Hat Tricks

“Are you even listening to me?”

I blinked, shaking my head and turning to look at Lisa, the girl working with me tonight. “I’m sorry, I totally spaced out.”

Lisa laughed, “I could tell. Late night?” She asked me, dumping a scoopful of ice into the wine chiller that was sitting on top of the cart.

I shrugged, setting down a platter of finger sandwiches. “Not really, I just had a hard time falling asleep.”

She nodded, grabbing the clipboard that we were supposed to carry with us into each box suite before nodding to me to open the door. I did so, moving aside so she could push the cart through.

I had only worked three nights as a server, but I hadn’t actually done a lot of serving. I was mainly in the kitchen area, that I didn’t know existed, helping put together platters of sandwiches, desserts and fruit, as well as cleaning up the suite once the game over. I was told that I would eventually be allowed to assist Lisa with serving, and then be trusted on my own, but for now, I was in charge of the simple tasks. I didn’t mind it so much. They paid twelve hours starting wage, and after three months, if I wasn’t fired, I was bumped up to fifteen. If I went for my food safe, I could make up to twenty dollars an hour, which was two dollars more than I made at the ice rink back in Vancouver. It was enough money for my groceries, and since Pascal and his wife refused rent money from me, I didn’t need really need any extra money.

The other plus side was that the job’s simplicity was that it required very little thought, which meant that I could pay more attention to the tiny TV that played the game then what I was actually doing.

“They’re playing well tonight, right?” My boss, Michael, said from behind me.

I nodded, turning to face him. “Sorry I was watching it. It’s just because Lisa took the cart and I didn’t know what to do so-”

“No, it’s fine,” He assured me with a small laugh. “We all take a minute or two to catch up on the game. Besides, the suites aren’t too crazy tonight, so there isn’t even a lot for you to do right now,” He reminded me, glancing back at the clock. “Listen, how about you clean up some of the dishes left in the sink, and then you can head out to catch the last bit of the game. The third period just started, I’m sure you’ll catch the last ten minutes or so.”

I felt my eyebrows raise up in surprise. “Really? Don’t you need me to clean up the suites afterwards?”

“Nah, I just hired Bill Guerin’s nephew as a favour for him. He can clean the box up,” He said, glancing back towards where the kid was. “That jerk had the nerve to wear an Ovechkin shirt to his interview.”

I laughed, thanking him before I headed over to finish off the dishes.

Being on friend terms with most of the Pittsburgh Penguins meant that I had the advantage of watching the game away from the crowd in the back tunnel with the Penguin staff. I had to race into the washroom to change out of my uniform before I made my way downstairs, smiling to the equipment managers and trainers as I walked over to the glass, standing next to the guards who made sure no one hopped out of the seats and over the bars. I had only watched one other game from this area, and even though I had been set a few looks from curious Penguins fans, I had really enjoyed it.

The boys were playing the Islanders, and even though I would have preferred to not see that team up close as I considered one of the least attractive teams in the NHL, I had to watch the last of the game. The Islanders youngest superstar, John Tavares, had control of the puck when I started watching the game. His arrival in the NHL had been met with assumptions of him breaking Sidney’s point total his first year in the big league. All of that hype just made for more interesting games between the two teams.

“Sid’s got a goal and two assists tonight, so far,” One of the trainers, Scott, said to me when he caught me eyeing the scoreboard to try and see if they were flashing who had scored the goals yet. “Letang and Staalsy scored the other two.”

I nodded, not taking my eyes away the game as I watched Geno back check against Tavares, stealing the puck and feeding it down the ice to Sidney, who had already broken away from his check and was waiting just onside at the Islanders end. “Who scored the goal for the Islanders?”

“Moulson,” He said, watching with me as Sidney weaved in towards the goal, Rolouson watching nervously as Sidney gave no indication as to which side, angle or point he was going to shoot at.

“Come on, Sidney. Go blocker side,” I said, standing up on the toes of my sneakers so I could see over the few people who had stood up as well.

