The Girl Next Door Chapter 21

The Penguins lost to Philadelphia 4-5, even though they had played a great game. Afterwards, Kate and Neal went down to see the team, and they talked to the guys while they waited for Sidney. Eventually, he came out, and talked to Neal for a minute before Neal left. He told Kate he’d see her at home, and left the two of them.
“Hey,” Sidney said to Kate, before kissing her.
“Hey yourself,” she said back.
“Ready to go?” he asked her.
“Yes,” she answered back.
They said bye to the guys, and then walked to Sidney’s car, which was parked in the underground garage at the arena. They got in, and drove out. Sidney stopped to sign autographs for the four people that waited around afterwards.
“Who’s that with you, Sidney?” a female fan, no older than fifteen, asked him.
“Your girlfriend?” another one asked.
“No, not my girlfriend,” he replied. “She’s just a friend, she lives next door to me.”
“Oh, the girl next door!” the first fan said. “So you’re still single, then, Sid?”
“Still single,” he told them
Kate couldn’t help but feel a little hurt, even though she knew it was all a lie he had to tell. Sidney finished up signing their things, and then drove out onto the road.
“Sorry about that Katie,” he told her, obviously reading her mind. “They asked, and I just had to tell the lie.”
“It’s okay,” she told him. “We agreed not to tell anyone, and that would go under that!”
He smiled, and reached for her hand. They just listened to a mix Kate had put into the CD player, and when one song came on, Sidney started laughing.
“You can’t be serious!” he laughed.
“Dead serious,” she told him. “It’s still one of my favorites!”
Kate quietly sang along with the song, and when she got to the chorus, she belted it.
“You’re all I ever wanted,” the chorus began. “You’re all I ever needed, ye-ah. So tell me what to do now, when I want you back!”
They laughed, and Kate kept singing along (she had a really good voice).
“You better sing the next chorus with me,” she told him. “I know you know the words, and I know you love NSYNC, don’t deny it. I caught you singing along to them the other day when ‘Bye Bye Bye’ was on the radio.”
“Fine,” he told her. “I’ll sing with you, but, as I always say, you know I suck at singing.”
The chorus came on, and sure enough, Sidney was singing it (and not well, he was a horrible singer).
“That’s it, that’s all the NSYNC I plan to sing,” he told her.
“Good enough,” she said, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.
They sang along to the rest of Kate’s CD, which had some music he liked on it. When they finally reached Kate’s house, she told him they had to stay in the car, because on the car ride home, Neal had sent her a text saying how the crazy relatives were still up. He was fine with it, and Kate ran inside really quickly to get his present, and luckily her relatives didn’t see her. She ran back out to the car, and handed the box to him.
“I honestly had no idea what to get you,” she told him. “I’ve never really had to buy a present for a boyfriend before. I just hope you like it.”
“I’ve got a confession to make to,” he told her. “I had Nathalie help me with my shopping, to help me find something for you. I picked it out, and she approved it. I just wanted to make sure it was something you would like.”
They laughed, and Sidney opened Kate’s present first. Inside the box was a polo shirt she knew he would like, as well as a Keith Urban CD he didn’t have. She found out right after he came to Pittsburgh that he was a huge country fan, and remembered he didn’t have the CD.
“Thanks Katie!” Sidney said with a big smile on his face. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “You remembered I didn’t have the CD!”
“I have a good memory,” she told him.
“The polo’s nice too, I always need more,” he told her. “Okay, time to open your present.”
He handed her the present, and she began to open it, wondering what was inside.
Inside the box were two tickets to the Clarks (a Pittsburgh band) concert that was coming up, and underneath the tickets was a silver bracelet, which was very pretty (and looked expensive).
“Thanks so much!” Kate squealed, and she leaned over to give him a kiss.
“I’m glad you like them,” he said after they kissed.
They sat there for a minute, smiling at each other.
“Katie?” Sidney asked.
“Yes?” she asked back.
He sat there for a second, and then came out with it.
“I love you,” he told her.
“I love you too,” she told him back.
They kissed for what seemed to be forever, then Sidney told her he had to go, because his flight was only in a few hours (he had gotten an extended curfew from Mario for the night, and he had a minute to get back before the midnight curfew). He told her that he’d give her a call when he got up to Cole Harbour.
“Merry Christmas,” Kate told him. “See you in a couple days!”
“Same,” he told her. “Love you.”
“Love you too,” she told him as she closed the car door. She waved bye, and then walked inside the house.