This Ain't a Fairytale

“COME ON!!” I hollered, standing in front of my seat as I watched the seconds tick down on the clock, the boys needed to pull ahead of New York, and right now they couldn’t generate any decent shots.

The buzzer went, signaling the end of the third period, and I sat back down, anxiously waiting for the overtime period to begin. I'd been this anxious about watching hockey games for as long as I could remember; even as a toddler I had lacked the ability to sit nicely in my seat while watching a game. I also struggled with keeping an 'indoor volume', but thankfully that wasn't an issue in the Igloo.

“YES! WAY TO GO SID!” I screamed as I saw the puck cross the goal line, Sidney’s backhander finding the back of the net. The guys all celebrated, before heading off the ice. I waited about ten minutes while people filed out of the arena, the atmosphere light as everyone was glad to see the hometown boys win. I slowly made my way to the player’s lounge, waiting with Maureen and Catherine again before we went to go see the guys.

“Sid! You were amazing!” I gushed, throwing my arms around him as soon as I saw him. He laughed, hugging me tightly and lifting my feet up off of the ground momentarily before putting me back down.

“Thanks! It’s all because of my good luck charm being back,” he grinned, and I congratulated a few of the other guys as well.

I turned to Jordan, who had scored the Penguins first goal, and immediately struggled to find some words. Just something about him made me feel awkward, and he behaved the same way.

“Uh, good job,” I managed to choke out, and he awkwardly bobbed his head in a nod before turning back to his stall. Sidney raised an eyebrow at me, making me elbow him. He'd been teasing me about Jordan for a while, because we could hardly be in the same room without making everybody feel awkward. It was similar to that feeling of going to a dance in Junior High - where the boys stood on one side of the room and the girls on the other, and while they wouldn't be caught dead doing so they keep sneaking glances. That's kind of how Jordan and I were, we struggled to speak to each other, we couldn't really do anything near each other without being weird. So I'd started trying to avoid him a bit, for the sake of everybody else's good time. Sidney was positive I liked him, which I knew was false - I didn't know anything about the guy.

“Don’t even start Sidney,” I warned him, and made him laugh. The locker room was loud and happy – Matt Niskanen had cranked up his iPod and was playing some kind up upbeat new song. It was a bit contagious, and I couldn't help but crack a smile and laugh along to some of the oddball jokes.

“So, do you want to just head home?” Sidney asked, and I shrugged, knowing he usually ate after a game, but he’d obviously noticed the awkwardness between me and his blonde friend. I'd been trying my hardest to act like usual, but something about him was just... different than what I was used to. There was something in those blue eyes I'd never seen before, and it unnerved me a bit.

“Do you want to go grab a coffee or something to eat?” I asked, and after a moment’s deliberation he nodded. Sidney was usually hungry after a game, so I figured this was a plausible and reasonable excuse to make an exit.

“Can we swing by the house first? I don’t want to be dressed in a suit,” he sheepishly told me, and I had to laugh before nodding, deciding that would be all right. We said goodbye to everyone, and then went to his Range Rover. We stopped at his house for about ten minutes, long enough for Sidney to change into jeans and a t-shirt, and put his God-awful Crocs on. I was going to hide them away on him before long, and then burn them; they are that awful.

“Leigh what do you want?” he asked, but I shook my head.

“I’ll pay for my own Sid,” I insisted, and resisted the puppy dog pout he sent my way.

“Fine, be that way,’ he sighed, paying for his fruit smoothie and Panini sandwich. I decided on a raspberry lemonade and a chicken wrap, and stood by the counter waiting for our food. Once it was ready I turned to see where Sid had sat down, and bumped into someone standing beside me.

“Oh I’m sorry!” I immediately said, balancing the tray in my hands, managing to not spill anything. I eyed the wallet he’d dropped, wondering how I would pick it up for him without dropping anything on my tray.

“I’m sorry! I should’ve paid more attention,” he said, kneeling and picking up his wallet, and making eye contact. This guy was gorgeous, even with surprise written all over his features. Beautiful grey-green eyes looked back at me, and soon a friendly smile was on his face, revealing a smile that belonged in a Colgate commercial. I felt myself blush a little bit, and after he’d stood up I extended my hand, feeling that I at least owed him a introduction after nearly running him over.

“Leigh,”

“Joshua – nice to meet you. I better let you get back to your date,” he said, moving his head in Sidney’s direction. I felt my face heat up some more, shaking my head, a light laugh coming from my stomach. People always seemed to assume we were out on a date.

“He’s my best friend; we’re not dating,” I replied, and his eyebrows raised slightly. He looked Sidney over quickly before turning those gorgeous eyes back to me.

“Really? A pretty girl like you? He blind or something?” he asked, making me giggle. This Joshua was adorable.

“No, he’s not blind,”

“Well, maybe we can get coffee together sometime then?” a moment later I nodded, and we exchanged cell phone numbers. We chatted for another minute or so before he left and I went to sit down with Sidney.

“Who’s that?” he asked, a knowing grin on his face as he picked up his smoothie.

“Joshua,” I answered, freezing for a moment when my phone went off. Checking it I saw that Joshua had texted me, and when I finally met Sidney’s gaze his eyes were gleaming.

“Looks like somebody’s got a boyfriend,” he teased, and I shoved his shoulder, kind of hoping he’d be right.