Tread This Fantasy

She was getting better at maneuvering on the ice, and she credited that to Sidney Crosby’s patience and teaching abilities. They’d been skating for over an hour, traversing back and forth across the ice. He made it look effortless and simple, but she was trying to hard to look graceful when she really felt like a tumble was just around the corner

His hands were on her waist and he was pushing her across the ice. She couldn’t feel anything but his fingers curled around her. It was incredibly distracting and not just because he was Sidney Crosby, hockey player extraordinaire, but because he was a gorgeous man who was being sweet to her and patient with her.

When he let go, she continued on down the ice before leaning in to turn around the net and glide back up the boards.

“Good job,” Sid said with a smile. His full lips and white teeth were swoon-worthy when a genuine smile graced his face. Why in the world was he spending his Sunday morning with her?

“You’re a great teacher,” she admitted.

He skated up next to her, putting an arm around her waist and directing both of them around the other net and back toward the middle of the ice. On instinct, she grabbed his hand that was resting on her hip. Over the course of the past hour he had become more physical, touching her and invading her personal space. She didn’t mind at all, though.

“Like I said, you’re a natural,” Sid replied.

“I’m a klutz,” she replied, laughing.

Sid slowed and stiffened his arm around her, turning her to face him. Just as she came around and her eyes met his, the door to the rink banged open and male voices echoed over the large, empty space. Sid glanced up, surprise in his eyes.

Mel glanced over her shoulder because he was still holding onto her. The reality of her situation--skating with Sidney Crosby of the Penguins--came crashing down on her when she saw Pascal Dupuis, James Neal, and Brandon Sutter walk in carrying gym bags and skates. She immediately felt out of her element and embarrassed. Maybe Sid didn’t want to be seen with her.

“What’s going on here?” Brandon Sutter asked. He was the first one to notice the ice was already occupied.

Sid glanced down at her and smiled. “Sorry. I didn’t know they were planning on coming.”

“It’s okay. I’ll just go.” She tried to pull away, but his arm was still firmly around her waist. Instead of letting her go, he skated back over to the door with his arm still around her.

“Do we get an introduction?” James Neal asked, his eyes on Mel, not his teammate.

Before Sid could even open his mouth, Pascal Dupuis said, “Let me guess. Melanie?”

Mel’s eyes widened in surprise. How did he know her name. Did Sid mention her to his teammates?

“Yes,” Sid replied, giving Dupuis a dirty look. “We were just having a skating lesson.”

Brandon leaned on the door and smiled at her. “Hey, if you need any more lessons, I’m available.”

Before Mel could respond, Sid cleared his throat. “I think we’re just fine.”

Pascal was grinning, watching the exchange. Mel felt like she was missing something because her brain was still trying to comprehend the four Pittsburgh Penguins standing within a few feet of her.

“So, how did you meet Sid?” James Neal asked.

When Sid didn’t speak up to answer for her, Mel replied, “Uh, business dealings.”

When James and Brandon raised their eyebrows, Sid spoke up. “She’s my financial advisor.”

“Well, I’m the assistant to his financial advisor,” Mel corrected.

“Nice to finally meet you, Melanie,” Pascal said with a wink.

Mel looked over to Sid. He shook his head and opened the door. “We’ll let you guys take over. Mel’s feet are probably killing her.” Carefully, he stepped off the ice and held her hand as she did so as well. The floor felt strange beneath her feet after an hour on the ice and it was a good thing Sid was steadying her with his hand.

“Yeah, nice to meet you,” Brandon added, watching her being led away. She could feel how uncomfortable it made Sid.

“I’ll tell Sophie you said hi,” Mel said, looking over her shoulder at Brandon.

He looked confused. “What?”

“Sophie. The girl you met at Whim a few weeks ago and went out with a couple times.”

He nodded his head. “You know her?”

“She’s a good friend of mine.”

He looked somewhat contrite; his grin has disappeared when he realized she knew more about him than he originally thought. Suddenly Mel had the upper hand.

“Yeah, cool. Tell her I said hi.”

“Thanks for the private lesson, Mr. Hockey,” Mel said quietly enough for just Sid to her.

He smiled down at her. “You’re welcome. Maybe we can continue it when we don’t have interruptions.”

