Chapter 14

Eliza's POV:

Over the next few weeks, I busied myself with getting ready for the benefit dinner the Pens were hosting for the CPP over the holidays. The holidays in general were my absolute favorite time of the year so even though the Pens were in a bit of a slump and that made Sidney unbearable to be around, even his bad mood couldn't bring me down. With aproximately 2 weeks until Christmas, I was starting to literally hear bells jingling everywhere just from my own excitement and wishful thinking.

"Hi Mom" I said answering the phone ringing on my desk and feeling extra cheerful even though it was her calling me.

"Hi hon!" She answered in her usual breezy tone. Why shouldn't she be breezy? Last I had heard she was off in Europe somewhere while my Dad was shacking it up with his former secretary. They had the kind of strange relationship you think you only hear about in b-grade dramas. Yes, I literally did have the type of parents that were completely happy to live thousands of miles away from each other and have their affairs away from prying eyes. I only wish I was kidding.

"Did you need something?" I asked wondering why she was even bothering. It was two weeks until Christmas meaning another two weeks until I got the obligatory holiday phone call from both of them.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'll be staying here through the holidays and returning after the new year to spend some time in Pittsburgh." This was unexpected considering I thought she would be over in Europe with her latest mogul until at least Summer. However it wasn't surprising to hear that I would be alone for Christmas again this year.

"Um, okay Mom. Just call me and we'll spend some time together." Would we really spend time together though? It would most likely just end up as a dinner party where I awkwardly converse with whatever guy my Mom has deemed suitable for me.

We talked for a few more minutes and she told me some more about the resort she was staying at until I lied and told her that I had to go. Years of not having a proper relationship with my parents had at least taught me how to quickly evade conversations. A knock sounded at my office door pulling me out of my familial musings and back into the real world.

"Why are you frowning? All of the players from other teams that you requested for the benefit RSVP'd" Mario said smiling kindly at me from his position in the doorway.

"Nothing, just thinking." It didn't feel right to talk to him about my parents and their shitty parenting when at one point Mario and Nathalie had actually been friends with them. I would never understand the how or why of their friendship but it hadn't all been bad- it had allowed me to meet the Lemieuxs who as far as I was concerned, had been the better set of parents to me.

"Well stop frowning because the benefit is going to be a success."
"I'll stop" I said mustering up a smile at him. It was hard not to smile at him in that moment just because of how hard he was trying to cheer me up.

"Good, what time should Nathalie and I be there on Friday night? We thought we would swing by early and give you a hand."

"Thanks, well if it starts at 7 would you mind coming around 6?"

"Just as long as that's the time you plan on going too."

I nodded trying to pretend like I wasn't lying. I would have to be event around 4pm to make sure that everything was perfect. My control freak tendencies weren't going to let me have it any other way. Still the thought of Nathalie and Mario arriving early just for me was touching and wiped away the bitter taste I still had in my mouth after talking to my Mom. I thanked him and he gave me another smile before taking a seat in the office to talk hockey with me.


I spent the rest of the week working and finalizing everything for the event that Friday night.

"So are you excited?" Vero asked me on the phone while I walked briskly up and down the grocery aisles. Throughout my planning for the event, I had completely forgotten to buy groceries for my house and had absolutely nothing but stale cornflakes to eat for dinner. Delicious!

"I'm excited but also excited for it to be over already. I'm exhausted" I said making her laugh on the other line. I got so nervous about the benefit at night that even when I tried to go to sleep, I would end up laying there for hours thinking over plans again before conking out around 3 and getting up at 6 to start the whole cycle over again.

"Well, at least you'll get to wear a great dress and look totally hot." Shit. A dress.

"Oh yeah, totally" I lied for what seemed like the millionth time that week. Suddenly I was panicking about what I was going to wear and the fact that I had neglected myself not only food wise but now I had even forgotten that I had to clothe myself on Friday night.

"You totally forgot to buy yourself something to wear, didn't you" she said sounding suspicious of my overly excited tone.

"If I say yes, you can't judge me" I admitted holding the phone away from my ear while she started to yell in french.

"Calm down. I'll finish grocery shopping and go get a dress tonight." That would work. It was only 7:30 so I still had about an hour and a half before the mall started to close.

I finished my speed shopping and drove like a maniac to the mall in full on panic mode. I loved shopping but I loved shopping when I had time. Since I was giving a speech at the benefit and would be in front of the microphone for part of the evening, I had  to at least look decent. I wasn't sure that I was capable of managing 'hot' like Vero or Eliza, but I could try to look prettier than normal.