As if he heard me somehow, Sidney deeked to the right, causing Rolouson to push himself over to that side, before Sidney spun around and shot he puck high blocker side on his backhand, causing the goal siren to go off and the entire arena to jump to their feet as Sidney pumped his hand in the air and let the other Penguin players skate down to do the celebratory hug.

Scott and I high-fived, as if we had somehow contributed to the goal, before I took a step forward to try and catch a glimpse of Sidney as he pulled away from the hug and began to make his away back to the players bench, which was on the opposite side of the ice as me.

I hadn’t talked to Sidney, or any of the other guys, since last night, when I had so bravely sucked face with the guy. Since my cell phone hadn’t been going off with texts or missed calls, it was safe to assume that Sidney hadn’t done what I had been afraid of him doing; he hadn’t gone off and told all of the guys what had happened. It made me feel a little more at ease, since it hinted at him not viewing it as some act of desperation on my behalf, or some cheesy male accomplishment for him.

“You know what that goal means, right?” Scott asked me, grinning. I shook my head, turning to look at him as the teams got ready for another face off. “Sid just passed Ovechkin to take the scoring title,” he told me.

I grinned, looking back over at the player’s bench, my eyes landing on Sidney as he was laughing with Max, the two of them jarring at the each other, clearly elated with the win after the team dropped the previous two games. I was trying to mentally tell Sidney that he should just be a little selfish and go for the hat trick, just to piss of the Capitals fans even more, but seeing as Sidney was still giggling on the bench and all my intense stare was doing was causing a headache, I’m not sure it was working.

By the time Sidney was back on the ice, there was less then a minute left in the last period, and the Islanders were in the Penguins zone, shooting off as many shots as they could manage, trying to get in another goal. With the Penguins having a three goal lead, there was no point in pulling the Islanders goalie, so my hopes of Sidney’s hat trick were slowly being diminished. Bylsma sent out Sidney, Jordan and Max for the last thirty seconds of play, and by some miracle, the puck hopped Richard Park’s stick and came right to Max, who immediately took off down the ice, stopping a few feet away from the goal and screaming at Sidney, who was making his way down the ice.

My eyes, as well as every other one in the arena, I’d assume, shot up to the clock, which showed just over twenty seconds remaining. The entire building stood up, including all of the players on the bench, and hopeful Pittsburgh fans took off their hats in wishful anticipation of a hat trick.

Jordan managed to join the other two, while Kris and Brooks Orpik tried to hold off the Islander’s players, and set himself in front of Rolouson so the puck was nearly impossible for him to see. Max and Sidney had some sort of telepathic conversation before they switched sides on the ice, Max faked a shot, which Rolouson somehow saw and flinched at, before he shot it to Sidney, who, without thinking, launched the puck in the tiny space between the post and Rolouson’s desperately outstretched leg, signalling the sixth goal of the game, and the hat trick everyone had been holding their breath for. In a split second, the ice was littered with hats, the arena filled with the booming sounds of applause, cheers and pure appreciation while Sidney was dog piled by the team, as if he had just won the playoffs for them.

I was so happy I was jumping up and down, waving my arms in the air. There was only a few seconds left on the clock, leaving just enough time for another face off before the buzzer went, ending the game. I moved off to the side, watching the Islanders leave the ice with their heads hanging low while the Penguins skated over to congratulate Marc and thank the crowd. The doors just in front of me were opened, meaning I had to move over so the team could make their down the tunnel. Fans came to hang themselves over the edge of the bars, desperate to knock hands with one of the players.

I was greeted with many head pats as the guys passed me, all of them ecstatic over the win, and I could feel the curious gazes looking down on me as they did so. Sidney was the last one off the ice, and after he handed his hockey stick up to a three year old boy, he yanked off his glove, reaching down to give my hand a sqeeuze as he passed with a subtle grin. I knew the action was done for two reasons. To not draw attention to me from the possibly crazed female fans staring down, hence his lack of actual eye contact, and to reassure me that he wasn’t going to go all crazy on me after last night.

I appreciated both of the reasons. But judging the cup of Pepsi that narrowly missed my head, accompanied with the, “What a whore,” comment, I don’t think he was as subtle as he thought.

