We Found Love

His soul’s escaping, through this hole that is gaping, this world is mine for the taking, make me king as we move toward a new world order, a normal life is boring but superstardom’s close to post mortem. It only grows harder, only grows hotter, he blows it’s all over, these hoes is all on him, coast to coast shows, he’s known as the Globetrotter, lonely roads, God only knows he’s grown farther from home,

The lyrics to Lose Yourself blast through my headphones, drowning out my thoughts as I slammed my fists into the punching bag at the gym I had just signed up for. Sweat dripped down my body, but it felt good. I needed to work out everything that was going on in my head, and practicing the martial arts I had learned a few years back was definitely a good way of doing it. I had originally learned Tai Kwon Do as a way to be able to fight the bigger guys on the ice, but now I was using it to take out every ounce of frustration I had left. Eventually I stopped and leaned against the wall, taking a sip of my water before spraying myself in the face with it like your everyday hockey player. I popped an earbud out just in time to hear a bemused chuckle coming from the doorway of the training room. I jumped, not having expected the noise, and stood up a little straighter.

“Got a lot to work out, huh?” the guy said, walking over and tapping the punching bag knowingly. I raised my eyebrow, but nodded.

“Yeah, how’d you guess?” I asked.

“You’re not the only one who comes here to beat the shit out of things when they get pissed. I’m Jerry by the way,” the guy said, holding out his hand.

“Emily,” I said, shaking it. His hands were large and rough, and I wondered what kind of work he did to have such worn hands.

“Trust me, you don’t have to introduce yourself. I know enough about my sports teams to know who you are,” he smirked before whacking the punching bag a few times. I groaned inwardly; I had heard of puck bunnies, but I wasn’t sure if this was the male version or not.

“Ah, yeah…I forget about that sometimes,” I said with a casual shrug before sitting down towards the center of the floor to start stretching out. Jerry began hitting the bag in a similar style to what I had been doing and I chuckled.

“You know Tai Kwon Do too, huh?” I asked, grabbing my toes and pressing my head to my knees.

“Yep…I’m a master,” he said, hardly taking a breath as he began whacking at the bag even more violently than before.

“That’s awesome, I am too!” I replied, and he shook his head, a smile dancing across his ruggedly handsome face.

“You’re a jack of all trades, huh?” he asked. I shrugged.

“Something like that,” I smiled, and he laughed before peeling off his shirt. I had been around hot naked dudes before, but this was different. This guy was smoking hot. Sure, Sidney was hot but I had just called the whole thing off, and I was in major need of a distraction.

Jerry and I talked for a while as the both of us worked out, eventually even daring to spar each other for a few minutes. While Sidney was soft spoken, gentle, and mild mannered, Jerry was loud, gruff, and confident. He was a steel worker, which explained the hands, and spent most of his time helping cut girders to ship out to building companies.

“So um…I don’t want you to think I’m asking you because you’re famous or whatever, but would you like to grab dinner soon?” Jerry asked as we both headed towards the exit. I froze, bit my lip nervously, and as soon as Sidney’s name crossed my mind I nodded.

“That’d be awesome,” I smiled before giving him my number.

Sidney’s Point of View, three days later

“What?” I asked incredulously.

“Emily is on a date with some guy!” Marc said again quickly.

“Are you positive it’s her?” I asked, and Marc sighed.

“Positive. What the hell ‘appened anyway?” Marc asked, and I flopped onto my couch, fuming, before launching into the whole Emily saga. He listened quietly before clearing his throat awkwardly.

“So you ‘ad sex with her, Jordan found out, flipped, and bitched ‘er out and now she’s running away from it?” Marc asked.

“That would about sum it up,” I grumbled.

“Sidney, what the hell are you still doing in your house? Get the fuck out there and get her back. I’ll beat the shit out of Gronk for you by the way, so don’t waste any more time!” Marc cried, and I cringed.

“She’s obviously not that into me if she’s on a date with someone else,” I said.

“Sidney, she is distracting ‘erself! When Vero and I had that nasty fight, Vero went off on a few dates before I got off my ‘igh ‘orse and chased ‘er,” Marc said, and I froze. Marc never talked about the “death fight” between him and Vero unless shit was about to get serious. I licked my lips nervously before nodding, although Marc couldn’t see it.

“Alright Flower…but I’m not going to go ruin her date either. I’m just going to wait until the time is right,” I sighed.

Emily’s Point of View

Dinner was fun, but it was nothing like the conversations that Sidney and I had. I tried to ignore the bitter pang in my chest as Jerry and I laughed, and I was almost too excited that the date was over when Jerry pulled up to my apartment building.

“I had a great time Emily,” Jerry said with an award winning smile. I grinned back and nodded.

“I did too Jerry,” I said. While it hadn’t been a Sidney night, it was still a great time.

“See you again soon?” Jerry asked.

“Maybe,” I said, biting my lip. He leaned over and captured my lips in his roughly, and I had to suppress a shudder. I had kissed a lot of guys in my nineteen years of life, and while he wasn’t bad at all, there was something wrong about the way his lips fit against mine. I broke away and shook my head, smiling sadly before darting out of the car. I ran up the stairs to my apartment, taking them two at a time and thanking God that I had worn flats before bursting into my apartment. The light was already on, and I suppressed a scream as I saw someone get up from the kitchen table.

“Sidney, how the hell did you get in here?” I said weakly as the person took a step forward and I could see their face clearly. Sidney’s face was creased with worry, his beautiful hazel eyes were cloudy with sadness, and his full lips were twisted into a frown.

“Marc gave me the address, and I got the spare key from Vero…I need to talk to you Emily,” Sidney said, and I swallowed roughly. While I had wanted nothing more than Sidney during my date with Jerry, I still didn’t think it was a good idea that I was having these feelings for my captain.

“Sid…” I began, but he quickly crossed the room and cut me off by pulling me into a warm hug.

“Please Emily,” he sighed into my hair.

“What?” I asked, unable to say no right away. Sidney held me out at arm’s length and stared at me for a long time before swallowing and taking a deep breath.

“I know that you probably won’t believe me, and that it’s kind of sudden and unexpected and crazy and everything, but Emily…I love you,” Sidney said, and one look in his eyes was all it took to know that he was being sincere. I felt something blossom in my chest; was it hope? Instead of ruining the moment with my own jumbled words however, I stepped forward and looked into his eyes hopefully. He smiled softly, his eyes crinkling up at the corners just the way I liked them to, and he slowly bent his head down, kissing me softly.

His lips were so soft and fit against mine perfectly, and as my heart began to pound and my palms started sweating, I knew.

“I love you too Sidney,” I smiled cheesily after he broke the chaste kiss.

“I was hoping you would say that,” he said before hugging me again.