Love Never Felt So Good

Sidney watched Bailey as she stood with the gaggle of WAGs in the player’s lounge. They had just finished a 6-1 trouncing of the Canucks, one of their regular season rivals, and they were poised to go out on the town for the night. Sidney just liked the way she blended in so well, buddied up to her favorite WAGs, Missy and Vero Fleury. Missy’s huge engagement ring sat on the hand that held her iPhone, showing a Bailey a few photos on the smart phone. Sidney’s eyes wandered from Bailey’s smile down to her feet, clad in a pair of Christian Louboutins he had given her for Christmas. She screamed when she opened them on Christmas Eve, and she screamed again when they were the only thing she was wearing later that night in their bed.

“Sid, come now.” Missy beckoned him from his group of teammates. “We’re going out and need a ride.” She beamed. Sidney walked up to the group of women, placing a hand across Bailey’s back and gripping her hipbone slightly. He had a good view of her necklace that hung just between the v-neck cutout of her t-shirt. A bright, cushion cut emerald, her birthstone, bordered by small diamonds – another Christmas present.

“Down to sober cab?” She asked, placing a hand on his stomach and looking up at him with a grin. “James, Pascal, Marc and some of the little boys are coming, too.” She pointed out. “We want to go dancing.”

“How can I pass up a chance to sober cab?” He asked, making the women laugh as he leaned down to kiss her cheek. Brandon Sutter’s little sister, Amelia, sighed dreamily as she watched the couple interact. The 21-year-old was up visiting her brother for the weekend and had been tagging along with many of the WAGs plans. “Let me go warm up the car, I’ll text you when I pull it around.”

“He’s so sweet.” Amelia batted her eyelashes at Bailey. “The nicest thing my boyfriend does for me is put the seat down after using the bathroom at my apartment.” She scowled.

“Boyfriend?” Brandon’s girlfriend, Gina, asked with wide eyes.

“Shh, not so loud.” She looked around to see her brother was otherwise occupied talking to one of the trainers. Sidney pulled the car around and Bailey, Missy, Gina, Vero and Amelia piled in.

“Jimmy is going to wrangle all the guys up and meet us there,” Missy assured Sidney who looked a little weary to see only women strapping their seatbelts in the oversized SUV. Not twenty minutes later, they were being shown to a large, private booth at Diesel, a favorite haunt of the Penguins.

“So tell me more about this boyfriend.” Gina insisted, taking a sip of her Moscato.

“Promise not to tell Brandon?” Amelia asked as Bailey got comfortable in Sidney’s lap, taking a drink of her own petit syrah.

“Yes, I promise, now spill.” Gina nodded.

“His name is Theodore, he’s 26.” She began, pretending not to notice when most of the women at the table suddenly became much more interested. Sidney looked to Bailey, eyes wide and with a tiny grin on his face.

Theodore. He mouthed to her, causing her to suppress a giggle. Bailey laced her fingers with Sidney’s under the table. He turned to face her again as the women chatted around him, giving Bailey’s a warm smile as he brought their joined hands up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles.

“See! I want that! I want romance and cute.” Amelia pouted, drawing attention to the couple.

“Sidney doesn’t count, he’s like the perfect boyfriend.” Missy shook her head, “you can’t compare your boyfriend to him.” She said, taking another drink of her margarita. That’s what Bailey loved about Missy, she was loud and spoke her mind.

“I’m the perfect boyfriend?” Sidney asked in surprise, looking at Bailey excitedly.

“You’ve got all the major qualities: sweet, modest, independent, good family, stable career, and that butt.” She finished, watching his alabaster cheeks flush red and Bailey throw her head back with a laugh. She placed a hand on the back of his neck, massaging the muscles there as the other men finally arrived, stopping at the bar for beers before wiggling themselves into the booth to sit with their significant others.

A few drinks were shared and soon, Missy was getting antsy.

“Bails, come dance with me.” She insisted.

“Okay!” Bailey never had to be asked twice to hit the dance floor. The new Big Sean song was playing on the speakers overhead and Bailey feel seamlessly into the beat, swaying her hips and dancing around with Missy. Sidney sipped his Sprite as he joked around with his teammates.

“How long have you two been together now, Sid?” Vero asked, “six months is it?”

“A little over.” He nodded.

