-Sidney 21-

I run my hand through my hair still in shock, we did it, we won the Stanley Cup I make my way
down the hotel hallway to Staalsy’s room and knock on the door

“Hey Sid, what’s up?” he asks and I look around to make sure no one else is around

“Do me a favor?” I ask and he looks at me with furrowed eyebrows

“Like?”

“Like tell everyone I’m hung over and will take a different flight to Pittsburgh” I say running a hand through my hair

“Going to Buffalo?” he asks and I nod “Ok, but this is ridiculous”

“Yeah it is, but Lemieux, my dad and even coach Therrien didn’t even like the thought of their team all star having a girlfriend. Now I don’t know about Bylsma but I have a feeling if he likes being coach he’ll agree with them, and I am in no mood to argue” he just shakes his head and sighs

“Fine, but am I supposed to tell the whole team their captain is a lightweight? You barely drank last night”

“They’ll believe it, I’ve been playing hockey since I was two my whole life has been preparing for that, they’ll believe I don’t drink much” he shrugs in a good point type of way “Thanks Staalsy” he only nods and I make my way back to my room quietly and book my flight for Buffalo later in the afternoon

-Jesy 21-

After finally getting my dad to sign the deed of the bar over to me, countless hours of remodel; and one name change later, “Hockey Heaven” is now fully open; with a grand re-opening later in the year. I sigh sweeping up more dust realizing maybe a white floor was the worst idea I could have had even if it does look cool.

I rearrange the custom hockey puck shaped tables and wipe all 30 –each with a different team logo- down with a rag. It takes another hour to finally get all the beer bottles collected and all the cups and glasses washed and put away. After emptying the trash cans and then the almost empty bottles of liquor I sit down on a stool at the bar with a glass of ice water and smile staring at the large tv across from me, the tv on which I watched my Sidney kiss Lord Stanley’s cup last night.

I make a mental note to call him and ask him about his knee later, even though it seemed just fine when the time came to hold the most coveted trophy in the sport.

I sigh when I look at the clock to see its already 1pm, Amy and Jamie should be here soon and by 3 we have to be ready for people to pack back in here to watch the highlights from last night. I get up and make sure to clean the Sabres table extra good, I know of 3 former players coming in tonight that will want to add to the signatures scrawled across the black, a few other tables have a scattered signature or 2 but the Sabres table has the entire current roster scrawled across it and some Alumni, probably everyone’s favorite part about my redesign is the tables. I leave a note on the bar for the girls and head up the stairs to shower.

-Sidney-

When I land in Buffalo its well after 9pm I stretch getting off the plane and make my way to baggage claim, after getting a cab I make my way to Jesy’s bar. I open the back door and set my suitcase inside by her stairs before walking in the front door. The almost packed bar with eyes glued to ESPN goes silent and eyes turn to me as I enter the door and make my way towards the bar where the back of Jesy’s head hair pulled up in a ponytail looking more red than brown in the light greets me.

“What can I get you?” she says without even turning around

“A kiss?” I say low enough that the entire bar can’t hear me

“I’m sorry what did you say?” she says turning around to face me and her eyes go wide “Sid” she says almost in a whisper

“Hi” I smile leaning over the bar and kissing her I hear a few gasps from some of the women in the bar but I ignore it, I pull back and see her smiling

“Hi superstar” she laughs and I can feel all eyes on us “Hey Amy think the 2 of you can handle this?” she asks pointing to full bar Amy nods and Jesy turns back to me with a shy smile

“Hey! Get over it will ya?” Jamie shouts and all eyes advert away from Jesy and I and I laugh “Sid at least sign the Penguins table” she says handing me a silver sharpie

“Point me to it” I sign the table and smile for a few pictures before making my way back to Jesy who grabs my hand and starts for the door at the back of the bar. We’re half way up the stairs to her apartment before she stops in front of me and turns to face me kissing me softly
“How’s your knee?” she asks eyes full of concern

“Fine” I say with a smile

“It didn’t look fine last night” she says quietly running her fingers through my hair

“Don’t you worry; I won’t miss a game next season”

“Good” she says and turns to finish walking up the stairs

We make our way into her apartment; she locks the door behind me and turns to me with a devious smile

“What?” I ask and she just shakes her head with a shy smile

-Jesy-

I wake up at 3am tangled in only sheets and Sidney and I smile and blush at the same time I shift my position and stretch before settling comfortably with my head on his bare chest
“What’s wrong baby?” he mumbles half asleep the groggy sound sends a shiver down my spine

