Chapter 3

The guys started to show up after a while. Sidney and I never left the couch, sitting there with his arm around me, I was as comfy as ever. Everyone was making jokes on Sidney, but he just laughed along with them, only now and again having a good comeback.
There was a knock at the door. Max went to answer it. "FOOD!!!!" He yelled excitedly. And I swear I've never seen guys move that fast. Not even in a game.
"God." I whisper under my breath. Sidney chuckles, standing up slowly and then helps me up too. We walk over to the door where Max is desperately trying to get out of the crowd of ravenous Penguins Players while balancing at least 5 pizzas. "He really shouldn't have shouted." I say smartly.
"He doesn't think of the consequences." Sidney laughs at Max who is still being attacked. "Guys!" Sidney shouts and they all turn for a moment. Long enough for Max to hurry out of the mess and put the pizzas down on a table.
Max shouts, "dinner is served!" Obviously not learning the lesson. All the guys hurry to the pizza. Sidney and I linger behind, not really caring about food this second.
"They're hilarious." I point out.
Sidney chuckles, "try working with them." We laugh harder and wait even longer for all the guys to finish piling pizza on their plates. Each guy I saw walk away from the table had about 5 slices on their plate.
"Wow. Max wasn't kidding when he said you guys eat a lot." Sidney just laughs and takes 3 slices for himself. I take 2, not even able to eat more than that.
Maxime appears from the kitchen with another 24 pack of Coke. I guess we already went through the first one. As the guys get up to get another drink Max says, "now you see it! Now you don't!" Sidney and I laugh again finding ourselves laughing more often than not tonight.

The pizza was good. Everyone enjoyed it and they went straight to the video games after that. Almost all the guys sprawled out on the floor, laughing when they killed someone on that war game everyone's playing. Sidney sat with me on the couch instead of playing. I kept insisting that he could play, that I'd just watch. But he insisted that if he played, I'd have to too.
I finally gave in--secretly wanting to try it anyways-- and Jordan Staal passed me his game control.
"What do I do?" I asked, as helpless as I sounded. Sidney handed his control back to Jordan and wrapped his arms around me, showing me the buttons to shoot, duck and crawl around. When the game started, Sidney and I playing together, he helped me whenever I needed it and the next thing I knew, I was one of the only 2 left in the game. Our little character ran around looking for Tanger's, but he eventually made a kill-shot from on top of some little hill. I sighed, laughing and leaning back into Sidney's hard chest. "That was kinda fun," I whisper.
"See!?" Sidney exclaims, "boy's aren't crazy for liking stuff like this." We laugh again and I pass off my control to Marc Andre Fleury, hopping back up onto the couch.
Sidney glanced at the clock across the room and gasped. It was 7:00 already. "Do you need to be home?" He asked nervously.
"No, I'm supposed to be at Ruthanne's tonight." I say.
"What time are you supposed to be there?" He asks, looking a little bit sad to have the night coming to an end.
"Around 10:00 is fine. We have time," I say, gently grabbing his big hand in my small one and running my finger tips over his knuckles. He sighs in relief. "I'm not ready for tonight to be over," I say.
"Me either." He says, "you're a really great girl. I'm glad I decided to go to your party thing."
"Well, thanks." I say, smiling. "You're a really great guy. I'm glad you came too." I say, making it sound cheesy on purpose. We laugh and he leans in for a little kiss. Everyone else was playing the video game. No one would see.
Except Max, choosing this exact moment to get up for a drink. "whoa!" He exclaims, then sheilds his eyes in mock horror. Sidney laughs, his lips still on mine. I just smile, loving this moment, Max or not.
The clock struck 9:30 all too soon and Sidney sighed as we got up saying our goodbyes. All the guys gave him questioning looks, probably meaning, "will we see her again?" He nodded to them and we ducked out the door.
"Thanks so much for bringing me." I said out in the hall. "I had a great time with you tonight."
"Oh you're welcome." He said, squeezing my hand. We walk outside into the chilly air. It's not quite dark yet, but it's been a pretty cold summer.
He opens the passenger side door for me like he always does, and walks around to his side quietly. I tell him where Ruthanne lives and he drives in silence. He finally breaks it. "So, I had a great time today, and I'd like to spend more time with you."
"Oh?" I asked quietly, not expecting this.
"Yeah. I was wondering if you'd want to go out with me on Tuesday, to dinner."
"Sure." I say nonchalantly as if I got asked out by my famous idols every day.
We pull up on the curb right outside Ruthanne's and he comes around to open my door. He walks me up onto her stoop and says, "I'm gonna pretend like I'm dropping you off at your house."
We laugh and he gives me a little kiss. I stand on on the step and watch as he gets into his car and drives away.