Erin's Point of View
My eyes snapped open. It was Monday. We hadn't had practice yesterday, but today it was back to the grind. We had a dangerous game tomorrow against the Washington Capitals. They were strong this year from what we'd seen, and we had to be ready. Johnston and I worked the boys hard, but they were fine with it; they wanted to be ready. The rest of the day passed quietly, with a trip to library for a cook book and an experimental dinner that resulted in me getting carry out.
Sidney and I went out to lunch the next day after morning skate. He seemed ready to play against his rival, Alex Ovechkin, but he could not sit still as we ate, and I finally decided to comment on it. "What's gotten into you? Did someone slip you an energy drink or something?" I joked.
"It's a rivalry game tonight," he said, but there was something more.
"Ovechkin got you all scared? I've never seen you this on edge about a game before," I told him.
"It's not Ovechkin," he murmured.
"Then what is it?"
"Annalise is coming to watch me play," he said quietly.
"And you are... Excited? Scared? Worried?"
"I don't know. I shouldn't feel anything, it's just a regular game."
"Well, she's important to you and she's coming, so you're going to feel something," I said.
"How is she important to me already? We just met!"
"You had a connection. I don't know how else to explain it," I replied.
"Should I be nervous?"
"Just play your game. Play the way you always play and she'll be impressed," I said.
"Does it impress you?"
"You never fail to impress me, Sidney. I don't think you'll ever stop impressing me," I admitted.
"That's all that matters, then," he replied. As we ate, his phone kept vibrating. He ignored it, but I could tell he was itching to look at it.
"For God's sake, Sidney! Just read the damn text messages!"
"I don't want to be rude," he said.
"Sidney, just answer the text messages! I don't care," I replied.
"It's Annalise," he said after reading them, "She wants to know where I am."
"Tell her," I shrugged.
"What's she going to say if I'm out with you?"
"Well, it's not a date; it's just what we do. If she trusts you, she won't mind."
"She wants to know why I'm with you and not her."
"It's our ritual, but if you want to start hanging out with her before games, that's fine," I said.
Sidney looked up sharply, "You'd change things for me?
"What are friends for?"
"Erin, you're the best," he smiled, and I knew I couldn't be too upset if he was so happy.
We walked into Consol at the same time as the Capitals team and I watched as Alex Ovechkin, one of the greatest players in the League, walked by. Granted, I was in the presence of Sidney Crosby, but I still wasn't used to the fact that I got to work near the greats. Alex looked down at me and smiled, then looked at Sidney and smirked, but didn't say anything. Sidney and I parted ways to get ready.
"Okay, guys," I said when we went to meet up for our pre-game pep talk. "I know that it's the first game against the Capitals this season, but it's nothing you can't handle. Play your game, have each other's backs, and you'll be fine. Don't let them get to you." The guys nodded and started heading out. "Let's go, Flower. Nothing comes in," I said.
"No survivors," Geno said.
"That's right, Evgeni."
Sidney was the last one in the room. He was still nervous. "Ready?" I asked.
"No, I'm nervous again."
"Don't be. Hey," I smacked his cheek lightly, "Focus. Play the way I know you can and it will be fine. Just act like it's a regular game," I said.
"I don't know what I'd do without you," he kissed me on the forehead.
"I don't know either. Good luck out there," I replied.
Sidney's Point of View
"I don't know either. Good luck out there," Erin said as I headed out onto the ice. I looked around for Annalise in the crowd as I warmed up. Sutter and I had gotten her a seat close to the bench. I found her and smiled. She waved and I nodded. Then I turned my attention to warming up with Erin's voice ringing in my ears, 'Focus. Play the way I know you can and it will be fine.'
"She looks pretty tonight, doesn't she?" Sutter said as we stretched.
I was watching Erin finalize lines and replied, "She always does."
"Man, you've really fallen hard for Annalise," Sutter sounded surprised.
"Wasn't that the point?" I asked.
"I thought it'd take you a while to come around. You've never really been one to have a serious relationship. Have you even been with anyone you really liked in the past few months? I'm not talking about that hookup, because I know you felt guilty as hell afterwards, but was there someone else?"
"No," I lied, "There hasn't been anyone else for a while." It wasn't really a lie; there hadn't been anyone but Erin, Sutter just didn't need to know that.
"I'm glad you're happy, man," Sutter clapped me on the shoulder.
"Yeah, thanks," I replied, getting up to start shooting.
We lined up for puck drop and I stood across from Ovechkin. "Crosby," he said.
"Ovechkin," I nodded.
