Double Booked

Nora slunk back into the sleek, black SUV’s passenger seat with a look of defeat on her face. The interior of the vehicle was silent for a moment; Sidney, fingers gripped tightly on the steering wheel, studied the girl. “Well?”

She huffed out a breath. “Nothing.”

Sid banged his head against the steering wheel. “You’ve got to be kidding,” he groaned, his face buried in the wheel. How could there be no available hotel rooms in the entire western region of South Dakota? Not even one? “Not even with the name drop?”

Another huffed out breath. “Not even with that,” she verified. “This has to be the one place in the United States that doesn’t flip a tit at the name ‘Sidney Crosby.’”

He laughed at that. “Well,” he said again, angling his head on the steering wheel to face her. She had her hands tucked beneath her bottom like it was cold, even though the temperature read eighty-seven degrees.

At least the weather gave him some recognition.

“Well what?” she questioned, leaning her head back against the seat’s headrest while still maintaining eye contact.

He shrugged. “We’re in the middle of Rapid City,” he mentioned, “and it’s an hour’s drive back to the cabin. I say we see what the city has to offer before we head back.”

He watched cautiously as Nora rose a brow, anticipating her icy remark, but none came. Instead, she reached into the canvas bag she had stored next to her feet and pulled out several brochures. “It’s a good thing I came prepared then.”

Sid just laughed.

---

“Here! Take a picture!”

Nora had never felt like more of a child as she shoved her camera into Sidney’s hands and clamored onto the concrete stegosaurus and stuck a pose. A brochure for ‘Dinosaur Park’ had been the first of their picks, resulting in a small park atop a hill in the middle of the city that housed several life-size concrete dinosaurs.

“Say…” Sidney called as he steadied his finger to take the picture. “…‘rawr?’”

Nora snorted but nonetheless wrinkled her nose and issued a less-than-intimidating growl. The camera clicked and she climbed down, plucking the camera from Sid’s hands so she could view the finished product. “Not bad,” she commented, “are you sure photography isn’t your true calling?”

“I’ve given it thought,” he joked as they wandered on, keeping a respectable distance between them. Nora had come to find that having some company was nice. Sidney was proving to be a good guy, and - since they’d be staying at the cabin together for the duration of their stay - she ought to get used to having him around.

So far, so good.

They descended a long set of stairs approaching the T-Rex. Nora grinned. “Want me to take your picture?” she asked, already adjusting her camera.

With a mash of words that Nora assumed to be agreement, Sidney went to stand next to the statue. She had a hard time not blurring the picture as she laughed at his pose - knees slightly bent, hands balled into fists at his side, and a facial expression that reckoned that of a child’s on Christmas morning.

“I’m sending this to the NHL,” she giggled as she snapped the picture, “and I’m going to recommend this to be used as your roster picture. I’ll even photoshop a jersey in for them.”

“If I were standing beside a giant penguin,” Sidney noted, “it’d make more sense.”

“Well,” Nora decided, accepting what she assumed to be a challenge. “We’ll just have to find a giant penguin then.”

---

Sidney was surprised the day had gone by so fast. Twenty-four hours prior, the pair had nearly been at each other’s throats. Now they were on what seemed to be ‘friendly’ terms. He opted to keep it that way, too - he’d quickly discovered Nora’s bad side wasn’t a good one to be on.

“Should we call it a day?” he suggested as they hopped back into his rental. The leather interior was more crowded now after they’d visited the various gift shops and stores around town. He’d even picked his mother up a Black Hills t-shirt during his streak of generosity.

“Let’s,” Nora decided as she slumped back into the seat, fiddling with the radio until a somewhat-modern sounding station came through. Sidney wasn’t sure of the song’s name, but he was sure it was by Everclear.

“I love this song,” Nora declared, moving to up the volume as her jean-clad legs bounced to the beat. “Santa Monica by Everclear,” she clarified.

I just want to feel some sunshine
I just want to find some place to be alone

Don’t we all.

Sidney guided the SUV onto Rapid City’s Main Street, which was crowded for nine o’clock on a Monday night. But it was summer after all, he decided. Commoners were allowed to enjoy the three-month holiday, unlike himself.

From the corner of his eye, Sidney saw Nora sit up straight in her seat and press her face to the window much like a child. “Wait!” she ordered, and for a second he was afraid she was about to leap from the moving vehicle.

“What?” he demanded, slowing down as much as traffic would allow.

“Find a parking spot,” she told him, reaching for her purse.

Sidney found one of the only open spots and seized it, popping the vehicle into park but not yet shutting it off. “So?” he asked rather stubbornly.

Nora jabbed her thumb towards a building a ways down the sidewalk. Its windows were lit up with various fluorescent beer logos and the concrete out front was dotted with a few innocent bystanders. There was an old-style pub sign reading Teddy’s Sports Grill & Casino hanging over its front doors.

“C’mon!” Nora urged excitedly, jumping from the vehicle before he could object. He had no choice but to kill the engine and join her on the sidewalk.

“Why do you want to go there?” he asked almost judgmentally, adjusting his shirt that had became rumpled while he had been driving. Sports bars were forbidden territory amongst him and his teammates - there was no way we was getting out of this alive.

Nora shot him a sly grin as they approached the bar. “We’re going to get you recognized.”