“So serious!” She squealed excitedly, so happy to see him happy with a great girl. Marc rolled his eyes at his wife, giving Sidney an apologetic look. The Fleury’s had been together for so long, Vero loved to see new couples flourishing.

“Sid, your girl.” James nodded out to the dance floor. Sidney’s head snapped in the other direction, watching as a tall, blond man approached Missy and Bailey, eyes clearly focused on his girlfriend with a charming smile and a too-tight t-shirt. She laughed and smiled, placing a hand on his bicep as she turned to Missy. It looked like she knew him. He looked back to James who raised his eyebrows and nodded out to the dance floor once again. Go, he mouthed to his captain. Sidney sighed, excusing himself from the able and awkwardly making his way out to the floor with her drink in his hand, at least pretending to have a reason to hunt her down on the dance floor.

Sidney didn’t even pretend to try to dance or move to the beat of the song as he appeared behind Bailey.

“Got you a fresh one.” He whispered into her ear.

“Thanks baby!” She smiled, “Sid, meet Tucker,” she turned back to face the blond who had three inches and twenty pounds on Sidney, though the Captain was sure he could take him if he needed to. “Tucker, this is my boyfriend Sidney.’ She introduced them. “Tucker and I used to work together when I did work for MTV.” Bailey explained.

“Good to meet you, Tucker.” Sidney nodded.

“Nice to meet you, I’m a big fan.” He smiled.

“What brings you to Pittsburgh?” He asked, sliding a hand down Bailey’s back to rest just above the belt line of her jeans.

“My boyfriend just got a job here, and I can essentially work remotely, so here I am.” He laughed. “It seems like a great city, though, I’m excited to be here. Mind if I steal your girl for a dance or two?” He asked.

“Go for it, she’s all yours. If you want, when you’re tired, a lot of my teammates are here if you want to join us for a drink.” He finished.

“Yeah absolutely.” Tucker smiled. Bailey took a long pull of her drink before handing it to Sidney.

“Thanks baby.” She smiled, kissing his cheek before Tucker could twirl her away. Sidney made his way back to the table, James giving him a pointed look.

“Not a threat.” Sidney assured.

“Are you sure? He’s really cute.” Vero insisted, once again causing Marc to roll his eyes.

“Positive.”

- - -

“Oh, come to Auntie Bailey.” Bailey said excitedly as Veronique Fleury walked into the home of Sidney Crosby with her daughter, Estelle.

“Marc is bringing in the baby bag and all of that.” She explained with a flourish of her hand. Little Estelle was dressed head to toe in pink and flowers, including a pink headband with a big daisy across her forehead.

“You are so precious, my goodness.” She squealed as she settled the one and a half year old on her hip. Estelle liked Bailey’s big smile and shiny diamond necklace, palming the emerald in her little palm.

“Papa has all the good stuff.” Marc announced as he entered the house with two baby bags and a stroller. “I set the booster seat in the garage if you guys go anywhere. Donner un baiser papa.” He demanded a kiss from his little girl. At the words, Estelle puckered her lips, looking up at her father. “Mon amour, we are late.” He turned to his wife.

“All of our emergency contacts are in the little book in the green bag.” Vero explained. “There’s food, juice boxes, movies, everything.” She assured.

“We got this, don’t worry.” Bailey insisted. “We’ll see you tonight.” She kissed Vero’s cheek. As the Fleury’s made their exit sans their daughter, Estelle looked up at Bailey.

“Ah, Dada.” She stated.

“I know, Daddy will be back tonight.” She bounced the little brunette on her hip warmly. Sidney finally descended the stairs, rubbing a hand through his wet hair and fiddling with the collar on his shirt.

“Look at this.” Sidney grinned, causing the Estelle to smile a little smile, showing off her tiny baby teeth. “Hello, little girl.” He greeted, knowing the Fleury’s daughter recognized the Captain. He leaned down and kissed her soft, pudgy cheek. “A whole day with this little princess,” he lifted the toddler up into his arms, making her giggle and place her hands on his cheek. Movement on the ground caused Estelle to look down, eyes growing wide at the site of Belle who was sitting at Bailey’s feet with a perplexed look on her face and a pink bow on her collar.

“Puppy.” She stated, causing Bailey to laugh.

“You’re right, that is a puppy!” Bailey encouraged. “Oh my God, how precious is she?” Bailey asked.

