Brief Encounters

It was only after I applied the rouge to my cheeks and lips did a shudder rage throughout and shake me into a state of vigilance. If Eden were to walk in on me getting ready for some event unknown to him, no longer would my belongings furnish this house anymore; they'd be thrown out the window. Although, it seemed that would inevitably result anyways because of the insisting that Sid come to pick me up and most likely come across a disheveled Eden. As far as I knew, my boyfriend was in the living room stressing over some nautical papers that he was invested in for his job. Already was he an animal ready to bite, but once the doorbell would ring, his fur was bound to stand on end and his teeth would flash with the desire to perpetuate the anger within him. I was not ready to spur that kind of reaction earlier than expected, therefore I went and locked the bedroom door.

Just continue with whatever you were doing, Lottie. Don't impend any doom.

Once I returned to the mirror and fixed my curls into a bun, there was enough distraction to shield away my negative thoughts. I got changed a moment later, pulling myself through a long-sleeved dress and stretching up nylons to keep my legs warm. After all, nights were still accustomed to being chilly this time of year.

Managing to grab my purse, check my appearance once more over, and slip into heels, it seemed to be a decent time to open the door and listen for any signs of Sid arriving. However, when I heard the growl of Eden from the living room and the slight stompage of his feet, it hit me that chaos was about unravel and I wasn't quite prepared for it just yet.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Eden's voice boomed.

A reply from Sid was too mumbled to make out.

"I wasn't told about a party..."

Upon hearing an edge to the first voice that awakened the apartment, my instincts told me to rush into the conversation before someone could get hurt. There was no doubt a punch would be thrown.

This is all a part of your plan, just hurry before it's not ruined!

"Listen, Eden-" Sid began, but was stopped at my sudden presence jogging a ways over to pull my boyfriend's shoulder back.

"Eden, I'm sorry I forgot to tell you about this!" my mouth fumbled. "I was going to, but you seemed so involved with your paperwork that I didn't want to bother you and-"

"What is that stuff on your face? Make-up?" his brow furrowed, and a scowl formed. "Take that crap off!"

All in the matter of two seconds it felt like my heart was stabbed, burned, shattered, spat on. The words congealed my blood to slush, and in contrast my face was lit on fire. I wanted to cry and needed to yell at the top of my lungs, but yet I was unable to move. Staring with widened eyes was all I knew how to do now.

In the next two seconds, Sid's hands flew to Eden's collar and curled around the material in a fuming rage. The look on his face was forged with so much hatred that it could have scarred into someone's vision, and the doctors wouldn't know how to remove it. Luckily my gaze flickered back to the man who had tore me apart before I could be marked.

"Stay out of this, Captain." mocked Eden with artificial tone of sweetness. "Really, get out of my face and leave this complex."

"I'm not going without Lottie."

As much as my legs yearned to walk backwards into the bedroom so that I could mope and heave in fits of frustration, my brain told me otherwise. It wanted me to walk out and go with Sid to the party, knowing if I didn't, regret would never leave me.

Therefore I hopped quickly past Eden and took my place behind Sid, making it so I could still partially see around him.

"I didn't get dressed for nothing," I breathed, trying to absorb some vibe of confidence. "and it would be rude if I canceled plans at the very last second. So... I'm going to the party."

"No-!"

I watched as the blonde tried to form some way of pulling me back under his control, the words never coming out to justify. It was a peculiar instance, considering Eden hardly was never at a loss of what to say, but I suppose my actions surprised him too.

"You have work to do, and I have nothing to do here... Let me go."

Sid turned to finally take me in properly, searching my face for underlying messages or emotions that he normally seeked out. Unlike other times when his eyes became analytical, there was nothing I wanted to hide away or could have the strength to keep secret. I was already exhausted and sentimental, and the night had not even started yet.

Eden frowned and also looked over at me, an intense glint to his stare.

When a weary sigh left his mouth, it became clear that my plan had actually worked. "Be home by eleven, Lottie. I mean it."

Whirling around on my heels, I began my descent to the parking lot outside. Sid hesitated as if wanting to make a last remark, but seemingly decided against his impulses. He followed behind, and once to the ground floor, showed me to his car. We got in the vehicle without any words or looks exchanged, and continued to stay distant throughout the majority of the trip. The only time something shifted in the air was when Sid mumbled that my make-up looked great, and I muttered a 'thanks.' Then a song by Bruce Springsteen filled the void for the remainder of the car ride.

