A Secret You Can Keep

I was straightening my hair when my phone beeped in the other room where it was lost in a sea of blankets on my standard hotel bed. I wouldn't complain though; it was actually far more comfortable than my own mattress at home. Biting my lip, I located the iPhone and opened the group chat that had been blowing up my notifications all day and night. My eyes skimmed over Patrick's words carelessly, but paid much closer attention to the message that was just received from Jonathan.

'Ariella, we're heading up to watch Spencer's semi, wanna meet up there?'

With a small smile playing on my lips, I quickly agreed, my manicured fingers darting across the touch screen as I typed my reply. I was relieved. My aunt, Spencer's mom wasn't able to make the trip to Sochi, leaving me to cheer on my cousin alone. The plan was to track down any familiar face I could once I arrived.

I pulled on Spencer's ugly Team USA issued sweater, which was so ugly that it was actually cute and stylish. She was supposed to wear it for opening ceremonies but her flight didn't land in time for them anyway so I snagged it up when she wasn't watching. Over my black leggings, I tugged on my knee high red suede boots and threw a black scarf around my neck. Glancing at the clock, I cursed under my breath. There was no time to spare to grab a quick bite to eat; the competition started in just over an hour. The contents of my suitcase were flung about the room as I struggled to locate my left dark blue glove that matched the thick fleece headband that was sure to keep my ears warm in the fierce chill of the mountain.

I caught a cab quite easily and slouched in the backseat, sending a text to TJ even though I knew he would be busy most of the day with team stuff, along with Patrick. I hadn't broken the news yet to Spencer that they wouldn't be in the crowd with me. She didn't need any distractions. This was finally her time to shine and there was no doubt in my mind that she would pull off a fabulous run.

I frowned at the snow that blanketed the ground and avoided the larger piles carefully. These were brand new boots and I was not about to ruin them. There were more bodies than I had imagined, leaving me to regret not showing up earlier. Even though there was still over a half hour until the event started, spectators were taking their seats in the stands and speaking rapidly to each other in languages I didn't know.

"Ari!" I smiled at the sound of a familiar voice. It was like music to my ears in a foreign country. A heavy arm was thrown over my shoulder at once causing me to almost stumble if it weren't for the solid body that had taken it's place next to me.

"Hey Shaun," I beamed up at him, his brilliant white smiling gleaming in the winter sun. "Sage," I turned my head to the left in time for his figure to block the sun's rays from my eyes.

"Excited?" Sage asked, shoving his hands in his coat pockets. I nodded.

"Yeah, a little nervous," I admitted as my eyes began to scan my surroundings in search of the men I was planning to spend the afternoon with.

"Don't be," Shaun insisted, pulling me closer to his body then his hand raised to ruffle my perfectly straight hair. I ducked out of his grasp before he could do any damage though and glared playfully. An airy laugh rose from his throat. "She's stellar."

That's when, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Sidney pointing in my direction.

"I gotta run," I said, connecting eyes with Jonathan for a second before smiling at Sage. "I'll catch you at the celebration tonight," I told them confidently, assuming we would indeed have something to celebrate.

I practically skipped over to the two men but attempted to avoid eye contact with Sidney. He made me feel small and that was something I didn't like very much. So instead, I said hello to him softly before full on smiling at Jon.

"Want to find somewhere to sit?" I asked him, throwing a glance over my shoulder at the quickly filling bleacher like seating. Jonathan looked into the mountains before shifting his weight to the other foot, the snow crunching under him.

"I actually wanted to go find Spencer to wish her luck," he informed us, the blood rushing to his cheeks. A smile crept to my lips and I pointed to a set of buildings some distance away.

"She'll be somewhere around those buildings," I helped him out. He grinned and thanked me before heading off.

I groaned within, but not audibly. Here I was, stuck alone with Sidney Crosby. Someone who I wasn't quite sure yet if I hated or if I was extremely attracted to. Maybe it was a bit of both. Sidney was better looking than I was and that's what bothered me the most. How could someone be so good at everything and then there's people like me who are painfully terrible at just about everything?

I contemplated losing myself in the crowd for a minute or two as we stood awkwardly next to each other. My breath puffed out into a cloud in front of me and I realized that would just be mean.

"Do you want to go get some hot chocolate?" He finally spoke up, his smothering honey eyes taking in every feature of my face. I bit my lip and nodded as my skin broke out with chills. I was quick to attribute them to be caused by the bitter cold air. Suddenly, hot chocolate truly sounded like the best option to fill the time.

