Counting Stars

****Brooklyn's sister is named Brianna now, not Taylor. Sorry for any confusion!***

I’m wondering what Brooklyn could possibly mean as we move towards the couch in the living room. “What’s going on?”

She takes a deep breath, “Obviously my family wants to meet you.”

“And I want to meet them.”

She smiles, “Great, remember that too.” The next phrase comes out so fast that I don’t understand a single word.

“You’re going to have to repeat that babe.”

“Y’all are playing the Flyers tomorrow.” I nod. “My sister is driving from Philly in the morning for the holiday and is going to spend the night here.”

“And?”

“She wants the four of us to go out to dinner after the game,” She looks at me expectantly and I realize that I’m missing something. “The two of us and then her and Claude.”

She delivers that last line extremely slowly and it dawns on me. Her sister is dating him and that Brooklyn loves her sister, which means that I’m going to have to go to this dinner. Whether I like it or not I’m going to have to have a civil conversation with Giroux. “Um, okay.”

“Really, I know you’ll be uncomfortable. Don’t worry about it, I’ll just go.”

Fuck, she is giving me a way out, or it could be a trap. Maybe Brooklyn is testing me. “How does Giroux feel about it?”

She shrugs, “Apparently, he is fine with it.”

My competitive streak instantly kicks in. There is no way that Giroux is going to be a better boyfriend than me. If he can suck it up and have this meal than I will too. “You know what babe? I would love to go. Your sister is important to you and I want to meet her.”

Her smile is reward enough for now, “Really? Thank you so much Sidney, I truly appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it. My family is staying in Cole Harbor anyways. We should go to your for the holiday.”

“They would love that,” Brooklyn curls up to my side. “Vero invited us to their Christmas Eve party, so we can go to that and then drive in the morning to my Grandad’s house.

I grab a blanket and wrap it around the two of us, “That sounds perfect.”

We turn on an old Christmas movie, the one with the bad Claymation and misers. Eventually I start to hear to Brooklyn singing along and I can’t help, but laugh.

She stops and slaps my arm, “Don’t make fun of me! I played this part in elementary school, it’s when I fell in love with performing.”

“Were you Mother Nature?”

Brooklyn mumbles into my lap, “I was the Heat Miser.”

Instantly, my mind imagines Brooklyn as the short stout and red cartoon character and I have to give her a hard time. “Should I start calling you Mr. Green Christmas?” I try to keep a straight face and continue. “Or do you prefer Mr. Sun? How about Mr. Heat Blister?” I lower my voice significantly, “Mr. one hundred and one.”

She has burrowed herself into the blankets in embarrassment and I crawl on top of her to tug it off. Her glare is comical and not the least bit intimidating, “You aren’t funny.”

My hands find her sides and start to tickle her. Immediately, she falls into laughter and it’s one of my favorite sounds. By the time she is done squirming her hair is a mess and her cheeks are flushed, and she has never been more beautiful. “I bet you were very good at it.”

She huffs, “Make fun all you want, but it was a very sought over role. Everyone thought that Nelson was going to get it because he was a ginger, but I got it.”

I try to hold back my laughter and epically fail once again, “I’m asking your mother for pictures the first chance I get.”

“You don’t want to start this game with me Crosby.”

“Or what, I’ll start to melt in your clutch?” She glares and rolls off the couch. I yell to her retreating form, “You’re right, I’m too much!”

Brooklyn flips me off and I just laugh.

*****


By the time my sister makes it to Pittsburgh Sidney is just about to leave for Consol. “So I will see you downstairs after the game with Brianna and Claude.”

“Actually, let’s meet them neat the exit, just in case something happens during the game.”

I nod, that makes sense I suppose. Walking over to Sidney I smooth out his suit, “Thank you again for doing this.”

Sidney smiles and kisses me, “Not a big deal babe. It could be fun even.”

“Now you’re laying it on a little thick.”

He simply chuckles and leans me against the counter, “Are you sure you don’t want to stay with your sister here tonight?”

“We need to catch up, besides I only have a few days left with the old lease.”

“Whatever you say,” we kiss again and I run my fingers through his gelled hair. He groans and pulls me closer. Eventually he lifts me up onto the counter and steps between my legs. We lose ourselves in each other for a little and then his phone beeps.

He rests his forehead against mine, “Sweetest torture babe, I have to go though, I’m already late.”

I jump off the counter, “When you woke up a little late from your nap I made you your sandwich.”

Sidney doesn’t take it right away. Instead he just stares at the sandwich and then at me, until he finally grabs it. “Sweet of you, thanks.”