I ran into Banana Republic knowing that there would be a lot of safe choices in there for me to choose from. They always had great cocktail dresses which would be the perfect combination of sophisticated but also conservative. I was the coordinator of a kid's charity, I couldn't look like a slut.

"Try this one" the saleswoman said smiling and handing over a plum, strapless cocktail dress. I took it to the dressing room and grimaced when I noticed that I had worn the least sexy underwear that I own that day. Somehow mirrors in dressing rooms always make you look bigger than you want to look. Needless to say, the grandma underwear I was sporting looked exceptionally terrible.

"I knew it would look good with your skin tone" the sales woman commented when I popped out to ask for her opinion. I examined myself in the mirror not hating it but feeling a little self-conscious in it.

"You don't think it makes me look too..curvy?" I asked skeptically. I would at least need a small sweater or something given the way this dress was pushing my boobs together.

"No, it hugs you in all of the right places and I'm not even just saying that. Do you have a hot date or something?" she asked grinning in that way women do.

"No" I laughed. "It's a work thing." I sighed realizing that even though it was a work thing, there was no one there to impress with my cleavage in this dress. I hadn't remembered to properly feed myself or buy a dress for this even this week. When was I going to remember to get myself a date?

"Oh, well I still think it looks great. If there is anyone to impress, you're going to knock em' dead." My mind drifted to Sidney and I sighed knowing that he was probably going to bring Christine with him who would undoubtedly blow me out of the water with whatever she wore.

Still, I had to focus on the present and I did really like the color of the dress. I had the saleswoman show me to the sweaters so I could find something to cover me up a bit listening to the saleswoman cluck at me and tell me over and over again how I shouldn't be hiding my body away. Yeah, okay. 

Now that I had something to wear, I went home to try to go to sleep and possibly get a full 8 hours for the first time that week.

Sidney's POV:

"Siiiiiddd. Fix your tie." I moved my own fumbling hands letting Christine finish knotting the tie for me. We were getting ready for the CPP holiday benefit tonight and I felt like my mind was off in 30 directions. To make things worse, I knew for sure that I wanted to break things off with Christine but hadn't found the right time to do it and she was coming with me as my date to the event tonight. She had been on my case for two weeks about us moving in together and she was getting progressively more angry at me for not making a decision or giving her my opinion on it. A normal girl would take the hint and realize that it is never going to happen between us but this was beyond Christine. When I had met her I never would have guessed that she was actually just this stupid.

"How do I look?" She asked emerging from the bathroom. She was wearing a purple-y excuse for a dress and I was reminded why I had stayed with her all of this time. She was hot and I was bored. The combination was disasterous and had put me in my current awkward position.

"Ready to go?" I asked standing up and ignoring her question. She already knew that she looked good so why did she need me feed her compliments? She wasn't one of those girls that genuinely wanted to know how she looked, she just wanted more compliments that proved what she already knew.

Luckily for me she let it go and grasped my arm tightly as we walked out to the car to drive over to where the beneifit was being held. I wasn't looking forward to an evening of schmoozing when I would rather be vegging out but this was Emma's night and she had been beating herself into the ground working on it for months. I was there to schmooze for her and hopefully make her relax.

The ride over was long with maximum traffic because  it was Friday night. I had promised Emma that I would be there early for her to start with the media side of the event but because it was already 6:30 and we still had a couple of blocks to drive, it looked like I was going to be on the late side rather than the early side. Great.

I walked in not really caring whether or not Christine was following me and pushed impatiently on the elevator buttons. People were already starting to arrive and Christine turned and planted a kiss on me near the cameras before darting off to where Vero and Marc were standing and giving their coats to the coat check. I caught Vero's eye and she winked at me signalling that she would distract Christine for me for awhile. I mouthed 'thank you' to her knowing that she didn't like Christine but someone had to babysit her. Spotting a journalist I was familiar with from the Post-Gazette, I went over to begin doing what I was there for, talking up the event and how much it contributes back to children in Pittsburgh and hopefully soon, other cities as well. I still hadn't spotted Emma yet though I swore I saw a head of dark red hair weaving in and out of the crowds. Hair like hers wasn't too common and I found myself anxiously hoping to get a glimpse of her. At her first event for the program, she had gotten so nervous that she had forgotten to feed herself the whole night and was teetering on the path to drunk thanks to Jordan and Kris trying to help her relax by supplying her with liquor the whole time. I almost laughed in the middle of talking to a reporter just remembering the look on her face when she realized she wasn't sober at her own charity event. She had made me run out and by her a hamburger at a McDonald's close by so that she could scarf down the carbs and soak up the alcohol in her stomach.