----------------------------------------------

Waiting for the media to clear out of the locker room was something I had already become accustomed to in the last few weeks. I smiled politely to the reporters who glanced over at me curiously, waiting for the guys to start filing out. Dan Potash was the last of the media to leave the room, chuckling to himself about something as he followed his camera man out. He glanced over at me, eyeing me for a moment before pointing to me and asking, “Are you by any chance Hanna?”

I lifted my arms up to the cross them, as I often did when I was nervous or uncomfortable. “I am, yes.”

He grinned, “Fantastic. Good to have you around,” He said, giving me a wave before he headed off in the same direction as his cameraman.

I frowned, confused as to what had just happened, but was immediately distracted by Tyler as he came running out, throwing his arms around me as soon as he saw me. “Hanna, I am taking tonight as proof that you are some sort of good luck charm!”

I laughed, trying not fall over. “Really? Pretty sure I was here when you lost the last two games, though.”

He let go of me, waving one of his hands through the air. “Who cares about those two? We had a six goal night! Sid got a hat trick! We just took top spot in our division, Flower made it in to the top five wins department and Sid passed Ovechkin for the scoring title. You are a ray of luck, Miss Hanna. A beaming ray of luck!”

I could only laugh again as he headed off towards his girlfriend, who I still hadn’t met, leaving me to see a grinning Max Talbot standing behind him. I made a face, “What do you know?”

He grinned, “I don’t know any details, but I know that Sidney was at your house last night and he’s been in a fantastic mood since. Either you’re not as classy as I assumed and the two of you tried out you new bed, or a relationship is blossoming.”

I felt my face grimace a bit. “Why, Max? Why do you need to talk?”

He laughed, “I’m sorry. But really, whatever is going on between you and my buddy Sid, it’s clearly a good thing. The guy got a hat trick! His third one this season! He only had two before this game! Plus, he’s been laughing and joking around with everyone all day. He’s clearly a happy guy right now.”

I nodded, feeling myself blush a little bit. “Hey, great game today. That set up you made for Sidney’s last goal made it look like you actually know how to play hockey,” I joked.

Max laughed, “Thank you. I was hoping someone would say that exact phrase to me.”

I grinned, looking around Max as I noticed Sidney walk of the room, chugging back a bottle of Gatorade. Max didn’t even stand around to play some form of devil’s advocate or even try to tease both Sidney and I. As soon as he noticed that Sidney was standing a few feet behind him, he pulled out his cell phone, pretended it had rung and headed off to “Take the call.” I rolled my eyes, giving my head a small shake as I watched him speed walk down the hall.

When I turned back to look at Sidney, he was already standing in front of me, still chugging the Gatorade. He finally pulled the bottle away, which was now empty, and took a few deep breaths before grinning. “Hi. Sorry, I was really dehydrated.”

I had to laugh at him as he tried to catch his breath. “Is that the purple one?” I asked, taking the bottle from his hands and turning it around so I could see the label. “It is. Wow, you must have been really dehydrated if you chugged purple Gatorade.”

Sidney shrugged, taking the empty bottle back from me and tossing it over to the recycling bin a few feet away, frowning when it missed by a good foot. “Well, this is why I don’t play basketball,” he muttered, walking over to pick the bottle up and put it in the bin before turning to look at me once more. “So…coffee?”

I raised my eyebrows up at him, “Where can you go get coffee and not be mauled?”

“Well, there’s this really nice place I go to all the time called my house, so I figured maybe we could there,” He answered, trying not to smirk at me.

I pouted, causing him to laugh. “I guess I could do that. But I can’t stay too late, I have to call Peyton and wash my uniform before my next shift.”

Sidney nodded, waiting for me to make my way over to where he was standing before he started walking down the long hallway, nodding politely to the staff members who waved to him. “How was work? I’m guessing it’s not as busy as usual since you were down for the last period.”

