Part 12 - Pure Gold

As I waited, most of the media people left. They’d already gotten what they wanted. A few hung around, waiting for interviews with Coach and a couple of players who had been unavailable right after the game, or to get a couple of last minute comments from guys they hadn’t managed to snag before.

Down the hall though, I could see a lot of the fans still waiting. I was sure that there were fans waiting out by the buses too. The guys were going to be stopped for autographs… I was well aware of that. I was used to blending into the background after Rebels games as I waited for Drew, Colin and whoever else I was drinking with that night to finish with their adoring publics.

The fans drive the game, and with the NHL lockout, this country is hockey starved. So I had a feeling that this was going to take even longer then it usually did. Yet Sid had told me that he and D wanted to make sure I got back to the hotel okay. So I figured that I’d better wait for them or they’d both be pissed at me.

D immerged from the dressing room about a ½ hour later. He was showered, changed into his suit (which never fails to make me giggle, because D hates suits), and he smelled much better. He grinned, knowing precisely what I was thinking. “Better Drew?” He asked.

“Much.” I replied, hugging him quickly. “You’re definitely hug worthy now.”

“I’m glad I meet with your approval, but if that kid doesn’t hurry up, Ima kill him.” He said.

I laughed. “Sid’s taking his sweet time?” I asked.

“Sid’s thinking about changing his clothes.” Dion said, rolling his eyes. “And he’s doing his hair.”

I glanced around and caught sight of his parents, starring at D and I. “Umm, has he talked to his parents yet?”

“Of course.” D said, reading the worry on my face. “They didn’t get down here until he was already talking to TSN.”

“Oh good.” I said, most likely visibly relieved.

The relief didn’t last long however, because the next thing D or I knew, there they were. “Dion.”
Mr. Crosby said. “Is Sidney still in the dressing room?”

“Umm yeah Mr. Crosby.” D said, rolling his eyes just slightly, indicating to me at least that he thought it was kind of obvious. “He was out of the shower though when I saw him.”

“How are you Drew?” Mrs. Crosby asked.

“Fine, thank you.” I said. “And yourself?”

“It was a so-so game for Sidney.” She said. “I would have liked it if he’d preformed better. He’s capable of more you know.”

I nodded. “He had a better game against Finland.” I agreed.

“Didn’t he meet you after that game?” She asked innocently.

I knew however, that this was anything but innocent. “Well yes, but so did every other guy on the team other then Dion and Colin, though I also kind of knew Getter and Andrew.” I said.

Dion glared at Mrs. Crosby. “Are you implying that Drew is the reason Sidney didn’t perform well?” He demanded. “Because if anything, your son worked his ass off because he was trying to impress her. You keep acting like Drew is out to get your son, when really it’s the other way around, and she’s handled it very well.”

“What are you saying Dion?” Mr. Crosby said.

“I’m saying that Sidney is interested in Drew.” Dion said, his game day face on. “And you two are so busy trying to make Drew the bad guy that you haven’t noticed. Drew has to deal with kids having crushes on her all the time. It’s a little different here because Drew is our friend and so is Sidney. That means that they are trying to be friends in spite of Sidney’s crush. But I would really appreciate it if you two would talk to Sidney if you have a problem, instead of jumping on Drew.”

I looked up at Dion. I doubted that either Mr. or Mrs. Crosby had ever heard Dion talk so much. They starred hard at him. I felt like I had to say something. “Mrs. Crosby, your son is a great kid. I like him. I like Dion. I like Brent. I like Patrice. I like Reggie. I like all of the guys. I don’t know what I did to make you dislike me so much, but this is my down time and I want the opportunity to enjoy it with friends… even if I spend most of my time watching them play Madden.”

Mrs. Crosby looked me up and down. “If you didn’t dress soooo….”

“So what?” Dion asked. “Like a 23 year old?”

“But she’s a teacher.” Mrs. Crosby replied.

“Who isn’t at work right now.” I replied. “This is my down time. I dress to please myself right now. Even in Red Deer I dress to please myself during my down time. Sidney isn’t the only 17-year-old to ever see me dressed like this. And you aren’t the first person to have a problem with it. But I work in the public school system. I don’t have a morals clause. Which allows me to dress as I please and do as I please within the law on my time off.”

She sighed. “I’m sorry Drew, I don’t mean to be so difficult.” She said. “I’ve just never met a teacher like you.”

“You’ve probably never met a person like her Mom.” Sidney said coming up behind us and kissing his mother’s cheek and giving me a wink.

He didn’t try to hug me, which was good, though he smelled absolutely delicious. “Son we need to have a talk.” His Dad said, still eyeing me warily.

“Later Dad.” Sid said. “D and I have to go sign some autographs, and all of us need to get back to the hotel. I don’t know about Drew, but D and I haven’t packed yet.”

His Dad shook his head. “She’s going on the bus?”

“No sir.” I said. “Dion just likes to put me in cabs himself.”

He nodded. “Well we’re going back to the hotel.” He said. “Your sister is tired.”

Sidney reached down and picked his little sister (who had been pretty quiet, looking up at Dion with big eyes) and gave her a big hug and kiss as she giggled. “You behave yourself monkey.” He said. “Bye.”

