Chapter Twelve

Coasting Down Memory Lane;
Chapter Twelve.

“Sidney, we missed you,” Trina, Sidney’s mom said as she gave him a big motherly hug. “I missed you too mum.” Sidney replied as he introduced Riley to the family. They all seemed nice and welcomed her into their home for a few days. Sidney showed her around the house and made sure to save the best part for last – the “rink” that his dad had made in the basement.

“This is where it all started,” Sidney said as he walked over to the area.

“It’s cute,” Riley said as Sidney gave her a strange look.

Riley spent four days with Sidney and his family before heading back to Rimouski. She liked it a lot in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia and considered one day going back. Sidney would be spending a few more days with his family in Nova Scotia and would return to Rimouski on February twentieth.

On May seventeenth Sidney came back from a hockey tournament in which they placed second. “Hey you know what?” Sidney said as they walked to a park. “What?” Riley questioned back as she grabbed Sidney’s hand. “We’ve been dating for three months and two days,” he said with a smile. “I see you’ve been keeping track,” Riley said with a smile, she too had been keeping track but would not admit that to Sidney. “What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t?” he asked with an eyebrow raised. “A normal one…”

On May twenty-second Sidney took Riley out to see a movie that had just come out, she didn’t find it interesting at all but made sure not to say anything because Sidney loved it. When Sidney was walking Riley to her door he leaned down and kissed her sweetly on the lips. Just as he was about to turn and leave Riley grabbed his arm and stopped him. “No one’s home,” she said seductively. “Wh-what?” Sidney stuttered. “I have the house to myself,” Riley said as she opened the door. Sidney had a confused expression plastered on his face. But before he could say anything Riley whispered in his ear, “Stay with me tonight,” his jaw dropped instantly. It took him a few seconds but he finally caught on to what Riley was implying. Then his lips crashed onto Riley’s in a rough kiss. He pushed her up against the front door and kissed along her jaw and then down her neck.

Riley led Sidney to her room as he pushed her lightly down on her bed. Riley tugged off Sidney’s shirt, as Sidney unbuttoned her black blouse. He threw it on the floor and climbed on top of her. He then pulled off her dark jeans, leaving her in only her underwear. Riley soon pulled off Sidney’s pants, not once breaking the passionate kiss. Just as Sidney was about to unclasp her bra he stopped and Riley looked up at him with confusion. “Are you sure?” he asked her, looking deep into her eyes. “Yeah, are you?” she replied with a smirk. He nodded and they continued with their passionate, memorable night.

On July seventh Riley received a letter from the University of Sydney in Australia. As soon as she saw who it was from her heart started to race, her mind was also racing at the thought of being accepted or at being rejected. “What are you holding, sweetie?” her mother Eliza asked. “A letter from the University of Sydney,” Riley replied. “Well open it!” her dad, Antoine said. “Alright,” Riley’s eyes moved from side to side at the speed of light as she read what the letter said. “Oh my gosh! I got it!” she screeched. “Congratulations!” her parents both said at the same time as they got up to hug her. “What’s going on?” Ben asked as he walked into the kitchen. “I got in to the University of Sydney!” Riley said, jumping up and down.

On July tenth Riley was sitting on her bed typing away a storm on her laptop when Sidney stormed in her room. Her parents were gone for the day with the rest of the family so she was home alone.

“Uh hi,” Riley said, surprised that Sidney was standing in front of her.

“When were you going to tell me?” he asked just below a shout.

“Tell you what?”

“Don’t give me that bullshit, you know exactly what I’m talking about,” he said in a rude tone. This made Riley’s temper flare.

“Excuse me? Don’t you come into my house and demand that I tell you something when I don’t even know what you’re talking about!” Riley said sternly. She was never afraid to have her voice heard.

“When were you going to tell me that you were leaving, huh? When were you going to break it off with me? Why did I have to hear about you going to Australia from my teammates!” he shouted, obviously hurt but this was no way to confront her about it.

“I was going to tell you tomorrow, and hope to god that you would understand!” Riley exclaimed as she stood up.