"Who was the pretty bird you came in with?"
"Who are you talking about? I didn't come in with the girl I'm seeing!"
"Well, if you aren't seeing her, I bet I could make her sing. She's very pretty; I bet she's got a nice voice. I'd love to hear her screaming my name," Ovechkin was staring over at Erin with a predatory smirk on his face.
"Don't talk about her like that," I growled, gripping my stick tighter.
"She's not with you; why do you care?"
"Don't talk about her. Don't even look at her, Ovechkin."
"What are you going to do, Cindy? Fight me? She doesn't belong to you; she can do what she wants. And I bet that she'd be happy to come home with me tonight after I clean the ice with your hideous face."
"You're one to talk. And if you lay a fucking finger on her I'll kill you," I hissed.
"I'd like to see you try," he caught Erin's eye and winked. "Oh, she blushed! I must have an effect on her. You'll be missing her tonight, and I hope you remember who she's with. Such a pretty thing..."
"You fucking pig," I threw down my stick and gloves and went after him. Alex wasn't expecting me to actually fight him before the game started, so I had the advantage of surprise. I pulled his jersey up over his head and slammed my fist into his face as many times as I could before he started fighting back. Alex reached up to grab the collar of my sweater and began swinging blindly. The refs were blowing their whistles, but I wasn't paying attention; I was too focused on beating Alex to death for talking about Erin as if she were only a body or an object. She was more than that. She was intelligent, strong, funny, and she was my best friend. He was not going to say those things about her. Alex fell to the ice and I fell on top of him. His efforts were getting weaker and the refs managed to pull me off of him. They shoved me away into the penalty box to wait. I sat there, panting and angry as they decided if I'd get time or get ejected from the game. Way to go, Sidney. Annalise comes to one game and you beat the shit out of someone before she can even see you play.
"Five minutes, for number 87 on the home team," the ref said.
"Is this a fucking joke? He's not even unconscious!" I yelled from the box.
"Watch your fucking language!" One of the Capitals' players said as he skated by.
"Fuck you!" I shouted back. I looked for Ovechkin and saw him getting helped off the ice. He was bloody and unstable. I think I might have broken his nose and taken a few more of his teeth.
I caught Annalise's eye and she was frowning at me with her arms crossed. I shrugged at her and she gave what looked like an exasperated shrug and shook her head. She was not happy with me.
The guys on the bench were laughing their asses off and Kunitz, who was on the ice next to the box, chuckled and shook his head at me. I looked at Erin and smirked a little. 'What the fuck?' She mouthed.
'Not sorry. I'll tell you later,' was my reply. She nodded, but a small smile was forming on her face and I laughed. She didn't know why I had snapped, but I thought that if she knew, she might be proud of me.
We scored twice in the first period. Geno scored, assisted by Kunitz and Letang, and I scored unassisted after a breakaway late in the period. We exited into the locker room after the period and that was not as fun as I thought it would be.
"What the hell were you thinking, Crosby?" Johnston said.
"Seriously, Sidney, what the fuck?" Erin said.
"I was defending my family, like you always tell us to," I said.
"You can't let their chirps get to you like that," Erin sighed.
"I wouldn't have gone after him if he had said something about me. It was about you, Erin," I replied.
"Me?"
"Yes. Ovechkin fancied you," I spat his name. "He was asking about who you were and thought we were together. When I said we weren't, he made some other comments... So I punched him."
"Crosby, you did a lot more than punch him," Johnston said.
"What did he say?" Erin asked.
"I'm not repeating it."
"I'll ask him then," she replied.
"Fine, I'll tell you. You won't like it, though."
"I don't care, tell me. I want to know what made you snap like that so it doesn't happen again," she demanded. Damn, I loved it when she ordered me around.
"He talked about how you were pretty and how he wanted to... Do things... With you. He wanted to hear you scream his name. He was talking about you like you were an object, and I took offense to that. All of us know that you aren't an object. He had no right to talk about you like that, so I hit him," I finished.
Erin's mouth opened and closed a few times before she finally spoke, "Thank you," the words were barely audible.
"You're welcome. You're not going to kill me, are you?"
"No," Johnston said, "Neither of us will. You were defending this family. Good job," he patted Erin on the shoulder and addressed the whole team, instructing them not to let up and to keep going for the puck.
In the second period, we saw the return of Alex Ovechkin to the ice. The crowd booed him and the rest of my team laughed. He glared at me, and if looks could kill, I'm sure I'd be dead. He was out there with his line when I was out there with mine. This would be interesting. I worked my ass off trying to stay ahead of him. I knew that he'd love to slam me into the boards and find a reason to pick a fight. Each time he got close, the rest of the guys on the ice surrounded us, ready to back up their respective captains. The refs always managed to break it up before anyone threw a punch.
