Double Booked

Waking up next to Sidney Crosby wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Maybe it was because she wasn’t naked, Nora thought amusedly. And she didn’t have that morning after I-Just-Had-Hot-Sex bliss. Maybe that was it. She imagined there would have been some form of magic involved with waking up next to one of the best in the National Hockey League.

As she lay there studying the beast of a man, she realized there was a kind of magic involved. It had nothing to do with his status in the hockey universe; it had more to do with him being a sleeping state, which Nora determined to be his most tolerable state. No snaky remarks or sarcastic attitudes. Just that body of his, that boyish face, and those lips.

Oh, those lips…

She safely decided that Sidney was one of the more beautiful men she’d ever seen. His body’s mold was a perfect sculpture - an ideal model for how men’s bodies should be. Hard, yet soft; defined, yet a blur of muscle. The quilt covering them both had sunk down to his mid-torso during the night; Nora was silently glad for that.

And then there was his face, slightly hidden by his mop of disheveled dark hair. It wasn’t the drop dead gorgeous you-could-be-the-next-Brad-Pitt kind of face. No, his was boyishly cute, with long, dark lashes that any girl would covet and lips that made Angelina Jolie’s look reasonable at best.

“Enjoying the view?”

Nora nearly fell off of the full-size bed in a fit of shock. “Shit,” she gasped, her hands frantically clutching the sheets for stabilization. “I didn’t even think you were awake…”

Sid cracked open a lid, a goofy grin plastered to the lips she’d been admiring just mere minutes beforehand. “I’ve been awake for a while,” he dismissed, stretching his arms upward to further expose his flawless structure.

She snuggled her head further into her pillow, making sure to keep a keen eye on him. There was no way she was letting the view go to waste.

He rolled toward her while managing to keep a respectable amount of distance away. “Did you sleep well?” he asked. Nora tried not to look to far into his question, determining that he’d only asked it for the sake of conversation.

Besides having to sleep on the very edge of the bed to assure no act of physical contact was made…

“Fine,” she assured him, taking in a deep breath through her nose. She forgot about their close proximity, and was immediately struck by his distinguishable scent. Axe and something…else. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. “You?” she questioned back in attempt at politeness.

He didn’t answer, and instead smirked - a gesture that could have made any given throng of women whip their panties off in unison. Minus Nora, of course. She had a reputation to maintain, one that included lots of sarcasm and the ability to resist temptation. Sidney began to move towards the edge of the bed, cutting off Nora’s thoughts and causing her to sit up a little to further enhance her view. The quilt covering his lower region began its descent southward, and she began to anxiously wonder if he’d been wearing anything at all-

Her assumption was shot down as his navy-and-red plaid boxers came into view and she silently observed the one thing able to recon the force of his lust-worthy lips.

Oh, that ass…

She gulped. Slowly, she brushed the hair from her eyes and put on her game face. “Where are you going?” she questioned, aiming for the most nonchalant tone she could manage.

“Well, we did kind of sleep together,” he observed, his smirk still intact. “The least I can do is buy you breakfast.”

---

It was foolish for Sidney to assume that he could go anywhere without being noticed. And it was foolish to assume that just because he was on vacation, the chance of being recognized was any slimmer.

So that was why he carefully chose the Hill City Café. Out of the many tourist attractions lining the town’s main street, this was the one with the least amount of traffic. They were seated almost immediately, being lead to a small booth tucked into the very corner of the restaurant. It took a few minutes before the waitress arrived, though, which Sidney was thankful for. He always liked time to look over the menu.

“Welcome to the Hill City Café. What could I get the two of ya?”

Sidney glanced at Nora, his gentlemanly upbringing kicking in. Ladies first.

She glanced back at him and got the hint. “I’ll have a, um…a Number Eight. The Fantastic French Toast? With, um…” Sidney admired the way she softly bit her lip as she studied the menu. “Sausage, please. And some coffee. Black.” She handed the menu back to the waitress before sending her attention his way.

“Same,” he told the waitress, handing his menu over as well. “But with bacon.”

“Anything to drink?”

“Coffee. Black.”

He waited for the waitress to finish scribbling down their order before turning back to Nora. It was weird for him - she knew him and he had yet to figure a single thing out about her. Well. Minus her dry sense of humor and sarcastic attitude…and what she looked like naked.

