Tread This Fantasy

Carole-Lyne and Duper were smiling when Sid followed Mel back into the room. The rest of the couples were gathered around the table in the back, emptying the last two wine bottles. Duper and his wife were standing beside their table, heads together and whispering.

Sid could see the blush on Mel’s face as she sat her purse on her chair. “Not one word,” he told Duper before the other man could open his mouth.

“What?” Duper asked. “I was worried about you. Thought you might have fallen down the toilet.”

Sid shot him a dirty look before placing a hand on the small of Mel’s back. “Can I get you something to drink?”

She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. “No, I’m fine.”

“How about a ride home?” he murmured.

“That sounds perfect. Let me say goodnight to everyone.” She slipped on her black shrug and walked across the room to wish everyone a good evening.

“Making out in the bathroom like a teenager? I’m telling your dad.” Duper muttered, leaning into Sid and jamming an elbow into his side.

Sid tried to suppress the smile, but it was hard. He shook his head and turned away from the older man. “I hadn’t seen her in a while. Cut me some slack.”

“Pascal, leave him alone,” Carole-Lyne said, slipping her arm around her husband and laying her head on his shoulder. “He’s in love.”

The innocuous phrase she uttered without a second thought hit Sid like a punch in the gut. Was that what this was? This euphoria when he was near her, frustration and longing when he couldn’t see her every day. Wanting to go sit on her parents’ big porch in South Carolina and watch the sunset while she sat on his lap. Wishing he could wake up and roll onto her soft body while he buried his face in her neck.

He felt light-headed. Fucking love. He couldn’t think about that right now. Sid stood up and found Mel giving Maureen a friendly hug goodbye.

“Call me,” Maureen Kunitz said. “I love that little boutique on Wood Street just past the Mexican place. We could go during your lunch hour one day.”

Mel nodded. “I will. It’ll give me an excuse to get out of the office.”

Sid felt his heart beating like a race horse’s. He’d arranged the dinner because he wanted to incorporate her into his life. And now he’d been accused of being in love and Kuni’s wife was making plans to go shopping with Mel. Did he have a girlfriend? Was he in love? He was sweating and needed to get out of the restaurant.

The drive to her apartment was short and the cold March air helped him cool down from the near panic attack in the dining room. Commitment wasn’t an issue, but now that she was well and good in his life, he started second-guessing himself. Love was a big word, and it scared the shit out of him. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and walked her to her door.

“It’s just eight-thirty. Do you want to come inside and have a cup of coffee?”

Sid slipped his arm around her as she unlocked the door. “I’ll do anything to spend some more time with you. I’ve been deprived the past two weeks.”

She smiled and let him follow her through the door. He closed and locked it while she flipped on the lamp by the door and took off her coat. Sid shrugged out of his and hung both on the rack to his left.

“No coffee for me,” he said as he followed her through the dining room and into the kitchen. Her heels were clicking across the hardwood floor. “It’ll keep me up all night.”

“How about herbal tea?”

“Sure.”

He leaned against the doorway and watched her heat water in a kettle and pull two mugs from the cabinet.

“Thank your for dinner.”

He shifted and crossed his arms. “I’m glad you had a good time.” Do you love me, he wondered. I couldn’t stand it if it was just me feeling this way.

“I had a wonderful time. But I can’t wait for a quiet dinner here on Saturday. Just you and me.”

Yes, that. I want that, too, his mind buzzed. “I’m looking forward to it,” Sid agreed.

Mel handed him a mug with a teabag floating on the top. “Sugar?”

He shook his head and followed her into the living room. They put the mugs on the coffee table and sat down side-by-side. Mel slipped off her shoes and tucked one leg underneath her, turning on the cushion to face him. Sid rested his arm on the back of the couch. His fingertips were just an inch from the glossy strands of her brown hair.

“You never did tell me why you didn’t call me back on Monday afternoon,” he said.

She shrugged and dropped her gaze.

“They’re not still giving you trouble about us at work, are they?”

Mel shook he head. “No, they dropped it. I just, well...”

“Well what?”

She leaned forward and grabbed her mug, taking a sip of the hot tea. He waited patiently while she sipped again and then sat the mug down. “I feel like I’m just going to get hurt. And I thought maybe it’d be best if I backed out. You could move on and...”

“That’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever said to me,” he said, cutting her off.

Mel’s eyes were wide, shocked at what he’d said to her. “Sid, we have very different lives. You’re out there traveling and meeting people.”

“Meeting people? You mean other hockey players? Because that’s about the extent of it.”

“Most of you are twenty-something men. I’m sure you go out on off days and after games.”

“I don’t.”

“You do. You were at Whim.”

He looked at her and realized she had misunderstood him all along. “Mel, I rarely go out. I picked up zero girls at Whim those two nights you saw me there. I just went because the guys were going and I didn’t have anything else to do. I want to have something else to do. And I want you to be that thing.”

Her eyes were watching him steadily.

“I’m a homebody. And I’d really love someone to stay home with,” he added.

“Me?”

He smiled softly at her. “I was thinking more along the lines of a goldfish. Like in American Dad--you know, the cartoon. What’s his name? Klaus?”

Mel snickered and shook her head. “Yeah, Klaus. You’re such a dork, Sidney Crosby.”

“Guilty as charged.” He paused. “You doubted my feelings toward you? That’s why you hung me out to dry and made me torture myself for three days?”

She made a face. “Sorry?”

“I thought you freaked out because of...” He trailed off, realizing that he was about to bring up something that would make him blush.

“What?”

Sid shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Oh, come on,” she said, poking a finger into his leg. “What?”

