“Baaaeeeee-by,” Sidney whined from his spot on the couch. He couldn’t form words properly but he’d found a way to get his point across and the damage to his jaw had done nothing to impair his vocal cords.
“What?” I called back from the laundry room, shoving my second load into the dryer.
“C’shere, pleashhee?” the air whistled through the newly vacant space where his bottom teeth had once been.
I turned on the dryer and shuffled to the living room, taking a basket of clean laundry with me. Until his injury I’d never been good about doing laundry, but with an overflow from the weeks before and too much time on my hands it had become my favourite hobby.
“What’s up?” I dropped the basket on the floor and plopped down on the couch, moving his feet onto my lap. I knew what was up, the same thing that had been up for the past week, he was bored. He’d had no concussion symptoms but the doctors wanted to wait for his jaw to settle before letting him back on the ice. If I had it my way he’d sit out the rest of the season, but I wouldn’t dare admit that to any Pittsburgh sports fans, lest they revolt against me and I was burnt at the stake in some sort of human sacrifice ritual.
“Letsh do shomshing,” he looked up at me with pleading eyes. There was a discarded book resting face down on his stomach and his PSP on the coffee table.
“You can help me fold your damn clothes,” I suggested with a playful smirk. Even if I tried I couldn’t resent doing his laundry. I’d never imagined liking someone enough to take on household duties, but with Sidney I didn’t think twice about handling his smelly socks and sweaty post-practice underwear.
“Noo,” he sighed. “Letsh go shomwhere,” he pushed the book onto the floor and propped himself up on his elbows, straining his neck to see me.
“You’re going to hurt yourself,” I patted his leg and motioned for him to lay back down. He rolled his eyes and let himself fall back onto the pillow. We both knew I worried too much. Part of it was not fully understanding the healing process of his injury and the other was my duty as his live-in candy striper girlfriend. I looked at him laying there, his hair ruffled and his puffy lower lip, he looked like a little boy who’d been kept inside on a sunny day. Rubbing his legs I waited for him to suggest something.
“I’m sherioush,” he finally said. I tried not to laugh at how ridiculous he sounded and instead bit the inside of my cheek. “Letsh go to a movie or shopping. I’m show bored!”
“Obviously, if you’re willing to battle the crowds and inevitable paparazzi,” I chuckled and continued to rub the soft hair on his bare legs. “I don’t think leaving the house is a good idea. I haven’t even showered.” I motioned to my oversized hoodie and sweatpants. I’d hardly worn anything else since coming home from the hospital. There was no use dressing up when we didn’t go anywhere. He’d been eager to watch practices and games but I knew watching any hockey would only frustrate him, so I’d been put in charge of his entertainment. Watching movies, reading, and playing cards had become our main activities. We’d watched two seasons of Republic of Doyle and gone through more episodes of Friends than I could handle. I couldn’t blame him for being restless.

