So here's the deal...

I have been HORRIBLE with my posting, and I am sorry for that! I planned on having a chapter posted yesterday, but I had to pack for my weekend getaway and I got my black belt last night! But I will have TWO chapters posted on Monday, latest Tuesday morning. Hope everyone has a great and safe 4th of July!

Chapter Ten

Soooo sorry for the delay! I have been experiencing a major case of writer's block, and I had to redo the chapter a million times before it was good enough! :D Enjoy!

I was laying in my bed after what seemed to be the longest day of my life. The effects of the hangover were still lingering, but at least I was able to function. I had to give him a call, well, I felt like I had to.

I really didn't like what Paula did. It actually made me kind of mad, and she knows it. She apologized, so I forgave her. I scrolled through my contacts list and pressed the # 7 four times and landed on his name first. I pressed send, and it rang, more like twice.

"Hello?" a tired voice said.

"Sidney?" I said.

"Miranda? Wait, this isn't Paula, is it?"

I giggled a bit. "No, it's just me. I would have called sooner, but I wasn't really feeling great until like a couple of hours ago."

"Well, that's good. I was a bit worried-you crashed as soon as we got in the car."

"Yeah, about that. I am so sorry for letting myself slip that much. I thought I could handle all of the alcohol, but last night wasn't my night. I hope I didn't annoy you or embarrass myself."

"You wern't annoying at all! I've dealt with worse. And I don't think you embarrassed yourself. You just told some weird stories, and they were actually pretty funny."

"Oh, great. At least I entertained you."

"Yeah, and you didn't puke on me, either. So that was a plus."

There was an awkward silence for a moment until Sidney broke it.

"What are you doing this Tuesday?" he asked.

"Hmm...I am not doing anything on Tuesday. Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering if you would like to go out to dinner with me."

"Sure!" I said a little too excitedly.

"Ok, cool. So I'll pick you up at 7?"

"Sounds good. Oh, and where are we going?"

"I'm going to surprise you."

"Oh, come on! You can't tell me?"

"No, I can't."

"Fine. I see how it is."

"I'm glad you do. I'm sorry to cut you short, but I have to get my rest in for the game tomorrow."

"Oh, that's okay. I'm tired, too."

"I'll text you after the game."

"Cool. I'll be waiting."

"Alright. Sweet dreams, Randi."

"You, too, Sid."

"Yeah-he'll be having sweet dreams!" I heard Max say. "Shut up, creep! Go to bed!" I couldn't stop laughing.

"Ok, sorry about that. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Night, Sid."

"Good night, Randi."

Tuesday came quicker than I ever thought it would. I was excited before, but now, I was nervous...very nervous. I was standing in the bathroom giving myself one last check before I went out into the living room. Most of the people I told, which wasn't many, called it a date, but I didn't want to think of it as that.

"Do I look alright?" I asked Paula.

"Alright?! You look gorgeous! Sid is gonna love you." I stared at myself in the mirror for approximately the 50th time that night. I was wearing a cobalt-colored charmeuse ruched strapless dress from Bluefly with black satin Jimmy Choo jeweled slingback pumps. I didn't want to overdo it, but I really felt like I was. And the worst part? I didn't even know what kind of restaurant this was.

"But I feel like I'm over-doing it!"

"No you are not! You'll be fine!"

"Do you know where we're going?"

"Yes, but I'm not telling you. All I will say is it's somewhere fancy."

I trotted back into the bedroom and took out my other dress I bought from Bluefly. It was a black crinkled chiffon bubble dress that tied at the waist. I grabbed my black clutch and took one last look at myself in the mirror. I did look good, though. I let my hair fall in loose curls and I pinned my bangs back with a clip. My makeup was natural-looking, just the way I liked it. Then, I heard the knock. This was it-there was no turning back now.

Chapter Nine

I woke up on a bed with the covers thrown off the side. And then I realized I was in my apartment, and I was in my bed. I looked at myself and saw I had on the clothes from the previous night. I sat up but instantly had to sit down. I had a throbbing headache...well, more like a migraine. I felt like a truck just ran over my body, and I felt sick to my stomach. I rushed to the bathroom as quick as I could, hovering over the toilet. Ten minutes later, I felt I puked out as much as I could and brushed my teeth. I opened up the medicine cabinet and took 2 Tylenol. If I were smart, I would have brought Chasers with me, but I never thought I would go out to a night club and get smashed.

