Master of Timing

The both of them collapsed onto the bed; Sidney tasting the skin of her back as he rested his forehead on the back of her neck. His arm left arm was underneath Lyndsey’s body from where he had joined their hands together, his right hand coming to rest on her hip while the both of them caught their breath.

“Holy shit,” he heard her gasp, her voice muffled slightly by the pillow she had turned her head into.

“Yeah,” He agreed, leaving tiny bites across her skin as he moved up to her neck, dipping his head so that he could reach her neck, following the line of sweat up the skin to her ear. He didn’t know where his sudden oral fixation had come from, but it was impossible for him to keep his tongue or his lips or his teeth away from her skin.

Lyndsey moaned, turning around in his arms. She was flushed all over the skin that he could see. Her hair was matted to her forehead where he brushed it back, smiling a little as he watched her eyes fluttered closed. He could still feel his heartbeat pounding in his throat while they both took deep breaths.

He honestly hadn’t meant to start anything again. After they showered, the only energy he had after staying up all night after a game was to eat a protein bar he had in his suitcase before crawling into bed. He could remember Lyndsey laughing gently at him as he closed his eyes, but once she started running her fingers through his hair as he snuggled into her lap, that was it.

When he’d woken up again, only a few hours had passed but he felt refreshed. Lyndsey had moved down to lie next to him. It was what had woken him up - he was warmer than he was used to, finding her tucked up underneath his chin, an arm around his waist. He’d missed how it felt waking up next to her.

As quiet as he’d tried to be, when he moved the comforters’ back so that he wasn’t sweating bullets he had jostled her awake. And, well… the look in her eyes when she smiled sleepily at him wasn’t something he wanted to ignore. Nor the way she rushed up to kiss him. Lyndsey knew exactly what she was doing when she slid her fingers into his hair and pulled tightly on the strands.

“Are you tired?” He heard her ask, leaving a gentle kiss on the skin of his chest.

He was, a little. But not enough to go back to sleep for hours. Once glance at his watch told him it was lunch time anyway and as much as he’d love to spend the whole day in bed with Lyndsey, he wanted to hang out with her more.

He’d missed her.

“The good kind of tired,” He replied, laughing when she smacked him on the stomach, reaching down to link their fingers together. Her toes were rubbing back and forth on the bone of his ankle, not quite tickling the skin. “You?”

She hummed in his ear and let out a deep breath, shaking her head. “I mean, I’m glad I don’t have to work tonight but I feel good considering we only had a nap.”

“Should we go and get some food? Or do you want to order in?” He let his hands loosen on her body when she pushed away from him to sit up, brushing her hair back off her shoulder as she looked around the room. She bit her lip and looked back at him. “What?” He was puzzled, couldn’t understand why she started to blush.

“I don’t have anything to wear out to get lunch,” She shrugged, pulling at the sheets pushed down towards their feet, holding it up in front of her body like she was shy about him seeing all of her suddenly. He pouted and tried to tug it away.

Not that he was perverted all of a sudden, but Sidney never wanted to make her feel like she should cover herself up if they weren’t in the heat of the moment. He loved every inch of her. He missed every inch of her. It took all her had to keep himself from drinking all of her in, every freckle, every little slight imperfection that made her perfect.

“Just wear your scrubs. We don’t have to go anywhere fancy.” He didn’t want to fine dine. Eating out of a take out container somewhere would’ve suited him just fine. “How about the mall? Isn’t it the biggest in the country or something?”

“Oh my God, I am not taking you to West Edmonton,” Lyndsey giggled, ducking down to hide her smile in the sheet, leaning forward to rest her head on his stomach. He realised his hands were in her hair when she peeked up at him through a couple of errant strands, blinking when he brushed them away.

“Why?”

She gaped, looking at him like she couldn’t understand how he was being serious. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because it’s the middle of the hockey season and you’re not supposed to be back in this province, let alone this city until next year?”

