Chapter 34

So I'm a little under the weather this weekend and with nothing to do I finally got this chapter updated. Sorry that it's been awhile!

I'm pretty sure that this story is going to wind down and come to an end within the next 10 chapters or so. My plan is to finish this one up before the end of my semester so that I can start a new story during the summer. I'm starting fresh living in Pittsburgh again this year so I want to have a new story to start with as well :)

So any suggestions for what you'd like to see happen between these two before the end?


Chapter song: "Need You Now" -Lady Antebellum (I am so in love with this song that I'm making it sort of fit into the chapter!)

Emma's POV:

He texted me that afternoon and told me to be ready by 8-o-clock. It seemed like that was a little bit late to be eating dinner but I didn't question it and told him that I would be ready. When I texted him asking what I should wear, I never got a response. Typical Sidney. Somehow I knew that I wasn't going to get one either since he had a few interviews to do this afternoon.

This was yet another reminder of how unreliable he could be sometimes. As much as I didn't want to admit it, the fact that he was so hard to get ahold of bothered me. I had a hard time even trying to text him a simple question so how was I going to get ahold of him if it was actually something serious?

I knew that I was getting ahead of myself and tried to mentally reel myself in. We had just started to date and I couldn't be thinking about real commitment yet, whatever that was with Sidney anyway.

Sighing, I tore off another dress and stood in my bra and underwear in front of my closet with the News on behind me. Coincidentally, Dan Potash was on the screen giving a Penguins update for the week.  Since I still had no idea where we were heading, I was trying to aim for something casual but a little on the dressy side just in case we were going somewhere on the fancy side.

I gave up and dialed my go-to girl for when I was in a fashion bind. "V, I don't know what to wear" I said once she answered her phone.

"What? Where are you going?" I could hear Marc in the background and felt a little bad for interrupting what was probably rare alone time for them too.

"Sidney's taking me out to dinner and he'll be here in half an hour."

"He's taking you out?" she asked.

"Gee, thanks for sounding so surprised" I replied dryly.

"No, I mean, Sid hates going out. The crowds and everything make it pretty impossible."

Tell me something I don't already know. "I know V, I was surprised too but I'm kind of in a crisis here" I hinted so that she would shut up and help me already.

"Okay, wear the black jeans you think are too tight and that white silk cami top and a little sweater. And heels. Wear black heels of some kind."

"Thank you" I said feeling relieved and better at the same time.

"You're welcome" she said. "Call me tomorrow to let me know how it goes. Remember: Ground rules" she stressed causing me to roll my eyes.

Did I really think that ground rules were what was going to suddenly make Sidney Crosby act like a boyfriend? No.

Was I going to have to try? Yes.

20 minutes later and I was ready to go though I couldn't quite supress the butterflies in my stomach as I waited for him to ring my door bell. I had absolutely no idea what he had up his sleeve or where he was planning to take me but I was foolishly feeling like it was our very first time alone together.

The sound of the doorbell ringing signified that he was here and I slipped into my heels trying not to teeter in their height as I made my way to the door for him. When I opened the door and saw that he was holding a bouquet of daisies, I nearly fell over in my heels in surprise.

"Hey" he breathed pulling me to him for a kiss. My heels put me at the perfect height to reach his mouth and we lingered until I was sure that the flowers he had brought me were ruined. Still I couldn't resist sliding my arms around his shoulders tightly and my fingers into his hair.

"Ew, Sidney" I began to laugh pulling my hand back from his head and breaking our kiss. He had obviously gelled his hair a little too much and my sticky fingers were proof of that. Still, now that I could see how much effort he had put into his appearance, it was pretty adorable. I knew for a fact that Sidney hated getting dressed up unless he absolutely had to, preferring to wear sweats and a t-shirt 99 percent of the time.

Tonight he was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a button down shirt that showed off the broad expanse of his chest and shoulders very nicely. His absurdly gelled hair was just the cherry on top of the delicious sundae.

"What? Does it look bad?" he asked self-consciously putting a hand to his head and patting it down.

"No, it's still just kind of wet" I giggled again pulling him inside and shutting the door.

"Let me get my coat and then I'll be ready to go." Because he still looked slightly perplexed, I gently pulled the daisies out of his hold and took them with me into the kitchen to put them in water. The daisies reminded me of the first time that he had brought me flowers when I was sick and could barely stand the sight of him.

I wondered if he even remembered that he had brought them to me way back when.

"Okay, so where are we going?" I asked curiously slipping my arms into my coat, looking back at him when he helped me bring the material up over my shoulders.

"Just some italian place I found in the south side. Is that okay?"

I nodded even though I was skeptical. The south side was sure to be crowded on a Friday night and Vero was right, Sidney hated crowds when he was out on his own time trying to have a personal life. So surely this would make him uncomfortable.

