Tread This Fantasy

She hadn’t called. It had been three days and his cell phone had no missed calls from her number. They were on their way back from Florida after two away games, both of them successful wins, securing them the number two spot in the Eastern Conference. Sid wouldn’t be happy until they were number one and on their way to the Stanley Cup playoffs. There was always room for improvement.

“Deep thoughts?” Duper asked, dropping heavily into the seat beside Sid.

“Playoffs are just around the corner.”

“Two months. That’s a lot of games,” the older man said, taking a swig from a water bottle.

Sid nodded, flipping his phone over in his hand. It was on airplane mode, but playing with it had become habit. He wished she would call him, but it was all business for her. Or at least that’s the way it appeared to be. Maybe she wasn’t interested. The thought bothered him more than he cared to admit.

“What happened with the flowers?” Dupuis asked.

“I didn’t catch them before they sent the delivery out.”

“And?”

Sid shook his head in embarrassment. “I shouldn’t be allowed around women.”

Duper laughed. “Can’t be that bad.”

“I think she was weirded out, but she was nice about it at least.”

“Who is she?”

“I’m not telling you,” Sid said, chuckling. “I’ll never hear the end of all the shit you all are going to talk.”

“Do I know her?”

“No.”

Dupuis grinned and poked Sid’s ribs with his elbow. “Come on. My little Sid is growing up and wants a girlfriend. What’s her name?”

“Kiss my ass, Duper.”

He puckered his lips before pressing Sid more. “Naaaame?”

“Melanie.”

“When’s the date?”

Sid held up his phone. “There isn’t one. No phone call.”

“Why don’t you call her?”

“I... I’m waiting for her to call me.”

Dupuis smacked Sid on the back of the head. “Call her, kid.”

*****************************************

He managed to wait until after he got in his vehicle before turning the phone off airplane mode. There was a text message from his little sister, telling him that she missed him. And there were a few e-mails, but no voicemails.

They had a home game tomorrow and then Sunday off before a second home game on Monday. After that, it was on the road to Buffalo for a road game. He stared at the screen of his phone, looking at her number in the M’s of his address book. She’d be at work since it was just after noon on a Friday. Their last conversation in her office stood at the forefront of his mind. She’d been easy to talk to and even flirtatious. Or at least he thought she’d been flirting. Maybe he was shit at reading women.

Taking a deep breath, he touched her name and brought the phone to his ear. His car was sitting in the parking lot of the private airport, and he could see a small private jet lifting off from the runway in the distance.

“This is Melanie. Can I help you?”

“Are you trying to get out of my skating lesson?” he asked, closing his eyes and hoping she would get the joke.

Mel was silent for a moment before she replied, “Absolutely not. I just thought you were kidding around.” He could hear the smile on her face in her voice.

“I wasn’t.” Sid opened his eyes and grinned. She wasn’t blowing him off; she just thought he wasn’t serious. “What are you doing Sunday?”

She laughed. “Are you for real?”

“Come on, don’t stand me up.” He couldn’t keep the smile off his face. She made him feel like he was fifteen and asking a girl to the movies. Except he’d never done that before. Fifteen was for practicing and conditioning.

“I, uh, I guess I’m learning how to fall on my ass with you?”

“Damn right you are. Do you know where our practice facility is at Southpointe?”

“Vaguely. I’m sure I can plug the address into my GPS. You’re absolutely crazy, you know that, right?”

He laughed and ran a hand through his hair. “All hockey players are. Ten o’clock in the morning?”

“Sure,” she said with a giggle.

“What size shoe do you wear?”

“What?”

“I’m betting you don’t have skates.”

Mel laughed. “You’d be right. I wear a size eight.”

“See you then. And if you don’t show up, I know where you work.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Mel replied before saying goodbye.

********************************************

He was pacing on ice, gliding back and forth along the wall and thinking. Sure, he’d seen women, even kinda-dated someone for almost six months a little over a year ago. It’d been a secretive fling with a shelf life from the beginning. He had been lonely, wanting what some of the other guys had with their girlfriends and wives, and she had been there giving him attention. They didn’t really have much in common beyond decent sex and a love of movies. Unfortunately, they disagreed on what movies were worthwhile. Actually, they didn’t have much in common at all, but she liked him and he liked her. At least enough to see each other once every week or two for a handful of months.

