Chapter 6

Emma's POV:


"So let me get this straight, you told him, no yelled at him, that you 'don't like him'?" Vero asked trying to wrap her head around the idea. We were all dressed up and having drinks and I was explaining my shitty afternoon to them.

"Em, don't take this the wrong way but, don't you think you're both being just a little bit immature? Especially you?" Eliza asked looking at me skeptically.

"Well, yeah" I mean of course we were both acting ridiculously. But come on, he practically asked for it. "I can't help it, he brings out my temper."

"So then what happened?"

"Tanger walked in on us yelling and I just left." It had been embarrassing enough that someone caught us yelling like 5 year olds at each other.

"Oh my god" Vero said starting to laugh. "I think you two are my new favorite thing." My neck almost snapped by the force of quickly I turned to glare at her.

"So what are you going to do?" Eliza asked, always the level-headed one.

"Apologize I guess." I knew that I had to. We did have to work with one another throughout the year and it wasn't in me to purposefully be mean to someone. I had to apologize for being so rude and try to come to some sort of a truce with him.

"You know what? I think that this is good for him" Vero said suddenly sitting up straight on her barstool.

"What? Why do you say that?" Eliza said looking offended on behalf of Sid. Out of the three of us, she was a little bit closer to him as a friend. I obviously wasn't.

"Because, he's so used to everyone liking him and catering to him. Not that he demands it or anything, it's just happened since he's become the media's darling. Now, here is finally someone that doesn't take the crap he ocassionally disses out."

They both turned to me expectantly, waiting for some sort of reaction. Did I have one?

"It does make sense.." Eliza trailed off thoughtfully. "Max did mention that Sid's asked about you a lot lately."

"Okay ladies, stop. I know what you're getting at and it's not going to work. I'll find him next week and apologize to him. Maybe we can at least be friends out of all of this and no more" I emphasized.

Eliza gave me one of her cryptic "hmm's" while Vero sat and stared at me before changing the subject.

"So if we're gonna keep drinking, we need to eat, what do you say we go grab a table and continue the discussion there?"


After dinner, we left Houlihans and headed down to the South Side to finish watching the last half of the Pens game even though we had said it would be a hockey-free night.

Both Eliza and Vero looked at me every time Sidney missed an opportunity to shoot on goal. It was definitely not his game and I was starting to feel guilty after the 5th time he was checked into the boards by a Wild's player. They were one of the worst teams in the league and the Pens were losing miserably to them right now. Part of me felt guilty for maybe playing a small role in screwing with his game.

"I'm texting Marc" Vero announced once the post-game coverage began.

"They will definitely need to go out after that game" Eliza announced shaking her head.

"Are you sure?" I questioned. They had lost 5-2 and I highly doubted they would want to go out after that.

"Oh believe me, Max of all people will insist that they do. Besides, it was just one game."

Just one game! Obviously Eliza took this a little less seriously than most hockey fans did. It was the Wild that they lost to. The Wild. Practically a joke compared to how the Pens normally played.

"Max said they'll meet us in an hour" Eliza said getting off the phone. Vero was still chatting away in french to Marc, probably trying to calm him down. He got a little frantic after losses.

"You will apologize, right?" She looked very much the angry school teacher and believe me, I did feel the shame.

"Yes, okay? I do feel bad you know. And I don't actually hate him."

"Okay, just make sure that you do" she said leaving it at that. With that said, we paid our tab and headed out to Diesel.

They weren't going to blame me the entire night, right?

Well, apparently they were.

Kris greeted me by asking, "What did you do to our Captain?" while I hung out by the bar waiting to get my drink. He was the fifth guy to come up and ask me that. For now, I was content to hang out by the bar and avoid everyone for a little bit. I hadn't expected to even see Sidney until next week but he had come along with the guys, despite the loss that no one was letting me forget. Sure, I was wearing my new shoes, but I definitely wasn't feeling confident when I looked into his face and saw his facial expression. He was positively glowering at me. Not good.

