Last Chance

I wasn't sure what time it was when I woke up, but it was still dark outside. I was confused that I had ended up on the couch and then realized Sid must have put me there. I got up to grab a glass of water and noticed his note on my fridge.

"Late lunch after practice? Meet me at the Hyatt. Room 2406"

I glanced at the clock on the stove. It was only 1:30 a.m. I headed to my bedroom, got changed and brushed my teeth before climbing into bed. Sid was always a night owl, I knew he would be awake. I pulled out my phone and texted him.

Kelly: I know you're awake. Thanks for moving me off the floor. Practice ends at 1 p.m. I'll see you after that.
I hit send as I turned my bedroom light off.

I had almost dozed off when my phone buzzed. I knew it was him and I willed myself to wake up.

Sid: How the hell do you fall asleep sitting up? C u tomorrow. :)

I smiled. I don't know I had managed to fall asleep sitting up, I guess I was exhausted. I didn't need to reply. He knew that. I closed my eyes and fell into the best sleep I had had in years.

-----Winter 2003-----

"Come on Kel, you gotta push yourself." He said as I tried to defend against him on his backyard rink.

"I'm trying Sid! Shit. I'm so frustrated!"

"You know I'm not going to let up on you because if I do you'll hit me." He laughed as he pushed the puck out from between my legs and took off. It was nice to have him back for the Christmas break and I was taking advantage of having the QMJHL leading scorer to practice against. I took off after him and poke checked him from behind, I skated ahead of him and took control of the puck. I still had crappy shot but I decided to shoot it anyways and managed to land the puck in the net. I jumped up and down with delight. It wasn't very often that I scored on Sid. He came behind me and threw his arms around me. "Way to go Kelly! I'm just not happy it was against me. If you use that move during try outs you'll make the team for sure." He nudged me and I lost my balance and fell over. Taking him down with me. When we landed he was on top of me, his face inches from mine. I locked eyes with him, as the butterflies returned to my stomach. I broke the gaze and moved my head to the side.

"Get off me Crosby! You're freakin' heavy!" I laughed as I pushed him off of me. I got up before him and shoveled the puck out of the net, taking it back to the face off circle.

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I woke up in the morning feeling like a brand new person, or maybe it was the old me that I felt like. I ate a quick breakfast before heading to the gym. I always liked to do a quick work out before practice. I found it loosened me up, both mentally and physically.

I arrived at the rink with a new found confidence, the smile on my face showed that.

"What's gotten you all smiley?" Andrea asked as I laced up the my skates. "You weren't like this at all yesterday."

"I know, but I've had some time to think about things and let everything sink in. Now I'm excited, now I'm happy. It only took me a day." I giggled as I threw my parctice jersey over my head. I lied, it wasn't because I had let it sink in. It was because I had Sid back, but I wasn't ready to tell anyone about it. I didn't want to share him with anyone just yet.

Practice was intense, and hard. We focued on new plays and worked on some core strengthening drills. By the time it was over I was exhausted, and I wasn't sure I would have the energy to drive home, let alone go for lunch. Regardless, I wanted to go and I would. I showered and threw on a pair of jeans, a tank top, flipflops, and a zip up hoodie. I got into my car and headed downtown.