Chapter 23

"I will play any game you want to play baby, but a quiet game is just unrealistic for us."

"So you're saying" as Karen rolls Sidney onto his back and straddles him "that you can have whatever pleasurable thing done to you and not a sound will come out of you" she continues as she grinds herself over his crotch and hears a faint moan from his lips "I find that very doubtful Crosby."

Just then, Sidney rolls them over onto Karen's back and begins to grind himself on her. "See the way I think this will go, is whatever I do to you, you won't be able to keep from screaming. I know what you like and how you like it to bring you over the edge every time."

"Is that right?"

"Definitely. Want me to show you?"

"I think we need to show each other."

Sidney dipped his head down to meet her lips with his own. The kiss deepened after Sidney licked her lips with his tongue, begging for entrance. His hands reached the bottom of her top and pulled it up, breaking the kiss to pull it over her head. He unhooked her bra right after and threw it to the side before laying on top of her and finishing their kiss. Sidney left her lips and kissed a trail to the top of her pants. Getting off of her long enough to remove them, along with her underwear. He was about to climb back on top of her when he decided to remove his shorts first.

"Might as well save a step."

"That might be a good idea."

Karen grabbed his shoulders and dragged him back up to her lips, pulling him down for a heated kiss. She decided she wanted to be in control and rolled them onto Sidney's back. Karen straddled him and leaned back in for a kiss. As she was kissing him, she moved her hand inbetween them and grabbed ahold of him. Karen lifted her hips up and guided him into her. She loved being able to make a guy hard from the beginning and feel it grow inside her. Karen also knew what it did for Sidney to feel himself get hard in a confined space. She started grinding herself on him and could feel the heat inside of her. Karen sat up and moved her hips in a circular motion. Sidney grabbed her hips and helped her with her movements as they got more intense. Karen changed her movements and she heard a low moan escape Sidney's lips. She smiled to herself and reached down for Sidney to bring him up to her. He wrapped his arms around her back and rested them on her shoulders to help push her down on to him. Karen felt herself shutter and her orgasm rocked through her body that she bit her lip to keep her from screaming.

Sidney flipped them so he could take over. He literally pounded into Karen, knowing what it does to her. She moved her hands to his lower back and trailed over his ass to help push him into her. Before long, Karen was near her second orgasm and she arched her back and leaned her head back into the pillow. Sidney thrusted harder inside her, pulling almost all the way out and slamming back in. Karen's breathing got faster and her second wave of pleasure took over...not uttering a sound. Sidney felt the muscles tighten around him as he continued to thrust, drawing his own orgasm out. Just as he was about to explode, Sidney buried his head in Karen's neck and moaned out 'fuck' while he came deep inside her. He collapsed on top of her and stayed still inside her until they both calmed down.

Karen smiled to herself "um, what was that Crosby?"

"What was what?" he said looking at her.

"That sound at the end? It sounded to me like you couldn't keep quiet."

"Alright, fine. I couldn't hold it in. But it doesn't mean I can't be quiet."

"Of course not. I just have better self control then you."

"You know, I heard some things from you too."

"Maybe a whimper, but not enough to alert the whole house of what we're doing."

"But that is still you not being quiet."

"You are not getting out of this on a technicality. You lost fair and square."

"Only until next time baby." Sidney kissed her as he pulled out of her and laid beside her, letting Karen curl up to his warm body. He was about to ask her something when he heard her shallow breathing realizing Karen had fallen asleep. He gently reached down and brought the covers over them and fell asleep as well, holding on to her.

The next morning, Karen got up and untangled herself from Sidney. He woke up briefly to ask where she was going and she whispered 'to the bathroom'. When Karen was done, she was ready to rejoin Sidney in bed when she heard the bedroom door open and a small voice talking.

"Sidney? Get up Sid. Mommy is making breakfast for everyone."

"Austin, not now buddy. We'll get something later" Sidney told him. He soon felt the the covers being pulled off him, but stopped them from coming completely off and exposing himself. "If I get up and come for breakfast, will you go downstairs and wait for me?"

"Yeah."

Karen heard Austin yell happily and leave the room. She emerged from the bathroom with a towel around her, just in case. "So I assume you are going to breakfast?"

"Do you mind?"

"No."

"Can I ask what's the deal with the towel?"

"In case he barged into the bathroom while I was in there. "

Sidney got out of bed and walked over to her. He loosened the towel and let it drop to the floor, bringing his lips to hers for a kiss. "I wonder if we have time to play before breakfast."

"Come on Sidney" Austin yelled from downstairs.

"I don't think so." Karen got out of his grasp and went to get dressed. She put on her bra and underwear but was stopped when she grabbed her pants when Sidney threw her a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to put on.

"I figured you'd want to wear something other than what you wore last night."

"Thanks." Karen put on the shorts but held up the shirt and smelled it. She smiled into it but was caught when Sidney came out of the bathroom.

"What are you doing? The shirt is clean."

"I'm just smelling you off of it. Girls do that you know" he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her "it's a way to keep you with me all day."

"As far as I know, I am not going anywhere without you today."

"Good. Um, this may be off topic, but won't you want to see your dad today too?"

"That would be a long drive to see him. He flew back home right after the game yesterday. Since we probably won't play until Friday, he went home for the week."

"So you'll expect a phone call from your mom when?"

"Come on, before Austin sends a search party, let's go eat." Sidney said avoiding her sarcasm.

Karen just laughs at his avoidance and they head downstairs. When they got there, Nathalie was just putting the food on the table. They sat down and ate breakfast with them. Lauren occupied Karen with stories from school and her friends and Austin was giggling from Sidney joking around with him. Karen spaced out for a moment and realized it had been awhile since she was around a family atmosphere. Sidney noticed she was quiet and he got her attention and she just smiled at him and went back to Lauren. When breakfast was over, the girls ran to finish getting ready for school and Austin hung around for a few more minutes.

"Thanks for letting me stay last night Mario."

"Your practically still one of the family Karen, don't mention it. Just keep it cool in front of the kids."

"We will" Karen said getting up and helping Nathalie with the dishes.

"Daddy, did you know Sid sleeps without any clothes on?" Austin said laughing.

Both Karen and Sidney blushed and couldn't look at each other. Sidney felt Mario's glare on him and Karen just conitnued to wash dishes.

"Austin, go get ready for school."

"Ok daddy" he said and ran out of the kitchen.

"Before you say anything Mario, he didn't see anything." Sidney tried to plead his case.

"Um, for the record, I was in the bathroom and when I heard him come into the room, I stayed there until he left."

"See Mario, no harm done." Nathalie said taking their side.

"It won't happen again, I promise" Sidney said.

"Ok. I am going to drop the kids off and then head to the arena for a little bit." He got up and kissed Nathalie goodbye. "Have fun today you two."

"We will" Sidney answered.


"I am going to get a shower and then we can hit your house before going out for some fun, ok?"

"Ok. I'll be up in a few minutes to get my stuff."

Sidney kissed her and Karen pulled away realizing Nathalie was still standing there when he tried to make the kiss more passionate. She pushed him away and he left laughing.

"You guys are too cute. I remember being like that."

"What? I have seen the way Mario looks at you and I can tell there are still sparks between you two."

"There is, I won't deny it. But I am talking about the newness of a relationship, like what you guys have. That 'can't get enough of each other' feeling."

"And that's how I find myself. I can leave him for the week, but come the weekend and I just want to spend every waking moment with him. I haven't felt like that for a long time and thought I wouldn't feel it again."

"Do you still have feelings for Rick?"

"Yeah I do, but not enough to go back to him. He hurt me so bad that I can't forget that. But I do find myself missing him more than I should. Maybe because I never got closure with our relationship."

"Well I think being with Sidney is the closure you need."


"You might be right."

"Good, now go get your stuff and spend the day with that boy before you run out of time."

"Thanks Nat" Karen said hugging her then going to Sidney's room.

Chapter 22

They arrived at Jordan's and could hear the music and laughter all the way to the car. Sidney took Karen's hand in his and they walked up to the door. He knocked and then opened the door, walking in. Everyone yelled their greeting and Jordan walked over.

"Bout time Crosby. We thought you were going to bail on us."

"Just spending time with this beautiful lady here."

"Well the bar's open and we ordered some pizzas which should be here shortly. Karen make yourself comfortable and we're glad you came tonight."

"Thanks, I appreciate that."

Jordan walked away and Sidney led Karen into the kitchen. He poured himself a drink and made one for her. They walked in the living room and found the last spot on the couch. Sidney sat down and pulled Karen beside him. He put his arm around her and pointed out everyone she didn't know, telling her names and who they were dating. Before long, Evgeni had made his way over to the couch and sat beside Karen.

"Are you having fun hanging out with us?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be having fun?"

"Well, if you ditch the captain, maybe we could have a Twister rematch."

"Does Jordan actually own the game?"

"Probably not, but we could always go back to your house and play."

"Then I guess there will be three of us playing, huh Geno?" Sidney said as his grip on Karen got tighter.

Evgeni just looked at Sidney but smiled at Karen. "До более поздно моей влюбленности когда мы сможем быть совместно" he whispered as he kissed her hand and walked away.

Sidney shot him a look and saw Karen with a confused look on her face.

"Um, does he have a girlfriend?"

"Not a steady one, why?"

"Because you guys may want to get him one and not the one that is already dating you."

Sidney laughs and kisses her "yeah, apparently I'm not the only one that has taken a liking to you."

"Well it's always nice to have a backup" looking at him "even when you never plan on using it."

"Good."

Just then Ryan got Sidney into playing a video game and Karen sat and watched them play for a little bit before getting up and walking out onto the patio. She sat down in the chair and was soon joined by someone.

"Hi, we haven't really been properly introduced. I'm Abby, Ryan Malone's wife."

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Karen."

"I know, I've heard about you from Ryan."

"Should I be scared or offended?"

"Neither" she said laughing. "He just mentioned that Sid was dating someone older than him and I was hoping for a chance to meet you. Ryan said you were nice and didn't seem to act your age."

