All Hands on Deck

A relatively despondent Sidney got up two days later and returned to work, morning skate with the team before a game that night. He was lacing up his skates, chatting with Kris Letang, when Jack walked by. “Yo, Jackie Boy, congrats on the baby!”

Jack backtracked and sauntered up to the boys in the locker room, accepting a few black slaps and handshakes. “Thanks, guys. I didn’t do much but knock her up and then stand there watching until she pushed him out, but hey.”

Geno stood and hugged the trainer. “Name?”

“William.”

Sidney nodded. “Classic, you can’t go wrong with that. I’m so happy for you, man.”

“Thanks, thanks. Hey, Sid, you got a minute before you head out there?”

“Yeah, sure. What’s up?”

Sidney on skates and Jack in tennis shoes, they made their way down the hall. When they reached Jack’s desk, he asked Sidney to have a seat as he did the same. “Wanted to ask you, what’d you think of that Higgins woman?”

Sidney felt himself tense, but then immediately forced himself to remain calm. He knew Jack was only asking because he was one of only a couple of players who had worked with her while she was with the team that night, but he couldn’t think of her without imaging her on top of him in his car, or him on top of her in the hotel room. He cleared his throat. “She was fine. Nice, quiet, did her job.”

“So you liked her?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say I like her…”

“Jesus, Sid, I’m not asking if you wanna bang her, I’m asking if you think she’s competent at fucking her job.”

Sidney laughed uncomfortably. “Ha, of course, no I don’t wanna bang her, but yeah, she’s good at what she does. Why do you ask?”

“We got that road trip coming up and Kelly’s gonna kill me if I leave her alone with the baby so soon. I talked to front of house and they agreed to offer her a temporary job, filling in as the massage therapist while I take a leave of absence for Kelly and William. Just for a couple of months. Georgie and the boys can take care of everything else. You think that’ll work?”

Well, Sidney thought, it would be amazing for him because it meant he was going to see her again, soon and regularly. And yet it was simultaneously terrible because it meant he was going to see her again, soon and regularly with other people around and he was going to have act like there was nothing untoward going on between them. Realizing he was over thinking this when Jack just needed a simple answer, Sidney spoke quickly. “Yeah, yeah, I think that’d be good. She’s great, you know, as a therapist. We’ll miss you though, buddy.”

The two men stood and embraced. “I know, Sid. It’s only temporary. I’ll have you back on my table screaming in pain in no time at all.”

Morning skate felt brutally long to Sidney and he had never stripped down faster in his life when it was done. When he got free of his teammates, fans, and press, he pulled out his phone in his car. Tessa had already called him an hour ago, no message. He dialed her back.

Her voice came over him like warm honey. “Hey, Captain. I hear your team is getting a temporary massage therapist and that she’s smokin’ hot.”

“Oh, you heard that, huh?”

“Little birdy told me this morning. Is that…I mean this is fucking great, right? I know it’ll be a lot of lyin’ and creepin’ and just an all around pain in the ass, but we can have some fun. I mean you’re -”

Sidney laughed at her uncertainty, it was so unlike her. “Tess, I’m on cloud fucking nine at just the thought of seeing you again.”

Jesus, he could almost hear her biting that lip of hers. “Good, me too, Sid.”

“When are you driving in?”

“Probably not until Saturday. I gotta finish up these few games with the Royals, who are royally pissed, by the way, but they know what a big opportunity this is, so I think they’re happy for me. I’m gonna meet you guys at the airport.”

Three days, that’s all he had to wait and yet it felt like a painfully long time. “Can’t wait, cutie.”

“You and me both. Wear your best suit for me, alright? I love a man in a good suit.”

“You got it. And Tessa?”

“Yeah?”

“You can wear whatever you want, but no panties.”

“Ha! What are you planning, Crosby?”

“Honestly, nothing yet. I just wanna be sitting on that plane knowing you’re not wearing any.”

Three days, four nights, and several very long, very intimate phone calls later, Sidney was on the team’s plane, sitting in the aisle seat next to Geno, waiting for Tessa, listening to Patric Hornqvist and Beau Bennett talk out of their asses.

“What the hell are we waiting for?”

“Chill, Beau, the new massage therapist is running late.”