He rolled his eyes and waved her protest away, swinging his legs over the side of the bed so that he could stand up, reaching to the floor to pass her some of her clothes. “No one will notice. And besides,” He added, sliding his boxer briefs up his legs, smirking when he caught her watching, “Maybe we can find you some new clothes. To keep in your car, just in case.”

Lyndsey raised one eyebrow, following his lead and beginning to dress herself again, sliding her bra and long sleeve shirt on followed by her panties - once she’d found them underneath his sweats - to stand in front of him with her hands on her hips. “What makes you think I’m okay with you spending money on me?”

He walked around the end of the bed to move in front of her, stepping in close enough that she had to tip her head back. He placed his hands just under hers on her legs, sliding them around to her ass so that he could pull her flush to him. He bent down to kiss her softly, waiting until she closed her eyes before he finally put his lips on hers, keeping it slow and sweet, nibbling on her bottom lip just once as he pulled away. Lyndsey’s eyes fluttered open and he smiled, moving a hand up to cup her cheek in his palm. She huffed when he brushed his thumb against her lip.

“Please?” He whispered, trying his best to sound endearing. The glare she gave back to him told him it was working.

“I hate it when you do that,” She muttered, trying to move out of his grasp. But he held on tight. “Sid, c’mon-”

“Let me do this.”

“I don’t need to be bought, or whatever.”

He frowned, digging his fingers into her lower back without realising. “That’s not what this is.”

“No?” She questioned, this time actually moving away to put her pants on. “Then what is it?”

He didn’t like the way her tone made it seem like she was ready for a fight. Five minutes ago he didn’t anticipate this happening.

“It’s me, wanting to take my girlfriend out to lunch and buy her a new pair of jeans or something just because I can,” He offered, moving over to his suitcase. He couldn’t understand why she always got defensive whenever money was bought up. First it was the Christmas present, then her accident. Now they were getting into it over a trip to the mall.

“But you don’t have to-”

“I know that,” He snapped, slamming the lid of his suitcase down once he’d found his jeans. And what he knew was her favourite Henley that he owned. “I want to, there’s a difference.”

The both of them stared at each other, the silence filling the room with awkward tension that Sidney had no idea what to do with. He didn’t want to fight with her - not now, not ever - and he took a deep breath to try and calm himself down. They didn’t see each other often enough for something this small to come up and ruin their time together; he refused to let that happen.

His phone buzzed from where it was sitting in the bedside table, but he refused to look at it. Lyndsey blinked and crossed her arms, the first to break as she turned her attention to the floor. He fiddled with his clothes for a few moments, watching her run her fingers through her hair in frustration.

“I’m sorry,” She apologised, the tender voice coming from her mouth giving him pause. “I…”

“Hey,” He soothed, moving towards her as she shrugged and turned towards the window. “It’s nothing. I’m sorry, too.” He nudged her cheek with his nose, speaking softly into her neck.

She didn’t move away when he pulled her back into his arms, but she didn’t really move with him either. He held her just a little tighter, waiting for her to relax into his hold.

“I don’t know why I freak out about that stuff,” She confessed, looking out the window. “It’s stupid, I know.”

“No it’s not. It’s not,” He insisted when she made to argue and he turned her around to give her a quick kiss on the forehead. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable about me buying you things. I don’t want to be a dick about having money. And-” He took a deep breath, bracing himself for a minor freak out if what he was about to say came across wrong.

“And?” She implored, moving her hands to his chest. He smiled.

“And I get the feeling that not a lot of people have had the chance to give you things,” He explained slowly, linking the hands together. “Or that you haven’t really been spoilt the way you deserve.”

He knew it was probably the wrong thing to say, but it was how he felt. Lyndsey deserved the best of everything; she was the nicest person he’d ever met and he just wanted to show how much he cared about her for when he couldn’t be there in person to do it.

But he knew if he said all of that, she’d probably run. Maybe. He’d hoped not.

