Chapter Eighty-Nine

So when we walked into the restaurant, Max and the girl were already seated. She was a blonde, with a tan. I’m going to go out on a limb and say it was a fake tan since it’s the middle of November. She had really long hair, her nails were done, and she apparently likes makeup. I guess its just completely different sitting there with someone like that because most of my friends are athletes. Its not uncommon for me to go out in public with no makeup on. Even when I do wear makeup, its not very heavy and its usually just eyeliner and mascara. I guess I’m lucky that when I first met Sidney, I had no makeup on so he knew what he was getting himself into. I sat down trying to keep an open mind. Trying really hard because it wasn’t really working.

“Hey, guys.” Max said when we walked to the table. We sat down. I guess the one good thing about this girl was that Max already told her Sidney would be joining us. She kept looking at him but atleast she wasn’t like touching him or anything, yet.

“Hey, Max.” I said smiling.

“This is Marcy.” Max said.

“Hi, I’m Joey.” I said to her.

“So you two are dating?” She asked.

“Me and Sidney?” I asked confused on what she was talking about.

“Yeah, we have been together for three years.” Sidney chimed in saying.

“Oh wow, I didn’t even know you had a girlfriend.” She said.

“How would you know?” I asked really confused at this girl.

“I didn’t mean anything by it.” She said.

“So what do you do?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“Like do you go to school, or do you have a job or something?” I asked.

“Oh.. I’m a bartender.” She simply said.

“Ohh that’s nice.” Sidney said. I just looked at him.

“So what are you doing for Thanksgiving?” Max asked me.

“The family comes in from the Hamptons.” I started to say.

“So you are rich?” She asked me. I couldn’t believe she just asked that.

“No. Anyways, my grandparents are coming in from the Hamptons and my grandpa just moved to Florida and he is coming back. Plus, I think some of my aunts and uncles are coming in.” I explained.

“That sounds nice.” Max said.

“Should be interesting. Kind of sucks you guys are away or you could have come with Sidney.” I said.

The rest of the dinner conversation was interesting to say the least. I tried to be nice, but at some points it just felt like Max and I were having a conversation together. I didn’t blame Sidney, it didn’t want to say too much because who knows what this girl would tell people. I feel bad for Max, to be honest. Max gets a bad rep. He does love to party and he does love women, but he is a great guy deep down. He is a great friend to have and I just wish he could have someone to love. I know he might not be ready for it, but I hate seeing him with girls that like him just because he is Max Talbot.

“That was a joke.” I said when we got into the car.

“Tell me about it.” He said.

“I’m never going back on a double date with Max ever again.” I said laughing.

“How about her asking you if you were rich!”

“Or asked if we are together? Why would we be going to dinner together if we weren’t dating?”

“Then her saying oh she didn’t know I had a girlfriend.” He said.

“I feel bad for Max.”

“Don’t feel too bad for him. He just wants a girl for his bed, and trust me that girl fits the part.”

“then why did he take her to dinner?”

“Because maybe deep down he wishes it was more.” He said.

“I don’t know. It would be hard to know what girls are in it for the money and fame.” I said.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m so happy to have you. You liked me before I even scored a goal.” He said.

“Do you think this is as good as it gets?” I asked.

“I’d be okay with that.” He said looking at me when we pulled to a stop light.

“Me too, babe.” I said. Then we kissed and headed to Mario’s to spend the rest of the night together.

Chapter Eighty-Eight

“Dinner with me, Max, and some girl?” He asked me one night on the phone.

“Some girl?”

“Yeah, I don’t know. Max wants to bring a girl.”

“Okay, that’s fine.”

“Just me and you will hang out after. Anything you want.”

“I don’t mind hanging out with Max.” I said.

“I know. Its just.. sometimes its nice when me and you are alone.” He said.

“Yeah, its always better when its just me and you.” I said smiling.

“I’ll come get you and we can hang out after practice before dinner.” He said.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” I said.

“So whats this girl going to be like?” I asked Sidney while we were laying on a couch in Mario’s house.

“Umm.. well knowing Max and the girls he likes to date. I will be surprised if we can hold an intellectual conversation with her.” He said in all seriousness.

“Well we are talking about Max, I don’t think many intellectual conversations take place.” I said.

“no, but seriously. Max always goes for the wrong type of girl. Max is a good guy.”

“Max is a good guy but I don’t think Max really wants a relationship.” I said.

