A Ship in Harbor is Safe

“Have you never shot a puck before, or something?” Sidney laughs at Athena.

Her jaw drops, “uh, it’s been a while... Jerk.”

“Whoa,” Sidney laughs, adjusting his footing slightly. “Did somebody get their feelings hurt?”

Athena shakes her head, “no. There’s a reason that I play cheerleader and number one fan, and I’m not out on the rink.”

“I guess we’re all good at something.”

Athena nods, “I mean, I’m sure I could be good at it if I actually learned. I just never have, so I’m obviously not great. You know?”

The sound of pucks being shot suddenly halts. “You never learned to shoot?”

“You seemed shocked by this,” Athena shrugs.

Sidney crosses his arms, “uh, yeah. You’re Canadian. You should at least know how to shoot a puck.”

“That is extremely stereotypical!” Athena laughs, shaking her head.

Sidney grabs her wrist, pulling her over in front of the large pile of pucks. “Not if it’s true.”

Athena licks her lips, holding her stick close. “What, are you gonna teach me how to conduct the perfect slapshot?”

Sidney shrugs, “we’ll start with getting the puck into the net first.”

“You’re really gonna do this?” Athena smirks.

Sidney shrugs, “Jordan didn’t. Somebody’s got to.”



“Okay,” Sidney is nearly whispering as he repositions Athena’s hands on the stick. He keeps his dinner plate sized hands over her small hands, as if to secure their place on her stick. “Spread your feet a little more.”

Silently complying, Athena moves her feet to be just more than shoulder width apart.

“Okay, now line the stick up with the puck. Keep your eye on the net.”

Athena nods silently, before feeling Sidney pull the stick back and send the puck flying into the net.

After a second, Sidney laughs and rests his forehead on the back of Athena’s shoulder. “Your eyes are closed, aren’t they?”

“Yes,” she whispers, nodding. “How’d you know, though?”

He laughs, not moving. “You’re like a limp noodle, or something.”

“What?!” She laughs loudly, attempting to turn around to face him. “Did you just call me a limp noodle?”

Sidney’s familiar laughter fills her ears as he tightens his arms around her. “What are you gonna do? Fight me?”

“Dammit, I should,” Athena grumbles, attempting to get out of his vice grip. “Let me go.”

“Limp noodles don’t fight well,” he whispers quickly before releasing both her and her stick.

Athena turns around as her stick clatters on the ice. The smirk on her face totally contradicts her tone, “what the fuck kind of insult is limp noodle?”

Sidney’s jaw drops, “that is some strong language coming from a young lady like you.”

She crosses her arms and tries to keep a straight face. Slowly, she skates toward Sidney and before she knows it, she is within her own arm’s reach of him. “Seriously, though. Limp noodle?”

“That one really got to you, didn’t it?” He smirks, teasingly.

Athena tries her best to keep a displeased look on her face. Knowing her window of opportunity is small, she quickly reaches out and allows her hands to come into contact with Sidney’s chest. The forceful shove is enough to send him back a measly six inches.

“Uh oh, the limp noodle’s gonna fight me.”

Athena smirks, nodding. “Yeah. Better watch your back.”

“Maybe,” Sidney smirks, taking his turn to skate around her, “we should work on those shoving skills. They’re terrible.”

“I’m not gonna let you teach me how to fight, Sid.”

He halts abruptly, directly in front of her. “Why not?”

“That’s not what you do,” she shrugs with a smirk. “You’re not a fighter.”

“Who told you that?” Sidney smirks, casually reaching out and placing his hand on Athena’s waist.

She smirks, allowing him to gently push her around on the ice, “I don’t need anyone to tell me that.”

“What makes you think that, then?”

“Aside from watching you play,” she rests her hand about halfway up his arm, attempting to keep her balance as he skates around, pushing her along. “I know that you’re way too nice to be some… goon.”

The smile on Athena’s face grows when she feels the cool boards on her back, first through her jeans, then her shirt. She licks her lips gently as Sidney begins to lean in slowly.

When a familiar loud ringing echoes from between Athena and the board right behind her back, Sidney just shakes his head.

“Oh… my God,” Athena mumbles, unable to hide the mixture of anger and shock in her tone, letting it seep into her facial features. Hastily, she digs the phone out of her back pocket and answers the call without giving a glance to the screen. “What?”

“Whoa,” Max’s voice is immediately recognizable, “ma belle, am I interrupting something?”

She swallows the saliva in her mouth, nodding frantically. “Yeah, you actually are.”

“Oh, shit… you aren’t sleeping with him, are you?”

“Max, you’ve got five seconds to get to the point…” Athena shakes her head, staring down at the ice to avoid Sidney’s gaze.

“I’ve gotten about 25 calls from Jordan since this morning. Apparently, he’s been trying to get ahold of you.”

She nods, “why is he trying to get ahold of me?”

“Uh… something about you, being with your mom?” Max scoffs, “which you’re clearly not. So you somehow got somebody to lie to him for you.”

Athena feels her throat begin to tighten, and she rests her free hand at the base of her neck. “You didn’t tell him that… did you?”

“I haven’t even talked to him. I just spent, like, half an hour listening to the voicemails he left me. He sounds upset, ma belle. Says you’ve been ignoring his calls, sending him to voicemail. Maybe you should call him?”

“I can’t just call him. Listen, I’ve gotta go—”

“Wait!” Max hollers, making Athena pull the phone away from her ear momentarily, “is Sid there with you?”

“Yes, why?”

“I’ve been trying to get ahold of him. He hasn’t been answering my calls. I was worried that maybe you killed him, or something,” Max laughs.

Athena rolls her eyes, “I’ve gotta go, Max. If you do end up talking to Jordan, just tell him I’m in California.”

Sidney watches Athena hang up before Max can respond. “Was that Max?”

The blonde woman nods, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “Yeah.”

“And what did he want?”

Athena shrugs casually, “Jordan’s trying to get ahold of me… obviously. He’s been calling Max.”

“So, Max knows you’re here?”

With a shrug, she nods, “yeah.”

Sidney nods, “when are you gonna talk to Jordan?”

Athena scoffs, “never?”

With a smile, Sidney laughs. “Yeah, let’s be realistic.”

The blonde woman shrugs, crossing her arms. “I don’t wanna talk to him, Sid. I really don’t.”

“Why?” Sidney inquires quietly, “he’s your best friend.”

Before Athena can answer, her phone is ringing again. This time, she is careful to read the screen before accepting the call, “it’s Jared.”