Oh No..

So seriously... I'm not dead, and I know I've already done this on this story but...

I have a story found at traitor8.blogspot.com ... it has some Sidney Crosby in it, if you're interested.
There are a few posts up already and soon there will be nightly updates... if I left you hanging on this story... you might enjoy that.

At least something to hold you over a bit =D

Sorry!!

Hey guys!

I'm super sorry about the lack of updates...

I'm having a very hard time writing this story right now but, trust me when I say I'm working to correct this. I have alot of ideas but I just can't seem to pull it together the way I want.

I lost a few followers (hopefully due to lack of updates and not the fact that they hate this story lol). For the people that are still reading this and waiting for an update... thanks =).

Hang around a bit more... hopefully I'll have something soon.


In the mean time... for anyone who's looking for a Sidney Crosby story, check out:

nothingworthwinning87.blogspot.com
or
goldlining87.blogspot.com

they're both great and if you love Sidney Crosby, you'll love these.

Beyond that I'm working on a duo-story with a really talented writer... onthinice29.blogspot.com (it's a Marc-Andre Fleury one... and I'm very proud of it!)

Thanks again guys!! =)

Chapter 17: Chew Toy

I woke up to the sound of the alarm going off, much too early; or at least that’s how it felt. I sighed and rolled over, dangling my feet off the edge of the bed, my mind wandering back over the last two days.
I hadn’t seen anyone since my run-in with Sidney, and now, Karri wasn’t even returning my phone calls. What did I do? I kept asking myself, unable to find the answer.
I let out one last huff before I pushed myself out of bed; I wasn’t even looking forward to the hockey game tonight… what a pitiful individual I was becoming.


We boarded the plane for Tampa at noon; the boys talking excitedly about our weekend south. I played some SOCOM with Flower, Geno, Tanger, TK and Staalsy; but my attention was more focused on Sidney. He was reclined back in his seat, a smug look on his face; a smug look that I took to mean one thing. Well, at least I know that she’s not calling me because she doesn’t want to talk to me…
Sidney glanced at me and couldn’t help but give me a smug smile back; if he told Karri not to talk to me, then he obviously knows she likes me… That thought was more than enough to get me through a few days of not talking to her. We had a home game on Monday, and I knew she’d be there.
“Come on Talbot! DAMNIT!” Flower called from somewhere behind me. “Pay attention… you’re running around like an idiot and making us loose.”

“Ha! Like you Frenchies could ever beat us!” Staalsy yelled out, earning laughs of approval from Geno and TK.

“He have bad hands in game too…” Geno quipped in broken English.

“Shut up Geno.” I sulked, before adding, “your girlfriend doesn’t have a problem with how I use my hands…” This got the attention of the fully plane; causing everyone except Sid and Geno to break out in hysterics.

“Oh come on Geno, you know he’s only kidding!” Flower said, slapping the bad tempered Russian on the back. I shrugged at his words, turning back around in my seat and catching Sidney’s eyes once more. I shot him a grin before turning around and looking out the window.


We had won our game against Tampa on Friday, and the one against the Panthers on Saturday; which was good. Sidney was in a much better mood that usual come Monday, and I was hoping that would mean some leeway where Karri was concerned.
I was standing in the hallway, fully dressed and waiting for Flower, when I saw her.
“Well if it isn’t little Maxime Talbot!” She laughed in her sing-song voice, coming up beside me.

“Hey now!” I laughed back, “who are you calling little?”

“You of course, trust me I’ve heard stories-”

“Everyone of ’em, lies!” I cut her off before pulling her into a tight hug. “How have you been Monique?”

I looked down at my ex-girlfriend; leaning against me in stilettos and still not reaching to my chin. “I’ve been good, I won’t even bother asking how you’ve been… big time NHLer.”

I chuckled and let her go. “So what brings you to Pittsburgh?”

“Done of school, and was lucky enough to get hired by the Penguins..”

“NO WAY!” I threw my hand up to high-five her; before realizing how much of a tool I looked like. She laughed and tried to reach for my hand, unable to jump that high. “So wait, you’re medical right?”

“Yep, and I start tonight so… wish me luck!” I threw my arm around her shoulders and led her into the dressing room before she could stop me.

“Alright guys, listen up!” I called out to the rest of my team. “This is Moni… also known as Monique… she just got hired for our medical-team. She’s a good friend from back home so you better be nice!” I felt her cringe beside me as I gave her a one-armed hug and led her around the dressing room.



“See, they’re not so bad!” I said quietly, poking her while as I lined up in the hallway with the rest of the guys.

She gave me a crooked grin and made to leave. “Oh hey,” She stopped and glanced at me over her shoulder. “You wanna grab something to eat… after you’re done?”

“Yah!” I smiled at her, “sure… sounds good.”


We lost the game 3-1; I had an assist though, so it wasn’t a total bust.
I met up with Moni as soon as I was done changing, and headed out towards the lounge. She was excited and talkative; it was easy to remember why we had gotten along so good in the past. The break-up? She wanted to get married, have the kids, the white-picket fence; we both knew that wouldn’t happen with me.
I saw Karri from across the room and she gave me a weak smile. “Hey, Moni. Come here, there’s someone I want you to meet.” We headed towards Karri; Vero and Flower standing diligently beside her. “Hey guys, this is Moni; she’s working with our medical team now.” I introduced her to Vero and Karri, pleased with the look in Karri’s eyes when she saw my arm around Moni’s shoulders.
We chatted for a while before Vero and Flower headed out to the Diesel, leaving Moni and me with Karri.

“Ummm… excuse me for a minute, little girls room…” Moni excused herself and headed across the lobby.

“So, she seems really nice.” Karri said after we both watched her leave.

“Yah, she’s an old friend from back home-” I started, turning around to look back at Karri. She was brushing her hair off her shoulder; allowing me to catch a glimpse at her neck.

Her delicate neck. The soft pale skin was now turning black and blue from what I assumed was a cluster of hickies. The most surprising sight of all though, was the clear-set of teeth marks at the base of her neck; cutting through the skin.
I gaped at her neck with an opened mouth, not even caring if she saw me. I looked up at her face, realizing that she wasn’t paying any attention to me.
I turned around to see what she was looking at and saw Sid coming through the crowd, grinning at me.

It was one thing to try and stop our communication; it was another thing entirely to use her like a chew toy to prove a point. Karri was special; not a possession. I turned back to Sidney and shot him the dirtiest look I could muster; so if that’s how you wanna play Sid the Kid… no more Mr. Nice Talbot

Chapter 16: Inappropriate Thoughts

“Sid… don’t you think you’re over-reacting? Just a bit…” Flower and I sat together at our regular coffee shop; he was giving me a run down of all the things I had done wrong, the night before. Needless to say, there was a lot to talk about.

I sighed and fiddle with the lid of my coffee, “I never said that I wasn’t… I just… don’t know what else to do.”

“You could always… oh, I don’t know… tell her the truth.” I grimaced at the sarcasm in his voice; refusing to meet his eyes. I felt like a child being scolded for doing something wrong.
I felt horrible enough with being called out by Flower. I had been awful to Karri the night before; I knew that I was over-reacting, but I was terrified of losing her to Max. Besides, it wasn’t like this was the first time Karri had stirred up strong emotions in me.

“Look Sid, I know you don’t want to hear this but, just say Karri likes Max, wouldn’t you rather know how she feels now; instead of finding out later? If she wants to be with him then, hiding how he feels isn’t going to stop them…”

I nodded slowly. “I know, I know… You’re right, about everything. I mean, I know she loves me but; hiding this is just hurting us more. It’d be better to have it out in the open.”
Flower nodded along with my words; obviously relieved to have me on the same page again. We said goodbye and I headed home, excited to finally sort things out with Karrington, but terrified as to how things would actually play out.

She wasn’t hard to find, curled up on the couch watching The View; still in her Pjs. “Karri, can I talk to you for a minute?” I asked timidly, shrugging out of my jacket and tossing it onto the couch.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Umm… I just wanted to say that, I’m not going to be mad at you if you wanna be friends with Max.”

“What?” She turned the TV off and stared at me, “last night… you were so mad though…”

“I know babe.” I sighed and sat down in front of her on the coffee table. “Look Karri, there’s something that I need to tell you.” She stiffened and adverted her eyes to her hands, which were shaking in her lap. I smiled to myself and reached for them; holding them steady in my own. “Max is in love with you… that’s why I flip out so much every time you talk to him.”

She stared up at me, confusion clouding her face. “Sidney, that’s ridiculous… Max is your team-mate, and he’s just a friend! He hardly knows me… Do you think you’re maybe being paranoid?”

“Oh, I’m definitely being paranoid,” I chuckled softly as I gently massaged her hands in mine, “but that doesn’t change the truth. There’s just something about the way he talks about you Karri… I don’t like it.”

She sighed and tugged me towards her. I sat on the couch and she curled up in my lap; rubbing my chest with her hand. “Well…” She started slowly, picking her words carefully. “I do like Max, he’s been a good friend to me since I’ve been here, but if it bothers you that much-, I mean-, if you’re really worried about it, I’ll stay away from him. Unless it‘s a group thing, of course.”

“But, I just said-”

“I know what you just said, but I don’t want to fight with you anymore Sidney.” She lifted her head off my shoulder and smiled down at me. “I love you and if this is important to you, then it’s important to me too.”

She rested her head back down on my shoulder as a smile spread across my face. “How did I get so lucky?”

“Don’t let it go to your ego… I’m only here because of that giant rump you‘ve got…” She quipped back lightly, her body beginning to shake slightly with her laughter.

I let out a low sight, “why does everyone have something to say about my ass?” I wrapped my arms around her tightly and scooped her up, heading towards the stairs.

“Sidney! It’s the middle of the day!” She squealed as I took the stairs two at a time.

“Exactly,” I huffed, finally reaching the top. “Means we have more time.” I heard her exhale loudly; but looked down in time to see the smile spreading across her face.


I started to kiss her as I used her body to push the door open; flopping her down on the bed as I turned on my heel and walked back on the door. “Sidney!” She whined from the bedroom as I made my way down the hallway to the large bathroom.
I turned on the hot tub; and sat on the ledge, waiting for it to fill.


