Chapter 2 - Wait for You

I slept most of the way to Oklahoma. I hate plane rides, but I didn’t have a choice. It was an 11-hour drive from Tuscaloosa, so I wasn’t complaining. I was just thankful when we touched down. We arrived at the hotel to much fanfare – and I do mean much. Our fans travel well. They greeted us to shouts of Yea Alabama! and Roll Tide! as we got off the bus. Shortly after arriving, I made my way up to my room. Since we have an odd number of players, I was the lucky one that got the room to by myself this time. I hadn’t been in there long when my cell rang. It was Jen, and I knew what it meant. I thought about not picking it up for a minute and then changed my mind.

“Are you here, yet?” she asked.

“Yeah, we just arrived.”

“So, get your butt down here! We’re in the same hotel, room 216,” she said.

“I can’t. We’re meeting for lunch in 45 minutes, and then we have to go shoot some stuff for ESPN.”

“Oh, oh well,” she sounded disappointed. “You have fun with that. Call me when you get back?”

“Of course. I’ll talk to you later, Jen.”

“Ok, bye Kate!”

I continued to unpack my things before I went downstairs to get on the bus to go to lunch. I had to bring my bag with my uniforms in it because this afternoon we were shooting some opening shots for the ESPN crew. Those are usually the only moments of fun we’ll have here because we start practicing tomorrow and it’s all business from there on out.

We arrived back around 3 p.m. I took a shower and changed before crashing on the bed and deciding to go ahead and call Jen. Whether I wanted to or not, I had to get this introduction out of the way. Besides, I could use team-bonding as an excuse not to come around. Although Jen knew better. Even though we were on curfew, we had about two hours a day of downtime and most of the time it was spent with friends and family.

About 10 minutes later I found myself knocking on the door of room 216. I wasn’t for sure who I’d find behind the door, what, but I was getting this over with.

“Kate!!” Jen exclaimed. She was happy on all accounts.

“Hey, I made it!”

“Come in, come in. Sidney, this is Kate. Kate, this is Sidney Crosby.”

I recognized Sidney as a teammate of Colby’s and well, Jen talked about him a lot, so I knew a thing or two about him. I followed hockey but not religiously.

I smiled politely and waved. I’m not exactly great in social situations. I tend to have a case of anxiety. He smiled back.

“So, what are your plans for tonight, Kate?” Jen asked.

“Nothing much. I need to call my parents and see what they’re up to. Dad had wanted to take everyone out to dinner if ya’ll want to join us. Curfew is 11 since we have the early morning practice, and I need to be out there before then throwing some pitches.”

“How are you feeling about everything?” Colby asked.

“I’m ok right now. I’m sure at 7 p.m. Thursday night my nerves will take over. We better just not screw this up.”

“You’ll be fine. Just remember to take a minute to enjoy it all. You don’t want to look back on it and regret having taken it so seriously.”

I just smiled. Colby always knew the right things to say. “Thanks,” I said.

“Ya’ll coming to the banquet tomorrow night?” I asked Jen.

“I don’t know about these two but seeing you rack up on all those awards, I’m not missing out on it.”

“Ha! I’m only up for four, and I already know I got All-America, so it’s not that big of a deal.”

“You know Kate, you don’t give yourself much credit for what you’ve accomplished.”

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t have accomplished it without defense and offense. I just pitch the ball, Jen.”

Just then out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw Crosby crack a smile. I wasn’t sure, but I thought it was kind of cute. I got brought back to Earth when my phone rang. It was Dad calling to confirm dinner plans.

“That was my father,” I said when I got off. “We’re meeting downstairs at 6:30. We have reservations for seven at this place called Donna’s in Bricktown. He said it’s kind of nice.”

“Cool. Well, I think we’re all in. Right guys?” Jen asked. They all shook their heads in agreement.

“Well, great,” I said. “I need to go get ready because I don’t think Daddy will like it if I wear jeans and flip-flops. So, I’ll see ya’ll then?”

“Yeah.”

“Bye, Sidney. It was nice to meet you,” I said standing up.

Crosby responded, “Same to you, Kate.”

As I left the room and headed back to the elevator I wondered, why on Earth did Colby have to bring Crosby? Why? Why? Why? This is the biggest week of my career and I don’t need any distractions. And, he is, by far, a distraction.

At 5 p.m. I opened the door to see my mother standing there with a curling iron and a case of something. She had insisted on coming up and “fixing my hair” since all I ever did with it was part it in the middle.

“What are you wearing?” she asked as she whizzed by looking for an electrical outlet.

“I was thinking that Melissa Sweet dress we got in Atlanta a few months back but it may be too short for dinner with Dad.”

“Don’t be silly. Your father and I are ready for you to grow up and look like a 20-year old who is beautiful, successful and has a college education to go along with it. Wear it and those strappy heels I bought you in New York. You have great legs, so show them off.”

“But, Mom, you know how I am about that stuff.”

“Kate, darling, how many times are we going to have this conversation? You don’t have to cover up every inch of your body to feel secure. You just need to find yourself and let go of some that independence you have. Now, sit.” She pointed to the chair she had put out.

I sighed. I was so tired of that conversation. We had it at least every other month, if not once a month. If it was Jen saying this, I wouldn’t cave, but with Mom I always do. She’s never worked a day in her life and has been a prominent figure in the Savannah social scene ever since I was a kid. She has great taste, and I trust her. I just wish I could see myself like she does.

