Days of Black and Gold

“Last night was fun,” Sidney whispered in my ear before kissing my neck.

I smiled, and watched him walk into the kitchen. His meticulous movements always seemed to have a calming effect on me.

“Do you want breakfast?” He glanced over his shoulder at me.

“That’d be nice,” I nodded, darting my eyes back to my laptop.

We had been in Nova Scotia for the past month, and I was having an unbelievable time. I never took a chance to travel throughout university or the past two seasons with the Capitals, so I was taking full advantage of the get-away.

“Do you think we should be more careful about where we have sex?”

“Did you not have a good time?” Sidney asked, concern written across his face.

“Not at all,” I grinned. “Last night was amazing. I didn’t know I could have that much fun on a dock.”

“But?” He moved over to me and turned the chair so I was facing him.

“But, don’t you think that after the whole punching Ovi fiasco, we should be a bit more careful?”

“Maybe,” he shrugged, placing his hands on my cheeks. “This is a relatively secluded area, so I think we’ll be okay.” He lowered his face to mine, and gave me a sweet kiss. “What’s been going on? All week you’ve seemed really down.”

“It’s nothing,” I mumbled, pulling my face from his hands and looking bac at my laptop.

“Come on, Margot, something is going on.”

Pulling out my phone, I opened my call log and handed it over to him. “Look.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“A couple times last week, then he stopped.”

“These are dated yesterday and today.”

“He started again,” I sighed, wiping a tear from my eye. “I never answer or check the messages.”

“What do you want me to do about it?”

“Nothing,” I said, forcing a smile. “I’ll get a new number in Pittsburgh. He’ll only see me at games. I’ll be okay.”

“Margot, he is harassing you.”

“He was my best friend.”
“That’s no excuse.”

“Sid, please, don’t do anything. I’m telling you because I want to be honest with you.”

“Okay,” he agreed, going back to the breakfast he was preparing. “Mom and Dad are stopping by tonight.”

“Thanks for the warning,” I chuckled, typing away.

“They called while you were in the shower.”

“You told them I was here?”

“Dad’s known all along,” he mumbled.

“You didn’t tell your mom,” I gaped, shaking my head. “What kind of a goody two shoes are you?”

“No one said I was.”

“Everyone says you are,” I challenged, turning my computer to face him. “See?”

“When is that dated?” He laughed, walking over and staring at the screen. “That’s when I first started in the league.”

“You’re such a sweet boy,” I smirked, moving the laptop back.

“And then I met you,” he joked, cocking a brow.

“Your mother will be so happy to know she was right.”

“Shut up,” he growled, flicking water my direction.

“Do you want me to cook tonight?”

“You cook?”

“I do a fair number of dishes,” I bragged. “What were you planning?”

“I didn’t really have a plan,” he admitted, sheepishly.

“You were going to wing a supper with your parents?”

“And my sister.”

“Your sister’s coming,” I mused, biting my lower lip. “If you grill, I can make some roasted veg and maybe a pie for dessert?”

“I like that sound of that.”

“When are we expecting them?” I asked, as he placed a plate of eggs and toast in front of me.

“Closer to supper time. Mom said that they had some shopping to do in Halifax before they head over.”

“In the meantime, I’m going to go for a swim.”

In no time, I had inhaled my food and was running down to the dock with Sidney in tow.

“Please don’t drown,” he sighed, as I stripped off my shorts.

“What?” I laughed, waiting for him to get to me. Smiling up at him, I helped him remove his shirt. “I’m a very good swimmer, if you haven’t noticed by now.”

“I’ve noticed,” he assured with a hint of lust in his eyes. “Do you want to go for a boat ride?”

“Alright,” I agreed, taking his hand and walking to the boat shed with him. I pulled on a life jacket, and followed Sidney out to his boat. “I’m excited to meet your sister. It’s Taylor, right?”

“Yeah, Taylor. I’m sure she’ll love you.”

“I feel that there is a fifty-fifty chance of that.”

He rolled his eyes and helped me into the boat. Getting in, he turned the key and pulled out into the water. “It’s days like these that make me wish I could stay here forever.”

“You would stop playing hockey to be on the water all the time?” I asked, wrapping my arms around his neck and watching the scenery fly past.

“Of course not, but sometimes a longer summer would be nice.”

“Stop making the playoffs,” I quipped, kissing his cheek. “I agree though. This is kind of perfect.”

“It’s even better when the water is calm, and you can just float.”

“It feels like that kind of day. There’s no one else on the lake.”

“It’s also a weekday,” Sidney reminded me, slowing the boat to a stop. Turning the seat, he pulled me into his lap and planted a passionate kiss on my lips. His fingers tangled into my hair, deepening the kiss.

“What was that for?” I asked, as we parted.

“I just like kissing you,” he shrugged, as I stood and removed my life jacket.

“I’m not going argue with that,” I smirked, pulling my shirt over me head.

“God, Margot, you couldn’t have worn a top?”

“I didn’t realise you’d complain,” I remarked, returning the life jacket to my torso.

“I’m not complaining,” he argued, stepping in front of me and unzipping the life jacket I had just done up. “Just surprised.”

Looking up at him, I smiled and unzipped his life jacket. I ran my hands down his chest, taking in his toned muscles, which got to me every time.

As his rough hands slide up my sides, shouting from the dock caught our attention.

“Shit,” I mumbled, fumbling to cover my breasts with the floatation device. “I thought you said they’d be awhile.”

“They were supposed to be,” Sidney responded, dropping into the driver’s seat. “You might want to get your tank back on. Mom’s not likely to leave the dock until we pull in.”

Sitting down, I quickly followed his suggestion. “I feel like she is going to be unimpressed by my shorts sitting on the dock. Why not disappoint my boyfriend’s mother more by not wearing a bikini top?”

“You’ll be fine,” he chuckled, speeding the boat over to the dock. “Take a deep breath, and prepare yourself. Mom will come around, but it’ll take some time.”

“And so it begins.”