Counting Stars

It was the following Thursday before I heard anything from Sidney. Those six days were the most embarrassingly nerve-wracking of my life. Every moment from that night played mercilessly over in my head. I went through multiple stages, denial, embarrassment, acceptance, false confidence and then finally back to embarrassment. And now one simple text message makes everything okay.
Hey, it’s Sidney, what are you up to tonight?

I sigh; well I can’t have fucked it up too much because he still wants to talk to me. Now, that I’ve waited an acceptable amount of time before responding I’ll answer. Hey! Nothing much really. Do y’all have a game?

Now, I have to wait. Luckily, I’m in my trailer alone for once. We should be done shooting for the day I’m just waiting for the director to finally release me. They are shooting secondary shots tomorrow so I will get to have a three day weekend. I hop on Twitter to busy myself while I wait for Sidney’s text and favorite some of the sweet things people have said about me. Then, a mere five minutes after I responded to Sidney my phone beeped, signaling a new message from him of course.
Yeah, that’s actually why I texted you. If you want I will leave you tickets for you and Emma at Will call so you can see another game.

So, is this just him being nice or a date? We won’t be able to talk while he is playing, is it a PR stunt for the penguins? Why should I bring Emma? All these questions occupied my brain that I almost dint know my phone beeped again.

And then maybe, we could grab drinks afterward?

Oh, so definitely a date then. I am way too excited by that prospect, I barely know this guy. We’ve talked two times and one of those times involved me being way too drunk. Before I lose my nerve I respond, That sounds great! What time is the game?

Instant response, 7:30, you probably want to get there around 7 to avoid traffic.

Perfect, thanks for the invite!

See you later then!

I smiled and instantly went to text Emma when someone knocked on the door, “Come in!”

One of the productions assistants was there, “Just wanted to come tell you that you’re released from set today Miss Donahue, enjoy your weekend.”

“Thanks, hun. You too.” Once they left I packed up my stuff and practically ran to my car. Now that we were in the swing of things shooting wise, I didn’t have Emma on set with me. She was usually back at the suite coordinating things with Janet and David. Luckily, it only took a few minutes for me to make it to the suite where I found Emma packing up her laptop and folders.

“I’m so glad you’re still here!” I sit down on the couch next to her.

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Well, Sidney texted me today, asking if I wanted to go to the game tonight and then for drinks after. Oh, and there is a ticket for you as well.”

“That’s so exciting!” She smiled but something seemed off.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, why would you think that something is wrong?”

“Emma , I lie for a living, just tell me what’s up.”

She played with her nails, “I um, I already new Sidney was going to ask you. Beau told me this morning before he left. I mean that’s a good sign though right he was talking to his teammates about you.”

“I’m not going to read too much into it, I just wanted to surprise you,” I paused. “Did Beau happen to tell you this in person this morning?”

“Maybe.”

“You slept over again? Good for you girl!”

She laughed then got up, “Yeah, yeah. I’m going to get ready. Want to meet in the lobby at 6:30 and we can drive over. There will probably be a fair amount of traffic?”

“Sounds good, but you are telling me all of the details at the game tonight. Every dirty detail!” Her only answer was to slam the door.

***************
“So Dude, did you ask her?” Beau approached me about an hour and half before the game.

“Yeah, I did. She said she was going to come,” I try to sound nonchalant about it, but I know I’m smiling.

“Wait, did I overhear correctly? You invited someone tonight, Sid?” Kuni yelled across the locker room and suddenly I realized that that everyone would know.

“Yeah, not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal?” Beau shouted. “Not a big deal? This girl is one of the hottest girls I’ve ever seem!”

Now the entire half-filled locker room was listening, even our equipment managers stopped to see what was going on. “Well, who is it?”

I glared at Beau, “Brooklyn Donahue.”

A chorus of exclamations met my answer and some catcalls. I looked over to Geno who was just smiling the entire time. “Wait, I don’t know who is this?” Jussi Joinken spoke up.

Everyone looked at him in in disbelief, “I have my tablet with me, I’ll show you.” Beau offered.

“Wait, connect it to the projector. I think we all need to do a little research. Because I’m assuming you haven’t Sidney,” Depres looked at me.

“Research? Why would I need to do research?”

“She is an A-list actress and you know nothing about her or her lifestyle, trust me you need to do research.”