“That cute little thing with the great ass?”

“That would be the one.”

“Nice, real nice. That’s a woman I wouldn’t mind rubbing me down all fucking night.”

“Amen to that.”

Phil Kessel leaned towards them across the aisle. “You guys are the walking talking reason teams don’t hire women on their training staffs. Fucking gross, both of you. And also sexist as hell.”

Hornqvist was the first to respond, “What? It’s the truth. Not our fault she’s gorgeous.”

Kessel rolled his eyes. “No class. She’s a professional. Just let her do her job and be cool about it.”

Sidney smiled, agreeing with Kessel and yet understanding the boys’ urges toward Tessa all too well. She was hot and sweet, but absolutely not for them. Technically, she wasn’t for him either, but that was another story. He leaned forward to join the debate when the woman herself stepped onto the plane looking lovely, yet slightly flustered.

Coach leapt up and called them all to attention. “Alright, listen up. Some of you met her the other night when she was filling in for Jack, but in case you didn’t, this is Contessa Higgins. She’s gonna be handling massage duties while Jack is out. If you need anything, let her know. If you need something else, anything Jack might have handled, you’ll see Georgie and his boys, ok?” He turned to Tessa, “Anything to add, Ms. Higgins?”

Even being the only woman on a plane full of men, the new kid in class with all eyes on her, Tessa’s poise and smile never faltered. “Thanks, Coach. I don’t have a speech prepared or anything, but I will say I’m so unbelievably sorry I was late and kept you all waiting. Traffic was a bitch coming in. And I’m real glad, just so happy to be here with all of you and I’m grateful to the Pens organization for giving me this opportunity. I hope you’ll all be satisfied with my work. And please, as Coach said, do let me know if you ever need anything.”

There was some scattered applause that Beau initiated and Tessa gave them a cheeky little bow before hustling down the aisle toward the back of the plane. She stopped to talk to Phil who she had worked on the other night. “Hey Kessel, how’s your back?”

“Feeling great, thank you. And welcome to the circus.”

“Glad to hear it.” She touched his arm gently as she passed as a sign of friendly affection and when she met Sidney’s eyes, she gave him a curt nod. “And Crosby, your leg still holding you up?”

“Good as new, though my neck is still bothering me. I might need you later.”

She fought back a wide grin and lightly touched his shoulder. “Sure thing, just let me know.”

He forced himself to remain facing forwards and settled for listening to her chat with some of the other men as she passed. He wished she had only spoken to him, only looked at him, only touched him, but he knew why she did it. If she treated them all friendly, as equals, no one would question their interactions. Though it pained him, he acknowledged how smart she was about the whole thing.

They were flying to San Jose, so the flight was long, the men restless. Sidney chatted with Geno, played poker with Kessel, and waited until the men around him drifted off into their own worlds of music or magazines or sleep.

Everyone otherwise distracted, he got up and made his way to the bathroom at the back of the plane. He didn’t make it back to his seat, but instead sat down next to Tessa who was snoozing away, her head resting on the window. She was in the last aisle, the next closest person was Georgie three rows up and he was caught up in the Star Wars movie being shown during the flight.

Sidney folded up the armrest between the two seats, then he took hold of Tessa’s hand, interlacing their fingers. She woke up at the contact, immediately trying to pull away from him, whispering, “What the hell are you doing?”

“Shh. Nothing.”

It wasn’t nothing, but then it wasn’t really something either. He was just holding her hand, something countless men had done and something that hadn’t been a big deal since she was in middle school and Jacob MacShaw had done it on the playground. And yet, there on that plane with Sidney, it was so…wrong, inappropriate…dangerous. Which meant that the otherwise harmless gesture went straight to her cunt and heated her skin until she felt herself blush.

She looked down at their hands, swallowing her breath. “Sid, you need to leave.”

His hushed tone was mocking and childish. “I’m not doing anything.”

“This is…I told you -”

“No one’s back here. No one’s going to know. I’ll keep you safe, Tess. Trust me.”

He drew circles on the back of her hand with his thumb, such a stupidly innocent movement that had Tessa nearly panting. It was all too much; she had never snuck around with a man before and she was shocked at how much it was turning her on. She did not want to be caught; she simply could not allow that to happen under any circumstances. Yet the imminent and constant threat was…well, it was really fucking hot, is what it was. For both of them.

