Walk in the Sun

I woke up after I heard a knock come to the door. I looked around for Sid, but then remembered he was gone to practice. I found a note on Sid's pillow.

Good morning beautiful,
Practice is from 9 til 12 today. Don't forget that you're going shopping with Natalie at 9. See you when I get home.

Love you,
Sid

Thankful that I had my pajamas close by, I slipped them on quickly as I rolled out of bed. Looking at the clock on the bedside table, I walked down the stairs, towards the door. A smile appeared on my face as I knew who it was. Opening the door, I saw the smiling face of Natalie.

"Hi. Are you ready to go? Oh no, did I wake you?" She asked as I let her into the house.

I shrugged my shoudlers lightly. "Oh no, it's fine. I kinda forgot about the time we agreed on. Do you mind waiting a few minutes while I quickly change?"

She shook her head and "shooed" me upstairs. "No, it's fine. Go get changed."

I changed as quick as I could, and practically ran down the stairs. I smiled at Natalie sitting on the couch reading a magazine while I walked over to the closet.

"All set. Do you know whereabout Kris lives? That's where my friend is." I asked as I slipped on my coat and grabbed my purse.

"Yes, Mario gave me the address last night." She smiled at me.

I nodded as we walked out of the house and headed towards her car. I thought at first that the ride to Kris' would be awkward but it was so easy to talk to Natalie. We talked about what kind of dresses we were going to look for.

"I have no idea the exact dress I'm looking for. Am I supposed to be matching whatever colour Sid is wearing?" I asked.

Natalie laughed. "Oh God, no. Trust me, no one's going to care if the couple match or not. Some do, but to tell you the truth, I think it's a little corny."

I smiled, happy to know that someone felt the same way.

When we walked up to the door of Kris' place, I couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous. I didn't tell Kaitlyn that we were going to go dress shopping, or more importantly, that we were going with the wife of Mario Lemieux. I was sure that she would be fine, but a part of me still worried. I knocked on the door, letting the excitement take over. Kaitlyn answered the door, a little shocked to see Natalie and I, but she let us in regardless. I introduced Kaitlyn to Natalie and told her that Natalie offered to take us dress shopping for the party. Kaitlyn streched out her hand to shake Natalie's, but Natalie pulled her in for a hug instead.

"It's nice to meet you. So, when did you want to go?" Kaitlyn asked as the embrace between her and Natalie ended. I looked around her apartment, knowing that I must have woken her up, then answered her.

"Well, we were thinking, since the boys are at the arena, we'd go now."

Kaitlyn nodded in approval. She ran quickly to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Once she was out of eye sight, Natalie chuckled.

"You girls clearly aren't morning people."

I laughed along with her. "No, we're not. Not yet, anyways."

Kaitlyn didn't take long in the bathroom, and sooner rather than later, we were out the door. Just as Kaitlyn locked the door, she turned to me.

"So, are we just dress shopping, or are we going to look for a present for Sid, too?"

I shrugged my shoulders. Natalie's eyes widened.

"You still need a gift for Sid?" She asked me. I nodded in reply. "Well, I think i have the perfect idea."

I smiled at her, then looking over at Kaitlyn, sending her a wink. Killing two birds with one stone was my kind of way to shop.

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Sid's POV

We were just about to take to the ice for our last drill. I pulled my phone out of my duffle bag to send Steph a text. Mario had told me that she was going dress shopping with Natalie and Kaitlyn. I was happy that Steph was getting along so well with Natalie. The Lemieuxs were my second family so Steph fitting in with them meant a lot to me. As I pulled out my phone, I began to hear a few chuckles from some of the guys.

"Man Sid, you've only been gone just over an hour. You gotta check in already?" Max chuckled from the stall beside me. I rolled my eyes.

"I just want to see if she woke up on time to go shopping. When I left, she was still sleeping."

I looked around as Max and Jordan made quiet "whipping" noises as I typed on my phone.

Hey, hope the shopping's going is well. Practice almos done. See you soon. Love you.

I heard some chuckling over my shoulder. Lifting my head, I saw Jordan. I glared up at him.

"What?" I asked, annoyed that he was reading my texts.

"You are so whipped, man. You should just introduce her as your wife at the party."

I rolled my eyes, and shoved my phone back in my bag. I wasn't going to wait for a reply. I just wanted her to know I was thinking about her. I knew she was proably busy, I knew how long my mom and sister would take on their shopping trips. Just as i zipped my bag back up, Coach came in and told us we were wanted back on the ice.

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Steph's POV

We left the last store. I felt as though I tried on a bajillion dresses, but in reality, I only tried on about 12. We piled the last of our bags into the back of Natalie’s car.

