Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Chapter 30

It was like New Years Eve, Mardi Gras and the Fourth of July all at once. The people of the city had spilled into the streets in a celebratory mood. Canadian Flags flew from windows, were draped over railings and licked the wind from car windows and moon roofs.

The sidewalks were jammed with grinning faces and it felt as if they hadn’t moved more than a block. Sidney was stopped every few inches by someone wanting to shake his hand, pat his back, thank him or congratulate him. For himself, Sidney didn’t seem to mind and his own grin never wavered. He could even ignore the slight throb in his forehead where he was sporting a set of fresh stitches, care of Tuomo Ruutu. He didn’t even seem concerned about anyone taking the precious gold medal from around his throat.

He signed every card, every jersey, every napkin and every baseball hat put in front of him without complaint. He accepted the good wishes and the invasion of his personal space with equal aplomb.

He also did all of these things without taking his hand from around Mya’s. He kept her by his side, refusing to disengage his hand from hers’, even when she offered to. Partly he was afraid of letting go of her and having her washed away in the current of the crowd. It had been hard enough to find her in the press of bodies outside the room after the game. But mostly, this was something he wanted to share with her. He wanted to share in the energy swirling around them.

Of course he wasn’t the one getting the strange sideways looks and though people were certainly pointing him out and talking about him as they passed through the crowd, it was Mya they were discussing about behind their hands; especially the young girls who squealed when they realized who was passing through the crowd.

Sidney took that in stride. It was something he had long since grown used to, almost didn’t hear, but he could feel its affect on Mya. She stiffened more and more each time a gaggle of teenage girls approached clucking like excited hens. He wanted to tell her he didn’t see them, not really. That he’d trained himself to just see the piece of paper, the ticket, the jersey that they thrust at him. It wasn’t entirely true. Of course he noticed if they were pretty or not, but that didn’t change how he felt for her.

This was something she’d have to get used to, he knew as he asked yet another fan politely to steady the ball cap thrust into his hand so that he could sign it one handed. He’d talked about this with Mario and Nathalie. He’d asked what it had been like for her to date the second biggest star in the league next to Gretzky. He knew what it was like for the girlfriends of some of his friends like Vero and MAF, and then there had been poor Heather before Jordy hooked up with Tish. At least Tish seemed better equipped to handle all the negative attention that being the significant other of one of the Pens seemed to bring with it.

Not that he wouldn’t protect her if he could, Sidney thought to himself. He just knew that he couldn’t or wouldn’t be able to. Not all of the time.

He could keep it on the d.l., like he tried to do with most of his personal life. Keep it quiet. Keep it behind closed doors. He’d had pretty good luck with that so far, if you didn’t count all of the people that walked up to his parents’ front door and asked to take a picture with the people that brought up Sid the Kid.

They even knew where he lived in the off season. He could sit on his dock and see the high powered lenses pointed towards him. Luckily, for the most part, the people taking those pictures liked him or at the very least, had some modicum of respect for him. For her though...he couldn’t be so sure.

It was a lot to ask of a woman. He wasn’t like Max or Jordy or Fleur. His girlfriend, once she became public knowledge, would be in the public eye, on the internet, probably even in a magazine or two. He could hope to avoid a big fucking scene like Gretzky had for his wedding. After all, it wasn’t like Mya was some kind of D-List actress.

No, he thought with a grin as he gave her hand a little tug and pulled her into the restaurant at last. She was way fucking prettier than Janet.

The maitre d’is showed them immediately to a secluded table near the back of the restaurant and Sidney waited until Mya had settled into her seat before sliding into his own , beside her, instead of across from her. Tonight he wanted to keep her close, to keep her within touching distance. Did it make him needy? Fuck it if it did he thought, taking her hand in both of his and running his thumb thoughtfully along her lifeline.

“It’s funny,” he began, tracing the line that cut across the top of her palm. The heart line, he thought they called it. He’d been to a palm reader once, at Army’s insistence. Not that there had been anything she could have told him that he didn’t already know. He’d be successful. Well no shit. “I have almost everything I ever dreamed of,” he added, glancing up to see if she was following him. Her eyes were heavy, like she was half asleep or relaxed at last he thought as he allowed his gaze to roam her muted expression.