By now the most of the team had about showed up and Beau’s iPad was wirelessly connected to the projector. “Guys, we really should be getting prepped for this game,” I try to reason one last time.

Fleury pats my shoulder, “It’s no use mon ami.”

I sigh and look towards the screen where Beau is finishing his google search for Brooklyn. “Alright, her Wikipedia page or just pictures?”

My so-called teammates replied with pictures of course. I have never seen so many pictures of one person in my life, except for that one time that I googled myself my second season. But still there are more pictures of her than I even expected and she looks gorgeous in each and every one. The guys are obviously impressed as well.

“She is gorgeous Sidney,” Joiniken finally said after a photo of her came up clearly from a magazine.

“My sister has that issue of Cosmopolitan with her on the front if you want it Sidney,” Despres says. “Apparently she talks about her biggest turn-ons in a guy.”

I promptly threw a shoe at him, “Guys, this has been great and all, but none of this is going to help me.”

“Valid, we will go to her Wikipedia page then,” Beau proclaims and in a few seconds we are at her page.

“Hmmmm let’s see, she was born on March 4th and she’s 23 years old,” Beau begins.

“She was born in Ohio, I wonder if her hometown is close to here,” Kunitz points out.

We are all silent for a little as we skim through her short biography. The personality section claims that she is extremely kind and friendly and loves her family. Her mom and dad sometimes walk the red carpets of premiers with her. She does a lot of charity work as well and loves to meet fans, “So she has only been acting for two years professionally, but I mean she is already a huge star. Apparently, she was in a sorority in college, and was the president, that’s hot Sidney.”

“What’s hot?” James just walked into the locker room, naturally a little confused.

I was about to say nothing when Geno interrupted me, “Sidney, invited Brooklyn to the game tonight.”

It’s silent for a moment, I’m wondering if Neal will be pissed that I poached on Brooklyn. Neal looks surprised, “You did?” I nod, or not. “Cool. So are you guys stalking the poor girl now?” We all look a little sheepish, “Please don’t stop on my account.”

Beau laughs, and continues to scroll through her Wikipedia page, “She dated that guy from High School Musical for a pretty long time last year, and then mysteriously broke up. That’s kind of weird.”

“Everyone has exes,” I point out. “Really, guys we should stop.”

“Holy shit,” I look up at the screen and see that Beau found a photo of her from what I’m assuming is her newest film. She was dressed in the highest heels I’ve ever seen with her blonde hair cut in a short bob. She was reclined on a sofa in garters and a silky practically see-through robe. It was clearly a costume from some time period, but I couldn’t place it. Probably because I focused on those do-me eyes and her slightly parted lips. All the guys in the room are silent before Geno speaks up, “We need to see this movie.”

Suddenly the door bangs open, “Ready to go boys?” Dan walks in and stops noticing that we are all looking at the projector which he looks at and his eyes widen slightly. “You guys need inspiration this evening or something?”

“Sorry, Coach just some dumb joke,” I start.

But Beau cuts me off, “Sidney invited her to the game tonight, and she said yes.”

Coach looks at me, “So you need to score tonight, is what you’re telling me.”

The room erupts in laughter, “I mean I think I’m going to need all the help I can get.”

“Well, we will do our best. In the meantime though, take this down and start getting prepped. I know it’s just the Islanders tonight, but two points is two points.”

He leaves and the locker room falls back into its normal routine before a game. I try to focus on the game and not that last photo of Brooklyn or any photo of Brooklyn for that matter, but its hard. Tonight, I need to do well I need to impress her. Why I’m so passionate about that I’m not really sure, but I just feel like she is something special and I have an opportunity that I can’t fuck up.

***********
Emma and I arrived at Will Call right around 7 and they gave us our tickets. Both of us were dressed much more normally for hockey game than my first appearance a few weeks ago. I chose to wear a pair of light jeans with brown boots that had slight heel, matched with a long blue-men button up. I looked cute, but not overdone at least that’s what I was going for. Emma on the other hand was in leggings with black boots and sporting a white Penguins jersey, with Beau’s name on the back obviously. “Did he give that to you?” I ask while we walk to our seats.

“Yeah he did, is that too much?”

“How should I know? You have more experience with a hockey player than I do.”