I watched Karri shimmy out of her jeans as I sat in the hot water; grin spreading across my face. I watched her as she climbed in the water, unable to take my eyes of the long legs that I loved so much.
As she slipped beneath the surface I reached over and turned on the spa on, causing the water to begin it’s swirl around her. She moved towards me, climbing into my lap and resting her back against my chest. I reached up from behind her, cupping her in my hands; gently massaging her breasts as she pressed backwards into me harder.
A low moan escaped her mouth as I increased the pressure I was exerting; she reached around and grabbed onto me. I felt each finger close around me as she began to move her hand up and down.
I pushed her away from me, over to the other side of the tub. I moved her around until her back was against the side.
She wrapped her arms around my neck as I grabbed her legs and pushed myself into her. Karri began to dig her nails into the back of my neck as I thrusted into her harder.
She moaned my name into my ear and I felt myself nearing the edge. I bent forward and dug my teeth into her neck, causing her to cry out in a mixture of pain and pleasure. Tasting blood I withdrew, moving my lips up towards her jaw; sucking hard.


Normally things with Karrington were always gentle and relaxed; this time had been different.
We were curled up on the downstairs couch, back to watching day-time talk shows, when I could finally take in her appearance.
She clearly had my teeth in her neck, that was evidence; I could count how many teeth I had from here. Around the marks were three visible hickies.

We relaxed together, and I held her close. Being able to lie here with her - no tension, no worries - was a godsend. I tried to not to allow the thoughts to come in but they did; I knew at this particular time that I should be thinking about him…
I tried to drown out the words my mind was thinking by focusing on the two girls, now engaged in a cat-fight, on TV; but it was useless. I kept glancing down at Karri’s neck, smiling to myself. Wonder how long before Talbo sees that…

Chapter 15: Cause You Can't Have It Both Ways...

When Sidney came home that night I could tell something was off. I was sitting at the top of the stairs watching him as he came through the door; his voice in a frantic whisper, carrying on a conversation with someone on the other end of the line.
“No… no… I can’t let Karri find out. Because! Look I don’t want to loose her and… I’m scared she’ll leave me if she finds out about this. Forget I brought it up… I’ll see you tomorrow. No, it’s alright… look, it doesn’t matter. No, I’m not gonna let some self-proclaimed whore take her away from me. Yah, yah… bye.”
He hung up the phone and looked around, finally seeing me for the first time. I could see his entire body tense at my presence, his mind wondering how much I had heard. “Oh, hey babe! What are you still doing awake?”

“I was talking to Max-”

“What did he say?” He scrambled up the stairs towards me, grabbing my arms in his hands and pulling me up towards him. “When were you talking to him?”

“Sidney!” I took a step back, pulling myself out of his grasp. “What’s wrong with you?” My arms were still throbbing with the pressure of his grip on me.

“Sorry, I’m sorry… I just, had a bad night. Are you ok?”

“I’m fine. I was just saying that I called Max when you didn’t answer your phone and he said he saw you in the gym. He said you’d send him home but, that was a long time ago… I was worried about you…”

His face was apologetic at once, “I’m sorry Karri, I should have called you… I just had a bad practice and I spent a long time in the gym trying to work it off.” He sighed and took a step towards me; I allowed him to pull me into a tight hug.

“Who were you talking to?” I asked, my voice muffled as my face pressed into his chest.

“Flower.”

“You seemed upset, what were you talking about?”

“Nothing.”

I knew he was hiding something from me, something that he didn’t want me to know, something bad, but I wasn’t sure what it was. I tried to ignore it as he took my hand and lead me down the hall towards our room.

Sidney was sleeping soundly beside me; his arms and legs intertwined with mine. I was comfortable, I loved sleeping beside him; waking up next to him in the morning was the prototype of perfection. I had grown up knowing this was the place I wanted to be, but I had also spent years trying to deal with the idea of never being here again.
Oddly enough, tonight, I found myself trying to find a way to remove myself of Sidney’s arms; without his knowledge.

Something just wasn’t sitting right, I thought to myself as I crossed the bedroom towards the desk where my cell phone was sitting. I grabbed it and headed into the bathroom - to avoid Sidney seeing the light from the screen. I flipped through my contacts until I found Max’s number.

Are you awake?

For you, oui. I felt a smile spread across my face; I knew Max would be the right person to ask.

I need to ask you something, and I need to know the truth.

If I know it, I’ll tell you…

I sat still for a moment, trying to find the question that I needed answered. Max, I know Sidney has always loved me; but who was the girl he was seeing before I came here? I waited for his response; praying it would be along the lines of ‘Sidney never even looked at another girl’, but I knew if I wanted to be lied to and told everything was just peachy, I could have asked Vero, Sana or Marc.

Kourtney. Was the one word answer he answered.

I stared at the tiny screen until it went dark, wondering why I had asked; having a name didn’t make me feel better, nor did knowing for sure. Everything ok babe? Max texted again, after getting no response from me.

When was the last time he saw her? My breathing quickened as I hit send.

That I don’t know… not since you’ve been down.

She’s the Emma girls’ sister right? I asked, referring to the bitch I had had the run in with at the banquet.

Yah.

Was he sleeping with her? I typed, then hit send. I had no idea why I was doing this to myself. Did it matter? Yes… even though it shouldn’t. I had ignored every man after Sidney and I broke up, but that was me; I couldn’t expect Sidney to ignore every girl just because he still loved me… but if he loved me then why would he even see another girl? I sighed as I felt the phone vibrate in my hands considering for a split second to not open it.

Yes, he was sleeping with her. What’s going on Karri? Why all the questions?

I couldn’t make my hands type the right letters, as tears blurred my vision. Instead I snuck out the bedroom and down the hall; hitting ’call’ on Max’s name.

“Max?” I sobbed into the mouthpiece.

“Karri, what’s going on? What’s happening?” I could hear his voice, sick with worry; I was so selfish - keeping him awake like this.

“Sidney was talking to Marc when he got home, he didn’t see me on the stairs and I heard… I heard…” I started sobbing, angry with myself for not being able to get the words out.

“Shh… shh… it’s ok Karri, just take your time.” Max indulged me from the other end of the phone. After a few moments of trying to pull myself together, I started again.

“He was saying that he didn’t want me to find out, because if I knew I’d leave him… then he said he wasn’t going to loose me over a ’whore’ or something.”

Max let out a sigh, “I don’t know… I’m not sure what that means. Maybe he thinks you’ll leave him if you know he slept with someone else…”

“Even though we weren’t together? That doesn’t make sense… Max, what if he’s still sleeping with her?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone; all I could hear was Max’s breathing as he thought my words over. “Karri, I don’t think he is I mean… he’s not that kind of guy.”

Every part of me wanted to believe Max; but I couldn’t bring myself to. I had never thought Sidney would be the type of guy to have sex with some random girl either, and I didn’t know Sidney to be someone to lie - which he had done, to me.
What else hasn’t he told me? I thought silently as tears reformed in my eyes.
“Could we maybe get together Max? I just don’t know what to do…”

“Sure babe. I’ll see you tomorrow, try to get some sleep.”


Sidney’s POV

“No… no… I can’t let Karri find out.” I whispered frantically into my phone, closing the door quietly behind me.

“Why not?” Flower asked from the other end of the line, still confused about my mood.

“Because! Look I don’t want to loose her and… I’m scared she’ll leave me if she finds out about this.”

“Sid, Karri loves you not Max, she’s not gonna leave you because you think he’s in love with her. Besides, she spends a lot of time with him… don’t you think it’d be better to tell her now then… wait till… something happens?”

“Forget I brought it up… I’ll see you tomorrow.” I replied abruptly, ready for this conversation to end.

“Are you sure you’re ok, want me to go over?”

“No it’s alright…”

“Sid-”

“Look, it doesn’t matter.” I sighed, running my hand through my hair.

“Sidney, I think you just need to tell her…”

“No. I’m not gonna let some self-proclaimed whore take her away from me.”

“Just don’t do anything yet, ok?”

“Yah, yah… bye.” I hung up on Flower and turned to see Karri sitting at the top of the stairs. “Oh, hey babe! What are you still doing awake?”

“I was talking to Max-” She began, but I cut her off.

“What did he say?” I shouted as I scrambled up the stairs towards her and grabbed her, pulling her towards me. “When were you talking to him?”

“Sidney!” She exclaimed in surprise, pushing me back. “What’s wrong with you?” She sighed, rubbing her arms.

“Sorry, I’m sorry… I just, had a bad night. Are you ok?”

“I’m fine. I was just saying that I called Max when you didn’t answer your phone and he said he saw you in the gym. He said you’d send him home but, that was a long time ago… I was worried about you…”

I let out a sigh, “I’m sorry Karri, I should have called you… I just had a bad practice and I spent a long time in the gym trying to work it off.” I sighed again, taking a step towards her, pulling her against me in a tight hug.

“Who were you talking to?” She asked, as I squished her into my chest.

“Flower.” I said, more shortly then I should have.

“You seemed upset, what were you talking about?”

“Nothing.” Oh, other than talking about how Max Talbot is in love with you but… you know… nothing important.



I woke up from a restless sleep to find Karri gone. Instantly I felt fear take over my body, what If she’s run again?

I got out of bed, intending to begin a man-hunt for her; but stopping short in the hallway when I heard her voice coming out from one of the spare rooms. “Could we maybe get together Max? I just don’t know what to do…”

My breath caught in my throat as I stood outside the door, listening to them say goodnight to each other. I heard the spring of the bed as she pushed herself off heading to the door. She pulled the door open and came face to face with me. “Oh my god Sidney!” She screeched, grabbing her chest. “You scared the crap out of me.” She started to chuckle a bit, but I could see the tears in her eyes.

“Karrington.” I began, trying to stay as clam as possible. “I never want you to talk to Max Talbot, ever again.”

She stared at me for a minute, all emotion drained from her face; a smile threatening the corner of her mouth as she tried to decided whether or not I was serious. My grimace left no room for misinterpretation. “What are you talking about Sidney?” She finally asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“It’s me or him Karri… if you love me, you’ll stay away from Max.”

She looked like I had slapped her, “Sidney you know I love you-”

“Then I guess there’s nothing to think about is there?” I took her by the hand and lead her back to our bedroom, thankful when she didn’t fight me.

Chapter 14: Going Home Alone

Max’s POV

I woke up groggy, trying to remember everything that had happened last night; which was not an easy task thanks to the killer headache I was suffering with. Alright, think Maxime, you were at Diesel with TK, Tanger and some of the other boys… then… I let out a sigh; who knows. I felt the bed shift beside me and looked over.
A blond girl was curled up next to me, fast asleep. Ohhh yah… that’s what happened. I laughed as the foggy memories started to resurface.