“So, where are you going to hide your dress and shoes from Kris?” I asked Kaitlyn.

“Oh, you girls can keep your stuff at my place. I have my own separate closet for my party clothes. Mario won’t stick his nose in there, either.” Natalie suggested.

“You sure you don’t mind?” Kaitlyn asked, taking the question right out of my mind. We both didn’t want to take up space in her closet. Natalie shook her head and smiled.

“No, I don’t mind at all. Just leave everything in the trunk. I’ll take it into the house in the morning.”

We pulled up to Kris’ place and Kaitlyn stepped out of the car. She turned back and smiled at us. “Bye, and thank you so much, Natalie.”

After dropping off Kaitlyn, Natalie and I made our way towards home. A thought had been plaguing my mind ever since I arrived in Pittsburgh. I had been thinking about it more and more lately. As soon as I walked into Sid's house, I searched for a phonebook. When that failed, I went to the option I should have chosen first. Opening my lap top, I searched what I needed to. When I finally found it, I grabbed my phone and dialed the number. After two rings, a voice came on the other end. After the inital greeting, I spoke into my phone.

"Yes, can I have a taxi, please?"

The dispatcher asked for my address, which I gave, telling him I'd meet the car outside of the gate. I didn't know how comfortable Mario and Natalie would be having random taxis coming onto their property. It didn’t take the taxi long to find the place, and after giving the driver my destination, I was off.

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Sid’s POV

After practice was over, some of the guys and were making small talk about what the plans were that night. Max and Jordan wanted a party, but Kris and I wanted to go home to see our girlfriends. After Max and Jordan walked to their cars, I turned to Kris.

“So, have you and Kaitlyn done anything since she got here?” He shook his head.

“Not yet, but I’m thinking of taking her skating today.” He smiled.

“That’s awesome, man. I’m sure she’ll love that.”

“Yeah, well I better head home now. I wanna see if I can con her into showing me her dress.” He laughed.

We said our goodbyes and went separate ways. I got in my car, but before I started my car, I pulled out my phone and noticed that Steph had texted me. Looking at my phone in confusion, I quickly called her. She picked up after just one ring.

“Well hello, there.” She sounded happy.

“Hey, where are you?”

“I’m at your place. Just got in, in fact. Why, what’s up?”

“Well, I just read your message and was a little worried. You don’t know this city that well.”

“Well, thank you, father dearest, but I do know how to call a cab company.”

I chuckled lightly. “Well, that’s good to know. Although, you could have asked Natalie to take you wherever you wanted to go, you know.”

“I could have, but I didn’t want to take up too much of her day.”

“Well, anyways, I’m on my way home. Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?” I asked as I started my car. Steph said she would be home when I got there. I hung up my phone, partly because the conversation was ending, and partly because Steph didn’t want me on the phone while I drove. I pulled out of the parking lot and made my way home.

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Steph’s POV

I was happy that Sid had called me to let me know he was on his way home. I didn’t want him to see what I went out for. After I hung up the phone, I ran upstairs to the bedroom. I looked down at what was in my hands and smiled. A huge part of me wanted to show Sid as soon as he got home, but I didn’t want to spoil anything. I found a place to hide it, and then made my way back downstairs. I plopped on the couch and turned the tv on, waiting for Sid to come home.

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about an hour or so later…

Sid and I came back inside laughing.

“I can’t believe how much snow had fallen.” I said as Sid took my coat to hang up in the closet.

“I know, but hey, we just made the coolest snowman ever.” He smiled at me.

“Do you realize how immature you sound right now?” I laughed.

“Hey” he put his hands up in defense as he walked into the kitchen, “I’m only 18, I’m allowed to still have some kind of fun.”

“Yes,” I followed him into the kitchen. “Yes, you are.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist and placed my cheek against his back. He plugged the kettle in and walked, with me still attached to him, towards the bay window in the living room.

“Look at that.” I moved to stand beside him as he pointed out the window. “Tell me that’s not a pretty awesome snowman.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re pretty proud of that snowman, aren’t you?”

He pulled me in for a soft kiss. “Yes, yes I am.” The kettle went off, and he walked past me, back into the kitchen. I walked over to the couch, grabbing the throw blanket before I sat down. When Sid brought the hot chocolate in, we turned on The Grinch with Jim Carrey and enjoyed the comfortable silence.

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Sid’s POV

Just as the movie wrapped up, I heard my phone ring. I moved my arm from around Steph's shoulder and placed a soft kiss on her temple. I tried to get off the couch, but Steph grabbed hold of my arm and groaned.