“Sure you were…” he said sarcastically. Riley hated it when people used sarcasm with her when she was trying to be serious.

“What you don’t believe me?” she asked quickly.

“Oh no, I believe that you’re leaving. You want to know why?”

“Sure, why not.” she replied as she sat down.

“Because it’s for you, you get to move somewhere where you’ve always dreamed of leaving. You can start over and be who you want to be. You can forget about everything here and everyone here,” he said, his eyes burning into hers.

“You’re right it is for me. I am the one who got accepted and I don’t know why you are in such a bad mood about it! I thought you, of all people would be happy for me. Its university Sid, this is opening doors for me, why aren’t you happy for me?” Riley questioned, calming down slightly.

Sidney just shook his head, mumbled a few things, got up and left without saying goodbye. “It’s sad that it has to end this way!” Riley shouted from her room when she heard him walking down the stairs. He didn’t reply.

Chapter Eleven

Coasting Down Memory Lane;
Chapter Eleven.

“Alright everyone out of the pool,” a seventeen year old Riley shouted as she blew her whistle. It was mid March so everyone decided to go to the local indoor pool for some fun. Riley worked as a lifeguard at the pool because she loved swimming as a kid and always wanted to be a dolphin when she was younger. Her parents had put her through swimming lessons at a young age – for safety precautions, they always said that it would come in handy if she ever skated over thin ice on a pond. Yeah, they wanted her to play hockey, like most of the children in the area. Riley never really had an interest in skating, so she stuck to swimming.

“Guys seriously, get out of the pool now,” she said as she walked over to the edge of the pool so she could get a closer look at the five young guys in the pool who refused to follow her directions. They all looked around her age, some a little younger and some a little older. They finally noticed her standing there, taping her foot on the cold, wet tiles. “Alright, alright,” one of them said as they all climbed out.

A few of the guys were checking her out on their way to the changing rooms. Riley was too tired to notice anything, she had just spent four hours at the local pool. Riley walked around the pool making sure that no one was still there or that no one left anything behind. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a male figure on the other side of the pool area staring at her. Her eyes widened as she looked up and walked towards him.

“Hi,” he said with a smile.

“Uh, hi,” Riley stuttered as she tried to find the right words. She had only been learning English for a few months and was able to carry on a small conversation.

“I’m Sidney,” he said, flashing her that famous toothy grin.

“I’m Riley,”

“You’re beautiful,” Sidney blurted out.

“Uh… thank you,” Riley said as she blushed.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked bluntly.

“Uh, no.”

“Well then, would you like to go out some time?” he asked, now shyly.

“Will it get you to leave me alone?” Riley joked.

“For today,”

“Then yeah, sure,” Riley replied as she smirked and rolled her eyes.

Riley went home after that conversation. She parked her car on the driveway of a nice home. It was a nice four bedroom home. It fit her and her family’s lifestyle perfectly. The house was in a nice and quiet neighbourhood. “Bonjour Rye,” Ben, Riley’s older brother said as Riley walked in the door. “Bonjour Benny,” Riley teased.

A few hours later the family sat down for dinner. At the dinner table sat Riley’s mother Eliza, her father Antoine, her older brother Ben, her younger brother Keaton, and her younger sister Storm. Ben was a year older than Riley and Keaton and Storm were six years younger than her. Ben was tall, about six foot, blonde hair, blue eyes, muscular. Keaton was taller than his fraternal twin sister, Storm, he had blonde hair, blue eyes, basically he was a spitting image of his older brother Ben, just without the muscles. Storm and Riley had similar facial attributes, the medium-sized lips, slightly slanted eyes, and the same nose. But Storm had jet black hair and piercing green eyes. She was a small little girl who was too cute.

They had a nice dinner and then went their separate ways after. Riley was lying on her bed doing homework when Ben knocked on the door. They tried to speak as much English as they could, since they both were learning for future career requirements. “Hey,” Riley said as she looked up. “Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked as he walked into her room and sat down on her over-sized purple chair. “Uh-oh, girl problems?” Riley teased. The two had always been close, mainly because they were practically inseparable when they were toddlers. “No, but what’s up with you?” he asked as Riley closed her books. “What do you mean?” she asked as she lay back on her pillows. “You seemed… quiet at dinner, almost as if something or someone was on your mind,” he implied with an eyebrow raised. Riley ended up “spilling the beans” and telling him all she could about her day at the pool and gushed over how cute she thought Sidney was.