“I don’t need to be spoiled,” She mumbled, blushing all the same. He felt relieved.

“Again; I want to give you things. I never said you needed it,” He bargained, taking a step back to slide his t-shirt over his head. She watched him do it, turning away when he reached for his jeans again. “So, am I braving the mall? Or should I not worry about pants?”

He got the giggle he was hoping for and continued to get dressed when she rolled her eyes and ruffled up his hair on her way to the bathroom, closing the door behind her slightly. He left her to get ready, using the mirror besides the door to straighten out his hair the best he could, giving up halfway through and just grabbing a cap instead. There was no way to fix the mess she’d made of it with her hands all morning without a proper shampoo and some more gel.

Not that he was complaining about that either.

“Ready?” He asked when she emerged again, sitting on the end of the bed to pull on her cute socks once more. She nodded, reaching for her bag and meeting him at the door where he had her coat open and waiting. She tapped on his cap once she’d slid her feet back into her shoes, and he grinned before ducking his head to give her another quick kiss, holding the door open for her to step into the hallway.



The mall wasn’t all that busy, Sidney was surprised to find out. Lyndsey had showed him to her normal parking spot, just outside the doors of Hudson Bay and as they walked through the department store, he couldn’t help but wonder where everyone was. It was a nice enough day to leave the house and go shopping - or at least, he thought so.

“Is it normally this quiet?” He pondered, stepping into place with Lyndsey as they walked past the perfume displays and into the main mall. She shrugged, looking around a little.

“Maybe it’s just quiet in this part,” She guessed. He noticed the way she was fiddling with the strap of her bag as they walked, so he reached over to slide their fingers together, doing his best to hide his smirk when he felt her freeze for half a second.

“C’mon,” He murmured, tugging her along gently. Just because he wasn’t the biggest fan of PDA didn’t mean that he was a total robot. He felt bad for a second for wishing it was already the offseason so that he could do this without worrying about who was watching him.

Which also mean that he’d have to bring up to Lyndsey about making actual plans to go to Cole Harbour in the summer.

“Where do you want to eat?” She asked, pulling him forward to follow the arrows that pointed to the food court when he went to make a turn to the right.

He shrugged. “What’s good to have here?”

Lyndsey rolled her eyes, squeezing his hand a little. “They have a really great McDonalds…”

But he knew that she was teasing. Not that he could remember the last time he put that toxic crap into his body, anyway. They walked to the food court in relative silence, both of them keen to get some food into them before passing some time looking in shop windows. Sidney knew that Lyndsey thought she was getting away with it, but he genuinely did want to buy her some things - it didn’t have to be clothes. But he wanted to give her something more than just flowers or a book. Something that would make her think of him every time she saw it, or put it on.

Not that he’d ever admit that sentimental side of himself to anyone except maybe his Mom, but still.

“You have sauce on your chin,” She giggled some time later, reaching over to wipe it off as he slurped up an errant noodle that didn’t quite make the cut with the rest of his mouthful. He smiled in thanks, eager to finish eating his MSG filled Chinese goodness. Lyndsey had gone for some spring rolls and fake sushi - as far as he was concerned, chicken in a rice & seaweed roll wasn’t real sushi - and just looking at the tiny six pieces made him already feel hungry for her.

“Are you sure that’s enough?” He asked again, frowning at her little plastic fish filled with soy sauce. “That’s barely even an appetiser.”

“We don’t all have your appetite,” She chided, throwing the tiny cap at him when he rolled his eyes. It got lost somewhere in his jacket, but he was too hungry to both looking for it, shovelling as much food as he could in his mouth while also trying to not act like a heathen in public. He was hungry. After all, he hadn’t had a real breakfast.

It was only another ten minutes until they were both ready to leave. He wasn’t going to mention it out loud, but he was glad that no one had interrupted them so far. Sure, it had only been half an hour, but he was hoping it could last the whole time they were out. He wasn’t ready to deal with being “Crosby” today.