His smile his off when he leaves, but nonetheless I wish him luck. “Kick ass tonight!”

Once Sidney leaves I pack an overnight bag and head back to my suite that I’ve spent very little time at since shooting has wrapped. Most of my things have been moved to my house in L.A. so it[s pretty sparse. My sister arrives a few minutes later, “Hey hun.”

We hug and then I help her get settled. She wants to change before the game and emerges from the spare bedroom a few minutes later. Instead of blending in like I thought she would she is wearing a bright orange Flyer’s jersey, Claude’s no doubt.

“Really?”

Brianna shrugs and flips her strawberry blonde hair behind her shoulder, “I always wear Claude’s jersey. It’s nice to support him. What, you don’t?”

“First off, you are going to get lynched if you wear that. Second, I haven’t changed yet, so give me a second.” I practically stomp into my bedroom. Always, it becomes a competition in between us. I refuse to be the subpar girlfriend. And I will be the sexier girlfriend and the more cheerful one, just the better girlfriend. In my closet I find Sidney’s white jersey and a pair of black skinny jeans. After a little contemplation I decide to put on my knee high black high heeled boots. When I look in the mirror I feel ridiculous, I haven’t dressed like this for a game in ages. I stuff a silky top in my purse for the restaurant afterwards and rejoin my sister.

She looks me up and down and falters slightly. Unfortunately, she rarely wins the battle as far as clothes and outward appearance goes. My sister is gorgeous of course, but she doesn’t have the money or time to spend on a trainer and healthy food like I do. I have an unfair advantage, and usually I don’t exploit it, but she threw the gauntlet down tonight. We walk down to the valet and he pulls up Sidney’s car for me and I start the short drive to Consol. Luckily I still have Sidney’s VIP parking pass so we don’t have to park in the general garage. I step out of the car and grab my passes. This time we do have to stop back at Will Call and greet my favorite ticket lady, “Do you have two tickets for me Susan?”

“Of course, Miss Donahue,” she looks up from her ticket pile and notices my sister next to me in her Flyer’s gear. “Are you bringing an enemy with you tonight?”

I laugh, “This is the other Miss Donahue, my sister Brianna.” I lean in and whisper, “Don’t hold it against her too much, but she’s dating Giroux.”

Susan simply whistles, “Well then. There must be something about your family. Lovely meeting you Brianna, but your sister does have better taste in men.”

“Agree to disagree.”

The three of us laugh and then my sister and I enter Consol. Walking to our seats I spy very few Flyers jerseys and almost everyone gives my sister a glare. When we get to our section there is a small line. The man in front of us is glancing around and does a double take when he notices my sister’s jersey, “So are you hoping to screw that jackass or something?” His two friends are with him and they all have clearly enjoyed a few drinks before the game. My sister simply rolls her eyes and the man continues. He hasn’t noticed me standing next to her yet. “I see how you’re dressed; trust me I could give you a good time tonight much more than that loser.”

When he starts to step towards my sister I cut in, “Perhaps you should respect her personal space, scumbag.”

The ring leader finally turns to me and I see the instant recognition on his face. He knows who I am and who I date, “Holy Shit. I’m sorry I didn’t realize.” His friends turn around now and are all dumbfounded as well.

“I’m not the one you need to apologize to,” I glance towards Brianna. “My sister deserves an apology don’t you think?”

He stutters and isn’t quite sure what to do. Just then the usher approaches our small group, “Is there a problem here Miss Donahue?”

I smile, “I don’t think there will be John, just as soon as this pervert apologizes to my sister.”

A small crowd has gathered around us now and all are looking pointedly at the man who takes a deep breath and looks at my sister. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude.”

My sister’s face holds no emotion, “And apologize for calling my boyfriend a jackass.”

The crowd mumbles incoherently and the guy looks extremely confused, “Boyfriend?” Brianna points to her jersey. “You’re dating him?” And then he looks at me, “And you’re dating Crosby. Jesus Christ, I’m sorry for calling him a jackass okay.”

Brianna nods in thanks and the line finally moves forward. We walk down to our seats and have a few catcalls and boos for Brianna, but uneventful. I hear a few people call me out by name, but I don’t really acknowledge it. The nice people behind us offer to take a photo of us and we pose. I post it to twitter and tag my sister who I notice has a lot of followers. “You have a lot of followers girl.”

She nods, “Well, people know that I’m your sister and hockey fans in Philly followed me once they figured out I date Claude. It’s weird really.”