“I have to show you something,” I ran into the living and skidded to a halt. Sidney was exactly where I’d left him after convincing him we couldn’t go anywhere, laying on the couch gazing lazily at the television.
“Whaa?” he looked back at me confused.
“Just come here,” I shook my head and walked back to the kitchen where my laptop sat open on the island counter. I’d been sitting there for over an hour scrolling through pages and pages of writing.
“Whatsh going on?” he stumbled in and ran his hands through his messy hair.
“Come sit,” I patted the bar stool beside me and grinned. He obediently sat down without further question and waited for me to explain.
“Sidney was frustrated,” I began reading from the computer screen. “Nothing had been going right and even though they’d won the game he couldn’t shake the feeling he’d had for days. Ever since he saw Geno kissing the girl at the bar. His hands hand been under her dress and his lips all over hers. The memory made Sid shudder and anger boil inside him. This only made him angrier, he wasn’t supposed to care who Geno kissed. Sid lay on the bed in his empty hotel room and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep. Instead the image came back into his mind, only this time it wasn’t a strange girl at the bar kissing Geno, it was him. He felt his shorts grow tighter and tried to shake the image, but it persisted. He was imagining Geno’s lips on his neck when there was a knock on the door. He sat up and tried to adjust his shorts to hide the erection, then went to the door. As if an act of fate he opened the door to find Geno on the other side waiting for him, his hands in his pockets and his tall frame slouched.
“Sid,” he said when the door opened.
“What are you doing here?” Sidney asked the tall Russian cautiously.
“You left bar, and I was worried. You didn’t say goodbye,” Geno looked down at his feet then back up at Sidney who stood with his arms folded in front of him.
“Sorry,” Sid mumbled and opened the door wider. “Come in,” he invited him in.
“You okay?” Geno sat on the edge of the bed.
“Fine,” Sid said dryly. “You just looked like you had your hands full.
“The girl?” Geno looked at him with sad eyes. “She just girl.”
“It’s fine,” Sidney sat beside him. “Just didn’t want to get into the way.”
“You? Never in the way,” Geno chuckled and nudged his teammate playfully.
“Is that so?” Sid pushed him back harder than expected. Geno fell onto the bed laughing and pulled Sidney down with him. Sid’s heart sped up as he felt his body against the Russian’s. He’d thought about touching him more than he wanted to admit.
“You always have place,” Geno pulled Sidney on top of him. “Place right here,” he patted his chest.
Before Sidney could reply his lips were pressed against his teammates. His erection grew and he couldn’t believe it was actually happening. Geno kissed him back eagerly and shoved his hands down his gym shorts grabbing his cock…”
“You can shtop…” Sid interrupted me, putting his hand on my leg.
“You don’t want to hear the part about teaching Sidney how to ride bareback?” I teased.
“No,” he blushed and shook his head. “I’ve purposhhhly avoided shis stuff."
“You knew it existed?” I was shocked. I'd been so excited to find the scandalous tales of Sidney’s exploits.
“Of courshe,” he smiled slightly. “Moshht of ushh do. We jushht don’t read them.”
“Does it bother you?” I took his hand in mine and shifted closer to him.
“Not at all! It’sh none of my bish-nish.” He squeezed my hand and tried to kiss my cheek but instead just knocked his nose against my cheek.
“I think it’s kind of cool to be honest, that people take the time to write about you. Although I’m not sure I want to imagine you and Geno together.” I rest my head on his shoulder again and watched his face. His big brown eyes and soft skin were tempting me, I wanted to kiss him and press myself against him, not unlike the scene I’d just read.
“I like dat people are doing shings shey enjoy,” he moved his hand to the inside of my thigh
“Yeah, things they enjoy…” my voice trailed off and I drew circles in the fabric of his shorts with the tip of my index finger. I was entering dangerous territory, getting too close to something I did enjoy greatly, a something that was out of the question.
“We don’t hash to waitsh,” he nuzzled his face into my knotted hair. His hand was making its way up to the main place I wanted it, wanted him.
“We do,” I sighed, trying not to whine but failing. “We can’t even kiss properly. I’m not risking it.”
“Did I shay anyshing about me?” he pressed his lips carefully against my neck. He didn’t move them, but I could feel their familiar warmth.
“Sidney,” I whined. His hand moved to the waistband of my pants and tugged on it suggestively. “We can’t risk it.”
“We’re not rishking anyshing,” he groaned in my ear making it even harder to push him away. Like in the story I’d just read his shorts were getting tighter and I could feel him press against my hand.
“You have a lot of faith in us,” my voice shook as his hand slipped into my pants and toyed with the elastic of my underwear. “I don’t think…” my breath hitched when I felt his fingers on my sensitive skin. “It’s not fair…” I tried again, but he was too damn distracting. The sensation of his fingers moving teasingly and his breath warm against my ear.
“Shtop shthinking,” he ran his tongue delicately over the skin behind my ear. His thumb brushed eagerly against my clit and I swallowed hard, not wanting to encourage him with my reaction. “I know you’re going cray-shee. Trying to reshisht. I can shee it on your fashe.” I bit my lip and let his words sink in. He was right I was going crazy not being able to touch him, but not crazy enough to risk getting ahead of ourselves. I knew him well enough to know that one thing would lead to another and his reaction to stimulation was always to clench his teeth. Whether I was being too cautious or not the idea of him hurting himself more because I couldn’t control myself made me nauseous.
“Babe,” I sighed, trying to let him down gently. His thumb continued to swirl in lazy circles around my clit making it even harder to think.
“Jusht let me,” he whined and nuzzled his nose into me, pressing his middle finger into me. I bit down on my lip eagerly and couldn’t hide the moan that slipped out of my mouth. I could sense him smiling and without taking his hand away he pulled me onto his lap, my legs startling his and my lips instantly attaching themselves to his neck. I moved with his rhythmic motions and tried to push the anxious feelings away.
“I swear to god if you hurt yourself…” I tried to threaten him but he moved his ring finger to join the middle one and I was too distracted by feeling of him to finish. It briefly occurred to me that this couldn’t be comfortable for him and his hand had to be cramped, but if he wasn’t complaining I wasn’t going to bring it up. I was captivated by him, my senses buzzing with excitement and my body uncontrollably pressing against his. My nails running gently along his clothed chest, sloppily grasping at the fabric when hit just the right spot. It hadn’t taken him long to find the perfect combination of movements, that ‘don’t stop, right there’ pattern that would have me laying weakly on top of him in no time. We were getting there, my muscles reacting and my hips pressing down, we were making progress, I was getting into it. I didn’t take the time to care that I was leaving marks on the smooth skin of his thick neck, teeth marks in the pale complexion that would give away our interaction instantly.
“I misshed you,” he whispered without missing a beat. I was so wrapped up in his touch and words, the feeling of his heartbeat under my hand that I didn’t notice the world around us. Neither of us heard the front door open, the sound of footsteps or even the greeting that came before Beau entered the kitchen.
“Oops,” was all I heard and all it took to pull me out of my trance. I pulled away from Sidney who was frantically pulling his hand out of my pants and trying to rectify the situation.
“I am so sorry,” I blushed hotter than I’d ever imagined possible and hopped off of the chair, pulling my shirt down self consciously. Sidney shoved his hand in his pocket and smiled awkwardly. “I didn’t know you’d be home so early,” I tried to reason.
“It’s almost seven,” Beau motioned towards the clock on the stove and I could see his cheeks were nearly as red as I imagined my own. “I brought dinner,” he held up two paper bags and avoided eye contact with both of us.
“Thanksh,” Sidney finally spoke up. If I thought I was mortified I couldn’t imagine how he was feeling. His hand still buried in his pocket and his face angled down towards the counter top, the tops of his ears crimson in colour.