I stopped him at the door, "We don't have to go somewhere crowded you know" I told him keeping my hand firm on his arm. "You know that, right?" I asked.

He smiled leaning down and kissing my cheek like I was a silly, little kid. "Yeah, I know. Just don't worry about it. I've got a plan." Upon seeing my skeptical face, he laughed outright at my expression and opened the car door for me. "I'm serious. I thought of a plan. Now would you just relax?"

Relax? Sure, I could do that. But I wasn't the famous one here. He was. Was he going to be able to relax tonight or was he just doing this because he thought he had to? He made small talk the rest of the car ride while I sat mostly silent trying to figure him out. I thought I knew him well but here I was, still confused as ever. He hadn't called me all week, then he surprised me with lunch at my office and a date out in public?

For a guy who hardly ever talked about what he was feeling or wanting to feel, he was definitely playing with my emotions right now, whether he realized it or not. His hand sliding into mine jerked me out of my thoughts.

"Am I boring you with hockey talk?" he asked bringing my hand to his lips for a quick kiss. The gesture, though simple and affectionate, made my stomach slowly flip and my heartbeat pick up. Was it any wonder that I loved him? He would confuse me, string me along and forever be devoting at least half of himself to hockey but I would always have these indescribable and potently strong feelings for him. And it sucked.

It sucked because right now I knew he wasn't close to feeling the same thing or even understanding what I needed from him but there I was. Stuck between a rock and Sidney. We finally reached the south side and a relatively empty parking lot to slide into without drawing attention. It was weird that we had to be careful because even the recognizability of his car could draw a crowd of devoted hockey fans.

I hopped down and allowed him to take my hand firmly in his. The innocent physicality of it made my eyebrows shoot up in surprise. This was an obvious sign of being a couple and I wouldn't have put it past him if we had kept a safe distance between us rather than touching each other thanks to his stupid notion of "protecting me."

Though he was holding my hand, that didn't stop him from walking unusually fast down the sidewalk and ducking into Paparazzi's, one of my favorite italian restaurants in Pittsburgh. A waitress spotted us as soon as we entered and waved us through the crowded bar area and up the narrow stairs all the way past the dining area on the second floor.

My legs hurt by the time we reached our destination from climbing the steep stairs in my stupid heels. Once I noticed the room, the cramp in my side was forgotten. Somehow he had arranged for us to have a small, private dining area to ourselves complete with candles lighting the already dim room and a perfect view of E. Carson street below us. When I turned around to thank the waitress, she was already gone leaving Sidney and I alone.

"Sid, this is gorgeous" I breathed looking at all of the people enjoying their night out below us. Suddenly I felt his arms wrap around my waist from behind and draw me back against his body as his lips met the spot exposed between my shirt and my sweater.

"Is it okay? I know it's weird to eat away from everyone but-"

I turned around and cut him off with a hand against big lips. "Sidney, this is really nice of you. And very romantic" I added removing my hand and replacing it with my lips against his.

The waitress was back and clearing her throat awkwardly as she caught us kissing. The tips of his ears turned red when he noticed that we weren't alone and he very carefully removed his hands from where they had been resting against my butt. Now I knew why V had told me to wear my tight jeans.

I wanted to laugh at both of them but kept my mouth shut. He was too adorable and the waitress was trying to remain polite by looking at everything but us until we were seated.

We spent the rest of dinner catching up on the week's happenings and what we had missed in each other's lives over the past couple of days. I wanted to point out that we wouldn't be this far behind on each other's lives if he had just called me but I didn't want to ruin the mood. I just wondered when it would be a good idea to insert the ground rules that the girls had warned me about.

When we were finished, it was already close to midnight and I knew that it would be quiet downstairs when we left. Sidney signed off on the check with a flourish that I knew was out of habit from signing autographs.

"Ready to go?" he asked standing up and pocketing his wallet.

I nodded and stifled another laugh as he painstakingly led me down the darkened stairs complaining about the fact that I had worn heels. It didn't even offend me, he was so careful about looking out for where I was walking that he wasn't paying much attention to himself or the fact that he was lecturing me about my shoes. He's just too fucking adorable. 

Just like I suspected, the restaurant was mostly empty downstairs and we both thanked the wait staff for accomodating us. A few of the bartenders asked for autographs and I slipped his keys out of his pocket without him even noticing.

"I'm going to get the car" I told him so that he could oblige his fans in hockey talk. It would have been more awkward for me to just stand there and I knew that he wouldn't want to answer questions about who I was either. He acknowledged me with a nod but I could tell that he was silently warning me not to hurt his car. He didn't like anyone driving it and because he was stuck I was getting away with it this one time.

10 minutes later I pulled up to the edge of the block where Paparazzi's was located and waited for him to appear out on the sidewalk. He appeared a couple of seconds later and looked relieved to see me.