"I guess I could take that as a compliment. I act so mature and responsible at work, I guess when I get with Sidney, I act how I feel."

"You two look good together. They way he looks at you, you can tell he's more than smitten."

"Apparently, he's not the only one. Is Geno this friendly with every girl a player dates or is it just his natural charm?"

"Well, Geno is known for his ability to make the females swoon. I think it's the accent."

"He said something in Russian to me but yeah, his accent did hit a spot I didn't know I had."

"I think he's the tester for all the new girlfriends. If they fall for him, they aren't good enough for his teammates. So how did you and Sid meet? Ryan never told me."

"Some friends and I went to the arena a few weeks ago to play around on the ice and when we got there Sid and some others were still praticing. We played around on half of the ice and they stayed on the other half. They was a little trash talking going on and they challenged us to play against them, I ended up scoring on Sid and apparently I awed him."

"That's hard to do from what I've heard."

"Yeah, that's the impression I got too. Mario came down and skated for a bit with us. He saw Sid staring at me and had a feeling he became a little taken with me since I literally beat him at his own game."

"So, what, he asked you out after that?"

"No, actually, Mario invited me to dinner and didn't tell Sid I was coming and then after dinner I kind of asked him out. From that day, any free time he's had he's been with me."

"Wow, talk about a whirlwind romance. You know, being a hockey player's girlfriend is pretty tough with their game schedule and all the puck bunnies hanging around the arena. Especially with Sidney, every girl wants that boy."

"I can see why" Karen laughs "but I've dated a hockey player, so I know about it all."

"Who'd you date?" Abby asked getting curious.

"Rick Tocchet."

"I remember him. He played here when they won the cup in '92."

"Yeah he did."

"How long did you guys date?"

"About 4 years. I went with him when he got traded to LA but then we broke up before he got traded to Boston. I came back home in '99."

"Then you are a veteran at this. I may have to seek advice from you on certain situations."

"I'll be happy to help."

Just then Sidney came out to the patio "hey Abs, Ryan is looking for you."

"Ok. I'll see you later Karen."

"Bye Abby." Karen looked up and saw Sidney standing beside the chair. He offered his hand to her and she took it only to be brought up out of the chair so he could sit down. Karen just shook her head at him and started to walk to the other chair.

"Wait, where you going?"

"You took my chair, so I was going to sit in the other one."

Sidney shook his head "no, come sit on my lap. That's why I got you up in the first place."

Karen smiled and went to sit on his lap, cuddling into his chest.

"So, what did Geno tell you when we were inside?"

"I have no idea. It was in Russian and last time I checked, I don't speak nor understand Russian. You've been around him longer, haven't you been able to pick up anything to know what he said?"

"Not without Gonch somewhere in the room" Sidney laughs.

"How many drinks have you had?"

"Not sure. I know I personally got two, but Jordan brought me a couple more. I may be underage here, but if we were in Canada I am all legal. Besides, I don't drink when we all go out, just when we get together at each other's house."

"I'm not criticizing that you're drinking, I'm just wondering if you are going to be able to drive me home later."

Sidney started kissing her neck "this will be my last one, I promise."

Karen just closed her eyes and let the feeling of Sidney on her neck take over. They were interrupted a few minutes later as Evgeni made his way on to the patio.

"Hey guys."

"Geno, isn't there anybody else you could go bother?"

"I figured Karen needed another drink" he said handing her a glass of clear liquid.

"Um, can I know what I'm drinking before I drink it?"

"It's just vodka."

Karen took a drink and almost spit it out "my god Geno, straight vodka ain't that potent."

"Russian vodka is" he said with a mischeivous grin. He left the two of them sitting out there and walk away.

"Ok, never leave me alone with that one."

"I swear it will never happen. Now where was I?"

Karen moved head and tilted her neck to him "somewhere around here" as she pointed out the spot. Sidney gladly accepted the offering and continued what he was doing. After a while, Sidney had left her neck and made his way to her lips. They were making out heavily until someone interrupted them.

"Hey Sid, you want anything else to drink?" Jordan appeared at the sliding door.

"No I'm good."

"Karen, how about you?"

"I'm fine" she said looking at her watch. "Actually I need to get going." She got up off of Sidney and helped him up, only to bring his lips down onto hers again for another mind blowing kiss.

"Alright kids, get a room."

"Can we use yours?"

"Hell no. Go get laid in your own bed Crosby."

Sidney and Karen both laughed as Jordan walked away. He held Karen's hand and led her through sea of bodies in the living room. They said their goodbyes and headed out. Sidney leaned her up against his car and kissed her before leaning his forehead against hers.

"I don't want you to leave me tonight."

"I'm not."

"What are you talking about? Don't you have to work tomorrow?"

"Nope. After you guys won and I was waiting for you to finish up with the media, I called in and took a personal day for tomorrow. I am all yours for tonight and tomorrow."

"So if you knew this for the last few hours, why are you just telling me now?"

"Because I wanted to wait until we were leaving to surprise you."

"Well I am very surprised, but more happy. Do you want to go back inside?"

Karen just shook her head no and Sidney smiled, opening the door for her. When she got in, he went around to the driver side and got in. They left the parking lot and headed out. Karen noticed that Sidney had pulled into Mario's driveway and gave him a confused look.

"Are we walking down to my house?"

"No."

That was all he said when they got out. He led her into the house and they went to the kitchen where Mario and Nathalie were.

"Hey Sid, Karen. Did you guys have fun?" Mario asked.

"Yeah we did."

"Can I fix either of you something to eat?" Nathalie said.

"I'm fine Nat" Karen told her.

"I might eat something but I can make it myself" Sidney said walking to the fridge.

"I don't know how you could be hungry with all the pizza you and the other guys ate."

"He's a growing young man Karen. He needs to keep his strength up."

When Nathalie said it, Karen and Sidney just looked at each other with a totally different thought than what she was getting at.

"Mom, I can't sleep" Lauren said coming into the kitchen.

"What's the matter?"

"I don't know" Lauren said looking at her mom but then saw Karen sitting at the table. "Kiki? What are you doing here?" she said going over to hug her.

"I just stopped by" Karen said looking at her. "You either had a bad dream or you're worried about something."

"Yeah I did."

"How did you know that?" Sidney asked shocked that Karen could pick up on that by just looking at her.

"When I babysat her and she would wake up like this, I knew something was bothering her." Karen turned to Mario "can I put her back in bed and sit with her for a little bit?"

"It's up to Lauren."

"Please Karen?"

"Come on." Karen takes Lauren's hand and stands up from the table. She looked at Sidney to make sure he wasn't mad for ditching him for awhile and the look she got back told her he was fine with it. They left the kitchen and went to Lauren's room. She got her into bed and turned off the lights before sitting beside her, letting her get comfortable.

"What's the matter Lauren?"

"I don't really know. I just can't seem to fall asleep."

"Have you tried to just clear your mind and not think about anything?"

"Yeah, but when I do that, something ends up popping in there."

"It'll be ok baby girl. Just close your eyes and try to fall alseep."

Karen laid there and stroked Lauren's hair to get her to relax enough to fall asleep. She didn't know that Sidney was outside of the door.

"Kiki?"

"What?"

"Are you dating Sid?"

"Yes I am. Did your dad or Sidney tell you we were dating?"

"No, dad never really tells us anything and when Sid is usually here, he's been at your house spending more time with you. So I kind of figured it out on my own. Do you love him?"

Sidney knew the answer, he just wondered who else she would admit it to.

"Yes I do love him. There's something special about him, it's hard to explain."

"Now that mom and dad know you two are dating, will you be around more?"

Sidney walked into the room "she will be around a lot more if I can help it."

"Were you listening at the door?" Karen asked him.

"Kind of" he said sitting down on the bed. "Everything ok Lauren?"

"Yeah, I just needed Kiki back. I think I can go to sleep now so you guys can spend time together."

"That's ok, I've been with him for the last few hours."

"Thanks baby, I appreciate that."

Karen got off the bed laughing and she leaned down kissed Lauren on the forehead before walking out of the room. Sidney did the same but Lauren stopped him before he could leave.

"Don't let this one get away Sid."

"I'll try not to. Night Lauren."

"Night Sid."

Sidney left the room and shut the door behind him. He looked at Karen and walked past her, but Karen brought him back and he smiled at her.

"Want to see my room?" he whispered.

"Are you allowed to have girls in your room?" Karen asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"No. But I am allowed to have a beautiful vibrant woman in my room."

"Any one I know?"

"I think you know her very well" Sidney said then leaned in and kissed her. He pulled away and took her hand, leading her to his part of the house. Sidney opened the door to his room and turned on the light. He stepped to the side and let Karen walk in first.

"Very impressive" she said as she looked around the whole room. "I can see why you'd want to stay here and not leave."

"I don't know. I love living with Mario and his family but I can't be a burden too much longer."

"Has Mario ever given you a reason to make you believe you're not welcome to stay as long as you want?"

"No, it's just next season will be my 4th year and it might be time to live on my own."

"Don't take this the wrong way but don't try to grow up too fast."

"So I don't take it wrong, what do you mean?"

"You need as much stability in your life right now Sid. You start thinking about moving out of here and start to look for an apartment or house, you are going to put all your time and energy into that task. What happens when training camp and then the new season starts and you have so much left undone? Your concentration is on every game and if you let your mind wander to what all you still need to do, something will end up suffering....and it could be what you don't want to suffer, your game."

Sidney walked over and wrapped his arms around her "I understand what you're saying baby."

"Besides, if you do find one you can spend the off season getting it ready."

"Then that would put me here all summer."

"And that's a bad thing considering I would be here?"

"No, it wouldn't be a bad thing being with you all summer. It was just something I was thinking about."

Sidney kissed her head and went to the bathroom. Karen hoped she didn't just squash his aspiration to move out on his own "damn it." She took off her jersey and folded it on the chair, lying on the bed in a tank top and her knit pants when she was finished. Sidney came out of the bathroom in only a pair of shorts and Karen just watched him. Sidney felt her eyes on him and he came over to the bed and laid down, letting Karen curl up to him. He flipped on the tv and found a movie for them to watch.