“He doesn’t, but if he found the right girl.”He said.

“I don’t know. So what do you really think the girl is going to be like?”

“His last girlfriend was nice.”

“Nice.”

“Well, she could keep up with him. She would go out with him and whatnot. She was nice, but not really the kind of girl you marry or bring home to your mother.” He said.

“So what your saying is I could potentially be sitting at dinner in a nice restaurant with a Pittsburgh slut?” I asked.

“First of all, we won’t be at a nice restaurant. It will be nice but not our kind of nice. Second of all, I don’t think you should classify her as a slut before you even meet her. I do think its safe to say she isn’t going to be your best friend.”

“Oh well, in that case.” I said laughing.

“Max will owe us for doing this for him.” He said.

“Why us? Why did he pick us?” I asked.

“Who knows.”

“Isn’t Marc is best friend?” I asked.

“Yes. But, Marc is with Vero all the time.”

“Max doesn’t like Vero?”

“No, he does. I think he just feels out of place with them.”

“And he doesn’t with us at all, which is kind of weird.”

“We are just such awesome people.” He said.

“well I’m awesome, I’m not sure about you.”

“After three years, you still aren’t sure about me?” He asked me and started tickling me.

“Okay! Okay! Fine! You are AMAZING!” I said giving into the tickling.

“After three years I figured out how to get you to see things my way.” He said.

“What? With holding sex?” I asked.

“Oh, I wish that worked! Tickling, smart ass!” He said.

“I love you.” I said when our faces were inches apart.

“I love you too.” He said then kissed me.

“I just wish Max could find what we have.” Sidney said in the car on the way to the restaurant.

“Me too. But like you said maybe he doesn’t want to find it.” I said.

“How could he not?”

“I don’t know. He is only like 25.”

“Yeah, and I’m 21.”

“You aren’t Max.” I said.

“I know. It just seems weird because it feels so good.” He said.

“I know. But Max is Max. Lets just make it through this dinner. Then, we will figure out a nice girl for him.”

“That would be nice.”

“I know, I’m a little worried to match him with a nice girl because what if he corrupts her.” I said.

“Lets not think about Max and his ways.” He said laughing a little.

“Kind of hard when we are getting pulled into them!” I said.

“We love Max. Who knows why, we just do. He is a good guy.” He said.

“I know, I know. I’m just hoping I can remember that when I’m sitting across from him and his playmate.” I said.

“Playmate.. that’s a good one.” He said laughing.

“We are so bad!” I said.

“We are in rare form tonight.”

“Great behavior for dinner with a stranger.”

“Maybe that means we won’t have to double with Max anymore.” He said trying to look on the positive time.

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up.” I said.

“You are such a good sport for doing this.”

“you say this now, who knows how my behavior is going to be like when I meet her.” I said laughing.

“When in doubt, just drink your water.” He said.

Then we pulled in to the parking lot. We stepped out and walked hand in hand to the restaurant.

“Bring on the circus.” He said.

“Oh good attitude, babe!” I said looking at him.

End of Summer.

So tomorrow, I move back to school. I am definitely going to continue to write. However, my goal is to update once a week. Maybe I will do more, maybe less, but I am going to try to do it once a week. I hope everyone can stick to reading it. My semester is pretty crazy but I love writing. so just stick with me, read and comment. thanks for being such loyal readers : )

Chapter Eighty-Seven

“Hey.” Sidney came into my bedroom at home.

“Hey?” I said. I wasn’t sure what he was doing here. I hadn’t talked to him since I went to lunch with Max. I wasn’t even sure how he knew I was at my house and not at my dorm room.

“Sorry I wasn’t able to pick you up.”He said sitting down on my bed.

“Its fine.” I said not really thinking much of it.

“Jo, I really am sorry.” He said again.

“I know.”

“Max said you were mad.”

“Max probably should keep his mouth shut.” I said.

“Well, maybe you should talk to me instead of him.”

“Sidney, its not like I was sitting there for hours talking about you. I simply was telling one of my friends what I was feeling.”

“Yeah, well he is my friend too.”

“Yeah, which apparently is a problem since he can’t be neutral.” I said.

“So I’m sorry that I wasn’t there.” He said again.

“Its fine. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if you would have just told me. You knew you had the commercial. You knew there was a possibility that you may not be able to pick me up. Why not just tell me that?”

“I should have.”

“Yeah, you really should have. Do you know how crazy that sounds.. my boyfriend can’t pick me up he is doing a commercial.” He said.