I nodded, “Yeah, I guess the Islanders aren’t a team all of Pittsburgh really want to watch,” I answered. “It was alright. The job is so easy I feel like I’m stealing money from them because hey pay me to put fruit on a platter. But it means I can buy groceries, so I have no complaints.”

Sidney nodded, stopping just before the back door and frowning. “Did you drive here?” I nodded. “Me too. Do you know how to get to my place from here?”

I laughed, “Sidney, I’m not sure I know how to get too my place from here.”

He grinned, “Well, awesome.” He sighed, “How about I just drive you to my place and I’ll tell Pascal to take your car. His wife is here tonight, so she can drive their vehicle.”

“I could ask him you know,” I reminded him.

Sidney grinned, “Yeah, but he has to listen to me. I’m his captain. Wait here, I’m just going to run back into the locker room and ask him, I’ll be right back,” He said, turning and actually running all the way back to the locker room.

I let out a small sigh, leaning against the wall, and adjusting the strap of my backpack, which had my work clothes in it. There were two girls and who I’m assuming was their father standing about thirty feet away from me getting an autograph from Max. Both of the girls, who looked to be about 17 or so, were wearing a Crosby jersey, and the excitement on their faces as they talked to Max, who was showing off his bicep muscles for some reason that I’m hoping was justified, was evident.

Sidney came jogging back over to me, slowing down as he got closer until he was standing in front of me. “Alright, we’re good to go,” He told me, smiling.

I nodded, glancing back at the two girls and noticing that one of them was eyeing Sidney. “Hey, Sidney,” I called, stopping him as he was about to walk out the door. “Sorry, I just…there’s these girls that look like they came back here just to meet you, and I was-”

“Oh, where?” He asked, stepping back into the arena and glancing over at where I was pointing. “No one told me there was fans coming back tonight,” he explained to me. “Are you okay with waiting a minute?”

I nodded, noticing that the girls were moving a bit closer, clearly having noticed that Sidney had now spotted them. Sidney placed a hand on my shoulder, for a second before he left my side and headed over to the girls, making my entire face warm up. All of those worries that had been at the back of my mind all day telling me that Sidney and I would never be able to talk to each other again were gone as I watched him take the few steps over to the two girls, smiling at them as they both grinned up at him.

“Did you enjoy the game?” He asked, taking the magazine one of them had and signing his name across it, smiling when they both nodded their heads shyly. “Where were your seats?”

Neither girl spoke, so the man cleared his throat before he answered, “We were 20 rows back behind the benches.”

“Oh, good seats,” Sidney said, scribbling his name on the back of the other girl’s jersey. “Are you from around here, or visiting?”

“We’re from Vancouver, BC,” The dark haired girl said, her face turning red when Sidney glanced at her. “We couldn’t get tickets to see you play in Vancouver, so my grandma paid for us to come here as an early grad present for me.”

Sidney laughed, “Wow. My grandma gave me ten dollars when I graduated,” He told them, making all three of them chuckle. “Vancouver, huh?” He glanced back at me, grinning. “That’s a nice city.”

They nodded, the two girls glancing over at me before the blonde one quietly asked Sidney something. He looked quickly between the girl and I before he sort of smiled. “Yes.” Both of the girls seemed shocked by his answer, but it fell from their faces as soon as the dad asked if they could get a picture and Sidney obliged, moving to stand in between the two girls, placing both arms on their shoulders and smiling.

He was met with an abundance of thank you’s from both of the girls, and the dad, as he smiled, wishing them a fun trip before he turned and headed back to me, holding the door open for me. I noticed the girls still watching me and gave an awkward wave to them, which they returned, before I followed Sidney outside.

“Were you talking about me?” I asked him as I followed him out to his car.

Sidney blushed a bit, clearing his throat. “Uhm, yeah they just asked about you.”

I eyed him, “What did they ask?”

He didn’t answer until we had reached his car, where he stepped around me to unlock my door and hold it open for me. “They asked if you were my girlfriend.”

I was halfway into the car, and the answer caused me to pause, lifting my eyes up to look at Sidney. “And you said yes.”

