AUTUMN LEAVES

You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life

You're still the one I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss good night

– “You’re still the one”, Shania Twain

_______________________________________

Autumn signed contently in her husband’s embrace as Mario hugged her naked back against him, draping his long arms over her waist. He trailed soft kisses along her spine, ending at the nape of her neck. “I love you”, he whispered sleepily, tired after making love to his wife, at last. After few long stressful weeks, they had finally found themselves where they belong. Together and in love. “Me too, honey”, she answered back with a tired voice of her own. He inched his face towards hers and looked into her eyes, “tonight was a huge success. I’m so proud of you sweetheart, you have outdone yourself. Everything was fantastic, from the venue, to the food and the music, but mostly, you. You dazzled everyone”, he said affectionately.

Autumn smiled sleepily at him as she stroked his face gently with the back of her hand. “We both made tonight happen, honey. I’m not the only one who deserves the credit here. You made sure we get all the big bucks.” “Yeah, Sid alone gave 300K. I don’t know if he told you, but he said that he’s also willing to put more at later stages of the project”, Mario said, as wistful smile appeared on his face. “He looked happy tonight, didn’t he?”, he asked. Autumn felt uneasy about how their conversation took this turn. “He did”, she answered quietly.

Clearly Mario was not done discussing Sidney’s love life as he continued, “Sid would have never brought her in public like that if he wasn’t serious about her. He definitely is head over heels for Jessica.”

Was he though? Autumn contemplated. He did tell her that he’s dating Jessica to get over his feelings for her. In a way, it sounded to Autumn that he was using Jessica rather than being “head over heels” for her. The one thing for sure was that she did not want to discuss Sidney and Jessica with Mario.

“Do you mind if I skipped breakfast with David and Kelly tomorrow?”, she asked quietly, in an attempt to change the subject. He disentangled himself from her as his eyes scanned her disheveled form. “Did I wear you out this much?”, he asked smugly as he hovered over her, nudging her nose with his. She snorted playfully, “never”. “Then why would my beautiful wife want to skip a breakfast meeting with the Pens president? He’s not entertaining enough for your liking?”, he asked teasingly, knowing that she found his business meetings not as “intellectually stimulating” as she would like, her words not his.

Autumn sat up and started playing with her polished nails, a nervous habit that Mario was all too familiar with. He hugged her to him, placing a light kiss to her bare shoulder. “What is it? You can tell me, sweetheart”, Mario probed. “I want to see Tiff”, she said with a small voice. “You two are talking again? That’s great!”, he exclaimed. “Well no, not yet. I’m hoping tomorrow we can sort things out. The fundraiser felt weird without her”, she said with a sad smile.

“That’s good to hear, mon amour. I’m sure whatever it is, it shouldn’t stand between two sisters”, he said as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear to see her face. Autumn leaned into his hand and left a kiss in his palm. She crawled into his lap and settled in his loving embrace. “I love you, Mario. I’m sorry I haven’t been a good wife lately”, she whispered, her words held many meanings that her husband wasn’t aware of, it felt good to apologize out loud nevertheless.

“Don’t say that”, he said turning her face towards him. “We all have our moments. With the team struggling, you’ve been there to cheer me up and you certainly tolerated my bad moods and you still are”, he said giving her a kiss on her forehead as he felt her kissing his chest, right over his heart. Mario captured her lips with his in a warm kiss, reminding her of how passionate he was in bed. He laid her down on her back as he gently caressed her exposed nipples that started to harden with every passing second. She moaned into his mouth as she felt him against her thighs, prompting her to spread her legs for him. Mario felt her whole body begging him to be inside of her, but he wanted to wait, he wanted to savor her longer. When she couldn’t take what his mouth was doing to her breasts any longer, she hooked her legs around his waist, desperately looking for some friction. “Mario, come on! Fuck me!”, she shrieked. “When did I ever say no to that, my love?”, Mario answered once he released her nipple from his lips, driving her crazy with his seductive ways.

Once he fulfilled his promise to her for the second time that night, Autumn felt numb but very satisfied. She was reminded of how good they were together. They connected on so many levels, intellectually, emotionally and sexually. He was a great partner that knew almost every way that brought her pleasure. Surely, he was a tease at times, but it was something that she enjoyed too much to ever admit it to him.

Mario was not the drilling force that Sidney was in bed though, she pondered. No one could ever compete with Sidney in that area, not Mario or any other man she’s been with for that matter. But unlike Sidney, Mario was hers and hers alone. Mario loved her and wanted her, and unlike Sidney, he did all the right things to make her his.