“So,” he began, his gaze trailing after the waitress as she disappeared into the kitchen. “What is it you do then?”

She snorted in what sounded like disbelief. “Please,” she remarked, “you don’t have to pretend to care about what I do.”

“Who said anything about caring?” he shot right back, if anything a little harshly. “You’ve made it clear you know what I do. I’d like to think of it as getting even.”

She slowly considered his comment. “Well in that case…” she began sarcastically, but her expression quickly softened. “I’m a lab rat.”

He blinked. She frowned.

“A microbiologist,” she clarified.

“You don’t sound too excited about it,” he observed.

“Oh, I love my job,” she assured him, her frown turning into more of a grimace. “It’s just…people don’t usually take interest in what I do.”

“Well I didn’t say anything about taking interest-”

“Shut up,” she warned, her grimace quickly exchanging for a smile.

Sidney laughed and tried to pick another question to ask. Do you have any pets? Any siblings? What is it you do for fun? Do you have friends? Do you have a life at all? Before he could muster the urge to ask that last one, their coffees arrived and Nora turned her attention to that instead.

“So what’s it like?” she asked after a few moments of silence.

Sidney glanced up, surprised to see her watching him with an amused expression. “What’s what like?”

She shrugged. “Being a famous athlete?”

He frowned, much rather wanting to talk about her. He was asked about himself all the time, and he couldn’t help but feel conceited each time he answered. “Tiring,” he admitted, “but I love it.”

He could have sworn she’d smiled, but before he could look for proof, she ducked behind her coffee cup once more. The conversation went silent again. Sidney took the chance to really look at Nora, because any other time he’d tried to, she’d been annoyed with him and had an unattractive expression on her face. But now she looked almost…pleasant.

Her face was pretty, not in the classic All-American girl way, but interestingly pretty. Oval-shaped, with high cheekbones and a pointed nose that was dotted with freckles. She had relaxed eyes that framed her ocean blue irises perfectly, with eyebrows that looked naturally arched and not waxed that way by professional services. And her lips were full, pillowy, with a delicate cupid’s bow that puckered her top lip upward.

“What?” she asked, and Sidney became aware that she had been watching him almost the entire time.

“You’ve got coffee creamer on your lip,” he lied, casting his gaze downward as she wiped frantically at her upper lip. He tried not to laugh.

Back in black, I hit the sack
I’ve been to long and I’m glad to be back
Yes I’m let loose, from the noose
That’s kept me hanging about-

“Hello?” Nora asked, bringing the previously blaring phone to her ear. She met Sidney’s eyes for a second before sliding from the booth. “Let me step outside quick, the signal’s a bit static-”

Sidney watched her go. And she was gone for a while. The waitress had brought their food before she’d come back, and after waiting an extra five minutes for her return, Sidney gave up.

He dug in.

---

“Sorry about that,” Nora apologized, sliding back into her booth to see the table adorned with food. Her stomach gave a hungry grumble. “That was Emily, actually,” she said, dousing her three French toast in syrup before she cut into them.

“Really.” His mouth was full of food, making him sound like he’d said “Rear-ree” instead.

“Yep,” she assured him, “and after apologizing about twenty-or-so times, she offered to pay for one of our hotel rooms.”

She noticed Sidney stopped chewing and realized he must have the same reaction she did. Bittersweet. They were only just starting to get along.

“Well,” he finally managed, stuffing another bite of French Toast into his mouth. “Now we just have to decide which one of us goes.”

“I say we figure out if there’s any open hotels first,” Nora advised. “It’s the beginning of June, and the Black Hills is sort of a target for family vacations.”

He nodded, but didn’t say anything, leaving them both alone with their own thoughts. Nora was happy about finally settling their situation, but she had a feeling Sidney wasn’t going to give up the cabin too easily. And neither was she. She also had a sneaking suspicion that he was thinking the same thing. She had to formulate a plan, fast. Maybe if she could drive him out of the cabin by-

Before she could finish that though, Sidney made a gesture like he was about to say something. Nora leaned in closer, a rush of mixed emotion hammering through her as she waited. Either he was going to give up the cabin to her or otherwise. She was hoping the first one. But instead of saying something cabin-related, he took her by surprise. He nodded toward her phone.

“AC/DC? Really?”