Status: I'll try and post as much as I can (:
O Captain, My Captain.
Chapter Four
The energy inside Consol was unlike anything Sidney had felt during a regular season home game thus far in his eight year playing career. The Kings were good. This was the last stint of their two-week long road trip and they had just come off a 4-0 shutout against the Nashville Predators. He knew the fans were expecting 60 minutes of strong, damn-near perfect play from their home team and he was starting to feel the pressure kick in, like it always had right before a good matchup.
This type of pressure was different though. This was the type of pressure he felt during game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, when they eventually went on to win to bring Lord Stanley back to Pittsburgh for the first time since 1992. Not that this game wasn't important, but why was he starting to feel double the stress at a home game in front of 18 thousand of his biggest fans who were confident that he and the rest of his team could dethrone the Kings who were coming in hot?
Maybe it was because the girl who had been running through his mind all day was standing five feet away from him at the end of the bench having a somewhat serious conversation with Dan Bylsma. They glanced over at him for a second, both of their eyes immediately zoning in on his wrist. His wrist! How could he have forgotten about his wrist? His wrist is what had started this whole "can't-get-her-out-of-my-mind" manifestation that seemed to be hanging over him all day. If it weren't for Tanger accidentally running him into the boards, maybe Sidney would've never gotten the chance to have the mini heart-to-heart he had with Aubrey earlier in the day. He secretly thanked Tanger for that.
Or maybe it was because Shelby was standing two feet behind him, obnoxiously banging on the glass as she and Lauren screamed his name. He was immediately snapped out of his concentrative daze and turned around to give them both a tight-lipped grin. Why was she doing this? She knew how superstitious he was and focused he needed to be before he stepped out onto the ice. Then again she had never been to one of his games so how was she supposed to know he needed total concentration to mentally prepare himself? Oh yeah, because he was Sidney fucking Crosby. Everyone knows that.
"Looks like you've got some fans," Aubrey casually sauntered by, turning her back to him to take in a full view of the ice. "Is that what's her face?"
Sidney could feel his face turning hot and a huge grin spread across his face as he stepped forward and stood next to her. "What was your first guess?"
"Oh I don't know...her screaming 'that's my boyfriend' kind of gave it away. That and she looks like your typical I-don't-know-much-about-hockey-but-I'm-obsessed-with-the-Pittsburgh-Penguins puck slut," she smiled and turned her face to look up at him only to get lost in those piercing green eyes. "Too far?"
"Nah," he laughed. "You hit that one pretty much on the head."
Shelby started to bang on the glass again in a desperate attempt to get his attention. When he turned around, her arms were crossed and her head was cocked to the side. She wore a permanent scowl and rolled her eyes. She looked like a girl who had just witnessed her superstar hockey-playing "boyfriend" flirting with another girl. He shrugged his shoulders at her and turned back around. At this point, every bit of care he had for her faded and he was prepared to give Aubrey his full attention. He hadn't noticed that she had turned around too to see what the commotion was about. She let out a loud laugh when she saw Shelby's perpetual "mean girl" stance.
"She hates me," Aubrey giggled.
"Lucky you," Sidney smiled. "At least she won't be blowing up your phone bitching you out for not paying enough attention to her."
"Yeah have fun dealing with that one, Sid," she placed her hand on his shoulder. As soon as the palm of her hand hit the soft mesh of his black jersey, she felt of a jolt of happiness run through her body and she couldn't place her finger on why.
She was lying to herself. She knew exactly why. She was standing there touching Sidney Crosby in front of some god-awful puck slut he had somehow managed to be so dumb enough to give his number to. Not to mention the hearts of every other girl in Consol were breaking because they wished they were lucky enough to be the palm of Aubrey's hand. She succumbed to her feelings. The way he was looking at her with those gorgeous green eyes, the way his ever so kissable red lips twisted into a half grin was enough to make her wash away any doubts she had before. She, Aubrey Kettering, had a crush on Sidney Crosby.
"You good?" Sidney's voice cracked, never taking his eyes off her.
'The most perfect man in Pittsburgh's voice just cracked. How cute?' she thought.
"What? Oh! Yeah, yeah. I'm good. Sorry I was just thinking about something," she looked down at her shoes. She felt like an idiot for breaking the flow of such a smooth conversation.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked out of genuine curiosity.
'You! Me! Together! Us as a couple! I haven't been able to stop thinking about you all day!' she wanted to scream. But her thoughts were temporarily put on hold when Coach Bylsma tapped her on her shoulder.
"Geno's legs are feeling a little tense, do you mind going and stretching him out?" he asked.