“Jo, I don’t know what you want me to say. I’m sorry. I should have been there and I wasn’t.” He said.

“I know, I get it. I just don’t think we should make Max pick between the two of us.” I said.

“He didn’t tell me.” He said. I just looked at him.

“I can tell when you are mad and when you are lying.” He said.

“I’m sorry.” I said.

“So how was the tournament?”

“It was good. We didn’t make the playoffs, so basically the season is over.” I said.

“I’m sorry, babe.” He said putting his arm around me.

“Its fine.”

“Are you glad you played?”

“Yeah. I’m really happy you got to see a few games. That was fun. And it wasn’t that bad, I mean like it didn’t make us not be able to see eachother that much.” I said.

“I’m really glad you played.” He said.

“Morning, baby.” He said the next morning. I simply just smiled.

“I love mornings like this.” I whispered.

“Me too.”

“Too bad, you leave in like two days.” I said.

“I know, but its Detroit.” He said.

“Revenge is sweet.” I said.

“It is. So is the family coming here for Thanksgiving?” He asked me.

“I don’t know. Its still like two weeks away. I have like three exams from now til then.” I said.

“You will be fine.” He said.

“Are you home for Thanksgiving?”

“No, away trip.” He said.

“That sucks. Atleast you guys are playing really well right now.” I said.

“Yeah, its been good.”

“Hey, babe.” He said calling me later in the day.

“Hey.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m just laying in my room.”

“At home or in the dorm?”He asked.

“Dorm. Sophie is out with Jake.” I said.

“Does that still bother you?”

“What do you think?”

“I think it does.”

“Yeah, you would be right.”

“Why does it bother you so much?”

“Probably why it bothers you that I talked to Max about you.” I said.

“It didn’t.”

“Okay, well it bothers me because now its like I went from having two friends to not really having any. If I talk to Sophie, she has the right to tell Jake. If I tell Jake, he has the right to tell Sophie. Well sometimes when I talk to someone I just want them to know. I just want to talk to Sophie and not worry that Jake is going to know, and vice versa. Its just like their loyalty is different. I don’t blame them and I’m not mad at them, it just means they aren’t who they were to me anymore.” I said.

“Babe, you can talk to them.”

“I know I can. But its like we all could hang out before but now I never hang out with just one of them. I just miss them. I just.. Jake was my best friend and then Sophie came and became my best friend. Now they have eachother so where does that leave me?”

“with me.” He simply said.

“I know. You are my best friend. But sometimes I just need other people. That’s one of the reasons I like hanging out with Max.” I said.

“That makes sense. Babe, you don’t have to be ashamed of how you feel about Sophie and Jake.” He said.

“I’m not.” I said.

Then we just sat there in silence for awhile. I was lying in bed and I don’t know what he was doing actually. I could hear him breathing, it sounded like he was just lying there as well. I needed to be with him but I didn’t know if I should be. I just feel weird right now. Its hard to describe.

“Are you okay?” He asked after about ten minutes of silence.

“I’m fine.” I said. I guess he didn’t believe me because after another ten minutes of silence I heard a knock at my door.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“This.” He said and just held me.

“Sometimes I just feel sad. I just don’t feel like there is anyone to talk too.” I said while lying in the bed with him.

“You always have me.” He said.

“I know, Sidney. I know that.” I said.

“Just talk to Sophie and Jake.” He said.

“Did you know she is never here? I only saw her at soccer or at class.” I said.

“You are with me a lot.”

“I know. Its just weird. I don’t know. I’ll get over it.” I said.

“You shouldn’t have too. Just simply talk to them.” He said.

“Baby…” I said.

“You know you can always talk to me. I’m always here. But you should have other people too.”

“I know.”

“Call Connor or something.” He said.

“I will.” I said.

“Can we just lay here for awhile?” I asked.

“Anything you want.” He said kissing me.

Chapter Eighty-Six

November

I had a tournament in Michigan for four days. Sidney has been away as well. Everything has been really good with the two of us. No fights, no nothing. We are actually kind of boring. People tell us that all the time. Its kind of a compliment. Sidney was coming to pick me up after the tournament. We were at the airport and I was thinking I would see Sidney. He said he was going to be there. Instead, it was Max.

“Hey?” I said walking over to him.

“Hey, sorry its just me.” He said.

“You are good enough.” I said smiling.

