Reunited

"I'm going to admit that the only reason I actually put my ass on a flight next to a crying baby for six hours was just to hook up with some cute hockey boy who won't want anything afterwords."

Shea laughed, pulling her friend in for a hug, "It's good to see you too Bella." Shea pulled out of the hug before moving onto her other friends.

"So what's the plan babe? Do we get to meet the infamous Sidney Crosby that you talked about so much during college?" Sophie said, grabbing her suitcase to start following Shea to her car.

"My question for you is, why is this engaged man not asking his fiancé to bring all her friends to party, but he's in fact asking is ex. Little weird don't you think?" Ellie said wrapping an arm around her old roommate. Ellie had been through all the tears and heard every phone fight that Sidney and Shea had gone through during their brief engagement, if you could even call it that. She saw how torn up Shea was over this guy, Ellie even wanted her to come home with her to New York after they graduated, but Shea didn't go home once during college, and they both thought that Sidney wouldn't be there. Shea had called Ellie after the whole church thing, the first time Shea had seen Sidney in four years. It took Ellie three hours to talk Shea off the cliff she was theoretically standing on after that fiasco.

"Because if even Sidney's parents hate the fiancé, I'm pretty sure all of his friends hate her too."

"Is she that bad Shea?" Bella said putting her luggage in the trunk of Shea's car, getting into the front seat looking like a puppy dog. Bella had been waiting all of June to hear about the fiancé from Shea, because she had no doubt met her.

Shea bit her bottom lip and nodded her head back and forth to the side, "She definitely wanted to prove something to everyone, and she definitely loved flaunting the fact that she's going to be Mrs. Crosby in September."

"Not if I have a say in it doll. This weekend I'm gonna show him what he missed on with you," Sophie said.

Before Shea started driving, she swiveled around her seat and looked at her friends, You guys have to promise me that you won't try to get Sidney and me together. He's happy, I'm happy, let's leave it at that, please."

The girls went silent. There goes their whole plan to bring Sidney and Shea together in a bedroom and watch the fireworks explode, but once Shea had said something they knew they couldn't go against what Shea wanted. Even if that isn't actually what she wanted.

"Well then can I try and get him to cheat on his fiancé?" Shea looked over at Bella before shaking her head, "Kidding doll, calm down."

Bella turned around in her seat and mouthed to her friends, "I'm not kidding." Everybody chuckled. If there was one girl who could get a married man to think about cheating on his wife, it was Bella. She had that personality and spunk that made every man rethink every decision he had ever made.

Shea saw Bella mouth it out of the corner of her eye, and laughed as well, before thinking to herself, this is going to be one interesting weekend.

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Sidney left early to pick his friends up from the airport. He knew he couldn't fit all fifteen guys into his car so he had asked Mike to help him, and since Mike was a huge hockey fan he didn't want to miss the chance for autographs.

Sidney pulled into the airport and around to the arrivals area. He could automatically spot his buddies, they were the tall, buff guys, all with hats on their heads. He parked next to the curb, Mike right behind him, and got out of the car.

He caught Nealers attention first, "Look at you, all changed from becoming engaged."

"I've been engaged for six months James."

"Yeah, but now you actually look as miserable as an engaged man normally does." Sidney shook his head before walking around to all the others guy and pulling them into hugs. He introduced Mike, who looked ghostly from the anxiety of meeting is favorite hockey players. All the guys laughed before slapping Mike on the back and walking to put their luggage into the trunk of the cars.

In Sidney's car they all made small talk. They mostly just discussed the upcoming season and what each of them was doing to prepare for it. Of course every answer was something along the lines of working out for hours upon hours every day.

Sidney was close to his house when he saw Shea's house on his right. He hadn't realized he had taken this route but once he saw Shea and some of her friends in the driveway he immediately wanted to slam his head on the steering wheel repeatedly.

"Damn man, Cole Harbours got some good looking girls. Stop the car," James said, rolling down his window. Sidney just slowed the car down.

Better now than never to tell them, Sidney thought.

"The one in the crop top is Shea."

Everyone stopped talking. Sidney thought he could hear every conversation within a mile radius stop. James looked back out the window, so did everyone else in Sidney's car. They all looked back at Sidney with their mouths open, and eyes wide. Sidney finally stopped the car, Mike pushing down on his brakes right behind him. Mike was gonna honk his horn, but realized why Sidney had stopped. Every guy in his car was looking out the window at the girls unloading the car.

John Tavares finally broke the silence in Sidney's car, "So are you gonna introduce us?"

Sidney looked down at his lap. He knew this moment was going to come, but Shea had always been his. He didn't want anybody else to meet her, or even get the chance to. He hesitated before putting the car in park and opening his door. He walked around the car, and started to climb the driveway. Shea must of heard the door shut because she was looking at Sidney walking up her driveway, and she could see all the guys in his car.

They met halfway, "Did you enslave my brother to parade your friends around?" Shea said looking at a glum looking Sidney. He just laughed slightly, shrugging his shoulders. Shea looked expectantly.

"They want to meet you."

Shea nodded her head, knowing exactly why Sidney was so hesitant to have attractive, chiseled, hockey players meet her, but she was all for it. She walked past Sidney, hearing him sigh in the process, towards James Neal.

"Well well we finally get to meet the famous Shea," James said extending a large hand through the open window.

Shea reached her hand out and cupped her hand in James' "So you've heard about me?"

All the guys in the car started to laugh and imitate Sidney's voice. She couldn't hear what they were saying, she was too busy glowing the fact that Sidney had at least talked about her once or twice. Sidney had come up behind Shea and was clearing his throat, all the guys stopped talking.