I had gone out in order to drink Karrington away… It didn’t working out so well though. I had spent the whole night trying to have a good time; I ended up just getting completely smashed. I had invited some girls up to the VIP and I had taken the blond one home with me. I couldn’t remember too much else besides that. I looked back over at the girl beside me; she was pretty, tanned, blond, big-boob’d - basically my type. It didn’t matter that she was even above average for what I usually took home with me; I felt disgusted with myself.
What is wrong with me?

I dragged my ass out of bed and took a shower; taking an extra long time in the hopes… ‘whats-her-face’ would leave before I came out. I felt awful, like I had somehow cheated on Karri or betrayed her trust, but that’s crazy. She’s not even thinking about you man… move on.
Easier said than done…



“Bonjour mes amis!” I yelled as I skated out onto the ice, completely late for practice. I skated over to Tanger and TK, slapping TK with my stick before jumping into our ‘man-gossip’ about last night.
Dan blew his whistle before I had a chance to finish telling the guys about the chick I had taken home with me; not happy with myself but, hey, gotta keep up the image.
Sid skated up behind me and I started to turn in order to include him in the conversation; maybe if he realizes I’m tappin girls he’ll back off…

“You’re late!” he spat at my back.

“Oh I know… but Sid… you should have seen her man! I wasn’t even looking for anything last night,” cause the one I’m looking for was with you, “and she was all over me… was she ever a looker!” Nothing like Karri but, seeing as how I can’t have that… TK and Tanger shot my grins, they saw her, they knew.

“What the hell is that suppose to mean?” He shot back, Okay… woah… what just happened.

“Umm… je na sais pas… what’s going on?” I held my hand out in front of me in a sign of peace. Before he could take a swing at me, which it looked like he wanted to, Fleury grabbed him and dragged him off the ice.

“Fuck was that about?” TK asked, watching Sid and Flower exit. I shrugged in response and shook my head; trying to hide my smile. Trouble in paradise, perhaps? God I'm kind of a dick...


Practice was over and everyone else was heading home. “Hey Flower, where’s Sid?”

Flower stopped getting ready and looked at me, motioning for me to go over with a nod of his head. “Please don’t do this Maxime… I know how you feel about Karri, but you can’t ever tell him. It’d ruin him.”

I was 99% sure that Flower had no idea how I felt about Karri but, he seemed to know how much it would hurt Sidney. I nodded at him, not like I’d be stupid enough to do that. “Hey Sidney… by the way, I think I’m in love with your girlfriend!”


I walked around looking for Sidney, I wasn’t sure what I was going to say but I needed to talk to him. Somehow I needed to figure out how to apologise to him, without explaining to him why. I wasn’t actually sure why myself; maybe because I was hoping he was going to loose the love of his life, maybe it was because I was spending my nights dreaming about his girlfriend… either way, I felt pretty crappy about it.

I saw him finally in the gym, killing himself on a bike. I was about to go in when my phone went off; Karri.

“Hey mon amie… everything ok?”

“No… well… nothing’s wrong I just, I don’t know where Sidney is. I’ve had a really stressful day and Vero said that Marc got home a while ago… I just really needed someone to talk to. Do you think maybe? Do you wanna hang out? If you’re not busy… I just don’t want to be alone right now and Sidney’s not answering his phone. I could really use a friend Max…”

“Ah… Karri listen. I actually am still at the rink… and you know what? I just saw Sidney here. I’ll send him home ok?”

“Oh! Thanks Max… I knew I could count on you!” I could hear the smile in her voice as I said goodbye.

What the hell did you just do?

The right thing…

Good cause sending home Mr. ‘I’m an idiot who has the greatest girl in the world but naw… just gonna spend my night alone in the gym’… is totally the right thing. I’d be a million times better to her.

Too bad she made her choice, and it’s not me…

My internal argument continued as I took a deep breath and stepped into the gym, towards Sidney. “Sid. Can we talk for a minute?”

“What do you want?” He asked not bothering to look up, well at least he’s calmed down.

For lack of anything better to say I began explaining myself. “Look man. Nothing happened. I wouldn’t do that… wait I did, yah ok… I kissed her that one time but, it wasn’t like that. I don't want to steal your girlfriend from you. I didn't sleep with her, and I'm not trying to.” I tried to sound like it wasn’t all a lie…

He told me to leave and I lost it at him. “You’re acting like a baby!” I ended up throwing out.

Uh oh… that did it. Sidney got off the bike and took a step towards me. “What the hell did you just say to me?”

"I've done nothing wrong and neither has she. But yet she gets all this shit from the other girlfriends, the media... she just wants someone to rely on and you just... you just care about yourself. She had the worse night of her life the other day, and you should be there with her but you're not. Practice ended over an hour ago and you're still here. That's no way to treat someone you say you love."

"And what do you know about love?" He snapped, taking a few more steps towards me. "You're gonna stand there and try to tell me how to love a woman, you; Max Talbot." He sneered my name. "The only thing you know how to do is pick up and dump." He slammed his shoulder into me as he walked past.

"Why are you so mad at me? I told you I didn't do anything!" I yelled at him, trying to keep my temper under control. He had everything and he didn’t even care. I bawled my hands into fists at my side. What the hell is wrong with him anyway? I thought over the past couple days and tried to figure out what could have happened to make him act like this… "Oh... you're pissed because she came to me." I shook my head and looked down at the ground, the truth finally dawning on me. I couldn‘t help it anymore. I started to laugh. "Oh Sidney, what kind of mess are we in?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He replied slowly, I could see rage burning in his eyes as he spoke.

I looked at him, right in the eyes. "You're upset because Karri went to me when she had no where else to go... and I'm upset, because no matter what happens she'll always go back to you." Those words had a profound impact on him and I knew I was right. Those words cut me deeper.

This time it was my turn to walk past Sidney. I didn’t stop, continuing on out the gym doors; eventually arriving at the parking lot and hopping into my Jeep.
I sped home, trying to figure out what this girl was doing to me. I tryed not to remember that if I had of taken her up on her offer, I could be with her now, instead of alone.

Chapter 13: The Trouble With Love...

**Didn't have time to check the spelling or anything (just a warning). I'm suffering a really bad case of writer's block, especially with this story. I know this isn't that exciting or that long but I just feel like I need to throw something up inorder to keep myself writing lol... let me know what you guys think. Anything you want to see happen?**



"So did he?" Jordan was standing behind me, whispering urgently to me as I laced up my skates.

"I don't know Jordan... Karrington wouldn't but Max-"

"Max has a way of getting what he wants," he cut me off. "Did she say anything?"

"No! I wasn't going to ask her. I just get her back and you think I'm gonna ask her whether or not she had sex with Max?" I shook my head and got up off the bench, heading towards the rink with Jordan in tow.

"Still man... don't you want to know?"

"No. Actually I don't." My tone meant that the conversation had ended. Jordan opened his mouth to say something but changed his mind; letting out a huff as we continued our way on the ice.

I thanked God for the ice; my sanctuary. As soon as my legs touched down onto the glossy surface, everything started to make more sense. This was my own refuge when things got too hard; the reason I was able to deal with everything.
When I was on the ice, regardless of whether it was a game of shimmy, a warm-up or a pro game; everything always seemed to work itself out by the end...
It was that way now. I propelled myself around the ice, gaining momentum as I pushed my legs faster and harder. After a dozen laps of the surface I let up, allowing myself to coast back around the ice and into the middle, where my team was congregating. They all looked up at my approach and I was able to give them an honest smile back.
Geno started hitting pucks out towards me, as Flower took his position in nets. With no real purpose or drills set up for the day I started taking a few shots on net.

"Hey Sid, can we stop for a bit? You're wearing me out and the other guys haven't even started yet." Flower called between squirts of water. I looked over at the clock; I'd been slapping pucks at him for almost an hour. I turned around and found the rest of the guys doing some stick-handling at the other side of the ice.

"Shit, sorry Flower... I didn't even notice..." He gave me a smile and skated out towards me, slapping me on the side with his blocker.

"Anything in particular or just... everything?"

"I don't even know." I shrugged my shoulders, and moved down the ice with the rest of the team.

"Bonjour mes amis!" Talbot called as he jumped on the ice and sprinted off towards Tanger and TK, slapping the latter with his stick as he passed.
An angry noise escaped my throat and I changed directions heading for him instead. Dan, who had no idea anything had even happened, began to blow his whistle; signalling a change in drills.

I felt Flower's pull on my right arm as I reached Max. "You're late." I spat at him, coming to a halt a few inches behind him.

He turned around and grinned at me. "Oh I know... but Sid... you should have seen her man! I wasn't even looking for anything last night and she was all over me... was she ever a looker!" He crooned, earning grins of approval from TK and Tanger.

"And what the hell is that suppose to mean?" I moved closer, until we were chest-to-chest. Max started to back up, realizing for the first time that I was angry.

"Umm... je na sais pas... what going on?" He held his hands out in front of him, giving me a look of true confusion. How was he able to brush everything off so easily? I couldn't sleep last night because of him and he was out fucking around?

I opened my mouth to say something but Flower grabbed me from behind and jerked me backwards. I followed his lead and allowed him to drag me behind me, my rant already bubbling over my lips. "The fucking nerve of him Flower! I'm up all night freaking out because there's something going on between him and Karri... and he's out fucking some tramp!"

"Calm down Sid, you don't know for sure that something's going on. I don't think there is so just... don't do anything stupid."

By this point we were in the dressing room. I pulled off my skates and chucked them as Flower watched me hesitantly from the doorway. "What?" I shouted at him, I exhaled and turned my back on him. "Sorry... I didn't mean... I'm just pissed off, about everything." I flopped down on the bench next to me and shook my head. I couldn't even go for a skate to clear my mind; not with him out there.
He was everywhere now. He had access to my home, my sanctuary, my girlfriend.

Flower gave me a small smile. "I need to get back out there Sid. I'll go talk to Dan. Maybe it would be best if you went home, spent some time with Karri." I shook my head.

"I'm just gonna go up to the gym." I pulled my practice jersey over my head and glanced around for my work-out gear. I heard Flower sigh as he closed the door behind him and made his way back out to the ice.