“I thought maybe our phone conversation on Friday night might have turned you off,” he said, mumbling the words with his eyes downcast. He used the mug of tea as a distraction, leaning forward and grabbing his to take a long drink. He drained half the mug before she responded.

“Uh, I don’t think it turned me *off*.” Sid looked up to see her face was flushed. She looked as embarrassed as he felt. Two grown adults couldn’t discuss the blisteringly hot phone sex they’d had a few days before. Pathetic.

“Good, I was hoping I didn’t misread that whole... thing.”

Mel started giggling, and he couldn’t help but join it. The situation was just too ridiculous.

“Hey, don’t make fun of me,” he said.

When she caught her breath she replied, “Oh, I’m not making fun. You were a pro. You get an A+ in the phone sex department.”

“If this hockey thing falls through, it’s good to know I have a backup career.”

He used the hand on the back of the sofa to stroke the ends of her hair. “Next time I’m out of town we should probably do the video chat thing. I think it’d be much more productive.”

“Ohhhh, no,” she laughed. “No, no, no. I’m not putting my goods on the internet. The cookies stay in the jar.”

Sid wanted to kiss her, but he still felt awkward. Why was his heart beating so fast? Why did he want to move into her little apartment and wake up in her bed every single day? Carole-Lyne’s voice echoed in his head. He’s in love. Love. He could almost hear the phrase tripping off his tongue when he saw the way she looked at him.

Fuck it, he thought, leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers. Mel immediately responded, placing her hands on either side of his face and kissing him back. The flame of desire lit in his stomach when he remembered the way her legs felt with his hands up her skirt in the bathroom.

He wanted to ask her to pack a suitcase and come with him on all the road trips. So he’d miss some of NHL Tonight in the hotel room, but he’d be able to touch her whenever he wanted. It was a stellar trade off. A soft whimper from the back of her throat brought him back to reality. She had a career of her own--a good one--and it would just be selfish to ask her to give it up.

Sid turned his head and kissed her again, one hand tangled in her hair and the other curled over the top of her bare thigh. His stomach flopped over because now all he was thinking about was the end of the season. They were in the final stretch of it. Playoffs were a few weeks ago, and then summer would be around. And he’d go home or to Los Angeles to train.

No, he thought, I’ll stay here and train. The ease with which he made the decision shocked him.

“You look like you’re thinking hard,” Mel said. She had pulled back from the kiss and was brushing her fingertips over the stubble on this cheek.

“I was thinking about you.”

“Good things, I hope.” She was looking up at him shyly, through thick lashes.

He moved forward and pinned her to the sofa. “Only the best things,” he whispered before kissing her again. In a matter of a few seconds, he was on top of her, one of his knees nestled between her thighs.

Sid looked down and saw her swollen lips and the way her hair scattered out across the cushion. His heart felt like it was in his throat. Say it, his brain whispered.

Instead, he kissed her again, slipping his tongue into her mouth. As he pulled back, he caught her lower lip between his teeth and pulled it out slightly. The action made her shift her hips and rub against the leg between her thighs.

“Sid,” she whispered, running her fingers through his hair. It gave him goosebumps. He suppressed the groan of pleasure and lowered his mouth to her neck. Scattering little kisses and nips along the column of her neck made her moan in pleasure. Which only served to make him harder than a rock. He traced the tip of his tongue over her collarbone.

“You’re killing me,” she gasped, pulling his head up so she could kiss him. It was needy and hot. And all he wanted to do was undress her and take her to bed. He’d be willing to miss the game tomorrow if he could spend twenty-four hours with her legs wrapped around his waist. His cock twitched at the thought.

“I want to take you to bed,” he whispered, kissing down her chin and neck. Her skin was so soft and so warm. Maybe if he ripped the flimsy chiffon dress down the front, he’d have better access. He could kiss his way down to her pussy and make her gush for him before he even took his pants off.

Fuck, she makes me want to be the best she’s ever had, he thought, seriously considering ripping her dress open. He could afford to replace it.

“Sid,” she said, putting her hands on his shoulders. “Sid.”

“Mmm?” he asked, pulling away from her body, slightly drunk on lust.

“We should stop. This is... I wasn’t ready for this tonight.”

Her words rocked him back on his proverbial heels. He stood up and looked down at her as she sat up.

“You don’t want me?” His voice sounded strange--vulnerable and pathetic. He inwardly cringed.

“No, I do. I just... didn’t plan on... this.” She threw her hands out, gesturing to the air around them.

“Oh.” He felt defeated. He’d almost told her he loved her, and she wasn’t even willing to let him see her naked.

A small smile was playing at the corners of her mouth. “It’s not what you think,” Mel said. “I want you bad. So bad. But...”

“What?”

She shook her head, the embarrassed smile growing. “Girls like to landscape before they get naked with a boy for the first time.”

Sid narrowed his eyes. Her comment didn’t make sense. “Landscape? Like plant things?”

She laughed. “No, no. Like, landscape. You know?” She waved her hand over her lap. “Like wax and shave?”

Realization dawned on him. “Oh,” he said. “Oh, I don’t care about that. I still want to get you naked. Right now. Right here.” She wasn’t looking at his face. He followed her gaze and realized she was looking at the bulge in his trousers. Sid couldn’t muster any embarrassment. Let her see it; she was responsible.

“Raincheck,” she said, mesmerized the outline of his cock. It made him grin.

“Tomorrow?”

“We’ll be having wine. You’ll probably have to stay the night. Don’t want to be drinking and driving.” Finally, she tore her eyes away from his crotch and looked up to meet his gaze.

Desire was evident in the way she looked at him. “I’ll bring my toothbrush,” he replied.

Notes