'I wouldn't mind stretching you out' Sidney thought to himself, still looking at Aubrey.
"No, sir, of course not. Let me go and grab something and I'll be right there," she nervously glanced up and tucked a loose strand of her long brown hair behind her ear.
As she started gathering up her things to head out onto the ice, Sidney reached up and placed his firm, callused hand on her shoulder. She whipped her head around and smiled up at him, getting lost on those piercing green eyes again.
"Uhh I know we're not technically supposed to get ourselves involved with the physical therapists outside of work and what not, but I was wondering if you maybe wanted to hang out after the game? And don't lie to me and say that you have to be at work early in the morning because we both work at the same place," he laughed awkwardly.
Aubrey's stomach dropped as she stood there with a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face. Had Sidney Crosby just asked her to hang out?
"Helllooo? Earth the Aubrey?" Sidney waved.
No response.
"You know what, forget about it. It was stupid of me to ask. I guess I'll just listen to her bitch all night," he gestured his head towards Shelby who was still standing there with her arms folded across her chest, scowling.
"No!" Aubrey reached out to grab his shoulder again. "Sorry I was thinking about something again! I'd LOVE to hang out tonight!"
His stunning green eyes lit up and he flashed her a wide, toothy grin. "Perfect. Then I'll meet you down at the locker room after the game?"
"You got it," Aubrey nervously played with her ponytail, looking up at the jumbotron to see that there was only seven minutes remaining in warmups. "Well you better get out there and try and shoot some goals. I've got to go tend to the Russian."
"Yeah his legs aren't gonna stretch themselves out on their own I suppose. But, hey, I'll see you during the game."
"Absolutey," she smiled. "And if your wrist is giving you any trouble, you know who to come to."
"I knew I could count on you," he winked.
'Damn Sid's version of flirting!' Aubrey cursed to herself. She watched as he pulled his gloves on and grabbed his stick. He was just about to hop over the bench onto the ice when she called after him.
"Sid!"
He snapped his head around, right leg on the ice, left leg still resting on the wall that separated the bench from the ice. "Yeah?"
"Good luck and be sure to 'bring your A game'. One of my stupid friends is here and I really need you to impress her," Aubrey made air quotes around 'bring your A game'.
'There's that not-so-subtle sarcasm. Damn she's perfect' he thought.
"You've got jokes, Aubs!" he said before his left leg joined his right and he skated off towards the rest of his teammates.
'Aubs. No one ever calls me Aubs except for Chelsea' she thought. She liked the way it rolled off his tongue and sounded so natural.
She couldn't wait to see where this night was going to take her.
This type of pressure was different though. This was the type of pressure he felt during game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, when they eventually went on to win to bring Lord Stanley back to Pittsburgh for the first time since 1992. Not that this game wasn't important, but why was he starting to feel double the stress at a home game in front of 18 thousand of his biggest fans who were confident that he and the rest of his team could dethrone the Kings who were coming in hot?
Maybe it was because the girl who had been running through his mind all day was standing five feet away from him at the end of the bench having a somewhat serious conversation with Dan Bylsma. They glanced over at him for a second, both of their eyes immediately zoning in on his wrist. His wrist! How could he have forgotten about his wrist? His wrist is what had started this whole "can't-get-her-out-of-my-mind" manifestation that seemed to be hanging over him all day. If it weren't for Tanger accidentally running him into the boards, maybe Sidney would've never gotten the chance to have the mini heart-to-heart he had with Aubrey earlier in the day. He secretly thanked Tanger for that.
Or maybe it was because Shelby was standing two feet behind him, obnoxiously banging on the glass as she and Lauren screamed his name. He was immediately snapped out of his concentrative daze and turned around to give them both a tight-lipped grin. Why was she doing this? She knew how superstitious he was and focused he needed to be before he stepped out onto the ice. Then again she had never been to one of his games so how was she supposed to know he needed total concentration to mentally prepare himself? Oh yeah, because he was Sidney fucking Crosby. Everyone knows that.
"Looks like you've got some fans," Aubrey casually sauntered by, turning her back to him to take in a full view of the ice. "Is that what's her face?"
Sidney could feel his face turning hot and a huge grin spread across his face as he stepped forward and stood next to her. "What was your first guess?"
"Oh I don't know...her screaming 'that's my boyfriend' kind of gave it away. That and she looks like your typical I-don't-know-much-about-hockey-but-I'm-obsessed-with-the-Pittsburgh-Penguins puck slut," she smiled and turned her face to look up at him only to get lost in those piercing green eyes. "Too far?"
"Nah," he laughed. "You hit that one pretty much on the head."