He nodded, holding my gaze. “It was wishful thinking, I guess, but I-”

“No, it’s fine,” I said, which seemed to surprise him. “I mean, I guess it’s pretty obvious that I like you a little bit so…” I trailed off, finally sitting in the car fully.

Sidney grinned, staring down at me for a second before he closed the door and headed over to his own side.

------------------------------

“Sidney,” I began, looking down at the cup of coffee that I had only taken one sip from. “if I were to tell you that this was the worst cup of coffee I’ve ever had in my life, what would you say?”

He turned around to look at me from the kitchen counter. “I would say that you’ve obviously never had a cappuccino from Starbucks,” He replied, making me laugh. He lifted up is own cup of coffee and took a drink from it, making a face. “Oh wow, that is really bad.”
I laughed, “I’m telling you, this is terrible. If the Boston Bruins had a flavour, this would be it.”

Sidney laughed, coming over to grab my cup and dumping it out into the sink. “I always imagined Lucic to be a mocha guy.”

I stared at him for a moment. “I’m sorry, you sometimes sit around and think about what other players flavour would be? Maybe the rumours are true.”

Sidney made a face at me, opening up his fridge. “How about milk?”

“Is it going to taste like a failure?” I asked cautiously, making Sidney laugh and shake his head. “Then yes, I would love a glass of milk.”

He shut the fridge, turning around to look at me. “I don’t have any milk.”

“Why did you offer me some?” I asked.

He shrugged, “I don’t know. What if I made tea? I have tea, and there’s no way I could mess that up.”

“Sidney, just give me something to drink,” I noticed the smirk on his face and rolled my eyes. “I know. That’s what she said.”

He laughed, walking over to a cupboard and grabbing a box of tea bags before he plugged in his kettle and came to sit down next to me at his kitchen table, folding his hands on top of the table and letting out a long sigh. “I’m tired.”

“You should be. I’d have probably just died on the ice if I went out and scored three goals. Well, actually, I’d probably just die on the ice because I’d fall down and break something,” I said to him.

Sidney smiled. “That was a good game. Flower was amazing in net.”

“Flower? Sidney, you scored three goals and had two assists. A five point night! That’s amazing.”

He shrugged, “It’s not about me. It’s about the team. The team helped me out tonight,” he said, moving his gaze to look at me. “Plus, I was kind of trying to impress you.”

I grinned, “Really? You know I’ve seen you play before, right?”

Sidney laughed, “Yeah, but this was different. I had to be extra amazing, and manly. I mean, you made the first move. I had to try and steal back my mojo,” He joked.

I smirked at him. “Well, I was thoroughly impressed until you failed at making me a cup of coffee. Now I’m back to wondering if you have Backstrom’s number.”

Sidney made a face, standing up as the kettle clicked, signalling that the water was boiled and setting it off to start steeping the tea. He brought both of the cups over to the table, where the cream and sugar were already sitting, and sat down once more. “I feel like I have to remind you that I’ll be gone on road trips a lot, and that I have a lot endorsement deals that require me to head out for publicity.”

I nodded, “You’re trying to subtly ask me if I’m good with not seeing you for weeks at a time, right?” He gave me a sheepish nod. “Well, I’m sure it’ll suck, but I know that’s how it will be.”

He nodded. “And you know that I have a few fans who are…territorial?”

I laughed, “Sidney, I already had a cup of Pepsi thrown at me tonight and was called a whore, and that was before anything official had happened. I’m prepared.”

“Pepsi?” He asked, shaking his head. “Man, pop costs like five dollars at the arena. That chick meant business.”

I let out a small laugh, taking out the tea bag and added in some sugar as I glanced over at the clock, seeing that I would have to be heading out in about twenty minutes. “So, remember that time you told me you didn’t date?”

He laughed, “I do remember that, yes.”

“What changed?” I asked, seeming to catch him off guard. “You were so serious about how you thought your career would be too hard for a girl to deal with and that you didn’t want to put her through that.”

