Collide

"Mom, I'm sorry I lied to you. But I only did because I knew you'd react just like this if you knew the truth," CiCi explained as she followed her mother in the direction of her new apartment in Market Square.

"CiCi, you know how I feel about living in sin. It's just not right." CiCi rolled her eyes at this and stumbled along between her parents. Her father had remained neutral, but CiCi knew he sided with her.

"Mom, listen to me! I'm not 18 making a rash decision. I'm 25 years old! Maria and Derrick are moving in together before they get married. This is no different."

"This is worlds different!"

"How?"

"Well, for starters they are getting married in January. They bought the house together and I know Maria's mother isn't happy about this decision either."

"What makes you think Sidney and I won't get married one day? And again, Maria is an adult and can make adult choices. Her mother can be unhappy but it isn't stopping them. Just like you can be mad with me, but it just so happens I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be right now."

"If you think about it Diane, it's more convenient for the both of them anyways. Ci is a five minute walk to work. And Sid travels a lot. Who do you think he will want to see when he gets home from a road trip? This girl right here. Instead of tracking her down after a long travel day he knows just where to go. I think it's great. And like CiCi is saying, she is an adult. It's her choice. Be mad, but that's not going to change the fact that she is living with her boyfriend."

Diane stopped on the sidewalk and spun towards CiCi and Joe, "You knew about this? For how long?"

"I figured it out when she told me where she was moving into. And asked her flat out this afternoon when we got in. She didn't deny it."

She rolled her eyes at him, threw her arms in the air and huffed exaggeratedly before turning and leading the pack back to CiCi's new apartment. CiCi looked back at her dad who just shrugged his shoulders, then threw his arm around her in comfort. "It will be alright, kiddo. I've got a good feeling about you two and I don't think you are making a wrong decision. Contrary to what she thinks, I don't think there is anything wrong with living together before marriage."

"And I'm not rushing into this?" CiCi voiced a concern she only expressed to Sidney before.

"Given your age, no I don't. If you were younger I'd have my doubts. I'd be mad like your mother too, but at this point in your life you are doing this right."

"I never dreamed of living with Mark before getting married. Looking back I was a bit repulsed by the thought, but I want to be with Sid as much as I can be. He has become my best friend. You know what he did the other night?"

"What?"

"He actually came to Thomas' art show. He came because I had to be there and he knew how much time I spent organizing it. He wanted to support me he said. I was completely floored. Mark never did that."

"You know what you need to stop doing now?"

"What is that?"

"Comparing him to Mark. I'm pretty certain by now he has proven to be so much more even if his job takes him all over North America."

"I don't do it in front of him, but you're right. I do need to stop doing that. It's not fair to Sidney."

"You love him, right?"

"I love him so much that it hurts. And it scares me sometimes, but it's exciting. And I love feeling like this."

"I must say, you have had a spring in your step for over a year now, but an extra little hop has been added to it. And don't worry about your mother. She adores Sidney and how good he is for you. She will come around to this living situation. Give her a moment."

"Thanks dad." CiCi was comforted by her father's words.

*****

The next morning CiCi's mother acted like nothing had happened and almost seemed eager to get the move over with. She was dressed and ready to go when CiCi finally made an appearance in the great room off of the bedrooms.

"Morning honey," she said when CiCi grabbed a travel mug to fill with coffee. "Who all will be helping with the big move today?"

"All the girls and their families are going to be there. It's going to be chaotic, but we only have to worry about my bedroom furniture since nothing else belonged to me," CiCi explained with a shrug. Before she could say anything more she felt her phone vibrate in her jeans pocket and pulled it out to see Sid's lopsided grin on display.

Eagerly wanting to escape a potential fight with her mom, CiCi turned towards her bedroom and answered the call. "Hello?"

"Hey! I'm just checking in before heading over for morning skate. You must have been asleep when I called you last night. How did things end up going?"

"Oh they went. I came home and went straight to bed. It was easier to do that then listen to it more. She's better today. Thankfully dad is on our side."

"Gotta love big Joe," Sid laughed. "I'm sorry I can't be there to help today."

"No! Don't be, you've helped enough by letting me live in your apartment."

"Anywhere that I can have you closer to me is better than that shithole you tried to fool me into letting you rent."

CiCi chuckled as she recalled the failed attempt to show Sidney a place she could rent after he told her she could move into his apartment. It was a studio with barely enough room to get a bed in. When Sid saw it he immediately laughed and walked out. Not only was it tiny, it was completely out of the way of where she needed to be. Being nearly an hour outside of the city seemed illogical. After that Sidney wouldn't hear anymore of CiCi trying to find her own place.

"Anyways, I don't want to keep you."

"I called you babe, you aren't keeping me. But..." He hesitated.

"But what Sid?"

