AUTUMN LEAVES

“So, Pat couldn’t fly in after all”, Autumn said as Sid walked in through her door later that night. “The weather was bad, he couldn’t even charter a private flight”, he answered as he took off his shoes and jacket. “He won’t be able to make it until next week, he’s very busy. I can’t discuss this over a conference call you know?”, Sid continued. “That complicates things a little bit. I may be jobless for a little longer than I anticipated. It’s not a big deal though”, he added as he hugged Autumn to him and planted a kiss in her hair.

She giggled as she heard him sniff her hair. “What? This isn’t against the rules, is it? If we’re not having sex until your divorce, let me at least smell you, don’t be cruel woman!”, he joked as he picked her up and started tickling her. She shrieked in his arms and begged him to stop. “I’m starving, do you have anything to eat?”, he asked as he put her on the kitchen counter while she tried to catch her breath following his attacks. “I had made and froze some pizzas no too long ago. I’ll put one in the oven”, she said as she hopped off the counter to put a dinner together. “Make them two. I’m starving, in case you didn’t hear me.” Autumn smiled and shook her head as she dug into her freezer.

“Hey don’t judge me! I have this whole body to maintain”, he spoke cheekily behind her as he hugged her against him, making her task a little more challenging. He took away the pizzas from her hands and threw them on the counter and started to trail kisses along her neck as his hands roamed her body. Turning her in his arms, he kissed her deeply, resting his hands on her hips, as she found herself trapped between his solid warm body and the cool counter.

She reluctantly pushed him away but kept her forehead on his. “I hate this rule. I hate all rules when it comes to you”, Sidney whispered breathlessly. As Autumn put the two pizzas in her large oven, she added some potato wedges and veggies, for safe measures. Meanwhile, Sidney flipped through the TV channels in the living room. He avoided all sports channel, deciding that they should watch a movie and eat pizza like any normal couple would. It was an appealing idea, a potential glimpse of their future together.

As Sidney was setting up their dinner on the table in the family room, Autumn enters the room with a bottle of white wine and glasses. “Oh no, no, no. We are not drinking”, Sidney objected. “Chill, we don’t need to get drunk, just one glass. I do know you have a game tomorrow”, Autumn answered him. “It’s not about the game. It’s about you and your flirty ways when you drink wine”, Sidney pointed.

“What flirty ways? I don’t know what you’re talking about”, Autumn feigned innocence. “Oh please. Of course, you do. The gala last year, the ring ceremony. Oh wait, I know. Every damn time I came over for dinner and wine was on the table”, Sidney counted on his fingers as she settled into his open arms. “You call that flirting?!”, Autumn huffed. “What is flirting to you then, Dr. Scott”, Sid asked playfully. “There, right there, Captain Crosby”, she mocked him. “You’re the flirt not me!”, she said defensively. “Oh, don’t pout, baby. You will get me all hot now. Unless that’s what you want?”, he asked wiggling his eyebrows.

“You’re right, no wine for tonight”, she said as she handed him his plate. Once they finished dinner and Autumn made sure that Sidney Crosby was fully fed, they snuggled under a small blanket and watched some bad television. “This is nice”, Autumn sighed contently and Sidney hummed in response. “Were you sleeping?”, she asked as she looked up at him. “Not anymore”, he complained, smiling nonetheless. As she snuggled further into his lap, she felt something hard poke her. She looked at him, waiting for an explanation. “I’m sorry, but what did you expect would happen when you’re sitting on me like that, wearing these flimsy shorts and this unbelievably tight t-shirt?”, Sidney scolded, then bent down to kiss her smiling mouth. As their kiss had every potential to escalate, Autumn detached herself from him and changed the subject.

“So, Mario called”, she spoke, taking Sidney’s attention away from her body. “He just asked about my day, he told me about his meetings, just some random things. He said he will be very busy in the coming days and may not be able to call until late at night, which is better in a sense”, she told him.

“Well, I texted Jessica, since in her last text she told me to go to hell, that she didn’t wanna see my face, or answer my calls. Not even booty calls, can you imagine?!”, Sidney said, holding his hand over his heart, pretending to be hurt. “I texted her that I was sorry and that I hoped she wouldn’t say anything to Mario because you and I will do that when he comes back. She did not reply, obviously”, Sid spoke. “I don’t think she was going to say anything. But now since you so smartly asked her not to, she may be tempted. You know, since she hates your guts and all”, Autumn told him with a shake of her head. “Let’s just hope that she won’t say anything”, she said, as she took his hand in hers when she sensed how alarmed he was.

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed every finger and knuckle. Autumn felt how aroused and borderline frustrated he was. She couldn’t stop him as he traced his lips over her wrist, along the inside of her arms, leaving small kisses on his way. “Sid”, she whispered, but he did not answer as he buried his face in her neck, earning a small moan from her when his tongue circled that spot that he knew made her weak in the knees. “God, this is going to be difficult”, she was barely able to say as he sucked on her skin to the point that a hickey would certainly appear. “Then let’s make it simple”, he spoke huskily in her ear. “What about doing things the right way?”, she struggled to speak, her body betraying her and responding to his assaults.

“This right here, feels right”, he spoke before capturing her lips in a searing kiss, effectively shutting her up. She silently agreed and let him have it his way, not putting much of a fight this time.

*****

As he skated around the rink, Sidney could feel himself relax at the sound of his blades cutting through the fresh sheet of ice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. As usual, he arrived earlier than most for their last game day morning skate before the bye week break. As the ice became more crowded, he stopped his warm ups and joined the huddle around their coaching staff. He could feel eyes on him, thanks to his impeccable peripheral vision. He heard Sully give directions in the background as his gaze travelled to Kris and Phil, who stood next to each other and were giving their captain the onceover. As the group dispersed and practice started, Sidney tried to talk to Phil and Kris, but failed every single time. He was finding it odd as he expected that they would be chasing him around to talk to him and not the other way around.

Once practice along with the media scrum were done, Sidney caught Kris emerging from the shower with a towel on his waist. “Hey Tanger, can we um… chat for a bit?”, he asked with a low voice. Kris sighed but nodded, as the two men went to a quiet corner in the locker room. “Listen Sid, Phil and I are the only people on the team who know and it will stay this way.”

“Thanks, Tanger, I….”, Sid started to say but Kris interrupted him. “Don’t thank me, we are not doing this for you. We’re doing this for the team, your team that somehow it appears you stopped caring about”, Kris said clearly upset. Sid tried to speak, but his teammate was not finished.

“The team is struggling as it is. Phil and I decided that they can do without their captain’s drama. They can do without unnecessary tension. So, get your shit together Sid, because when all hell breaks loose, you won’t be the only one taking the blow, but this team will too. From now on, you and I don’t talk about this matter. If you want to keep on destroying your life, fine, but you’re on your own buddy”, Kris told Sidney bluntly before leaving him frozen in his spot.

Sidney was at a loss as his closest friend had just abandoned him. Add ‘losing your best friend’ to the list of things that this relationship will cost you, he thought to himself.

He looked around him at the now empty locker room, from his stall, to the scattered equipment, tape and dirty towels, to everything that he took for granted, to all the things that made the Pens locker room HIS locker room.

Notes

My dearest readers,

Thank you for reading and commenting on this story. I hope you like where this is going :)

The next Chapter is on its way to completion :D

Looking forward to your feedback!

Charlie