“So, where to?” Lyndsey paused. She opened her mouth to clearly say something back but took one look at the expectant look his face and promptly shut it. “I wasn’t kidding,” He told her, stepping forward to wrap her up in one arm towards his body. “Don’t make me drag into every shop they have in this place.”

“You don’t have the time for that,” She retorted, angling herself away to turn down one section. “What you’ve seen is probably only a quarter of the mall.”

“Jesus.” He already felt like he was lost. “Wait, isn’t there a pirate ship in here?”

She nodded, pointing in the opposite direction from where they were going. “And the ice rink is just down that- get that look off your face, we’re not going.”

“I would never!”

“Bullshit,” She muttered, hip checking him a little but reaching for his hand. “I bet you’re dying to get me back on the ice to watch me make a fool of myself.”

He had to admit, taking her skating was the most cliche thing he’s ever done for a date. But he would do it again in a heartbeat if he could make her smile the way she had while she was laughing every time she nearly fell. It was a relief to watch all the stress and worry fall off her face and see her just be herself, even if it was just for a few seconds.

He bent down to kiss her cheek quickly. “Never.”

It was pretty much how most of the afternoon had gone. He followed Lyndsey into some stores, she followed him into others, and they spent their time teasing and flirting and laughing rather than actually buying anything. He had stood back and watched her in Yankee Candle, seeing the way she went straight to what she said were her favourite smells - it was the same candle she’d shown him when she came to visit in Pittsburgh. Sidney figured that the fact he’d remembered it meant that she actually let him buy it for her, along with a couple others. One he picked for her, but said she wasn’t allowed to light it until he was gone, in case she hated it.

And even then, she had to lie.

“I’m not much of a liar,” She told him as they walked out the doors, bumping into him when he stopped. “What are you… oh my God, no.”

“C’mon,” He grinned.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Absolutely not.”

The bold signs of black and pink were across from them. Along with the scantily clad models in huge pictures in the shop displays.

“My credit card is yours if you let me in there with you.”

She gaped at him. He was glad that he’d taken the bag of candles from her, because he was almost positive she would’ve dropped it. It wasn’t like he was expecting her to go in a try on the most revealing underwear set they had - but he was also a guy and wasn’t going to say no if she was going to let him buy her Victoria’s Secret. He may be a male, but he wasn’t stupid.

“I can’t go in there with you!”

“Why not?”

“Because!” She protested, crossing her arms against her chest. It made her look adorably angry. Like a puppy who wasn’t getting their chew toy. Or a kitten trying to meow. “That’s- no! I can’t do it.”

He sighed, tipping his head back against the hood of his jacket. This was not the time or place to let her know just exactly what he thought of how she looked - clothes or no clothes. So he took a deep breath and tried to put it into something PG.

“How come,” He started, pulling her closer so that she was pressed to him while he leant against the wall, “you can be completely fine with me at home, or in a hotel room, but this,” he gestured to the store, “Is too much?”

He watched her blush, and turn her head away from him. He wanted to reach out to bring her eyes back to his but he waited.

She fidgeted.

“Babe-”

“I’ve never had anyone to go shopping for in Victoria’s Secret other than myself, okay?” She pointed out, looking around the both of them to see if anyone was paying attention.

There wasn’t even anyone down their part of the mall.

“Okay,” He reasoned, taking a hand out from his pocket and tugging her arms apart. “I’m honoured to be the first.”

“Can you not be an asshole?”

“I’m kidding!” He chuckled, pulling her in for a hug. She moved easily, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and burying her face into his sweater. He was careful to not let the plastic bag hit her as he put both arms around her shoulders. “Well, not really. But you don’t have to get so worked up. You’d look hot in anything they have.”

“Oh my God, shut up,” Came her muffled reply from somewhere inside his jacket.

“It’s true!”

“Not exactly.”