"It's not funny, Crosby." I watched her lips twitch in a half-smile as she took another bite of her hamburger in a corner of the hallway.

"I can't believe you let them 'relax' you" I said using air quotes. "I had always pegged you as a smart girl."

She covered her mouth trying to keep her food inside while she burst out laughing at the ridiculous situation she was in. As soon as she was finished and had chugged some more water, I grabbed both of her hands and pulled her up from her position on the floor.
"Come on, let's go back in."

"Man, have you seen Emma?" Staalsy knocked my shoulder slightly and pulled me out of my daze.

"No, I've been looking for her though" I stated trying to see over the crowds of people all standing near the bar and hors d'oeuvres area.

"God, you've got to see her. She has this dress thing on." I frowned wondering what the hell he was talking about as he gestured to himself. More specifically, his chest.

"What?" I asked almost afraid to know what he was talking about.

"Oh christ. What's she doing over there with Ovechkin? You know how he feels about redheads" He sighed taking another champagne flute off a passing waiter's tray.

Knowing she was probably in eyesight now I turned and got a glimpse of the back of her standing in a dark purple dress- a very form-fitting dress.  More importantly, I saw Ovechkin grinning down at her with a look on his face and one hand resting snugly on her lower back near the swell of her ass. It was the kind of look every guy makes when he feels like he's just been given the keys to a candy store-turned porn shop.

"She looks hot, right?" Jordan commented next to me making me want to punch him.

Damn it.

Emma's POV:

"So, we go have drink now, yes?" Alex asked for the fifth time since we met an hour earlier. I wasn't exactly sure why I now had one of the top forwards in the NHL following me around but seeing that he had been extremely cooperative with the press and seemed interested in helping my program, I didn't want to be creeped out by his very forward advances. Eliza raised her eyebrow from where she was standing with Vero and Christine giving me a "what the hell?" look.

"I like your dress" Alex commented smiling and placing his hand even lower down my back. I was grateful that I had chosen a dress that didn't expose my back too much, else he would be feeling a whole lot of my skin right now instead of just fabric. As soon as Nathalie had arrived that evening, she had made me take off my sweater and wear the dress as is. I still felt a little self-conscious in it given the reaction it was getting but the height from my heels gave me confidence and the long thickness of my hair was able to provide some coverage if I placed it right. I hadn't over done it with my make up and had opted to set my hair in rollers that afternoon while I ran around putting the finishing touches on the dinner tables. Now I was really wishing that Alex would leave me alone for a minute so that I could run to the bathroom and check on my makeup and hair. I had no idea what I looked like anymore and was starting to sweat in strange places just from being so nervous. Speaking of nervous, I was starting to get anxious about what Sidney was doing. He had promised that he would turn on the charm for this event and get me some publicity. I didn't want to make him my work horse on a Friday night but he was the best weapon I had right now. He was also a big calming force for me when I was nervous during these benefits and whether I was truly ready to admit it to myself or not, I needed him here with me.

He had kept me sane so many times and I was disappointed that I had yet to see him and that he had most likely been running late. By now it was beyond crowded in the ballroom and I felt like I had already talked to a million people even though we hadn't started the dinner yet.
"Would you excuse me for a minute?" I asked deciding to just be rude and break away from Alex. I didn't want to hear anymore about whatever he was telling me about Russia. I just wanted to pee and check on my makeup.

I broke away promising to finish the drink with him later and made a bee-line to the bathroom.

"Hey! There you are!" Eliza said grabbing my arm and tugging me into the bathroom with her. At least we were heading into the same place, I really had to pee now.

"Why were you with Ovechkin?" She asked all but spitting his name out. All of the time she had spent with Max over the last few years must have really gotten to her. "He was all over you! I mean honestly, doesn't he know any better? This is for charity" she spat out throwing her hands up in disgust.

"He's not that bad" I asserted. "I'm fine with him paying attention to me and my chest if it gets him to work with the program. Like it or not, he would draw a lot of attention to the program and then maybe we could make this more widespread in the league." She grunted by the sink and I took that as an agreement of understanding.

"Now, do I look presentable again?" I asked smoothing down my hair. Luckily, it was still curling softly in big ringlets and I adjusted the little gold clip holding part of it back from my face. I smoothed my dress in making sure everything was in place cleavage wise and turned to face her.

"You look gorgeous. That's what has me worried about all of the attention Ovechkin's been paying you."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but believe me. After awhile he'll get over his interest in me and leave me alone. Besides, I'll be busy working and he'll take the hint."

