Chapter 15 - An American Flavour

Yes, that last part really had nothing to do with Sidney, but it had a lot to do with my frame of mind over the next couple of weeks. I was tempted to fuck and chuck with new gusto, but that had failed to get my Mom’s attention in the past and it probably wouldn’t work now. So I enjoyed my last few days in the Hamptons, going out every night, and then I flew up to Quèbec with my Dad in the private jet.
We had to drive from Mont-Joli to Rimouski. I was super nervous about the move. I hadn’t told Sidney that I was coming, and his phone calls and emails had been fewer and farther between as the summer progressed. A student VISA was allowing me to stay in Canada for the year, and if things really didn’t work out I could always go spend the rest of my gap year (after the first semester) in Europe.
Dad had leased a small house (well size is relative I suppose, it was a 4 bedroom one story house) for me for the year, my Grandparents had leased a car for me, and I had had furniture delivered the week before I arrived. Furniture Grandmama and I had picked out from the storage rooms as well as some new pieces we bought that she thought were durable. (In other words things that wouldn’t get damaged too badly if I was partying too hard.)
Dad had had a top of line security system installed before he left. I could tell that he didn’t like the idea of leaving me alone in this working class town, where I had only a basic grasp of the language, but after some fast-talking I finally convinced him to go. I had no idea where Sidney would be living or when he would even be arriving in Rimouski.
I’d sent him a couple of emails, but had yet to receive a reply. I was growing more nervous by the minute, but still about two weeks into my stay in Rimouski (it was early August) I headed down to the Ocèanic’s ticket office to find out about season tickets.
I begged pardon for my bad French, first and foremost and then asked if I would be able to purchase tickets for the season. I was a student at the University, I explained. The woman was polite friendly and helpful. And her eyes widened in shock when I threw down cash to pay for the tickets.
“Kally?” A surprised sounding voice said from behind me. I turned slowly. I knew full well who was going to be there, I just wasn’t sure that I was prepared for what I was going to see on his face. “Umm hey kid.” I said slowly as he approached me, clearly in shock.
It seemed like he was moving in slow motion. He looked fantastic. He’d cut his hair short, and he looked, well, phenomenal. Finally, he was standing right in front of me. “What on earth are you doing here?”
“I decided to spend my gap year improving my French.” I said, looking at my gorgeous Manolos sling backs, struggling to contain the urge to leap into his arms and kiss him for all I was worth and then some.
“Oh.” He said. “So are you going to the University?” He asked, clearly searching for some way to make some kind of conversation.
“Yeah.” I said awkwardly.
A group of guys were watching us, interested. “I umm have to go Kal.” He said awkwardly. “We have a practice right away.”
“Umm okay.” I paused, looking back down at my gorgeous Manolos. I felt like absolute crap. I wanted to go shopping… spend money until the feeling went away… “Why don’t you give me a call when you’re not busy?” I said. “I think we umm, need to talk.”
“Kally I….” Sidney stopped, as the guys behind us chuckled.
“Kid if you don’t want me here, I guess I have to understand.” I said quickly. “But you’re going to be stuck with me until Christmas, because my Dad’s leased a house through December, and I’m going to University here.”
“Kally its not that I don’t want you here.” Sidney said instantly. “I just wasn’t expecting to see you here, that’s all.”
I shrugged. “You stopped calling.” I said. “And you stopped emailing me.”
“The people I’m billeting with don’t have the internet. My Dad is getting it hooked up next week Kal.” He said. “I haven’t checked my email for a month.”
“Oh.” I said slowly.
“Look Kal, I’ll give you a call after practice okay?” He said. “Maybe we can hang out soon or something.”
“Okay.” I said reaching for him, almost as if I needed to make sure he was real.
To my surprise he pulled back. “Not here Kally. I’m a rookie.” He said, as if that explained everything. My eyes filled with tears at his unexpected rejection. “Baby don’t cry.” He whispered, looking anxiously at the guys over his shoulder. “Please Kal….”
I took a deep breath and I bit my lower lip. “I’m fine kid. Just promise me that you’ll call as soon as you have a minute.”
“I promise.” He said firmly. “And remember I….”
“Never break a promise to a pretty girl.” I finished.
He smiled. “Yep.”
I reached over and squeezed his forearms. “I’ve got a car kid… so I can come get you if you like, want to hang out or something.”
He nodded as he walked away. I took a deep breath and then sighed. He didn’t want me to cry. And he had called me ‘baby’. But I still wasn’t sure what was going on his brain. I was scared. Petrified actually. Because if moving here had been a big mistake I was going to more then regret it. Sidney was one of the best friends I’d ever had. Coming here may have ruined that.
I sat around the house anxiously waiting for the phone to ring. I tried to do a little reading (I bought my textbooks when my Dad was still here) but I couldn’t focus on the French. Just after 7, my cell rang. “Kally?” Sidney’s voice asked.
“Hey kid.” I replied, trying to stay calm. “How was practice?”
“Good.” He said. “I really like it here. I hope that you do too.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yes really.” He said. “You want to hang out tonight?” He asked.
“I’d love to kid.” I replied feeling incredibly relieved, as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
“Well then come get me.” He said giving me his address.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can find it kid.” I told him as I hung up.
20 minutes later I was standing at the door of a comfortable looking home. Nervously I rang the doorbell. Sidney answered the door. “Hey baby.” He whispered, hugging me tightly, his hands roaming slightly more then they had in the past.
“Hey kid.” I replied smiling, double kissing him.
“Come in and meet one of the guys.” He said. “You had everyone intrigued at the rink today. They couldn’t figure out what someone as dressed up as you was doing in Rimouski.” “And here I thought that it was because you and I were having complete awkwardness.” I said with a smile and a shrug elbowing him in the stomach. “And, you know that wasn’t dressed up kid, that was casual.”