“Nothing just getting comfortable” I say back and I feel him nod as he slides his arm from my shoulder down my bare back tracing my spine before settling at my hip, I trace an invisible pattern across his chest in the dark for a moment unable to fall back to sleep “Sid?” I ask quietly he sighs in response “I” I begin not sure about what the statement I want to say is going to do to the fragile structure of our relationship that I’ve already changed by ending up in bed with him like this I clear my throat, nothing left to lose now “I love you” I say and I get no response “Sid?” I tilt my head up slowly to look at him, sound asleep, I sigh and close my eyes trying to fall back to sleep

-Sidney-

“I love you” her words ring like a gong in my ears, technically 2 years we’ve been dating in that time, with right now included I have seen her 7 times. Do I love her? I ponder it for a moment and I hear her say my name again, the way her voice makes my heart race answers my question, but I freeze. She sighs and I can tell she thinks I’m asleep and she’s irritated but my mouth won’t move. In my head I’m practically screaming the words in return wishing she could hear the thoughts my mouth won’t let out, but nothing happens and I sigh in defeat trying to fall back to sleep

-Jesy-

I wake up at 11am, wrapped in sheets and nothing else. I can still smell Sidney’s cologne on the pillow next to me but the space he occupied is cold. I roll over to find my shirt on the floor, I get up and put on panties and shorts and strip my bed of the now stained sheets. I rake my hand through my tangled hair and with a shaky sigh I make my way to my bathroom to shower.
When I enter my room again brushing my wet hair I hear my phone vibrate from the night stand and check the text message from Sidney

*I’m so sorry I had to leave, I had to be back in Pittsburgh for press. I’ll see you soon I promise*

For some reason his text makes me want to cry, and I make my bed to avoid that situation. By 1pm there’s a knock on my door and I open it to find Amy and Jamie

“Where’s Sid?” Amy asks

“Pittsburgh” I say bitterly

“Did you guys fight? You sound so angry with him” Jamie asks and I shake my head “Then what could possibly have you this bitter, at a city?”

I sigh over exaggeratingly “There’s just some things I don’t want to talk to you two about ok” I say and walk into the kitchen making coffee

“Hold it you tell us everything, why so secretive now?” Amy asks following me and I look her with sad eyes “Oh, that’s what happened, gotcha”

“Don’t say it like that, you make it sound gross” she looks at me with raised eyebrows “And besides, that’s not what the problem is” Jamie joins her at the counter in my kitchen and I pour 3 cups of coffee “It’s just I may have said something that I don’t know if I should have said, and then I wake up and he’s gone and there’s been no mention of said thing that I said from his end. And he was asleep when I said it and you would think after that, there would be something” I say with a pout resting my head in my hands looking at the two of them across from me
“I am so confused” Jamie says and Amy rolls her eyes

“Quickest recap for your brain, Jesy slept with Sidney, like slept with slept with, and then dropped an ‘I love you’ am I right?” I nod and Amy continues “And now he’s back in Pittsburgh cause he was asleep when she spilled her guts and he didn’t say I love you back, so now she’s pissed at him cause he didn’t even say it first, or first as far as he knew”

“Pretty much” I whine laying my head on the counter

-Sidney-

I wince as my car rumbles up the Lemieux driveway; it’s early so I’m hoping everyone is still asleep. I quietly make my way into the house and down the basement stairs to my room sighing with relief when I reach it with no incident.

“You know what the great thing about the internet is Troy?” I jumped at the sound of Mario’s voice and groaned at my father’s name

“What’s that Mario?” my dad answers as I turn to face them both sitting on my bed

“You can just google someone like let’s say Sid here when you’re wondering what Jordan Staal means by he’s hung over when you’ve never really known him to drink” Mario says matter of factly

“And what do you find Mario?” my dad asks and I look at them both in utter confusion until Mario turns around the paper in his hands revealing a photo of Jesy and I kissing and I groan, suddenly pissed at the invention of the camera phone

“Funny you should ask that Troy I found this little picture here, and if you’ll notice in the background there quite a few people are wearing Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills shirts, and if you look at the caption it says ‘Sidney Crosby kissing mystery bartender in Buffalo NY’ and what do you know, it was taken last night” Mario says his tone mocking me while still managing to embarrass me

“Sidney wouldn’t lie to us Mario; he said he broke up with the girl so of course he broke up with her. He wouldn’t jeopardize his career, his team everything he’s worked so hard for all his life for some puck bunny in Buffalo now would he?”

