All Hands on Deck

Tessa did call Sara while they were in Denver and she agreed to sublet the tiny apartment in Monroeville. The red brick building with pale blue awnings was older than dirt and sandwiched between a deli and a church. Her one bedroom space was on the second floor and the kitchen window overlooked the quaint little road that mostly housed closed down shops and several homeless men.

About a week after they returned from their road trip, on her Sunday off, she moved in, driving to Reading at the crack of dawn and then back with a few boxes of stuff she could not live without. Jack had told her he would only be gone a couple of months and she tried to remind herself of that fact daily. As much as she was enjoying it, this was not permanent. Still, she was in good spirits: the Pens were a great group of guys who appreciated the hell out of her, Beau made himself extra helpful, which was nice and definitely entertaining, and Sidney was…well, he was just good old Sidney Crosby, and that was lovely enough.

After driving for nearly ten hours straight, Tessa was exhausted and looking forward to plopping down on the couch Sara had left behind with a beer and a book. Hauling up everything in one slow, heavy, clumsy trip, she came up short when she hit the top of the creaky wooden stairs.

In front of her door were eight tall, skinny bouquets of roses, some red, some pink, some yellow, some white. Each vase held seven of them and Tessa immediately got the joke, laughing to herself about the cheesiness of it. She plucked the card from its holder. “Expect fresh deliveries every Sunday. You know how I like my routines,” followed by a hand-drawn heart, no name.

Then, her phone was ringing and she hauled it out of her purse. “Tessa’s House of Flowers, Tessa speaking.”

“You’re home.”

“I am. Thanks for these, Sid. Way too many, but you know that I not-so-secretly love excessive amounts of everything.”

“I do and I’m glad. Thought you could put some in every corner of that place, brighten it up a bit.”

“It does need brightening, but I was hoping it would be your lovely face doing that for me.”

Sidney let out a low chuckle. “Soon enough. I promised Flower and Duper I’d have dinner with them and their wives. I’m on my way there now. I can see you after?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll eat fast.”

“Oh, please, don’t. Take your time, enjoy your friends. I’ll still be here when you’re done.”

“Hands off until I get there.”

“No promises.” Grinning and hanging up on him, Tessa tucked the phone in her pocket and dug out her keys. Boxes, bags, and flowers were dragged across the threshold before she closed the door and collapsed on the couch. She sat for a while with the roses, trying to decide which color smelled the best. With no clear winner, she spread them out in the apartment based on the color she liked best, red and pink in the bedroom and living room, yellow in the kitchen, white in the bathroom.

She had no furniture other than the used couch and bed Sara had left, so most of the flowers ended up resting on the floor. Since that made it look like a graveyard, Tessa emptied her boxes of stuff before turning them over and using them as tables, one in the living room, one for bedroom. Then, she walked through the tiny, decrepit space that was all hers now, stopping to smell each bouquet, breathing in the sweet aroma with her eyes closed.

She put fresh, pale blue sheets on the bed, threw an old afghan over the back of the couch, neatly arranged piles of books by the side of her bed, hung her clothes, and crammed the bathroom with toiletries and makeup. Famished, she ordered a large pizza and ate the whole thing sprawled out in bed, her nose in a romance novel the entire time. Once stuffed, she checked the time on her phone, still early, and she knew Sidney would be a while yet.

She ran a bath in the tub that had no business being as big it was and dropped in a Tisty Tosty bath bomb to complete the rose-themed evening. She luxuriated for a while, before grabbing her book to pick up where she left off. She was so engrossed in the damn thing that when Sidney came to stand in the bathroom doorway she actually screamed in shocked freight having not even heard him come in the door.

Hand over her heart she told him, “Fucking shit, Sid, you almost killed me. How the hell did you get in here?”

He smirked and jangled his keys. “Didn’t I mention that Sara gave my sister her extra set of keys?”

Tessa was laughing now, but still trying to calm her heart down from the scare. “Of course you didn’t, why would you tell me that?” He was in a suit without a tie, looking handsome as usual, and he sat on the closed toilet seat. She folded her arms on the edge of the tub and rested her chin on them. “Have a good dinner?”

“It was fine. What are you reading?” He snatched the book from her and looked at the cover.

“Hey! Don’t lose my place.”

“‘The Dastardly Duke and his Many Mistresses.’ Are you serious with this?”