I ventured out into the kitchen to find no one there. I saw blankets folded up on the couch. I went to pick them up and saw a note on the coffee table.

Miranda,

I'm sorry I couldn't be there when you woke up. I had to leave for Boston today with the team. Hope you're feeling better. I had a great time last night-we should do it again. Maybe when I get back? Text or call me when you get the chance.

412-568-3131

Sidney

I held the note in my shaking hands, sitting on the couch in disbelief that I had his number. I was excited. Wait, who was I kidding? I was beyond excited. I've never felt this happy in my life! I couldn't contain my excitement anymore. I jumped on the couch, messing up the folded blankets, but I didn't care. I was on Cloud 9 right now. After I got all of my excitement out, I refolded the blankets and put them away in the closet. I showered and put on grey sweats and tall black Uggs. I brushed my hair and blow dried it, letting my natural curls form. Paula walked in the door as soon as I walked out of the bedroom.

"Can you take me to get my car?" I asked.

"Sure," she replied.

"Ok-let me get my purse." I grabbed it off of my night stand and walked out to find Paula reading the note Sidney wrote.

"Oh, okay. What were you doing last night?"

"Sleeping. I didn't even know he dropped me off. It's not like anything happened. I guess he slept on the couch and I was knocked out in my room."

"Mhmmmm. We'll see about that. Let's call him right now."

"WAIT! DON'T YOU DO IT!" I kept saying as she grabbed my cell phone off the coffee table and dialed the number in. She put the phone on speaker. For what, I didn't know. The ringing started, and I kept praying to God that he would never pick up and it would go to his voicemail, but after 3 rings, he picked up. This was not how I imagined my first phone call with him.

"Hello?" Sidney said.

"Hi! This is Paula." Would he even remember her? I thought. I hope not.

"Who's this?"

"Miranda's friend."

"Ahh, yes. The one that's with Max. You better watch out. He can get pretty wild sometimes." I could hear him and others laughing, assuming that he was somewhere with the team.

"Hey! You better watch it! That's not why I called. I wanted to know what you and Randi did last night."

"What the fuck, Paula!?" I screamed, so loud, that they probably heard it. I ran after her, but she got away. I would get her and make her pay for what she just said. She was laughing, but I didn't find this funny at all. We were both in the kitchen, standing by the refrigerator. I opened the door and took the first thing I saw, which was a full can of whipped cream. I instantly squirted her, chasing her around the house.

"We did nothing. She slept in the room and I slept on the couch. That is it."

"HA! Told you," I said. I squirted her some more, just to rub it in.

"Oh, whatever. Well, it's gonna happen eventually." I squirted her one more time, and got my phone in the process.

"I'll call you later, Sidney! Bye!" I said and hung up.

"Go get cleaned up," I told Paula. "You're taking me to get my car. Oh, and you owe me breakfast."

Chapter Eight

So, let me first congratulate the Stanley Cup Champions! What a season! I was soooo glad to see Sidney lift the cup. And the look on Marian Hossa's face? PRICELESS!! Ok, on with the story now...

"Where are we going?" I asked Sid as we walked out into a mob of fans, mostly screaming teenage girls. So we were gonna be here for another hour.

"Diesel.," he said. What was that? I asked myself. Nightclub? Hmmm...this could get interesting. I waited off to the side a little bit as he signed for them. I observed the crowd. Some had signs proclaiming their love for Sidney and asking him to marry them...weird. Others made T-shirts. The rest handed him their jerseys or pucks to sign. This town really seems passionate about their teams. They wait out here in freezing weather just to get a signature. Sorry, but as much as I love football and baseball, I am over that stage. I couldn't care less anymore about meeting the players of my favorite teams-I just want to see them win. But if I happen to see one, I will treat them like a normal person. And that's when I realized that Sidney wasn't a normal person. He has a fan base larger than my family, extended and immediate...and I thought that was big!

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked into the crowd again, and I noticed some teenage bitches were staring at me, and started to whisper back and forth. Grow up, I thought. If you have something to say, say it to my face. Don't stand there and be a fucking back stabber and then pretend to be nice. I hated when a person does that. It just goes to show that they are big pussies and have no guts. I went through that shit in high school, and I was above that now.

"You ready to go?" he said, bringing me out of my daze.

"Yeah," I replied, and followed him to where he was going, assuming it was his car. So I guess he was driving us there...ok.