"My parents are coming in on Wednesday and staying through to Sunday and they don't know that I don't live at my house yet, but that is where they are expected to be staying so I have to make them think I live there and need to stay there until they leave," he revealed in one breath.

"Uh," CiCi was still trying to comprehend what all Sidney just said.

"And they really want to meet you, and they are excited to meet you. But they just don't know about you and I living together so soon."

CiCi laughed at the irony of the situation. She groaned at the thought of hiding it from his parents now. And wondered how it will go over. 'Its so nice to meet you both, by the way we moved in together already. But don't worry I'm not a gold digger or looking for my fifteen minutes of fame.'

"Yeah we will have to make them think we don't live together yet. That sucks that we have to be away from each other for those nights!"

"I know sweetie. But you'll be working, and I have my game on Saturday. And we will see each other. I can only forego seeing you for that long when I am on a road trip."

"You sound almost possessive," CiCi laughed.

"I'm crazy in love, what can I say?" Sid replied making CiCi smile widely.

"I love you too. I'll see you when you get home tonight."

"You got it! Bye babe."

CiCi hung up and wandered back out towards the kitchen to find her parents. She finished pouring a mug of coffee and asked, "You two ready to go?"

"Let's do this! The moving truck will be there in the next forty five minutes. And it shouldn't take them long to bring that stuff over here and set it up," CiCi's dad commented as the three headed towards the door.

******
If moving were that simple, CiCi would have done it herself. But the need to have someone lift the heavy furniture was crucial, and not having siblings or cousins that could help out limited the options of free help. So she now watched as a local moving company swarmed into her old house, invading the move of three others and carried her dresser, nightstands, chest of drawers, and queen sized bed and stow all of it away into their truck. CiCi was grateful that her dad offered to follow them over to her new apartment, to see that they got everything into the spare bedroom so that she and her mom could help haul some of the lighter community wide stuff into a donation truck that showed up just as CiCi's move finished.

She avoided speaking with Caroline as much as possible. They had yet to resolve any issues and she wasn't going to take back what she said. But Julia and Maria were both excited to see CiCi and chatted animatedly with her about next weekend's wedding shower and bachelorette party. And it was unavoidable to not get caught up in conversation about the following weekend. She would be missing an awkward evening with Sidney's parents for this, and she forgot to remind him when they spoke earlier about it. She made a mental note to tell him that she wouldn't be around next Saturday.

As she was walking out the front door with the last box for donations she caught a glimpse of her mother speaking animatedly with a tall, dark figure a few yards up the street. She knew instantly who it was and rushed to pass the box off to the donations collector and head back into the house. But her mother caught a glimpse of CiCi and waved instantly making Mark turn around and flash a large smile at her.

Defeated, CiCi walked over to offer a brief greeting and resume pulling her mother away so they could get back over to her new place.

"Hello Mark," CiCi said as she sidled up next to her mother. She crossed her arms and tried her best to not look defiant. She should have expected him to be here and was secretly damning Sidney for having a career that makes him travel so much.

"Hi CiCi, how you've been?"

"I've been fantastic! Thanks for asking. Mom, Dad is literally driving up the road. Which means the movers are finished at my place. Let's get over there because I'm sure you won't find the setup very zen."

"Honey, you aren't going to speak with Mark?"

"I have nothing to say to him," CiCi said to her mother, but was looking directly at the man in front of her.

"Cesira I did not raise you to be spiteful."

"Fine, I do have something to say since all you ever want to do is talk about us, Mark. There is no us. For almost two years now. I secretly prayed for this day to come, which I shouldn't because I love my friends and truly enjoyed living with them. I wanted to move out so I wasn't running the risk of seeing you. In the ten years we were together I was constantly seeking out your approval, your adoration, your love. I allowed myself to become this blob melting at your every move and word. I am pretty certain at one point if you were to tell me to jump off the Tenth Street Bridge I would have. That was completely unhealthy. Not to mention how emotionally invested I was and how blatantly obvious you weren't. You had our parents and any other adult fooled into thinking we were soul mates and this perfect little young couple. You can't win me back. I won't let you. I won't let myself feel that sort of pain again. The sort of pain where I was dying inside and on the cusp of losing my own creativity, my individuality."

"CiCi I never meant to hurt you. It was obvious I wasn't good at relationships."

CiCi threw her hands up indicating she didn't want to hear it when she caught on to what he just said. "Relationships? As in plural. More than one."

"Well, yeah."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, I dated other girls when we broke up."

"Last year. I figured by then maybe you'd have a handle on women."

"No. In high school."

Cesira felt her jaw hit the floor. Her voice nearly raised, "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Cesira, language!" Her mother hissed from behind her.

"When we broke up during our junior year. I dated Rhonda and some girl Caroline knew from basketball."

"We never broke up Mark."

"I'm pretty certain we did."