He rolled his eyes to the ceiling, pushing her shoulders back so that he could look her in the eye. Her cheeks were as red as tomatoes. And she couldn’t keep eye contact with him, biting her lip and staring at his shirt. He sighed and gave in, kissing her forehead before wrapping an arm around her shoulder, walking her away.

“Fine. But believe me when I say this,” He tipped his head down, “you don’t have to be a six foot model who doesn’t eat to look good in that stuff, okay?”

She nodded, staring straight away. “Yes, okay,” She answered when he shook her shoulders, darting a glance up at him. “I’ll never be six foot, anyway.”

“Good,” Sidney grumbled, moving them slowly step by step. “I’d have to look up to you otherwise.” He snickered when she hit a hand against his chest, happy as she slid her arm around his waist under his jacket while they continued walking.

It didn’t take them long to come past a boutique with cocktail dresses in the window. Ones that were way over the top with a million sequins, but a couple of them looked good.

“Oh, look. One in navy, just for you,” She teased.

He rolled his eyes. “We could be matching.”

She scoffed. “And where would I ever wear a dress like that?” She asked, stepping forward to look in the window none the less. It gave him the perfect opening.

“To a wedding,” He suggested, folding his hands into his pockets when her head snapped around to face him. “A good buddy of mine is getting married in August. I, uh…”

“You what?” She queried, her eyebrows furrowing.

Shit. This was going to go one way or the other.

“The invitation included a plus one,” He offered, waiting for her to grill him for assuming things again. But all he got was a look of surprise. “What?”

“Oh! Uhm,” She trailed off, biting her lip. “You- you already said yes?”

He nodded, moving to the doors of the boutique and holding out his hand. “I meant to ask you when I got it but it slipped my mind. It’s…” He paused before walking in, brushing a thumb against the back of her hand. “Even if it’s just for that weekend that you can make it, I’d really like you there,” He told her softly, watching as her face fell more into a gentle smile, rather than confusion. “I hate going to weddings alone.”

It was more than he wanted to admit, but it slipped out. No taking it back now.

“Me too,” She agreed, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek. “I’d love to go with you.”

“Alrighty then.”



“Who’s that?” He asked. He had been sat in the passenger seat for a minute while Lyndsey texted back and forth as her car warmed up. Not that he had anywhere to be in a hurry, but he was just curious.

Especially as her face turned bright red and she hurried to stuff her cell back in her pocket.

“No one,” She mumbled, struggling to clip her seatbelt in while she literally looked anywhere other than his direction. He watched her, bemused, as she reached for the keys only to realise at the last second before fucking up her transmission that the car was already on. “Uhm…”

Sidney reached a hand over, settling it on hers on the steering wheel. She still didn’t turn to look at him. “Lyndsey-”

“My Mom wants to meet you,” She blurted, eyes darting to his quickly before staring back ahead. He could see her shoulders rising and falling as she took quick breaths.

“Oh.”

“And I told her that you’re on a tight schedule - well, I wasn’t going to tell her that you were here at all, really. But after that last fight we had, the one about you,” Her eyes darted around again, he tried to keep a straight face, “I… I try not to keep anything from her, y’know? Well, some things, obviously because that’s gross but just the normal stuff I tell her about because she’s all I’ve got and holy fuck I need to stop.”

She gasped for air, leaning forward to rest her head on the back of his hand. She sounded like she’d just ran a marathon. And he could not figure out why.

“Hey.” He unclipped his seatbelt with his free hand, trying to manoeuvre his arms in a way that he was hugging her without making her feel like being smothered. She moved easily enough, her hands falling limp by her sides as he kissed her hair. “Why’re you freaking out, eh? It’s not a big deal.”

Lyndsey clenched his jacket in one of her hands, he felt the pull of it around his neck. “It’s not a big deal, he says,” She muttered to herself, leaning back to stare at him. “Meeting the parents is always a big deal!”

