‹ Prequel: The Fear Is Paralyzing

Our Secret Hiding Spot

Quinze

Quinn was ready to pull her hair out as she sat down at her desk at work. The last seventy-two hours had been pure hell as she tried to deal with all of the questioning directed at her about the Kris deal. She tried to turn everyone towards Mario and Jenna since Mario was in charge of anything to do with Kris as far as the team was concerned, but that didn't stop people from calling her office phone and cell phone, trying to get a hold of her.

Her phone dinged, and she groaned, not even wanting to see who it was now. She was pretty sure she had talked with nearly every other NHL team owner to give her side of the story, but now media and reporters were reaching out to her as well. She wasn't sure how they had gotten her cell phone number, but she liked to pin that on Dean. She wouldn't put it past him.

However, she smiled when she saw Kris's name on her screen and she swiped to see what he had texted her. I think you need a break from everything. Head home early. We're going to a party.

She glanced at the clock, seeing it was only three o'clock. Normally, she didn't dare leave before six, but she figured she could make an exception for today. She didn't know what kind of party Kris was talking about, but as long as she got away from hockey talk for the night, she'd go with him wherever.

She said a quick goodbye to Mario before she left, heading home to see what Kris had planned. But, when she got to their place, he was nowhere to be found. She shrugged her shoulders as she put her bag down on the couch and headed back to their bedroom and decided to take a nice long bath. She had left work early, she might as well enjoy it.

For the first time in a while, she allowed herself to fully relax and not worry about anything that was going on in the outside world. She sank into the bubbles in the bathtub and leaned her head back, closing her eyes.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed in there, but she finally lifted her body out of the water that was now lukewarm and wrapped a towel around herself, exiting the bathroom. Kris was in their bedroom and he turned around when the bathroom door opened. "You did leave work early," he commented with a smile on his face.

"You told me to!" she pointed out with a laugh. "What kind of party are we going to? What do I need to wear?" she asked him.

"Casual," he replied. "Headed over to Sid's," he told her, and Quinn knew what that meant. It was bound to be a big party with a lot of the guys, their girlfriends, and friends. And, it was just what she needed right now. They weren't going to ask her what she had to do in order to get Kris to stay, and she wouldn't have to convince them that she had nothing to do with any of the dealings.

She walked to her closet and looked around, trying to decide what to wear. She finally decided on a light purple halter top and a pair of jean shorts with a pair of flip flops. Kris had changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt himself and looked over at her, a smile on his face. "You look good," he told her, coming over and kissing her cheek.

She couldn’t help but smile. "Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself," she replied. She grabbed her sunglasses and wallet as she followed Kris out to his car. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt like a regular person, hanging out with friends and wearing shorts and a tank top. She was so used to being at work everyday now in dressy clothes and heels. It felt good to just be going to Sid's house with her husband, not worrying about anything else going on.

Kris held Quinn's hand the whole drive to Sid's place. When he pulled in, he realized they weren't the first ones there, as there were several other vehicles already parked. He pulled up next to Kessel's and he and Quinn got out, heading to the backyard, where they could smell the grill.

Quinn smiled as she was back in the place that she and Kris married. It was always going to be a special place to her. "Hey! The owner showed up, we better settle down!" Jake Guentzel jokingly yelled out, causing everyone to look in Quinn's direction.

"Shut up or I'll ship your ass to Tampa Bay," she joked back, and everyone started laughing. She was at ease, knowing that they were being friendly in giving her a hard time.

Evgeni and his girlfriend, Nikita, walked up to Quinn. "How're you, Quinn?" Evgeni asked.

"Good," she smiled. "Nik, I haven't seen you in so long!" she told the other woman, who's long dark hair was pulled up into a pony tail on the top of her head. She had been visiting family in Russia for the past two weeks. Quinn didn't know why Geno hadn't accompanied her, but she didn't press the issue. Perhaps they weren't as serious as Quinn had thought.

"I know!" Nikita exclaimed. "I just got back a couple nights ago," she said, taking a step closer to Evgeni. "I'm happy to be back here," she said, obviously in love with her boyfriend standing next to her.

"Where's Tanger?" Evgeni asked Quinn.

She turned and looked around, not even realizing her husband had wandered off. She spotted him a little ways away with Sid. "Over there," she said, pointing in his direction. Before she knew it, Evgeni was walking away from her and joining the two other men, leaving her with Nikita.

Quinn's phone started to ring in the middle of her conversation with Nikita. "Sorry," she apologized as she saw it was Dani. Nikita excused herself, allowing Quinn to pick up. "What's up, Dani?"

