News

Hey guys, I just started a new story about Flower and Vero at behindcloseddoors29.blogspot.com . I would really appreciate it if you could check it out! And trust me I intend to keep going strong with Forever and Always. I've just had an insane week, but expect an update tomorrow. Love you all!

Chapter 27

Hey guys, sorry for the wait! I've just been busy unpacking and doing all that other boring just coming crap. So here's Chapter 27!

Chapter 27

Calli's POV

I woke up and immediately stretched my arms, like I do every time I wake up. Then I realized what Sidney and I just did a few hours ago, and I froze. I looked up at him and saw him watching tv.

He laughed when he saw me awake. "Hey sleeping beauty. I had a great time, how about you?" He was acting like we just hung out or went on a normal date. Blushing, I wrapped the sheets around myself and walking around the room picking up my clothes and putting them back on.

After straightening out my shirt, I faced him. "I suppose we should go back to the party. What's our excuse?" He immediately turned beet red, and I knew something was up. I sat down on the edge of the bed. "Sid, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Um, well, uh when you were like sleeping um well-" He started to say before I interrupted him. "Please just spit it out, I can take it."

"Well um Marc and a few of the other guys and uh Mario walked in.." He mumbled staring down at his hands. I sat down on the edge of the bed, I could feel my face turning red also. "Did they see anything?" I asked nervously.

"No, but they're not stupid. They know what happened." He replied.

"We can't go back down there." I said.

He shook his head and got out of bed, putting just his shorts on. "I was already thinking of that." He bent over and dug underneath his bed and threw out a rope ladder. "There."

"What..the..hell?" I asked confused. He rolled his eyes, he was smiling though. "Mario gave me this in case of a fire. He said he didn't want to be responsible for the NHL superstar's firey death. So I was thinking we could just climb down the side of the house using this."

I shook my head laughing. "Wow, you really thought that out. I was just thinking of sneaking around the hallways.."

He tied the ladder to the side of the window and climbed down it, having to jump the last couple feet. I stood in front of the window nervously. "I've never liked heights." I stated.

He rolled his eyes, "Do you really think I would let you fall? I promise I'll catch you if you do, but you'll be fine. I promise." Carefully, I started climbing down. On the last few feet where I was supposed to jump, I slipped accidently. I went crashing onto Sidney, effectivily knocking him over. He picked me off himself, laughing.

"You were supposed to catch me." I fake pouted. He grinned before taking my hand and put my bike in the back of his car before opening the passenger door for me. "Wow, what a gentleman Crosby." I said laughing before getting it in and shutting it behind me.

--

"Thanks for dropping me off Sidney. And yes, I did have a great time." I said, a blush triggering on my cheeks again. I leaned in and kissed him sweetly on the cheek. "No problem Cals. And like I said, we're going to have to practice." He replied smirking.

  I waved before shutting the door behind me and practically running back to the dorm room, where Marissa and Raina were playing cards. I sat down on the floor and breathlessly explained what happened.

"So is Sid the Kid as good in bed as all the teenage girls picture him being?" Marissa asked grinning.

"Mars! I'm sure he's very good, I mean we've seen those shirtless pictures of him." Raina replied. "Oh, and by the way. Scat."

"Ugh shit." Marissa explained before throwing down her cards.

"Guys, I just went through one of the biggest moments of my relationship and you're talking about whether or not he was good in bed? Well, he was.." I admitted.

"Hey call V, and the four of should go out to lunch tomorrow to Eat'N'Park." Raina suggested.

"Great idea."

Tomorrow during lunch

"You know all the years Marc and I have lived here, I've never been to one of these." Vero admitted before biting into her cheeseburger.

"Seriously? I'm from New York and Cals and Rain have dragged me here like twenty times already!" Marissa exclaimed.

Raina laughed and squirted some ketch up onto her fries. "True fact."

"So Calli," V faced me, "how serious are you and Sid?" She asked me.

"Um, pretty serious I guess." I stated, hoping it was true. I thought it was, but you never know what runs through guys heads. I could just be a bed warmer for him.

Raina looked at me seriously. "Does he know about your counseling and your um problem."

"I stopped cutting myself Raina." I mumbled, staring self-consciously at the scars on my arms.

"Completely?"

"Well, um no. But Miss Mary thinks I'm really close to stopping."

"And about what you did last year?" She pressed.

Vero and Marissa's heads both shot up. "What did you do last year?"

"I um, well I kinda tried to kill myself."