“Sure.”

“Where is Sidney?” I asked after he got my bags.

“He had a commercial.”

“Oh.” I simply said.

“He really wanted to be here. He thought he could make it, but he ended up not being able too.” He said being so sincere.

“Yeah, I get it.”

“I’m sorry.” He said.

“Its not your fault.” I said playing with the ring on my necklace.

“Whats wrong?”

“Its just..” I said and then realized I shouldn’t say anything.

“What?”

“I love Sidney, don’t get me wrong. Its just he isn’t here because he has to do a commercial. How stupid does that statement sound?” I said looking at him.

“He wanted to be here, though.”

“I’m sure he did. But, he’s not.” I said.

“Do you want to get lunch or something?” He asked.

“Yeah, that would be great.” I said.

So that’s what we did. We went to lunch. It was kind of weird at first being with Max without Sidney. But, after a few minutes it just seemed normal.

“So whats really wrong?” He asked.

“this.” I said pulling up the ring.

“you don’t like it?” He asked confused.

“Of course I like it.” I said shaking my head.

“Then whats wrong?”

“Today. He wasn’t there, he was at a commercial. Do I love Sidney? Yeah, with my whole heart.”

“So whats the problem?”

“Did you know that before I met Sidney, I didn’t even believe in marriage.” I said.

“You are lying.”

“No, I’m serious. Forever is a long time don’t you think?” I asked.

“Yeah, its forever.” He said not really sure where I was going with this.

“Yeah, that’s a long time. I didn’t believe that you could want to be with someone for that long. I couldn’t even imagine loving someone enough to want to even know them for forever.. then I met Sidney.”

“Okay?”

“I love Sidney but I can’t imagine our life together.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean like when you sit down and picture ten years from now.. I can’t really picture it. I love Sidney and I can’t imagine loving anyone else. I can’t imagine marrying someone that isn’t Sidney. But, is this what our life is going to be like? Him not being able to do things because of a commercial. I mean in all seriousness, I don’t want to just be Sidney Crosby’s wife. I want to have a life and a job.”

“you will.”

“Yeah, but then what.. I just leave for Canada when he does? Pittsburgh is my home. I love it here. What happens if he leaves the Penguins? I’m suppose to follow him and of course I would. But I mean Cole Harbour is his home, Pittsburgh is mine.” I said.

“He gets that.”

“I know.. I just don’t know. This ring is just so serious.”

“So you don’t want it?”

“No, I do. I love him and I want to be his wife. Its just I’m 19.” I said. He just looked at him. It seems like he didn’t know what to say.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have told you these things.” I said.

“No, its fine. We are friends. You should know that Sidney really does love you. He loves you more than anyone I have ever seen.” He said.

“Thanks for saying that.”

“I’m not just saying it. It’s the truth.”

“Thanks, Max.” I said smiling.

Short Post

I had to admit that even though a week has passed I still couldn’t believe that Sidney gave me an engagement ring. I know its not really an engagement ring, but it also is going to be one day. It was weird having it around my neck. Everything seemed so official now. Its not like we weren’t committed to eachother or something like that, it just meant so much more now. I was scared, I wasn’t going to lie. I was so scared because even though I knew I loved Sidney, forever was a long time away.

Needless to say, my parents weren’t too excited about it. Don’t get me wrong, my parents loved Sidney. But I am 19, they didn’t think I would be thinking about marriage. For all they knew, I still didn’t believe in marriage. Which would be true if Sidney wasn’t Sidney.

“What happens if I lose it?” I asked him one night we were at dinner and I was looking at my necklace with the ring on it.

“I’ll buy you a new one.” He simply said. It seemed like nothing to him. He seemed so sure everything. I just gave him a look.

“What’s really wrong?” He asked me.

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

“You have been acting weird lately.”

“I’m fine.” I insisted.

“The ring freaked you out didn’t it?”

“Its not like I don’t love you.” I said.

“I know, Jo.”

“Its just now what happens if we break up? What happens if we have one of our infamous fights and we are like we are done. I know I always said that the next time would be it, but I don’t know. It just seems like now if we do break up, it would be for real because of this ring.” I said.

“First of all, I don’t think we are going to break up. And nothing has changed because of this ring. I love you and this ring just symbolizes that. I don’t want you to think I want to be with someone else. I don’t want you to worry when I’m on an away trip. I love you and when you see this ring you should know that you are the only girl that will ever be enough.” He said.