My muscles screamed in protest as I forced myself onwards. The handles of the stationary bike were slippery from my hands and sweat was dripping down into my eyes.
I knew that killing myself like this wasn't going to help anything; but it was nice to play the game... 'if I can go faster/further/harder, then everything will be ok'.

"Sid." A voice pulled me out of my thoughts and I glanced over my shoulder to see Max walking towards me. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"What do you want?" I asked nonchalantly. The bike had solved one problem for me; I wouldn't punch Max in the face now, I was too exhausted to do anything but keep my feet moving.

"Look man. Nothing happened. I wouldn't do that... I mean, yah ok... I kissed her that one time but, it wasn't like that. I don't want to steal your girlfriend from you. I didn't sleep with her, and I'm not trying to." He sounded sincere but I knew Max better


"I'm not in the mood for this Max... just go." I looked back at him and he was looking at his feet. He finally looked up in defeat and turned his back on me, heading towards the door.

"You know what?" He stopped suddenly, rounding on me. "If anyone should be pissed off it's her, not you! You're acting like a baby."

"What the hell did you just say to me?" I stopped pedaling and shoved myself off the bike.

"I've done nothing wrong and neither has she. But yet she gets all this shit from the other girlfriends, the media... she just wants someone to rely on and you just... you just care about yourself. She had the worse night of her life the other day, and you should br there with her but you're not. Practice ended over an hour ago and you're still here. That's no way to treat someone you say you love."

"And what do you know about love?" I snapped, taking a few steps towards him. "You're gonna stand there and try to tell me how to love a woman, you; Max Talbot. The only thing you know how to do is pick up and dump." I pushed past him, taking great care to slam my shoulder into him as I marched by.

"Why are you so mad at me? I told you I didn't do anything!" He shouted, his hands squeezing into fists at his side. I stopped walking and turned to glare at him.
Suddenly a smile snapped onto his face and let out a bark-like laugh. "Oh... you're pissed because she came to me." He shook his head and looked down at the ground, smiling to himself for a few seconds before looking back up. He started laughing loudly and I felt myself become even more infuriated. "Oh Sidney, what kind of mess are we in?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I said, trying to control the anger and confusion in my voice.

He took a step towards me and looked directly in my eyes. "You're upset because Karri went to me when she had no where else to go... and I'm upset, because no matter what happens she'll always go back to you."




"Flower I got a problem..." I said softly into the phone as I drove back towards my house.

"What's that man?" He asked. "Max say something about Karri?"

"Yes. But not what you think. He didn't do anything, I know that for sure. He won't do anything like that."

"Well that good ri-"

I cut him off. "Flower, he doesn't want to sleep with her... I think he's in love with her."

Chapter 12: The problem with smiling

***Sorry about all the dialogue in this one lol***

There had been random conversations happening somewhere below me, in my house all day. I was positive - at least judging by the different voices I would occasionally hear- that almost the whole team was here; that being said the house was almost silent. It was like someone had died.

Every now and then I would hear Geno's deep voice speaking Russian just beyond the door, to no one that I could hear... he's probably on the phone to Oksana, I realized after hearing him for the third time that day.

Over the course of the last few hours I had heard Vero approach a few times; only to be shooed away by Flower. I was thankful for that, I had no desire to see anyone right now.
I knew that I was over-reacting, but the pain in my chest was making it hard to focus on anything else. I was going to have to pull it together; we had a game tomorrow against Anaheim. For now though, I just wanted to be left alone in my misery.
My team-mates probably thought I was going crazy. Once everyone found out that Karri had left of her own accord they thought the problem was over. I could tell my mood was making everyone uncomfortable, and I couldn't understand why they all felt the need to sit downstairs. At least Max knew how to take a hint; he was the only one who had come into my room to try and talk to me. My glare had sent him back out.

"You can't be serious... that's the last thing he needs." Flower was speaking in a carrying whisper.

"Yah! She say she gonna kill me if I don't. I more afraid of her than him..." Geno replied before turning the handle and pushing the door open.

"Ah. Sidney. Oksana say she wanna talk to you..." I looked up at Geno, the fear in his face almost made me laugh, almost. I couldn't help but find it humorous that as physically imposing as I could be at times, he was still more afraid of a 120lb girl that was currently on the other side of the Atlantic. He gave me a pleading smile and I held out my hand; it's not like this conversation was going to make anything worse.

"Hello?"

“Sidney, what are you doing?” She replied, exasperated.

“I’m not doing anything.”

“That’s exactly what I mean. Evgeni told me what happened last night. He also told me you’ve been hiding in your room all day.”

“I haven’t been hiding…” I retorted quietly.

“Sidney… what do you want right now?”

I thought that over carefully before I answered. “I want Karri to figure out whatever she needs to figure out… and then come back.”

“Right. And what is it that happened to make her leave?”

“I- I- …well I’m not sure! She wouldn’t tell me…” I was sick of this question. It felt like every person I knew had asked me that at least once last night. I felt like an idiot not being able to answer.

“Wouldn’t it be better to go figure out what it was that caused her to take-off, as opposed to feeling sorry for yourself in your room?” I let out a groan, Oksana had a way of making me feel like an idiot sometimes.

“You make it sound so easy… Sana, I don’t know what happened, and if she won’t tell me, then how am I suppose to figure it out?”

“Vero said she went to the bathroom. She was fine when she left, and a mess when she came back…”

“Uh huh…”

“Никудышно!” She exclaimed, I could easily picture her shaking her head as she sighed at me. ”Are you serious? I swear, you boys would get nothing done without us!” After pausing to wait, for what I assumed was an answer from me, she started again. “Video-cameras, Sidney. Mellon is full of cameras, one of them had to see what happened…so go теперь!“
I heard her laugh before she hung up the phone. I let out a huge sigh and pushed myself out of bed. I’m an idiot… how did I not think of that?
Geno was giving me a worried look, apparently wondering what Oksana had said.

“I need to go into Mellon, check the cameras.” Geno cocked his head and gave me a puzzling glance. “Ah… the cam-er-as… never mind Geno just get in the car.” He shrugged and followed me out the door.

Max’s POV

When I got back from Sidney’s, Karri was still sleeping on my bed. We had stayed up the whole night talking, about a lot of things.
Even though I had promised not to tell Sidney where she was until she figured out what she was going to do; I felt obliged to tell him - after all, he hadn’t punched my face in after the whole kiss fiasco. No that wasn’t totally true, I needed Karri out of my house; all this alone time wasn’t good.
She was curled up in one of my shirts, her eyes were puffy and swollen, there was a mound of Kleenex around her and she had her legs curled up against her chest. I shook my head as I put my hands in my jacket pockets and threw the contents on the side-table; keys, a few hundred dollar bills and twenty cents. I pulled off my jacket and tossed it on the end of the bed.
She looked exhausted, it was a good thing she was finally getting some sleep. I smiled at how good she looked in my shirt, in my bed. I shook my head again trying to clear those thoughts, now is not the time Maxime… a cold shower would do me good…


I took my time, as I stood under the water, trying to collect my thoughts. Every girl in Pittsburgh and you have to get a crush on your team-mates girl. I sighed, resting my forehead on the wall, letting the cool water wash over me. What was wrong with me? This is seriously fucked up. It was one thing to think she was hot, but now it’s getting further than that; the last thing I need is to start caring about her… Oh who am I kidding… I already do.
I normally didn’t have heart-to-hearts with too many people. Any relationships I had with women didn’t include a lot of time outside of the bedroom, certainly not on the level of connection I was beginning to form with Karrington.
I hated seeing all this crap happening to her but, come to think of it, the only time we spent together was usually because of this crap. Why can’t I just have a normal, uncomplicated relationship with someone? Was that so much to ask for?

By the time I got out of the shower Karri was up and in the kitchen; she had added a pair of my gym shorts to her ensemble. She smiled at me when she realized I was watching her. “Hope you don’t mind…?” She asked glancing down at the shorts as she continued to fry some eggs and bacon in a pan.

“No, look better on you anyway…” Shit! Stop saying stuff like that… it was true… but… not the time. She smiled on last time at me before turning back to her work.
I took a seat on one of the bar stools around the counter. We sat in silence until she was sliding the eggs and bacon onto two separate plates; handing one to me. I nodded my thanks and dug in. “So, you gonna call Sid today?” I asked between mouthfuls, trying to sound casual.

“I don’t know… I don’t think I really figured anything out last night.” She put her fork down and looked up at me “I’m really sorry… you know… about all the crying, and stuff…” She looked embarrassed and I laughed.

“Don’t worry about it, glad I could be of service.” I continued to eat, stealing a peek at her between mouthfuls, she was trying to put on a brave front for me, but I could tell she was miserable. I knew I needed to take her back to Sid. “Karri. He’s pretty miserable. I know you think you’re doing the right thing but your not. It’s not the right thing for you and it’s not the right thing for him.” I said it all quickly, in one breath, hoping it would hurt us both less if I said it fast.

“It’s not that simple Max…”

“Why not? Because some reporter who doesn’t know anything about Sidney Crosby the person, thinks you’re not pretty enough for him? You know Karri… you’re being a little selfish…” I finished, trying to peek her interest.

“What do you mean?” I grinned in-spit of myself. I knew her well enough already to know I’d need to make her realize she was hurting Sidney; she’d never do anything to help herself.

“Well let’s think about it. YOU have a woman say bad things to YOU about YOU, and YOU leave Sidney. Then you say it’s because you’re trying to protect him and make him happy. But that’s not true. YOU left because YOU were trying to protect yourself. You don’t want to be the ‘gold-digger’ or the ‘ugly-girl’ and instead of doing what’s best for Sidney, you do what you think is best for you…” I trailed off shaking my head “Poor Sidney!” I finished dramatically.

Karri looked on the verge of tears again. I knew I wasn’t right, but I also knew I didn’t have to be. She was so in love with the kid all I needed to do was trick her; apparently it worked. Lucky bastard… I thought as I watched the first of the tears fall over the brim of her eyes.


She made nervous chit-chat as we drove back to Sidney’s. I could tell she was terrified about seeing him again; I was a little terrified about seeing him again too.
We walked up the front walk, stopping outside the door. We could hear Sidney yelling in a fury of anger on the other side. Karri took a step back from the door her hand over her mouth, she glanced at me and I shrugged, this wouldn’t be the first time Sidney yelled at me. I pushed the door open to see the kid pacing back and forth yelling into his cell phone; Vero, Flower, Geno, TK, and Tanger were watching from the couches in the living room.