On March fifteenth Riley spent a longer time in the bathroom getting ready for her date with Sidney. He had previously asked her out a few days before but they were both busy on the days in between. She did light make-up and wore a black skirt with a bright purple short-sleeved blouse.

Sidney soon arrived at her door, looking absolutely stunning for a sixteen-year old that is. On their date they talked a lot. Mostly about: family, dreams, interests, likes and dislikes, and much, much more.

“I had a great time,” Riley said as Sidney walked her to her door.

“I did too…” Sidney said trailing off, almost as if he wanted to say something more but decided against it.

“We should do this again sometime,” Riley said as Sidney’s face lit up.

“Totally, so I’ll uh call you,”

“Okay, goodnight,” Riley said with a smile, and then lightly kissed him on the cheek.

“Alright, goodnight,” Sidney said as Riley walked inside.

They went out a few more times over the course of the month of January. The two got along really well and were slowly becoming inseparable. They were now officially boyfriend and girlfriend, even though everyone already considered them that.

On April fourteenth, Sidney brought Riley back to Nova Scotia with him. She was super excited to meet his family for the first time. She also was nervous of what they would think of her, especially about her being a year older than Sidney.

“Hello,” Sidney hollered when they walked into his parents’ house.

“Sid?” a woman called back from another room.

“Yup, we’re here!” he said in a kiddie voice.

“SID!” a little voice screamed, then soon after a little girl came running over to Sidney.

“Hey Tay, how are you?” Sidney asked as he picked her up.

“I’m good,” she replied as he put her down.

“Riley this is my little sister, Taylor. Taylor this is Riley, my girlfriend.” Sidney said with a smile.

“Hi Taylor, how old are you?” Riley asked as she bent down to Taylor’s level.

“I’m seven, how old are you?” she asked with a curious expression.

“I’m seventeen,” Riley replied to the adorable little girl.

Chapter Ten

Coasting Down Memory Lane;
Chapter Ten.

They sat there on the couch for hours, at some points talking nonstop and at others sitting in complete silence. Everything had finally been put out there in the open and they both felt like two huge weights were lifted off of their shoulders. During one of their silent moments Riley leaned back, wrapped in Sidney’s arms and she closed her eyes. Then she asked, “So now that we’ve cleared the air... what exactly are we?” Sidney tightened his grip on her and said in a calm voice, “Whatever you want us to be,” Riley looked at him with a huge a smile and gently kissed his lips. She then said, “How about we give the whole boyfriend and girlfriend thing another shot,” Sidney smiled and pulled her in for another sweet kiss. “I’d like that,”

Sidney spent another hour or two at Riley’s house before heading back to the Lemieux’s house. Yes, Sidney still hadn’t found his own place, but he swore that this was the year. Riley went to bed shortly after.

The next day Riley woke up to her phone buzzing ridiculously loud. She stumbled over to it and saw that she had a new text from Sidney, ‘Up for our coffee ritual?’ Riley smiled then frowned when she saw the time. ‘Yeah sure, but can I ask you something, why are you up so damn early?’ she put her phone down and walked to her closet to pick something to wear. She raced over to her phone when it started to buzz off the table again. She flipped it open and the message from Sidney read: ‘Great! I had to do some early media stuff…’ Riley continued to message Sidney as she got ready.

When Riley walked into the coffee shop she was immediately met by Sidney as he embraced her in a massive hug. They then made their way to a table. The whole time they talked Riley and Sidney both had huge smiles on, happy that they had made up and finally - after four years - had cleared the air.

“So what are you doing after work today?” Sidney asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

“Well I have a few errands to run, but other than that, nothing really,”

“Alright, do you want to do something then?” Sidney asked.

“How about you come over to my place after,” Riley suggested.