Sidney looked around and then shifted closer, putting his mouth against her ear. “Did you do as I asked?” Tessa blew out a breath and nodded. Sidney grinned. “Good girl. Take your leggings off.”

Tessa, after a moment’s hesitation, did as he asked, stuffing the black leggings she had been wearing under her purple dress into the tote bag at her feet. After he released her hand Sidney pulled off his suit coat, leaving him in a shirt and tie. Tessa watched, thinking about how finely he filled out that damn suit and what a terrible idea it had been to ask him to wear it. Because honestly, as good as he looked, she was willing to go along with anything he suggested.

Draping the suit coat over her legs like a blanket, Sidney glanced around once more and then turned his gaze on her. “We’re just having a chat, right?” Again, Tessa just nodded, not trusting her voice. She kept her eyes locked on his.

Sidney’s warm palm slipped under the suit coat and rested on her knee. Then, he started talking, asking abruptly, “Tell me about a woman you’ve kissed.”

Tessa’s low giggle was laced with gasping air, a product of arousal and fear. “What makes you think I’ve kissed a woman?”

Sidney’s hand slowly made it’s way under her dress, his palm warming her skin as she spread her legs further apart, waiting for him to get where she knew he was headed. He answered, “Come on, Tess, I can just tell.”

Tessa leaned her head back against the seat, looking forward to make sure no one was coming that way or even looking towards them. Sidney’s fingers had moved upwards and now lingered around her hip, pattering lightly on her skin. “Jessica, two years ago on New Year’s Eve.” Sidney let out a groan and slid his hand between her moist thighs, cupping her pussy. Tessa stifled a whimper and continued. “Short, blond, big tits, fucking gorgeous.”

Sidney slipped his middle finger inside of her. “You let her eat this beautiful pussy?”

“Oh, God…Sidney.”

“Answer me.”

Her voice was now more breath than words. “Yes.”

“How good was she? Scale of one to ten.”
“Eight, maybe nine.”

Sidney slipped another finger inside her and started thrusting gently. His thumb found her clit. “After I go down on you, you’re not even gonna remember your own name, let alone Jessica’s. Someone asks you about it, how good I was on a scale of one to ten…”

“A hundred, off the charts. I know you will be, Sid.”

He looked away, hiding a smile that she caught anyway. When he turned back, her mouth was open to allow more breath to pass and her eyes were focused on him. “How do you know?”

She reached over, put her hand over his cock and then looked forward again, always on the lookout. “Because you have a babyface with a filthy mouth. Guys like you always know how to eat pussy.”

She felt his cock throb under her palm, but barely had time to be proud because she was so close to the edge, nearly vibrating with tension, her palm pressed against the window to steady herself. She spread her legs wider, tried to keep her face impassive, avoid Sidney’s intense stare, but he wouldn’t allow that.

His thumb on her clit and his fingers thrusting inside her both sped up. “Look at me, Tessa. And tell me something else.”

She inclined her head toward his, circling her hips softly against his hand, strong gusts of air being forced from her nostrils. She started to come and to stop herself from moaning she told him, gasping almost silently, “I went down her, too. And she tasted so sweet.”

“Fuck.” Sidney broke their gaze, looked forward, finished Tessa off with a few slow circles on her clit. When Tessa tried to rub his cock over his dress pants, as her hand had never left him, he grabbed her wrist to move her away.

“Totally unfair, you get to do me and I can’t do you?”

A laugh broke up his smile and she joined him. “I’m not as neat as you are. Some other time.” He stood, casually putting his jacket back on and said at a slightly louder than normal tone, “Anyway, so that’s about all there is to do in Denver. Let me know if you wanna hit up that steakhouse with me and the boys.”

Tessa’s lip found it’s way between her teeth again as she looked up at him, replying, “Yeah, sure that sounds great, Sidney.”

The flight was over soon enough and after a short bus ride the hotel, the men and Tessa stood around to collect their luggage. Beau had pushed himself to the front of the line and grabbed an old, khaki camping backpack, holding it up with disdain. “This yours, Horny?” He asked, teasing him.

Tessa cut through the sea of bodies. “Mine, actually.” She took it from him with a smile.