*****

On the other side of Sewickley, Sidney was feeling lightheaded. Jessica’s hot wet mouth around him was driving him closer and closer to the edge. She looked up at him almost innocently, humming at the sight of his mouth agape, his eyes screwed shut, and his head tilted back where it rested on the wall of his bedroom. Within few more seconds of her relentless efforts, Sidney came down her throat, not bothering to pull-out, knowing she wouldn’t mind in the least bit. She gave him a few seconds to collect himself, before standing up and taking his hand to pull him towards his bed, taking advantage of the rare occasion when Sidney let her have some control in the bedroom.

Once they reached his bed, Sidney, being the control freak he is, took matters into his own hands this time. Jessica was willing to let him have her the way he desired, never wanting to miss out on a chance to experience his rough side. She knew how much of a beast he could be in bed, a skilled one at that. Once satisfied, he fell onto his back and drifted into a deep slumber with his softening dick still covered by a condom. At his side, Jessica was still trying to catch her breath after yet another intense orgasm. As she settled under his expensive duvet, she contemplated his frowning face. Even in his sleep, Sidney looked so troubled.

When she noticed how drained he looked after the fundraiser, she chose not to ask him about it. Instead, she tried her best to release all the tensions by pleasuring him. She was aware of how much he was struggling on the ice and wanted him to forget about it and have some fun, even if it was for one night. What frustrated her though was that he would just brush her off if she ever mustered the courage to question his wellbeing. Sidney never showed his weaknesses to her, or to anybody else for that matter. But as she heard him mumble incoherently in his sleep, he no longer appeared like the invincible man that had everyone around him convinced he was.

*****

“So, you’re telling me that after all your efforts at planning this, the reunion is not happening at the end?!”, Tiffany exclaimed incredulously. Nathan nodded his head frustrated. “Amy is too pregnant to travel, Jeff had to replace his colleague for an assignment in fucking Australia. Basically, everyone had a weird excuse, except for Matt who said that he is just ‘busy’. But it’s safe to conclude on why he never showed up to any of our annual reunions since the great break-up of 2012”, Nate said slyly, earning an eye-roll from Autumn at the mention of her ex-boyfriend back in med school. The trio sat in Mario’s suite before the game discussing the failed Harvard reunion over beer and snacks.

Autumn and Tiffany have talked things through, without bringing Sidney’s topic up during their reconciliation; though they both knew that it was only a matter of time for this topic to come up. Autumn missed spending time with her sister, so she invited her and Nate to the game and for drinks afterwards. Since Mario was away on a business trip, she also decided to stay at Tiff’s for the night, just like old times.

As the Buffalo Sabres and the Penguins lined up for the national anthem, Autumn felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she was greeted by Catherine and Jessica, both donning Pens jerseys. Catherine wore Kris’s jersey, while Jessica’s jersey had the “C” that thousands of people in the arena were wearing. Autumn forced a smile, taken aback by their unannounced arrival at her suite. The women exchanged hugs silently asthe national anthem was playing.

As Catherine warmly greeted Tiff and Nate, Jessica hugged Autumn. “I didn’t know you were coming to games?”, Autumn asked her, realizing right away that she spoke too fast, sounding almost rude. “Yes, I mean I came before but it’s the first time I come since, you know…”, Jessica trailed. Autumn nodded with a tight smile. “Nate, Tiff, this is Jessica Hunter. She’s our captain’s girlfriend. Jess, these are my closest and oldest friends, Nathan and Tiffany”, Autumn said with a smile. While Nate had seen Jessica with Sidney at the fundraiser, Tiff gave Jessica the once-over, as it was the first time she sees her in person. Tiff did not live under a rock, she watched the news and followed social media trends. With how private Sidney was, the sports and entertainment world was taken by surprise. Sidney and Jessica’s relationship took over the news in North America in the past three days.

“We saw you from the WAGs box and decided to join you, it’s much more fun with you guys here, I hope you don’t mind”, Catherine told Autumn. Autumn gave her an “are you crazy” look, earning a hug from her friend. “Jessica told me that you made everyone cry at the fundraiser”, she gushed as the group watched the puck drop.

Jessica’s face did not take long to be spotted and shown on the big screen along with her name and her title, “Sidney Crosby’s girlfriend”. “Here you go, it’s official once you’re on the jumbotron”, Catherine snorted. “Sid is going to be very distracted tonight. I guess we figured the reason behind Sidney’s slump”, Nate joked, earning an elbow from Tiffany. Jessica turned to look at him, worry evident on her face. “Relax, he’s joking. We all know that Sidney has eyes only for the puck, on the ice that is, of course”, Tiffany said to Jessica.