“Alright,”

The work day flew by for Riley, which was obviously a good thing. After the practice she got into her car and made her way to the animal shelter. She had previously bought a dog who was a only a year old and was badly abused. Riley fell in love with this beautiful Doberman when she first saw him a week ago. His name was originally Burger but Riley decided to name him Sachiko. The name is originally a female Japanese name but he wouldn’t know the difference.

Riley brought him home, along with some toys and all the other dog necessities. Sachi didn’t trust many people because of his past, which was understandable. He mainly didn’t trust men, so that would be a challenge for Riley. He was an aggressive dog at times which turned a lot of people off him, but Riley saw the softer side of him. The side that could be affectionate, when Riley first saw him she asked if he could be let out of the cage so she could get a better look at him. The two simultaneously had some sort of bond that Sachi had only had with her.

“What is that?” Sidney asked instantly as he entered Riley’s house.

“This is Sachi, I adopted him,” Riley replied with a proud smile.

“Why?” Sidney asked cautiously.

“Because I felt bad for the poor thing, and we have a special bond.”

“Alright, you do know that dogs are a lot of work, right?” Sidney asked as he walked over to the couch where Sachi was laying down.

“Yup. And that’s why you are going to help me take care of him,” Riley replied as she sat down next to Sidney. Sachi instantly came and sat next to her.

“I’m what?” Sidney asked looking at Riley, completely shocked.

“Well you are always over here and he could be like our baby,” Riley said. At the sound of ‘our baby’ Sidney’s eyes widened.

Things were a little awkward after that but Riley didn’t notice – she always referred to animals as her ‘babies’ but Sidney on the other hand was a little shocked at the term. They spent the rest of the evening talking and playing with Sachi. Sidney soon saw the nice, affectionate side of Sachi and for once in a very long time, Sachi trusted a man.

It was getting late, around one am or so when they noticed the time. “I better go…” Sidney said as he stood up and stretched. “You don’t have to…” Riley said quietly but loud enough that it was audible. Sidney gave her a questioning look but Riley responded with a reassuring smile. “Are you sure?” Sidney asked slowly. “Yeah, it’s late and I’d feel bad making you drive home at this hour,” Riley said as she stood up alongside Sidney. “Oh so it’s not because of your infatuation with me?” Sidney questioned playfully. “No,” Riley replied sternly, waiting for Sidney’s surprised reaction, and then she cracked a smile.

Riley grabbed Sidney’s hand and led him to her bedroom as Sachi followed behind. Sidney stripped down into his boxers, causing Riley to stare at his amazing body. Riley changed into a pair of red short-shorts and a graphic t-shirt that said ‘I’m a tough cookie’ she then made her way over to her bed. “Tough cookie, eh?” Sidney said with a smirk. “Yup,” Riley replied with a smile as she lay down next to Sidney. Riley cuddled up with Sidney and rested her head on his chest. Just as they were ready to turn out the lights Sachi jumped up on the bed and rested his head on Riley’s legs.

All three of them quickly drifted off to sleep and Riley had a dream about her past. Her dream consisted of her time before Sidney, with Sidney as a teen and her time in Australia, and all the events that occurred.

Chapter Nine

Sorry for the delay, I have been quite busy with school lately. Thankfully I survived the first week. Please comment and enjoy! =]

***

Coasting Down Memory Lane;
Chapter Nine.

Riley looked up, shocked. Troy stood there giving her a stony expression with his arms crossed. Riley closed her book and he approached her.

“So, you and Sid are...?” Troy said fishing for words.

“Over. Congratulations you were right,” Riley said with no emotion.

“That didn’t last long...” he said trailing off.

“Yeah well you’re partially to blame here,” Riley said now her temper rising.

“Me? What did I possibly have to do with you lying to my son?” he said coming pretty close to crossing the fine line.

“Let’s face it, okay. You don’t like me, you never did. And I don’t think that you ever will fully approve of a girl that Sidney dates,” Riley said shaking her head.

“So, it’s my fault that you two broke up because I am protective of my son?”

“Okay look, I was going to tell him, after all I just found out the day before--”

“Whoa, just found out?” Troy said, interrupting Riley.