I saw Raina's eyes widen first. Then I heard his voice.

"You tried to kill yourself Calli? I can't believe you don't trust me enough to have told me." I heard a very hurt and angry Sidney exclaim.

Ha ha so yea. I haven't written in two weeks, so I'm really rusty. Sorry for the bad chapter :(

Home, Sweet , Home

So vacation was great, being around all my family. I love them. And then the week at my cousins was AMAZING also. It was all amazing. But it was go,go,go. I probably haven't gotten good sleep in two weeks..haha. So I'm going to take a shower and see how I feel, because I'm exhausted and my allergies. If I get a second wind, I'll post a chapter. If I don't, one will be on here tomorrow. 

Chapter 26

So I'm currently lying on the floor on top of two bean bags with my oldest brother's arm sprawled against my chest. I have 3 older brothers, that's why Calli has..4 older brothers xD. My two little second cousins (my cousins kids because all my cousins are over 26) are sleeping in my book beds and various family members are sprawled out on the floor, in beds, on couches, ect.

Chapter 26

Calli's POV

I walked into the room with Marissa after a long two hour practice. I groaned and flopped onto the bed, "Why did she make us do suicide skates for a hour?" I complained.

Marissa winced and sat down. "Because "we have to be in the best shape of our life if we want to win nationals." She quoted.

Raina looked up from her essay. "Cals, Sidney called you, and since your phone was on your desk I picked it up for you. He wants you to call him back ASAP. Also, I put some bags of ice in the freezer in the rec room for you two." I.Love.Raina.

Marissa jumped, well er tried to jump up. "Thank god for you Raina!" She said before hobbling off to the rec room.

I got my cell phone and climbed up onto my bed, so I could have a little privacy. Not that I cared if Raina heard anything, I'll probably repeat the entire conversation to her.

"Hey Sid, Raina said you called."

"Yea, I did. How would you feel about coming over to Mario's house tonight?"

"Umm, sure." I said nervously. 

"Okay, well we're having a team party, so everyone will be there. Oh, and bring a bathing suit, we'll probably do a lot of swimming."

"Swimming?" I asked dumb-founded. "Isn't it a little cold to go swimming? I mean it's late October.."

He laughed, "Cals, he also has a heated indoor pool." He said like I should have known this.

I snorted, "Well excuse me, I'm not used to the rich fancy houses."

"Well, plan on it because I want to spend a lot of time with you." Sidney said sweetly.

I spent the rest of the afternoon doing homework. I was almost already failing school. College was supposed to be beer and parties, not killer hockey practices and huge essays. I grabbed my shower bucket and went to the bathrooms and took a shower. I blow dried my hair out, so it wouldn't get frizzy when it got wet. I went back to our room and Marissa and Raina helped pick out my outfit.

"Hmm, definitely go with the dark blue skinny jeans, they make your legs look hot." Marissa pointed out.

Raina threw a fitted pink and white striped Hollister long-sleeved shirt at me. "It pronounces your boobs, but not in the slutty way. But the "I got them and I'm proud of them." In a way that's not showing off your boob crack, though. And it's dressed up enough to show you care how you look, but casual enough that you plan on making this place your second-home." She said confidently.

Holy shit. What would I do without those two? I would probably be this fashionless loser..

"Here, wear my black Uggs, we have the same size." Marissa told me.

"Aw thanks, Marissa. I really appreciate this you guys."

They put on some light make up and made my hair half-up half-down. 

"Okay..now for the pool part?" I said nervously. I always feel fat in bathing suits.

They  both immediately ruffled through my drawers and finally agreed on this. ( http://www2.victoriassecret.com/commerce/onlineProductDisplay.vs?namespace=productDisplay&origin=onlineProductDisplay.jsp&event=display&prnbr=CU-234468&page=3&cgname=OSSWMBIKZZZ&rfnbr=1232 )

"Guys.." I said hesitantly. 

"Calli, you seriously have one of the hottest bodies. Your stick skinny, but not in the unhealthy way and you have muscle. So shut up." Raina said laughing.

I nervously packed that and my Penguins towel into my bag before waving goodbye. I got my bike off the rack, I was going to look like a serious loser biking up to Mario fucking Lemieux house. I rode the T as close as I could, before getting on my bike to make the 3 and half mile trip there. I hummed while I rode by all the rich houses, noticing how huge they are.

By the time I finally got there, Tyler and Jordan and Jordan's girlfriend, Heather, were getting out of Tyler's BMW. They gawked at the sight of me on my bike, before cracking up.