Sidney took a drink of his tea. “I think I said all of that to you to convince myself it more than you,” He told me quietly. “I used to think that hockey was the only thing I needed in life. I remember being 13 and thinking, ‘God, if I make it into the NHL, I will never ask for anything else as long as I live.’ I honestly thought it was all I needed, so I devoted everything I had to the game. I threw myself into getting better, into endorsing the game and being the best player I could be. It didn’t leave time for meeting girls or focusing on a relationship, which is why I just came to think that I’d be alone forever. And for the first couple of years, I was okay with that, because I was just going to dedicate my time to leading the team to the cup,” He paused to take another drink of his tea. “But then I won the cup, and I was surrounded by my entire hometown, and I had all of Pittsburgh cheering for me, and I had all of Canada screaming they loved me. And I felt alone. I watched the rest of the team hug their wives and girlfriends after we won the cup, and even though I had my family, and I was so glad they were there, I wanted what the others had. I had the cup for a day, and when the parade was over and I was by myself, that there was all there was. Just me and this cup, the thing I had thrown away relationships for. And even though it was sitting in the middle of my house, shining under the living room lights, and it was greatest accomplishment of my life, that empty feeling I had was still there.”

I listened to Sidney with my heart growing heavy, hearing how this guy had felt like he didn’t deserve a relationship because he had sworn being in the NHL and winning the Cup would mean that he would never ask for anything again. He had convinced himself that the loneliness in his heart could be filled with awards, and once he had that sought after Stanley Cup, he was still alone. “It was the same with the Olympics, wasn’t it?” I asked.

Sidney nodded, staring down at his cup of tea as he played with it. “Yeah. The biggest game of my life so far, and when it was done, I hugged my family goodbye so they could catch their flight, and then watched every other person on the team fall into the arms of the person they loved,” He let out a small laugh. “I was the only single person on that entire team. Everyone else had someone to bring with them to the Moulson house that night, and I walked in completely alone with no one at my side. Not even my family.” He let out another long sigh, “And then I walked in and you were there with Max and Jordan. I guess that was when I started to think that I maybe I was wrong about how I could just carry on alone.”

I sighed, “Sidney, no one can go through the kind of life you live by themselves. I know it has a lot of perks to it, and I know you’re doing what you love, but all of the criticisms, the expectations and the headlines about you, you can’t carry all of that by yourself.”

“See, I get that now,” He said with a soft laugh. “Honestly, Hanna, I think that by the time you and Peyton flew out here I was already thinking about how I didn’t want you to be just another friend, but I didn’t want to pull you into this world.”

I grinned, “And then I just stepped right into it, moved out here and kissed you.”

Sidney laughed, “Basically how it went.”

I frowned, glancing over at the clock. “You’re going to have to drive me home soon, Sidney,” I told him. “I promised Peyton I’d call her at eight, our time.”

“Will she be mad if you’re late?” He asked.

“No, but it’s eleven at night her time and she’s got a seven am class, so I don’t want to keep her up too late,” I explained.

He nodded, pushing his chair back. “Do you work tomorrow?” He asked me.

I sighed, “Yes, I do. At three. It’s a cleaning day or something.”

Sidney nodded. “I have practice at the same time.”

“Are you implying something?” I asked him, raising an eyebrow as he took both of our cups and placed them in the sink.

“I’m saying we should get lunch. Actually get lunch. There’s a tiny diner about ten minutes from your house where people are so used to me they don’t even care anymore,” He told me, waiting for me to get my coat on before he grabbed his keys off of the counter. “Hey, Hanna, hang on,” He called, stopping me before I headed over to the door to grab my shoes.

I turned around just in time for Sidney to lean down and catch my lips, one of his hands pressing on the small of my back to keep me from losing my balance, since I wasn’t completely turned around when he kissed me, and his other hand entangling into my hair. It took me a second to realize what was happening, but once I was completely aware, I wrapped both of my arms around his neck.

Sidney eventually pulled back, brushing my bangs away from my eyes and grinning. “You know, since you caught me off guard yesterday, I figured I owed you.”

I was too dizzy to reply. Instead, I let him grab my hand and lead me over to the door so I could slide my feet into my shoes before we headed out to his car.