Shelby started to bang on the glass again in a desperate attempt to get his attention. When he turned around, her arms were crossed and her head was cocked to the side. She wore a permanent scowl and rolled her eyes. She looked like a girl who had just witnessed her superstar hockey-playing "boyfriend" flirting with another girl. He shrugged his shoulders at her and turned back around. At this point, every bit of care he had for her faded and he was prepared to give Aubrey his full attention. He hadn't noticed that she had turned around too to see what the commotion was about. She let out a loud laugh when she saw Shelby's perpetual "mean girl" stance.
"She hates me," Aubrey giggled.
"Lucky you," Sidney smiled. "At least she won't be blowing up your phone bitching you out for not paying enough attention to her."
"Yeah have fun dealing with that one, Sid," she placed her hand on his shoulder. As soon as the palm of her hand hit the soft mesh of his black jersey, she felt of a jolt of happiness run through her body and she couldn't place her finger on why.
She was lying to herself. She knew exactly why. She was standing there touching Sidney Crosby in front of some god-awful puck slut he had somehow managed to be so dumb enough to give his number to. Not to mention the hearts of every other girl in Consol were breaking because they wished they were lucky enough to be the palm of Aubrey's hand. She succumbed to her feelings. The way he was looking at her with those gorgeous green eyes, the way his ever so kissable red lips twisted into a half grin was enough to make her wash away any doubts she had before. She, Aubrey Kettering, had a crush on Sidney Crosby.
"You good?" Sidney's voice cracked, never taking his eyes off her.
'The most perfect man in Pittsburgh's voice just cracked. How cute?' she thought.
"What? Oh! Yeah, yeah. I'm good. Sorry I was just thinking about something," she looked down at her shoes. She felt like an idiot for breaking the flow of such a smooth conversation.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked out of genuine curiosity.
'You! Me! Together! Us as a couple! I haven't been able to stop thinking about you all day!' she wanted to scream. But her thoughts were temporarily put on hold when Coach Bylsma tapped her on her shoulder.
"Geno's legs are feeling a little tense, do you mind going and stretching him out?" he asked.
'I wouldn't mind stretching you out' Sidney thought to himself, still looking at Aubrey.
"No, sir, of course not. Let me go and grab something and I'll be right there," she nervously glanced up and tucked a loose strand of her long brown hair behind her ear.
As she started gathering up her things to head out onto the ice, Sidney reached up and placed his firm, callused hand on her shoulder. She whipped her head around and smiled up at him, getting lost on those piercing green eyes again.
"Uhh I know we're not technically supposed to get ourselves involved with the physical therapists outside of work and what not, but I was wondering if you maybe wanted to hang out after the game? And don't lie to me and say that you have to be at work early in the morning because we both work at the same place," he laughed awkwardly.
Aubrey's stomach dropped as she stood there with a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face. Had Sidney Crosby just asked her to hang out?
"Helllooo? Earth the Aubrey?" Sidney waved.
No response.
"You know what, forget about it. It was stupid of me to ask. I guess I'll just listen to her bitch all night," he gestured his head towards Shelby who was still standing there with her arms folded across her chest, scowling.
"No!" Aubrey reached out to grab his shoulder again. "Sorry I was thinking about something again! I'd LOVE to hang out tonight!"
His stunning green eyes lit up and he flashed her a wide, toothy grin. "Perfect. Then I'll meet you down at the locker room after the game?"
"You got it," Aubrey nervously played with her ponytail, looking up at the jumbotron to see that there was only seven minutes remaining in warmups. "Well you better get out there and try and shoot some goals. I've got to go tend to the Russian."
"Yeah his legs aren't gonna stretch themselves out on their own I suppose. But, hey, I'll see you during the game."
"Absolutey," she smiled. "And if your wrist is giving you any trouble, you know who to come to."
"I knew I could count on you," he winked.
'Damn Sid's version of flirting!' Aubrey cursed to herself. She watched as he pulled his gloves on and grabbed his stick. He was just about to hop over the bench onto the ice when she called after him.
"Sid!"
He snapped his head around, right leg on the ice, left leg still resting on the wall that separated the bench from the ice. "Yeah?"
"Good luck and be sure to 'bring your A game'. One of my stupid friends is here and I really need you to impress her," Aubrey made air quotes around 'bring your A game'.
'There's that not-so-subtle sarcasm. Damn she's perfect' he thought.
"You've got jokes, Aubs!" he said before his left leg joined his right and he skated off towards the rest of his teammates.
'Aubs. No one ever calls me Aubs except for Chelsea' she thought. She liked the way it rolled off his tongue and sounded so natural.
She couldn't wait to see where this night was going to take her.