Make It to Me

***I don't really know what to say about me being gone this long other than I'm sorry. I had school get in the way among other things. I'm currently working on this story, hoping to have at least a two chapter retainer for every time I post. Hopefully, I am sucessfull!***

Adaline sagged against the front door once she closed herself inside. From the pitter-patter of her heart to the swirl of thoughts floating about in her head, if she weren’t leaning against the door she would have face-planted.

She slipped her heels off and carried them in her hands to avoid the obnoxious clicking, hoping to slip into the house unnoticed by James. It’s not that she didn’t want to tell him about Sidney, she just didn’t know how he’d react given what had just happened. She didn’t think it was fair for her to be feeling all sorts of butterflies when James had just lost Sara, ripping his heart out and stomping on it for good measure.

Thankfully, she tiptoed up to her room quietly and slipped inside to change out of her date clothes. She reverently placed the dress on the bed, feeling reminiscent as she looked at it. Going forward, she doubted she’d be able to look at the dress without thinking about Sidney and their time together. He really was something special. He made her feel giddy at the prospect of meeting someone new, yet seemed to balance out her uncontrollable nerves. They were both the right amount of awkward in that they could be themselves and not feel embarrassed, but know that it was okay if they didn’t know what to say at the moment. Adaline had never felt that before, the comfort level she did with Sidney; often, she felt as if she had to put on a brave face on a date and try to not let them see how uncomfortable she was talking to them at times. Sidney seemed to understand that, and he embraced it, even felt it himself at times.

After changing into her pajamas and cleaning her face of make-up she slipped under the covers.

‘I had a great time tonight. Thank you, Sidney.’ Adaline fired off the text before scrolling down her contacts to find her dad’s name. It rang a few moments before she heard her dad’s deep baritone voice come on the other line.

“Hello Adaline.” Her dad greeted.

“Hi Papa. How are you?” She asked him.

“Things are okay. Your mom doesn’t feel all that great.” Her dad commented.

“Is she okay?” Adaline asked, her voice rising in concern.

“She’ll be okay baby. She’s just under the weather. I just hate to leave her alone while I’m on business. You couldn’t come back home for a week or so could you? I would pay for the ticket, of course.” Her father asked hopefully. Adaline wanted to help her mother, but could she leave James? He looked so fragile and broken. If she left who would take care of him? Who would make sure he wasn’t holed up in his room crying all day?

“Can I think about it?” Adaline asked.

“Of course. I understand that you have more important things going on right now.” Her father agreed. They talked about his business and he inquired about her work. Adaline neglected to tell him she went on a date. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for that conversation with papa bear. Eventually, her dad said he had a few things he had to finish up before he left for his trip in two days. She made him promise he wouldn’t work too hard before he hung up the phone.

‘I had a great time too. I’m looking forward to next time (; ’ Sidney had replied. Adaline’s eyes had fluttered shut as she thought about Sidney and how happy he had made her tonight, instead of the pain she had been feeling for the day’s prior.

~
“Adaline! Adaline!” she heard James shout from somewhere in the house. She groaned and rolled over, trying to block out his yelling and go back to sleep. A content sigh escaped her lips as she snuggled into her pillow again, once the yelling had stopped.

“ADALINE!” James practically yelled at the top of his lungs. Instantly, Adaline jerked out of bed and scrambled to get her feet running as fast as her mind was. What had happened? Why was he so distraught?

“James?” Adaline called as she rand up and down the hallway, trying to find him.

“Down here!” He shouted. Adaline raced down the stairs nearly breaking her neck. She flew across the hardwood floors in her socks and landed right in front of him in the kitchen.

“What’s wrong?” Adaline frantically asked.

“Do we have any bacon?” James asked seriously. Adaline went from worried to fuming in under a second. Her face reddened and her mouth set in a hard line.

“Are you serious?” She asked James, completely flabbergasted.