A few minutes into the movie, Sidney kept moving around.

"Um, can I help you?"

"I can't get comfortable. Let me try one last position."

Karen sat up and let Sidney move to where he was comfortable. He ended up on his side and pulled Karen down on hers, facing him.

"See how much better this is?"

"Yeah, but now neither of us can see the tv."

Sidney smiled, "my plan worked then didn't it?"

Karen looked into his eyes and her smile faded "I'm sorry if I made it sound like you shouldn't want to move out and be on your own. That was not my intention."

"I know it wasn't and you're right, I already have plans to go home this summer and when I get back it will be time to do it all over again. The question is, will you help me?"

"Of course I will."

Sidney pulled Karen closer and they got into the position they were familiar with. She leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. When she pulled back, Sidney smiled and brought her back to him. Their kiss became more passionate as Sidney's hands began to roam. They made their way under Karen's tank top and came to rest on her breast. He began to massage her and she moaned into their kiss. Sidney left her lips and made his way to her neck. Karen moved her hand to his stomach and let her fingers lightly caress his abs. She found his happy trail and played with the small hairs, sending a chill down Sidney's spine. Karen heard Sidney moan into her neck and she smiled knowing she could turn him on. Just as she was about to slip her hand inside his shorts, there was a knock at the door.

"Fuck" Sidney whispered into her neck.

"Apparently not right now" Karen whispered back with a small laugh.

Sidney let go of Karen and got off the bed, running his hand through his hair. Karen fixed her shirt and got in a different position on the bed, turning her attention to the movie when Sidney opened the door.

"Hey Mario" Sidney said letting him walk in.

Mario saw Sidney in only his shorts and wondered but when he saw Karen was still fully dressed he knew not to jump to conclusions. "I just wanted to tell you that the alarm is set, so just remember to disarm it if Karen leaves."

"I will. Thanks Mario."

"Night Karen and thanks for helping Lauren tonight."

"It was my pleasure. Night Mario."

Mario walks out of the room and Sidney went to close the door behind him "could I talk to you for a second Sid?"

"Yeah" Sidney told Karen he would be back and went out into the hallway with Mario.

"Look Sid, I don't mind that she's here with you and I don't mind that she stays the night. All I ask is that you two watch how you act around the kids, ok?"

"I understand and you have nothing to worry about."

"I know I don't. Night."

"Night."

"Oh and Sid, lock the door."

Mario walked away smiling and Sidney went back to Karen. She looked at him as he entered the room and he just smiled at her.

"Do we need to take this to my house?"

Sidney didn't answer Karen as he turned off the lights and got on the bed with her. He brought her back to where they were on the bed before Mario showed up.

"Not unless you want to, but Mario doesn't mind if you stay the night with me."

"Really?"

"He trusts us and as long as we're careful in front of the kids, he's ok that you stay here with me."

"But knowing how we are and can be, are you sure we are far enough away from everybody else?"

"We are, but you can try to be a little bit more quiet."

"Is that how you want to play this game, ok, let's play and see who can be quiet."

Chapter 21

Sunday morning and Karen's cell phone was going off. It took her a minute to figure out that it was ringing. She picked it up and looked at the caller ID. When she saw Sidney's name appear she smiled and answered it.

"Is this my punishment for not letting you stay over last night?"

"Morning baby" Sidney said sweetly.

"Morning my hockey stud. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Well after my very cold shower when I got home, I think I finally dozed off after tossing and turning for a couple hours. I woke up holding on to my pillow."

"Sounds like you were missing someone last night. Why didn't you just stay with your girlfriend last night?"

"Don't be mean baby."

"Sorry" Karen said laughing "what time do you need to get to the arena?"

"I'll leave here about 11:30am. What time are you getting there?"

"I don't think I'm going today. There's a lot of good movies on today that I haven't seen in a really long time, I may stay home and watch them. Do you mind?"

"If you'd rather stay home then come hang out with me before and after the game, I'm sure I can grab one of the puck bunnies that will be outside waiting for me."

"You wouldn't dare Crosby?"

"Oo, did I hit a sore spot baby? Did that change your mind about coming to the game today?"

"I guess since I'll have to now to keep an eye on you."

"Don't sound so thrilled to want to spend time with your boyfriend now?"

"Well now see, you didn't say I could bring my boyfriend too. That changes everything."

"Ok, I'm hanging up now. See you whenever you get to the arena."

Karen was going to say something but heard the line go dead. "Oh, he did not just hang up on me." Karen called him back and was surprised when his voicemail picked up. She couldn't believe he got mad when they always joked around like that. Karen hung up not leaving a voice message and decided to text him instead. She put her phone beside her on the bed and hoped he wasn't mad.

Sidney was laying on the bed when his phone rang. He smiled seeing it was Karen calling back but decided to have some fun of his own. He didn't pick up and waited to see if she would leave a voicemail. A few minutes later, his phone beeped and he saw he had a text, not a voicemail. He opened his phone to read the message.

Please don't be mad.

That was all Karen wrote. Sidney felt bad now that he had her thinking he was mad about her comment. He replied back and got up to get his shower.

Karen was still in bed and started thinking every scenerio in her head about what could come from this. She was about to call him back when her phone went off. She saw a text from Sidney and closed her eyes before opening her phone to see what he wrote.

I am mad...madly in love with you!

Karen smiled and knew he was just getting even from what she said. She shook her head and got up to get a shower.

At 11:15am, Karen was ready and waiting around for her friends to come get her to go to the arena but other plans came around. As she was watching The Breakfast Club on tv, there was a knock at her door and then Sidney appeared in the doorway to the living room.

Karen looked up at him "wow, you look sexy stud. Have a hot date?"

Sidney walked over to her and brought her up to him, kissing her with a very passionate kiss. "Yes I do, with you."

"Ah, a fifteen minute date. What can we do in that amount of time?"

"Well not much since we obviously take longer. I want you to go to the arena with me." Sidney said with a serious look on his face. "I want to walk into the arena with my girlfriend proudly by my side."

"Are you seriously sure about this? I mean really, truly, honestly sure?"

"Yes. From today's game to every home game after this one I want you to go with me."

Karen just smiles at him before bringing him down to her lips. "I don't have to change do I?" she asked when they broke apart. Karen had always worn a jersey to the games and wasn't about to stop.

"No, you look perfect. You ready to go?"

"Yeah, I can call Sheril on the way. They should be on their way too, so they can just head to the arena."

Karen grabbed what she needed and they headed out. Karen called Sheril to tell her plans have changed.

"Hey girl you ready for some hockey?"

"When am I not ready? Hey can you and the other girls meet me at the arena instead of coming to my house?"

"Yeah, that's not a problem but Diane and Natalie couldn't come today."

"Did you find someone else to use their tickets?"

"Of course I did. Steve and his friend Brian are coming."

"Ok. Well, I'm on my way there now, so call me after you guys have parked and are outside."

"Alright girl, see you in an hour."

Karen hangs up and groans "Oh god, today is really going to be fun."

"Have I told you how much I really enjoy your company baby?"

"It has nothing to do with you. Diane and Natalie can't make today's game so Sheril invited her husband and one of his friends."

"You don't like her husband?"

"I adore her husband, it's the friend I'd rather not be with." Karen saw Sidney shoot her a look "he's liked me since school but that was true for every girl. I have been avoiding him and any situation that would put us 'together'. Hopefully I can get Sheril to sit beside me and Brian on the other side of Steve and further away from me."

"Want my help? Maybe I can make him understand to not touch my woman."

"Your woman? Wow that was just so macho of you to say. How do you plan on protecting me when you're on the ice all day?"

"Let's just say, if I see him try anything, I will be in the stands in a second to make sure he doesn't do it again."

"Is that a standard two minute penalty for leaving the ice?"

Sidney just laughed and pulled into the players lot, parking the car.

"I hope this is a good thing that there aren't a lot of people around."

Sidney took Karen's hand in hers and noticed she was lightly shaking. "Baby, there's nothing to be nervous about. Don't even worry about them and if they scream anything, just ignore them. Ok?"

"Ok" Karen smiled when Sidney kissed her hand. They got out and Karen quickly glanced at the few people standing around. She was actually looking for one in particular but didn't see her. Sidney snapped her out of her thought and grabbed her hand to walk through the parking lot and inside. Karen heard a few whispers among the rest of the crowd calling out Sidney's name. He waved and smiled before leading Karen inside.

"See that wasn't so bad."

"No it wasn't, but I don't expect the same reaction if we leave together."

"You need to get used to it."

"Can't I just keep you all to myself, naked and tied to my bed?"


"The naked part I like, but not so much on tying me up."

"Yeah, we'll see."

Sidney leads her down the hallway to the Pens' lounge. They walk in and have a seat one of the couches. After a while, other players come in and they head to the locker room to get changed. Sidney told Karen she could stay until her friends get there. Karen saw a few other women come into the lounge and she figured they were some wives and/or girlfriends. She felt a little out of place especially when none of them talked to her. She was brought back when her cell phone went off.

"Hello."


"Hey girl. We are outside waiting to get in. Where are you at?"

"I am actually in the player's lounge. Sidney went to get dressed for the game so I am hanging out until I heard from you."

"Well get your ass up here woman."

"Ok, I'll be up."

Karen sent a quick text to Sidney telling him she was going outside to meet up with her friends and left. She walked out of the entrance she had gone in with Sidney and up to the front doors. She saw Sheril and walked over to them. Karen saw a few girls staring and pointing at her realizing they saw her walk in with Sidney...holding his hand. She brushed it off and the doors were soon opening, with them going in and to their seats, with Brian seating next to Karen.

"How have you been Karen?"

"I've been good Brian. What's new with you?"

"Nothing, just working. I was wondering if after the game, you would want to get some dinner with me."

"I appreciate the offer but I am dating someone." Karen scanned the ice and saw Sidney skating around for warm ups. She watched him intently until she saw him look up at her.