I just looked at him. He always knows exactly what to say. I know he usually means everything he says. But he can’t possibly be as sure as he sounds. He was always the one that would be unsure. He was the one that doubted things more than me. That’s what Brittany was all about. That’s what every fight stems from. I do love Sidney and I don’t want him to doubt that, but I’m still unsure about a few things, having this ring doesn’t change that.

Chapter Eighty-Five

Sidney left for Sweden. He wouldn’t be back for two weeks. It would be hard, really hard. Because we couldn’t talk on the phone that much, either. It would be hard because Sidney is my best friend. Without him, I have Jacob and Sophie and Connor, that’s it. If I don’t talk to Sidney, I have to talk to one of them. Problem is Sophie has Jake now and vice versa. Connor is Connor so who knows. I would go and talk to Simon, but Sidney hates Simon.

“Hey.” He called one night.

“hi.” I replied.

“How was your day?” He asked.

“Well its day eight without you.” I said.

“Jo.” He said.

“What? I’m just saying. I miss you. Its lonely without you.”

“I miss you too.”

“You have your teammates who are like your best friends.” I said.

“you have soccer and Sophie, Jake, and Connor.” He said.

“I just want you back.” I said.

“Hey, babe. I love you but I have to go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“I leave tomorrow for a road trip to Michigan.” I said.

“Well call me when you can. I love you.” He said.

“I love you, too.” I said.

“Jo, I miss you. Everything is going to be fine. You worry too much.” He said.

“Thanks, be safe.”

“You too love.” He said and then he hung up.

Mid-October.

Sidney and I have been normal. Everything has been good. Max and us have hung up all the time. Usually multiple times a week. I stay are Sidney’s on the weekends and we are together a lot. Everything feels good.

“Don’t make any plans for tomorrow night.” Sidney said after his game.

“Why?”

“I’m planning something.” He said.

“Okay.” I said confused.

The next day Sidney picked me up for a date night. I didn’t realize what today was. It was October 19. Three years ago to the day I met Sidney. He remembered. He always remembers.

After we went to dinner, we went to the park I always go too when I am sad. We sat on the bench and just held hands. It felt so right.

“Three years ago, a girl rang the doorbell. No idea that girl would become my best friend, soul mate, or my girlfriend. In some ways three years seems so long ago because we been through so much. I can’t imagine meeting you and not loving you from that day. I can’t imagine what life would be like if you never came to pick your sister up.” He said.

“I love you.” I looked at him.

“I love you too. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I don’t tell you enough how you have changed my life. I never thought it would be okay to not love hockey the most. Three years ago flew by because you have always been there. You are always there no matter what happens. I love you and I can’t tell you how much I love you. This day three years ago could arguably have been the best day of my life because it changed the course of my life forever. Thank you for loving me.”

“No, Sidney. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for picking me and sticking with me.” I said with tears.

“I got you something.” He said pulling out a box wrapped.

I opened the box and pulled out a diamond ring on a silver chain.

“This is hopefully our engagement ring. I know its way too early for us to get married. But, I never will doubt the fact that it will happen.” He said and I just looked at him.

“I just don’t want you to doubt either. When you see this ring I want it to remind you that someone is always thinking of you and that I love you.” He said and he pulled out the ring. I looked at it. It was beautiful. I don’t even want to think of how much it cost. It was white gold with a princess cut diamond in the center. It had two smaller diamonds on either side. It was beautiful.

“Sidney, you didn’t need to do this.”

“I love you and I don’t want you to ever feel alone, because you aren’t. I’m always going to be here.” He said.

“Did you see what it said?” He asked me. I looked at it again. It had our initials and it had Forever my best friend, eternally my love. I read it and I just started to cry.

“Babe, I love you so much and you didn’t need to do this. I know you love me.”

“It just doesn’t seem right for us to keep saying I love you. Because its not enough for me to say it. If you weren’t in school I would marry you tomorrow. That’s how sure I am that I want you to be by my side.” He said.

Chapter Eighty-Four

“Guess what I’m doing tomorrow.” He said on the phone late one night.

“Going to practice?” I asked confused on where he was going with this.

“True. But I am also going to an RMU soccer game.” He said.

“Are you really?” I asked. I was so surprised. Sidney hasn’t seen me play soccer since I was in high school.

“Max and I will be there.” He said. Lately, Max has been hanging around more often. He doesn’t have a girlfriend and he says when he is hanging with us he doesn’t feel like a third wheel like he does when he is with some of the other guys.