“Yea. I want bacon and I can’t find any.” James whined like a five year old. Adaline let out a frustrated yell and began smacking his upper arm and shoulder repeatedly. “Hey Hey hey… What the hell is that for?!” James cried in shock.

“That’s for you being a dummy! I thought something was wrong!” Adaline’s voice was beginning to rise.

“Well, there is something wrong! We’re out of bacon.” James tried to joke.

“James Neal you had better run because I will kill you.” Adaline said seriously. His eyes widened before he took off running through the house. She heard him bust out laughing as she chased him and nearly cried. She hadn’t heard him truly laugh in so long.

“I’ll take you to breakfast!” James bargained. Adaline stopped on a dime and looked at him as he peaked his head around the corner.

“Serious?” Adaline asked him to be sure.

“As a heart attack.” James smiled back. Adaline’s stern face turned to a smirk of triumph before she sashayed past him.

“I’m getting dressed and we’re leaving. Also, I’m ordering a lot.” Adaline stated matter-of-factly. James chuckled and followed Adaline up the stairs to get dressed.

~
Twenty minutes later, Adaline dressed in a black t-shirt, jean shorts, and leather flip flops James and Adaline were out the door on their way to a local diner.

“I texted the guys and invited them too.” James told her as he drove through the city streets.

“Okay.” Adaline smiled over at him. Would Sidney be there? Her heart picked up at the thought of seeing him again. Would anyone know what had transpired between the two of them last night?

James and Adaline made idle chit chat on their way to the diner. She chastised him some more for making her worried and he apologized countless times. She eventually forgave him and he seemed satisfied with the whole thing.

They walked into the diner seeing Kris Letang, Matt Niskanen, and none other than Sidney Crosby sitting at a table.

“Addie!” Matt called out as he stood up and pulled her into a hug. Adaline hugged him back just as warmly.

“It’s nice to see you too, Matty.” Adaline teased him. She slipped into the open seat next to him. “Hi Kris. Hi Sidney.” Adaline greeted. James did his bro handshake before sitting down beside Sidney. Kris and Matt began talking to James as Adaline’s eyes looked up and caught on Sidney’s.

He looked at her and smiled a mischievous smile, her cheeks tinting red as she thought of last night. She gave him the same smile before she propped her chin in her hand and jumped into conversation with the rest of the guys.

They seemed to be walking on eggshells around James, but were hiding it well. They seemed to recognize that today was a good day for him, he wasn’t thinking about how tragic everything was; so, words were chosen carefully to avoid bringing anything up that would ruin his good mood.

“How ‘re you liking Pittsburgh?” Kris asked Adaline.

“I really like it so far. Your weather is a bit cooler than mine, but it’s a fun city. I’m enjoying it thoroughly. Do you like visiting LA?” Adaline asked the group.

“It’s my favorite road trip, especially when we play the Kings during the winter. It’s crazy because we show up in out snow coats because of the bad weather and end up sweating half way to the hotel.” Matt chuckled.

“I have never truly experienced the seasons. We don’t really have them out in SoCal.” Adaline laughed with the group. They all seemed to order massive amounts of food and all seemed to believe in eating it all.

Sidney would often be caught looking at Adaline and she would get caught returning the favor. They couldn’t seem to keep their eyes off one another. It was like they had a secret that no one else knew about which made it fun and exciting. His eyes were dancing in amusement as he watched her stuff a big piece of pancake in her mouth. She caught the tale end of his amused look and began laughing despite herself. After nearly choking on the pancake she explained the whole ordeal as something catching her attention, to which Sidney tried to stifle a chuckle. Luckily, everyone was concerned with Adaline nearly killing herself to notice his fake cough.

After breakfast the guys decided to go over to James’s house and play some basketball. Adaline smiled and decided to sit in the comfy chair in the living room to get some reading done.