"I'm sure he won't mind that you are having dinner with an old friend."

Karen points to the ice and to Sidney staring directly at him not looking happy. "Well, you could ask him. He right down there watching you hit on me."

"You have got to be fucking kidding me. You and Crosby? I don't believe it."

"Um, Sheril, who am I dating?"

"Sidney. We all hung out last weekend between games. He even brought over Jordan, Max, Whit, and Geno. Sorry dude, but you don't have a chance."

Karen just looked back to the ice and shot Sidney a smile and a wink telling him it was ok. He smiled and nodded before going back to warm ups.

The game started with a scoreless first period, the Pens put their team up 2-0 in the second. The happiness was short lived when the Rangers came back to tie it up in the third. It would stay tied and the game went to overtime. The Pens ended up breaking the tie and getting the goal. The arena erupted and Karen watched as Sidney and his teammates acted like children on Christmas for advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. After they shook hands with the Rangers, Sidney motioned for Karen to head back down in a little bit. She smiled and nodded to tell him ok.

A little bit later, Karen headed back down to the locker room and waited around outside in the hallway. She felt an arm around her shoulder and a familiar voice in her ear.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

Karen didn't even need to look at him since she knew who it was "Brendan Shanahan and here I thought I would get through this round of playoffs without seeing you."

"Not a chance babe. Want to relive that night?"

"No thanks, once was definitely enough for me."

"Come on, you might actually enjoy it this time."

Karen was about to respond when someone else spoke up for her.

"Hey Shanny, mind getting your arm off my girlfriend?"

"Gee Karen, picking them kind of young aren't we?"

"Jealous Shanny?"

"Not at all" Brendan takes his arm off Karen's shoulder "call me if you ever get bored."

"I wouldn't spend your entire offseason waiting by the phone."

"I'll wait anywhere you want me too" Shanny said then walked away laughing. Karen just rolled her eyes and shook her head in disgust.

"You ok baby?"

"Yeah. He just gets under my skin acting like that." She looks up to Sidney and pulls him close to her "I'm just glad my protector stepped in and got all macho. I'm kind of liking this side of you."

"It only comes out when it needs to. Ready to go celebrate?"

"Of course, but you still need a shower."

"Want to join me?" Sidney said whispering in her ear and sending a shiver down body.

"There are way too many people around to see me go in there with you."

"What if I can make to where no one will see you? Will you join me then?"

Karen smiled and bit her lip, telling Sidney in not so many words that she was game. Sidney grabbed her hand and led her back to the lounge. They sat down on the couch and talked to some of the other players but Karen knew he was waiting it out for most everybody to leave. When there was a few left, Sidney told Karen that he was going to get his shower so they can go. Karen just smiled at him and watched him leave. She saw the last of the players and personnel leave and got up to head to the showers. Karen looked around to make sure there wasn't anyone around. The coast was clear and she undressed, walking into the open showers. She found Sidney standing under the water, letting it fall over him. Karen walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. Sidney turned around and pulled her under the water with him before she had a chance to protest.

"Why did you pull me completely under? People are going to know I was in here now."

"I'm sure if there is anyone left in the building, they will see your pile of clothes and know exactly why you are in here."

"Like this hasn't happened before in any arena around the NHL."

"I'm sure it has, but this is a first for me."

Sidney looks at Karen and brings his hand up, putting it on her neck and pulling her to him for a searing kiss. She wraps her arms around him feeling every muscle in his back move. Sidney pushes her up against the wall and lifts her leg up, holding it up against his hip. Karen moved her hand from his back and around to his chest. She felt every inch of him while he kissed her. Before Karen had realized it, Sidney let go of her leg and turned her around so she was facing the wall. He kept his arm around her waist and slightly bent her to the wall. Karen put her hands against the wall and leaned her forehead in, resting it there too. She felt Sidney enter her from behind and push her up to the wall. He moved his hand from her around her waist and felt his way to her mound. Sidney cupped her in his hand and rubbed her feverishly, making her softly moan. He began to move inside of her and Karen clutched the wall like she was trying to dig her fingers into the tile and hold on to it. She felt Sidney kiss her neck sending tingles throughout her body. Karen could feel her orgasm building within her body and just when she thought she was going over the edge, Sidney pulled out of her and turned her back around to face him. Karen leaned back against the wall and Sidney lifted her leg, plunging back into her. His lips captured hers in a hard kiss as he continued thrusting into her heated core. Sidney went deeper and harder bringing out Karen's orgasm. She left his mouth and moaned out his name, not caring if someone was still around to hear. As soon as Sidney felt her muscles tighten around him, he thrusted one more time in her before pulling out and releasing himself over her stomach. Sidney kept Karen in a close embrace and she looked up at him, kissing him. He pulled himself away from her and washed her stomach before turning off the water. He grabbed a towel and dried her off first, going very slow over every inch of her body.

"You keep doing that and we're never getting out of here."

Sidney worked his way back up her body and wrapped the towel around her. Karen took the towel and secured it around her as he went to get his own towel. She was about to grab the towel from him to return the favor, but Sidney just smiled and stepped back to dry off and wrap the towel around his waist. He grabbed Karen's hand and led her out of the showers. She picked up her clothes and was about to get dressed when she heard voices. Karen looked at Sidney and he told her to go back in the showers and get dressed in there while he went to get dressed himself.

Karen was done and came out. She looked at herself in the mirror and she was glad her hair was in a ponytail and stayed pretty well. She rung out the excess water and took the towel to dry it. Karen also dried her bangs and fluffed them as best she could. The one thing she was happy about was that she always had an emergency stash of make up in her pocket. She pulled out the compact and lightly applied it. Karen figured if they were heading somewhere to finish celebrating their win, she should look like she did before their shower romp. When she looked presentable, she walked to the locker room and found Sidney gathering his stuff.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself" he said smiling at her, "is it possible for you to look even more beautiful?"

"I don't think so" she said but soon felt Sidney's lips on hers. "Did you see anybody?"

"Yeah, there were some left over workers leaving. I think we're good to go."

"Speaking of go, where are we going?"

"Jordan was going to has everyone over, but if you want to just go home before you have to leave in few hours, they'll understand if we don't show up."

"We can head over to Jordan's. I don't want to always keep you from them, especially to celebrate a big win."

"See, this is another reason I love you. Anybody else would rather keep me all to themselves but you don't."

"Oh, I want you all to myself, believe me, but you guys are a family. In a weird way, you need them more then you need me. Like I said, just look behind everyone and you'll see me there waiting for you, always."

"I love you baby."

"I love you too."

They kiss once more and head out. Karen was thankful that nobody was left in the parking lot when they got to the car. Sidney started the car and pulled out, going to Jordan's apartment.

Chapter 20

Karen had arrived home but Sidney was not behind her. She thought it looked like he turned off somewhere, now she knows that he probably did. Karen got changed into some comfortable clothes and went into the kitchen to pour some ice tea for her and Sidney. As she was getting everything ready, she heard Sidney come in.

"Where did you go? I thought you were right behind me." Karen turned around and saw Sidney standing in the doorway with a bouquet of flowers. "Those are pretty. Did you stop off to see your other girlfriend and she bought those for you?"

"Actually, on my way here, I figured you needed something beautiful to keep you smiling."

"So I guess I am only smiling for about 7 to 10 days then." Seeing the confused look on his face "flowers only last that long sweetie" she said laughing.

"Well if you don't want them, then I will just take them to my other girlfriends."

"Why must you ruin the game? I gave you one other girlfriend and you go and make more than that one. You're not right Crosby."

"Because I knew it would work. You want the flowers now huh?"

"Yes please." Sidney motioned for Karen to come get the flowers and she walked over to him. Karen leaned in and smelled the scent coming from them. "Mmm, I love roses and how breathtaking they are. They are beautiful, thank you."

Sidney took his other hand and brought it up to caress her cheek "so are you." He put the flowers on the table and looked deep into her eyes, not taking his away as he leaned in and kissed her. Karen wanted the kiss to continue all night, but she pulled away to Sidney's dismay. "I know we need to talk baby, but why can't we do this first?"

"Sid?"

"Ok, ok."

Karen laughed at him and got out of his grasp. She got the glasses of ice tea and handed one to Sidney. Karen started to head into the living room, but Sidney suggested they sit out on the porch and they went there. Sidney sat down in the oversized chair she had out there, pulling her down onto his lap. Karen just sat there and put her head to his chest to make sure she was able to do this.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, I just...."

"Baby, what is going on? Or maybe I should ask you what you thought my dad meant last night?"

"Does your dad think that because of my age, that I'm going to push marriage and kids with us?"

"He did mention about he didn't think you could make me happy in the long run."

"So he thinks that this is just a fling that will be over when the playoffs are?"

"I don't know what he's thinking. I told him that it needed to be up to us to know when to end it."

"Do you agree with him? That when the playoffs are over and you go home for the summer, you'll come back and not want to be with me?"

Sidney made Karen look at him "no I don't agree with him. I want us to be together for as long as we want to be. If you could take off work, I would love nothing more than for you to come with me and spend the summer with me, but I know that's not possible."

"I would love nothing more too, but I just can't."

"I know. Do you see yourself getting married and having kids?"

"With you or with anybody?"

"Both."

Karen looked away and got off Sidney's lap. She leaned up against the railing and looked at him. "I don't know if I ever want to get married...to anyone. What I had with Rick before it went bad, I had the chance to be married. I guess the way it ended has me scared to even think about it now. Not that I couldn't change my mind in the future, but that holds true for anyone. I know these feelings has us going kind of fast, but can you really see yourself getting married anytime in the near future?"

"No I can't and I think that's what my dad meant. He thinks that maybe you're going to pressure me into marrying you."

"After only knowing you for two weeks? I don't even work THAT fast. I may believe in 'love at first sight' but not enough to jump into marriage with someone that I am still learning things about."

Sidney got up and walked over to Karen "why did you think this would be so hard to talk to me about that we couldn't get through it?"