I asked Sid to get more paper towel from the garage, giving him an excuse to gather himself while Beau and I set the table. There were three rolls under the sink but no one needed to know that.
“I really am sorry,” I cleared a stack of mail and three melted ice packs from the dinner table. We hadn’t eaten at the table in weeks and it had become a sturdy dumping ground more than anything.
“Don’t worry about it,” Beau shook his head and took three plates out of the high cupboard. “I mean it was bound to happen eventually,” he smiled sheepishly and set the plates out before returning for cutlery.
“I guess, but I hoped one of us would be drunk and it wouldn’t be in the kitchen.” I was doing my best to make light of the situation when all I wanted to do was crawl under the table and sob from embarrassment. I couldn’t imagine how weird it must have looked, our fumbling and my chaotic movements against him. “I promise I will disinfect the entire area tonight,” I offered.
“Don’t worry about it,” he laughed and started handing me the contents of the first bag. “I’m kind of impressed that you two were able to… figure it out… considering,” he raised his eyebrows and smirked.
“Yeah, well in the face of adversity,” I rolled my eyes and set the containers of soup and mashed potatoes on the table in a line. It seemed that in an act of solidarity Beau had bought only Sidney safe foods. “Just do me a favour and don’t bring it up to him, I’m sure he feels horrible.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Beau winked and grabbed his seat at the table while we waited for Sidney to return with the paper towel and his composure.