“Ummm… Sidney…” I asked into the room, still afraid to walk in, my courage apparently stopped at the doormat.

“What!?” He turned around and fired at me, his face red from yelling. I kept my eyes on him as I reached back and grabbed Karri’s arm, pulling her into view. Sidney stopped pacing. “I’ll call you back.” He said quietly as he flipped his phone shut and let out a sigh of relief.
Karri stayed beside me, looking uncomfortable as 7 pairs of eyes turned to look at her.
Vero moved first, quickly stepping towards her and pulling her into a hug. “We were so worried.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that… it’s just-”
“We already know. We went to the rink and had them check the tapes… that stupid bitch.” Vero breathed, causing me to raise my eyebrows. She was right of course, but I rarely heard her talk like that.
I looked away from Karri towards Sidney. His eyes were on me. I watched him for a minute before giving him a small smile, letting him know that nothing happened.

Sidney’s POV

“I don’t give a shit! She had no right! Whatever it was that she said was enough to make Karri take off and I never want her in the arena, around me or around Karri ever again!”

“Ummm… Sidney…” I heard Talbot call from the door.

“What?” I fired back at him, not in the mood to deal with anything else. He watched my reaction as he pulled Karri into view. I couldn’t help but breath a sigh of relief. She looked tired and weary, but she was otherwise fine. I met her eyes and she gave me a weak smile. “I’ll call you back.” I said quietly to Mario as I hung up the phone. I breathed another sigh of relief as I recognized the smile in her eyes; she was back and she still loved me.

As Vero embraced her I noticed for the first time what she was wearing. A ‘Talbot’ practice jersey and a pair of gym shorts that did not belong to me. I looked up at Max, he was watching the exchange between the two girls. He finally looked away, bringing over to meet mine.
I wasn’t sure what to do. She was safe, yes. She was here, yes. But he knew, he know where she was this morning when he had come over, and he never said anything. He could have called me lat night, but he didn’t; and now my girlfriend was wearing his clothes. After a minute he gave me a smile. You son of a bitch.
I felt out of breath as I stared at him, the anger boiling inside me. Every girl in the city and you have to try and sleep with my girlfriend.

Attention Pen and/or Chicago Fans!!

I'm currently undertaking a great new story; with 7 other writers!

They're all extremely creative and talented in their own works and I'm very excited to be working with them!! =)

Our story takes place from 8 different point's of view:
PITTSBURGH
Sidney Crosby - Heather
Harley Scott - Maraibprice
Jordan Staal - Becky Greenwood
Megan Rooney - Zigh

CHICAGO
Patrick Sharpe - Kristina
Aubrey - Jessie
Patrick Kane - Aeryn
Taylor - Jay

It's going to be alot of fun to write, and hopefully it'll be alot of fun to read!! You should check out both blogs, in order to follow the story fully. (It starts with Pittsburgh and alternates... they'll be a new update on one of the blogs every night).

http://inmoreplacesthanone.blogspot.com (Pittsburgh)

http://team--chicago.blogspot.com (Chicago)

Hope you enjoy it! =D


ALSO... as far as Puppy Love is concerned, I was going to work on some other stories... but since I got 9 comments (which I'm soo excited about btw!) I'm going to update this on tonight *fingers crossed*
Thanks alot for reading, and commenting =D

Chapter 11: Safe?

Karri’s POV

“I knew I shouldn’t have drank so much pop!” I bounced around in my seat, trying to convince myself that I could make it till the end of the second period.

Vero shook her head and laughed at me, “Karri! Just go to the bathroom. You’ll be gone for 5 minutes tops.” I shook my head and continued my bouncing. “Please! You’re shaking me…” She started laughing and I looked over at her. Sure enough my rapid movement was causing her tiny frame to shake along with me.

“Oops! Sorry… ok I’m going… be right back!” I jumped up and ran down the stairs, almost knocking a man over on my way down. I pushed my way through the random groups of people and finally managed to get into the right corridor.

The bathroom was almost empty, except for a few girls doing their make-up in the mirror. While I was finishing up in the stall I could hear the teenaged girls talking. “Like OMG you guys, Sidney Crosby is the hottest guy ever!”

“I know, totally! Think we’ll meet him tonight?”

“I wanna go home with that Mark-Andrew guy… goalies are sooo dreamy!”

I laughed silently to myself, I’d have to remember to tell Vero her boyfriends’ actually called ‘Mark-Andrew’, who’d have known? I washed my hands quickly, wiping the remaining water off on my jeans as I pushed the door open with my hip. “Karrington!” Someone called from behind me. I turned around in time to see the female report Sidney had told me about.

“Oh… umm… hi….” She walked up to me briskly, cornering me between the bathroom door and the wall.

“Where’s Sidney?” She snapped, glaring at me.

“On the ice… playing hockey…”

“And why aren’t you out there supporting him? Trouble in paradise?”

“No, I had to use the bathroom… and we’re fine thanks.” She had me almost pinned against the wall now, I was taking small side-steps trying to get around her.

“So tell me Karri, may I call you Karri, how does it feel to be dating Sidney Crosby and Max Talbot? Do they know about each other?”

“No… wait, what?”

“They have no idea! Aren’t you afraid they’ll find out eventually?”

“No… it’s not like that-”

“So, you’ve got it well covered? Who’s the better kisser Max or Sidney?”

“Max’s kiss was a mistak-”

“Max? And here I would have thought Sidney was the better kisser!” She giggled a horrible high-pitched giggle and gave me a sarcastic smile. I looked at her fully, only to see she was holding a tape-recorder in her hand. “So Karri, tell me… how did you do it?”

“How did I do what?” I was starting to get terrified. I knew I should stop talking about she was intimidating me to the point I was stuttering. I wanted Sidney… I needed to find him, to make her go away.

“How did you convince the most eligible bachelor in hockey to date… you… an ugly, gold-digging cheater?” I was speechless. I knew that’s what people were saying but that was on the internet, that was different. Here was a professional looking woman, standing in front of me, one hundred percent serious.

“I- I-…” I could feel the tears forming in my eyes and I did my best to fight them off; I did not want to let her see me cry.

“None of the girlfriends like you… Crosby feels obligated to you… he team-mates try to hit on you because they know you’ll sleep with anyone if it means you get money. Do you hate Sidney so much you would deny him someone that he truly deserves? Pittsburgh hates your Karri… you’re not good enough for our Golden Boy.” She started laughing as the tears fell down my face. “Oh… you thought you deserved him… did you think you were good for him? Oh… that’s too bad. Well, at least now you know.” She shrugged and walked away.
I felt my legs give out and I plopped down onto the floor, curling my knees up in front of me protectively. I sobbed into my legs as the bathroom door was pushed open.

“Ummm…” I could hear girls giggling. “What are you doing?” I looked up to see the three girls from the bathroom. They stared down at me, their noses upturned.

“OMG… I think that’s Sidney Crosby’s girlfriend…”

The one in the Crosby jersey shook her head with distaste, “No way…” The other two burst into laughter again as they took off down the hall, dragging their friend in tow behind them.

They’re right… they’re all right. What am I doing? I never deserved Sidney. I never deserved him; not back home in Cole Harbour when he was nothing more than my neighbour, and definitely not now that he’s the Sidney Crosby.
I could still feel the tears running down my face as I closed my eyes and tried to gain control of myself. I ran back down the hallway, wiping my face on my sleeve before jogging up the stairs back to Vero.

“You were gone a while?” She said, giving me a concerned glance. “Is everything ok?” I nodded my head, avoiding eye contact. “Karri?”

“I’m fine… just nervous about the game.” I didn’t trust my voice to say anything else. We sat in silence until the third period was almost over, “I have to use the bathroom again… I’ll be right back alright?” She nodded, still giving me a worried look as I headed back down the stairs.

I didn’t take the corridor this time, I headed out the back exits towards the parking lot. I began jogging, thankful for the first time that I was wearing my Reebok sneakers. I jogged a couple blocks until I found a deserted park; I knew it wasn’t the smartest thing to do but, self-preservation wasn’t high on my list of concerns at that moment.
I walked over to a swing and sat on it, allowing the events of the night to sink in on me. Maybe I was over-reacting but it was hard not to; not after hearing people reinforce what you’ve known all along. Sidney would say he loved me, that he wanted me but I knew the truth; and so did everyone else it seemed.
Sidney Crosby was too good for me. I had to leave.

I made my way to a coffee shop and sat around for over an hour, trying to figure out my next move. I was going to have to get my stuff somehow, sometime Sidney wasn’t there. When’s the next away game? Darn, I can’t remember.
I sipped on my coffee, still not sure of what to do. I didn’t think I deserved to be with Sidney, but I certainly didn’t think I was selfless enough to just give him up.

My phone started vibrating in my pocket, causing me to jump. I looked at the caller ID; Sidney.
I sighed, allowing the phone to ring four times. What was I going to say to him?

“Baby? Karebear? Where are you, are you ok? I’m worried sick about you, Vero said…”

I started to cry, why does he have to be so perfect? “Yes, I’m fine… I mean, I’m not hurt… no one hurt me I just… can’t see you.” I was sobbing so hard, I wasn’t sure if he had even heard me.

“Baby, what are you saying? Why can’t I see you?” His voice was breaking, and it was breaking my heart. I didn’t want Sidney to hurt.

“I just… I need some time ok?”

“What happened? Where will you go?” I could hardly make him out anymore. I knew why he was whispering; he didn’t want me to hear him cry.

“I’ll figure it out ok? I just need a couple of days Sidney… please?” I waited in silence. Part of me wanted him to say no, to say that he was coming to get me right now; but I knew Sidney, I knew he would never do that.

“Ok. Ok baby… you do what you need to do… please just come back when you figure it out ok? Promise me… promise me you won’t leave me?”

“I won’t… I promise… I’ll call you soon, ok?”

“Ok… I love you Karebear…”

“I know Sid, I love you.” I hung up the phone, feeling new tears forming in my eyes. I got up out of the seat I was sitting in. I needed to find a place to crash. I pulled out my wallet; 30$, not enough for a hotel room. Enough for a cab though…

After a quick phone call, I was driving through the city on my way to the apartment. I hurried up the stairs, anxious to fall asleep and have the night end. When I got up to the top floor of the up-scale apartment complex , I saw the door I was looking for wide open. A girl was walking out of it towards me, like every other girl tonight it seems, she was glaring at me. Her dyed red hair looked trashy and clashed horribly with her shiny black halter top. “Hey.” She stopped abruptly turning around to the door that she just came out of, “Don’t forget about my sweater… and my 20 cents… ass.” She spat before turning and continuing on her way down the stairs.