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

Kate, Lisa, and Sophie were sitting in Mel’s living room with their jaws on the floor. Kate and Sophie were no hockey fans, but they knew who Sidney Crosby was. You couldn’t live in Pittsburgh and not know who Sid the Kid was. Lisa’s eyes were the size of half-dollars because she’d been a hockey fan since before anyone could remember.

“Was he, like, disgustingly gorgeous?” Kate asked.

“Disgustingly,” Mel agreed.

“But for real, did you cop a feel for me?” Lisa asked, recovering from the shock of the news that Melanie had a private skating lesson with the captain of the Penguins.

Mel laughed. “No! He was a total gentleman, and I wasn’t about to make a grab for his junk.”

“I bet it’s perfect junk, too.” Kate said. Lisa burst into laughter.

“So, do you like him?” Sophie asked, sipping on her glass of wine.

Mel knocked back the last bit of her glass before answering, “Hell, yes, I do. But that doesn’t matter. He’s out of my league.”

“Obviously he doesn’t think so. He made an effort to spend time with you,” Sophie noted.

“He was being nice. I saw your fling, by the way. Brandon.”

Sophie curled her nose up. “He was nice, but I don’t think he’s ready for a relationship.”

Lisa threw her arm around Sophie’s shoulders. “If he wasn’t all over you like white on rice, then he’s a nut.”

“He asked me out again, but I told him I wasn’t interested. I don’t want to play the games.”

Mel leaned forward and patted her friend’s knee. “You’re completely right. He’s probably a douche.”

Sophie smiled. “But what about your man? He sounds like he’s a catch.”

Mel snorted. “He’s hardly my man. I can only dream.”

“When are you seeing him again?” Kate asked.

“No clue. Never?”

“You have his phone number, dork,” Lisa said.

“For business purposes. I am not going to call him up and ask him out. He’d probably laugh at me.”

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

Mel narrowed her eyes at Mike as he stood in front of her desk. “What?” he asked, holding his hands out to the sides.

“Why do I need to call him? What are you up to?”

“Hey, I’m a busy guy. And you seem to have developed such a great client relationship with him that I thought you could take care of it.”

“Are you trying to torture me?” she asked.

Mike laughed. “No, why is calling Sidney Crosby considered torture?”

“Because I’m totally awkward.”

“Whatever happened with the flowers? Did he admit to sending them?”

Mel felt her cheeks flush. “Yes.”

Mike raised his brows. “Really? And?”

“I might have met him for skating lessons three days ago.” She kept her eyes on the papers across her desktop.

“Wait, what? You went on a date with him?”

“It wasn’t a date. He was just being nice.”

“Mmm, hmm. So you’re going to call him?”

Mel rolled her eyes and picked up her phone. “Yes, I’ll call.” When Mike didn’t leave she looked at him and then at her door. He smiled as he backed out of her office and closed the door behind himself.

Closing her eyes, Mel gathered her wits and dialed Sidney Crosby’s phone number. It had been three days since their skating lesson and she hadn’t heard a peep from him. Not that she had expected to hear anything. He was busy and she was nothing. He was probably out-of-town for the game tonight in Buffalo.

Two rings, three rings. She was rehearsing her voicemail in her head when he answered with a warm, “Hi, you.”

“Hi, did caller ID give me away?”

“It did. How have you been?”

His voice melted her insides, mostly because he sounded genuinely happy to hear from her. “My butt only hurt for one day, so you must be a good teacher.”

Sid laughed, that high-pitched dorky sound unmistakable, even over the phone. “I’m glad to hear that. Did you decide when you want to have our next lesson?”

Mel opened her mouth, unable to respond because she didn’t think he’d been serious. “You don’t have time for me. You’re a busy guy.”

“I’ll make time,” he replied, simply.

Mel shifted in her seat, feeling euphoric over his comment. “I, uh, I don’t know what to say.”

“You could say you’re available on Friday.”

She smiled, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. He made her feel special and giddy. “I think it’s pretty clear I can’t say no to you.”

“Good, I’ll meet you at the rink after you get off work. What? Like six o’clock or something?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

They said goodbye and hung up. As soon as she settled the phone in it’s base, she realized she hadn’t spoken to him about Mike’s recommendations on a few of his stocks. “Shit,” she muttered, dropping her forehead onto her desk. Sidney Crosby turned her brain into mush.

Notes