"Why couldn't your dad just come out and ask me if this was my intention instead of beating around with all the questions? Besides, you talk about marriage this early into a relationship and no guy will stick around to hear the entire question. I love you and I am falling more in love with you every day we spend together, but not enough to run out and get married."

"Well it's a good thing you told me how you felt. I was all ready to go pick out China patterns and have you redecorate my house in Canada" Sidney said sarcasticly to get Karen to laugh. "Baby, I couldn't have said it better myself. I mean, come on, I am only 20 and marriage is the furthest from my mind. I would love to be married one day don't get me wrong, but not for at least 10 years. I do have other pressing goals that I want to take care of first."

"And those would be?"

"Well the obvious to win the Stanley Cup and spend as much time with you as possible."

"So what do we do about your dad? I really don't want to act all awkward around him for the next few weeks."

"How about we have dinner tonight and try to replay last night the way it should have gone?"

"Ok, but this time you are not leaving us alone for a half hour."

"Deal" he said then kissed her. "Is there anything we need to go over or are we truly alright now?"

"Just promise me that if you do want to end this once you get back in September, that it's YOUR decision and not because your parents talked you into it."

"I promise."

Sidney started to kiss her but Karen stopped him "maybe you should call your dad and invite him to dinner before we continue this."

"Ok."

Karen left him to go see what she had to make for dinner for the three of them. She opened the fridge and saw the steaks she bought Friday before coming home and decided to grill them. Karen felt Sidney wrap his arms around her waist and tell her that his dad would be over in an hour. He turned her around in his arms and kissed her. Sidney walked them into the living room and sat down on the couch. Karen sat beside him and put her legs over his lap. Their lips met again and they stayed on the couch making out.

Right at about an hour later, there was a knock at the door and Karen got off of Sidney's lap and brought him up to her. He laced his fingers with hers and they went to open the door.

"Hi dad. Come on in."

"Thanks" Troy said as he walked into the house. "I'm glad we get a second chance at this Karen."
"Me too. Besides, I don't want to keep Sidney and you apart while you're here."

"I appreciate that, eventhough he has a habit of ditching his family for girls."

"And how many girls would that be?"

"Well let's see...." Troy started counting.

"You know what dad, we don't need to get into that."

Troy and Karen just look at each other and laughed. "Yeah, you guys are funny" Sidney said as he pouted and walked away.

Karen followed him and sat down beside him. Troy just watched how they were cute together acting like that. He soon walked into the living room and sat acrossed from them and they made small talk for a little bit.

"Sid, will you go get the grill started for me so we can get the steaks cooking?"

"Sure baby." When Sidney got up, he leaned back down and kissed her before going out to the back porch and firing up the grill.

"Troy can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

"Do you think that because of how old I am, that I'm going to try and trap Sid into marriage and ruin his career?"

"Where would you get an idea like that?"

"Just piecing together everything you've said to me. Look, Sid is caring, protective, and seems to love who he is with. I am not who you think I am Troy. I love being with Sidney because we have things in common and we have fun together. I am not looking to get married or have kids anytime soon. Like I told him, I don't even know if I see myself wanting to get married to anyone. Why can't you just let us be with each other without thinking I have an ulterior motive?"

"Because Sidney is special. He is living out his dream and I can't let anything or anyone destroy that. I know you may not be the person to do that, but I can't take any chances."

"I understand. I'm going to go finish dinner, excuse me." Karen walked out of the living room and into the kitchen to finish the salad and side dishes. Sidney came in and got the steaks from Karen. He gave her a quick kiss and went back outside. Troy came through a minute later and went outside to sit and talk to Sidney while he cooked the steaks. Karen went out a few minutes later to see how it was going.

"Leave my steak on a little longer please. I like mine well done."

Sidney wrapped his arm around her waist "but baby, a steak that is medium is the best."

"You two can have yours any way you like it, but I don't want mine to moo at me when I cut into it." Karen went to move but Sidney's grip got tighter on her. He leaned in and kissed her like his dad wasn't sitting a few inches away. Karen remembered however and pulled away. "Everything else is done, so when the steaks are done we can eat."

A few minutes later, Sidney and his dad came inside and the three of them sat down and ate. They had a more pleasant conversation then the first time and Karen realized that no matter what she said or did, Troy Crosby was not going to like her and liked her less the longer she stayed with Sidney.

After dinner, Karen started to clear the table and she told them to go relax in the living room.

"Didn't I tell you how great she is dad?"

"Yeah you did, but the truth is, I'm not going to like anybody you're dating right now when you have so much to deal with."

"Well that's where Karen comes in. She balances that hectic life and calms me down when I need it. Sorry dad, but I am not going to throw that away right now."

"Alright Sid. I can't change your mind and I won't keep pressuring you about her."

"Thanks dad" Sidney got up and hugged his dad as Karen came in and saw the hug. They looked over at her and Sidney just smiled at her.

"Sorry, am I interrupting a family moment?"

"No, your fine. I think I am going to head back to Mario's. Thanks for dinner Karen it was great."
"Your welcome, glad you enjoyed it."

"So I'll see you in a little bit Sid?"

"Actually I was going to stay here tonight."

Karen saw the look on Troy's face "you need to get some sleep tonight so you're ready for the game tomorrow Sid. Why don't you stay at Mario's tonight?"

"We'll see where I end up, ok dad?"

"Ok. Goodnight Karen."

"Night."

Sidney walked his dad to the door and then came back to Karen who was sitting on the couch after turning on the radio. "So, you don't want me here tonight?"

"Not what I meant. I just don't want to see your dad's face tomorrow at the game with the knowing look of what we did tonight. Besides, tomorrow's game is important to put the Rangers away. You can wake up in your own bed, relax, then get ready without going from here to there. It just makes sense for tonight with the game being an afternoon one. If you played tomorrow night, then hell yeah you'd be staying."

He smiled and sat down beside her, pulling her close to him "it does make sense, I just wanted to hold you all night."

Karen looked at the clock, "well you can hold me for the next couple of hours."

"I will take what I can get." Sidney told Karen to get up and when she did, he laid down on his side and brought Karen back down to lay in front of him. She put her leg on top of his and Sidney bent his knee putting his leg inbetween hers. Karen looked at him and ran her finger over his face before kissing him. Sidney took over and deepend the kiss, pulling her as close to him as she could go.

Sidney heard the radio personality say the time was 9:30pm and knew he had to go. He didn't want to let Karen go since it felt good to be wrapped around her.

"I think we need to get up so you can head home."

"I know, I don't want to, but I know."

Karen got up and extended her hand to help Sidney up. When he did, Sidney grabbed her and continued kissing her. "You sure you want me to leave?"

"If you would have asked that an hour ago, we probably could have played around before you left."

"Now you tell me" Sidney groaned.

"It'll be ok. You'll go home and take a cold shower and I will watch something very boring."

"Is that what women do? Watch something boring to take your mind off of the feelings."

"Yeah ok, I'll go with that." Karen said and started walking to the door.

"Wait a minute, what exactly are you saying baby?"

"Guys aren't the only ones to do it, women are known to too. We can just be more discreet about it."

She walked Sidney out to the porch and he stepped down on the steps so he could look into Karen's eyes. "Do you think of me when you do it?" he whispered.

"Yes" she whispered back. "Do you think of me?"

"Always" Sidney said before kissing her again. Karen pulled away and smiled before telling him goodnight and Sidney told her the same. He walked down the steps headed back to Mario's house. Karen watched him until he was out of her sight, but smiled to herself for the feelings he brings out in her. She headed inside and decided to go to bed.

Chapter 19

Saturday morning, Karen groaned when she heard the alarm go off.

"What the hell is that thing going off on a Saturday? There is to be no alarms going off on Saturday." Karen said as she dug her head deeper into the pillow.

Sidney rolled over and shut off the alarm "sorry baby, I set it last night when you changed. I have practice this morning." He said cuddling back into her.

"Alarm bad, sleep good." Karen said getting a laugh out of Sidney. "Saturday and Sunday are the only two days I get to sleep in. I must break you of your habit of setting that thing when you stay over."

"What happens if I stay over and need to get up for practice? I need an alarm to get me up."

"Then put the alarm in the hallway and then you will have to get your ass out of bed to shut it off."

"Are you ever pleasant in the morning baby?"

"Give me a morning when we can stay in bed until we both feel like getting up, then I promise to be pleasant."

"It will happen soon baby, I promise."

"What are you doing after practice today? Spending time with your dad?"

"Probably. He'll go to practice and watch then we'll go out for lunch afterwards. Want to meet us later for lunch?"

Karen opened her eyes and looked at him "are you insane? Did you stop a puck with your head lately?"

"No" Sidney started laughing. "You guys had a bad first meeting, the next one will be better."

"Well if the next time is in August when I come to see you, that will be soon enough for me."

"What happened last night when I went to get dinner?"

"I told him all about me when he asked, but he still seemed set that I wasn't the one for you like there was nothing I could say to change his mind."

"He told me that he thought you were a wonderful person but he didn't see it ending well if we made us public."

Karen got up and put on her robe "you better get up or you'll be late. Did you want to shower here?"

"Do you mind?"

"No. I'll go make us something to eat."

"Karen, wait?" Sidney got up and stopped her before she left the room, holding her close. "I'm sorry baby. I thought between my mom and dad, he would be more open minded to this. I just want them to see why I love you so much."

"No one is going to see it when they won't be able to get past the age difference. The only people it should matter to is us and we don't care."

Sidney lifted her chin to look at him "I know I don't." He leaned down and kissed her softly. Karen could feel him get turned on the longer they kissed.

"You may want to get a cold shower." Karen said with a smile.

"He just wants you to know how happy he is that we're together."

"Um, he? Please tell me you didn't actually named it."

"Excuse me? He is not an it and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't talk bad about him."

"Well, for what I did for HIM last night, he shouldn't be complaining about what I call him. Go get your shower before you're late." Karen said before kissing him again and leaving him standing naked in the doorway.

Twenty minutes later, Sidney came down and met Karen in the kitchen. "I don't think I have time for breakfast since I still need to go change" he said.

"If you take this with you, you will have time to eat."

