Chapter Eight

[This one is a lot of me explaining things, but I felt it was sort of neccessary]

In the end, we decided that I would stay at Penn State, and then after the year was over, I would transfer to Pitt. It was going to be a tough year, after spending two months with him, then not getting to see him at all. But at least this time there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I’ll admit, I cried a little when he left. We hugged for about 80 years before I finally released my death-grip. After I got back to Penn State, I quickly fell back into my routine. Get up early, spend all day in class, then go downtown for a little while with my friends. That’s right, you heard me…friends. Megan, Riley, Leah and Morgan. All five of us were almost opposites. Megan was tall, thin, and tan, with straight brown hair that made it just past her shoulders. Her eyes were a light green, and she was the wild and flirtatious one of the group. Riley, was short and muscular, with wavy, almost black hair that made it about halfway down her back. Her eyes were a dark brown, and she looked like a Kardashian…acted like one too. Leah was about my height, and had beautiful straight red hair, and light gray eyes. On the surface, she seems like a nice girl, but once you get to know her…just hope you’re on her good side. Morgan was tall and thin, and had flawless pale skin and eyes that reminded me of sea turtles (as weird as that sounds, you have to see it to know what I mean). Her wavy blonde hair cascaded down her back, making her look like some sort of fairy. Her looks matched her personality, which was calm, easy-going, and always out to find the good in people. She never had a bad word to say about anyone, she was oddly observant, and could usually guess what I was thinking about. I, on the other hand, had straight, layered, dark brown hair that just brushed my shoulder-blades. My eyes were a deep blue color, and I had a few freckles sprinkled across my nose, which I hated. I wasn’t tall, but I wasn’t short (about 5’ 6”), and kept a pretty good tan even in the winter months. The five of us were tighter than spandex, and I honestly started loving them. I hate to say it, but I finally started having a life when I was 20 years old. Megan and I were still roommates, and so were Leah and Riley. Morgan lived in an apartment close-by with her boyfriend Colby. Megan was still the only one who knew about Sidney, but I’m almost positive that Riley saw the pictures of he and I through the years when she was standing in the door of me and Megan’s dorm. I took them down the next day, not wanting to explain my situation. Except to Megan, who practically could recite every word Sidney and I had ever said to each other because I told her so much about it. It’s hard to keep that kind of thing to yourself.

Although they helped keep my mind on other things, Sidney was still permanently etched into my mind. Especially at times when I would see Morgan and Colby exchange a quick kiss, or a hug, or even when the word love was mentioned. Leah, who was originally from Pittsburgh, surprised us all with tickets to a Pens game in December. Apparently, her dad was close friends with Dan Bylsma so she got them for free. “Guys, I think it would be cool if we could all wear different jerseys,” Morgan said. In the end, Megan would be wearing Fleury, Riley in Letang, Leah sporting Staal, Morgan wearing Crosby…and me in Talbot. When Morgan called wearing the Crosby jersey, Megan looked at me and couldn’t control her laughter. I rolled my eyes, but laughed too. Since we were representing a lot of guys on the team, they put us on the Jumbotron a few times. The highlight of the whole game though, was seeing Sidney. Maybe not up close, but watching him skate, and knowing that we were in the same building, made my heart literally beat 2o times faster. After the game, we were sitting in the hotel, thinking about going out somewhere. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I excused myself down the hall, and dialed Sid’s number. He picked up on the first ring. “I love you,” was his greeting, which made me smile. “Are you busy tonight?” I asked. “Uh, I have a party at Max’s. Why?” he asked. “Well, I’m in Pittsburgh. I went to the game tonight,” I answered slowly. “Plans cancelled,” he said. I laughed, “You don’t have to do that. Have a good time, maybe I’ll see you before we leave tomorrow,” but I was desperately hoping that he wouldn’t listen to me. “No, no way! I’ve been trying to plan a time when I could come to State College to see you, but so far I’ve been busy just about every day. Are you staying at a hotel?” he asked. “Yeah…uh the Doubletree right near Mellon,” I said. “Oh I know exactly where that is. I’ll pick you up in like an hour,” he said, happily. “Do you mind if some of my friends come?” I asked. “Your what?” he asked jokingly. “Shut up,” I laughed, and hung up the phone. “Guys! Get ready, I have a surprise coming for you in about an hour,” I said, entering the hotel room. None of them asked questions, but I could tell they had no idea what was going on. It was the longest hour of my life, but when I got a text saying that he was in the lobby, I couldn’t help but smile like crazy. The elevator seemed to take hours rather than seconds. But when the doors opened, and I saw him, it felt like a million bricks were lifted off my shoulders. I don’t even remember walking over to him, but next thing I knew I was in his arms, kissing him like never before.