“Almost everything?” she repeated, her free hand resting protectively over her stomach. He glanced down at the way her fingers curved over stomach and smiled.

“NHL, Captain, Stanley Cup and now a gold medal, so yeah, there’s just a couple things I need and then I guess I’ll have to make a new list,” he continued, his thumb now tracing her money line, the one that ran from the base of her thumb up toward the index finger. “You know what those are right?” he asked tentatively, as his thumb went back to tracing her love line, before he finally closed his hands over hers’ and looked up into her green eyes. He could see that she was waiting, hope and fear mingled in her eyes.

He’d already asked her, or just about. He wondered what the fear was he could see in her eyes as he reached up to brush her cheek with his fingertips. Was it fear of marrying him and all it meant and all that came with that? Or was it just that he was asking her here, in front of all these people?

Glancing over her shoulder he gave the nod to the maitre d’is and heard the first strains of what he hoped would be their song and slid off of his chair and onto one knee in front of her.
__________________________________________________________________

“You know what those are right?”

When his hazel eyes looked into hers’, Mya felt her heart leap into her throat. He was going to ask her, pop the question, and he was going to do in front of a bunch of strangers. If that wasn’t bad enough, her favourite song was playing in the background.

It almost made her wish she’d just said yes the other night.

Her hands shook as he took them in his and slid from his chair to kneel in front of her. God, this was really happening, she thought as he smiled up at her, his thumb stroking the back of her hand as he looked up at her with an encouraging smile.

She felt her eyes well up, though she told herself she was being ridiculous. She knew he was going to ask her, knew he’d been carrying around a ring and as the light caught the gold medal hanging around his neck, she knew he was feeling on top of the world tonight. She should have seen this coming but still....

There'll never ever be another you
I can search my whole life through
It's no use
All roads lead me to you
There'll never be another you


Mya nearly leaped out of her chair when she felt a hand close on her shoulder. She looked up to find that it wasn’t just pre-recorded piped in music playing; Adam Gregory himself stood behind her, his sexy voice crooning in her ear.

“Oh my god Sidney, is there anything you can’t do?” she breathed, her entire body shuddering with nervous energy.

“When it comes to you sweetheart, I’ll do anything,” he whispered, as he bent to press his lips tenderly to the back of her hand.

“You must be awfully sure of my answer, to have him serenading me,” she added with a glance back toward the handsome sandy haired blonde, unable to edit the thoughts in her head before they spilled from her mouth.

“Well I guess I do have a little something going in my favor,” Sidney grinned, guiding her hand up to her stomach and pressing both of their hands over it. Mya felt the tears begin to flow, and shook her head. She was smiling and crying at the same time. It was the strangest feeling.

She watched as he took his hand back, fumbled in his pocket and then produced the small box that she’d seen before. Certain she was going to hyperventilate, Mya watched him open the box and her breath caught in her throat as the light caught the brilliant diamond within.

Oh holy shit, was the only thing that she could think as she stared at the ring as he took it out of the box and took her hand in both of his.

“Mya, will you make me even happier than I am right now, and marry me?”

There'll never ever be another you
I can search my whole life through
It's no use
All roads lead me to you
There'll never be another you
Never be another you
Oh no
Never be another


The whole room grew deathly quiet, like the whole world was holding its breath, waiting for her answer. As if there was any kind of question about what that answer would be.

“Yes, yes a thousand times yes,” she sniffed as he slipped off her promise ring and replaced it with the new, flashy, engagement ring.

______________________________________________________________

“You could put someone’s eye out with that thing,” Sidney whispered softly, his fingers laced with hers’ over her stomach, his cheek resting lightly just over her belly button.

“Yeah, about that, are you sure that this is really two month’s salary?” she quizzed, giggling as he rolled his eyes at her. “I’m kidding,” she sighed, letting his body warmth and the warm, clean smell of his skin relax her. “It’s probably my eye I’ll put out with it.”

