Chapter 26

Sorry any posting has been late. It's taken me forever to decide the next course of action for this story and due to recent personal drama, I haven't been in the mood to write about characters with successful love lives or men that are actually NICE. Aka, I'm seriously considering becoming assexual from now on. Sound like a plan?

P.S. I didn't proof this so read at your own risk!



Sid's POV:

My pride hurt like a bitch as I quickly pulled myself back to my feet and stared disdainfully at the smug looking puck resting in goal. A body slid forcefully into mine and I recognized Em's red hair hanging out of her helmet as she patted me down to make sure that I was okay.

"I am so sorry!" she said turning me partially to wipe ice off of my back and I almost believed that she was sincere until I heard the giggles muffled only by the helmet on her head.

"Yeah, sure." I said ignoring the hysterical laughter of the rest of my family. I realized that I was in for a long night of puns and torture from my family.

"So, she's really knocked you off your feet, hasn't she Sid?" my Uncle John said coming over to pat Em on the back and make a fool out of me by winking obviously for the two of us to see. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

"You're not mad, are you?" Em asked looking up at me with big eyes and an innocent smile on her face. The smug look in her eyes is what gave away the truth- inside she was loving the fact that she had beaten me at what was truly my own game.

Was I actually mad? No. Did I maybe want to milk this for what it was worth? Yes.

"I don't know, I think I might have done something to my back" I said wincing for effect and watching her eyes widen in surprise.

"Really?!" she said grabbing my side and turning me. Between my padding and warm clothes, her hands were never going to get to where I wanted them- on my skin. Especially in front of my family.

"It's nothing" I said shrugging her off, slightly embarrassed by the way my body wanted to react to her touch. "Lets just get out of here."

Her face deflated a little bit more and I realized that I sounded angry rather than just sexually frustrated. Damn it. 

Taylor was still gloating and congratulating Em for her goal and the two of them were led away by the rest of her team off to the benches to remove their skates. Now instead of reassuring her that I was really okay, I was coming off like a complete asshole. Way to go, Crosby.

As I watched her, I was beginning to notice how well she seemed to fit in with my family and how quickly they had trusted her and welcomed her into our small circle.

Even my Dad, who normally expected me to keep women at arm's length during the season, seemed to be giving me all of the signs that I would be crazy not to snatch Emma up. If that wasn't significant, then I didn't know how much more obvious they could be about telling me that they liked and approved of her.

But then again, watching my family surround her had me feeling anxious all of the sudden. I had originally brought her home with me because we were friends- thus eliminating me from pressure. But then again, who was I kidding? Had Emma and I ever been completely just friends?

Now that something was actually developing between us, her being here was suddenly complicated- complicated further by the fact that everyone in my family had given their approval, including my parents.

This wasn't just a 'I'm bringing a friend home with me for a holiday' sort of thing but rather a 'Here's someone that I have a relationship with' sort of thing. It was obvious just how happy being around my family had made her in the past couple of days and how much she had opened up to them.

That was another thing that worried me. Was it fair to Emma to let this relationship develop knowing that I would never be able to be there for her all of the time or provide her with the stability that she craved?
I was ridiculously attracted to her and I couldn't remember a time during our friendship that I hadn't wanted her, even while I was busy distracting myself with other women and suppressing my attraction to her with boatloads of denial.

Still, none of this really mattered if I wound up hurting her along the way and if I continued to let a relationship pan out between us.
Emma's POV:

I tried not to let it show that Sidney acting like a jerk had dampened my mood at all after scoring what was frankly, a miracle goal.

"Seriously, that was one of the most amazing and funniest things that I've ever seen!" Taylor was still dramatically retelling the momentary glory of my goal and enjoying the mental image of her hockey star brother getting creamed by another girl.

I looked over to see what the hockey star in question was doing and met his gaze, already watching me remove my skates. My mouth went dry from the intense look in his eyes  but before I could react and smile or do something other than stare back, Troy moved in front of me blocking my view and helping me to my feet from the bench that I had been sitting on.

"You could give some guys in the NHL a run for their money" he teased  throwing a friendly arm around my shoulders and leading me out with the rest of the group into the cold, Canadian air. Sidney caught up to us and walked beside us with his arm casually bumping mine as we walked along. It made me feel like I was in the middle of a Crosby sandwich, a feeling that I definitely didn't mind considering how cold it was.

Back at the house, we said our goodbyes to family members that were leaving to head back home and to Sidney's parents and Taylor who were driving us to the airport in the morning to catch our flight. I accepted everyones warm hugs and ignored the playful suggestions that various aunts and uncles made about my now "legendary" goal.

"Ready to go?" Sidney asked directing everyone's attention to me as we said our final goodbyes. As if on cue, I yawned and nodded signalling that I was definitely ready to fall into bed and sleep until I absolutely had to wake up in the morning.

The rest of the car ride was silent as we drove back to his house, leaving us alone for the first time all day. I studied his profile watching as he drove silently, tapping his fingers along to the CD playing softly in the car. He wasn't listening to the rock crap that he normally listened to in the car that got him pumped before games. For once it was nice to see him having some much needed downtime where he could just relax.

"I had fun today" I said breaking our now comfortable silence. "Thanks for everything and for bringing me here."

He didn't answer at first making me wonder if he had even heard me at all. I was contemplating repeating myself when we swung into the driveway with him finally turning to face me in the car.

"I'm glad you had fun" he replied pulling the keys out of the ignition and opening the door on his side of the car.

His mood baffled me and made me wonder if I had done anything tonight that would possibly annoy or bother him besides scoring one lousy goal on him. Even he wasn't so fanatical about hockey to actually be annoyed by the fact that I had had a lucky shot.

"Is everything okay?" I asked following him into the house and out of the cold air.

"Of course, why?" he said taking my coat and hanging it up next to his in the closet. These were the very same motions that we had gone through the night before but now the atmosphere felt completely different between us. Somehow something had changed in the past few hours. I didn't think that he was mad at me but this wasn't the same Sidney that I had been around earlier in the day either.

"You seem kind of...distant" I added picking one of the many adjectives that I could apply to his mood in that moment.

"Sure, I'm just tired- been a long day." He filled up another glass of water and chugged it before setting his glass in the sink. "Think you can be ready to go by 9 tomorrow morning?" he asked completely changing the subject. His tone wasn't unfriendly or cold but it wasn't completely him either. It was the less personal version of him that he used whenever he wanted to distance himself from others. So why is he using it now with me?

"Sure, I can be ready then" I agreed not knowing what else to say unless I decided to beat the reason why he was suddenly acting so strange out of him. Somehow I didn't think that would be a good idea.

"Okay then, I'm going to head to bed and try to get some sleep. See you in the morning." He leaned closer and I was almost convinced that he was about to kiss me when I felt his lips press quickly against my forehead.

He turned on his heel and left me standing alone and feeling more confused than ever.

What had I done?