"What is it?"

"It's a breakfast burrito so you can take it with you" She said handing it to him.

"What's in it?"

"Um eggs, bacon, green peppers, hash browns, and cheese. It's good, just try it."

Sidney unwrapped the foil and took a bite, liking what he tasted. "That is really good baby. You might have to make this more often for me."

"Anytime. You better go."

"I know." He kissed her and Karen licked her lips tasting the breakfast on them "I'll call you later, ok? I love you."

"I love you too."

He kissed her again and left Karen in the kitchen to clean up. When she was done, she went to the living room and laid down on the couch, watching tv. She thought back to what Sidney said that his dad didn't see the relationship ending well if they went public with it. Karen didn't want to just date him in private, she wanted to go out and do things she loved to do and share them with Sidney. She wondered if maybe this realtionship with Sidney shouldn't happen. A few tears escaped as she closed her eyes and tried to fall back asleep. Ten minutes later, Karen opened her eyes knowing sleep wasn't going to happen. She got up and went upstairs to get dressed, heading to the one place that always made her feel better.

A while later, Sidney was at lunch with his dad and Mario. After they ordered, he tried to call Karen to see if she was ok.

Karen didn't realize how long she skating around until her cell phone started ringing. She took it out of her pocket and answered it.

"Hello."

"Hey baby."

"Hey" Karen said not sounding happy.

"What's wrong? I usually get a better greeting than that."

Karen tried to play it off "Sorry stud, I'm just a little preoccupied."

"That's a little better, but there still seems to be something wrong."

Karen skated over to the bench and sat down taking a deep breath before speaking, "maybe your dad's right."

Sidney looked at his dad with angry eyes before getting up and walking outside to finish his call. "No he's not right and especially not right about us. What happened from this morning? I thought we were fine."

"We are, but after you left all I thought about was what your dad said to me. Maybe this shouldn't happen between us now."

Sidney could tell she was crying and the hurt was pouring out with each word she spoke "baby, please don't do this to us. Let me come over and we can talk about this more. I am not about to let you out of my life this easily."

Karen thought this was going to be easy but Sidney was showing her that he did care about her "I'm not at home. My thoughts were taking over and I had to leave to clear my head."

"Where are you? I will come to you so we can talk."

"Sid, just let me call you when I get home ok. I need some time alone to think about all this."

Sidney sighed and gave in "Ok, but please don't decide anything until we talk, ok?"

"Ok. I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing and see you later."

"Alright baby, I love you."

"I love you too."

They hung up and Sidney stood outside and took a couple breaths before going back inside to finish lunch with his dad and Mario. He thought he was fine, but when he saw his dad staring at him as he walked in, his anger came back.

"Anything wrong Sid?"

"As a matter of fact there is" Sidney said trying to stay as calm to not make a scene. "Called Karen and she was upset like she was crying before saying to me that maybe you were right and this shouldn't happen between us."

Troy could see the hatred in his son's eyes and knew this wasn't going to be easy "Sid, if she's having second thoughts about you two being together, maybe it's for the best right now."

"She's only having second thoughts because you put them there. She might have been scared to be together because of what happened in a past relationship, but we're working on it. Why can't you just let me see if this is right. Let me decide when to end this. I will take the heat from the media or fans, even mom, but I will deal with it. If she is who I want to be with, and right now she is, then I will make that decision."

"I want you to be happy Sid and if she is what makes you happy, then I will back off. But I still can have my reservations about you dating her."

Mario decided to chime in and hopefully calm things down between Sidney and Troy. "Maybe your dad has a point Sid. You don't need all these distractions when you guys are so close to advancing to the finals. I love Karen to death and she's a great friend, if you decide to slow things down and wait until the playoffs are over, things might work out better. Karen will certainly understand this."

"She was crying and hurt from what you said to her last night dad. I wish I knew where she was."

"She's not at home?" Troy asked concerned.

"No. She said she had to get out of the house and clear her mind. I just want her to be ok."

"Karen's fine Sid" Mario said.

"And you know this how?"

"Because I know where she is. Karen goes to Iceoplex to skate around and think about whatever is bothering her. She had a huge fight with Rick and ended up skating around for 7 hours until she felt better. I can almost bet she's there now."

"I'm going to find her. Thanks Mario."

Troy and Mario watched Sidney practically run out of the restaurant. "What's the real reason you don't like Karen?"

"I found her to be wonderful, and she has a great head on her shoulders with her job and about money, but I don't think she can make Sidney happy in the long run."

"I don't think Karen has thought that far ahead and we both know Sid isn't thinking about all that. This could be over once he goes back home for the summer or it could last for another year. This is for them to decide Troy."

"I know it is." They finished their lunch then headed back to Mario's house.

Sidney walked in the building and headed over to the glass overlooking the ice. He saw Karen skating around and shooting at the many pucks every now and then. Sidney could tell she had still been crying after they hung up and went down to the locker room to put on his skates. He came out onto the ice and skated to center ice, waiting for Karen to look up and see him. Sidney watched Karen take a slapshot and when the puck bounced off the crossbar, it shot back to his direction and stopped it with his skate. Karen watched the puck head towards center ice and took her eyes off the puck to see Sidney standing there. When she looked at him, all he could do was skate over to her and hold her until she settled down. Sidney decided to wait to start talking to her after a little bit.

"I'm sorry" Karen said looking up into Sidney's eyes.

"Sssh baby, you have nothing to be sorry about. It'll be ok, we will be ok."

"What if it's not?"

Sidney didn't know how to answer that since he didn't really know if it will really be ok. He wanted to be with Karen, she balanced his life. "Baby, I know my dad said some things to make you second guess us, but I want to know why you're not listening to your heart. You realized that you love me, that feeling doesn't happen often for anyone."

"Did you just tell me that you loved me only because you heard me tell Samantha first?"

Sidney lifted her face so she could look into his eyes. "No. I said it because that's what I feel for you. The first night we made love, after you fell asleep I whispered that I was falling in love with you."

"You did?"

"Yes I did. I knew I was feeling something they way we click and have a great time together. It wasn't until that night that I knew what I felt was love. I would have said it first, but you just beat me to it." Sidney smiled at her and that made Karen smile through her tears.

"Sorry. Um, how did you know I was here?"

"Mario" He saw Karen smile "he said you would come here when you needed time to yourself to think about problems."

"Because of the fight I had with Rick one night. I was here for like..."

"7 hours" they both said at the same time then laughed. "Mario told me that too" Sidney added.

"Do you want to play around with me?"

"You could get frost bit in places you wouldn't want bitten." Sidney said with an evil smirk.

"Not that kind of playing around you sex fiend. I meant...."

Sidney kissed her "I know what you meant baby. How about we just skate around?"

"Sounds good."

Karen leaned up to kiss him and Sidney started to skate backwards with Karen still attached to his lips. He let go of her long enough to skate over to the cd player and played whatever was in there. He smiled when he heard it was a slow song, skating back over to Karen and grabbing her hand to skate around the ice. They skated for a couple hours and then stopped at the net to pick up all the pucks.

"You made some good shots before I came down. Why did you ever stop playing?"

"I blew out my knee in the gold medal game. One of the girls from the Canadian team hit me as I was going to the net. She hit me from behind and my knee went right into the post."

"Ouch."

"Then it went hard into the boards to stop me. There was like less than 2 minutes left in the second period when I hobbled to the locker room. The trainers and doctor all told me that I was done playing but the stubbornness in me told them otherwise."

"You continued playing on it?"

"Yep. It was the Olympics, not to mention the gold medal game. Well I couldn't not play the final game of the Olympics. I told them to tape it, wrap it but I was not coming out. So we iced it down during the intermission then taped it and wrapped it and I went back on the ice."

"Were you able to really play on it?"

"Yes and no. It didn't hurt as much when I was skating around, but stopping and standing around waiting for faceoffs killed me. After it was over and we won, I could barely stand on it. I knew what damage I was doing to my knee but it was worth it to beat Canada for the gold medal." Karen smirked a little too much on her last comment and Sidney just glared at her before laughing himself.

"That was a low blow baby."

"I know but it's the truth." Karen skated over to Sidney, who tried to move away from her, and she wrapped her arms around him "you're not mad are you?"

"Maybe."

"Ok then." Karen went to skate away from him when Sidney grabbed her and brought her back to him. Only he pulled her too hard and they both fell to the ice laughing.

"I like the smile on your face better baby."

"You can always make me smile."

"And I hope I get to continue to make you smile for a long time." Sidney captured her lips and rolled them onto his back so Karen wasn't lying on the ice. They continued to kiss for a few more minutes until Karen pulled away and got up, bringing Sidney with her. "What?"

"There's still something we need to talk about Sid."

"Ok, why don't we head back to your house and talk about it all?"

Karen just smiled and kissed him again. They headed off the ice and put the pucks away, then took off their skates. Sidney held Karen's hand as they walked to their cars. He told her he would meet her at the house and they drove off.

Chapter 18

Karen had gotten home about 3pm, there was an accident on I279 and she was able to bypass it and take a few side streets. When she got home, she noticed the front door was open which was odd to her. Karen got out of her car with the bags and quietly walked into the house. As she put the bags down in the hallway and looked into the living room, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist scaring her.

Karen whipped around to see the person behind her "Crosby! What the hell? You scared me to death doing that."

Sidney held on to her and pressed his forehead to hers. "I'm sorry baby, I wanted to surprise you."

"Well you scared the shit out of me, not surprised me. I thought someone broke in with the door opened and.....wait a minute, how did you get in here? I locked the door when I left on Sunday night."

"You did, but I saw where you keep the extra key in the kitchen and snatched it so I could come in and wait for you if you weren't here yet. Can I keep it?"

"No because that is my only extra set" she said seeing the sadness reach Sidney's eyes "but if you want we could make a copy of it for you to have."

Sidney smiled and then kissed her. "Mmm, I have missed kissing these lips."

"I hope these are the only lips you are kissing."

"They are baby, they are. So, do we play now or after dinner?"