"Dirty bastards." I muttered under my breath before hopping off my bike and ringing the door bell with them.

Sidney opened the door, "Calli!" He exclaimed before pulling me closer by the waist and kissing me.

"Aww no welcome for me?" Jordan complained.

Sid laughed before puckering his lips. "Come here little Jordy." He said in a grandma tone. We all laughed before going in.

Sidney's arm probably didn't leave my waist the whole entire night, he was stringing me along everywhere and introducing me as his girlfriend to anyone I might not have met. Finally, Marc-Andre yelled. "POOOOL TIME!"

Vero rolled her eyes before heading over to me. "Come on, let's go change. And trust me, if you're wearing a bikini, you're going to get some cat whistles. But don't worry, just tell them to shut the fuck up and they will."

I laughed before linking arms with her. "I'm glad I've become best friends with you Vero."

Sidney's POV

I just pulled down my pants and took off my shirt. Instead of wearing boxers I just wore my swim suit underneath. That didn't stop the guys from hollering. "WOO! CAPTAIN'S STRIIPPING DOWN!" 

Calli and Vero came back from the bathroom. I looked up eagerly, but damn it she had a cover-up on. Vero didn't hesitate to take her's off and jumped right into the pool with Marc and most of of the other guys. After a few minutes, it was just me, Calli, and Staalzy who weren't in the pool.

"Cals, get in the pool. They're over powering me!" Vero complained. I saw her bite her lip before shedding her cover up.

She was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Period. Ever. Zip. I couldn't even comprehend how amazing she was.

Jordan flicked my head. "Dude, drool literally just dropped out of your mouth and onto your feet." He then turned his attention to Calli. "Caaaaaali, I would watch out." He warned, smirking.

She put her hands on her hips. "You wouldn't."

He grinned. "I would!" He said before running towards her and throwing her into the pool. She resurfurced spitting out water. "I am so going to kill you." Then something dawned to her and she turned her eyes onto me. "Sid, you're not going to let him get away with that? Are you?" She said pouting. I laughed before tackling him into the water and we wrestled some more.

We spent a couple hours in the pool, just floating around and dunking each other. We played some games of chicked: Calli and I vs Vero and Marc vs Jordan and Heather vs any other guy was willing to get on another guys shoulder.

Eventually, we all got out and changed back into her clothes. Calli and I went to the dance floor, and danced closely for awhile. Finally, being so close to her and remembering her in the bikini, I just couldn't take it anymore. 

I whispered into her ear, "Do you want to go to my room?" I said in a husky voice.

She bit her lip and smiled. "Yes."

We held hands and calmly walked to my "wing" of the house. Finally, when we were all alone I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist. I pushed her against the railing on the stair case, our hips crushed together. I kissed her fiercely, we were both using lots of tongue. We finally got to my bedroom and I shut the door behind us, throwing off her shirt. It landed somewhere on the other side of the room, before I started trying to undo her bra. The damn clasp wouldn't come undone.

She laughed and broke our kiss for a moment, unclasping it herself. It fell to her feet before she pulled off my pants and we resumed kissing. Without breaking the kiss, I layed her down on the bed. She began undoing my belt while I kissed her lips. Then I moved down to her ear and jawline. I left a trail of kisses down her neck. Finally, I got down to her breasts, kissing in between them before putting one in my mouth as much as I could. She tasted so sweet and she arched her back, her scent of Cherry Blossom shower gel overwhelming me. She finally won the battle of my buckle, and pulled down my pants. Leaving me just in my boxers. I continued the trail of kisses, going down her stomach to the rim of her pants. She put my hands over mine and helped me slide them off. I hooked my finger around the elastic of her underwear, and slid it down to her ankles. I moved the kiss back up to our lips, and reached into my dresser without looking and got a condom. She pulled down my boxers and I put it on carefully. I was hovering on top of her, being careful not to crush her. I looked her in the eyes for a minute and she nodded. I quickly thrusted into her, watching her the time. She let a moan escape her lips.

....a little while later.

I collapsed in bed next to her, automatically spooning her.

"That was..amazing." She breathed out.

"Well, it could get better with practice." I laughed.

"Yes, we will have to." She said grinning. She moved so my hand was wrapped around her waist and our legs were tangled together under the sheets. She put her head on my chest before falling asleep. I sighed contentidly, a man could sure get used to this. I turned on the tv, before wrapping my other arm around her.

