Chapter 9

Soon enough Hadley and Katy had to leave to go back to work. The fall was their busiest time of year and Hadley was looking forward to it but her mind kept wandering elsewhere when she was at home alone.

Hadley’s POV
Canada was just what I needed. It was so much fun but so peaceful at the same time. It was the first time since I haven’t thought about Felix and what he was doing or who he was with. Part of that maybe because my mind kept wandering back to Sidney but I just don’t know. I thought that after I got up the nerve to talk to him everything would be fine and my life would go back to normal but still a week later I can’t stop thinking about him. I don’t know if I can put my heart on the line like that again. I put everything I had into Felix and my relationship and he just threw it away along with my heart. But then again I didn’t think I would ever talk about it again and that is the first conversation that I had with Sidney so even if I did take that chance would it even matter, after that story he probably doesn’t want anything to do with me and then when he hears about my family the deal will be done then. Wait a minute why am I thinking like this I can’t do it, I can’t be with Sidney Crosby….or can I….well if he wants me…maybe I should try and see what happens.
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After a long day at work Hadley just wanted to go home and try to relax for the night. It had been really stressful at work with the new accounts that had been opened since she returned from Canada but on top of that she couldn’t stop thinking about Sidney…she had decided that she wasn’t going to shut herself off of any possibility. She had come to that conclusion the night before while she was watching her dad’s favorite movie, she always did that on special days like his birthday, or the anniversary of when they found out he had died. Her dad would have wanted her to move on and be happy…and that was what she was determined to do ever since she was 15 and she got the news…but she hadn’t been doing that lately.
As she walked up to her and Katy’s apartment she saw a note attached to the door. She was surprised that the note was for her.

“How bout that Stanley Cup conversation???” she couldn’t help but smile when she finished reading the note. He remembered what she had said to him when she left him on the dock the night of his birthday. It was almost three weeks later. He must be back for the season or something she thought because she remembered that Katy said Jordan was coming back soon too. When she opened the door she realized how soon. Her free hand flew to her eyes

“OH MY GOD KATY…” before Katy could finish screaming and trying to apologize Hadley was turned around and back out the door. She had walked in on Katy and Jordan going at it on the couch. They couldn’t even make it to Katy’s room. She was embarrassed and she didn’t want to stick around to see what either of them were going to see. So decided to be brave and just call Sidney.

It rang a couple of times and he finally picked up. “Hello”

“Ummm hi Sidney it’s Hadley I was just calling about the note you left on my door” she asked unsure of herself.

“O yeah I’m glad you got it I just dropped it off I tried to knock but the TV was on and no one answered.”

“O yeah umm Katy was ummm busy” she said laughing thinking about what she had just witnessed.

“ Ok, you’ll have to tell me what is so funny when we get together for the Stanley Cup talk. Well if you are still interested that is…if not it’s ok” he said now suddenly unsure if he made the right move he didn’t need her freaking out again.”

“Yeah I’m still interested if you don’t mind…”Hadley answered.

“Of course, I’m still close to your place I will just turn around and be over there” he said she could tell that he was excited and so was she another recent first for her.

“OK but we are gonna have to go somewhere I don’t want to go back to the apartment at the moment” she said again laughing and wondering if they stopped to move it elsewhere even though she was going to have to buy a new couch now.

“See you in a few” he said and then hung up.

No sooner had Hadley sat down on the bench next to the apartment Sidney showed up.

“Hi” “Hi there” how was work he asked.

“Today it was work” Hadley answered “But I love my job my dad got me hooked on advertising” she said but as soon as the words came out she tensed up and he must have realized because he changed the subject.

“So is there a reason you don’t want to go into your apartment right now” Sidney asked..

“YUP… I have no desire to see Jordan’s naked ass on my couch” Hadley told him and started laughing at the same time. She knew she should be mad and she was at first but now all she could do was laugh at it because if he could keep going after that then well good for Katy at least one of them should be getting some attention.

Sidney just laughed along with her and said that he understood but he couldn’t just escape it because of the locker room he had become immune to it.

“Are you hungry” he asked her after they finished laughing and Jordan and Katy’s offense

“Actually yes I would love to go eat something and hear about this cup you boys are so fascinated with” as she said this and looked over at Sidney she saw this gleam in his eye when she mentioned the cup and she thought it must be really important.

They found a nice little diner that had everything under the sun to eat. They sat in the back of the diner so they could have some privacy as Sidney put it. They had a great dinner and he told her all about the cup and how it is such a big deal to win it. After that Hadley understood why the Stanley Cup was so important and she found herself glad that it was in Pittsburgh… they closed the diner down at 2 in the morning.

As they were pulling back up the apartment they kept talking about hockey and Hadley seemed excited she could really get into the game.

“I had a really great time tonight Hadley” he said as he pulled up to her door.“I did too. I think you made another hockey fan” she said and laughed a little when he got this big smile on his face.
“Can I ask you something” he said

“Sure”

“ I know you told me about Felix and everything but I was hoping that maybe I could take you out sometime like on a real date” he asked rubbing his the back of his neck because he was nervous and he was scared to death he did just what he didn’t want to do….scare her away again.

"Ummm" Hadley had to pause for a minute to breath and remember not to shut herself off from the possibilites of life and well this was one of them. Sidney looked so nervous she could tell that he had really thought about this and that he didn't want to hurt her at all so with that being said she decided to take a chance.

"Sure Sidney we can do that." she said and she couldnt help but smile because at that same moment she realized that she could do it...she could move on with her life. Sidney got his huge smile back and now it was his turn to kiss her on the cheek and tell her goodnight.