After the relationship fizzled, he shut down any woman who attempted to approach him. There were puck bunnies that always hung around whenever the guys went out, but it was easy to brush them off. Most of them were vapid and uninteresting. Really, most of the guys ignored them because it was just asking for trouble. When a woman can screw up your successful career, she looks very unappealing. No one had caught his eye for a long time, and he was beginning to wonder if maybe he was just going to be single forever, or at least single until he retired from the League.

And then he saw her on sitting at one of the tables along the back of Whim in Station Square. She was so removed from the movement of the club, settled into a little island on the outskirts, absently rubbing her foot in an oddly erotic way. He felt drawn toward her, like she was a kindred spirit, someone in the middle of everything, but still removed from it. Like he felt every day of his life.

She was pretty, not a model, but a real person. Beautiful like the girl next door who you’d give your right arm to marry because you know you could wake up to that everyday and be happy about it. Her hair was a glossy brown, tendrils hanging over her shoulders. Her chest tapered into her waist which flared out into full hips that tapered back down into her legs. She was like an hourglass. He remembered a burlesque show he and three of the guys saw when they were in New York playing the Rangers. She would have been at home on that stage. And he probably would have lost his mind staring at her body.

When she’d looked up and seen him that night, he’d almost panicked and turned away. He hadn’t been looking for a woman to spend time with; he’d only agreed to go with a few of the guys because he didn’t feel like being alone in his bedroom at Mario’s house. But the dim lighting of the club and the two drinks he’d had made him a bit more reckless. Instead of looking away, he’d stared back, daring her to come over. Hoping she would and hoping she wouldn’t at the same time.

She hadn’t come over. And when the guys left, he went with them. But instead of crawling to the next club or bar, he’d gone home alone. She had shaken him, made him think about things he hadn’t in a while. And he’d been even more shaken when a month later he saw her again. Sid had been almost certain the universe was teasing him. It was disgusting how much he wanted to know everything about her. He really didn’t have time for that. The last time he tried to do the relationship thing it had turned into a a woman demanding more of him when he couldn’t or didn’t want to give more. That had made him feel like shit and he wasn’t looking for a repeat.

The second time he saw her, he knew it was different. He’d willingly give up time for her. He’d miss an optional morning skate if she was wrapped up in a sheet in his bed, looking at him like she’d done in that club. But she didn’t talk to him, and he was too chickenshit to talk to her. Case closed, he had thought. She’d probably been the woman of his dreams and he’d lost her.

Sid hadn’t told Melanie, but he went back to Whim several times over the next two weeks, hoping she’d be there and he could grow a pair of balls so he could speak to her. But she hadn’t been there and he’d given up hope by the time he walked into the office building she worked in, not knowing she was encased in a prim skirt suit just on the other side of the wall

He glided around the end of the rink and back up the other wall. Slowly, he cut across the center of the rink and settled his foot on the boards to adjust his skate. He’d been there since 9 o’clock, making sure he wouldn’t make a fool of himself.

The sound of a door opening and shutting echoed over the silent rink. He jerked his head over to the right and saw her step into the large room. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve shirt with the Penguins logo across the front. It made him smile. Her hair was up in a messy bun on the top of her head.

“Hi,” she said when she saw him skate over to the door. Sid could hear the nervousness in her voice and he wanted to put her at ease. He felt much more comfortable dealing with her on his turf--the ice.

“Hi. I hope the guard didn’t grill you. I told him you’d be coming.”

Mel shook her head and sat her purse down on a bench. “No, he waved me through after he look at my license.” She paused when she saw the skates sitting on the bench. “Not going to lie; I’m a little nervous skating with a pro here.”

Sid smiled. “Don’t be. I’ll take a dive if it makes you less nervous. Lace up and get out here.”

He watched as Mel kicked off her shoes and slipped the skates on. Immediately, he saw she was lacing them too loosely. Sid stepped off the ice and walked up to her. “You need to tie them tight. Here, let me.”