"Hey" the bartender smiled finally noticing me at the bar. I tore my face away from Sidney's in the VIP lounge where he was still looking a little bit scary. "What can I get for you gorgeous?" Even though his delivery was a little cheesy, he was pretty cute and it was a Friday night, what was wrong with a little flirting? Besides, I had tried really hard that night to look good. I was wearing one of my only pairs of tight jeans that normally stayed at the back of my closet and a white silk blouse that Eliza had insisted that I wear the day before. My red hair had even been tamed into soft curls that hadn't wilted yet as they hung around my shoulders.

"I'll have a mojito, please" I ordered as he gave me his most charming smile.

"I need your name first" he said leaning on the bar. Okay, he was definitely charming, and he knew it.

"It's Emma" I said smiling enjoying the dimples on his cheeks when he grinned.

"Well nice to meet you Emma, I'm Derek" he said leaning against the bar now. He continued to chat me up while he mixed my drink and I noticed that he took his time even though the bar was packed with people all trying to get something.

He was definitely cute but probably not my type. Besides, I had to go back and face everyone and Sidney eventually.

The hole burning in the back of my head from his glare was ruining my good time anyway.

"Will you please go talk to him? He's been a total moody mess since he got here" Vero said coming up to me immediately once I was upstairs in the VIP lounge. He was sitting in the corner talking to Marc and I nodded knowing that I had to do it sooner or later. Might as well apologize now.

"Marc? Do you mind if I talk to Sidney for a second?" I interrupted them suddenly feeling even less confident than I had before.

"Sure" he said getting up and leaving us alone within seconds. Sidney was looking down at his hands decidedly not meeting my gaze and leaving the decision of whether to sit or not up to me.

"So, um, hi" I started off brilliantly with a display of eloquence. His eyes darted up to mine where I was still standing awkwardly in front of him.

"Emma, what did you come over here to say? If you don't have anything to say, then I'll spare you my presence since you don't like me."

Ouch. Guess he really wasn't taking what I said well. I honestly didn't know that he would care that much. It wasn't like he noticed me before.

"Sidney" I sighed taking the available seat next to him. "I'm really sorry about what I said earlier." If we had been better friends, this would have been a moment when I gave his hand a squeeze or grabbed it simply to hold. Instead I tried my best not to look away from his intense gaze now focused on me.

"I know that we don't really know each other that well but I do know that I don't hate you." I didn't think that I could ever really and truly hate him. Deep down I knew he was a good guy, I was just letting my own conflicting emotions get in the way. "I am friends with a lot of guys on the team though and I work with you, I'd really like it if we could call a truce or something."

He was now staring down at the drink in his hand not saying anything. I really hoped that he would accept my apology so we could go back to normal.

"Why aren't we friends?" he asked suddenly. Huh?

"What do you mean?" He wasn't serious was he? It was almost amusing, his sudden interest in our non-existent friendship.

"Well you're friends with everyone else on the team, so why aren't we friends too?" Next to Eliza, he was the most logical person that I knew. So of course he would see this as a black and white sort of thing.

"Sidney, you've never wanted to be friends with me!" I had to laugh now. "Believe me, I've tried. You've just always been so.." I paused trying to think of the right word to describe his past ignorance of me. "Distant. You've always been distant." He wasn't so distant now as I realized we were sitting very close. So close that I could almost see all of the gold amongst the brown in his eyes.

"Emma, I haven't meant to be so-"

"Why are both of you so serious over here? Come over and toast with us! Marc and Vero just announced that they're getting married!" Jordan interrupted both of us and secretly I was happy for the chance to escape. Sidney's eyes were still on mine as if to say 'we still have to talk about this.'

"Did I interrupt something?" Jordan asked looking between us.

"Emma! Sidney come here!" Vero yelled holding up a shot glass in celebration. I caught the twinkle of a ring on her left finger and wondered why Vero hadn't mentioned it earlier.

"We decided to announce it now and surprise everyone" Vero said giving me a tight hug and putting a small glass in my hand, identical to the ones everyone else was now holding.

It was hard for me to concentrate during the toast with Sidney's gaze on mine. I didn't know what he was thinking but I felt like something important had happened that night- something I couldn't put my finger on yet.