He chuckled, brushing the hair back off her face that was hanging in front of her eyes. Her cheeks were a gorgeous shade of pink, giving some life to her face that was so pale she was almost see through. He pressed a thumb gently over the frown between her eyebrows, watching her face fall into something more relaxed. Her eyes had slipped shut, but he didn’t let that bother him as he gave her lips a peck, leaning his forehead against hers. Slowly, he felt her fingers uncurl from his jacket, and fall back onto the arm rest between them.

“It’s been six months, babe. A very weird six months, sure,” He reassured her, smiling when she snapped her eyes open to stare at his. He shrugged. “She’s the most important person in your life. I’d love to meet her.”

Lyndsey didn’t say anything at first, her eyes bouncing back and forth between his own. Sidney let his hands fall away from her shoulders when she pulled back though, the both of them hanging in the air for a moment before he dropped them back down into his lap.

She blinked and visibly swallowed, looking down at her hands as she wrung them together, fiddling with the ring he’d never seen her take off from her ring finger of her right hand.

He hesitated. “You okay?”

She nodded. Quickly and a little too fast for him to think she was answering him honestly. “It’s-” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat.

Sidney frowned. Why was she upset?

“Hey,” He said softly, reaching up to gently turn her head to face his. Her eyes were swimming with tears. “What- why are crying?”

She shrugged, sniffling a little before using the back of her hand to brush across her eyes. “It’s, uhm…” She took a deep breath and let it out as a laugh. “It’s just been a long time since its’ felt like anyone’s really given a shit-”

She cut herself off with a shake of her head, forcefully sitting back in her seat when Sidney reached out to touch her. He was at a loss for a moment, wondering how the mood shifted so suddenly.

“Lyndsey…”

“I don’t-” And then, before he could blink, she opened her unclipped her seat belt and stepped out of the car, slamming the door behind her hard enough that the car jerked. He quickly followed suit, finding her pacing back and forth in the freezing cold, her breath coming out as fog in front of her face.

“I’m just freaking out a little bit,” She rushed, shaking her hands out with every step that she took. Sidney hadn’t had one for a while, but he could recognise the signs of an anxiety attack any day. He’d experienced his fair share during his forced time out during the long months of 2010.

“It’ll be okay,” He offered in a soft tone, tucking his hands into his pockets as he leant against the side of the car. The exhaust was rising from the muffler near his feet, but he didn’t focus on it.

“I don’t even know why I’m…” The look she gave him was enough to make him nod, trying to show her he was right there. He never wanted people near him - constantly shrugging off people’s hands or arms when they tried to speak to him - almost hitting Mario in the face after one particularly bad episode - so he wanted to let her come to him if she needed it.

“What do you want me to do?”

She stopped pacing and turned to laugh at him, bending over to rest her hands on her knees for a moment before taking a massive breath and standing up again. “Oh God, I don’t even know. Let’s - for you to be here all the time, or me to be there, for one. To wake up tomorrow and have it be a warm sunny day. For the government to pay nurses more, for-”

He stepped forward and put his hands over hers where she was ticking a list off her fingers. It was all he did, until she rested her forehead on his chest. He tucked his head down to rest his temple against hers, just breathing softly while she sniffled against his chest. He’d find it adorable if he wasn’t so worried.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why-”

He kissed her forehead. “Don’t be. It’s fine.”

“It’s really not.”

“Yes it is.” He held her shoulders as he stepped back, holding her gaze. “Like I said, it’s been a really, really weird six months. Jesus, you’re still recovering from a fucking car accident,” He told her, brushing the scar still visible on her eyebrow. The car accident that still kept him from sleeping sometimes, even though he hadn’t been there to witness anything. “We don’t…” He rubbed his hands back and forth on her arms - it was freezing outside the car. “Let’s just go back to the hotel, okay? Or - I mean, you can drop me there and head home, if you want. I know you’re tired, and I can’t just expect you to drop-”

“Yes you can,” She interrupted, nodding fiercely. “And I don’t want to go - I don’t want to say goodbye to you, yet.” He couldn’t tell if she was blushing or if it was just from the temperature, but the red on her cheeks was cute none the less.