“As long as you don’t put Colby’s eye out with it,” Sidney mumbled, closing his eyes but not long he was resting, but more as if he was concentrating.

“Colby?” Mya asked, puzzled and amused at the same time.

“Mmm, works either way. Good eh?” he replied, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his full lips. Mya snorted and closed her own eyes, allowing herself to fully relax for what seemed like the first time in forever.

“You know it’s not going to do anything that you’ll be able to feel for a couple of months right?” she asked, feeling his other hand snake along her pelvis.

“Do you feel anything?” he asked, finally giving up and sliding up the bed to roll her body against his, his strong arms surrounding her, cuddling her close.

“I guess, now that I know,” she sighed, her body moulding itself to his. “There’s sort of this…I guess it feels like there’s a tennis ball in there. That’s about it. Oh and your hockey gear,” she added, making a face as she thought of the way her stomach had turned over at the funk of entrenched sweat and mold. “It’s…not good, really. You’re going to have to keep your work out stuff away from me for a while.” She felt more than heard him laugh, and then the soft press of his lips to the top of her head.

“I think I can promise that,” he whispered, letting out a long, contented sounding sigh. “So…when do you want to do this?”

“Mmm? Do what?” she asked sleepily, trying to stifle a yawn. It had been a long, nerve wracking day, what with the game, Sidney spurting blood all over the ice and then the proposal. Today had seemed like it was going on about two days now.

“Get hitched,” he replied, his lips pressing a little more insistently against the back of her neck, sending a warm surge through her nerve endings that made her smile. Mya felt the ring on her finger, a sort of heavy, unfamiliar weight and smiled. It was enough to be engaged, she thought. It would probably take a while just to get used to being the fiancĂ©e of Sidney Crosby. That in and of itself was sort of mind blowing, life altering, and made her stomach do a little flip, or was that the tadpole inside of her, she wondered as she closed her eyes and hummed happily as his teeth dragged across her shoulder. There was the baby to consider.

“Do you think you’d have time to get married before the end of the season? I mean…isn’t it kind of go go go until…June?” she asked, feeling his body growing rigid and hard against the small of her back and reminding herself that it was bad luck to even think about his season being over before the last day of Stanley Cup finals. He made a noise in the back of his throat that she took for frustration and wondered if it was because she was still talking or because he’d only just realized himself how long that could be. After all, if the Pens season did go right until June, she’d have to buy something that would make her look like trailer trash to head to the alter in. Not that she minded. Well…not really.

“I didn’t think of that,” he grumbled, and she felt his forehead press against her shoulder. “I don’t want you to have to miss out on anything…,” his voice trailed away and Mya realized just what he was worrying about and shook her head. Rolling over, so that she could face him, Mya reached up to cup his cheek in her hand.

“I don’t need…no, scratch that. I don’t want a big white wedding in a church with a dozen bridesmaids and flower girls and all that shit. C’mon Sid, this is me. Be honest, I’m not exactly the most girly girl you’ve ever met, am I right?” Sidney smiled and shook his head, the concern seeping quickly from his gaze. “If we went to Vegas tomorrow, I’d be perfectly happy with that.”

“If I didn’t have a game on Tuesday,” he groaned, rolling over onto his back and grinding his teeth together. He stared at the ceiling and Mya knew he was imagining his schedule as if it was before him, printed on the ceiling of her room at the B&B. “Fuck…I have games like…every other day for the whole month.” He looked over at her apologetically and Mya shrugged.

“So I’ll look like a swallowed a beach ball…I’ll just ban cameras from the wedding. I mean, isn’t that what Tish did?”

2 comments:

  1. great update!!! YAY!!!! She said YES!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. HAHAHA!!! "She was way fucking prettier than Janet anyways" I saw that wedding... And I'd probably agree anyways! haha But it was still an awesome line.

    I loved how he's comparing his life to Gretzky's and I kinda hope they do run off to Vegas! :-)

    ReplyDelete