk through boxes with doors on either end. They are to make sure the deer and other animals don’t escape.
We made our way through the deer and other forest animals before it started drizzling. The rain didn’t bother us, so we kept walking through the wooded area. At the bridge, it started pouring. This bridge was one you would see in a jungle. It had rope railings, and the bottom was wood. It wobbled and swayed as you walked. Sid grabbed my hand and we sprinted across the bridge and through the door. We were alone in the cube thing and half soaked. The rain pounded the sides and a boom of thunder made me jump towards Sid. It went from a hot sunny day to a full out thunder storm in less then 25 minutes.
Another loud boom of thunder rang through the zoo and Sidney pulled me into him. I didn’t object and placed my hands on his chest. My head soon followed and his hands wrapped around my waist. A flash of lightning lit up the dark tree covered ground and I looked up at Sidney. He looked down at me and my breathing hitched. We both leaned in and our lips met. It was a simple kiss, but felt so good. His lips were soft and it was like a perfect first kiss. We broke apart and stared at each other. He looked a little scared, as if I didn’t want to kiss him.
“I didn’t know this was you style Crosby, kissing girls on the first date in public.” I said with a smirk. He smiled and shook his head.
“It is dark, raining, and we are alone so I think I’m fine.” He replied. I moved my hands up to his neck and leaned back into his lips. He kissed me with more passion this time and we were easily making out. It wasn’t a R rated make out that parents would have to cover their kids eyes for. It was a family-style make out. We couldn’t go crazy in public.
The rain slowed down and we broke apart. I was breathing heavy, but we stayed in the same position. No words were exchanged and I just watched the rain hit the dirt path. I don’t know how long we stayed like that, but once the rain slowed down to a sprinkle, we left the door box thing. Our hands find each other as we walked to our car. We finished going through the zoo and it was already 5. As soon as we got into the car, my phone started vibrating in my pocket.
“Hello?” I asked without checking caller I.D.
“Why the hell aren’t you answering you phone!” Luc yelled into the phone. I had to pull it away from my ear and Sidney cringed at her screeching.
“I was at the zoo and had no service I guess.” I replied, a little scared. Lucelle is a force to be reckoned with when she is mad.
“Get your ass to the shop! Get here fast!” She yelled again, but not as loud. Sidney looked at me and I pointed to the city. He nodded and started going back the way we came.
“What is wrong?” I asked. I could hear Hailey on the other end trying to calm her down.
“I need you now!” She said and her mood completely changed. Instead of the raging Luc I was just talking to, she sounded almost sad and scared.
“What happened?” I said more urgently. I could hear her sniffle her nose and pause for a minute.
“I’m pregnant.” She whispered. “Deklan is the father.”