"Aren't you tired after your work out? I know I need a nap more than anything right now."

Sidney tried to hide his dejected look. He grabbed Karen's hand and went upstairs to her room. Karen kicked off her shoes and put on a pair of shorts and a tank top to be more comfortable when she laid down. Sidney took off his shoes as well and climbed in beside her, pulling Karen to him. Karen leaned up to offer her lips to him, Sidney happily took them as they began to kiss. They both poured every ounce of their feelings for each other into the kiss. Sidney's hand began to roam and made its way under Karen's tank top. She knew better than to roam her hands because she knew if she set him off, she wouldn't be able to stop where this passion train was heading. Karen played it safe and put her hands under his shirt and on his muscular back. They continued to kiss until Sidney broke it and made his way to her neck. After a few minutes, Karen didn't feel any movement from him and she smiled realizing he fell asleep. She closed her eyes and joined him in a peaceful nap.

Karen woke up 2 hours later and looked at Sidney still asleep. She got out of his grip only to be pulled back by him. She told him she had to go to the bathroom and would be right back. He reluctantly let her go and fell back asleep. Karen came back a few minutes later and stood by the bed watching Sidney sleep. He was beautiful in a manly way, but still beautiful to her. She couldn't believe out of so many hot, young girls that he could have chosen, he chose to be with her. Karen secretly wondered how long she'd be with him before he would want someone closer to his own age. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Sidney literally pulled her back down on the bed and on top of him.

"What were you thinking about? You didn't respond to me when I called your name."

"Sorry, I was just going over some stuff in my head."

"Like what?"

"Nothing you need to worry about. Why don't we call for some take out Chinese for dinner?"

"Sounds good, but I still want to know what you were thinking about." Sidney puts a fallen strand of hair behind her ear "You were too deep in thought to not be bothered by something."

Karen got off of Sidney and off the bed "It doesn't matter right now. I'm going to go to the kitchen and get the menus to see what we want. I'll meet you downstairs."

Sidney told her ok and watched her walk out of the bedroom. He got up and went to the bathroom before meeting up with her downstairs. They settled on where and what they wanted to eat, but before Karen could call in the order, there was a knock at the door. She left the menu with Sidney and was shocked to see who was at the door.

"Mr. Crosby, would you like to come in?"

"Thanks, and please call me Troy. Mario said that Sid was here and I wanted to come down and get both of you for dinner."

Sidney came out of the kitchen when he heard his dad's voice. "We were actually going to get some Chinese and eat in."

"Would you like to join us? We haven't called yet, so we can order another dinner." Karen surprised herself when she blurted out the dinner invitation to Sidney's dad, but the look coming from Sidney told her he was just as surprised.

"How about instead of calling, Sid, why don't you go order it and wait for it? Give Karen and I a chance to talk."

"Yeah, ok."

Karen wrote down what all to order and gave it to Sidney. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips before he left the house.

"Would you like to sit down? Something to drink perhaps?"

"I'm fine." Troy and Karen sat down in the living room and she waited for the questions he was going to ask her. "My son seems to be really taken with you. Besides playing hockey, I don't think I have ever seen him this happy."

"Well it goes both ways. There's something about his demeanor that makes him caring towards others. Like its genuine."

"His mom and I tried to raise him to be like that, glad to see all our hard work paid off."

"You guys did a great job with him." After a few minutes of awkward silence, Karen finally spoke up. "I know you have either something to say to me or a lot of questions to ask, so before Sid comes back, why don't you just say what you need to say."

"Alright but first I need to apologize for how I was Sunday after the game. I had no right to be that coy with you not knowing about you. I almost need to be that way until I know people's intentions with my son."

"You have every right to be suspicous, but you also need to ask questions first, not jump to conclusions."

"You're right, I do. So, without sounding to fatherly, what are your intentions with my son?"

"If you're already suspicous of me, I guess its a little late saying to use him for his money and star status." Seeing Troy not really amused "my intentions with Sidney was first and foremost to be friends. But apparently he had other ideas before I did."

"What do you mean?"

"It was more like he was pursuing me and not the other way around. From what Mario had said, when we played 4 on 4 and I scored on him, he was awed by me and what I did. I guess after that he wanted to know more about me. I only knew of him from the newspapers, the internet, and what I saw on TV but after finally meeting him, I knew he was different than other hockey players."

"How do you know that from just meeting him?"

"I dated a hockey player about 16 years ago. After that, any other one that I meet, it doesn't impress me anymore by what they do. I like Sidney because of how he acted like a normal person like hockey was just a game he likes to play, not that it was his job. It's hard to explain, he's just special and he actually makes me feel special. I don't know how I can keep explaining it without saying the same thing over and over."

"I get what you're saying. What do you do for a job? Sid said you work in Wheeling?"

"I do inventory for an outdoor store there, Cabela's. Not sure if you've heard of it but they sell products for hunting, fishing, and camping, but also clothing and gifts with an outdoor flare to it. I have been with the company for 4 years and I love my job. I have my own money and I own this house from my parents. I don't really depend on anybody but myself."

"So your parents moved and gave you the house?"

"Actually, my parents died 6 years ago and as their only daughter, the house went to me. My dad had it paid off and I do have an inheritance sitting in the bank earning interest. So, Sid's money is not of any interest of mine."

"Sid told me that you used to play hockey."

"Yeah. In 1996 I was in LA and had seen advertisements for a try out to be a part of Team USA for the women's hockey team. I had played a little with the boys in the neighborhood for fun so I tried out and made the team. I played with them for a couple of years and we went to the Olympics in 1998 and won the gold medal. After that, I came back home because they have an age limit for Team USA and by the next Olympics I wouldn't have been eligible to play so I didn't go back to try out for the following year."

"Then what did you do for 6 years for work?"

"Day care. I worked for a company that had a pre-school and a before/afterschool program in one of the schools. That was how I got reacquainted with Mario and Nathalie after all those years. I had Lauren in there and she took a liking to me, so Mario asked me if I did any outside babysitting and I watched Lauren every now and then. Technically, my dad always told me I didn't have to work but there is something satisfying about earning your own money."

"You do have some fantasic morals about working and money, I will give you that."

"But..."

"Don't get me wrong here Karen. You seem to be a wonderful person, but I still have to wonder if this is wrong for Sid."

"Because of my age, right?" All Troy had to do was nod "I know I am older than Sidney and that was one thing that made me do a double take about this relationship with him. But he doesn't care how old I am. He sees what he wants to see and that is a woman that is independent, has a great job and her own money and has played the game to know what pressures he is under every day just so he can play the game he loves. I've been there and I've seen it, to me he's Sidney Crosby that's it. I don't care what he does or how much he makes. He makes me happy and from what I can tell, I make him happy. But at least you now know what my intentions are. If you'd rather have Sidney date someone his own age that only cares about him playing for the Penguins and the bragging rights of dating Sidney Crosby 'the next big thing in hockey', there are plenty of those girls at every game waiting for that chance. But if I am the one Sidney chooses to be with, I am not giving up a chance to be happy if he is just as happy being with me."

"I do appreciate your honestly Karen. You could have sat there and told me anything and I would have believed it, but you were honest. I trust Sid to do what's right for him I just don't want to see him get hurt."

"But if he gets hurt, don't you think I'll get hurt too? I haven't been in a relationship since 1996, not because I haven't wanted to be in one, I just haven't found anybody worth my love....until now. If you don't want to give me a chance then hopefully we can act civil in front of Sidney to keep him happy." Karen said getting up from the couch.

Just then they heard a car door slam and Sidney had walked in a minute later. Karen had wiped a stray tear from her cheek hoping that Sidney didn't see her, but he did. He walked over and wrapped his arm around her waist, kissing her temple.

"Everything ok?"

"Yeah. Let me have the food and I will get it set up in the kitchen." Karen took the bag from Sidney and went to the kitchen.

"Do I want to know what happened here dad? I thought you only wanted to talk to her to get to know her."

"We did talk and I did find out a lot about her."

"Then why is she upset?"

"Karen is a wonderful person but I just don't see this ending well once you go public with this."

Sidney couldn't find an answer to what his dad said and he left the living room to go to the kitchen to eat. A minute later his dad followed and sat down with them for dinner. Sidney made small talk with his dad about news from home and Karen just stayed quiet and ate her dinner. An hour later, Troy had left and went back to Mario's leaving Sidney with Karen. She was cleaning up from dinner and was still quiet, to quiet for Sidney's liking.

Sidney walked over to Karen by the sink and wrapped his arms around her "talk to me."

"There's nothing really to say. He got to know me, he still doesn't like me, nor does he still want me to be with you. That was pretty much the highlight while you were gone. Makes me want to meet your mother tomorrow and just get shot down all at once that I am not the one for you."

"Do you want to be with me?"

"Yes"

"Do you love me?"

"Yes"

Turning her around in his arms, "good because I love you and want to be with you. Let's just make this about us like you said. If this is what we want, then it doesn't matter what everybody else wants."

"Any other guy probably would have ran out that door than deal with a situation like this."

"Well, I am not like any other guy."

Sidney kissed Karen before pulling her into the living room and cuddling on the couch to watch TV. A couple hours later, Karen was tired and told Sidney she was ready to go to bed. He turned off the TV and the lights while Karen locked the door. They headed upstairs and went to her room. Sidney stripped down to his boxers and Karen went into the bathroom, coming out in a different tank top and short set. It was a little more skimpy but perfect to sleep in, but Sidney had a different idea. Karen crawled into bed beside him and before she could get comfortable, Sidney had climbed on top of her.

"You don't waste any time do you?"

"Not when it's to get what I want."

"Then what do you want?" Karen asked with a hint of urgency in her voice.

"I want you."

Sidney kissed her while his hands move down to the bottom of her top and released her lips to pull the tank off her body. He crawled down her body to remove her shorts and just sat there and stared at her. Karen felt his eyes on her and felt a little nervous.

"Why are you just staring at me like that?"

"Because you're beautiful and I wanted to take in all your beauty."

"Did you stop off for a drink before coming back here?"