“Good to see you too Goyer!” He called from the doorway.

I turned towards to sound of his voice, in time to see a sad smile spread across his face. The look of pity caused me to start sobbing again, why was I brining him into this? “It’s ok… you’re safe now…” He encouraged. I started walking quickly, sobbing into my hands. A few long strides and I closed the distance, ending up in the waiting arms of Max Talbot.

Chapter 10: Disappearing Act

"What are you looking at?" I asked, walking into my home office towards the mahogany desk Karri was sitting at. Her eyes were focused on the computer screen infront of her, her face grim.

"Oh... nothing." I said, giving me a small smile before giving the mouse a few clicks with her left hand. She pushed the chair out from the desk and made her way towards me. "So, what time do you have to head into the rink for?"

"Not till after 5..." I pulled her into a hug, resting my chin on the top of her head. She nuzzled her face into my chest and took a deep breath before sighing. I chuckled, "Still addicted to the smell I see? Should I be worried you feel so strongly about David Beckham?"

She giggled back, pulling her head up to look at me. "Not him, just the scent." She tugged on my arm, leading me out of the room and into the hallway. "What do you want to do for the next few hours then?" She asked as we made our way down the stairs.

"Dunno, we could go see if Marc and Vero are home?"

"Sure, are we coming back here before the game... or should I change?"

"You could just wear what you have on..." I grinned, causing her to laugh as she did a spin showing off the bikini top and shorts she was wearing.

"As much as I love walking around all day in my bathing-suit... this was intended for the pool, not the hockey rink." I sighed and snapped my fingers in an 'aw shucks' manner. She shook her head and ran up the stairs towards our room.


"You know..." Karri began on the way the Marc's house. "I really hope your parents send down some more of my stuff soon... I'm running out of clothes."

"We have a washing machine..."

"Obviously! Or else I would have been running around naked a long time ago. I just mean that I can't keep living in like, 5 outfits forever."

"Did I mention that the washing machine's broken now? Guess you're just out of luck..." Karri reached over and playfully slapped my shoulder, muttering something that sounded like 'perv' under her breath. I laughed as we pulled up the drive-way. "You could always just go shopping you know? I know Vero wouldn't mind."

"True... Ugh, I hate shopping though."


We settled in on the couch beside Marc to watch Bon Cop Bad Cop (Flower's favorite movie); while we waited for Vero to get home from volunteering at the hospital.
he stairs towards our room.

"Hey Flower, alright if we stay here till game time?" I asked as Marc was taking the DVD out of the player.

"Oui, you can sleep in the spare room if you want." He said put the disc back in the case and turning around to face Karrington. "Vero should be home in a few minutes if you want to just watch TV or whatever." She nodded.
Marc headed up stairs for his pre-game nap as I pulled Karri into a hug, bringing her lips to mine. "Hey now... no hanky-panky on my couch!" I heared Flower jest from the stairs.

"Did he actually just say 'hanky-panky'?" Vero laughed walking in through the kitchen.

"Apparently. Oh hey Vero... Karri needs to go shopping." I pulled my wallet out from my back pocket and fired a few credit cards at Vero. "She won't spend it on herself so... you'll just have to do it for her." Karri groaned leaned her face against my chest.

"My pleasure! I'll make sure she gets some nice things for her generous boyfriend."

"I'm a generous boyfriend!" Marc called from the stairs.

"You spying now?" He grinned and shrugged, Vero sighed and grabbed Karri, pulling her away from me. "You boys go sleep... we'll take care of the shopping."

Karri gave me one last pouty look before following Vero out to the car.

Karri's POV

"So... how have things been?" Vero asked, holding up a blue shirt infront of me.

"Umm... good I guess. I mean, he seems happy but... I don't really know what he's thinking. It seems like everything just happened so fast; I'm scared he regrets it."

"Trust me, from what Marc-Andre says, and, seeing how happy Sidney's been, I would say he has no regrets. At least not that you're together again." She paused, grabbing a dress off the rack and throwing it over her arm. "What about you though, how are you?"

"Great. Good. Really good." I sighed and she laughed at my insecurities. "I'm just... freaking out a little about the whole 'tabloid' thing."

"I was going to ask you about that, you handled it pretty cooly... did you actually brush it off that well?"

"At first yah, it just seemed so silly and such bull that I thought it was kind of funny. But then... I found a website, where people were talking about me and... we'll they've dubbed me the 'East-Coast Gold-digger" and apparently I'm also ugly."

Vero let out an exasperated sigh. "Je déteste des personnes... don't let it get to you. Easier said then done I know but, people are jealous... from personal experience with Marc-Andre, people will say anything when you have something they want."

"And when you have 'Sid the Kid'..." I chuckled darkly as Vero threw an arm around my shoulder.

In total we spent more money on clothing than I had spent on my whole life combined. I was dragging my feet after Vero as I followed her in and out of store after store. Finally, with her arms bogged down in bags, she began heading towards the front doors; her black hair swaying behind her as she walked.

"Vero! Hold up!" I called, stopping in front of a neon pink window display. Vero turned and headed back to stand beside me. Once she saw what I was looking at a mischief smile spread across her face. "Didn't we promise something nice for our wonderful boyfriends?"

"Why yes, I believe we did!" She laughed back, as we both walked into the store.

Sidney's POV

I watched Max pull on his gloves before leaning forward on the bench, his elbows balanced on his thighs and his eyes glazed over in deep consetration.
I knew what Max was like; a little immature, foolish, always acting on impulse, but I also knew he was a good guy. After my confrontation with him, Karri had explained to me that Max's kiss was more of a 'mistake' then anything.
That didn't make me feel any better about it.

It seemed like when it came to Karri there was always trouble; not because of her but, it seemed like we could never catch a break. First the tabloids, then max, the girlfriends... I sighed and pulled my thoughts together. Game tonight Crosby.

We ended up loosing to Washington 4-3. It was a hard loss, especially on home ice. As much as I respected Ovie as a player; I hated loosing to him. Hell, I hated loosing to anyone.

Karri was suppose to meet me in the lounge with the rest of the girlfriends, but she wasn't there. I sought Vero out through the crowd, she was talking in quick whispers with Flower.

"Where's Karri?" Vero looked at me then looked back at Marc and shrugged. "Where's Karri?" I asked again, starting to get nervous.

"Ummm... Je ne sais pas... she went to the bathroom, she came back upset but she wouldn't talk about it. Je suis si désolé… Je ne sais pas… Je suis désolé." Her eyes started tearing up as Flower pulled her into a hug, whispering to her.

"Mon amour, mon amour ne pleurent pas. Karri sera ok, ne pleurent pas. We'll find her." He tore his eyes away from Vero's face to look me in the eye. "We'll find her..."

This wasn't happening. My heart was hammering and my mind was in overdrive. I looked around the room, everyone was so clam... how do they not know? How does no one realize that Karri isn't here.

"Max! Geno! Kris!" I shouted over the room, the boys all got up and walked over to me. "Karri's gone. We don't know where she is... go ask around, see if anyone knows where she is." I was panicking. I put my hands up over my face and continued to push them through my hair. "Shit."

I headed off down the deserted hallway towards Mario's office. I pushed open the door not bothering to knock. He was standing with his back to me, talking to Nathalie. "Karri's gone." I half-shouted before he had time to ask. "We don't know where she is. Vero said she went to the bathroom then came back upset... she left after and no one knows where she is now. We have to call the RCMP or something."

"Ok Sid... this is Pittsburgh, there is no RCMP and I'm sure she's here somewhere."

"No she's gone..." I flopped down in Mario's chair for half a second before jumping back up again. Where the hell is she? What if someone took her... what if someone took her to get to me?! "OH MY GOD... ransom, what if she's being held for ransom... we need to call someone. Why aren't you calling anyone?!"

Mario looked over at Nathalie with a concerned look and then back at me. "Ok Sidney, clam down. Vero said she went to the bathroom... did she say when?" I shook my head. "Ok, you wait here a minute... don't call anyone please... I'll be right back." He turned and headed out the door, Nathalie behind him.

"Do you think someone-?" I heard Nathalie ask.

"I don't know, I don't know but don't say anything in front of him..." Their voices trailed off as they moved down the hall.

"SHIT!" How did I let this happened... if anything happened to her... Her cellphone. Ugh! I'm an idiot why didn't I call her?

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed her number. It rang four times before she picked up; she was crying. "Baby? Karebear? Where are you, are you ok? I'm worried sick about you Vero said..."

"I'm ok Sidney I just... I can't see you right now."

"Yes, I'm fine... I mean, I'm not hurt... no one hurt me I just... I can't see you." I could hardly make her out between sobs.

"Baby, what are you saying? Why can't you see me?" I could feel tears forming in my own eyes. I had sworn I'd never lose her again, how had I let this happen?

"I just... I need some time ok?"

"What happened? Where will you go?" My voice was a whisper.

"I'll figure it out ok? I just need a couple days Sidney... please..."

Chapter 9: No Real Harm Done

***Okay, alot less dramatic then I had originally intended but... I love good ol' Maxime too much to write about him being seriously hurt lol. Hope you guys still like it! I love hearing all your thoughts and comments about the story (they're the reason why I update this one the most so... keep 'em coming!). I would love to see where you guys think this story should go!***


“Where the hell is he?” I yelled, barging through the front door of the house Max shared with Letang, Geno and one of the medical staff interns, Kelsey.

“Whatever it is… I blame the Russian!” Kris laughed as he pulled his head out of the fridge to watch me march past him. The look on Geno’s face wiped his smile away, “I was just jokin man! I didn’t know you were there…” He sighed and shook his head, before he turned his attention back to the fridge.

I reached the stairs, taking them two at a time; “Max! MAX! Where the hell are you, you son of bitch…” I turned down the hallway towards Max’s room as the door opened. I picked up my pace, ready to inflict as much pain as I could manage onto my team-mate. The man turned around to stare at me and, caught off guard, I halted to a stop.

“Problem Sidney?” Mario asked, closing the gap between us in a few long strides.

“Yah…” I nodded, figuring it was best to be honest with Mario. “I’m gonna kill him…”

“Please… don’t do that?” Mario suggested, shrugging his shoulder. “I’d really hate to have to replace him this late in the season, and the last thing we need is you out with an injury.” I could tell he was being sarcastic with me, and this only enraged me more.