I sank down in my desk chair opposite of the both of them realizing what they were both hinting at I sighed dejectedly “Fine” I mumbled

-JesyDecember-

Today was the day the grand re-opening of the bar. I had reminded Amy and Jamie as well as the others on the staff that it was a game night so Sabres shirts should be worn. I had just about finished the decorations when I remembered I should text Sidney

*Don’t forget to bring yourself and teammates by after the game for the grand opening*

It was a few minutes before I got a confirmation text from him. The hours past like seconds until all the staff was there and quite a few customers. The bar was loud with excitement as some new comers gushed over the new décor enjoying how much being in the bar made it seem like you were on the ice.

When the game started eyes were trained on one of the 6 tv’s and when Jason Pominville scored the crowed in the bar cheered along with the crowed in the arena. When the Penguins took dominance of the play and scored a goal groans could be heard around the bar. I stood behind the bar absentmindedly filling drinks, while deep in my heart I wanted to see the Sabres win, I also wanted to see Sidney score, it lit up his face and that was something I was so desperate to see after all the fights we’d had recently.

Over time ticked down and I began chewing my nails, having a love hate relationship with shoot out’s, while they were exciting they were nerve wrecking and even though Lalime had been outstanding in goal all night, he was no Ryan Miller and put up against Sidney something in me was sure he would fail.It surprises me as Kris Letang got the puck past Lalime, but more so when Sidney didn’t. My jaw almost drops to the counter Marc-Andre Fleury was easily one of my favorite goaltenders but I watch in horror has he effortlessly blocks all the Sabres shots making my fast twist up in disgust. While it was bad enough that my team didn’t win it was even more irritating that Sid seemed to be plagued by not scoring tonight I let out a slight irritated huff before relaxing slightly.

I let out a sigh in relief knowing with the game over that some of the players would be trickling in soon enough. Patrick Kaleta is the first to arrive, receiving applause for the hit on Jay McKee during the game

“Hey Jesy, my Uncle Jay is coming in tonight” Amy says and I look at her with a why does it matter look “I uh sorta, accidentally slipped about you and Sid dating”

“YOU DID WHAT?!” I bellow glad to be drowned out by the cheers of another player entering the bar “Amy, your uncle is Jay McKee, why would you do that to me?”

She shrugs apologetically “It slipped! Uncle Jay said something about Sid being patronized for having a girlfriend on the way up here and he spit back that he didn’t have one, and I just happened to mumble that I thought you would disagree”

“He- he denied having a girlfriend?” I stammer and she looks at me with a sad nod “Ok so we’ve been fighting but I mean I really didn’t think” I run my hands through my hair and drop my eyes to study the Sabres logo on my shirt “I hate this logo” I grumble “It looks like Donald Trump’s toupee”

“Don’t get pissed at the slug cause the penguin denied you” Amy says “It’s not Mr. Slugs fault”

An hour passes, a good quarter of the Sabres are here, and Jay brings with him a good chunk of the Penguins, I peer around for one particular set of eyes that I don’t find before my vision is cut off by a tall figure wearing a Sylvester from the Loony Toons shirt. I look up from the chest in front of me to make eye contact with the daunting figure

“You Jesy?” A harsh Russian accent falls from his lips and I nod my head before the face clicks into recognition

“You’re Evgeni Malkin” I say he only nods “It would be an honor if you would sign the Penguins table” I say offering him the silver sharpie

He shakes his head and I furrow my eyebrows looking at him confused “Sid’s sorry, I sign now” he says taking the marker from me

“Hold it there Russian Penguin” I say and he turns to face me confused “Sid’s sorry? For what?” I ask and he shrugs

“All said, find Jesy, say Sid’s sorry” he throws his hands up “I did”

“He’s not coming is he Evgeni” I say retrieving a small bottle of water from under the bar

“Geno” he says and I look at him waiting for further explanation “Call me Geno”

“Ok, Geno, tell me this did Sid only send you because I told him I think your broken English makes you adorable” he raises his shoulders in an over exaggerated shrug “That’s a yes”

“I sign now” he says turning for the Penguins puck shaped table. He returns a moment later handing me the marker back “You nice girl, don’t be sad, Sid’s sorry”

“Thanks Geno” I say sadly and he sits on the stool in front of me waiting for me to say more, I spill my guts to the nodding figure in front of me and when I’m done I look at him with watery eyes “I just spilled my guts to someone I don’t know, who probably barely understood half of what I said” I say with a laugh

“I understand. Sid should be here, he’s- he’s” Geno looks at me with frustrated eyes trying to figure out how to say in English what he can clearly say in Russian