"No" he said with a light laugh "you're beautiful and I wanted you to know it."

Sidney leaned down and started kissing her leg, moving up towards her thigh. The higher he got, the more turned on Karen got. Sidney reached her mound and blew air over her. Karen closed her eyes and let him do whatever he wanted to. He picked up her leg and put it on his shoulder as he kissed all around her. Karen sucked in a sharp breath when she felt him lick her, only to go deeper. She felt him inside her and grabbed a handful of sheets as the feelings stirred inside her body. Soon, Sidney inserted his fingers inside of her and began to pump them in and out. Karen couldn't hold out any more and her orgasm came hard and fast. She moaned out for Sidney who continued to move his fingers until he got every last drop from her. He crawled back up her body, and kissed her until she calmed down.

A few minutes later, Karen had regain a sense of where she was and rolled Sidney on to his back. She crawled down hs body, leaving a kissing trail from his neck to the top of his boxers. Karen stopped and lighty played with the 'happy trail' under his belly button. She could feel Sidney move under her and she just smiled knowing he was enjoying it. Karen pulled down his boxers and off his legs, throwing them to the floor. She saw his beautiful erection getting harder by the minute. Karen leaned down and took him into her mouth, humming to make a vibrating feeling on him. She would change from deep throating him to licking him like a lollipop. Karen knew from how turned on he was that Sidney wouldn't last any longer. She enveloped him into her mouth and bobbed her head, drawing the orgasm out of him. Sidney moved his hands to her head and gripped her hair, helping with her movement on him. A few minutes later, Sidney came hard and Karen took all he had to offer. When he was done, Karen cleaned him up and moved back up beside him. Sidney rolled over to his side and brought her with him. He kissed her, each tasting each other from their escapades.

"Damn baby, where did you learn to be that good?"

"Do you really want to pull at that thread? I could ask you the same thing, you know."

"Yeah, we may not want to know the answer to those questions. But I do have a question for you."

"What?"

"Ready for round 2?"

"Bring it Crosby." Karen said as she caressed his cheek.

Sidney reached into the nightstand and pulled out a condom. Karen just smiled at him because he was worried about forgetting to use one on Sunday. He put in on and lifted Karen's leg to wrap around his hip, sliding up to her entrance. He plunged into her in one swift move, grabbing her ass to help him go as deep as he could. Sidney began to move in and out of her, starting out slow. He kept this pace up for as long as he could handle it. But Karen had other plans as she started to moan for Sidney to move faster, then harder. Sidney had rolled them over and onto Karen's back. She instinctively opened her legs wider and wrapped them around his body to give him better access. He propped himself up on his hands and pounded into her as hard as he could. The last thrust Sidney did brought both of them over the edge at the same time. He continued pumpng into her until he was done, lying back down on top of her. A few minutes later, Sidney got off of Karen and went to the bathroom. Karen pulled the covers up over her and waited for him to come back to join her. When he did, Karen nestled into his nook and fell asleep with Sidney's arms tightly around her.

Chapter 17

The next couple of days flew by and it was Tuesday night and the Pens would be taking the ice in an hour. Karen was at her friend Sheril's house to watch the game. They were watching the pre-game show and they interviewed Sidney to get his perspective on tonight's game. When the interview was over, Karen had a smile plastered on her face.

"Damn girl, can you have it any more bad for the guy?"

"I think I possibly could, you never know" Karen said as she got up to get something to drink.

"Why do I think there's something more going on then what we saw over the weekend?"


"I don't know what is giving you that idea."

Just then, Karen's cell phone went off and she ran to grab it before Sheril had a chance to. She saw the caller ID and smiled when it was Sidney. She walked outside to get some privacy.

"Hey stud."

"Hey baby."

"Aren't you suppose to be concentrating on the game right now?"

"I am but everytime I had a free moment, you popped in my head so I thought to call you to see if you were watching the game."

"I was going to but there's naked male mud wrestling on in like 5 minutes. I was torn which to watch and chose the naked men, sorry."

"Is there any way to get you to change your mind and watch the game?"

"Do you or your teammates plan to strip during the game?"

"I don't see that happening, sorry. Anything else?"

"How good are you at begging? Maybe if you beg me good enough, I'll watch the game instead."

"I won't beg, but if you watch the game tonight I promise to make it up to you Friday night when I see you."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"You'll just have to wait and see, but baby, it will definitely be worth the wait."

"You don't play nice Crosby."

"Never said I did baby."

Karen heard them call for him in the background "well go kick some ass stud and I will be watching you."

"Ok baby. I'll call you tomorrow since you'll need to go to bed after the game for work."

"Alright, good luck Sid."

"Thanks, bye."

"Bye."

Karen hung up and walked back into the house, settling in to watch the game. Sheril just looked at her and Karen told her she would tell her everything during the intermissions.

The game went on and the Pens won 5-3, with Sidney netting two assists. After the game, they did some locker room interviews and Karen saw a look Sidney did into the camera and wondered if it was for her. She made a mental note to ask him about it later. Karen left Sheril's ten minutes later and headed home. When she got home, she went straight to her room and changed for bed. As soon as she was under the covers, her cell phone went off and Karen knew who the text was coming from. She reached for the phone and opened it up to read the message "did you see your wink? I hope so. Sleep tight baby, I love you. Sid" Karen smiled and replied back before closing her eyes.

Sidney and the team finally got back to the hotel after all the interviews and press conferences, which he had done most of them. Since Colby had been traded, Sidney didn't have a roommate, so his dad was in the room with him. He had heard his phone go off during an interview and couldn't get to it until he got back to the hotel. Sidney opened his phone to retrieve the message from Karen and read the simple note "I love you too!" He smiled and closed his phone knowing she was asleep and didn't want to wake her with another message.

"Who were you talking to?" Troy asked coming into the room.

"No one, Karen sent me a text after the game when I was stuck doing interviews and just now read it."

"Everything ok?"

"She's not going away dad, just accept it."

"I didn't mean it that way Sid. I told you I would not jump to any conclusions about her until I spent time with her. I know you like her and when you put your mind to something, you follow through with it. Just be careful."

"I will dad, trust me" Sidney sat on his bed and looked at his dad "you know, she's older than I am....a lot older."

Troy didn't really want to know her age and avoided it unless Sidney offered to tell him. "Does it matter that she older?"

"Not to me. But I guess I'm wondering what you think and eventually what mom will say about it."

"Sid, you fall in love with someone because they have the same interests or because of what type of person they are and how they carry themselves. If you only go for someone because they are the same age as you or 1-2 years different, what kind of relationship can you really build from that? I know I want you to be careful, but I'd rather see you happy than anything Sid. You need something to offset your hockey life."

"And she does that dad."

"I know. How about we go get a late dinner somewhere?"

Sidney nodded and they left the room to get something to eat.

Thursday night came and went with the Pens losing 3-0 to the Rangers. Karen was at the house and sat stunned that they couldn't put them away. She knew Sidney was going to go through every tiny particle of the game to find out what went wrong. Karen figured that it was a last ditch desperation move on New York's part and that the loss didn't mean anything but them staying alive for one more game. She knew the boys would bounce back and finish off the series at home.

Before Karen went to bed, she hoped that Sidney would have called or texted her, but she knew he was diappointed and probably didn't want to talk. Karen laughed knowing she had been the same way after some games and rather would have been left alone then talk about it. She grabbed her cell phone and did a text to Sidney. Karen didn't care if he replied or not, she just wanted him to know she was there.

The team left New York and headed home that night. Nobody wanted to stay over and not playing again until Sunday, they wanted the extra day at home. After Sidney got settled, his phone went off. He opened it up and saw he had a message from Karen and read what it said "I love you." Sidney's bad mood started to fade away when he read those three little words from her. He had wanted to call her after the game, but he didn't want to end up being mad at her when she would only try to make things better. Sidney put his phone away and sat back to close his eyes on the long trip home.

On Friday around 11am, Karen was sitting at lunch when her phone went off. She looked at it then answered it.

"Hey stud."

"Hey baby. It's good to hear your voice."

"Aww, did you miss me stud?"

"Yes. Why can't you just travel with me to all the road games?"

"Because I would lose my job eventually with too many absences."

"Yeah, you're going to have to remind me again why that's a bad idea. Don't you have any vacation days you could use?"

"But if I use all of them now, then I won't have any to go on an actual vacation in a couple months."

"Where were you planning on going?"

"I'm not sure. I've heard Eastern Canada is beautiful in summer or maybe somewhere exclusive where it could be just me and the man of my dreams. I haven't really decided yet. Do you have any ideas for me?"

"I like your first choice, you could be with the man of your dreams there."

"Nah, I'd be with you."

"That was harsh. Just step on my already bruised ego from last night a little more."

"I'm sorry baby, I was just having some fun."

"I know you were and I'm sorry too. Were you really planning your vacation to spend with me in Canada?"

"At least a week, that is if you would like the company."

"I always want your company baby. When were you planning to come?"

"Well, my vacation doesn't hit until July 5th and we have to put it in 3 weeks in advance, so I figure that would put me there around the first week of August."

"I like that plan. Besides it will give me a couple of months to work on mom so she's not so..."

"Shocked to see me when I meet her?"

"I wasn't going to say that."

"Whatever stud, you need time to prepare her, go ahead. My vacation revolves around being with you. Just make sure all the sharp objects are out of the house for my safety when I do meet her." Karen could hear Sidney laughing.

"Alright baby, I will. What time will you coming up tonight?"

"My bags are in the car, so I will leave when I'm done. Probably by 2:30pm depending on traffic."

"Well we have a meeting in an hour and then I might stay and work out for a bit. So I will just meet you at your house when I'm done?"

"What about your dad? Isn't he still here to stay with you?"

"Yeah, but he'll understand since we hadn't seen each other all week."

Ok. Sorry stud, but my lunch hour is over and I need to get back. I'll see you in a couple hours?"

"Definitely, I will be counting the minutes. Love you baby."

"Love you too stud."

They hung up and Karen went back to work for the last hour of her shift.