“It’s really quite good.”

“This trash is good?”

Tessa sat up to snatched the book from him, splashing some water over the edge as she went. “You’ve never read it, so you don’t get to call it trash. But, to be fair, most romances are trash, but trash that I enjoy nonetheless.”

“No judgment. Just wondering why you need to read about Duke Whoever when you have me at your service.”

“Well, I didn’t always have you at my beck and call, Sidney. The Dukes and their ladies have kept me company through many lonely nights.”

Sidney groaned, pulling off his suit coat. “Now that’s a pretty thought. You, two knuckles deep, with a book in your other hand.”

“Sounds familiar. What are you doing?”

Sidney’s shirt was half unbuttoned and he untucked it to complete the job. “I was going to join you in that tub if you don’t mind.”

She watched him start on his pants and told him, “Only if there’s a dukedom in your family you might inherit.”

“Sorry, no, but my mom promised me the good china when she dies.”

Tessa laughed against her arm as she bent to pull up the plug, letting some of the water out to accommodate his big body. While she was leaning forward, Sidney climbed in behind her, pressing his cock right up against her back and ass. Both his arms enveloped her as he sat against the tub, taking her with him, her back snuggled tightly against his chest. His lips came down gently on her shoulder. She was entirely resting on his big body, only her feet touching the bottom of the tub. “Mmm, this is nice. And is that…roses in the tub?”

“Yup, from the bath bomb. I’m pretty fancy.”

He nibbled her ear now, “So it’s not just your perfume. I did good with the flowers, eh?”

“Yes, perfect.” Tessa smoothed the silky water over his thighs and knees that were poking out of the water while leaning towards his kiss that was now on the side of her neck. “Though I have to say, considering the flowers and the fact that you have keys to this place already I feel a little like your mistress that you keep tucked away. Expect if this were a romance novel it would be a much nicer apartment.”

“If this were a romance novel Beau would burst in here and find us, shouting about how you’ve betrayed his love and how could you!”

Both of them giggled at the thought and Tessa did her best leading man impression. “Oh, Nessie, does my love mean so little to you? I’m pure of heart, but you’ve chosen this beastly man over me!”
“Hey, who you calling ‘beastly’?”

“I meant it as a compliment. I like how rough you are. Men like Beau are too pretty for me.”

“Baby, no one is too pretty for you, trust me.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know, but it’s true.” Sidney’s voice had changed tones and he shifted purposefully underneath her, his hard cock coming between her thighs, rubbing against her pussy lightly under the water.

Tessa leaned her head back against his shoulder, turning to kiss his jawline. “Sidney…your mistress would like to be serviced.”

He jerked his hips against her and brought both his hands up from below the water to cup her breasts. “I think technically I need a wife or at least a girlfriend for you to be considered my mistress.”

The thought of him with someone else was abruptly and intensely disturbing. More appalling was the rage she felt swelling up at the mere mention of another woman sharing his bed. She pushed the first thought aside; she knew there was just her. As for the clingy urges she felt, though harder to quell, she did her best to forget them too.

Thankfully, he told her, “Not my mistress, just my girl.”

His girl, not girlfriend, an important distinction and one that Tessa advised herself to remember. Yes, she thought, that was just how it had to be right now, maybe forever, because no one could ever know, how could they ever really be a couple?

Forgetting about all this, she merely groaned at his response and reached between her thighs to stroke his cock, rubbing it against her softness. “Ok then, your girl would like to be serviced, please.”

“Just like this?”

“Mmm, yes, like this.” She grasped him tightly and guided his cock inside her, tilting her hips back slightly to get a good angle. She shifted her body upwards, ass resting more on his lower stomach and then she moved her legs wider over his that came together underneath her. A gentle rocking of her hips and his cock was shifting in and out of her, his length an asset, as usual.

Sidney’s breath was ragged in her ear. “Tessa…goddamn that’s good.” His fingers found her nipples, pinching and pulling before kneading her breasts against her chest. His hips shifted under her, but she did most of the work, swiveling and swirling, fucking him slowly to prevent flooding her bathroom floor and enraging her downstairs neighbor.

She snuggled against him as she thrust down on his hips. “Oh, yeah, good to be home. Good tub.”

“Great tub.”

“Ugh, yes.”