Marc-Andre's POV

Sidney went missing around two hours ago, so I figured him and Calli got in a fight or something. Vero wasn't around either, so she's probably comforting Calli. Apparently that's what chicks do. So me, Mario, Jordan, Tanger, and Gonch went looking for Captain Siddo. We looked all around the house before heading to his part of the house. He was probably playing some bloody video game to take his mind off of it. Without knocking, we all went in. That's when we saw him with his arm around a sleeping Calli. He looked up his expression a mixture of a couple things: pure horror, embarassment, and as red as I've ever seen it. We all looked down to see a bra at our feet. Mario cleared his throat embarassed and quickly left. The four of us stayed there, staring at our "golden boy captain". 

"Uh, um could you guys like get out?" He hissed, obviously still blushing.

Kris picked up Calli's bra. "Hmm C cup, not bad."

"Kris.put.that.down.now." He ordered panicky, beat red now. He looked down to make sure Calli was still asleep.

"Watcha going to do, naked boy?" He snickered before snapping it at him.

Jordan and I cracked up. "I can't believe Daryll got laid! And when we all were beginning to think he was gay." I said.

He hung his head. " I can't believe half of the team is witnessing it."

I laughed. "And by the end of the night, the whole time is going to hear about it." I said and we all chuckled before closing the door.

See ya in two weeks!

2 weeks

I'm sorry, I'm going on vacation with 30+ plus of my family members tomorrow for a week. I'm bringing my laptop, but there's no way I'll have time to sit down and right a chapter. I don't know if we even have internet connection. I'll try my hardest, but please don't expect anything. Then, I'm going home with my cousins and his kids. I'll have down time there, so I might be able to get a chapter up. But, I'll probably not get any up. I still have to pack and take a shower, so I probably won't be able to post a chapter tonight. I love you all and thanks for all your support!

Chapter 25

I'm still really pissed/depressed about Rob Scuderi. He was one of my favorite Penguins, ever. Dx :( :( :( . L.A is no place to raise their kids. I'm just sad :(

Chapter 25

 

                  I spun around, instinctively pushing Calli behind me. Her being her though, didn’t take my “protection” and stood right next to me. I glared at him, “What do you want Price?”

                  He returned the glare, “Wow, you’re IQ really is low, I just said. I want to speak to you alone.”

                  “Carey, don’t be such a jerk.” Calli spoke out.

                  “Stay out of it Calli.” We both said at the same time. She crossed her arms and set her jaw.

                  “Fine, stay here Calli.” I said evenly. She opened her mouth to protest, but then Marc-Andre walked by. He assessed the situation before saying, “Calli, Vero needs help with some girl thing.” We both knew that would get her away immediately, her and Vero have become best friends.

                  “Fine….” She murmered before following Flower.

                  “Ok, we’re alone. What the hell do you want?” I asked.

                  He stared at me. “I want Calli back.”

                  “Good luck with that. She loves me.” I responded anger creeping into my voice.

                  “How do you know that? She could just be using you, so she could get closer to me.” He replied.

                  “Seriously Price? How stupid are you? Calli and I are in love and you just have to deal with it.” I spat.

                  “I’m not going to stop fighting, and you are going to lose Crosby.” He said before turning and walking into the visitors locker room.

I was seething and every one on the team knew it.

Max walked over and put his hand on my shoulder. “Use it for the game.” I nodded. There was no way we were losing tonight.

 

Midway 1^st period

                  After shooting on goal and Carey covering it, I was skating to the face off circle to take the next face off.

                  “You can have her. She’s a bitch and slut anyway.”

                  I turned around. “What the hell did you just say?”

                  “I said, she’s a bitch and slut. Oh, and on top of that she’s pretty damn ugly too. And she’ll just jump into bed with anyone.” He responded, smirking.

                  That’s when I charged him. I heard some of my teammates yelling not to, that I could get kicked out of the game. I didn’t care though, I shoved him back roughly.

                  “Well if that’s how you want to play.” He yelled before dropping gloves, I quickly followed. He landed a good punch on my face, knocking my helmet off. I responded by punching him in the head several times with my left hand. Cheers from the fans were erupting everywhere. We fought for awhile, the refs not even attempting to break us up. Somehow we both ended up on the ice, basically wrestling. My jersey was off and his was up around his shoulders. I had a bloody nose and a shadow was already forming underneath his eye. When the refs saw blood, that’s when they stopped us. They had to escort me down the runway, Carey and I were yelling curse words at each other the whole time. Some of members of the team patted me on the back when I was walking to the locker room. I needed to change my jersey and I had a major for fighting and a  game misconduct, so I was going to have to wait a while. It was so worth it though.