Beau visibility straightened up. “Oh, nice. You need some help with that. It’s kind of heavy.”

Tessa shouldered it on and gave him a look. “I’ve been carrying my own bag since before you born, Beau. I got it.” The men around him chirped Beau, as is to be expected. Tessa passed Sidney without comment and made her way up to her room.

It was 1:00 a.m. by the time they all were settled in. They had a game the next day so most everyone was just happy to find their beds and get some sleep. Tessa, however, was restless and it had nothing to do with Sidney. Ok, maybe a little bit to do with being the same hotel as him, but mostly she was just excited to be on a road trip with an NHL team, to have the chance to prove herself at the professional level. She was going to kick ass, she knew she was, she just couldn’t wait to jump in.

After tossing around in bed for hours, she gave up on sleep, pulling on a pair of tennies and grabbing her bag. She left the hotel, wandering the streets of downtown San Jose until she found a 7-Eleven, open 24 hours. She killed some time weighing the differences between two bottles of water, picked one at random, and then grabbed some chemical ladened pie on her way to the check-out.

After swiping her card, the bell above the door chimed. She turned and was greeted by Sidney’s slightly sleepy morning smile, now laced with pleasant confusion. “Hey.”

Tessa took her receipt and turned towards him. “You following me now, Sid?”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I couldn’t sleep. Came to get a coffee then go for a run.”

She followed him over the coffee and cappuccino machines. “What’s on your mind that you couldn’t sleep?”

“Well…” Sidney looked behind him as if Geno was going to magically appear and overhear him. “I was thinking about the last time you and I were in a hotel together. And then sleep was the last thing on my mind. You?” After filling his cup, dark roast, no sugar, extra milk, Sidney offered her an empty cup.

“No thanks, I’m more of a frappuccino girl. And would you be offended if I said I was just too excited for work?”

“Not offended, just call you a liar. You’re telling me I didn’t cross your mind at all?”

“Considering you seem to have taken up permanent residence in my thoughts, it’s safe to say there was something along those lines mixed in there at some point.”

He grinned, leaning over to whisper in her ear. “Dirty thoughts I hope.”

Tessa shrugged nonchalantly with a smile and grabbed his coffee from him. “You getting anything else?” He shook his head and Tessa paid for his coffee, in spite of his protests.

The two started walking back in the direction of the hotel. When she tried to cross the street, leave Sidney to his pre-dawn run, he grabbed her arm. “Walk with me for a bit.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“I’m not gonna fuck you in the middle of the street, so I think we’re safe. I just wanna talk. Not like either of us is going to sleep anyway.”

Everyone else was tucked away in their rooms, they both knew this, and yet they both looked towards the hotel, seeking out any familiar faces that might be lurking, finding not a soul. “Ok, sure.”

They started walking, side-by-side, Sidney drinking his coffee, Tessa just watching him out of the corner of her eye. Then, she surprised the hell out him, reaching over and holding his hand. He squeezed her back as she said, “You never told me about where you’re from, your people.”

“Not much to tell, born in Cole Harbour, raised in Cole Harbour, family still lives there, most of my friends do too. I spend my summers at my house up there, have a hockey school for kids. Kind of a small town, no one ever leaves if they can help it. It’s nice, quiet…it’s just home, you know?” Talking about it with her Sidney was flooded with thoughts of taking Tessa to his lake house, making love to her in the meadow, having lunch with her and his mom. He squeezed her hand again for no other reason than he could and said nothing about these extracurricular activities.

“Where is that? Canada?”

“Nova Scotia, yeah. And you?”

“Born in Dallas, raised in Philly, moved to Reading for work.”

“You’re telling me you’re a Texas gal?”

“By default. Family moved to Philly when I was two, so I’m more east coast than southern at heart. Though I do love down home cooking.”

“Who doesn’t? We’re gonna pass through your hometown in a couple of days, you still have family there?”

Tessa’s face lit up. “My dad, actually. My parent’s split a couple of years ago and he moved back. Now that’s the good old Texan you’re looking for. Shoot, that reminds me, I have to make sure I get him a ticket. He wanted to come to the game.”

“I’ll take care of it. We have a guy who gets our family and friends tickets.”

