She Makes Me Wanna

“You know, you’re going to have to find a place to stay eventually, right?” I asked, lounging once more on Emily’s hotel room bed. Emily came out of the bathroom, rubbing her head with a towel, and rolled her eyes at me. In the few days that had passed between now and the Rangers game, her eye had healed rather quickly, and most of the guys on the team were calling it witchcraft. She pulled on her sweatshirt, and gave me her I’m ready to go, let’s go, look. I shook my head, questioning how she was able to take a regular outfit and make it work the way she did. I sighed and stood up, stretching as I did so.

“I know I will, but I’m waiting a little longer…you never know,” she said, tossing the wet towel at me. I caught it right before it hit my face, and caught a whiff of coconut. I immediately flung the towel to the floor, aware that every little thing that made her appealing to me was another thing that pushed me dangerously close to the edge of inappropriate thoughts.

“Well, most rookies just crash with a teammate for the first year,” I said with a shrug. I grabbed my sweatshirt off of the chair and tossed Emily her backpack. Her car had crapped out a few days ago, so I had taken to picking her up before practice, and when we didn’t have practice we went to lunch.

“Yeah well I can’t just be like ‘hey, I’m moving in’, now can I?” she asked, slinging her backpack over one shoulder. Once she pulled her yellow sunglasses out and put her hat on backwards, she opened the door.

“What if someone invited you to move in?” I asked before I even thought about what I was saying. Emily stopped moving for a moment before shaking her head quickly.

“Are you asking hypothetically, Captain, or seriously?” she asked, turning around and tucking her hands into the pocket of her sweatshirt.

“Um…both I suppose,” I said, shrugging casually.

“Well…hypothetically, I’d say yes, and so I guess I’d say yes seriously too. That is, if you’re being serious,” she said quickly. I ran my hand through my hair before nodding.

“Well then it’s settled. You’re moving in,” I said, having noticed that it often worked better for me if I told Emily what to do instead of giving her too many options. As stubborn as she was, she was also extremely indecisive and hated being a burden on people.

“No! I mean, I can’t just…you…I don’t want to be a bother,” she stammered, and I laughed.

“If you were going to be a bother I wouldn’t have asked. Besides, I lived with Mario, so it’s time I return the favor. I have a big house, so you don’t have to worry about there not being enough room,” I explained. Emily bit her lip and nodded before turning around and walking once more.

“So she’s moving in?” Flower asked quietly as I leaned against the wall of Emily’s hotel room a few hours later, watching her pack her things.

“Yeah…I don’t know why, but I just kind of asked,” I muttered. Emily had turned the radio on, but I still didn’t want her to overhear my conversation.

“Well I can’t say I’m surprised. You guys get along pretty well,” Flower said, and I could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

“Shut up,” I said.

“You gonna seduce her?” Flower asked.

“No!” I blurted out.

“Secret lovers, that’s what they are!” Flower began to sing/scream into the phone.

“You’re an asshole dude,” I sighed, rolling my eyes.

“Je sais! (I know!) But you love me,” Flower said.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’m gonna go,” I said before hanging up on him.

“Ready?” I asked Emily after I tucked the phone into my pocket. She zipped her largest suitcase shut and nodded.

“I think so. Dude, my parents are going to flip out. They’re going to be so surprised that I found a roommate,” Emily laughed. I smiled and took her large suitcase from her, and she grabbed the two smaller ones that were lying next to the door.

That night Emily sat on the kitchen counter, munching on some trail mix, when I walked in. I jumped, having forgotten that she was there, and she laughed.

“Am I that ugly?” she joked, and I rolled my eyes.

“No, I’m just not used to having people here,” I smiled.

“Well just don’t walk around naked,” she smirked, and I shook my head.

“Why would I do that?” I asked.

“Well you don’t have a shirt on right now,” she said pointedly, and my eyes widened.

“Oh…right,” I muttered, turning to head back upstairs and grab a shirt.

“I don’t really care Sid, it’s not like I don’t see the entire team buck naked every day or anything,” she shrugged.

“Good point…” I laughed, heading to the fridge. I pulled it open and grabbed a vitamin water before leaning on the island counter across from Emily.

“So you weren’t kidding when you said you have a big house. I’m amazed,” Emily said, looking around.

“Yeah, well I figured that if I’m going to be in Pittsburgh for a long time, I might as well have a house that I can fill,” I said. Emily looked at me curiously, and I raised my eyebrows.

“What?” I asked.

“You want to ‘fill’ this house?” she asked.

“Yeah…” I said slowly, and she shrugged.

“What, you don’t want kids?” I asked in surprise. Most girls I knew were overly anxious to have four hundred babies.

“If I have kids, it ends my career. Pregnancy and hip checking don’t mix well,” Emily said almost coldly. I swallowed roughly.

“Right…I wasn’t really thinking,” I said quietly before taking a long sip of my drink.

“Its fine…most people don’t realize. That was one of many things I had to give up to become a professional hockey player…having a family,” she muttered, looking out the kitchen window. I suddenly felt a pang of pity for her. She looked depressed and lonely, looking out at the setting sun.

“You can always adopt a kid,” I said quietly, and she stared at me. For a while her expression was unreadable, but then a smile spread across her face.

“I never thought about that…” she said before looking out the window again.

“That’s why I’m here…Sidney Crosby, philosophical thinker and problem solver extraordinaire,” I laughed. She shook her head, laughing quietly, and hopped off the counter.

“Alright Sidney, what do you have in that refrigerator of yours? I’m making dinner,” she said, cracking her knuckles.

“You cook?” I asked.

“Just because I’m a hockey player doesn’t mean I can’t cook…my mom made sure to keep me connected to my femininity somehow, and cooking was practically religious to the women in our family. If I didn’t play hockey I was going to become a chef,” Emily smiled, a spark glinting in her eye.

“Well then I think I made a great choice for a roommate, huh?” I grinned, opening the fridge.