Mel stopped and watched as he knelt down in front of her and tightened the laces until the skate was snug against her foot and ankle. “It’ll prevent you from hurting your ankle,” Sid explained, looking up at her. She appeared shocked and flustered and beautiful. He wanted to kiss her, but he knew that was just a crazy thought he would never act on. At least not now.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, standing up with trepidation, her arms out to find her balance.

“Okay?” he asked, watching her with a grin on his face.

“I haven’t fallen yet, so I guess that’s pretty good.”

“You’re not on the ice yet.”

Mel laughed. “Stop pushing me. I’m getting there.”

Sid watched as she carefully took baby steps over to the door to the rink. She held onto the door as she stepped onto the ice and slid around to lean on the wall. He couldn’t remember ever feeling uncomfortable on the ice; he’d been skating since before he could remember.

“Okay?” he asked.

“So far so good,” she replied, looking over her shoulder and giving him a smile.

Sid felt his heart beat faster. He wanted her so badly. “Think you can skate over to the net?”

“Maybe,” Mel said. He skated out to watch her come toward him. Her face was scrunched up in concentration and she was propelling herself with one foot, the other stationary on the ice.

“What are you doing?” Sid asked with a laugh.

“Skating,” Mel replied, looking up at him.

“You need to use both your feet.”

Her eyes widened. “I can’t! If I lift my left foot up, then I’ll fall.”

He bent over and laughed. When he looked up she was coming toward him with that adorable look of concentration all over her face. He stood still, watching as she came closer and closer. When she was within a foot of him, she raised her hand and punched him lightly in the arm. The motion threw off her balance. He reached out to steady her so she didn’t fall.

“What was that for?” he asked, holding onto her arms.

“For laughing at me. Have some compassion; I’m new at this.”

Sid smiled at her. “Sorry, you looked cute trying so hard not to fall.”

“I don’t know how you guys don’t fall all the time.”

“Oh, we do fall all the time. We just get back up fast. The trick is not to fight the fall. Just let it happen and you’ll be less likely to hurt yourself.”

“I feel like my butt is going to be bruised when I go home today,” Mel said, giving him a look that said she thought he was full of shit.”

Sid let go of her arms and slid around behind her. He placed his hands on her waist and began pushing her down the length of the ice toward the other net.

“What are you doing?” Mel said, panic in her voice. Her hands came up to grab his as he held onto her waist.

“Skating at a normal speed,” he replied.

“This is too fast.”

Sid laughed and gently slowed down, pulling to a stop a few feet from the boards and just to the left of the net. “Turn around and come toward me.”

Mel’s back was to him and he let his eyes run down to the curve of her butt in the fitted jeans. “I can’t turn around without something to hold onto,” she replied, her back still turned.

He smiled to himself and continued to enjoy the view. “Give it a try.”

She tentatively shifted her weight on her hips and tried to turn, but lost her balance. Mel fought it for a fraction of a second before giving up and landing on her butt. Sid immediately skated over to her side and helped her up, making sure she was turned in the right direction.

“I’m going to have a bruise tomorrow,” she said.

Sid laughed. “You’ll live, I think. I’ll kiss it and make it better if you want.”

Mel took another swing at him, but missed as he glided backwards and out of her reach. “You offering to kiss my ass, Crosby?”

He grinned at her and threw his arms out to the sides. “Come on. This way.”

She carefully began skating toward him. Sid gave her a few pointers, which she picked up right away. As she came closer he backed up, letting her chase him. He turned around the net and then skated backwards back up the other side of the rink, watching her come after him. She would look down at her feet and then up to him.

After a few minutes of this, he ended the chase by stopping near the center of the ice. She skated up to him and grabbed his outstretched arms. Sid looked down at her delicate hands on his forearms, running his eyes up her arms to look at her face. She was slightly out of breath.

“Good job,” he said, swallowing the lump in his throat that was telling him he needed to kiss her.

“Thanks. I’m surprised I didn’t fall all over the place.”

“You’re a natural,” Sid replied. “Let’s try it again, but a little faster.”

Mel laughed, holding onto his arms a little tighter. “You’re paying my medical bills when I break my leg.”

Notes