Where are you? I texted Paula.

Diesel. You comin?

Yeah-be there soon.

We walked up to a silver Range Rover and both got in. Well, expensive taste.

"What is Diesel?" I asked him.

"It's basically a night club. The guys and I go there for a few drinks after a win sometimes."

"Like tonight?"

"Pretty much," he smiled. "So I never did ask you-are you from Pittsburgh or anywhere around here?"

"Nope-I was born and raised in New York City."

"Oh, nice. How come you moved here?"

"I transferred from New York University to the University of Pittsburgh for Pediatrics. I just felt there wasn't as much there for me as there is here. It's mostly fashion there, and I'm not really into all that."

"Well, from the way you look tonight, I'd say you have a great sense of style."

"Thanks, so do you."

"Me?" he questioned. "I am horrible when it comes to fashion, so I've been told. You are the only person that has ever told me that I have good fashion sense."

"Looks like we have something in common," I laughed. "So now that I've told you where I'm from, it's time for you to tell me."

"Well, I'm from from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia."

"I'm assuming that's in Canada, right?"

"Yup-I'm a Canadian boy," he chuckled. "Have you ever been to Canada?"

"As pathetic as it sounds, no. I have never even been out of the United States. It's really sad."

"Well, I'm taking you there."

"Ok, sounds like a plan."

We pulled up to a very large building. I saw tons of people standing outside, and 2 big dudes clipping and unclipping a velvet rope.

"Do we have to wait in that long ass line?" I said.

"Nope. I'll show you where we're going." He led me to a very long and dark alley into a steel door, in what seemed to be secluded from the street. We entered the club and went up a set of stairs into the VIP lounge, where we met the Paula and Max and some of the team.

"Randiiiii!!!" Paula shouted as she stumbled to where I was standing. Yup, she was drunk.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Of courseeeee!!! I got me Max to keep me in line."

I went over to where Max was sitting and tapped him on the shoulder. "Do me a favor," I said, "keep an eye on my drunken friend over there," pointing to Paula. "Make sure she gets home safe."

"Don't worry," he said, "I'll make sure of it."

I walked over to where Sidney was sitting, all alone, and a beer in his hand. He looked stressed for some reason, which I didn't understand. He just won the game and scored a goal. Why wouldn't he be happy?

"Lonely there?" I asked.

"Now I'm not," he said, motioning me to sit next to him. I sat to his left on the brown leather couch and looked at the dance floor, which was packed with people. We talked about various things-what we liked, family, and got to know each other a little better. Two hours later, I was tired, and I didn't want to drink, but he convinced me to have a couple shots and a few Strawberry Daquaris. I normally could handle alcohol pretty well, but tonight wasn't my night.

The rest of the night's events turned out to be a blur, and then I woke up, not having a clue in the world where I was.

Chapter Seven

Paula and I took sat down on the bench outside of the Penguins' locker room. Five minutes passed, and no one came out. Another five minutes passed, and no one came out of the doors. I was beyond nervous and a bit worried at this point. My leg was bouncing up and down with every second that passed. I stood up and started pacing back and forth. I looked over to Paula, who had a weird look on her face.

"What?" I asked.

"Jeez, girl! Would ya calm down? You'll be fine, promise." How do you stay so calm? I wondered.

"I can't help it! I..I just...UGH! I never liked a guy this much," I said, and plopped back down on the bench. Screeeech! The sound jolted me from my thoughts and I popped up, looking at the door. A tall man with blond hair came through, wearing a black suit with a white shirt and a checkered tie. He looked familiar...Jordan!

"Don't I know you?" he asked me, walking over to where we were sitting.

"I'm the girl that gave you her roll at the dinner."

"Oh, yeah! That's right!" We both shared a laugh.

"I don't remember that," Paula said.

"You were too busy with Max," I replied.

"So how have you been?" he asked me.

"Alright. Just busy with school and working at the Sewickley Cafe. What about you?"

"Focusing on hockey, like there's anything else." Oh, poor guy doesn't have a personal life...or maybe he does. "Sid and Max should be out in a few minutes. They're busy with the press." I nodded my head.

"You coming out with us tonight?" I asked.

"No, I can't. I have to go home to the girlfriend."

"Oh, ok. I'll catch you the next time I come to a game then. I won't hold you any longer. See you around?"

"Yeah, definitely. Have any plans of coming to Tuesday's game?"