“You have no idea what he’s don-” I began, but Mario cut me off.

“What he’s done? Don’t I?” I realize for the first time that he was holding a copy of the paper in his hand. He held it up in front of him and gave me a small smile. “I came over after I saw it… thought he might need a talking to. I must say, I am glad I came though, we really don’t need to have you two punching it out.”

“We sick of him and how he is to women… he need to learn lesson.” Geno grunted from behind me. I knew that he was remembering what it felt like to see Geno trying to get on Oksana.

“Look guys, I’m not saying that you’re wrong, but I am saying this isn’t going to happen. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what he did and I’m sorry that you guys have to live with it, but I can’t have my team getting into physical fights with each other.”

“Who’s fighting with the what now?” Tanger came around the corner, his mouth half-full of sandwich.

“Max kissed Karri.” I replied, still staring Mario down.

“Oh, no shit! Really? Dude, that sucks. You gonna fight him?”

“No! No fighting. Now, do I have to stay here or will you guys be able to control yourselves?” Mario asked, exasperated.

“Hey Kelsey! Sidney’s gonna fight Max!” Kris called over his shoulder towards the living room. In my disgruntled search for Max I must have missed her.

“Good!” I heard her shout from the direction of the kitchen, “tell him to hit him once from me.”

Mario sighed and brought his hands over his face. He dropped them back down to his sides and gave me a fatherly look.

“We’re fine.” I crossed my arms over me chest. “But I’m still saying something to him!”

Mario shrugged nonchalantly, before walking past us, shaking his head at Tanger before disappearing from site.

“What? …what?” Tanger shouted down at Mario, turning to shrug at us.

I sighed and we continued down the hall. I took a deep breath outside of Max’s room before pushing the door open. Max was sitting with his back to me, apparently typing on his computer. He turned around at the sound of us entering, no emotion on his face. “Get the hell out of her Tanger.”

Kris let out a groan and looked from Max to Geno to Me; we all stared back. “Ugh! You guys suck…” He turned and headed back down the hallway, “nothing exciting happens all week and then when it does… oh no! Can’t let Kris have any fun…” his muttering disappeared as his feet sounded on the stairs.

“You want something.” Max stated.

“I think you know why I’m here! Don’t pretend you don’t!” I snapped. Max shrugged at me before turning back to his computer. “I’m talking to you!” I yelled, outraged at his complete lack of respect.

“You want my attention? Don’t come into my room and yell at me. Christ.”

“You kissed Karri.”

“And?”

“You kissed my girlfriend Max!” Again he shrugged. “Are you serious? What the hell makes you think you can just kiss whoever you want!?”

“I never said I could, did I?”

“No, but you did! You just grabbed her and kissed her, she didn’t want you to!”

“Yah, and so I stopped when she said to.”

“You shouldn’t have been kissing her in the first place! She’s my girlfriend… you’re my team-mate… there’s some kind of rules for this crap… you just can’t do it!”

“Scared of some competition Crosby?” He turned around giving me a smug smile, like he was proud of himself.

“First off, Karri is not a competition; secondly, she doesn’t want you, she wants me… so back off.”

“Well if you were so sure of yourself then you wouldn’t be so pissed off about this. Are you mad caused I kissed her or are you mad cause the paper says she kissed me back?”

“She did NOT kiss you back!” I moved around Max’s bed towards him; I was getting ready to lunge when I felt a little hand on my arm.

“Careful now Sidney…” Kelsey whispered softly at my side. “You told Mario you wouldn’t and you don’t actually want to hurt him, he’s your team-mate.” She sighed at the look on my face. “You’ll regret it tomorrow Sidney, really you will.” I sighed in defeat and nodded. As angry as I was right now, I knew I didn’t hate Max; I would regret this in a few days.

Geno turned and walked out of the room, Kelsey following after; looking over her shoulder to make sure I was following. I gave Max one last look before heading out.

“Hey Sidney.” Max called, timidly, causing me to pause. “I'm not making a play for your girl... I'm not even sure why I did it. When women are nice to me it's usually cause that's what they're aiming for. I just got caught up in the moment I guess... talking about emotions and crap."

“What’s that suppose to mean?” I asked, turning around to face him.

“A lot has changed man, she’s still hurting… I’m not very good at communicating with girls, word-wise anyway,” he chuckled a bit, “not the first time it’s gotten me into trouble… Anyway, she won’t tell you what she’s going through but everything’s getting to her, no matter how cool she plays it. The girlfriends, the schedule, the pressure, and now all that on top of the rejection she felt before; she convinced that you’re gonna take off on her again.”

I could only stare at him. “How do you know all that?” I asked finally.

“Je ne sais pas… sometimes I do more with these lips than kiss, I guess.”

I nodded at him again before heading out the door. Sometimes I just didn’t know what to think of Max.

The night before, Maxime’s POV

“You ok, jolie dame? I ask Karrington, catching her off guard. She didn’t see me approach and jumps a bit at the sound of my voice, spilling some champagne on the floor.

“Oh Max, you startled me. Sorry!” She adds, as she looks down and realizes that she’s spilt her drink on my shoes. I dismiss her apology with a wave of my hand. She smiles at me.

“You didn’t answer my question…” I take a step towards her, cocking my head to the side in expectation of her answer.

“Umm… I’m doing very well, thank you.” I shake my head amused. “What’s so funny?” She asks, offended maybe…

“You’re so much like Sidney; such diplomatic answers. He soft eyes are amused now, she brushes her hair back with a hand; revealing her collar bone. She traces the base of her neck lightly with her hand, the move, nothing more than a nervous habit I have seen before, seems provocative now; above the designer dress that traces her curves… and my, my does she have some nice curves.
She’s with Sidney, I remind myself and I pull my eyes away from her shape, up to her face, which is now puckered in thought.

“Well… between friends right?” She asks, I nod my head. “I’m… dealing. It’s hard, to be here with all this…” she extends her arms out at her sides; I know she’s talking about more than just the banquet.

“But so much harder to be without him.” I finish for her. Her eyes meet mine and I see that pain that still burns beneath them as she gives me a small smile and nods. She sighs and her eyes move off to something behind me. I follow her gaze and find Emma, Jennifer and some of the other girls; glaring at us from a few tables away. I look back at Karrington. Her green eyes are sad again, no one so beautiful should have so much pain in their eyes. “Air frais?” I ask, nodding towards the door. She doesn’t respond, her eyes never leaving the other girls. I tug on her arm gently and she doesn’t resist as I pull her outside with me.

I take her hand in mine and we walk around the perimeter of the building a full time before we say anything.

“Anything you want to say?” I pull her to a stop back where we started, she turns so that she is facing me, I can tell she’s about to break. She takes a deep breath as tears start to fall down her face, she shakes her and shrugs her frail looking shoulders. I pull her against my chest and let her cry.
After a little while she gains control of her breathing and pulls back, wiping the tears away.

“I’m so sorry Max… I don’t know what’s come over me the past couple days… I’ve been crying so much. I just don’t know who I can talk to… Vero and Oksana just think I’m being foolish and Sidney… Sidney already beats himself up so much without me adding fuel to the flame.” She releases another sob and puts her hands up in front of her face.
I lead her over to a bench a few feet away and we sit down. I sit in silence, allowing her to collect her thoughts before she begins. Karrington tells me everything. Everything about the way things use to be with Sidney, how it ended, what she did after, how she ended up here.
“I just don’t know Maxime. He’s so wonderful. I just, always worried about loosing him over nothing, back when I was just worried about hockey but now… now all these women that throw themselves at him; they’re all so beautiful! I keep thinking… I don‘t belong here.”

I turn and look at the girl sitting next to me, trusting me with her life’s secrets. I lean over, my elbows resting on my legs as I ponder everything she’s said. It seems silly to me that she feels this way, I can relate to Vero and Oksana in that, she’s worried about other women when she’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. “Well, you are beautiful. Genuine, kind… unlike most of the women we meet, you still have your self-respect and integrity. Plus, you have one thing no other woman in the whole world has.”

“And what’s that?” She asks, her voice sounds stronger now.

“You have the kid’s heart.” She laughs and shakes her head, her soft brown hair falling down over her shoulders. “It’s true. I promise, I wouldn’t lie to you… not ever.” Her eyes meet mine and she smiles, her eyes are telling me that she believes me. I believe it too. “He never mentioned your name before… never mentioned a girl before but we all knew there was someone he left behind. He never talked about women, and, there were a lot of women. Everytime we went somewhere they were all trying to get a piece of him and he just walked by like they didn’t exist. I mean, of course he went on the odd date… favours for friends and staff really… but it never went anywhere. I thought he was crazy… if I was him… well, that’s a different story but… believe me when I say; for him, there’s only ever been you.”

She reaches out and squeezes my arm. “Thank you Maxime. It’s nice to know I have a friend I can confide in…” We both lean back, sitting in silence.

“We should probably go back in now.” I say, not really wanting to break the serenity of this moment. She nods. We sit for a while longer before we get up and head back towards the door.

I stop her before she steps inside. I grab her clutch purse out of her hand and fish around inside, pulling out her phone. I punch in my number and place it back in her purse. She laughs amused as I hand it back to her. “If you ever need someone to talk to, you know how to reach me now.” She wraps her arm around my neck and hugs me tightly.

“Thank you.” She pulls back, her arms still around me, and she gives me a smile. What now? She’s looking at me with something in her eyes but I’m not sure what… I’ve been in this situation many times, well not really, but I can assume what she wants. I shrug to myself as I grab onto her upper arms, pulling them off from around my neck. I grasp them more firmly as I pull her closer to me; bringing my lips down to meet hers.
She pushes me back almost instantly and sighs. “You sure know how to ruin a nice moment Maxime… friends remember?”

I laugh out loud and release her arms. “Pardon moi, I’m not good with the friend thing yet… don’t give up on me though, alright?” She exhales deeply and begins to laugh to.

“You really are a piece of work, no wonder you get yourself into so much trouble.”

“Hey now! I don’t get into THAT much trouble… besides, when pretty women put there arms around me I have to kiss them, it’s a reflex… I can’t help it. Now that we‘re discussing it though… I don‘t think there‘s anything wrong with friends kissing each other….”

She laughs again, “You don’t see Vero or Oksana trying to kiss me Max.”