 

Calli’s POV

 

                  While the fans were still cheering, Vero and I were just staring at each other.

                  “Oh my god! I’ve never, ever seen Sid fight like that!” she exclaimed. Meanwhile on the other hand, I groaned. “They were fighting about me or something stupid like that. Now, he can’t play for awhile..and it’s all my fault.”

                  Vero shook me by my shoulders. “Be proud that he stands up for you! And at least it wasn’t at a club for some guy slapping your ass..and him almost getting arrested for it.” She said, clearing remembering what happened between Marc and some guy a couple years ago.

                  I laughed, “I so remember reading about that.”

 

Sidney’s POV

 

                  I was rearing to get back into the game, we were down 2-0. On my first shift back, I stole the puck from a Canadiens stick, and raised down the ice on a breakway. I easily elevated the puck and it flew over his left shoulder. Before jumping into the arms of my teammates, I skated to the section her and Vero were sitting, and put my fingers to my lips before pointing at her. I saw people turn around, trying to figure out who it was. She blushed and smiled.

                 

                  I scored again from an amazing pass from Geno. Once again, I skated over and kissed my fingers before pointing at her again. This time, people figured out it was her and they started asking her some questions. She blushed and smiled again, this time ducking behind Vero a little.

 

                  The game was tied 2-2 with 10 seconds left. Jordan shot a shot that just went wide, but hit off the boards and the puck landed directly on my stick. I was able to do a wrap around move, and stuff it behind his left pad. I hollered excitedly and my teammates squished me into a team hug. We have a lot of bromance. “WE WON! WE WON!” I exclaimed and hats were raining onto the ice.

                                    I was helping clean up the hats when I looked up and saw she wasn’t wearing the lucky hat she always wears. I looked down and it was on the blade of my stick, with some writing on the inside.

 

                  I love u

 

                  I smiled before skating over to the bench. “Hey coach, can I borrow a pen please?” He looked at me oddly, but smiled at me. “Yea sure Sid. Great game tonight.” He handed me the pen and I eagerly wrote inside.

I luv u 2. It was all 4 u.

 

I skated back over and tossed it over the glass to her. She easily cut it and read what was inside it before her face erupted into a smile. She mouthed the words, “I love you” before putting the hat back on. Marc came over and tapped the glass before screaming “YOU’RE HOT VERO!”. We skated away together laughing.

 

                  He looked at me in the eye. “Good move on not choosing a bar to beat that guy up.

 

 

we lost bobby scuds

Chapter 23 and 24

Check out the absolutely amazing banner, made by the AMAZING Molly M. She is my best friend and is my sister and just an awesome person. She's my biggest fan :D. So yea, I know the girl in the banner is in Penn State uniform, but that's all I could find. Plus, I'm obsessed with everything Penn State, so really if State College was closer to Pittsburgh, she would be playing for Penn State.(And remember Calli really has blue eyes.) I also added a playlist, some of the songs won't make sense now. But once the story progresses you'll see why. If you have any songs that you think I should add, please leave them in the comment section!

Chapter 23

Calli’s POV

 

I helped Marissa pack up to leave this morning. I filled her in about everything that happened between Sid and I, not telling her about the necklace though. For some reason, that just seemed personal and for now I just to keep it between me and Sidney. I hugged her goodbye, thanking her for helping me through everything last night. Who knows where Sidney and I would be if she didn’t convince me to talk to him. It was slightly scary now. Knowing that it was just me, Sidney, and the rest of the team. I’m a person who likes escape routes, no matter how happy or how in love I am. I went down to the hotel lobby, grabbing some fruit before picking up the newspaper. The headline immediately caught my eye.