“Okay then.” He shivered, letting out a laugh when her eyes went wide. Then when she shuddered as well. “C’mon, I’ll drive.”



She kept silent during the car ride back to the hotel. The radio was on quietly, filling the void in between the directions from the GPS on her phone. She’d plugged in the address when she got into the car, not trusting her voice when she was sitting in the passenger seat.

She was embarrassed, most of all. In every single thing she’d ever seen in her life - the births, the deaths, the insults she’d get from patients, even watching her Dad walk out the door, she’d never lost control like she just did. She didn’t even remember how it happened, just that she felt fine one second, then all of a sudden the car was too confining and she needed to desperately breath fresh air.

And the man to her left had just stood there and waited patiently for her to regain some sense of normalcy. It was that fact alone that stopped her from looking at him, keeping her head down and her eyes on her hands in her lap. She didn’t even feel like crying, which was normally what happened when she got over the top flustered.

Instead, she just felt ashamed.

She couldn’t find her voice when Sidney parked the car in the underground parking below the hotel. Nor when he waited for her when he’d opened her door, or when they walked together to the lobby and into the elevators. She leant back against the opposite wall as Sid pressed the button for the floor he was on, tucking her arms across her chest and scuffing her toe against the carpet.

Sidney didn’t try to reach for her. He stood to her right side and tucked his hands into the pockets of his jacket, crossing one leg over the other and letting out a deep sigh. The faint ‘ding’ as the lift passed each floor made the climb to the eleventh floor take an absurdly long time, the pattern on the carpet intricate enough that when Lyndsey followed it from the doors, she only reached half way across the floor to her feet before the elevator slowed to a stop, the doors opening with a whoosh.

“After you,” Sidney mumbled quietly, stepping forward to hold a hand against the doors. Lyndsey didn’t wait for him, turning left out of the foyer and down towards his room. She looked up at him briefly when she got to the door, trying to smile as he slid the key card into the slot and turned the handle.

The housekeeping service had been while they had been out. Lyndsey remembered how they’d left the room - how they had left the bed and flushed a little, pressing one hand against the wall so that she could balance herself while she toed her shoes off. She could hear the sound of Sidney’s wallet and her car keys hitting the bench above the mini fridge.

She jumped when his hands rested on her shoulders.

“Whoa, it’s okay,” He rushed, taking his hands away and a step back. She turned to face him and shook her head, still not trusting her voice. “Sorry.”

But he didn’t have anything to be sorry for. He had been patient, and kind, and understanding, and all kinds of wonderful that she knew she would never be able to actually put into words. It was all those thoughts that made her step into his space, trying to hide away in his Henley while she wrapped her arms around him tightly.

“Do you want to talk?” He offered, tentatively bringing his arms back down to wrap around her shoulders, high enough around her neck that she felt like she was hidden away from everyone and everything, closing her eyes against the light coming through the window. He murmured his understanding when she shook her head, trying to burrow further into his chest, re-adjusting her head to turn into his neck when it wasn’t enough. She took a minute to catalogue how she was feeling; he was warm beneath her cheek, but that didn’t make her want to move at all. She had always admired the way his arms looked in his sweaty work out gear, but at the moment she had a profound love and appreciation for the way he was surrounding her completely. His cologne filled her senses - warm and spicy and just the right amount of something she found completely attractive; maybe it was just the smell of him.

She didn’t want to look at a clock or a watch or a phone to see just how many hours she had left with him. Instead, she moved her head back, finding a smile somehow as he looked down at her with concern, before she stood on her toes and kissed him; slowly, softly, innocently. It wasn’t a kiss that was going to lead anywhere - it was a kiss to tell him everything she didn’t have the words for, to tell him how she felt, to tell him how much she was going to miss him over the next couple of months.

And he responded in kind.

