O Captain, My Captain.

"It was nothing short of amazing."

"Then I'm really failing to see the problem."

"But, Chels, you have to understand-," Aubrey was cut off.

"No buts, Aubs. You're just panicking."

"How am I panicking?"

"You're panicking about the situation. You're not allowing yourself to fall for him!" Chelsea exclaimed on the other line.

"Chels, it's my job and he's a part of my job," she sighed.

"I get that you're worried about what everyone else is gonna think. I really do. But just breathe," Chelsea tried comforting her. "All other thoughts aside, you gotta do what's best for you and it sounds like you really like him."

"I do, Chels," Aubrey broke down.

She hated that her sister's reasoning was extremely similar to Kuni's. 'Maybe I'm just blind to this all,' she thought.

"Aubs, are you scared?" Chelsea completely changed the direction of the conversation.

"Huh?"

"Are you scared?" she pressed further.

"Why would I be scared?"

"Because this is all out of your comfort zone," Chelsea said.

"What is?"

"SIDNEY! I can tell that you're falling for him and falling for him hard. You've always been in control of your feelings but now you're just along for the ride."

Aubrey pondered the deep realization that her older sister was actually right. She was falling for Sidney and she was falling for him fast and frankly it scared the hell out of her. He was amazing in every sense of the word. Everything from wanting to take things slow to their private lesson the other morning made her like him even more. Yet somehow she was finding every possible excuse to run away from her feelings.

"Aubs, you should be feeling like the luckiest girl in Pittsburgh," Chelsea interrupted her thoughts. "You know? Any other girl would kill to be in the position you're in and wouldn't even think twice about it."

"You're right," Aubrey agreed. The most sought after man in Pittsburgh wanted her and it was a lot to grasp.

"I know I'm right," Chelsea laughed. "Hell I'm jealous."

"You shouldn't be jealous," Aubrey smiled. "He's not that perfect."

"Uhhhh didn't you say he surprised you with your own skates and stick?" she asked.

"Yeah..."

"And snuck you in to teach you how to skate on the actual ice he plays on?"

"Guilty."

"AND listened to you talk about your Nick drama?"

"He asked!" Aubrey defended herself.

"Doesn't matter, Aubs. Any man who can sit through that mess and still give you a goodbye kiss is a keeper in my book," Chelsea said. "Just admit it."

"Admit what?" Aubrey asked.

"That's he perfect."

Aubrey sighed. Chelsea was right. Other than his not-so-freshly scented laundry room the other night and the occasional stench of his hockey gear, he was pretty damn close. 'I should be feeling on top of the world, right?' she questioned herself. Any other girl would've been the least bit satisfied that he had even looked at them, let alone wanted a relationship. It was time to quit escaping the situation and start embracing it. Sidney Crosby wanted her and she was going to start acting like it.

"He's got some flaws, but he's pretty damn close," Aubrey finally said.

"Name one," Chelsea pressed.

'Have you ever smelled a hockey player?" Aubrey giggled.

"Yeah but that's every guy that plays the sport. Name one thing pertaining to Sidney specifically that you would consider a 'flaw'," she practically spat the word flaw.

Aubrey racked her brain but came up short. "I've got nothing."

"Point, case, done," Chelsea sounded satisfied. "I told ya."

"Yeah, yeah," Aubrey was interrupted by a knock on her door. "Hey, Chels, someone's knocking. Can I call you back later?"

"Anytime baby sis," Chelsea said. "Just remember. He's just a regular guy too. He's probably just as terrified as you are."

"Thanks, Chels," Aubrey breathed a sigh of relief. "For talking me through these things."

"Anytime. Now go answer the door. I bet you it's Sid wanting to spend some alone time before team dinner."

Aubrey loved how her sister knew the daily road schedule for the guys even though she had never actually met any of them. There was another knock on the door and she knew she had to wrap things up.

"One can only hope," Aubrey blushed. "Love you."

"Love you too."

Tapping the 'End' button her phone, Aubrey slid off the bed to and looked through the peephole. She got a tingling sensation in her stomach when she saw that it was Sidney. He had changed from the suit he had worn on the plane into a Penguins hoodie and a pair of dark-washed jeans. Eagerly, she un-deadbolted the top lock and twisted the handle to open the door.

"Hiiii babe!" she threw her arms around him.

"Well hi to you too," he hugged her back, wrapping those delicious muscular arms around her thin frame. "This is a complete 180 from what I saw on the plane."

"Sorry about that," she apologized, finally letting go and taking a step back. "I had a lot of paperwork to get through and just needed time to concentrate."

"Was Kuni able to help you out with that?" he smirked.

"Ummm yeah," she cocked her head to the side. "He was a huge help actually."

"Well good," he said taking a step closer to her. "i came by to see if you wanted to take a walk? Maybe check out the city a bit."

"You wanna check out Detroit?" her forehead wrinkled in confusion. "I thought you hated it here?"

"I hate the majority of the fans here," he corrected her. "The city itself is actually pretty neat, once you get past high murder rates and what not. You don't have to come if you don't want to. I just figured it would be a good time to talk about things."

'Oh god, things. What things could he possibly be referring to? We're not even that far into our relationship to have things to talk about', she kicked the thoughts around in her head. Chelsea was right. She did panic a lot.

"Nothing bad," he sensed her hesitation. "You got some stuff off your chest now it's my turn to get stuff off mine."

"Okaaay," she sounded confused. "I'll grab my coat."