A Secret You Can Keep

I raked my fingers through my shoulder length hair before rolling my eyes at the words that just leaked from Patrick's mouth.

"I just don't understand why Tazer has to steal all my friends," he whined, plopping down on the hotel bed. I shrugged, watching him as he laid down on his back beside me. His baby blue eyes stared at the ceiling.

"I don't think he's trying to steal Spence," I reasoned, tucking my legs under me as I looked down at him. His eyes snapped to me.

"No, he definitely is," he insisted, "he does this in Chicago too," Patrick sighed.

"You're being over dramatic," I told him. He groaned, turning over on his stomach.

"It's okay, it'll just feel so much better when I win gold," he said, pushing his face into the pillow. I let out a loud laugh and leaned against the backboard of the bed.

My iPhone buzzed, pulling my attention away from Patrick. I picked it up and opened the text message from my favorite cousin.

'Jon invited us for dinner. He's bringing a friend for you. We're meeting him at 6.'

With a huff, I tossed the smartphone to the bottom of the bed, instantly losing it in the sea of blankets.

"Looks like I get to meet up with Jonathan for dinner." Patrick's eyes opened quickly.

"Did he invite me?" I raised my eyebrow at my strawberry blonde friend.

"Uh," I started, "I think it's kind of like a double date."

"Of course it is," Patrick scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "You know, I'm so sick of Jon and his superiority complex. I'm not his brother or something. I'm just as good as he is, if not better." I chuckled slightly at his immense jealousy. He was beginning to remind me of a grade school boy.

"It's okay, Pat. I still love you."

Patrick and I were close friends as long as I could remember. We met when I took dance classes with his sisters. He was busy tormenting them before a recital one day when I walked over and told him that brothers were supposed to be nice. That was the day that little Patrick Kane fell in love. He made me his conquest. He got over that in high school when he realized it would never happen.

He left my room soon after, mumbling that he would just have to go have dinner with his new teammates and stated that he liked them better anyway. I laughed at his childish ways and gave him a kiss on the cheek goodbye. When he was gone, I called Spencer.

"Hey, I'm actually on my way over now," she answered her phone on the third ring. "My hotel doesn't have hot water."

I laughed. "Good thing I didn't book there then," I taunted her, thankful that I could take a hot shower whenever I wanted. Spencer said something under her breath in reply that I didn't catch, so instead, I changed the subject. "So why do I have to go on your date with you?"

"He suggested it," she mumbled, "I'll be up in a minute." Click.

I set my phone on the dresser and began rooting through my suitcase once again. Wondering why my lazy as still hasn't put my clothes away, seeing as I would be here for quite some time, I pulled out a pair of jeans.

It wasn't long before Spencer knocked at my door and I shoved her in the shower, telling her she reeked of sweat.

"So who is Jonathan bringing along?" I questioned, scrunching my hair in the mirror. Spencer turned her back to me before nonchalantly shrugging. I watched her in the mirror as she grabbed my purple tube of mascara.

"He didn't say," she replied, voice airy.

"So do you like him?" I asked her, changing the subject. As she turned back towards the mirror, pink tinged her high cheeks. I smirked while I washed the sticky mousse off of my hands.

"I don't know him, Ariella," her words came out far more defensively than she would have liked. With a laugh, I spun on my heel.

"He's cute," I said, now facing her. "You should go for it. He seems nice. Even if Patrick doesn't approve."

"Kaner doesn't approve?" She repeated back at me in question, her eyebrow disappearing behind her hair. I shrugged before snatching the mascara from her hand.

"You know him," I started, turning back to the mirror and coating my already long eyelashes. "He's just jealous because we aren't paying attention to him." Spencer laughed, knowing exactly how Patrick was.

"No fucking beanie," I scolded, tearing the cloth hat from my cousin's hand as she attempted to put it over her freshly straightened hair. She pouted, earning an eye roll from me before I pulled my pink Northface fleece over my head. She followed in suit, zipping up her own white one. I smiled at my work as I looked her up and down.

I looked at the clock on my phone, which read a quarter til six before I texted TJ, expressing how much I was dreading joining my cousin on her date.

Spencer, who was also typing away on the touchscreen of her cellphone, suddenly looked up.

"Okay, I got directions to the restaurant. Ready?" I nodded with a small, inaudible sigh. Shoving my feet into my worn Uggs, I followed her out of the building and into the warming Sochi air.

