Chapter 7

A couple weeks had gone by since I’d last seen Thomas. We’d talked on the phone almost everyday and I began watching Buffalo Sabres’ games on Center Ice. I’d never been able to before because just seeing Thomas hurt. Now that I knew he still had feelings for me it was easier. We hadn’t talked about the logistics of our relationship. It had occurred to me that he lived in Buffalo, NY and I was hours away in Pittsburgh and neither of us was going to move. I figured we would just take it slow and see what happened.

On the other hand I'd seen Sidney pretty often. He began giving me tickets to every home game and I went to just about all of them. We got dinner after every one and even went to the occasional lunch together. He'd seemed to calm down as far as hitting on me went. It was a nice change because I felt that we were really becoming good friends and I no longer worried about his intentions. I didn’t tell him about Thomas because I wasn’t sure what Thomas and I were exactly. I was also hiding it from my friends and family. It didn’t feel good lying to them, but I told myself that when things were settled I’d be able to tell everyone.

I heard the doorbell ring as I was cooking dinner. I gave everything one last glance to make sure it was okay and went to the door. I wasn’t surprised when I opened it and saw Sidney standing there. He had that smile on his face, the one he used when he was going to try to convince me to do something with him.

“What do you want?” I asked him. He stepped past me into the house.

“Something smells great. What are you cooking?” Instead of waiting for a reply he walked back into my kitchen.

“Excuse me, what do you think you’re doing?” I asked shutting the door and following him back. When I got into the kitchen he was using a spoon to taste the sauce. “Hey!” I yelled.

“Lor, this is unbelievable. What kind of sauce is this?” he asked putting the spoon in for some more. I walked over and pulled the spoon out of his hand.

“It’s my own, thank you.”

“You made this?” he asked incredulously.

“Yes, I’ve been working on it all day.” I checked on my homemade pasta to make sure it was okay.

“Are you making that pasta?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Loralei, I think I’m in love with you,” he said. I rolled my eyes while laughing at him. “I can’t cook for shit. I need to be with someone that can or I’m screwed. What are you making?”

“Lobster ravioli with tomato vodka sauce,” I told him.

“Any way I can get an invite to dinner?”

“No, you can’t.” I turned my back on him and continued to work on the pasta.

“Who’s coming over?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked confused turning to look at him again. I’d never said anyone was coming over and no one was.

“Well, with all the food it looks like you’re cooking someone must be coming over. You can’t eat all that yourself. Well, I guess you could, but since you have that body I doubt it.” I rolled my eyes at the comment but then realized I was trapped.

“Fine, you can stay for dinner, but you’re going to have to work for it.” I said giving in. He rolled up his sleeves.

“What can I do first?” he asked eagerly.

“You can wash your hands. I have no idea where those things have been.”

“There’s only one place they want to be,” he said deliberately brushing them along my back as he walked to the sink. I decided to ignore the comment and keep cooking.

Sidney was right. He was useless in the kitchen. With every task I gave him, no matter how easy, he found a way to screw it up. I eventually got frustrated and sent him home telling him to come back at 6:30. I finished up making the ravioli and began to cook it. Then the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hello, sexy,” Thomas said. I smiled.

“I don’t have much time to talk right now. I’m cooking.”

“I really miss your cooking. It was unreal.” I laughed and thanked him. “Come visit me.”

“What did you say?” I asked him in disbelief, almost dropping the phone.

“Come visit me,” he repeated. He asked me to come up for the weekend next weekend. I agreed and we hung up the phone a few minutes later. I checked my email half an hour later like he’d told me to do and he’d sent me an itinerary. I would leave Friday night and stay until Sunday. I smiled and went back into the kitchen.

Sidney was back right at 6:30 and I pulled out a bottle of wine. I brought the food to the table along with my glass of wine. Then I asked him what he wanted to drink with dinner.

“I’ll take a glass of that wine,” he responded. I laughed at him.

“Sorry, kiddo, but I only serve people that are of legal drinking age.”

“Come on, are you serious?” he asked.

“Yes, I am.”

“Then I’ll take some water,” he said dejectedly. I grabbed him a glass of water. Just like every dinner before the conversation was entertaining and I had a good time. He helped me clean up when we were done, showering me with compliments on how good the food was. I told him about how I loved to cook and I’d taken classes all through school.

We went into the living room and turned on a hockey game. The Panthers and the Flyers were playing and we were both pulling for the Flyers to lose. When the game was over he got up saying he should leave so he could get some sleep since they had a game the next afternoon. I walked him to the door.

“Thanks again for dinner. It might have been the best meal I’ve ever had,” he told me stopping in the doorway. I smiled at him.

“I’m sure I’ll see you soon whether I like it or not.” I expected some smart ass comment but he did the one thing I didn’t expect. He leaned in and kissed me. I pulled back in shock. “What are you doing?” I demanded.

“Just shut up for once, will you?” He put his hands on my face and kissed me again. I wanted to resist and I wanted to pull away but instead I found myself kissing him back.

Soon we were walking back into my house and he kicked the door shut behind him. Then he had me up against the wall. Despite what I’d expected from him the kiss was soft and passionate and was making my heart race. I hadn’t been kissed like this in a long time. My arms were around him and his were around me. He stopped kissing me and looked into my eyes. Then he trailed kisses from my mouth to my neck, which unfortunately was my weak spot. No one had kissed my neck like this since - Thomas! I suddenly remembered Thomas and pushed Sidney away.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do this,” I said.

“What? Why not?” he asked.

“Because I told you that I don’t have feelings for you. I’m also not someone who’s up for a one night stand,” I tried to explain to him

“You kissed me back!” he exclaimed. I shook my head.

“You caught me off guard, that's all. I really think you should leave now.” I was shaken after that kiss. Instead of being mad, Sidney smiled.

“I know you felt something. I’m not going to just let that go.” With that he walked down the stairs and headed off to his house.





He knew she felt something. That kiss was amazing. But what the hell happened? Why did she pull away like that? He didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to give up. He walked into his house and greeted Shooter. God, Loralei was irresistible. He wasn’t used to being turned down by someone he was pursuing and he didn’t like it. He also knew that he wasn’t about to give up on her.

He sat down on the couch and turned the TV on. Shooter jumped up on the couch next to him and wanted to play. He began to throw a ball for Shooter, playing a game of fetch. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he knew Loralei was keeping something from him. Maybe the key to getting her was finding out what it was. He just didn’t know how to do that.

He racked his brain trying to think of what else he could do to convince her to give him a chance. He’d taken her out, he was around all the time, he gave her a ticket to every game and she came to most of them. What else could he do? He wasn’t sure but he was going to figure it out. He wasn’t giving up on her.

He also didn’t know what it was about Loralei that made him crazy. No one else had ever done this to him. Then again no one else ever turned him down when he hit on them. Maybe that’s all it was. But he knew it wasn’t. He knew there was something about Loralei that really got him going. He went to bed vowing that he’d eventually figure it out and she’d eventually be his.