The One That Got Away?

Lorie sighed when Sidney left. He was the mediator between Megan and herself, and no doubt Megan's claws were going to come out. She finished eating the last of her breakfast, drinking the last of her coffee, before she got up to clean up the mess from breakfast. She washed her and Sidney's dish, and finished by scrubbing the skillet she had used to cook the breakfast. Meagan was sitting at the counter scrolling through her phone, pretending Lorie wasn't in the room. Another sigh from Loire finally caused Meagan's eyes to flicker up her way. She gave Lorie a long look before dropping them back down to her phone and began typing something on the new IPhone. Lorie wiped down the countertops and rinsed out the coffeepot.

"I'm going out with my friends. I'll be back later." Meagan said before getting up, dumping her belongings in her very expensive purse, then stomping out of the house without saying another word. The second car was gone, leaving Lorie completely stranded at the house. Lorie let out an exasperated sigh before heading upstairs. It felt like a good day to dance.

Lorie went upstairs to her room and scratched Shakespeare on the head before pulling out a pair of yoga pants, and a tight fitting shirt. She clothed herself and went downstairs to plug her phone into the stereo system. Instantly, classical music filled the house, pulling Lorie from reality. Lorie grew up dancing, as her mother was a dancer, and practiced whenever her family wasn't around to see her keeping up with the skill. Her legs began stretching and moving into various ballet poses and her arms stretched, relieving the rust from her joints. Some of them popped in happiness as they finally were able to relieve some of her stress. The living room was very open and a very large open space was enough to do most of Lorie's warm-up. Dancing had always been an outlet for Lorie, a way to escape whatever she was feeling. It was also a connection to her mother, reminding her of all the hours spent in the studio room of the house they owned. They both danced in front of the mirror, her mother looking more graceful than herself. Lorie would copy everything her mother would do and receive smiles no matter how uncoordinated her dancing was at first. As Lorie grew older she became her mother's protégé, soaking up information.

Her father put an end to her dancing into her early teen years and had her focus on equestrian jumping. One bad fall going over a jump and the muscles and tendons in her legs were shot, making dancing for too long painful. Her father stopped her dancing immediately, but she would go down to the studio at night and dance through the pain. Her mother would join her sometimes, but she was usually left alone. After her mother died, the studio was her second home. She lived down there, trying to keep her mother alive somehow, trying to keep her memory alive. It was never easy for her, but the studio made everything manageable.

She began to feel the dull ache in her legs warning her that her time was almost up, but the stress today was more than she could handle. She kept dancing and forced the pain away, forcing the tension from her body. She was lost in the music and dance, she didn't hear the door open, or the shuffling of feet as they approached her.

~
Sidney drove home with the other guys following him, he just hoped Meagan and Lorie didn't mind the intrusion. He pulled up in the driveway and got out of the car waiting for the other guys to park. The loud, bustling group of hockey players began walking up the driveway toward the front door. Neal was explaining what Lorie was like as they walked up the front pathway. Sid unlocked the door and was met with the sound of classical music. They guys all looked suspicious as they entered the house, not sure how to react to the music filling the air. He set his keys down in the dish and noticed that Meagan's were gone, leaving Lorie here alone. She really needed a car so she could get around by herself. He walked toward the living room and immediately stopped when he saw what was going on.

Lorie had her back to them and looked completely entranced in the music because she didn't show any signs of recognizing they had entered the room. It was a collective silence between the guys, no one dared to speak in fear of disturbing her from her dance. She was so graceful and beautiful as she moved her body along with the piano ballad. Her long hair was cascading down her back and shimmering gold in the sunlight pouring in from the windows. Her slim body held more grace and athleticism than he could imagine. He also took note of her small body, she was thinner than Meagan, but toned and strong looking. He was caught up looking at her and apparently the rest of the guys were. He decided to let her know they were home, to try to save some of her embarrassment.

"Lorie." The squeak she let out was like a cold glass of water being dumped on all of them. Everything was brought back into reality as Lorie spun around on her heel with her wide doe-eyes. Her gaze moved to the group standing in front of her. Her cheeks tinged with embarrassment, and he wasn't sure how she was nothing but genuine.

"I didn't know you were home, with friends." She said dropping her gaze to the ground. He then remembered how big of a hockey fan she was, so she must know who each of them were.

"Yea, we decided to come over practice. Nice to see you again, Lorie." James said smiling at her, not helping Sidney's comfort at all.

"Nice to see you again as well, James. I'm going to run upstairs and change quickly." She said and scampered to the stereo, pulling her phone off, then running upstairs to change. Sidney watched her take the stairs two at a time, trying to get away from their lingering gazes. When she was out of sight, James took the opportunity to make a comment she couldn't hear.

"I didn't know she could dance." James said appreciatively.

"Neither did I." Sidney said still looking at the stairs she had just disappeared up.

"She pretty." Geno said to the group.

"Yes she is." James said and Kris and Marc-Andre agreed.

"What do you think Crosby?" James asked him.

"I don't have an opinion considering I'm engaged to her sister." Sidney said trying to hide his true intentions.

"So, she's fair game right?" Neal asked just as Lorie came back down the stairs with Shakespeare at her heals. She was wearing the same clothes from the morning, but she was barefoot now. Her red toenails stood out against the hard-wood floors. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and put her black glasses back on.

"So, this is Kris, Geno, and Marc-Andre, since you haven't met them yet." Sidney introduced the two hockey players at his side.

"Nice to meet you guys." Lorie said giving them a small wave and a smile. They smiled back and returned the greeting.

"So, you're Meagan's sister?" Fleury asked through his thick, French accent.

"Yes, she's my stepsister." Lorie said with a smile, almost looking forced.

"And you're a writer?" he asked again.

"Yes I am, and an editor for a publishing firm." she replied with genuine enthusiasm this time.

"Sid, do you have any food?" Kris asked after his stomach growled.

"I was about to make lunch actually, would you guys like some?" Lorie asked the group.

"You wouldn't mind?" Sidney asked shocked. Whenever Meagan cooked, which was rare in itself, she always needed preparation and hated it when it was sprung on her.

"Do you guys mind chicken?" she asked with a smile so big her cheeks pushed her glasses up. It was enough to make Sid smile, just looking at how happy she seems. She honestly seems to enjoy taking care of other people, so how could she be so mean?

Murmurs of appreciation went through the group as she began to cook her tomato basil chicken with noodles. It smelled as good as it tasted and the guys dug in eating everything given to them. Conversation flowed easily through the room, the guys asked questions and she answered honestly. She was more than happy and willing to share information. Sidney didn't think he had ever met anyone who was willing to open up and share information like she was. Lorie was different than her imagined an "Ice Queen" to be. Her warm, happy personality was infectious and had the ability to make anyone smile. She had the type of personality that made people want to be around her, she was easy to talk to and listened just as well. Her writing career was a large topic they discussed, some of the guys promised to go out and read her books, causing her to blush.

How can she be mean? How is she even fake? The door opened revealing a shocked Meagan.