"I though Russia was supposed to be freezing," I commented, walking along side my cousin. She nodded.

"Me too. The warm weather is making the pow so brutal to board on." I pursed my lips.

"I wouldn't use the word warm," I mumbled, hugging my fleece close to me. She laughed and shook her head.

"Here we are," she announced, glancing between the sign above our heads and her phone screen. She curtly nodded, sliding her phone into her jacket's pocket.

"Nervous?" I chuckled, sending her a side glance. She shrugged her shoulders and mumbled something before pulling open the door for me.

As I entered the building, my eyes met a pair of vaguely familiar honey brown ones. Instantly, my eyes flicked to Spencer. She sent me a look and I realized she knew her date was bringing Sidney Crosby along the entire time. I inwardly groaned as Spencer made her way to Jonathan, wrapping him into a hug.

"Hey Ariella," Sidney greeted me with a cute smile. I painfully returned his welcoming greeting and we followed the men to a table they had already gotten.

"I'm slightly impressed you actually got my name right this time," I said under a breath of air. His dark eyebrows crumpled, and I earned a swift kick to my shin under the table. "Ouch," I squeaked, shooting a glare at Spencer. Her eyes begged me to be nice. I sighed.

There wasn't anything wrong with Sidney Crosby. Sure, he was very good looking and a very talented guy. But that was just the problem. I hated a guy to outshine me and let's face it, Sidney was a superstar in all aspects of the word.

"So, Ariella, I haven't seen you in a while," Jonathan started before sipping at his pop in front of him. "What's been up?"

I just shrugged. I'd met Jon a few times when he visited North Dakota while I was still in school. We'd never really spoke much though when he was around. I was more partial to his younger brother, Dave, who became a very good friend in our time at school.

"Not much," I smiled at him, shifting uncomfortably as I felt Sidney's thigh brush against mine.

The last thing I wanted to do was catch feelings for someone here in Russia and Sidney seemed like the kind of guy who could make you fall in love with a wave of his hand. I refused to go back to Buffalo feeling empty and alone.

The rest of dinner was just like that; awkward and uncomfortable. Spencer and Jonathan hit it off swimmingly, while Sidney attempted to be nice, but we could both tell it was useless. I hardly looked at him, choosing to let my eyes wander around and take in the locals speaking rapid Russian.

I heard Sidney sigh as we exited the restaurant. Smiling thankfully at him as he opened the door, his eyes sparkled.

"We're gonna go back to my room," Jonathan turned towards us. I threw a look at Spencer whose eyes fell to the ground as a blush crept upon her face. "She's never seen Slapshot," he told Sid incredulously.

"I'll catch up with you later, Ari," Spencer said as Jonathan grabbed her hand, beginning to tug her down the sidewalk. It reminded me of a dog on a leash, pulling its owner in a random direction. "Love you!" She called. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, love you too," I grumbled. Sidney awkwardly stood beside me, his eyes on me.

"I'll walk you back," he offered. Immediately, I shook my head.

"It's fine, I can make it back myself," I insisted, hooking my thumbs in my belt loops. His brown eyes smothered me as he looked down on my much smaller frame.

"I'm walking you back, Ariella," he said, a shiver ripping trough my body as I heard sternness sharply piercing through his normally silky smooth voice. "I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you," he said as an afterthought. I sighed, but agreed nonetheless.

Thankfully, it wasn't a long walk back to my hotel. I took in the gorgeous lights of Sochi that shone brightly against the almost pitch black sky. I kindly asked him what Pittsburgh was like. I'd never been there, but always was interested in visiting. He asked me what I went to school for; Jonathan must have mentioned I went to the same university he did. The awkwardness seemed to fade away, that is, until we neared my building.

"Well, thanks for walking me back, Sidney. It's very sweet of you," I said to him, running my fingers through my already messy hair. He nodded as he stood in front of me. My eyes raised to meet his. As he searched deep into my soul, I instantly felt guilty for the way I'd been acting all night.

"It was my pleasure," he replied, slipping his hands into his pockets. I smiled and stood on my toes. I pressed a feather light kiss to his cold cheek.

"Goodnight," I said softly. A small smile stretched at the corners of his lips.

"Goodnight, Ariella."

With that, I turned and walked towards the doors, putting an end to our evening. As soon as I was in the elevator, I pulled out my phone and called the boys. I needed a drink.