Stage Five

Grocery List:

- Milk (2%)
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- Dozen Eggs
- Saltines
- Black Olives (Chopped)
- Flour

Love, Mom

Joanna crumpled the list into her jacket pocket, swinging her basket back-and-forth on her arm as she wandered the aisles of Giant Eagle. She accidentally knocked a box of Oreos in along the way.

She hummed lightly as she rounded the corner into the next aisle. The store was dead for nine on a Tuesday night, which didn’t surprise her. She herself was only there because she’d neglected the list her mother had left for her on the kitchen counter by procrastinating the evening away. Luckily, her mom’s shift at the hospital ended at midnight. She still had time.

Her humming stopped as she lifted her eyes from counting the floor tiles, making sure she didn’t step on any lines. She froze next to the various brands and types of cereals, analyzing the only non-employee she’d come across so far in her ten-plus minutes of store-wandering. He wore khaki shorts, even though it was chilly outside. She could see a green t-shirt poking out from beneath his Reebok warm-up jacket. And he had a worn baseball cap secured on his head, his dark hair curling over the rim. Slowly, she hugged her own jacket closer around her, sinking her teeth lightly into her bottom lip and stepped forward.

“I don’t think they sell phone chargers here,” she said coyly as she approached, hugging her basket close and pretending to be interested in what he was looking at. Protein bars. She wrinkled her nose. How predictable.

Sidney jumped back as he realized he wasn’t alone in this aisle. And then he smiled as he realized who it was. “Isn’t it past your bedtime?” he joked, grabbing one of the boxes from the shelf and setting it in his own cart.

“Funny,” Joanna said flatly, trying to match her gait to his as he continued down the aisle. “Is this the only time you can shop without getting mauled by your fan base?” she asked, only half joking.

“Evidently not,” he responded, glancing over at her.

Joanna felt a shiver run up her spine. Just wait until she told Jennie and Ariel about this. “You got lucky with me,” she blurted before she could thing of something with less of a dirty edge. She saw his gaze turn on her, eyebrows raised. “I mean,” she continued, trying to cover for herself, “unless you wanted to sign my box of crackers or something.” She held up the saltines in her basket for emphasis.

At least she didn’t say milk jugs.

“You’re something else,” he accused as they neared the freezer section.

“Is that a good or bad thing?” she asked, stopping in the middle of the aisle. Her basket bounced against her knees.

He stopped, too, angling his body to face hers. She felt the tension resurface again, like an electric current. She wished she could pull the plug on the power source to end the circuit, because the tension made her feel so inferior to him, like a little girl crushing on her big brother’s cute friend. Why hadn’t she felt like this before when they were talking? Why now, that they were face-to-face with direct eye contact? She chewed the inside of her cheek stubbornly.

The corner of Sidney’s full lips tipped upward. “Both,” he answered, keeping his eyes on hers. She felt her mouth gap, willing something smart and witty to throw back at him. But she had nothing, no defense against his far less-than-fair answer.

Finally, she shut her mouth and frowned. His eyes averted from hers, switching up to a point on the ceiling. She followed them to the black half-sphere hanging from a ceiling tile, concealing a security camera somewhere inside.

“Drat,” she said quietly, a smirk breaking her frown. “They caught us.”

“C’mon,” he said lowly, a laugh rumbling somewhere in his chest. “Let’s get out of here.” He put his hand on her back, at a respectful height, and ushered her down the aisle.

By that, she had no clue what he’d meant. But she went with him anyway.

---

They both went to check out - at different check-outs, respectfully - and rejoined outside. The temperature had dropped drastically, bringing an icy wind with it. Joanna tugged her jacket closer around herself a ducked her head, allowing her hair to ward off some of the wind.

Sidney came up beside her, his large frame blocking some of the wind. She glanced up. “What?” she demanded, wanting nothing more that to jump into her car and blast the heat.

“Cold?” he asked with a smirk. As if her nose weren’t blazing red from the chill.

“Says the one in shorts,” she countered, stepping off the curb and heading for her car. She noticed his steel grey Range Rover parked near her little maroon Impala.

“I’m from Canada,” he explained, “I basically grew up out in the snow.”

She swished her mouth to the side and narrowed her eyes at him. “Okay, I get it, Mr. Hockey Player,” Joanna said, “You’re used to the cold.”

He laughed and went silent for a few steps. “So I should probably be a gentleman and offer you my jacket.”

Joanna smirked. So chivalry isn’t dead. “I don’t know,” she replied, “it’s looks expensive. Are you sure you want to give it to some teenage girl? I might sell it on eBay.”

He shrugged out of his jacket and handed it to her. “Put the money towards a good education.”

Joanna wrinkled her nose at him, but nonetheless accepted his jacket. It was made out of a smooth, black fabric, the kind that’s a lot thicker than it looks. She set her bags down and slipped into it, huffing out a visible breath. “Great,” she laughed, looking down at how it swallowed her tiny frame, “now I look like a thug.”

“You’re welcome,” Sid commented, an easy smile on his lips.

She frowned at his bare arms. “Are you sure you’re not too cold?” she asked, shaking the sleeves down her arms to grab her bags again.

He did that manly shrug, the kind boys do when they’re too cool to admit how they really feel. “It’s not too bad.”

Too bad.

Joanna pursed her lips. “Okay,” she said quietly, feeling herself blush. “Thank you. I’ll get it back to you somehow,” she said, catching herself before she said she could leave at Dupuis’ for him. She couldn’t imagine the weird looks she’d get for showing up with Sidney Crosby’s jacket.

He waved a hand and started walking. She hurried to keep up. “Keep it,” he told her, “I’ve got like five more back home.”

She didn’t argue it, and they walked the rest of the parking lot in silence. They reached her car first - she quickly loaded her bags into the backseat and turned to him. The two of them stood there for a moment, both speechless. Joanna turned her brain inside out for something clever to say, but came up penniless. She sighed and settled with a simple, “Thanks again. For the jacket, I mean.” She pressed her lips together, feeling like she was in one of the old-school romantic comedies. This would be the part where he’d lean down and kiss her, after faking out of it a few nights ago at Dupuis’.

Not that that was his actual intention.

“Don’t mention it,” he told her, shrugging a shoulder. Like it was no big deal that he was standing in freezing weather - thirty degrees at least - in shorts and a t-shirt. She noticed his free hand dug deep in his pocket. For a second, she thought he was just trying to keep warm. And then he pulled out his keys. “See you around?” he asked, signaling the end of their conversation.

Joanna pursed her lips, trying not to read too much into his farewell statement. She already had the guy’s jacket - what more could she hope for? “See you around,” she confirmed, tilting her head to one side.

He took a step back, tipping the bill of his baseball cap in her direction. She couldn’t help her smitten grin. Such a gentleman.

She turned to her car, quickly slipping into the driver’s seat and starting the engine. The air pouring from the vents was cool, causing her to pull Sidney’s jacket closer against her body. She brought her hands to her face, cupping them against her cheeks to conserve warmth.

And then she caught a smell of something. At first, she thought her mom had put in a new air freshener. But she furrowed her brows - it was something different. Slowly, she brought her sleeve-covered hands to her nose, inhaling deeply. Her eyes fluttered shut as she considered the scent - a mix of cologne and something else. Something she couldn’t quite put a finger on. Something warm, manly.

Whatever it was, it smelled good.