We drove around and parked in a cul-de-sac nearby our destination. At first when Sid and I delayed getting out of the car, numbness was my friend. My body could not sense the pain lashed out from Eden nor the anxiety of being at another major event. However something as simple as a raccoon toppling over several trash cans at a house close by made me visibly flinch and succumb to what I was dreading. Soon enough my stomach was churning uneasily, throat becoming arid, head pounding with inflamed nerves, and there was an annoying pull to my heartstrings. I felt like in the matter of a minute that I was about to hyperventilate, and Sid must have picked that up because he placed a hand on my shoulder and told me to slow down my breathing.

"I don't want what happened at the wedding to come about again, Lottie. So please, relax for me." he insisted, holding my gaze with his focused stare.

"You saw me rush out of the room?" I hoped it wasn't true, but when Sid nodded his head, mine slung down in embarrassment.

"There's no problem with being a nervous person," he reasoned. "Believe it or not, many people are. Some just cover it up well-"

"-Not me."

A breathy chuckle left his lips, and the hand on my shoulder fell to my knee. "Nothing wrong with that, Lottie. You're staying true to how you really feel, and that's a good trait to have."

"Yeah, but then I'll be looked at strangely for having a pained expression on my face."

"I can help with that if you want. Here-!" Sid's fingers moved to my forehead and rubbed in a circular motion. "let me massage the creases away."

I swatted him away and started laughing at his foolish antics. He joined in, but that's when the scrunches under his eyes became so noticeable that my face straightened out faster than I would have liked. They appeared adorable, and reminded me of when he was younger and would be giggling away at something one of his friends said in school.

"What?" Sid questioned, chuckles still in his voice.

Pursing my lips, I averted my gaze to the house party at Lemieux's and gulped down my fears. Then with a deep breath in-and-out, I said, "Nothing, let's go."

"You sure? We could wait a couple more minutes, or even until it's almost over and most of the people are gone if it'll make you feel better..."

"No," my voice became strong. "I don't want to ruin it for you. Besides, I want to see who your friends are now."

Sid's grin got the both of us moving and out of the car. He waited for me to join next to his side before leading the way with my arm lightly in his grasp. From there on hoots and hollers swarmed around as we went up the driveway to the gigantic home. With each step it felt like a walk to my death, but I only had myself to blame considering I suggested we leave the refuge of the car anyways. However, always being able to sense my emotions and once again seeing what could have resembled a crumpled piece of paper on my face, Sid moved to hold my hand. It was reassurance that he was by my side and that he was going to stay that way the entire night no matter what. For once I felt like I could trust someone to keep sanity within me. My match was a helping hand, a backbone, and just a chivalrous person overall.

I focused on the beautiful scenery as a way to calm myself down. There were corpulent bushes everywhere, and huge windows flooding light outside. Being able to look into the house, I was glad to see that there weren't many people, but that meant everybody was in the backyard. Luckily I found a way to keep myself from going out there so soon, and asked Sid if he could give me a tour of the place since he lived there for years. He thought it was a great idea, but brought up how he wanted to find the legendary man hosting the party to announce their arrival before snooping around. It was a considerate action, and my cheeks flushed in admiration.

Scanning over the small groups in what was most likely the living room, Sid must have spotted someone he could talk to, and went over to question about Mario. I chose to stand away, not wanting to meet anyone; I wasn't quite ready yet. Looking at everyone was a step, but making a conversation with them was another too big at the moment.

I didn't want to appear intrusive, but my curiosity for once got the best of me. My eyes had to take in what was going on with Sid and his friend. At first they greeted each other, the taller of the bunch grappling the shorter one into a hug with a goofy smile on his face. Then their mouths were moving more frequently and facial expressions drooped slightly in a serious manner. Suddenly, though, the friend grinned and moved his eyes around the room until he spotted me. His hand went to wave at me, and not wanting to be rude despite my surprise, I returned the gesture. By the time my breathing returned to a steady pace again, the conversation ended and Sid was walking back to me.

"That's Evgeni Malkin, but everyone calls him 'Geno.'" he said, pocketing his hands.

"Is he going to find Mario, then?"

"Yeah."