“Wacha’ doing?” She heard a deep voice call from behind her. Startled, she dropped the book and whipped her head around to look at Sidney standing behind her. He was leaning against the wall with a leisurely smile on his face. She immediately smiled at him and stood up to walk over by him.

“Well…I was reading until I was so rudely interrupted.” Adaline sassed. Sidney’s smile grew to a full on grin.

“Is that so?” He asked

“It is.” Adaline grinned. Sidney moved closer to her, trapping her with his size.

“I’ll just have to find some way to make it up to you.” Sidney suggested.

“I think that you just might.” Adaline softly spoke because of how close he had gotten. His warmth and cologne had invaded her senses almost making her go weak in the knees. His eyes were once again dancing with amusement.

“What are you doing to me Adaline?” Sidney asked her.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Adaline replied slightly perplexed.

“You’re making me want to break all the rules.” Sidney commented honestly as he tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. Unconsciously, her head tilted in his hand’s direction, seeking his affection.

“How did you get away from those hooligans?” Adaline asked him. He was fiddling with a long strand of her hair.

“I…uh…I said I had to go to the bathroom.” Sidney admitted.

“Well you had best get back out there.” Adaline told him. He let out a playful groan and she began pushing him out towards the door. It was like moving a mass of stone, but he allowed her to push him along.

“But I like it in here so much better.” He complained lightly. Adaline let out a laugh and gave him one final shove.

“Go on. Go play.” Adaline joked as if she were a mom talking to her stubborn child. He seemed to catch on to her playful tone as he replied “yes, mom” and made a scene of walking out of the house. He was too much, but it was all in a good way. He made her heart race and her stomach turn to knots whenever she talked to him. Simply flirting with him was more fun than any of her past relationships had been; it was like she was discovering dating all over again. Not that that’s what they were doing, but it still made her feel that way.

She meandered over to the kitchen window which looked out over to where the guys were playing basketball. They were all running around and laughing, including James. She was happy to see him like this. Sara was always in the back of her mind even when she wasn’t thinking of her, and she was sure it was the same of James as well. She wasn’t sure if she could leave James alone for a week, but looking at him spending time with his teammates who were so much more than that, she was certain that he would be fine on his own for the next few days.

Later, the guys had come inside and headed down to the entertainment room in the basement to play video games. Sidney let his had brush up against Adaline’s as he walked past her down toward the basement. After an hour or so of hearing nothing from the guys and her stomach grumbling she decided to whip up some lunch.

She found everything to make some wraps from the leftover grilled chicken from yesterday and all of the fresh produce on hand. She whipped up lunch and walked over to the staircase to the basement.

“Can I have some help for a moment?” Adaline called from atop the stairs. She heard the game pause and some shuffling. She walked back to the kitchen and began arranging everything on plates for the guys to take down stairs. She heard feet walking behind her and seemed to sense who it was before she ever turned around.

“I think you should know that those shorts of yours are killing me.” Sidney whispered in her ear. She drew in a deep breath as his hand came to rest on her side just above her hipbone.

“I’ll take that as a good thing.” Adaline shuddered before deciding something like this was not a good idea to be starting with James and two other teammates downstairs. She separated from Sidney and handed him two plates and she grabbed the other three. He smirked down at her as she brushed past him on her way out of the kitchen and down the stairs. The guys all insisted that she eat lunch with them and even coerced her into playing a few video games afterward.

~
“Hey Jamie?” Adaline asked him later that night.

“Yea?” He looked over at her.

“I have to go home for about a week, but I’ll be back as soon as the week is up. Is that okay?” She saw James’s eyes fall and nerves set into them before he could cover it up.

“Yea, of course. I mean you can’t stay here forever.” James tried to brush it off. Adaline placed her hand on his forearm and gave it a warm squeeze.

“Don’t do that. I’m coming right back. I’m not leaving you. I promise.” Adaline smiled. James seemed to be more comfortable with what she was saying. He pulled her in for a hug as she sent her dad a text to book a flight for tomorrow evening.