“Oh, no, come on, that’s not why I mentioned it.”

“I know it’s not, but like I said, I’ll set it up, just give me your dad’s number later and I’ll make sure he gets the info. How many do you need?”

Tessa hugged his arm, looking up at him. “Thank you, Sid. Just one, just for my dad.”

“You’re close with him.”

“I am, he’s a cool dude, but my mom is absolutely amazing, too. You’d love her, she’s the one who taught me to play hockey.”

“Hold up, you play?”

Tessa laughed, “No! I mean, technically, yeah, I was in little leagues when I was younger, played in high school, but I was not good, at all. I mostly just liked to skate real fast and slam into people.”

Now it was Sidney’s turn to laugh. “So, you were a goon, huh?”

“Well…uh…hmm…” They both broke out in giggles. “Yeah, I guess I was, now that you mention it.”

“Nice, Tess the Philly Goon. You’ll have to come to morning skate, show us your moves.”

“Ha! Now that would be entertaining. I haven’t been on skates in years.”

“Why not?”

She shrugged. “Too busy taking care of hockey players to find the time. Not that I mind, you guys are pretty great.”

“It doesn’t bother you, working with so many men?”

“From a purely feminist point of view, yes, it’s shitty that women don’t have the same opportunities in sports, especially in hockey. But I also know that no matter where I would work there would be assholes, so working around mostly men doesn’t bother me per se. At least with hockey players I know what to expect, from the guys and the injuries. I’ve only had one dude get out of line with me and the other players beat the shit out of him and that was that. Never happened again. The boys in Reading are really protective. They’ve kind of adopted me as a sister, which is rad.”

“That’s awesome. I’m glad they look out for you like that. Though I think you’ve now had two players get out of line with you.” Sidney gave her a shy half smile, slightly embarrassed at remembering how he had grabbed her hand and basically forced her to touch his dick.

“True. Luckily for the second guy, I didn’t mind at all.”

They had reached a park, one of those tiny green spaces erected last minute in the midst of concrete and brick buildings in downtown areas. Sitting on a bench, they watched the sun rise from behind the skyline. Well, Tessa watched the sunrise, Sidney watched her.

She felt his gaze and turned towards him. “What?”

“You look so beautiful in the morning.”

She nudged his chest, grinning. “And so ugly the rest of the day?”

Sidney laughed, pressed her hand against his heart. “Not at all, just exceptionally lovely early in the day.”

She pulled her hand loose and tucked a piece of hair behind his ear, cradling his face with her palm and giving him a sad look. “Sidney…you shouldn’t say such sweet things to me.”

“It’s the truth.”

“It’s dangerous. This is -”

“Great, it’s fucking great, Tess.”

“You know that we can’t…that I can’t -”

“I know. I’m not asking for that, whatever that is. All I want is to be with you when I can. And to tell you nice things when I have the chance.” He pulled her close, pressed his forehead to hers and pressed a soft kiss on her lips. “Ok?”

“We keep this up, if you keep this up, someone’s gonna end up with a broken heart. Probably both of us. You know that right? That this most likely isn’t going to end well for either of us?”

“Who says it has to end?”

“Sidney, come on, don’t do this. You know why.”

His glare was intense, his voice soft. “You’re right, but I think you’re worth it. Seeing you, touching you, kissing you, talking with you, no matter how it ends or when, all that, it’ll be worth the pain. To me.”

There it was; the cold hard truth. Maybe that’s what Tessa had been thinking about the other night when she had told him he was worth it. Neither of them were idiots, both of them knew this thing, whatever it was or was not, it wasn’t built for the long term. But they had right now, these moments together whenever they could find them; that was going to have to be enough.

Tessa pulled him closer, her smile having returned. “Crosby…you’re so fucking worth it. Now please just kiss me while there’s no one around to see.”

He smirked and kissed away all their talk of the painful future in favor of pleasure in the present. A recipe for disaster if there ever was one, but what is life if not a series of bad decisions made for the sake of immediate gratification?

Notes

I feel like I should apologize that there is less sex in this chapter, just because I normally write so much smut heavy stuff. However, I got really emotionally invetested in these two idiots this weekend and decided to give you a bit more plot, a little backstory. Don't worry, tons more sexy time to come. Stay tuned!