"I'll have to check my calendar to see if I have any plans. But we'll see." He nodded and waved to me as he walked to the exit.

"Uh oh! Looks like Sidney has some competition!" Paula whispered-shouted, and I threw my empty water bottle at her. "So that's how you wanna play?" she said while picking up the water bottle off the floor. I tried to find a place to hide from her, but there was no place to go. I darted to the other side and ducked behind a trash can. After numerous tries of trying to hit me, she gave up and laughed. This started to make me laugh, and we were both rolling on the floor...literally. I calmed down and stood up, only to see Sidney and Max staring at us with the goofiest smiles on their faces. They must have thought us laughing and rolling around on the floor was amusing. I, myself, was quite embarrassed.

"Did we, ummmm, interrupt something?" Max asked.

"Oh, no! Not at all," Paula replied, walking over to Max and giving him a hug. Not knowing what to do, I just stayed where I was and picked at my nails. I always did that when I was nervous. My mind was racing in different directions. I didn't know what to say or do. What if he asks why I left the dinner without saying goodbye? What if he thinks I like Jordan or Tyler? What if he doesn't even like me? Am I wasting my time?

"Randi!" I was snapped out of my thoughts when Paula called my name. I snapped my head up and saw everyone looking at me. "Come on-we're leaving!" As we made our way out into the parking lot, I followed behind Paula and Max and was on Sidney's right side. Oh, great...here we go, I thought.

"Hey," Sid said, finally breaking the silence.

"Hey! Nice game tonight," I replied.

"Oh, thanks. That was nothing." I turned to face him and raised an eyebrow. Ok, cocky much? Maybe he can do better... "I'm don't mean to sound cocky or anything," he said.

"Ok, mister."

"Hey! That's Mister Crosby to you!" We giggled a bit, and that seemed to lighten the mood. Maybe this night wasn't going to be as bad as I thought it would be.

Chapter Six

We arrived at Mellon Arena a little later than expected, due to the overwhelming traffic. We had to take an alternate route, and got lost on the way-go figure. We pulled into a parking space that seemed 100 miles away from the entrance. As I got out, I didn't notice there was a water bottle right in my tracks, and ended up almost landing face first into the concrete. So far, my Saturday evening sucked. By this point, I was pretty sure that luck wasn't going my way tonight. We eventually made our way to the Will Call booths after what seemed to be millions of people were standing in line.

"Hello," I greeted the young woman.

"Hi. How can I help you?" she responded.

"Two tickets under Talbot...Max Talbot."

She handed me the tickets and we went our way to the seats. As I walked around, I couldn't help but think how huge this place was. There looked to be so many things that one person's head could not wrap around all of this.

"Wow, this place is huge," I said to Paula.

"Yeah it is. Want anything to eat or drink?"

"Sure...why not?" We got in one of the few snack lines and ordered 2 beers and a thing of nachos to split. After getting our food, we walked in at least 2 circles trying to find our seats. With the help of 2 fans and an employee, we made our way to the very bottom row where the boards were. People were swarming around the rink and starting to cheer for the players.

"I wonder if we can go down there," I asked Paula.

"I guess so. You are more than welcome to go down there, but I am sitting. I won't be in that swarm of people." She found a seat and I made my way down to the steps, finding a tiny space in dead center of the ice.

Both teams made their way out, the Pens receiving many cheers, while the Hurricanes received many boos. Some players circled around half the rink to shoot pucks while others opted to stretch. I looked on the backs of each player, looking for Sidney when I realized I didn't even know what his number was. But I remembered his last name. Crosby! I looked furiously for the last name, having no luck...go figure. But then I saw it, and number 87 below it. He was talking to one of his team mates, laughing at whatever they were chatting about. He looked up at the seats, studying each one. I didn't know what he was doing. But then it hit me...was he looking for me?! With his head hanging low, he skated towards me. And then, his head popped up. Our eyes were locked as we gazed into each others souls, searching for what to say. But there were no words to be spoken. The world froze, and I felt like it was only him and I in this whole place. It was an amazing feeling, being zapped out of reality for a split second, feeling like you are living a dream. The world came alive again. Sidney cracked a small smile, and I waved. He skated towards the far side of the ice and shot the puck into the net. He retrieved another one and came towards me again, this time keeping the puck on his stick and popping it over the glass to me. I caught it and examined it for a second. What do I need this for? I thought. I looked back up to find him gone, now stretching out. A buzzer sounded and the teams went into the locker rooms as everyone cleared the crowded rink to go to their seats. I put the puck in my purse and made my way up to where Paula was sitting.