“No… but I would really like to!”

“If it ever happens, you’ll be the first person I call.“ She points to her bag and giggles. She turns and reaches out for the handle just as the door opens. Vero and Oksana step outside into the night air.

“Bonjour mes amis!” I exclaim, throwing out my arms dramatically. They both laugh and walk over to us. “I was just on my way back in… but I might have to stay now, wouldn’t want to miss the show…”

“What show is this?” Vero asks walking towards us.

“Ugh! Don’t ask him!” Karri aims a punch at my stomach which I dodge easily, laughing as I head back inside; making a mental note to tell the kid he needed to hold onto this one.

Chapter 8: Headlines and Limlights

“Sidney no! Morning breath!” Karri giggled through her hands. She was covering her face trying to halt my early morning kiss-ambush with no avail.

“Aww come on Karebear, I don’t smell any worse than usual… stinky hockey player remember.” I chuckled pointing to myself.

“No not you, me!” She laughed back, still not moving her hands from her face.

“Babe… I have years of kissing to make up for, it’s gonna take a lot more than morning breath to stop me. She groaned and rolled out of bed, dashing off to the bathroom; I assumed she was going to brush her teeth.
I laughed when I heard the water running, confirming my suspicion. I rolled over onto my back, locking my hands behind my head and smiling in contentment.

My relaxation only lasted for a few seconds though, soon my phone was vibrating on the night table next to me. I sighed and picked it up.

“Hey Vero, what up?”

“Sidney… is Karri there?” Vero gushed quickly, before I had finished talking.

“She’s in the bathroom, I’ll go get her-”

“No! No… I wanted to talk to you…”

“Ummm ok…”

“Keep her away from the TV.”

“What?”

“Keep her away from the TV and the paper.”

“Why?”

“Sidney, please…” I exhaled, finally clueing in.

“Is this about that bitch reporter?”

“I’m sorry Sidney… it’s bad… really, really bad.”

“Okay, thanks for the heads up Vero. Are you guys going to be around today? We might head over there.”

“Yes, we’ll be here all day, come over anytime. I’m so sorry Sidney.” She hung up quickly and I set the phone down on the nightstand. A minute later Karri walked back out into the room.

“Were you just on the phone?” She asked, leaning on the door frame.

“Yah Vero called, wanna go over there later?”

“Yah sounds good! We should grab some breakfast first, I’m starved… mind if I hop in the shower?”

“No go for it babe. I’ll be here when you get out.”

I watched her disappear into the bathroom, a minute later I heard the shower turn on. I sighed to myself as I continued to stare at the ceiling; as much as I hated to admit it, Vero had peeked my curiosity.

I threw the covers off of myself and headed down the hallway towards my ‘office’. I wasn’t sure why I was putting myself through this but I figured I might as well see what was being said now.
It wasn’t hard to find the article that Vero had been referring to, it was everywhere I looked. I put my face in my hands, not even bothering to finish reading it.

I closed the internet windows and cleared the history before heading back down to my room. I paused once I got back in there, listening to the sounds of the shower. I looked around my room at Karri’s things spread out everywhere. She came down here to see me, she stayed because of me and now she was going to have to suffer through all this crap, because of me. I was sure I wasn’t worth this.

I felt like crap, not the best way to start the day. I sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that morning, and quietly pushed the door open to the bathroom. I could hear Karri humming softly and the guilt washed over me. How could I be selfish enough to put her through this? Besides the fact that I had never really gotten over Karri after we broke up, I had always worried about trying to find a girlfriend in general. The press in Pittsburgh and the hockey world overall was hard on me sometimes; but that came with the territory. It didn’t feel fair to put someone else through this, and worse, just because I wanted to have a relationship. Yet here I was, allowing the girl that I loved to become exposed to the worse parts of fame; without offering her anything in return.
I pulled my boxer down to the floor, stepping out of them as I pulled open the shower curtain causing Karri to suppress a scream.

“Jesus Sid! You scared the crap out of me!”

“Room for one more?” I asked mischievously, a smile spreading over my face.

“I don’t know… my boyfriend’s suppose to be home soon…” She shrugged nonchalantly.

“That’s alright, I’m sure I can take him…” She giggled and made room for me. I stepped under the hot water and pulled her tight against me. My thoughts were racing in what felt like a thousand different directions, I knew I needed Karrington to help calm me down. I might as well continue being selfish, I thought as I brought my lips down to meet hers. I knew without a question that Karri was worth more to me than anything they could ever throw at us; if only I could be sure she felt the same way.



“Soooooo far! Why did we have to walk?”

“Sidney! It’s like four blocks away! Besides, it’s too nice to drive.” Karri and I were walking hand and hand down a side street in Pittsburgh, towards Marc’s house. I had my cap pulled low over my face, and so far, it had either disguised me, or at least deterred people from approaching us.
When we reached Flower’s house, Vero and Marc were waiting for us in the living room.

“Bonjour Karri!” Marc yelled, much more exuberant than usual. I saw Vero elbow him in the ribs; obviously unimpressed with his attempt to be subtle.

“We were thinking beach day? Sound good?” Vero asked, getting up from the couch and walking towards us.

“Sure! That sounds great!” Karri said, “Oh… wait… I didn’t bring a bathing suit with me.”

“Don’t worry about it! I have lots upstairs with the tags still on them.” They both giggled as they headed up the stairs. I walked over to the couch and sat down beside Marc.

He watched over his shoulder until he was sure they were out of hearing-range; “You see it?”

“Yah.”

Marc let out a low whistle. “Vero had a fit when she saw it… flew into a rage, called the paper and everything. It’s the French in her…” He smiled fondly and I couldn’t help but laugh. “So are you alright?”

“Yah… well… as alright as I can be. I keep trying to tell myself that I’m doing the right thing, you know, having her back in my life but… it just seems so wrong.”

“Well, you love her, right?” I nodded. “And you want to be with her more than anything, right?” I nodded again. “Well, I think if you love her and you want to be with her… then you should be. Karri’s not stupid Sid, she knows that people are going to say things with her; it’s part of the territory.”

“Yah but that doesn’t make it any-”

“Any easier? No you’re right, it doesn’t. But that’s all I got for ya man…” He chuckled as he shook his head. “It goes away though, I promise. It’ll be worse for you cause you’re ’Sid the Kid’ and all that but eventually it’ll go away.”
I looked over my shoulder at the stairs, just in time to see Vero and Karri coming down the stairs.

“We’re all ready boys!” Vero called happily. Marc and I headed to the door.

“We’re taking your car man, she made me walk here!”

“Ugh! I hate walking!” Marc nodded as we proceeded out the door.

“You know,” I heard Karri say to Vero behind us, “for professional athlete’s they’re kind of lazy.”

“Oh, you don’t have to tell me!” Vero agreed.

“Hey! I might be lazy but don’t you forget who pays the bills!” Marc yelled before hopping into the driver’s seat of his SUV.




The beach was fun. It allowed me to get my mind off of everything else that was going on and just enjoy being a regular person.
We drove back to Marc and Vero’s house for supper, deciding to order Chinese. We had just finished eating when someone burst through the back door. “Vero! Vero! Did you see this? Has anyone talked to Sidney yet!? I can’t believe that dreadful woman!”
Oksana came swiftly into the living room, holding a copy of today’s paper in her hand, Geno in tow behind her. “I can’t believe they allow her to print this-” She cut off mid-sentence, her mouth forming an ’o’ as she saw Karri sitting on the couch next to me.

“What’s happened?” Karri asked looking from Oksana and back to me.

After a moment of deafening silence Karri got up and walked over to Oksana, holding out her hand for the paper. Oksana shot me an apologetic glance, “We didn’t see your car…” She placed the paper into Karri‘s hand.
She looked at the front page, her face falling, before she proceeded to flip through the whole paper. We all watched her, waiting for a break-down that never came.

“Well…” she said finally, “You have to give her credit, she is very good at what she does.”

“What?” I shouted, “Karri none of that stuff is-”

“I know Sidney! None of it’s true, but that’s what I mean… It’s kind of impressive that she can twist a few photos into this whole mess. More impressive that someone actually let her publish it.”

“What photos?” I asked, walking towards her.

“The ones from after the hockey game, and the banquet apparently.”

I grabbed the paper out of her hands and started flipping through it myself. There were several pictures of Karri; which made my blood boil. Taking pictures of me is one thing, but they have no right to take pictures of Karri.
The first picture was of Karri, I and a fan that we had posed for after the game, the next was one of me blushing as Karri walked away towards the car followed by the caption; Sidney is embarrassed by girl that followed him all the way from his hometown. “Sidney’s too nice to tell her to leave, but, we all know it’s what he wants. I feel bad for her actually, I mean, how can someone be so delusional?” An insider in the penguin family told us.

The next picture was one of Karri standing in front of Oksana, her finger in Emma’s face; The girls dating other players from the team are worried about Sidney and Evgeni. Everyone knows about Oksana’s issues with money and ’upgrading’ for a man with a bigger pay check, but no one thought Sidney would fall into that trap. “He’s so put together and intelligent. It’s just hard to see him get worked over, we had to do something. No one thought that she would get so violent.” Says our insider.

The final picture on the bottom of the page was one of Karri and Max. Max was grasping Karris’ arms, pulling her towards him. Karri had her in front of her chest, pushing Max away. Max’s lips were crushed down on top of Karri in a brute fashion. Sidney Crosby is already heading for heartbreak! His new girlfriend, who is already living with him, is keeping Max Talbot on the back burner, just in case.

I felt my face get hot as I stared at the picture of my team-mate forcing himself on my girlfriend. Karri had said that he had tried to kiss her and stopped once she pushed him away; there was no trying in this picture.
Reading my emotion Karri pulled the paper out of my hand and tossed it onto the table.

“Sidney, it doesn’t matter… don’t do anything drastic, please…”

I could hardly hear her, pure rage was taking over any other thoughts I had had. Even though I was mad at the thought of Max trying something, the knowledge that he had succeeded sent me into over-drive. Seeing it didn’t help either.
I looked up at Marc, he looked terrified. I turned to Geno. He was standing with his arms folded over his broad chest; his face tight. He nodded at me “We take my car.”

“Sidney, no! Please…” Karri grabbed my arm but I kept walking. I followed Geno out the back door and around to the garage where he had parked.
We both got into his vehicle without saying anything. We didn’t have to, we knew where we were going.

Wherever Max was.