She felt the heat of his hands only briefly before his palms cupped her face, turning her head slightly so that he could bring their mouths together better, a dance between the two of them that had no steps to it. Lyndsey hadn’t moved her arms from around his waist, letting them rest on his lower back, relishing in the sound of their lips meeting in the quiet room.

Sidney pulled away first. She kept her eyes closed as he brushed the tiniest of kisses across her cheek, her eye, her nose, her forehead. Their breaths were in sync, and Lyndsey was sure that Sidney would be able to feel how much her heart was pounding from where his hands were still resting on her neck. She didn’t want to open her eyes.

“Do you want to watch TV?”

The uncertainty in his voice is what caused her to frown, and blink up at him. He still had that same look of concern on his face, his eyebrows furrowed together in a expression that told her he was still worried. No amount of making out was going to appease him. But watching something mindless for a while seemed like a good way to relax.

She let him tug her over to the bed, watching him climb on top and enjoying the view while he reached for the remote on one of the bedside tables. She bit her lip and laughed a little to herself when he caught her, rolling his eyes before petting the spot beside him. She shrugged off her jacket, letting it fall to the floor before meeting him, taking no time at all to cuddle into his side, feeling bold enough to rest her leg on top of his. He had the furthest leg away from her bent up, so he gently rubbed his toes back and forth on the tops of her foot while rubbing his thumb back and forth along her waist where it was resting.

“You okay?” He spoke into her hair, leaving his lips resting against her forehead. She nodded slightly, taking another deep breath and settling down into his body.

“I’m tired,” She admitted. The rise and fall of emotions hit her harder than she thought. He squeeze his arm around her tightly.

“It’s been a long day already, we could nap.”

But sleeping their time away was the last thing she wanted to do. Until he chuckled and wiggled down until they were face to face, the Animal Planet documentary playing in the background forgotten. “Lynds,” He started, kissing her quickly. “I don’t know what it is, and I know it’s only been a couple of times. But I sleep so much better when you’re next to me.”

She flushed at his words - when they had slept in the same bed, it’s because they’ve both exhausted themselves with sex that doing literally anything else wasn’t an option. Apart from his pre-game nap that she’d joined him on, they hadn’t spent much time just relaxing around each other.

“That’s because you’re usually in that post-game, post-sex level of exhaustion,” She teased, rushing to push his hands away as he rolled his eyes and started to tickle her.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Then it was her turn to roll her eyes. “Did you hear me complaining?”

He shrugged with one shoulder as best he could while he was lying down, and rolled the both of them over so that he was resting on top of her - still to the side so that he wouldn’t crush her completely. His arm was resting beneath her neck, his other hand atop her waist. “Please can we nap? Just for an hour.”

He didn’t even wait for an answer, taking her sigh as reason enough to get himself comfortable. But before he could lay down exactly where she knew he wanted to be, she had to sit up - there was no way she was taking any kind of nap in her scrubs and while wearing her bra. She somehow willed her cheeks into not turning red as she wormed her underwear out from her long sleeve shirt, quirking an eyebrow at him as he kind of stared in wonder.

“What?”

He shook his head, leaning down to rest his head against her chest where he’d been trying to reach before. He took one hand and linked their fingers together, humming softly when her other hand reached for his hair and began to trail her fingers through the strands. “It always looks like a magic trick.”

“What does?”

He yawned. “When girls’ take their bras off without having to take off their shirts.”

She giggled, moving around slightly so their legs were slotted together. She rolled her eyes at the ceiling - Brent had said the same thing at one point, although he looked almost disgusted to be in the same room as the offending clothing, not so much just ready to get up close and personal like Sid was. But, boys will be boys.

She just figured they’d never understand.

“Will you wake me up in an hour?” She asked, feeling him reach for his phone in his pocket without actually moving his head from where he was clearly able to hear her heartbeat. She watched him set an alarm on his phone, before he threw it to the other end of the bed. “Sweet dreams.”

He hummed, leaning up to kiss her neck. “You too, baby.”