We are silent as we go to our seats which are center ice a facing the benches but a few rows up. The game was really good and Sidney even scored. Very once and awhile we would end up on the jumbotron and people would come over for a picture or an autograph, but overall it was much more relaxed than the first time I went with Liam. The game finally finished and Sidney was named number two star. Now I was starting to get nervous, was I dressed okay for drinks? What did he expect tonight? Was it going to be just the two of us or the whole team? My fears were scattered though when an usher approached Emma and I, “Miss Donahue, Miss Sanders, I will escort you down to the locker room now if you would like?”

We both nodded and followed the nice man down to the locker room, he dropped us off at a room a little ways away, “You can wait here, and they should be out shortly.”

The room was filled with mostly women and children, and I realized this must be the families of the players. Suddenly, I felt very out of place and whispered to Emma, “This is a bad idea. I should just go, we don’t know each other that well. I clearly don’t belong here.”

“Relax, you’re overthinking this. He asked you out so you belong here,” She smiled and I tried to smile back and most likely failed. Players were slowly coming into the room and gathering up their families before leaving. A few noticed me and sent me smiles that I hope I returned. Finally, Beau came in and made a beeline for Emma, “Hey, Babe nice jersey.”

They shared a quick kiss before his hand settled comfortable around her waist, “Good game hun, thanks for the tickets they were great.”

He shook his head with a smile, “You’ll have to thank Sid. I don’t score enough goals to be able to get those seats last minute. Speaking of which it’s nice to see you again Brooklyn. Hope you enjoyed the game.”

“I did, thanks.”

It’s quiet for a moment and then another person walks in the room, and for some reason I can instantly tell its Sidney. He comes over to us dressed in his post-game suit and I can’t help but be affected. He is just a good-looking man. Once he reaches us he leans in and gives me a quick peck on the cheek, “Thanks for coming tonight. Hope you had fun?”

“Yes, we had a great time. Thank you for the tickets.”

Emma chimes in as well, “Yeah truly, thanks for the tickets.”

“Anytime,” He punches Beau in the shoulder, “Good game man.”

“Thanks Captain, you too. I’m glad we had that pre-game strategy session, I think it definitely worked out.” The two men exchange a look and Beau sends Sidney a wink before turning back to Emma. “Let’s get going hun, I’m exhausted. See ya guys.”

We say our goodbyes quickly and then it’s just Sidney and I and a few other families, “So uh, I was thinking there’s this pretty casual bar that we could head too. It’s nothing fancy really, but..”

“Sounds perfect, I have my car here though.”

“I’ll drive and then drop you off back here if you want?”

I smile, “Sure,thanks.”

And with that we exit the family suite and make our way to his car, in the parking garage. I see that there are fans outside he hesitates, “You should go if you want, it’s not a problem.”

He’s quiet for a second and then sends a quick text, “Nah, not tonight, I texted Geno he will be here in a second and then we’ll sneak out.”

Sidney was right the fans are distracted when Geno pulls out in front of us and we are on our way to the bar in just a few minutes.

We walk into a casual, old-fashioned bar, it definitely looked family owned. There were a few people at the bars and a few in the booths, but it was pretty empty. Sidney led me over to a table a little off to the side and we slid in on either side. “I hope this works?”

I smile, “Yeah, this is perfect. Do you come here often?”

“Probably more than I should, but yes. It’s nice and relaxed; the club isn’t always my scene.”

Before I could respond, a middle-aged man came up to our table, “Hey Sid, great game tonight. What can I get yinz tonight?”

“Thanks, I’ll just have Bud.”

“I’ll go with a Yuengling please,” I saw Sidney’s eyebrows rise at my answer. “What? Is something wrong?”

He shook his head, “Just figured you were going to have one of those girly drinks.”

I laughed, “No, no sometimes I just crave a beer. And I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of hungry as well.”

“Oh thank God, I am craving a burger or something.”

I grabbed one of the menus on the table and quickly skimmed, “Hmmm, how about we split these potato skins. I haven’t had those in forever.”

We came to an agreement and placed our order. The next few moments were filled with peaceful silence. And then he spoke up, “So, how’s the movie coming?”

“It’s going well, everything has settled down a little bit so that is comforting. But if it’s okay can we not talk about work?”

Sidney laughs, “I think that’s a great idea. So start with the basics then. Siblings?”