“I know it. But they don’t.” He said, he paused then continued. “Sorry ‘bout that Kally.” He said, squeezing my hand in his. “I totally wasn’t expecting to see you. It was a good surprise, don’t get me wrong, but it was still a surprise.”
“You told me that I should come see you if I had the chance.” I reminded him with another shrug. “So I did.”
“C’est qui ca Sidney?” The big guy in the kitchen asked, looking me over appreciatively. “Eric this is, I mean c’est Kally une amie Americane que j’ai, umm met a Shattuck’s.” Sidney said in what can only be described as AWFUL French. “Elle est venue vivre ici cette annèe.”
“Bonjour.” I said, reaching out and shaking his hand.
“Tu parles francais?” He asked, looking totally shocked.
“Un petit peut.” I replied. “Mais c’est du francais horrible.” I looked at Sidney. “Kid, je suis une amie Americane que tu as recontré a Shattuck’s.”
“Oh.” He said with a shrug. “Thanks Kally.”
“No worries.” I said. “C’est très bien de te recontré Eric.”
“Toi aussi.” He replied, winking at Sidney.
“Want to go?” I asked, feeling nervous and wanting to be alone with him.
“You should probably meet the Bèlangers.” Sidney said. “Or else they’ll probably worry.” I shrugged. “I guess.”
We headed into a family room and I was quickly introduced to Sidney’s billets, and I explained how I knew Sidney. They asked to see my driver’s license before they let Sidney come with me, but Sidney reassured them that I had met his parents a couple of times and that they did approve of me. (Though how much Mr. & Mrs. Crosby actually knew about me was debatable.)
20 minutes later, I was letting him into my darkened house. Our fingers entwined I unlocked the door. The minute we were in the door, Sidney was pushing me up against the wall, his mouth seeking mine. “Oh God Sidney….” I mumbled, my hands straying all over his body. “Kally you still want this right baby?” He asked, his lips trailing down my neck. “Because I’ve never stopped wanting this… wanting you. But any time you say stop, I’ll stop baby.”
“Don’t stop Sidney….” I whispered as his hands trailed down my back, teasing me. “Oh God… I was so scared that you didn’t want me here.” I paused gasping as he used his lips and tongue to drive me wild with lust. “That you didn’t want me anymore.”
“How could I not want you here Kally?” He said pulling me into the living room, and pulling me down onto the couch with him. “How could I not want you baby? I went nearly crazy all summer thinking about you at those Universities staying in coed dorms.”
I snuggled close to him. “And I went nearly crazy thinking that you didn’t want me anymore now that you’ve gone back to Canada.”
“Baby you are the first person I called when I got drafted. You are so special and so important to me.” He whispered, placing a soft kiss on my forehead. “Believe it.”
“Good.” I replied, undoing the buttons on his shirt and trailing a line of soft kisses down his chest my hands smoothing themselves over his bare chest. “I love how smooth and soft your skin is Sidney.” He smoothed my hair as my head dipped lower.
He groaned low as I kissed my way down the taunt muscles of his stomach. Teasingly, I licked at him, before kissing my way back up his chest. He moaned low. Grabbing me firmly he forced me to my back and covered my body with his.
I ran my hands over his chest enjoying the feel of muscle. One of the reasons I’d always gone for hockey players was muscle. His lips met mine and we kissed furiously as if we’d been missing each other for more then just a couple of months. I loved the feel of his weight on me. I relished in it.
I knew that we would be compatible. We had just clicked from the moment we met. It may have taken a batch of alcohol fueled courage for me to do anything about it, but now that I was here with him, I never wanted it to end.
His hands were roaming over my body, up my shirt and he was fiddling with the catch on my bra. “Kally you are so beautiful baby….” He whispered huskily in my ear. “God… I want you so badly baby.”
Usually words like that, uttered by a gorgeous guy like Sidney, would have been a total turn on. Somehow though, coming from him it wasn’t. I sat up quickly and fumbled to straighten my clothing, my fingers shaking and feeling as though they were made of lead.
“What’s wrong baby?” Sidney asked, his voice husky with desire. “Did I do something wrong?”
I pushed him away gently so that I could look him in the eye. “What am I to you kid?” I demanded.
“You’re my friend Kally.” He replied, looking completely confused by what was happening here and completely confused by how we’d gone from making out to me questioning him. His confusion was totally cute, and so was the puzzled look in his eyes. But I still needed to know. I took a deep breath. “A friend that you kiss?” I asked pointedly. “And grope?”
Sidney shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans, looking uncomfortable with where this conversation appeared to be headed.
“Kally what on earth do you want me to say?” He asked.
“I don’t want to have to tell you what to say kid.” I muttered. “I want you to know what to say Sidney.”
“I am so confused here Kally.” He muttered, glancing at me sideways from under his eyelashes (which were gorgeous by the way… I will never understand why guys always have such soft curling eyelashes). “I thought that we were having a good time baby.”
“Is that all I am to you then Sidney?” I asked, pained. “A good time?”
“Jesu Christ tabarnac, Kally.” Sidney said, running an aggravated hand through his short black hair, having already begun to pick up French cuss words. “Do you want a proclamation of my undying love for you or something?” He asked.
I looked at him, feeling as though my heart were breaking already. “All I want from you Sidney, is a promise.” I told him quietly, refusing to look at him.
“What kind of promise?” He asked, titling my chin up so I was forced to meet his eyes. “A promise that you aren’t trying to replace Zach in my bed.” I said. I paused, taking a deep breath as I did so. “I want you to promise me that you won’t treat me like just another puck fuck Sidney.”