With bowls of ice cream on our laps and a Taylor Swift CD playing softly over the stereo, I relate to Lindsay my past 3 weeks spent with Sid. I've neglected her since he came into my life and felt the need to make it up to her by introducing her to James, or as the boys call him, Nealer. She's been infatuated with him ever since he's been a Penguin, and won't stop worrying about what to wear for their first encounter.
"Should I have the 'girl next door' or the 'I hook up on weekends' look? Ugh I don't know what he's more into," she sighs.
"Just to warn you, James is not the type to settle down. He likes to go to all the bars and I can tell he's a little turned off of long term relationships, but I'm not sure why...."
"Maybe I can be the Rebecca to his Crosby," she says while elbowing me.
"Shut up!" I say shoving her back.
"That is the new thing now. Haven't you been on Twitter at all? Everyone's wondering who this mystery girl supposedly seen with Sid at a Tim Hortons is," Lindsay laughs.
I hadn't been on twitter for a few weeks, partly because of my concussion and partly because I just haven't had the time.
"No... do I even want to look?"
"People are just shocked Sid is actually with a girl to be honest. They never thought the day would come, and neither did I. And I especially didn't think that girl would be you."
As she was rambling on I took the time to check Twitter. I had 300+ notifications and ninety nine percent of them were people asking if I was the girl seen with Crosby, some of them even from old high school and college friends. I felt it was probably best not to respond.
"Should I delete my Twitter? People have found me and are asking if I'm Sid's girlfriend. I gained like two-hundred followers."
"No! Have fun with it, don't respond. Just give them a tease and say something like 'Best three weeks ever' or 'Had a great time in Canada for the first time, got to try Tim Hortons!'."
"Are you sure that's a good idea? I don't want Sid to get mad."
"Fine, how about a red maple leaf and a coffee cup emoji?"
"Ominous... I like it!"
I hit the tweet button and within minutes I have five-hundred retweets and countless mentions. I turn my phone off and call it a night.

---

Two days later I'm waiting at the airport; the Penguins private jet just arrived. I can see it through the windows, because obviously they don't just post these things on the flight arrival screens. My Twitter account has blown up since my last tweet, with over 5000 followers and never ending mentions, some of them not so nice. It's been hard, I had to turn off all notifications from the Twitter app and have contemplated deleting it every time I look at my phone. The team looks like a herd of tiny ants as they exit the plane. The constant anxiety that has been plaguing my stomach for the past few days has finally subsided as I recognize Sid by only his stance. It terrifies me how much I've become attached to him, I shouldn't miss him so much after only seeing him a couple days ago. I can only hope he feels the same way.
We lock eyes through the crowd of other girlfriends and family waiting for the players. I gently push my way through them with a sense of urgency; I couldn't wait to feel the warmth of his arms wrapped around me.
"I missed you so much," Sid says in my hair as we embrace.
I breathe a sigh of relief, "I missed you too."
I open my eyes we continue to hug and notice the many girlfriends and family staring at us.
Instantly I feel uncomfortable and pull away, but Sid is still smiling. He must have expected this, like he said, I had to be prepared for it. If I wasn't then this relationship wasn't going to work. I grab his hand with confidence and make our way to my car. Tonight, being a Friday, I was spending the night at Sid's. I'd never been there before, so I wasn't one hundred percent sure what to expect, I'd only heard stories of his house, I'd seen a couple of blurry pictures online too, it seems like a very private place; kind of like Sid himself.

---

"Turn left at the stop sign and it will be the third house on your left."
We were in a high end neighborhood; big houses, big yards, big cars, big dogs, big everything. Nothing like where I live. It made me feel a little self conscious of my place. Tomorrow Sid and my parents were to come over for dinner. Now that just seemed like a silly idea, why would he enjoy it at my house when he's accustomed to these mansions? I pull into the driveway and park my Honda Civic behind a black Mercedes.
"Well my car just blends right in," I accidentally blurt out loud.
Sid looks concerned, "hey don't say that. Your car is fine. It's a lot easier to find parts for too I bet. That Mercedes is a pain in the ass."
Noticing that I wasn't comforted by his joke, he hugs me from behind half way to the door.
"Look, if I wanted a girl with money I would be dating Taylor Swift, but it's not about that. I think I have enough of it already, you are amazing just the way you are, and no amount of money is going to change that. Now let's go cook something," he says while getting out his keys.
I smile, remembering the dating rumours, and walk in.

Notes

Are people still reading this story? I sure hope so. Next chapter Sid meets Rebecca's parents and social media is clawing at the idea of Sid having a girlfriend so you better stay tuned!