The sound of panting breaths and the light sloshing of water filled the air. It was nice, all of it, to be together again, to be home. This was the first time they had seen each other since returning to Pittsburgh because between practices and games and Tessa making plans to move there had been no time. Now, they had all night, and that was simply splendid.

Sidney’s mouth was back on her neck as his hand moved down to play with her clit, tapping it lightly, splashing just at the water line before running his fingers over her, reaching all the way down to where their bodies met before coming back up to her most needy spot.

The warm water against her sensitive inner folds and clit intensified everything: the movement of his cock inside her, the contact of his fingers, the swelling of her pussy. She was close, so close. “Sid, you promised me hickeys, remember?”

In response he licked the water off her neck. “I remember, a trail of them from collarbones to your inner thigh. You better come soon so I can take you to bed and deliver.”

Nodding, gasping, she put her feet on the edges of the tub, one on each side and lifted her hips out of the water before coming back down, impaling herself on his cock. His fingers worked faster over her clit and she soon clenched down around him as she came. When she was done, Sidney grabbed her hips and thrust upwards until he stilled and released inside her with a groan.

Afterwards they went to bed and fouled up Tessa’s clean sheets. She really didn’t care. As he said he would, he stared with his hickey formed in Pheonix, pulling at the now hardly noticeable patch of pale purple skin until it darkened and widened. A couple of inches lower, he started a fresh one, lips and teeth closing on a patch of soft skin and flesh of her breast.

A couple of inches under that one, a bit to the left, he made another, right between her breasts. By the time he reached her inner thighs, she was a mess, moaning and shifting restlessly, hands lost in his hair, legs wide and welcoming. There was something so painfully erotic about his mouth marking the flesh up and down her body, knowing they would be the only two people alive to see the bruises he left behind.

Sidney licked up her pussy as his long fingers reached up to trace and follow the curving pattern on her torso. When he finally applied his sore lips to her clit, she came in no time, whispering gratefully to him. Soon after, he had her again, putting them in the same position as they had in the tub that he enjoyed so much; her back against his chest, his mouth with easy access to her neck, his hands free to roam her body as she worked her hips down onto his, more aggressively now that they didn’t have to worry about overflowing the tub. He missed seeing her face when she came, but he also liked the feel of her round ass rubbing his pelvis, being able to easily tease her clit, burying his nose in the crook of her neck as he came.

He woke up next to her for the first time since that night in her hotel room, only this time he got what he wanted, her naked limbs tangled up with his, her warm mouth on the back of his neck, the heat of her body pressed against his, and the smell of roses at every turn.

He turned in her arms as she then laced her fingers together around his neck. “Mmm, you know there’s no clocks in this place?”

“Time is an illusion, just kiss me, Sid.”

He did, once and briefly before groping on the floor for his phone. “Hold that thought.” He saw the time and knew he should have left her right then; morning skate started in an hour. Technically it was optional, but not to him, not when he needed to keep to his routines. Still, he switched off his alarm that was due to go off in a minute and dropped the phone with a clatter, rolling back on top of Tessa. “Ten minutes, then I gotta go.”

“You better get to fucking me then, Sid, because I’ve got shit to do today, too.”

“You think you’re pretty cute, eh?”

She tilted her chin up and grinned at him. “I do. Don’t you?”

“Very, very cute, my little cutie.” He was already thrusting inside her, kissing her between words, sliding his hands under her body to pull her even tighter against him. She smiled against his mouth and reached down to rest her hands on his hips, feeling his muscles work as he lazily but expertly fucked her. Less than ten minutes of this and they came together. Tessa had never seen him look more proud of himself.

She finally freed herself from his embrace and kisses when she hit the bathroom before he could get in there to shower. When she came out, they passed in the doorway, but Tessa noticed something she had missed last night and stopped him. “What is that?”

“Just my bag, change of clothes. I couldn’t go to the arena in my suit from last night and I didn’t wanna have to run home.”

“You brought some of your stuff to my new apartment?”

“Uh, yeah. Is that cool?”

“Sidney Patrick Crosby…” She pulled him closer, pressing a kiss to his chest. “That is more than ok. In fact, it’s kinda turning me on a little a bit.”

Sidney laughed and then kissed her wildly. “That’s sweet, but it’ll have to wait. I’m already late.”