"What the hell is up with all this shit online about you making threats to keep Kris?" she asked, amusement in her voice. Danielle obviously didn't believe any of it, and found humor in the rumors. "Why didn't you threaten everyone to keep Tyler in Pittsburgh so I could stay near my best friend?" she joked.

"Those rumors are going to be the death of me," Quinn muttered.

"No, your mother and step-brother will be the death of you," Dani laughed.

"That's probably true," Quinn admitted as she found a chair underneath a tree and sat down, enjoying the shade. It was a hotter than normal day in Pittsburgh, and she wondered how long it would take before she got a sunburn since she forgot to put on sunscreen before going to Sid's. "I'm already trying to find an excuse not to go to Corinne's this week for family dinner," she spoke.

"Tell her the truth, you hate her," Dani chuckled.

"I think Kris wishes I would," Quinn replied. Suddenly, there were screams as several of the guys decided to start doing cannonballs into Sid's pool. "I wish you were still in town," Quinn told her. Dani and Tyler had gone back home a few days after the wedding. "We're at Sid's right now, and you and I could be drinking margaritas in the backyard."

"I wish!" Dani exclaimed. "Drink an extra one for me! I'll talk to you later," she said, wanting to allow Quinn to get back to the fun.

"Bye, Dani," she said, hanging up the phone.

A few moments later, Kris walked over to her, sitting in the chair next to her. "So Sid asked me who did the cupcakes for our wedding," he commented.

Quinn looked over at him, a curious look on her face. "Is he not on his normal Sid diet of no sweets?" she asked. She knew the captain avoided sweets during the season to stay in shape, even if he did have a giant sweet tooth.

"I think he has a thing for cupcake girl," Kris chuckled. "He asked me if I knew where we got the cupcakes, I think he wants to try to go find her. The red head," he clarified, remembering there were two women there, but not knowing much about either one of them.

"Ohhh," Quinn recalled which one he was talking about. "Her name's Reagan. I'll give Sid the info on the shop later." The gears in her mind started turning. "You think he's into her or wanting a one night stand?"

Kris shrugged. "Does it matter?"

"Well I'd like to see him settle down, you know that."

"I don't think Sidney Crosby knows how to settle down," Kris laughed. He turned to look at his wife. "Don't you dare get any ideas. We've got enough shit to deal with in our own life. You don't meddle."

Quinn fake glared at Kris. "Don't you dare tell me what I can or can't do," she countered. "But, you're right, we do have enough shit to deal with in our own life. So let's forget that for a few hours and enjoy our time here. I'm going to grab a drink, you want anything?" she asked.

"I'll go grab a beer," Kris said, standing up with her and following her over to the table that was set up with all the alcohol.

Quinn was happy when she found Sid walking their way so she could take a moment to talk with him herself. "Hey Sid," she said, pulling him to the side before more people could join their conversation.

"Hey Quinn, I'm sorry the media's being a real pain in the ass about all this. We're all happy Tanger is staying," he told her sincerely.

She couldn't help but smile at his comments. "Thanks, Sid. But, that wasn't what I was going to talk to you about. Kris said you were asking about the cupcake girl?" She noticed Sid's cheeks get a little pink, and she could tell the man didn't usually have crushes on girls. "Her name's Reagan. She works at this cute little shop called The Cupcake Shoppe. You should go pick up a couple cupcakes, everything they make is delicious," she told him.

"I can't keep eating those cupcakes, or you'll be kicking my ass off the team for being out of shape," Sid laughed.

"Trust me, I think you can handle a cupcake or two with your normal eating habits," she told him honestly. "But Reagan, she's really nice. I think you'd like her," she said as she saw Kris shooting her a look from a short distance away. She knew he didn't want her to meddle in Sid's love life, and she wasn't really. She was merely telling him where he could find a good cupcake if he was in the mood for one.

"Thanks, Quinn," Sid said with a smile. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help calm down all this talk, too."

"Thank you," she told him. "I'll talk to Jenna and see if maybe having a statement from the captain would help at all, I'll let you know," she said before she rejoined Kris, who had a drink in his hand waiting for her.

"What was that all about?" Kris asked.

"Sid said he'd help any way he can with all the talk around town about re-signing you," she told him half the truth.

Kris seemed to accept the answer with a nod of his head. "Let's not worry about that right now. Let's just enjoy being with our friends." Quinn could easily accept that offer, wanting to put work aside for just a short while. She had a feeling things would take a turn for the worse before they got better when it came to the media, so she might as well enjoy the fun times while she had them.
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I may be super slow at updating, but haven't given up on this story :)