“A dumbass?” I offer and his eyes light up

“Dumbass. Is close enough”

“I like you Geno, you’re a good guy. My new favorite Russian”

He lets out a laugh “Your old favorite is who?” he says and laughs even harder when I lift the bottle of vodka from behind the bar “Those, hard shoes to fill Jesy”

“Nah, you listen better than this guy does. He just makes me puke”

“I should go, is late, we have flight in morning” he says getting up from the bar “I see you Jesy”

“Bye Geno” I call as he exits the bar

After the bar empties I send all the staff home and tell them to come back tomorrow to clean up. I make my way to the back door shutting off the lights and walking through it to head up to my apartment. On the stairs I see a sleeping Sidney. I roll my eyes and push past him unlocking my door.

-Sidney-

I wake up when Jesy pushes past me on the stairs and I get up to follow her into her apartment
“You should have been there!” she yells at me and I flinch still half asleep

“I’m sorry” I mumble

“You should have burst through the door with that damn Sidney smile that melts hearts in
Pittsburgh” she runs a hand through her hair tossing it up into a quick bun

“I know, I’m sorry” I say again a little louder

“What am I supposed to say? My entire staff and customers kept asking about you, you can only say he said he’d be here so many times before they don’t believe you!”

“Jesy, I’m” I start and she pokes her finger into my chest

“You don’t get to say anything! For an hour I talked to Geno at some point it went from talking to crying mumbling how you promised you would be there and you weren’t! This is the one time I asked you to do something for me to support me and damn it Sid you’re in the same damn city sitting on my steps instead”

“I’m sorry” I say stepping towards her wrapping her small frame in a hug

“Me too Sid, go home” she says pushing me away and wiping her face

“What?” I say quietly reaching for her again “You don’t mean that baby”

“Yes I do go home Sidney I don’t want you here” I do the only thing I can think of and grab her by the waste pulling her in close and kissing her “You’re an asshole” she mumbles when I pull back and wipe her tears gently

“I know, and I’m sorry” I say kissing her cheek “Do you still want me to leave?” I ask quietly dreading the answer and she shakes her head no “Good” I say kissing her again

I wait until her breathing falls into a light snore before slowly sliding out from under the covers and finding my clothes. I slip out of her door quietly and make my way to the hotel. I quickly get my stuff together shower and change before crawling into my bed and falling asleep.

I wake up a little over an hour later when the rest of the team is getting ready to head for the plane to our next road trip game. As I get on the plane I avoid Geno’s stare, Jesy is loved by everyone she meets and if he knew what I was doing purposely trying to get her to break up with me, he’d kill me. I sigh closing my eyes to try to fall back to sleep, my mind keeps wandering back to Jesy I want so badly to just ignore my dad and Mario, but I can’t they threatened my career, I have to let go of Jesy but I can’t bear to break her heart.

“Crosby” I hear from behind me and I open my eyes and turn to see Jay McKee sitting behind me, I just nod “My niece, she’s your girl’s best friend”

“Like I said yesterday Jay I don’t” I start and he chuckles

“Amy is her best friend Sidney, I’m not stupid. However if you hurt her I’ll kick your ass she’s a sweet girl”

“I don’t know what you think you know Jay but I don’t have a girlfriend” I say turning away from him

“Not for long anyway” he says before getting up and moving seats. When I know he’s a good distance away I sigh and close my eyes again to sleep

-Jesy-

I wake up cold, I wrap the blanket tighter around my body and reach out for Sid but his side of the bed is already cold. I can still smell his cologne though on the pillow. I find my shirt on the floor and fish through my drawers for clean underwear and jogging pants. I make my way out to the kitchen but he’s not there either. I look at the clock and sigh its only 5:30am I can’t figure out why he’s already gone.

With a defeated sigh I make my way back to my bed crawling back under the comforter and pulling the pillow that smells like him close. I grab my phone and stare at it a moment before typing out a text asking if this is what it will always be like with him, I change my mind before hitting send and delete the words off the screen. I run my hand through my hair and bury my face into his pillow taking a deep breath, with realizing it I begin crying I already know the answer to my unsent text, the arguing the leaving, our relationship changed after one event. He won the cup, then he won my innocents and now just like everyone warned me about dating a hockey player he’s slowly slipping away from me. I force myself to fall back to sleep and when I wake up I have a text from him simply saying he won’t be back for Christmas and the game in Buffalo on the 29th he can’t stay, even though I don’t I tell him I understand. I text Jamie and Amy asking them to cover the bar for me tonight saying I have a headache and curl up back into a ball with the pillows fading scent.