 

NHL Crosby confirmed with girlfriend

                  Last night in Montreal, it was confirmed that 21 year old Sidney Crosby is dating Callista Shaw, 19 years of age, locally from Mt.Lebanon, Pittsburgh. If you’re a big hockey fan in Pittsburgh, you’ll automatically remember her name. She is the rookie goalie for Pittsburgh University women’s ice hockey team, already making her name known. Before going to Pitt, she grew up in Mt.Lebanon where she played her career split between center and goalie. After their former starting goaltender graduated, for her junior and senior year she played full time. Those two years Mt.Lebanon won the state title. She obviously has a busy schedule and so does Mr. Crosby, so how will it work? It will be interesting to see if..story continued on Page A4

 

                  Underneath was the picture of me and Sidney, a picture of me posing with some fans with Marissa, and a picture of me right after we won the state championship my senior year. They couldn’t have chosen a less flattering picture of me. I ran my hand nervously through my hair, I wasn’t used to this attention. Sure, I got the occasional newspaper headline here and there and the little girls who admire any female hockey player. I felt people staring at me already, so I put on my glasses and pulled the hood up on my jacket. I waited outside for Sidney in the cold, looking down with my hands shoved in my pockets. He pulled up and I got in the car and he looked at me. “Calli..I saw the article. It’s going to be okay. It’s going to die down.”

                  I shook my head, “I know, I’m not upset. I would do anything to stay with you, it’s just I’m not really used to all of this…attention.” I admitted.

                  He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “I’m sorry babe, but do you think you’ll be okay for a press conference tonight before the game? That way the reporters can get all of their questions out of the way and hopefully they will bug you less.”

                  “Am I dressed up enough?” I said looking down at my outfit of gray jeans and black cardigan with my black ankle boots. I had a feeling that no outfit would make me able to please every one as the best hockey player in the NHL’s girlfriend.

                  He sighed, “Calli, we’ve been over this before. You are always the most sexy girl in the room. But to answer you’re question, yes you look stunning as normal.”

                  I finally laughed. “You’re so corny Sid.”

                  He shrugged before his face turning serious. “Cals, you know I have a lot of female fans. Half of them are polite women who know hockey and they will love you and respect you. But then there’s the puck bunnies…there’s nothing you can do to make them be less bitchy. Just bear with it and ignore them, please?”

A slow smile stretched across my face. “Well, I’m the one that you’ll be holding tonight, so they can say all the crap they want.”

He held out his hand and I took it. “Forever and always, Calligirl.”

“You got it hockey hunk.”

 

Chapter 24

Sidney’s POV

 

I took Calli’s hand as we walked into the press conference room. I could tell she was insanely nervous. I don’t quite understand why, she’s on a college hockey team, so she’s been in press conferences. From the interviews I’ve watched of her, she seems pretty media friendly. Plus, she’s beautiful and I don’t get why she thinks people won’t like her. We sat down in chairs next to each other besides a table. I put my hand on her knee under the table, trying to calm her down. Marc sat down on the other side of her, he was there incase the questions got out of control and we needed a distraction. I heard the camera start and before I knew it the first question was being asked.

“So how did you two meet?”

“Well, I was practicing and apparently Calli fell down and hit her head on the side of the bleachers, so she needed to be stitched up.” I looked at Calli and she was blushing, but she was biting back a smile. Marc chuckled, before I kept going. “I come back from practice and she was sitting in my stall holding a towel to her head. We just started talking and you know the rest.” I answered as nonchalantly as possible.

 

“So Callista, why did you start playing hockey?”

She hesitated for a second before genuinely smiling. “Well, I have four older brothers that all played hockey. When my parents weren’t home, they would tie to me to a trash can in the drive way and use me as a shooting target.” She paused for a moment because various people around the room were laughing. “So obviously I wanted to learn how to protect myself, so I decided to play for a year. But I ended up loving it so much.”

 

“What made you decide to play goaltender?”

“I love playing goalie, but it was basically made for me. I was diagnosed with asthma when I was fifteen and I could suffer a bad attack and eventually die if I kept playing with the upbeat tempo of a center. I couldn’t give up the game though, so I tried playing goalie. Lucky for me it ended up working out.”

 

“What’s your biggest motivation?”

I watched her carefully, knowing her mom was a very, very sensitive subject for her. I was about to cut in and say “no comment.” But she beat me to it. “Well, my mom was always the driving force behind me. She encouraged me, drove to all the practices, tournaments, and games. Took me out to get all my equipment and found the goalie solution. Without a doubt, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. Unfortunately, we got in a car accident two years ago and my mom didn’t make it, so I try and make her proud every day.” Her smile faltered, but her voice kept steady. I was so damn proud of her.

 

The press conference lasted nearly for a hour and I barely said anything. They loved her and were eating her up. Finally, we got to leave. She hugged me excitedly. “I think they liked me!” She exclaimed.

I laughed and twirled her around, “No, they loved you.”

That’s when I heard the deep voice of Carey Price go, “Crosby, can I speak to you. Alone.”