Chapter Six

As promised, that summer, Sid came to Cole Harbour. I had seen him around a few times, but usually tried to avoid him. It’s not that I didn’t want to talk him, I did. It’s just that…I wouldn’t know what to say.

Every time I saw him, my stomach felt like someone had wedged a knife in between my ribs. One day, Bridget and I were sitting in Worthings, a great place for burgers and fries. We had been sitting there for about ten minutes when the door opened again. Just out of habit, I looked over to see who it was. “Shit,” I said when I saw those familiar golden brown eyes.

Bridget looked at me with a smirk on her face. “Hey Sid!” she said, waving at him. I closed my eyes and hid my face in my hands. “Hi Bridget,” he smiled. “Haley,” he nodded. “Haley,” Bridget said. “You remember Sidney don’t you?” she asked. “Oh my God, Bridget. Shut up,” I hissed.

Sid smiled awkwardly. “Well, I have to get home. I’ll see you two later,” Bridge said. “If you’re leaving then I have to, too,” I said. “You don’t…have to,” Sidney said. After Bridget was gone, Sid sat down in her place. “Uh, how have you been?” he asked.

“Eh, alright. How bout you?” I asked. “Uh, ya know. Pretty good, I guess. It’s been different,” he said. I nodded. “Yeah, I know,” I said. “Not much going on around here?” he asked. “Nothing worth talking about, no. So how’s the NHL?” I replied. He nodded, “It’s great for the most part,” he said. “just kinda hard, having to keep a whole team going. Having a whole city disappointed when we lose. It’s a lot of pressure,” he finished.

“I bet,” I nodded. “I don’t mean to sound nosy or anything, but have you…been dating anyone? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he said. I shook my head, “Not really. I’ve been on a few dates but it’s just too…weird. It’s not the same,” I said.

I can’t be sure, but I think I saw him relax a little. “Uh, you doing anything tonight?” he asked. I shook my head no. “Do you want to do something? I don’t know what, but I uh…just wanna catch up, you know?” he said. “Uh, yeah that’d be…sure.”


Sidney stopped at my house a little before 7. When he walked in, I could barely breathe. No joke. His hair was beautifully messy, and he was wearing light-wash jeans and a white polo. “Mom, I’ll be back in a few hours,” I said. She yelled something that sounded like “kay,” but I wasn’t paying attention.

Since Cole Harbour was pretty small, we decided to walk, instead of drive, to wherever he was taking me. For a second, it was like the first walk we had ever taken, all over again. But then he started talking. “I don’t mean to keep bringing this up, but were you telling the truth when you said you hadn’t really dated anyone?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “How about you? Have you been seeing anyone?” I asked. He shook his head, “Nah, not really. I’ve been too busy. I went on like two dates since I moved to Pittsburgh,” he said. “I’ve been on like two dates since you moved to Pittsburgh, too,” I said, and he laughed.

“Good,” he said quietly. Then, something in me snapped. I don’t know why I did this, but I couldn’t help it. Flinging my arms around his neck, I practically attacked his lips. He was a little surprised at first, but then he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me back.

This kiss was different than the other ones. It felt almost desperate, like it was going to be the last one. It felt like there were fireworks going off in between us. After we broke apart, I just looked at his face. Making my way from his light brown eyes all the way down to his perfect lips. “I missed you,” was all he said. And of course, that led to his poor, gorgeous lips being mauled again.