“Autumn, can I talk to you for a second?”, Jessica asked as she stood up and motioned for Autumn to follow her into the empty suite, away from the ice and the cameras. Autumn felt her heart race as she followed Jessica to a more private corner. What could she possibly want to talk about? She wondered. Jessica looked nervous and hesitant. “I know Nathan was joking but… Look Sidney just asked me yesterday to come to the game. Of course, I said yes because I wanted to come and cheer for him. But now I’m thinking that it may have been a mistake. Ever since the fundraiser, he’s been stressed out of his mind because of all the media attention. I was surprised that he asked me to come tonight. I guess he’s trying to show me that he doesn’t care about all the attention. But I think he does and it’s distracting him”, Jessica said, clearly worried.

Autumn was not sure why Jessica was telling her this. She must have looked confused because Jessica continued, “I’m telling you this because you know him better than me or Catherine. I think he’s dealing with our relationship the wrong way, ‘publicly’ speaking. I get that he’s tired of hiding from the media all the time, but I feel we’re going all out, all of a sudden, that even my publicist is concerned”, Jessica added. Autumn was still unsure of what Jessica is asking her. “Did you tell him this?”, Autumn asked tentatively. Jessica shook her head and spoke again once she saw the questioning look that Autumn gave her. “I don’t know how to tell him this without making him feel as if I’m not all in, because I am. I care about him so much. I don’t want him to think that I’m questioning him or us”, Jessica said with distress.

“Are you asking my advice on how to tell him?”, Autumn inquired. “I was going to ask you if you could tell him”, Jessica said, not meeting her gaze. “Let me get this straight, you want me to tell your boyfriend that he should not take you out in public anymore? Besides, the whole world knows now, what difference does it make?”, Autumn said, starting to get annoyed with her. “The point is that I don’t want him to come and tell me later that he can’t deal with it anymore, that I’m a distraction and that he needs to focus on his game”, Jessica said defensively.

“Didn’t he ask you to come to the fundraiser? Was it you who suggested it?”, Autumn asked, surprised by why Jessica would think Sidney might blame her. “No, he asked. But you know how he is”, Jessica said, trying to get Autumn’s support. “To be completely honest here, I’ve been down that road with him before. We kind of had this no-strings attached relationship in the past, but it never became serious because of his hockey commitments and fear of distractions. I don’t want this to happen now that we are exclusive, now that my family and friends know that we’re together, now that the whole world knows that we’re together, in a serious relationship. I need him to learn how to handle it”, Jessica spoke, pouring her heart out. “Don’t you think that it’s a conversation you should’ve had with Sid before deciding on going out in public with him? You can’t tell me that you did not expect all this attention”, Autumn couldn’t help herself but ask.

“I asked if he was sure, if this is what he wanted. He said he was sure, but now I don’t know anymore. He didn’t say it but I feel it, Autumn. I feel that he regrets rushing us out in public. I don’t know what to do”, she said defeated. Autumn felt bad for her, she would feel bad for any woman in Jessica’s spot. Jessica was scared that Sidney would end things with her if he realized she’s distracting him, though it was him who made their commitment known. Dating Sidney Crosby was certainly nothing short of challenging. But no matter how bad she felt for her, she was not comfortable in meddling in someone’s relationship, let alone Sidney’s. As she was ready to refuse, she saw tears in Jessica’s eyes. “It’s okay, I understand that I’m probably putting you in a weird spot since he’s your friend. I’m sorry Autumn, forget that I asked”, Jessica said as she wiped her eyes.

Autumn sighed and cursed herself for being unable to say no when someone was asking for her help, even when that someone was Jessica Hunter, Sidney’s girlfriend. “Look Jess, you’re right, I know Sidney very well. To be honest, Mario and I were surprised that he brought a date in public. But he’s serious about you, that means he’s willing to ‘handle it’ like you want him to. All you need to do is tell him that you have concerns about distracting him. Sid values honesty above anything else, trust me. Now, what I can help you with is testing the waters. I could talk to him to see where he stands from all this media circus. But I’m not comfortable meddling between you two. It’s not my place Jessica, you understand, right?”, Autumn said softly.

Jessica nodded with a smile and gave Autumn a warm sincere hug. “Thank you. I can see why you’re so special to Sid and to everyone around you”, Jessica told her. Autumn looked away, feeling a prickle of tears in the corner of her eyes. Jessica looked confused by Autumn’s reaction. “What’s wrong?”, she asked hesitantly. Autumn cleared her throat and wiped her tears. “Sidney is special to me too”, she confessed. “I mean to us, Mario and me. I will do what I can to help you. But you’ve got to promise me that you will take care of him, Jessica, that you will be there for him. He’s under a lot of pressure, he needs someone to lean on, now more than ever”, Autumn asked of Jessica with a shaky voice. “Of course, Autumn. I love him. I always have. I just hope he feels the same way, if not now, at least one day.”

Notes

My dearest readers,

I'm hearing more from Mario's camp these days! So I hope you liked this chapter :)

Thanks for reading and for your invaluable feedback! So much more to come, stay tuned.

Let's Go Pens!

Charlie