As soon as he affirmed the circumstance, the two that were just spoken about reemerged in the doorway to the backyard, and came over to us. Sid seemed much more comfortable in the legend's embrace, and in a way, it appeared like a father-son hug. They looked beyond happy to see one another, and for a moment I felt invisible as they carried away in conversation already. Though, there was a movement I saw from the corner of my eye, and then an arm that curled around my shoulders. The large hand didn't belong to Sid when I looked down at it, and then realization hit me that it was his tall friend who took notice of my loneliness. When we turned to face the other, a small laugh left our lips. It made my heart warm to feel like I've made a new buddy, and a caring one at that.

"I'm Geno," a big smile curved up, making me now believe everything about the guy was rather gigantic. "You are Lottie, eh?"

I nodded my head to his question, but also in approval of his Russian accent. "It's nice to meet you!"

"The pleasure is mine. Sid talk about you a lot. It cute, eh?"

That's when the said man finally turned away from Mario and pushed at Geno, giving a meaningful stare. All of us besides Sid started chuckling at the reaction, and then I caught the eye of the legend before there was a chance not to.

"Hello there," he said. "I'm Mario Lemieux."

"Lottie," I outstretched my hand, and he carefully shook it.

"I'm glad you could come to the party, Lottie, especially with this kid over here."

Sid intervened with a quick glance in my direction, "She and I went to school together back in Canada, actually-"

"-Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," what could have been a nostalgic look overtook Sid's face. "We didn't talk much back then, but just a little over a month ago we kept coming across each other and decided to stick to it, kinda."

"I like to think they were brief encounters," I peeped up, earning a smile from all three guys around me.

Our conversation went on for another thirty minutes or so, before I was comfortable enough to venture outside and meet some other of Sid's friends. This was after I got a tour of the enormous house, of course. If he and I didn't stop to talk with someone, they either kept staring at us (most likely wondering who the hell I was) or were too busy kicking around a hacky-sac. Eventually I came across some of the wives and was relieved to finally talk to someone of the same gender. It had been months since I last did, which shocked even me a little bit. But the time came where Sid steered me over to the campfire with drinks for him and I- a water bottle and glass of Chardonnay.

I felt as ease when the alcohol calmed my nerves, the cooling air hit my back, and the warmth from the fire comforted my mood. He and I sparingly spoke, mainly about our jobs again and a little about the party. It was not hard to see how excited he was for the playoffs coming up in about a week, and how frustrated I still was with my fellow employees. We both agreed later on that there should be parties thrown here all the time because of the relaxing quality to it. It wasn't like a school bash where everyone was drunk or occupying bedrooms like it was 'the place to be.'

"Hey Lottie," Sid murmured suddenly. "I'm sorry about how Eden treated you earlier. That wasn't necessary or appropriate by any means."

"I know... I'm beyond angry at him."

"Does he always treat you like that?"

"No," I looked down, entwining my fingers. "He was just improvising a way to keep me home, and was already stressed out from work and then seeing you unexpectedly."

"He doesn't like me, then?" Sid grinned slightly, but still looked at the flames ahead.

We both knew the answer to that question, so I kept my mouth shut. But then it dawned on me that hours went by and I wasn't aware of the time.

"Sid, do you know what time it is?"

The panic in my voice was evident, and it sparked in him too at comprehension. He examined the watch on his left wrist and scrunched his nose in distaste.

"It's quarter past eleven."

"Oh, no."

Sid placed a hand on my shoulder, "We don't need to go home if you don't want to. It's your decision not his."

"I don't want to make him any more mad, though. He'll throw a tantrum if it's past midnight."

His tone became more firm, "Lottie, please, hear me out. You don't have to keep him happy with sacrifices of your own happiness. Let him be a baby for one night, and wallow in frustration. He'll get over it. If you want, I could ask Mario to let you stay over so that you can take a breath and let Eden settle down. There's plenty of rooms as you saw... I can even stay over, and you can take the room next to mine."

It seemed like a brilliant option, but something made me feel out of place with all the principles. Maybe because I hardly knew Mario enough to burden him of my staying in his house. Maybe because I got homesick easily. Or maybe because I actually missed Eden...

"That's all right, Sid. I don't mind going home now." I pursed my lips. "It was really nice to get out of the house again, hang out with you, and meet your friends. So, thank you for inviting me."

"Any time. I guess I'll bring you to the car then?"

Upon standing, Sid followed and made a word of departure to many that we walked by. The bunch of wives cooed at me, and demanded that I hang out with them again some time. I told them I would, but my schedule was tight enough with Eden, jobs, and now Sidney. However the thought of having more opportunities to be with different people left the smile on my face.

Walking down the driveway, I audibly said goodbye to the lovely house and experience; it was more than I could have asked for.