"Don't answer it. Let it go to voicemail."

I chuckled lightly and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "It could be important. Maybe it's my parents telling me when they're flying in."

She lightly pushed me away. "Uggh, moment ruined."

I laughed as I backed away from her and walked into the kitchen to grab my phone. It was Kris, asking if Steph and I were busy. I could tell by the voice he was using, he was trying to hide something from Kaitlyn. I told him we weren't busy and we'd love for them to come over. I threw the offer to order Chinese and Kris agreed. Kris said they were on their way over and hung up. I placed my phone back on the counter and walked back over to Steph. I sat back down beside her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

"Kaitlyn and Kris are coming over. I hope you don't mind."

Her eyes lit up and she shook her head.

"No, it's a great idea. We're going to be so busy, with your family coming and the party. We need a nice dinner, just the four of us before things get too hectic."

I smiled and pulled her closer to me as we waited for our company.

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Steph's POV

When Kris and Kaitlyn got to the house, I immediately grabbed Kaitlyn and dragged her up the stairs. I brought her into the bedroom and began to pace, looking for what I hid earlier in the day.

"Steph, what's going on?" I didn't answer her, I just kept on looking. When I finally found it, I sat on the bed, just staring at it. I felt the bed shift as Kaitlyn sat down beside me. I didn't look up when I heard her speak.

"Whoa."

"I know." I continued to stare at it. "What do you think this means?"

Kaitlyn chuckled slightly too herself. "Okay, I'm sorry. I don't mean to laugh, but you kinda sounded like a pot head just then." She ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know what it means. What do you think it means?"

I sighed. "I don't know. I've just been thinking about it for a while, and when we got here, I don't know. I just wanted to go see it, first, more than anything. But the more I saw, the more I liked. Then I remembered looking up the programs they offer and it's practically perfect."

Kaitlyn smiled at me. "So you thought a lot about this?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I have."

"Well, what about Halifax? That's been your dream. To go to school there, be closer to the family you have there."

I leaned back in my sighed as my head hit the pillows. "I know, but then Sid..." I paused. "I'm not doing this for him, don't think that. I want to be here. This is my choice."

"So, he hasn't said anything to you about going to school here in Pittsburgh?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, we joked around about it a little, but nothing serious. Besides, his family is in Nova Scotia, so I could spend time with Taylor and his parents."

“Hey,” I turned to face Kaitlyn, who was giving me a look of confusion. “Are you going to tell him?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. I don’t want to get his hopes up, you know? I don’t want him to think I’m changing my life for him. This is something I want to do for me. Being closer to him would just be a perk.”

Kaitlyn was silent for a few seconds, so I sat up, making sure she didn't leave or that Sid didn't just walk in. When I looked at her, she had a big grin on her face. I raised my eyebrow at her.

"What?"

"You love him. I mean, really love him."

My smile matched hers. "Yeah. I do."

“You grabbed an application for the University of Pittsburgh.”

My smile stayed intact as I looked back down at the form in my hands.

“Yeah, I did.” I jumped off the bed and put it back where I hid it. I began to walk towards the door of the bedroom. I smiled as Kaitlyn looped her arm through mine and we made our way out the door and down the stairs.

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Sid's POV

While the girls were upstairs, talking about God knows what, Kris and I sat in the living room watching Sports Centre. During a commercial, Kris turned to me.

"So, when does your family fly in?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Not too sure. Steph's mom, brother and his girlfriend are coming in Christmas Eve morning."

"Does she have any idea?"

I smiled. "Nope. Not a clue."

He smirked. "So, where are they all gonna stay?"

"Not sure about that one, either. I'm sure it'll all work out, though. My parents have a room at Mario's, and Taylor's got a room here. I just.."

Before I could finish my sentence, I could hear footsteps, meaning the girls were coming downstairs. Kris and I turned our attention back to the tv, and began commenting on the highlights as the girls came in and sat beside us. After Sports Centre ended, the girls took the remote and I took the order for our dinner.

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the next morning

After a nice dinner, which was followed by the girls planning their day before the party, I woke up with my arm wrapped around Steph. I placed a soft kiss on her bare shoulder and tried to climb out of bed as quietly as possible. I didn't even get the covers fully off before Steph rolled over to face me. She opened one eye and groaned.

"Where do you think you're going? You don't have practice this morning."

I smiled down at her. "Well, I was going to hop in the shower, then make my beautiful girlfriend some breakfast. Is that a crime?"

She sat up, placed a feather light kiss on my lips. Pulling away, she was smirking.

"Yes, it is. It's a crime if you think you're hopping in that shower alone."