"So are you gonna be coming over later?" Steven Stamkos said leaning over John's lap out the backseat window. Shea walked over to the backseat of the car, and said, "Only for you sweets." All the guys in the car chuckled, most of them wondering why Sidney had ever let this girl go.

Shea turned and started to walk back up her driveway, before James yelled to her, "I'll save you a drink beautiful."

Shea turned back around towards the guys and winked, "Please do."

That oughta make Sidney's stomach churn.

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"Oh calm down Sidney it was just a joke," James said still apologizing for flirting a little with Shea. Sidney was still giving him the client treatment, "Besides you're engaged, so what if I have a little fun with her." That made Sidney even more enraged. He had gone to James for almost all of his issues with Shea throughout the past four years, James had even encouraged Sidney to move on and go out with Brooke, and now look at him.

"If you even thing about laying a hand on her Neal--"

"You'll what Sidney? Realize that ever letting Shea go was the biggest mistake?" Or maybe you'll dump the fiancé that everyone, including yourself, hates." James was getting just as mad as Sidney was. James had thought that Sidney and Shea would never see each other again, but now being in Cole Harbour and watching them talk for just a millisecond, he was already on the Shea and Sidney bandwagon. James' words had hurt Sidney. He would never tell James that of course, but they had stung a little more than he would have liked.

James left Sidney standing in the kitchen, wondering what was going to happen tonight, why he was even having this little party was the only question on his mind when the girls showed up. There were twelve of them. Sidney could pick out Shea's roommate, Ellie, who he had met only once. They were all pretty girls, but Sidney thought his heart was going to stop beating when he saw Shea. She was wearing combat boots, with high waisted shorts and an old shirt that Sidney had always loved on her. It had been his once.

"Hey Sid," Shea pulled Sidney in for a long hug. Sidney almost didn't let go, but Shea pulled away, and walked towards the kitchen, leaving Sidney longing after her, as she normally did. Sidney heard yelling and laughing in the kitchen, so he quickly put a stop to his nostalgic mood and walked in after Shea.

"Aw Sid we're just taking shots, come come," MDZ said, sliding a shot towards Sidney.

"What should we cheers to?" Ellie said looking around at the good looking group of people in front of her.

"How about we cheers to regrets?"

Everybody turned their attention to James who was looking directly at Shea and Sidney, they looked at each other and back towards James.

Shea raised her glass, "To regrets!" She heard the many clinks of the glasses and the repeated words. She turned towards Shea and hit his glass against hers, "To regrets."

"To regrets."

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Most of the night had been a blur. They had drank more than any of them should ever of consumed, some had gone off into different rooms all throughout the house, some had played poker.

"You totally hustled me!"

"I did not. I told you to put your money where your mouth is. It's not my fault you didn't ask me if I was good at poker," Shea said counting the money she had just taken from five of the guys, including Sidney. Most of the guys looked like most guys would look if a girl had just beaten them at a more masculine sport, but Sidney looked proud. Shea laughed before giving each of the guys their money back.

"What are you doing?" Neal said giving his money right back to Shea.

"I'm not actually gonna take your money." Most of the guys quickly reached out and took the money back, leaving Shea empty handed and chuckling, "I'm gonna get another drink, anybody want anything?"

Shea got a chorus of "beer" back, so she hurried to the kitchen and went dug into the fridge. She heard a pair of footsteps come up behind her and grab the beers, that Shea hadn't been able to find.

"They're right in front of you and you can't find them," Sidney said walking around the counter to find a bottle opener. Shea reached across the counter and grabbed the opener, "It's right in front of you and you can't even find it." Sidney laughed, same old Shea, always giving peoples shit right back to them.

"Your friends are nice, and very attractive." Sidney shook his head and rolled his eyes, walking closer to Shea, "Neal likes to cause trouble huh?" Sidney kept walking towards Shea, she gulped. They were close, the closest they've been in quite some time. Sidney smelled of alcohol with faint cologne, Shea loved it.

"To regrets right?" Sidney said leaning closer to Shea. Shea reached up and grabbed his face between her hands, "To regrets." Sidney closed the space between him and Shea. Her lips tasted of tequila and beer, but her face smelled of the perfume she had been wearing since high school. The kiss lasted a whole ten seconds before the crashing sound of beers hitting the floor caused them to pull away.

"Shit."

"Oh my god what just happened?" Shea said putting her hand to her lips. She could still taste Sidney's lips on hers, he had always had that lasting effect on her. She quickly excused herself from the kitchen, leaving Sidney rattled and left to clean up all six of the beers he had just dropped.

Shea walked out to the living room and grabbed the bottle of rum from the table and chugged it.

To getting drunk and hopefully not remembering I just kissed an engaged man and the love of my life, Shea cheered to herself.

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The next morning Sidney was the first one to wake up. He hadn't drank much so his mind of clear, his heart was fuzzy. He had slept like shit, all he could think about how he had waited four years to kiss Shea again. A short, not seductive kiss, but it was the best either of them could do for being so out of things. Sidney hadn't seen Shea for the rest of the night, and something told him she was trying very hard to ignore him.

Sidney got up and out of his bed to go see where everyone had slept. Some of the guys were on the couch, some even laying on the floor in the bathroom. Sidney went downstairs to check some of the guest bedrooms, but when he came to the last one, Sidney got a nagging feeling that he shouldn't open the door.

But against his better judgment he turned the nob on the door, and immediately regretted his very poor decision.

All Sidney could see before he closed the door was Shea's long, beautiful hair covering her bare back and a man sleeping next to her.

It was James.

Notes