“Oh, awesome. We should go eat after.” I said. We talked for a little while longer. Then I hung up so I could get some sleep. It was our first home game tomorrow, and I was really nervous. I was even more nervous now that I knew Sidney would be there.

“Is that Sidney Crosby?” One of the freshman girls asked during warm ups.

“Yeah.” Sophie replied.

“Why is he here?” She asked.

“He is kind of my boyfriend.” I said.

“You are dating Sidney Crosby?”

“Yeah, I thought everyone knew. We have been best friends forever.” I said.

“Wow, you are like the luckiest girl, ever.”

“Sure, I guess.” I said.

It was weird that she didn’t know. It was weird that someone was making me and Sidney into a big deal. It was weird, because it really just seemed normal to me. It seemed normal that my boyfriend is Sidney Crosby. That my boyfriend has thousands of girls wishing they could get with him. It was normal for fans to be everything. This was all normal, but him sitting in the stands watching me, wasn’t that normal.

We won the game. I didn’t play bad, but I didn’t score at all. When I walked out of the lockerroom, Sidney was signing autographs. He was signing autographs and taking pictures with fans at my game. I walked over and just talked to Max.

“Good game.” He said.

“Thanks.” I said looking at the crowd around Sidney.

“It was fun watching you.” He said.

“I think people will come just to see Sidney rather than come to watch the game.” I said.

“He didn’t want this to happen.” He said.

“I’m sure.” I said and went to sit on the bleachers.

“No, seriously.”

“I know, its not his fault. I’m glad he came.” I said.

“I’m glad you came too.” I said looking at Max.

“Sid was really excited to come. He told like everyone at practice today.” Max said. It made me laugh.

“It’s the truth.” Max said.

“I know, I’m just tired.” I said. About two minutes later, Sidney walked over.

“Good game, babe.” He said picking up my bag.

“You don’t have to carry my bag. I said.

“I’m your boyfriend, this is something boyfriends do.” He said.

“Okay? I’m pretty sure boyfriends don’t sign autographs.” I said.

“Sorry.” He said. He looked sincere.

“I know. Its fine.” I said. Max, Sid, and I all went to get food after the game. Then, we went back to Max’s house to watch a movie. It was kind of fun hanging out with someone other than just Sidney. I still love Sidney and Sidney and I have our share of alone time, but its fun just hanging out. And Max is so funny. He compliments Sidney well. Its fun to watch. Its even better when Marc-Andre and Jordan and TK are around. Unfortunately, when they are around, the girlfriends are around. The girlfriends still don’t like me much for some reason.

“I don’t want you to leave.” I said while laying in bed with Sidney at Mario’s house. It was the day before he was leaving for Sweden for two weeks.

“Me either.”

“Shut up, you so do. You are so excited to go to Sweden and be with the guys and start the season.” I said smiling at him.

“Yeah, but I wish you could come too.”

“Thanks babe.” I said smiling.

“I’m serious.”

“I know, its just I feel like you just got back and now you are leaving again.”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“Its not your fault.”I said.

“You kind of are acting like it.”

“What?”

“I’m just saying just because I have to leave, doesn’t mean I want too.”

“I know.”

“I don’t think you do.”

“I know you love me, Sidney. I know that. I know that you love being with me. I also know you love hockey. You love it maybe more than you love me. You love it more than I could ever understand. But, I accept it. Its hard to know that when you are gone you aren’t missing me because you still have hockey.”

“I don’t love hockey more than I love you. And, just because I am going away to play hockey doesn’t mean I don’t miss you. Of course, I miss you. You are the love of my life.” He said.

“I know I’m sorry.” I said wiping away a tear.

“Why are you crying?”

“I hate when you leave. You would think I would have gotten use to it, but its still hard. Especially because it’s the first time you leave. The middle of the season, its easier because I’m more use to it. But right now, in this moment.. I just don’t want my boyfriend to leave.”

“As your boyfriend, I don’t want to leave. As a hockey player, I want too.” He said.

“I know, and I can’t be mad at you for that. Atleast I can watch you on tv.” I said.

“I’ll talk to you all the time.” He said.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. You don’t need to with me.” He said.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too Jo. I will love you no matter how far away I am playing hockey. I love you and I will miss you more than you will know. But you have to know that I am coming back. I will always come back to you.” He said kissing me.