"That's enough, the both of you!" CiCi's mother yelled. "Both of you listen to me. Regardless of what happened years ago, it is over with. You are wrong, Mark. If ever there was a time that you thought you were no longer dating my daughter, you are wrong. She wasn't informed. But I can recall countless weekends where she would expect you to call and you never did. We have just come to find out that you were galavanting around town with other girls. And CiCi, I am relieved to hear you finally speak your mind to him. I assumed you ended things on a good note considering how much you two see each other still. Stay away from my daughter. You've hurt her enough. Thank god she has met someone who knows how to treat a woman."

By this point a scene was unfolding as several of the helpers had stopped to take a break and watch as CiCi and her mother laid one in on her ex. She heard someone approach and turned to see her father standing behind her now. "Ladies, we are finished here. Let's go home."

*****

"CiCi," her mother started as they finished arranging her bedroom suit.

"No, Mom. Don't start, I know you want to talk about what happened." She turned to go into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. Her mother followed her.

"No, I just want to apologize," she started stopping CiCi mid-drink.

"I knew Mark was bad news. I knew he would break your heart, but I wanted you to learn from this. I didn't think he'd break it all over again. Are you okay?"

"I am. I am happier than I could have ever been with Mark. My career is on track and I have a boyfriend who bends over backwards for me."

"I see it now. I shouldn't be so old-fashioned. I'm not going to let this bother me anymore. Sidney is just the kind of person I wished you would meet and be with."

"Thank you Mom."

"He just better be good to you. In fact I want to speak with him when he calls today."

CiCi rolled her eyes and secretly thanked Sid and his superstitions. She knew she wouldn't hear from him now until after the game. And by that point she will be home alone and her parents will be back at their house an hour and a half north of the city.

*****

Sidney quietly closed the apartment door and locked it. He was home with no game to worry about for the next three days. He knew he'd have to go out to his house eventually, but right now he was looking forward to a day off tomorrow and a chance to just do whatever CiCi wanted to do. She hadn't answered when he called to tell her they landed in Pittsburgh, so he expected to find her sound asleep. Instead, he found her sitting at the island completely engrossed in a book.

"Hey! You didn't call!" She exclaimed when she saw him.

"I did call. You didn't answer," he corrected her as he came into full view. He watched as she checked her phone and flashed her screen indicating no missed calls.

"I need to get a new phone. My mom claimed she called me to let me know they made it home. But I didn't get that one either."

"Did you pay your bill?" Sid asked as he loosened his tie and walked over to CiCi. She stared at her phone contemplating the question and Sid laughed, brushed a kiss to her forehead and continued back to the bedroom to change.

"I don't remember. I thought I did. But I wouldn't be able to get messages or email if I didn't have service."

"If you're connected to a wifi signal you would get iMessages," Sid was inside the walk-in closet trying to find a hanger for his suit. He looked around and smiled, CiCi had filled half of the closet with her belongings and seeing it made him feel complete. She was right where he wanted her to be. He took his time hanging his pants and dress shirt up before appearing in front of CiCi in just his boxer briefs and an undershirt. She sat on the edge of the bed oblivious to his presence.

"Son of a bitch, I didn't pay last month! I'll have to go to the store tomorrow and pay off what I owe. Then make sure I am in service before I leave again."

"We can do that. Let's go out towards Ross Park and then swing by the house for the evening. I want to make sure the beds are made and everything is unpacked."

"Oh that reminds me, I can't go to your game on Saturday. Maria's shower and bachelorette party is next weekend."

"Oh, okay."

"I'll go Wednesday. I will even sit with your parents if you want me to! My work week is low key this week."

"That's fine. I just thought I would be there with you when you meet them the first time."

"Babe, I'll do whatever you want me to do. If you want to wait to introduce us that is fine. I still want to come to your game though."

Sid moved to stand in front of his girlfriend, who remained seated on the edge of the bed. Her legs crossed, her useless phone an afterthought as she focused on him and what his next move may be. He reached out for her hand and tugged her to her feet. He immediately pulled her flush against him and brushed some loose strands of hair out of her light eyes. His plump lips looked inviting even though they were slightly chapped.

"I love you," CiCi said, something she was willing to say more often than at first. She felt Sid's breathing become slightly shallow from her declaration. Without hesitation he captured her lips with his and moaned into the kiss as he felt her nails run down his back. He wrapped his arms around her slim waist and lifted her up in his arms without breaking their kiss. Her arms squeezed around his neck. She quickly wrapped her legs around his hips.

He broke the kiss long enough to ask, "Can we?"

"Oh God yes!" She proclaimed. Sid didn't hesitate to climbing onto the bed laying CiCi under him. In fact, she never let go of his frame as he settled them against the pillows and brushed his lips along her collarbone. "What a welcome home."

"For the both of us."

Notes

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