"Thanks" he said getting in and shutting the door. I pulled out into traffic as he buckled up and navigated through the pedestrian filled streets.

"Thanks again for setting that up, it was really nice Sidney" I told him keeping my eyes trained on the road but trying to catch a glimpse of his face.

"I wanted to" he said forcefully causing me to look over at him. We slowed to a stop at a red light and I turned to look at him more fully. "I mean, I wanted to do that." He suddenly looked embarrassed again and I had no clue what was happening in that brain of his. "I don't want you to think that I don't want to take you out."

He had grabbed my hand and was looking at me seriously like he was trying to convey something very important to me. "It's just hard to do this all of the time" he said his face turning an interesting shade of red.

For once, it was nice not to be the one tripping over my own tongue and see him in the hotseat. It was ten different types of cute to see him trying to gather her words, especially since he had never been like this before.

"Sidney" I said finally getting his attention. I wasn't sure if the light had changed yet or not but I had to do this. I cradled his cheek in my hand feeling the rub of his rough cheek against the soft pads of my fingertips. "I don't need you to do things like this or take me places. I just want to spend time with you. I don't care where that is."

A car honked from behind us and I let go of him to begin driving again. We were silent until we neared the split to where we would have to decide if we were driving back to his place or mine.

"Want to come back and watch a movie with me?" He asked as if he could read my mind. I skipped my exit and headed for his as an answer watching the smile blossom on his face. He didn't smile nearly as much as he should and it always made me happy to see that I was the one who could bring a smile to his face.

"Do you mind if I borrow sweats to change into? I asked once we reached his house and pulled into the garage way.

"No, you're staying right?" he asked me looking just a little bit awkward again. I could tell that he realized the implications of his words by the way he quickly looked away and tried to look nonchalant. I decided to have a little fun with him.

"Sidney Crosby, are you trying to see if you're going to get some tonight?" I sternly placed my hands on my hips and tried to look saucy without bursting into laughter at the shocked look on his face.

"That's not what I meant-" he started to babble and cover his tracks before I gave into the feeling of laughter bubbling against my throat.

"Haha, very funny" he said watching me double over in giggles. "I'm sorry but your face!" I said feeling the air leave my lungs once more as I gasped for air.
Suddenly his arms grabbed me and tossed me over his shoulder none too gently. "Sid!" I squealed looking at his very fine butt as he carried me out of the room.

In a move very uncharacteric of himself, I felt his hand slap against my ass without warning as he laughed at the noise that squeaked out of me. Embarrassingly enough, all of his manhandling was sort of putting me in the mood.

"I told you you would pay for that" he said when I continued to struggle against him.

He dropped me onto his bed and watched me bounce on the mattress as I tried to sit up. Since we were in the business of surprising each other now, I wasn't about to give up on our game- whether he knew that it was now a game or not.

He turned switching on the TV and bent over in his dresser to dig out something for me to wear. I seized the opportunity to kick off my heels and pull my sweater and shirt off before he turned around. I thanked god that I had chosen to wear a nice bra and underwear set or else tempting him would have been a whole lot harder.

When he turned he fumbled taking in the sight of me in just my bra and jeans and passed the sweatpants and t-shirt over to me even though I caught his eyes wandering exactly where I wanted them to.

"Thanks!" I said cheerfully turning my back to him. Then, in a move that I never would have pulled with anyone else, I bent over and deliberately wiggled out of my jeans trying to give him the optimum view of my ass. His barely concealed groan was music to my ears and I had to stifle the self-satisfied grin on my face as I turned around to face him.

"What's wrong?" I asked him walking closer to where he stood now that my legs were free of the restricting jeans. "You look like you're in pain" I teased brushing my chest up against his. His eyes widened and I wanted to stroke his forehead. We had already had sex before but he was acting like he had never seen me or been seduced before. The idea that I was trying to seduce him made me want to smile even more.

His hands came down to rest on my shoulders and he drew me back with a warning, "Em."

"You started it with that slap on the ass" I said reaching up to slide my arms around his shoulders and press against him even more. "And don't give me bullshit about having a game tomorrow" I command him feeling the evidence of his interest pressing against me and defying what his words told me.

I definitely didn't want to watch a movie anymore, I just wanted to be as close to him as possible. I could tell he felt the same by the dark way that his eyes were watching my every move.

Hooking my arms more tightly around his neck, I leaned up to kiss the base of his ear and nip at his earlobe. "Do you still want to watch that movie?" I asked feeling his hands slide up my back beneath my bra straps.

"You don't play nice" he groaned again walking us backwards toward his bed. He gently pushed me down and I watched as he too pulled off his shirt. He joined me seconds later both of us bouncing on the bed as he we fell into a giggling tangle of lips and limbs.

If we had to talk, I wanted to wait until the morning. For now I wanted to seize this playful side of him and hold onto it for as long as I could.