O Captain, My Captain.

"Sidney," Aubrey pushed away.

He looked down at her, his piercing green eyes staring at her with intensity as he knit his eyebrows in confusion. "I thought you wanted this?"

"I thought I did," she looked down at the floor. "I mean I do, I do, it's just..."

He took a step back and clasped his hands. "I get it. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"No! Don't be sorry!" she moved forward as she finally found the courage to meet his gaze. "It's not you, it's me."

Sidney's forehead wrinkled a bit and he cocked his head to the side. She'd been throwing him signals all night indicating that their feelings towards one another were on the same page, so why the sudden change of heart?

"Wow that came out wrong," Aubrey bit her lip, looking back down at the ground. "I didn't mean to sound so incredibly cliche."

Sidney's look of confusion now twisted into a tiny smile and the tiniest hint of curiosity appeared in his beautiful green eyes. "You're so different. That's what I really like about you."

"Different?" Aubrey asked. Now she was confused. "What do you mean by 'different'?"

"Don't make it sound like such a bad thing! I love it," he exclaimed. "Any other girl would've already been half-naked the second we got in the car but not you. It's refreshing."

"Oh," she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I guess that's a good thing then."

"It's a great thing. I'm tired of all these one-night stands, hit it and quit it hook ups where I only see a girl one time because all's she cares about is my fame and my money."

'Did Sidney Crosby just use the term 'hit it and quit it?'' she thought to herself. 'Is there anything he says that won't surprise me?'

"Maybe I shouldn't tell you this because I don't wanna scare you away with all my mushy girl shit," she blushed. "But I've just been hurt so many times in the past that it's hard to allow myself to get close with someone right off the bat and when we were talking this morning, it made me realize something."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" he asked giving her a boyish grin.

"Wellllll," she stammered. "That we both want to get 'emotionally invested' so to speak with someone before we get intimate."

"'Emotionally invested'?" he made air quotes around 'emotionally invested'.

"You know? Like really get to know each other and really have feelings towards one another before we-", Sidney cut her off.

"Before we fuck?" he smirked again.

She cringed at the word. Fuck made it sound so much more sexual and that's the last thing she wanted to think of her relationship with Sid as. If she was going to go out of her comfort zone and become 'emotionally invested' with Sidney Crosby, she was going to make sure that they weren't just 'fucking'. But she couldn't deny that boyish grin and decided to put her thoughts on the back burner.

"Yes, Sid," she rolled her eyes. "Before we fuck."

"Okaaaay so I guess that just leaves me with one question," he said raising an eyebrow.

"Fire away."

"Aubrey Kettering, would you like to become emotionally invested with me?" he asked.

Her heart skipped a beat and felt like it was about to explode out of her chest. 'He did not just say that' her mind raced. Her breath began to quicken as she began to fumble with some loose strands of hair. Her doe eyes were a dead giveaway that she was awestruck and her mind couldn't formulate words into a sentence.

"Aubs?"

"Sorry, I was-" she was cut off again.

"Thinking?" he laughed. "Shocker."

"Shut up," she playfully smacked his arm.

"But in all seriousness," he said regaining his composure. "Will you become emotionally invested with me?"

"Are you asking me out?" she questioned.

"Maybe I am," his eyes danced. "Maybe I'm not."

"Sid!" she smacked his arm again. "You can't just toy with my emotions like that!"

"Relax, relax! Yes. I guess I am asking you out," he said nervously.

"Oh. Well then in that case," she smiled stepping towards him. "Sidney Crosby, I would love to become emotionally invested with you."

"Really?" he let out a sigh of relief, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Yes! How on earth could I say no?" she said feeling his strong arms wrap around her. He was like her human security blanket.

"Well I know mixing work with relationships can sometimes get sticky," he said gazing down at her.

"You're right," she said wondering how easily he could pinpoint her insecurities. "I guess it'll just have to be our little secret."

"Our little secret? I like the sound of that."

"Good," she leaned her head up so that their eyes met. "Just promise me one thing."

"Anything," he said meeting her gaze, his arms still tightly wrapped around her.

"Just promise me that we really get to know each other before we get 'down to business'," she giggled at her own choice of words.

"Did you just say 'down to business'?" he laughed.

"Yes. Yes I did."

He looked up at the ceiling as if pondering her proposition before finally looking back down at her, regaining eye contact.

"Deal," he smiled.

"Promise? None of that 'hit it and quit it shit' you mentioned earlier?"

"None of that James Neal shit," he joked.

"Sid!"

"Kidding, kidding," he said. "But really."

"Okay," she let out a small sigh of relief. "Looks like we're getting emotionally invested together."

"Perfect," he smiled before leaning down and giving her a soft peck on the lips.

Even though this was only the second time their lips had ever met, so many emotions ran wild in her mind. She was really doing this. She was really 'going out' with Sidney Crosby. And she was terrified yet ecstatic all at the same time. What would her friends think? More importantly what would the team think if they found out? How much disapproval would she get if the rest of the guys found out that she was going out with the captain? What would Coach Bylsma think? Oh god not Dirty Dan. But with the lingering sensation of his soft lips and the feeling of his tongue slowly trying to pry through, her thoughts temporarily subsided. 'Just go with it' she told herself. And with that she did the best she could to put her mind at ease and get excited for what going out with Sidney Crosby would entail.