“Now, see. You really need to learn how to use a curling iron Kate. And a little makeup goes a long way.”

I looked in the mirror and to amazement; I was looking back at myself. She had pulled my hair halfway up, securing it the back with a Tiffany barrette and I didn’t look like I had makeup caked on me either. I actually looked nice.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, giving me a hug. “I’ll see you downstairs shortly.”
At 6:30 I entered the lobby and apparently was a sight for some to see. My dad kissed me on the check and Jen commented on how great I looked, while Crosby, well Crosby did what any other 19-year-old would do. As we walked out to the awaiting car, I leaned in to him and whispered, “You can close your mouth now.”

He just gave me a grin and kept on walking.

It probably wasn’t a good thing I got stuck between Jen and Sidney in the car. I didn’t know much about him other than he played with Colby and was considered the best thing since Gretzky. Jen had said he was cute, but cute doesn’t quite cut it for a 19-year-old who’s very mature for his age and drop dead gorgeous. And, at 20, I wasn’t exactly trying to ignore the tension between us. I am human after all.

After the encounter in the lobby, I felt a little uncomfortable sitting next to him. Like I said before, I have issues with body image and self-consciousness. I haven’t exactly ever had a boyfriend either. I’ve dated here and there, but not until the last two years at UA. And it is weird being the 18, 19-year old junior dating the freshmen even though we’re the same age. I never really looked. I’ve never had time. My life is eat, sleep, softball and up until three weeks ago – class. Don’t get me wrong, you know that dream wedding and all that, yeah I want it but I’ve got some pretty steep demands. I don’t need a man telling me what to do. Besides, I haven’t won an Olympic gold medal yet. I still have softball business to take care of.
Thank goodness it didn’t take very long to get to the restaurant, and I got to sit between my parents. Dinner was spent eating and doing a lot of talking. Sidney got the lowdown on my dad and how he was the president and CEO of the largest paper corporation in North America. He asked lots of questions, and it made me feel good to know that for once the attention was off me. My dad isn’t much of a sports person but because of Jen’s relationship with Colby, he’s made an attempt at liking hockey. It gave them something to talk about, which was fine by me. Once we’d finished with dinner and were waiting on dessert I caught eyes with Jen who mouthed, “Bathroom,” so the two of us excused ourselves for the ladies room.

“He so likes you Kate!” she said once we got there.

“What are you talking about?”

“Sidney. He’s totally digging you. Didn’t you see how he was checking you out?”

“Whatever, Jen” I said, blowing her off like I always do when I know she right.

“Oh please, Kate! You for once look like a female and you expect guys not to notice?
You’re a hottie, Kate. Face it; Crosby’s got his eye on you, and you are so much better for him than any of those girls he’s been messing with in Pittsburgh.”

I huffed and puffed at her again and just walked out the door.

When we got back to the table we were greeted to a decadent chocolate dessert. I have no idea what it was, but it was great. A band played in the background and my dad looked at me and smiled before saying, “May I have this dance?”
Of course, I said yes. My dad and I took ballroom dancing lessons together when I was younger. My mom already knows how, but I wanted to learn for the heck of it. It’s always been a moment the two of us can share. I’ve always been his little girl despite the fact I have an older brother and sister, but I think he and I relate because I was raised a lot like an only child because there’s a 15-year age difference between me and Leah, my sister, and my brother David is 37.

“Are you nervous about this at all?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m a wreck right now. I’m so scared I’ll throw the wrong pitch or someone will make an error and then it’s over, you know?”

“Kate, you have always handled losing with class, so don’t forget that. You do the best you can and leave it on the field.”

I smiled and looked away only while we dance for a few more minutes only to hear a voice say, “Excuse me sir, but may I cut in?”

I looked back and saw Sidney standing there and my dad let go of me and opened me to him. To him of all people! Why?

“Hi,” he said with a big smile on his face.

I thought about just turning away from him right then and there and decided against it – for the sake of looking like a bitch in front of the entire place. Play like a guy on the field, act like a lady off I told my self as I let out a sigh.

I took his hands and let him take me as we swayed across the floor. The boy could dance. Who would have thought?

“Sidney, look, please don’t try to distract me tonight, tomorrow or anytime in the next week and a half,” I said, biting my lower lip wondering if I had been too upfront about the tension. “This week is important to me and my team, and I’m sure they’d appreciate their starting pitcher not having any distractions.”

“Kate, look, I understand how important this is for you, your team and school. I don’t want to take away from your focus. Believe me, I’ve been there.”

“Then why’d you look at me like that in lobby, Crosby?”

“You’re a very attractive young lady who has killer legs. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who noticed that. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable, take you out of your element or try to draw you away from focusing on your game. I’m a guy, Kate. When a hot girl walks into the room, I’m going to notice.”

I found myself blushing with his comment. I’ve never taken compliments on my appearance well, so I just lowered my head to his shoulder and continued to move to the music. When the song ended, he led me back to my seat and acknowledged the understanding we had just had with a small smile and nod. We arrived back at the hotel shortly after 10. I immediately said goodnight to everyone and left since I had curfew. Tomorrow was a big day. It was time to get down to business.