He showered while Tessa made toast, extra jelly, still smiling about his duffle bag on her bedroom floor. It was just too damn adorable, so domestic…and normal. It was if for a moment she could imagine they were just like any other couple and their issues were far from her mind. When reality started to creep in like the rising sun illuminating her kitchen, she chose to ignore it and focused on breakfast.

Sidney walked into the kitchen and stole her toast before handing it back, too much sugary fruit for his tastes. Instead he kissed her good and long before he left. “I’ll see you later.”

“You will.” Tessa called dramatically over her shoulder as he pulled his shoes on, “And tell Beau my love for him is strong and that you mean nothing to me.”

“Hilarious, Tessa, really, you should do standup.” In response she literally booted him on the ass on his way out.

Sidney was right on time and hit the ice with Perron and Kunitz in tow. They got loose, got warmed up, ran some easy drills, and when everyone got lazy again, they started gossiping on the bench like old women at bingo. Beau, naturally, started it.

“Hey, Cap, you think Nessie would say yea if I asked her out?”

Sidney held back the urge to whack Beau over the head with his stick and instead told him with a forced grin and involuntarily grumpy voice, “Not gonna happen, not just because she’s off limits, but because she’s way too good for you.”

“I don’t know, she might disagree with you on that, man. I’m gonna ask her, tonight.”

Kunitz interjected before Sidney could cuss him out, which was probably for the best. “Even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t because she’s not fucking stupid, Beau. She knows what’ll happen if she gets involved with a player.”

That innocent face looked confounded. “What? What would happen?”

Kessel had joined them now and answered, “She’d lose her job, that’s what. Because either other guys would get jealous and then we have a locker room problem or people would say she’s just a pass around girl and then we have a PR problem.”

Kunitz nodded, adding, “Not to mention when you guys break up or have a fight then you have personal problems in the locker room and nobody wants that. Trust me, she fucks a player and someone finds out, she’s gone, no questions, no second chances. Why do you think we’re not allowed to talk to the ice crew either? Same reasons, they don’t need the drama that comes from people shitting where they eat.”

Geno said to Beau, “Look all you want, no touchy, eh?”

Beau seemed to get it, nodding slowly. “Damn. That fucking sucks.”

Perron had to laugh, telling him, “Beau, you’re young, you’re good looking, and you play in the NHL. Just walk down the street sometime and you’ll find at least thirty women willing to have sex with you.”

“Good point. But I need the Captain as my wingman, am I right?” He jutted his chin at Sidney. “You coming to Fat Head’s with us tonight after the game? Help me with the ladies?”

Sidney grinned, thinking of Tessa. “Nope, I have other plans.”

Geno nudged him, offended he didn’t know about this. “With who?”

“Nobody you know, just a girl I met a few weeks ago.”

A chorus of oohs and chirping was thrown at Sidney and he took it all in stride. Kunitz asked, “You bringing this dime to a game so we can see her and pass judgment accordingly?”

“Naw, it’s not like that.” While it pained him to say it, he continued, “We’re not serious. It’s just…you know.”

Beau looked dejected; apparently his dating woes were worse than Sidney had thought. “Yeah, I can only imagine. At least I know she’s probably not as pretty as Nessie.”

Sidney choked on his water as he laughed, passing it off as something going down the wrong tube. The mood in the locker room afterwards was jovial and no one could really explain why. Maybe it was being at home after some tough losses on the road, maybe it was the fresh snow covering the old blocks of dirty black on the streets. For Sidney, though, the conversation with his teammates had reminded him of just how much risk Tessa was taking for him and that put a little dark cloud over his day.

Kunitz and Kessel had been spot on, put words to everything Sidney already knew and thought about all the time. And it wasn’t like Sidney could really blame an organization for not wanting that sort of thing going on. Teams had enough to worry about and romantic entanglements usually ended up being more trouble than they’re worth.

What was really bothering Sidney was the uncertainty about what would happen if someone found out about him and Tessa - not what would happen to her, the answer to that was clear, but what would happen to them. If they were exposed and she got fired, would she leave him, would that be the end of it? Or would she smile like she always did and tell him they could work it out? Would the Royals take her back if she lost her job with the Pens? If they didn’t, was she going to resent him for ruining her chance to work in the NHL?

He drove back to her apartment wondering if he going to ruin her life no matter how this turned out. And if so, when had he become so selfish that he didn’t even care if he did?

Notes