The Girl Next Door Chapter 27

The next day, Kate’s relatives went back to Minnesota. Kate had never been so happy to see them go. That afternoon, after moping around for over two and a half weeks, Neal was finally happy because Allison arrived. They were staying until New Year’s Day, and then driving back to school.
“Ready for some Penguins hockey?” Neal asked Allison as they left for the game.
“I’m so excited! Hey, nice jersey Kate!” Allison said as she noticed Kate’s Crosby jersey.
“Thanks, I got it for Christmas from my parents,” she told Allison.
“Don’t downplay the jersey Katie,” he said to her, and then he turned to Allison and said, “That’s the jersey Sid wore in his first game as alternate captain.”
“You serious?” Allison asked.
“Yep,” Neal told her.
“You know how many girls would kill for that jersey?” Allison asked.
“Trust me, I know,” Kate laughed. “I see those puck sluts holding up the signs that say ‘Marry Me Sidney,’ and ‘Have my baby, Sidney.’ If those girls only knew he was taken.”
Kate jokingly sighed, and all three of them laughed.
“I hope they win tonight,” Neal said after the laughter died down.
*****
But of course, the Pens did not win. They lost to Toronto 2-3. But, Colby did have a solid NHL debut, and after the game Kate, Neal, and Allison all went down to the locker room, where they met Colby’s parents. They chatted for awhile, and when Sidney came out, Allison and Neal greeted him, talked for a minute, and then the two of them left the room so Kate and Sidney could have a minute. The two of them talked, and Sidney invited Kate to come out with the guys and their girlfriends the next night. Colby’s girlfriend Jen was coming into town tomorrow, so Kate would have a chance to meet her too. She told him yes, and they kissed goodbye.
*****
The Pens won their next game, two nights later, against New Jersey, 6-2. Then, on New Year’s Eve, the Pens beat the Rangers, 4-3 in overtime, with Sidney scoring the winning goal. Everyone was cheering like crazy, it had been a great game. Kate saw a lot of girls with signs saying “Kiss me at midnight, Sidney!” and had to laugh. Kate, Neal, and Allison all laughed about those, and they made a ton of jokes about the puck bunnies. That night, all of the guys on the team were going out to party, but Sidney was not allowed to, since his curfew was 11:30. Sidney told Kate to go out and have fun, but she was obviously not going to do that. Instead, they were together at the Lemieuxs’, just having fun with the kids.
At midnight, they were alone in the basement, and they kissed.
“Happy New Year, Sid,” she told him after their kiss.
“Happy New Year,” he said back. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she replied.
They sat cuddled up on the couch, and made out until they heard someone coming down the steps. They quickly broke apart, and just sat there, trying to casually chat.
“Hey, Sid,” Mario said.
“I better be going,” Kate told them. “I figured that’s what you’re going to say?”
“Well, not exactly,” Mario laughed. “But I was going to say soon, since it’s 12:30 and Sid’s got an early flight up to Toronto.”
“I better go,” she said to him.
“I’ll walk you home,” he told her, reaching for her hand. “I’ll be back in a minute Mario, then it’s off to bed for me. Night!”
“Night Sid,” he said. “I’m going up too. Goodnight Katie, we’ll see you later.”
“Bye Mario,” Kate said as she walked up the stairs with Sidney.
They walked back to Kate’s house, and he kissed her goodbye. He said he’d call her from Canada, and Kate went into her house and locked the door. She told her parents she was home, and then went off to bed.