I Tripped and Fell in Love

“Come on Sid!” She giggled from the living room. “You take longer than I do to get ready.”

I smiled to myself and adjusted my tie for the hundredth time. I hated attending these events sometimes, but having Carmen there with me made them just a little bit more bearable. I heard her sigh and I chuckled, turning for the door. I stopped when I saw my best friend standing there with her arms crossed and foot tapping.

“I’m ready, I’m ready.” I told her, shutting off the light to the bathroom.

She reached for me and adjusted my tie causing my heart rate to speed up. That's been happening a lot lately when we were together. Especially when she did little things like adjust my tie. Within the past month or so I’ve come to terms with the fact that I had feelings for one of my best friends.

“You look good, Sid. It’s no wonder every puck slut wants you.” She winked and turned on her heel, heading for the steps. She loved to pick on me for the girls that would throw themselves to me wherever we went.

As she walked down the steps, I watched the tight black dress she was wearing hug her backside perfectly and groaned inwardly. Carmen turned when she didn’t hear me following her and for just a second I thought that I had groaned audibly. “Come on Sid, we cannot be late to this. For the love of God, you’re getting the award.” She rolled her eyes.She hated these things just as much as I did, but she got the benefit of hanging out with the guys more often.

Carmen and I have been friends since the day I came to Pittsburgh, so I could drag her to all the events I didn't want to attend alone. I remember the day we met like it was just yesterday. She was the Lemieux’s babysitter and neighbor who just happened to be at the house the day I moved it.

I was carrying my bags to the end of the house that Mario told me would be mine, when I ran into someone. I dropped my bags instantly, thinking it was one of the kids I knocked down. When I looked up, I came face to face with a beautiful girl about my age. She had on jean shorts and a simple tank top and her hair was in a ponytail. Appropriate attire for the summer Pittsburgh was having, but it wasn’t her outfit that caught my attention. No, it was the laughter that followed her fall.

“Oh my god, are you okay? I am so sorry. I didn’t see you there and I just plowed right into you.” I began to ramble.

She laughed again and held her hand out for me to help her up. When she was back on her own two feet, she smiled at me. “Don’t worry about it. It was partly my fault too, I was texting and not watching where I was walking…again. I’m Carmen Thompson.” She smiled again.

“Sidney Crosby.”

She laughed again. “Oh I know, you’re all Mario and the city could talk about for the longest time. It’s nice to finally meet you and hope you enjoy the wonderful Steel City.” She made her way to get out of the way. “Now if you excuse me, I have to go find the kids. I’ll be seeing you around Sidney.”

“Thanks, see you around Carmen and I really am sorry about knocking you down.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She said with a wave and I watched as she disappeared out of the back door looking for the Lemieux children.

From that day on, the two of us were inseparable. We spent every moment we could together and we confided in each other. There were many times Carmen would call me or even sneak over to the house after a breakup with one of her douches of a boyfriend.Every time I got one of those calls it took all my will power not to got hunt him down and shake some sense into him. No one was ever good enough for her and I saw it, but she didn’t.

As we got older and I became more popular in the public eye, rumors began flying that the two of us were dating. We laughed it off and ignored the looks we got when we hung out together. Last season when I moved out of Mario and Nathalie’s house, I had invited Carmen to move in with me since she had just finished her senior year of college….

“SIDNEY PATRICK CROSBY!” I heard my name being called, pulling me out of my memory. I shook my head and looked in front of me where there was a very angry Carmen staring at me with her hands on her hips. “We need to go like now”

I chuckled. “Sorry, I zoned out there for a minute." She gave me a look that simply read "Ya think?" and I laughed opening the front door. "Come on miss bossy pants. I’m ready now and there is still plenty of time to get there.” I said, grabbing her arm and leading her out to my Ranger Rover.

The car ride to the event was filled with chatter and laughter. Carmen told me about a party she went to with her old college room mate and the amount of trouble they almost got themselves in. I shook my head, Carmen may be a sweet girl but she did have her wild side that got her in trouble. More than once, myself or one of the guys had to save her from partying herself into oblivion or jail. She also told me about the guy, Justin, she had been seeing for a while and how much she really liked him. Jealousy raged inside me and I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles where white. I hated when she talked about guys with me now, because I got so jealous and she had no idea.

As we lapsed into silence, I looked over at her and took in her appearance. She was singing quietly to the song on the radio and twirling one of her crafted curls around her finger, something she did when she was deep in thought. The dress she was wearing stopped mid-thigh and rose when she sat down, exposing more of the soft skin there. Her brown hair was crafted into large spiral, bouncy, curls and falling down her shoulders. She looked beautiful and I knew she was going to turn heads.

We arrived at the event and I handed the keys over to the valet before making my way over to Carmen’s door and helping her out. With a smile, she placed her hand in mine and together we went inside, only stopping occasionally for pictures of interviews for myself. Once we were inside, Carmen was swept away by Jordan Staal and Max Talbot. I shook my head as my two friends harassed Carmen as they dragged her to the bar. I watched her until I couldn’t see her anymore and then all my attention was grabbed by the guests at the event and more interviews