His parents walked away. As soon as they were out of sight Sidney wrapped me in a hug, ignoring the fans who were calling his name. He smelled delicious. “You smell good.” I whispered into his ear, noting that Dion had moved away from us and was signing autographs.

“You always smell good.” He replied, letting me go. “Like peaches.”

I laughed. “You haven’t gone for a workout with me yet.” I replied. “I don’t smell quiet so good after that.”

He laughed. “I need to go sign some autographs. You don’t mind waiting do you?”

“Of course not.” I said. “I wait for D all the time.” I glanced towards the crowd. I could see Ashley and her friends watching us. And I immediately felt guilty. Sidney should be with someone like her. “Go talk to those girls.” I said pointing them out. “I was sitting with them.”

“I thought you sat with Brent.” He said looking confused.

“After the first.” I said. “Before that I was in my actual seat.”

He shrugged. “Okay.” He said, heading straight towards them.

I watched as he signed autographs for them. I watched how eager the girls were to talk to him. I watched as they squealed and giggled and preened for him. I watched as they insisted that he hug them. I watched as he hugged them. I watched as Ashley kissed him on the cheek and I watched as Melissa tried to get Dion’s attention.

I wandered over to D and tapped him on the shoulder. “What’s up Drew?” He asked.

“Go talk to that girl.” I said. “Her name is Melissa. She doesn’t think that I know you or that this jacket was yours.”

D shook his head. “Do I have to?”

“Yes.” I replied.

“Why?” He asked, pouting.

“Because I’m a nice person.” I replied. “And every teenage girl deserves the thrill of meeting the hockey player she has a crush on.”

“But I’m not…” He whined.

“Just do it D.” I said, shoving him towards her.

D shook his head and did just that, knowing full well that I wasn’t about to let it go. I mean, he knows that when I get an idea in my head, I won’t let it go. D learned a long time ago that it was easier to just do whatever it was that I wanted him to then it was to fight me on it.

The thing is, D never likes being nice to people who aren’t nice to me. One time, after a Rebels game, this mother who had been particularly vocal about my “inappropriate” lifestyle brought her eleven year old daughter to the game and the girl wanted D’s autograph. He took one look at her mother and refused. One of the PR people from the Rebels rushed to Dion and wanted to know why. He explained the situation and how the mother kept complaining to the school division about me.

The PR guy was like, well just sign the autograph. D refused. Finally I had to step in and tell him to do it for my sake. The mother was incensed. She actually yelled at me, even though D did sign the autograph. Finally he glared down at her, getting all the boys to surround us, and said that I was one of the Rebels in spirit and that she had made all of them, not just him, angry for the way she treated me.

I had appreciated it. I always appreciate D’s loyalty to me. But the fact that I appreciate it, doesn’t mean that I want him to be an ass to everyone whose an ass to me. I keep trying to make him understand tat I always want to step up and be the better person, and I want him to do the same.

I kept watching Sidney though, as soon as D had done what I asked him to. It actually hurt me to watch him with girls his own age. I know he said that we’d be together when he was 18, but August was a long way away. He was only 17. A lot could change between December and August. I couldn’t hold him to anything. I couldn’t expect anything.

Knowing that, it hurt. I know I barely knew him, because we’d only met two days ago, but a part of me will always believe in destiny, you know fate. I believe that we know who we’re supposed to be with on a deeper level. That’s why we never feel quiet right until we meet that person.
With Sidney, I know I’ve met that person, but that didn’t necessarily mean that he felt the same way. Or the he felt it too.

I mean, yeah, it sounded like he did. But there was another factor in all this for me. The fact that he was only 17. He needed to be with someone his own age. Someone who could go to high school things with him, someone his friends were comfortable around. Someone his parents would like, though at the moment, I doubted that they would like anyone.

“You ready to go Drew?” Sidney said, coming up to me with a grin.

I shrugged. “Yeah sure, I guess.”

He glanced down at me. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

“We’ll talk about it later.” I said stiffly.

“Uh-oh.” Sidney said. “What did I do wrong?” He asked.

“Nothing.” I said with a sigh. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then what’s the problem?” He asked, both looking and sounding confused.

“We’ll talk about it later okay Sid?” I said, placing a hand on his arm. “Please. Just let it wait.”

“If you say so Drew.” He said, looking nervous.

Part of me wanted to comfort him. To tell him that everything was going to be alright. But the fact of the matter is, I didn’t know if everything was going to be alright. I didn’t know what his reaction was going to be, but I did know that Sidney deserved the opportunity to be with someone his own age, not shackled to someone six years older. Like Dion, he had a sense of honour and loyalty that he wouldn’t deny.

It meant that if he did make a promise to me, he’d keep it. Even if he meant that he would be unhappy. I didn’t want that. I wanted to get to know him better. God knows I wanted to kiss him and have him hold me. But teaching has taught me a thing or too, and sometimes, that means that what you want has to come second to what’s best for other people. And what I wanted probably wasn’t what was best for Sidney. So I had to ask him to make a decision.

It wasn’t going to be easy for me. Not looking into those chocolate brown eyes of his. But having seen him with girls his own age I knew that I had to give him a chance to back out now, before either of us fell in to deep… that is, if we weren’t already there.