"Ohh, how cute! Sidney gave you a puck. And you two seemed to be staring at each other for a while!"

"Shut up! Did you see Max?"

"Yeah, and we waved to each other." She got up and moved to our seats-the second row near center ice. I have to say, these were the best seats for any game I have ever been to. The lights dimmed and a video came onto the Jumbotron. The fans cheered and booed again as the teams came onto the ice. The national anthem was sung and the game began.

The Penguins won the game, beating Carolina 4-1. I never knew hockey could be such an exciting sport, but I really liked it! Sidney scored the first goal of the game and the fans went wild. Everyone stood up and cheered, chanting the name Crosby as loud as they could. The players seemed to feed off the crowd's energy by hitting, scoring goals, and even fighting. The team looked very focused and knew what they wanted to do, and got it done. We decided to sit in our seats until everyone cleared around us.

I turned to Paula. "Have any plans with Max tonight?"

"I think so. He said that it would be him, me, you, Sidney, Tyler, and some other teammates. But he hasn't gotten back to me on that yet."

An older man who looked to be and employee walked over to us. "Excuse me, ladies, but could you follow me?"

We looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing what to do. But we followed him anyway.

"Where are we going, sir?" I asked the man.

"Why, to the Penguins' locker room! Come on, down this hallway we go." Huh? Well, our plans were made. We just didn't know what to expect still.

After what seemed to be longer than ever, we finally got there. The man told us to sit on the bench outside the doors. "Mr. Talbot and Mr. Crosby will be out in a moment."

Chapter Five

Two weeks had gone by since the dinner, and I haven't thought about the "incident" or the person involved in the incident since that night. School started to pile on the work, and on top of that, I had a part-time job. My life was pretty stressful to say the least. It consisted of nothing but studying and the Sewickley Cafe. But I'll admit it-I needed a break, just for one night. And the break presented itself in the form of a hockey game.

After studying for an intense 2 hours, I glanced at the clock-12:30 P.M. Ok, enough studying for me today. I turned on the TV and channel surfed until I landed on TLC and watched A Baby Story.

"Hey," Paula greeted me as she walked in.

"What's up?" I responded.

"Ehhh, just a bit exhausted. Professors are a bunch of asswipes."

"Yeah, don't I know it."

"But I get a break tonight. Got any plans?"

"No, why?" I asked in curiosity.

"Good-you're going to the Pens' game with me tonight!"

"How'd you get tickets?"

"All thanks to Max."

"So, what's the deal with you two? Are you official or just screwing around?"

"We're more on the way to becoming official. There's something different about him, something that I can't exactly figure out, but I know it's good. It's just I have never felt this way before, and I like it...a lot!"

I was shocked at this. She has never even thought of settling down with anyone before.

"Good-I'm happy for you."

"Oh, and one more thing..."

"...What?"

"Sidney knows you're coming. So dress nice." What?!

"Ok, you're TOTALLY joking right now, right?"

"Umm, no. I talked to him today after Max told me he got the tickets. He's excited to see you."

"UGHHHH!!! I hate you right now."

"Naw, ya love me!" So I wasn't really that mad at her. A little part inside of me actually wanted to see Sidney tonight. I just hope that I don't embarrass myself in front of him. Then I might just fall over and die. While Paula was deciding on her outfit, I trotted to the bathroom and took a long, hot shower, and it was just what I needed. I put on my white robe and wrapped my damp hair in a towel. I exited out and made my way to my closet. What does she mean by nice? I asked myself. I stood there, puzzled as ever. As if on que, my savior came in and rescued me.

"It looks like you need help there, missy."

"No! Really?" I said in a sarcastic tone.

"Talk to me like that, and I won't be this nice anymore," she joked.

Twenty minutes later, my outfit was decided. I chose a light grey cashmere sweater with black leggings and a pair of grey pumps. I let my hair out of the towel and blow dried it a little, spritzing it with some hairspray, then crunching it. I did my own makeup this time, with the help of Paula, of course. I did a pretty good job. I just thank God that cover-up was invented. Boy did I screw up a couple of times! A half hour later, we were ready and out the door to what could be a perfect way to spend my Saturday night or the worst night of my life.