We walked side by side, his arm occasionally bumping into mine. Out of the corner of my eye, I studied his appearance, hoping not to get caught as I admired him.

"So, you're from Buffalo?" He broke the silence once again, looking over at me as we walked slowly. I simply nodded, tucking my chin into my scarf. "I've always liked it there. Great restaurants," he commented. I laughed a little and agreed with him.

"Finally," I groaned as we neared what resembled a concession stand at a little league baseball game back home.

I'd never been so excited to hold a styrofoam cup of hot chocolate before. The heat seeped through my gloves making me sigh in pleasure at the warmth. Even living in New York all my life, I never got used to the cold. I belonged on the beach somewhere, soaking in the sun with my feet in the sand.

Sidney chuckled at my enthusiasm and then paid for our drinks. I tore off the lid and tossed it into the garbage can. My eyes lit up as I saw the whipped cream that topped the liquid. Sidney also took off the lid of his own, the steam raising in the air.

He took a sip, the heavy cream touched the tip of his nose and left some behind. Without thinking, I giggled and used my glove to tenderly wipe it from his skin.

He was so close. I could feel his body heat radiating against mine as just a few inches stood between us, separating us from each other. His teeth tugged his bottom lip in as his beautiful colored eyes examined mine. I reminded myself that breathing was essential and broke our eye contact. I wasn't sure what would have happened if I continued our connection. Would I have kissed him? Or would he have made the first move?

"I think I see Jonathan," I mumbled, standing on my tippy toes as I attempted to distract myself from Sidney.

He sighed, but I was sure he didn't intend for me to hear it, and his hand found the small of my back as he guided me towards the seating area. My skin burned under his touch, leaving me to wonder what would have happened if I didn't get so nervous around him.

;;;;

The music blared impossibly loud but the cheers were even louder as I pushed through the throngs of people to where Spencer was. I had my eye on her as she smiled brightly, safe on Shaun and Sage's shoulders.

I was annoyed that we were so late to the festivities. Patrick's curls weren't cooperating with him, which resulted in a half hour long battle to get them gelled to his liking. I almost left to arrive on my own, but his whining kept me grounded with him.

My fingers held onto TJ's hood tightly to avoid getting lost in the overflow of bodies in the lobby of the team's quarters. I waited patiently as the two men greeted my cousin, who was just set back onto the earth.

I let out a what would have been ear piercing squeal as her hands clasped onto my own.

"I can't fucking believe it, Ari!" She yelled over the music. I felt pride swell in my chest as I examined the heavy medal that hung from her neck. Her fingers wrapped around it as she gushed. "Like, I don’t even care that it’s not gold. I just—I fucking medaled!”

"I know! I'm so proud of you!"

It looked like she was about to reply when a body tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around and threw his arms around his neck, and over her shoulder, he threw me a wink.

I stared at him as my heart began to race within my chest. Whatever Sidney Crosby was doing to me, I didn't like it one bit. This wasn't a good sign for me.

He said something to Spencer with a dazzling grin before his eyes flicked back towards me and once again, I forgot how to breath. I was certain in that moment, my own name had slipped my mind also.

He neared me as Jonathan took his place in Spencer's arms. I looked around, hoping TJ or Patrick would be around to save me from Sidney's enchanting trance, but there was no one and I was left alone to survive.

"You look beautiful," his breath was hot on my ear as his hand rested on my hip. My cheeks flushed a deep red as he pulled away and looked deeply into my eyes before his fingers slowly slipped under my silky, moderately revealing shirt. The lust was strong in his own eyes as his fingers dug into the skin that was over my hip bone. I looked at him under my eyelashes.

"Nice to see you too, Sidney," I said breathlessly. To my surprise, he actually heard my words over the bass of the song playing and sent me a cocky grin.

"We can't stay for long," he sighed and the smile melted from his lips as Jon gestured towards him it was time to leave. Sidney pulled me close to him, wrapping his arms around my waist slyly. He ducked his head, pressing his lips just above my ear. "Meet me at your hotel in twenty minutes."

He turned so fast that I didn't catch a glimpse of his face, or even give me a chance to react and reply. I didn't have a choice but to watch as the two made their way to the door, but not before Jonathan threw one lasting look at Spencer. I smirked at her and threw an arm over her shoulder, leaning most of my weight on her. I was thrilled to turn the attention to Spencer instead of my exchange with Sidney that still had me flustered.

"Just kiss the guy already, Spencer," I teased, earning her cheeks to flush pink.

She said something in reply but I was already too busy scoping for an escape route. I had twenty minutes.