We sit and get comfortable and the game begins. Of course, Brianna cheers for the flyers when they enter the arena. For the most part we are enjoying the game, they show us on the big screen once or twice and the crowd mostly cheers. I smile. The game is ugly, extremely ugly, cheap hits, scrums, just extremely physical. Everyone loves it, but I can see that both my sister and I are a little nervous. Then there is about a minute left in the first period and the Flyers are in the Pen’s zone. Giroux lines up a shot and it goes in. My sister stands and cheers of course, much to the chagrin of the people surrounding us. When she sits back down she turns to me, “God, Claude is just so damn good.”

My blood boils and I realize that Sidney and Claude are also part of this sick competition we play. I smile to my sister and mumble, “Yeah, it was a nice shot.” Immediately though I take out my phone and send a quick text to Sid, You need to score AND score more than Claude.

When the guys return for the second period I like to think that Sidney is a little more motivated than before, but I’m probably imagining things. This period is more physical than the first and I wince at a few of the hits that Sidney receives. But about five minutes in my man gives us something to cheer about, with a sweet slap shot. I jump and cheer. Those around us who have recognized me give me high fives. Returning to my seat I glance at my sister, “Sidney never ceases to amaze me.”

Brianna simply huffs and I see her on her phone. The name on the message reads Claude and I barely refrain from laughing. Then later in the period Sidney gets a breakaway and scores a beautiful top shelf shot. Once again I’m standing and cheering. For now I’m winning tonight and my sister knows this. Towards the end there is a scrum and I see Sidney and Claude exchanging some heated words before the referee breaks them up. Brianna and I try to shrug it off, but I know both of us are a little concerned.

At the beginning of the third the Penguins are leading 3 to 2. The atmosphere is electric and I’m enjoying myself. Unfortunately, Claude evens it up about six minutes in. My sister looks to me, “That’s my man!”

I restrain myself from rolling my eyes. The game resumes and Claude takes a cheap shot at Sidney and the entire crowd sees it. “Yeah, someone to be proud of there Brianna.”

“Oh, please. It’s hockey for God’s sake.”

Two minutes later Sidney wows the crowd with an impossible shot and the arena explodes with noise. I’m cheering the loudest. This is the first hat trick that I’ve seen Sidney score and I desperately wish I had a hat to throw on the ice. A nice older man behind me hands me a hat, “You need this more than I do.”

Enthusiastically I throw the hat onto the rink and a few people take photos, but I really don’t care. My sister is quiet and I decide that there is nothing that needs to be said. For the next few minutes the arena settles down. We have a half a period left and the game is far from over. I’m looking at my phone when I hear the crowd suddenly start to boo. When I look back up I see most of the guys congregating around the net. Sidney and Claude signal each other out and exchange a few words and then finally they drop their gloves. I’m not sure who did it first, but both of them are definitely into this fight. The arena loves it and I’m speechless. Both my sister and I are standing slightly horrified. Our boyfriends are fighting each other. They both go down to the ice and the referees break them apart. I don’t know what Claude looks like, but Sidney is bleeding from the lip. My knees feel a little weak and I slowly return to my seat. The arena is chanting his name, but I just take a moment to catch my breath. Brianna grabs my hand, “Holy shit.”

I nod, “Perhaps we should cancel dinner tonight?”

********


I’m in the locker room before the game and Fleury notices the sandwich that Brooklyn made for me in the bag, “You aren’t eating the sandwich she made for you?”

Shrugging, “It isn’t made the right way and for a Flyer’s game everything has to be perfect.” I don’t even bother mentioning that I have to eat dinner with Giroux after this. This game has to be a win or I won’t be able to sit down his smug face. We are all getting into the moment and doing our final checks when I hear James Neal exclaim, “Dude, Brooklyn’s sister is dating Giroux?”

The locker room jumps on the juicy gossip and Nealer shows them the photo that Brooklyn posted on twitter I guess of the two of them. Brianna is wearing a Giroux jersey of course and Brooklyn is wearing mine, but she is extremely dressed up. She hasn’t worn this nice of clothes to a game in Pitt for a while. I look at her sister again and realize that it was probably Brianna who instigated it. “Yeah she is. It’s weird to say the least. And the four of us are getting dinner after this.” All of the guys groan. “My sentiments exactly.”

We go out to the ice though and play an extremely difficult period. Unsurprisingly, it’s rough and gritty. Even with a few chances we can’t convert. Towards the end Giroux scores and I say almost every four letter word I know. Back in the locker room Dan calms us down and regroup. I check my phone and read a text from Brooklyn. Damn, now I really need to do well.