Because she was rolling her eyes at me again and mumbling, I turned on my heels feeling more prepared to get back on the merry go round of the night. I spotted Ovechkin over by the bar with a few other players and sighed feeling relieved that that part of the night was probably over.

I turned with the intent of going in the opposite direction and instead turned face first into a solid wall of chest. I jumped back with the intent of apologizing profusely and stopped when I realized that it was Sidney who I had collided with.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a slight smile on his face. His hands were wrapped firmly around my back from where he had stopped me from falling on my butt. Previously where Alex's touch had been slightly annoying and nothing more than a warm hand on fabric, Sidney's hands felt like they had seared through the dress to my core.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks" I said taking a careful step back from him. The sight of him in a suit did funny things to my stomach and those hands.  I had to put some space between us. "Wait, what's up with your tie?" He looked gorgeous but he had obviously done the tie himself. It was completely off center and too short.

"Huh?" He asked breaking his stare. "What's wrong with my tie?" he asked holding the ends up. The front was about an inch shorter than the back and he looked  plain silly.
I motioned for him to follow me and we slipped back out into the hallway I had vacated from the bathroom only a few minutes earlier.

"I thought you knew how to knot a tie" I laughed stepping up to him to undo the tie and readjust it. We were alone in the hallway and I took a minute to breathe in the simplicity of the moment. It was going to be the most quiet part of my evening and I wanted to enjoy it for a second, even if that did mean torturing myself by putting myself in close proximity with him.

I was almost finished when Sidney cleared his throat, shifting and throwing the knot of slightly. "You look really nice" he started settling his hands on my hips. The feeling of his large hands resting lightly on my hips made my mind trip and screw up the tie again. I looked up about to apologize for making his tie worse when I caught the intense look on his face as he stared down at me. In my heels, he wasn't that much taller than me and I found myself at eye-level with his lips before I quickly looked back up into his eyes not wanting to get caught staring.

"It's a new dress" I blurted out not sure what to say in this position with him. Why was he still holding me? I hadn't been held like this in so long that the feeling of his hands now gripping me firmly was making my body short-circuit and my pulse pound out of my neck. I felt myself being pulled closer to him and my chest scrape the material of his suit lightly.

"Emma? They're looking for you to-" I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of Nathalie's voice in the hallway. "Did I catch you at a bad time?" She asked us now smiling innocently at the two of us and the 2 foot space I had put between Sidney and I. I felt like a little kid who had just gotten with their hand in the cookie jar. 

"I'm gonna go" I announced making my escape.

What the hell was that?

Sid's POV:

As soon as she pointed out how badly knotted my tie was, I should have known that this was not going to end well for me. Great, I've been doing interviews and looking like this thanks to Christine. She led me out into the hallway where I expected she would give me the chance to fix it but instead walked right up to me and began to un-tie it herself. This was problematic because it felt like she was undressing me and not just being a good friend and fixing the tie for me. I stared at her forehead and tried not to look down the length of her. Now I understand what Jordan was gesturing too. She looked so innocently sexy in her dress that I hoped she couldn't feel my pulse beating wildly against her hands as they brushed my neck.

She had done something to her hair to make it extra bouncy and it floated around her shoulders and the swell of her breasts making the lines of her dress look like even more of a temptation. I put my hands on her waist not entirely sure if I wanted her to stay and continue to torture me or go. What were we doing? It seemed like we had always had some sort of unspoken agreement between us that had kept us at a safe distance from each other before. Now I doubted either of us felt safe.

I was going to pay for it later but I pulled her slightly closer watching her eyes widen under my stare. I noticed them flicker back and forth between my eyes and my lips as she probably wondered what the hell I was doing.

"Emma? They're looking for you to-" Nathalie walked out into the hallway and spotted us before Emma could jump away quickly enough. She looked guiltily at me before turning all of her attention over to Nathalie who was grinning ear to ear.
I watched the back of Emma walk briskly away and melt into the crowd. Whatever had just happened had been...different.

"Sidney, you're staring" Nathalie smiled patting my cheek like any Mom would do.

Yeah, I guess I was. Something told me she was definitely worth staring after.



AN: Don't hate me! I have gotten a lot of comments about things not happening quickly enough between them but my hands literally will not let me rush anything. So please just be patient with me, it WILL happen soon, I promise. I'm not trying to torture all of you, I just really want everything to fall into place in this story the right way. Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter :D I've been agonizing about it in between doing real work all weekend.