“She is the best.” Sidney laughed, always having a good time with little Estelle Fleury who had a penchant for facial hair and playing with her father’s iPhone. Bailey glanced at her Michael Kors watch, a present from Sidney, to see that it was coming up on ten-thirty.

“What should we do first, huh babe?” She asked, twirling one of Estelle’s little curls around her finger.

“Marc says she’s about due for a snack and a nap.” Sidney said, looking up from his cell. “Hungry, E?” He asked. Estelle took hold of his ‘87’ necklace and stuck it into her mouth, her impossibly big eyes looking up at him curiously. “Looks like it.” He laughed. Sidney suddenly turned the little toddler into an airplane, flying her all over the first floor of the house, causing her to scream happily while Bailey grabbed her two bags from the entryway and brought them into the kitchen.

Bailey fished through the pink bag, seeing a few jars of food, snacks, and juice boxes before pulling out a tube of Graduates puffs and a teething ring. She stuck the ring the freezer and spread a few of the snacks out on the kitchen counter. Sidney appeared in the kitchen, Estelle coddled to his chest and an excited Belle on his heels. Taking a seat on a kitchen island stool, Sidney happily fed the little girl her puffs, sometimes sneaking one into his mouth just to watch her little surprised face giggle. Bailey loved to watch the girl attempt to retrieve the snack from Sidney’s mouth, placing her tiny fingers on his lips.

When all the puffs were gone and Estelle had finished nearly an entire juice box, Bailey held out her arms for the little girl.

“Quite hogging the baby, I want some snuggle time.” She demanded, holding her arms open. “My goodness you smell good.” She lightly bounced Estelle in her arms, kissing the top of her head. “Doesn’t she smell good?”

“I had no idea you loved kids so much.” Sidney pointed out, following his girlfriend into the family room where Bailey sunk down into the couch. Belle hopped up on the seat beside her to stare at the little human.

“I always wanted little siblings growing up, but my parents stopped at me, so I would always spend time with my little cousins. I have six little cousins and I babysat all of them.” She added. “I love babies.” She rubbed a hand up and down Estelle’s back. The little girl’s eyes were slowly drooping as she nestled under Bailey’s neck against her chest.

Sidney watched as Bailey hummed softly, gently rocking from side to side until Estelle was asleep. The little toddler couldn’t support her own head as they carried her upstairs, tucking her into the middle of Sidney’s California King bed, lining her little body with pillows to create a shallow barrier. Sidney set a baby monitor on his nightstand before they head back down to the family room.

“You know, we’ve never talked about babies.” Sidney pointed out.

“They don’t exactly come up in casual conversation.” Bailey replied with a laugh, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a pink Powerade.

“I know, but do you think it’s something we should talk about?” He asked. Bailey turned, taking a long drink of her Powerade before setting it down on the counter in front of her.

“We haven’t even talked about moving in together, getting a pet or getting engaged, and you want to talk to me about babies?” She asked. Sidney blushed, not realizing how forward that must have seemed, but he was already quite confident about his future with Bailey, so maybe he had skipped a few steps.

“Point taken.” He shrugged, a little embarrassed by how forward and naïve he must have seemed.

Sidney seemed a little withdrawn the rest of the morning, watching as Bailey curled up with Estelle, playing with her little baby hair and admiring her little baby eyelashes as they fanned against her cheeks.

“Let’s go to the store and find something for dinner.” She suggested. It was nearing one o’clock and it had been a while since they had gone grocery shopping. Plus Bailey wanted to stop by the deli and grab a buffalo chicken wrap for a late lunch. She was having too much fun loading Estelle into her booster seat and cart when they arrived at the grocery store. Sidney laughed at the forty layers of winter wear the little baby was swaddled in between the house and the grocery store. He dutifully pushed the cart, keeping her full attention as Bailey shopped, pulling bags of his favorite produce items, cereals and several jars of his favorite peanut butter.

He bit his tongue when he saw her grab two cartons of mint Oreos and a few DiGiornio pizzas, knowing better than to comment on her food choices. Wandering over to the deli, they each picked out something for a light lunch before loading all of the groceries and Estelle back into the car before heading home.

Too many thoughts irritated Sidney, keeping him from enjoying his afternoon off. Was Bailey really as serious about him as she said? Did she ever think about him as a part of her future? Did her Dad say anything to deter her from their relationship? Was he moving too fast?

All he knew when he looked over at her as she cradled Estelle to her chest is that he wanted that for themselves – with their children. Was that asking too much?