The next period is better and I finally score. It feels great and I celebrate a little more than normal. Towards the end I score on a breakaway and they show Brooklyn cheering on the screen and I feel invincible. At the final buzzer for the second period there is some shoving and Giroux and I exchange a few words. “How about your guys cut the dirty shit.”

Claude rolls his eyes, “That’s fucking rich coming from you.” I skate away with a shake of my head. “Fucking pussy.”

When we return for the third Claude scores quickly and I bang the bench in frustration. We are tied at three thanks to a goal from Kunitz in the second and my two. I’m in the corner with the puck and Claude takes a cheap shot, I shove him and then go up the ice. Judging from the boos around the arena everyone saw it. Adrenaline is coursing through my veins and I can feel the tension coming off the guys. Something is going to have to give in this game. I’m not sure how my next shot goes in, but it does and the guys instantly crush me against the glass. I couldn’t stop smiling if I tried.

Finally in the third the bubble bursts. Someone falls onto Flower and we all start to shove. Quickly Giroux and I find each other, “What the fuck did I tell you Giroux?”

“You won’t do shit about it, put your money where your goddamn mouth is.”

So I do, I drop my gloves and Giroux does too. I don’t fight often and neither does he, so this won’t be pretty, but I’m sick of his shit. We exchange punches and I get in a few good ones, before he busts open my lip. Soon both of us are on the ice and I feel the refs pull us apart. “You hit like a fucking girl Crosby.”

“Fuck off.” I’m escorted off the ice and back into the locker room. Our team doctor gets to work on stitching up my lip.

“Well, it doesn’t look like you will have a black eye,” He nods towards the screen that is broadcasting the game and it shows Brooklyn on her phone typing madly and her sister doing the same. “I bet you will have a few messages from her.”

“She will probably be pissed; I beat up her sister’s boyfriend.”

He simply gives a low whistle, “It’s part of your job and you got a hat trick tonight. Overall I think it was a success.”

I wince, “Did I win at least?”

“Most definitely.”

I miss the rest of the game and am in the locker room partially changed when the guys return. They all give me a slow clap, “Dinner might be a little awkward tonight, don’t you think?” I groan and drop my head in my hands. The guys simply laugh, high off a win. The press comes over to me and they have a lot of questions.

“What brought on the fight between you and Giroux, simply on ice actions?”

I pause before I answer. I can't really tell them that we were in a pissing match to prove that one of us is a better boyfriend, “I think it was a long time coming. By no means was that a clean game, but yeah just a boiling point type thing.”

The reporters seem satisfied and leave shortly after. I gather my things and walk towards the family suite. Sitting there with Vero and Carol-Lynn is Brooklyn looking beautiful. She looks up when I enter the room and immediately jumps up and comes to me. We hug and she grabs my face in her hands. They are cool and extremely soothing, “Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”

I nod, “Just a busted lip.” Smiling ruefully I add, “You should see the other guy.”

Brooklyn apparently doesn’t appreciate the joke and slaps me in the shoulder hard. “You shouldn’t be fighting; you are absolutely horrible at it, not to mention that you decided to punch my sister’s boyfriend. Jesus Christ Sid, it’s either all or none with you isn’t it.”

I hear the guys snickering behind me, but surprisingly don’t feel embarrassed, “You’re right, I shouldn’t fight. I did outscore him though, per your request.”

She finally smiles, “That’s very true.” Brooklyn leans into my chest, “I was worried.”

“Was it attractive at least?”

“Surprisingly yes. I didn’t know if I wanted to jump your bones or help the doctor stitch you up.”

My mind wanders to Brooklyn nursing me back to health and instantly strays into some lovely images, “I could get you a nurse’s outfit.”

Now she is full on laughing, “You wish Crosby.”

“Alright, cut the cute couple stuff.” Flower pushes past us.

We walk in the hallway hand in hand, “So dinner tonight?”

“Brianna and I decided it would be best, if we just postponed it. We will still go to my family’s for Christmas though. Is that okay?”

“If you really want to have dinner I’m mature enough to eat a meal with the guy. And I think he is too at least sometimes.”

Brooklyn just shakes her head, “Don’t worry about it. I am going to pick Brianna up though and drive home. Once they leave for Ohio I’ll come over tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a plan,” we kiss quickly. “I am sorry if I fucked this up.”

“Seriously, it’s fine. I’m exhausted anyways. Have a good night.” I watch my girlfriend walk down the hall and sincerely hope that Christmas with her family will run smoothly between Giroux and I.

Notes

Sorry about the confusion with the name, I had something planned with it, but I've since changed my mind. That being said I really like this chapter, I hope you do too! Finally, let's hope the Pens eliminate the Bluejackets tonight!