As selfish as it may have been, the stress of Sidney’s injury was doing me in as much as it was him. After our awkward mishap with Beau in the kitchen we’d avoided all sexual contact and I’d returned to role as blender master and his personal round the clock caretaker. I’d become so good at making blended concoctions that I was considering trying for my red seal in smoothies and I knew when it was time to give him meds before the timer told me to. Our freezer was full of cold compresses and I’d donated all of my heating packs— that were usually reserved for cramps and cold nights— to the cause. While the sweet hand written notes he left for me and the mumbled ‘thank yous’ made it worth it, I was more than relieved when Mario offered to take him to yet another post-op checkup. I didn’t know Mario or his family well, having come into Sidney’s life after he moved out of their pool house, but I knew his support was invaluable to Sid.
They would only be gone a few hours, but I cherished the idea of an empty house and pushed them out the door enthusiastically, hardly stopping to accept Sidney’s hug and awkward pat on the bum, a gesture that had to replace kissing goodbye. After the door closed behind them I stood in the foyer for a few minutes unsure of what exactly I should do with my new freedom. Of course there were more than enough menial chores to keep my occupied, but it seemed like a waste of the large, empty house. I headed up the stairs with the intention of maybe taking a bath or calling my family when I noticed my lonely wheelie suitcase in the corner of the bedroom. It wasn’t my usual travelling suitcase, this bag was decorated with various buttons and glitter glue. It housed my custom made roller skates, beautifully painted helmet and other well worn but recently neglected gear. Overwhelmed by work and Sidney’s recovery I hadn’t had a chance to skate in ages, let alone notice the potential skate space that was right under my nose. The gears in my mind working quickly, I peeled off my sweatpants and baggy t-shirt and pulled on a pair of tight spandex booty shorts that I hadn’t worn in month. In all honesty I was surprised they still fit, having been sure I’d gained a tragic amount of weight since getting back together with Sidney. I traded my floral cotton bra for a hard working hot pink sports bra and grabbed a pair of knee high socks before heading back downstairs, pulling my bag behind me. I sat on the couch with my skates in my lap, putting on the softest, cleanest wheels I had in my collection, a pair of thick white indoor beauties that couldn’t possibly damage the hardwood floors if I tried. I tightened the nuts on each wheel and set them aside while I moved the living room furniture and all of the rugs on the main floor into a corner. How had I not heard the bewitching calls of Sidney’s smooth and enticing floors before?
I left most of my gear in the bag, with the exception of my mouth guard and laced up my skates. With Sidney’s concussion still a vivid memory I couldn’t risk leaving my mouth unprotected, even if it did make me gag and tasted like morning breath. In just my bra and shorts I slowly started to move around the room, quickly getting a feel for the familiar movements. My knees bent and my weight distributed evenly it didn’t take long before I was back to my old comfort level, speeding up and lapping around the main floor of the empty house, weaving and bobbing to avoid walls and decor. I was on my third lap, my adrenaline starting to kick in when I flicked on my ipod and turned the music on to blast through the wireless speakers that were dotted throughout the living room and kitchen. I sang along with Rob Thomas circa his Matchbox Twenty days and did a few more laps until I decided I needed to make things a little more interesting. It was impossible to get any real speed in the house, it was big but not unreasonably so. However I could get just enough speed to clear a few inches and set to work gathering piles of books and setting them up throughout my makeshift course. The heavy books made the perfect obstacles and I easily landed eight of the ten jumps on the first round. Falling didn’t phase me and I quickly returned to my derby girl mentality hoping the falls would leave interesting and impressive bruises. After a few rounds I stopped to get a drink but couldn’t resist the perfectly arranged obstacle course and quickly resumed my skating. Sweat beaded down my scantily clad body as I skated to Kreayshawn, pretending I could rap and ignoring how ridiculous I probably looked. I’d lost track of time and my jumps when Divinyls came on and my derby practice evolved into my own version of interpretative wheel dancing complete with off key singing to “I Touch Myself.” My attention completely focused on my performance I didn’t notice my audience until the song had ended.
“Hi Beatrice,” Mario smiled as I starred at him in horror. Sidney was bent over beside him howling with laughter, tears dripping down his face.
“Hello,” I replied trying to act as if nothing had happened. “How was the appointment?” I hadn’t occurred to me that I was standing half naked in front of the owner of the team that provided my pay cheque until Sidney gathered himself and tossed me the jacket he’d been wearing.
“Itsh too bad we don’t have cheerleadersh,” he teased as I pulled the jacket around me, humiliated and sweaty from the activities. Mario glanced at him warningly before I could and Sidney’s smirk faded into a more respectful smile.
“The doctors said it appears to be healing well, they want to get him back on the ice soon.” Sidney grinned as Mario relayed the good news.
“That’s awesome,” I laughed excitedly and moved to hug Sid. In the excitement off it all I’d forgotten I was still strapped to eight wheels and instead of skating over towards him gracefully I tried to take a step and lost my balance falling forward in the most ungraceful fashion and landing at his feet with a thud.

“She’sh falling for me,” Sid snorted before bending down to help me up. I avoided Mario’s gaze and vowed to avoid him for as long as I could after that.

Notes

Poor Beatrice.
That's really all I can say. Sorry it took me so long to update. It's been a doozy of a few weeks. To the point where I'm using words like doozy.
I figured we needed a chapter that was more amusing than tragic.

xx-T