We won the game, to Alex's extreme disappointment. We were going to go out to celebrate and I had sent one of the guys to go make sure that Erin wasn't left alone in her office where Ovechkin could find her.
Erin's Point of View
I went to my office to grab my coat before we left to go celebrate. Someone knocked. "I'll be right out, boys, just give me a second," I called.
I opened the door to find Alex Ovechkin standing there, "You have a pretty voice to match your pretty face."
"Fuck off," I said, trying to walk around him, but he kept stepping in my way.
"So feisty. I like it. I like you."
"You don't know me," I spat.
"That comes second," he waved his hand.
"What comes first?" I asked, pretty sure that I already knew the answer.
"Sex," he smirked.
"Good thing I don't have sex with people named Alex Ovechkin."
He frowned momentarily, then came up with a reply, "I don't have to be Alex Ovechkin; I can be whoever you want me to be."
"Get away from me," I said, disgusted.
"I don't think so."
"Well, I do," I whipped my fist up into his chin and knocked his head back. He fell back against the wall and I ran past him to the locker room where Robert opened the door, looking surprised to see me there.
"Erin, what's wrong?" He asked.
"Ovechkin," I gasped, out of breath.
"What?" Sidney asked, pulling a shirt over his head. "Rob, I told you to go make sure that he didn't find her!"
"I was on my way! She was here at the door when I opened it!" Robert protested.
"What happened? Are you okay?" Sidney held me at an arm's length, examining me.
"I'm fine, he might not be," I replied, my heart still racing from the encounter.
"What, did he jerk too fast?" Bennett joked.
"Not funny right now, Bennett," Sidney said.
"He wouldn't leave me alone, so I punched him," I explained.
The guys laughed. "You sound like me!" Sidney said.
"Yeah, I don't know if he's still there, but he fell over," I replied. The guys laughed some more and patted me on the back.
Bortuzzo and Bennett went to go look at Ovechkin. "Hey, Erin?" Beau said.
"Is he okay?" I asked.
"I don't know. I was going to say that you probably don't need us to protect you next time. He's out cold. You've got a mean uppercut," Beau said, appreciation clear in his tone.
"Remind me not to piss you off," Robert said.
"I almost want to say that you've had enough excitement tonight, but I don't think you'd listen to me if I tried to send you home," Johnston said, after hearing everything we'd said.
"Yeah, no. I'd feel better if I was with them for a while," I replied.
"We protect you," Geno nodded and gave me a one armed squeeze.
"Thanks, Geno," I smiled and followed the guys out.
We went to the bar and I sipped some ice water to calm myself down. Alcohol would only keep my adrenaline pumping, and I wanted it to settle a little. Geno sat by my side the entire night, glaring at any guy who dared to look at me. It was nice. I watched them laughing and talking about the most random things.
"Up for a dance?"
I turned to find Sutter, Bennett and Bortuzzo standing there looking at me expectantly. "I suppose," I said, following them to the floor.
"I come, too," Geno said.
We made it to the center of the gyrating mass of people and began to move to the music. Sutter, Bennett and Geno stood in front of me and we formed a small circle. Robert stood behind me and I jumped when he brushed against me.
"I'm sorry," he said quickly.
"It's okay," I rolled my neck to help myself relax. Robert reached up and undid the elastic band holding my hair up. I fluffed it out and put the band on my wrist. I moved back into Robert and reached back to catch his wrist when he went to step away. He tentatively settled his hands on my waist and we danced. We both relaxed more into each other as time passed, his hands sliding to my hips where they stayed. The music slowed down and I turned to wrap my arms around his neck. I rested my head on his chest and he whispered in my ear, "This is nice." I nodded. "I'm sorry, for ever trying to force myself on you," he said.
"Don't do it again."
"I won't."
"Thank you," I kissed him on the cheek and we swayed there for a little while.
It was last call when the guys finally made it out of there. None of them had had very much to drink tonight, which was good. I saw Sidney leave with Annalise and Robert walked me to my car. "Will you be okay tonight?"
"Yeah, I should be okay. And I know where you live if I need anything," I joked.
"Just let me know. And text me when you get home!" Robert said as we parted ways.
Author's Note
Hey, hey hockey fans! My apologies if you like Ovechkin in real life ;-) Please vote and comment to let me know what you thought! Thanks a million!!! Let's Go Pens!