“Just one sister, Brianna, she’s a year older than me and lives in Philadelphia. I don’t know what I would do without her. Growing up she was the epitome of perfect, she never did anything wrong. I’m still trying to live up to everything she did.”

“You’re trying to live up to her? You’re an extremely talented and successful actress, I’m a little confused.”

I laugh, “I don’t know she’s just helping people and I’m not. Its whatever, more importantly I love her and she loves me. Now how about you, siblings?”

“One sister, Taylor. She is younger than me though and in college in Boston. She plays hockey as well.”

“Are y’all close?”

Sidney looks down and plays with his beer bottle, “As close as we can be, I wasn’t around much when we were younger because I had to travel, but we always spend the summer together so that’s nice.”

The waiter brings our food and I immediately grab a potato skin and take a bite while Sidney doesn’t make a move, “Is everything okay?”

“This is going to sound so horrible, but on second thought I really can’t have much because of my diet.”

“Isn’t that supposed to be my line?” He laughs, but still doesn’t make a move towards the appetizer. “Oh, come on, if you don’t help me, I’ll end up eating them all.”

He shrugs and then takes a bite, “Dear God, these are good.”

“Told you!”

**********
We are both laughing and on our third beer each. Brooklyn is gorgeous and extremely entertaining. It’s getting late in the night and I’m not quite sure how either of us is going to drive, but I don’t want this night to end. Tonight has been exceedingly fun so far and we are currently sharing our worse fan experiences.

“Okay, so I was in the bathroom at a restaurant and I heard someone knock on the door. And I politely said something along the lines of someone’s here or whatever and they kept knocking. Until finally they asked for an autograph and slipped a photo of me underneath the stall. They wouldn’t leave until I signed it and then they were waiting for me to take a picture! And then when I come out I find out that he’s an old man. An old man, followed me into a restroom for an autograph!”

I laughed, but shook my head, “That’s good, but you don’t have anything on this. A girl wore a wedding dress to a game with a sign asking me to marry her.”

“But you never encountered her, so I’m afraid that doesn’t count. I win!”

“You’re pretty damn competitive aren’t you?”

“I might be even more competitive than you Mr. Crosby, you’ve met your match,” we locked eyes for a few moments, and I lost myself in her deep blue eyes. And then she looked down quickly with a small smile on her face.

“You’re beautiful you know that right?”

She scoffs, “You aren’t so bad yourself Sidney.” The overhead lights come on, signaling last call. “Wow, is it really that late already?”

“Yeah, I guess it is. Honestly, I think we should call a cab though, I’m not really in any position to drive.”

She nods, “You’re probably right, but I can walk back to my hotel. And if you want you can come home with me”

My eyes widen, “Uh, I mean that would be nice.”

“Shit, I really didn’t mean that way, I just mean my suite is so huge and there’s no reason that you should have to go back to wherever you live, if that’s far away, I don’t know. I didn’t mean it like that really, I just ugh”

I grabbed her hand across the table, “I understand. Just, shouldn’t that have been mine line?”

She laughs, loudly and I realize that I want to be the cause of that smile all the time. I pay the bill even after she offers to pay for her half. We leave the bar and she tells me the address of her hotel which is indeed close and we walk the short distance. It is obviously one of the nicest hotels in downtown, the lobby and towards the elevators. We stop and wait for the doors to open, “I meant what I said, there’s an extra bedroom. I promise I’ll be good.”

“Stop, stealing my lines,” we both chuckle. “But I don’t think I can promise to be good.”

She looks up to me and I’m suddenly reminded of that picture of her from earlier today, reclined on that couch looking so sexy. And I decide to be impulsive and borderline dumb. I caress her check and pull her towards me. Our lips touch and I realize that this is a great decision. Her lips part after a little we get closer, my hands sliding down her back until they rested on her waist. And then the elevator dinged and we jumped apart, our breathing ragged.

She speaks first, “Alright, I take my promise back.”

“I had a lot of fun tonight,” I hold her hand. “But I think I should definitely go. Your car is still at Consol though, we’ll figure out a way to get it back to you tomorrow.”

She nods, “For the record, I had a great time tonight.”

I lean in for one last quick kiss than pull away. She gets into the elevator and I watch her until it closes.

Notes

Guess this was never posted, I apologize! Enjoy!