“Yes, but there’s no use for me to even tell you because Sidney and I probably won’t be making up,” Riley said looking away from Troy.

“Why don’t you just tell me and we’ll see where things go,” Troy said sweetly with a warm smile.

Whoa that did not just happen. Was he being nice? He’s never nice! This cannot be happening; I thought Trina was the nice, sincere one.

“Alright, it’s kind of a long story but I’ll shorten it since we don’t have a lot of time,” Riley paused looking at Troy as he nodded.

“Basically I didn’t know it was Sidney, or well I knew it was him just not that we dated. When I was in Australia I went surfing one day and this huge, mega-wave came up from under me and I lost my balance and fell off my surf board and hit my head off of it, making me unconscious. I woke up later that day in a hospital room not remembering a thing, making things difficult since you know I was in university. Anyway, I got most of my memory back, like I remembered family, friends who I kept in touch with, school stuff and those things. But I didn’t remember Sidney,” Riley said with a frown.

“I had no idea,” Troy said looking shocked.

“No one did, but Sidney wouldn’t let me explain why I hadn’t realized it was him. He just went into this big speech about how I was selfish for leaving and such when again I tried to explain to him that I had to leave. I had no other choice. I couldn’t just wait around for Sidney to finish school I was a year older than him, it was bound to happen sometime. And even if I did stay, he would’ve left anyway to play with the Penguins,” Riley said as she looked at Troy for his expression.

“He doesn’t think things through, he was just looking at it from his point of view,” Troy said with a small smile trying to lighten the mood.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t matter I mean I doubt that we are going to make up.”

“Well we’ll see how things go, why don’t you talk to him,” Troy suggested.

“I’ll see, but I have a question, why all of a sudden are you being so nice to me?” Riley asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Well don’t tell anyone this because I might get a reputation as a softy,” Troy said then paused to smile at Riley.

“When you left Sidney was heartbroken, devastated even. I saw the way he looked at you, even then that you were something special to him. Then seeing the way that he talked about you on Friday and even yesterday, just something about the thought of you lifts his spirit. That was also another clue that you were his ex. Anyway, I can just see that he cares about you a lot, even though he may act like a complete selfless moron at times, he means well,” Troy said as Riley’s vision started to cloud with tears.

“Thank you, Troy,” Riley said as they stood up.

“No problem, I just couldn’t bear to see my son upset again, over the same girl!” he said with a laugh and pulled her into a hug.

They stood there, hugging in silence until the guys barged through the door. “Awe Sid’s dad and girlfriend are having a heartfelt moment!” Max shouted as he made the weirdest expression. Sidney was behind Marc-André Fleury who was behind Max, making Sidney within earshot and he could also see the two hugging. He was shocked, utterly shocked. He never envisioned the two standing like that.

Troy and Riley both made their way out of the locker room so the guys could get changed. Riley had to go back in afterwards so she could do an interview after they were changed.

When Riley went back in to the locker room after the guys were done getting ready she did her interviews and saved Sidney for last. Something about the mood had changed, he seemed relaxed. As Riley turned around to leave Sidney grabbed a hold of her arm and pulled her back to him. “Can we talk?” he asked with pleading eyes. “Yeah sure,” Riley replied her voice barely above a whisper. “Okay, give me five minutes,” Sidney said as Riley nodded and made her way out of the locker room.

Sidney came out five minutes later, like he had said. He said goodbye to his parents since they were going back to Nova Scotia. When they were saying goodbye Troy pulled Riley aside for a few moments, while Sidney was talking to his mother. Troy and Riley talked for five minutes or so and Sidney kept looking over at them. “I hope everything works out for you two,” Troy said to Riley as they were walking back to Sidney and his mom and sister. “Thank you so much Troy, really I mean it,” Riley whispered quietly but loud enough for him to hear.

After they left Sidney and Riley made their way to Riley’s house. When they got in they walked straight into the living room and before they could sit down Sidney pulled Riley into a huge hug. “I’m sorry,” he whispered in her ear as she closed her eyes and nodded while saying, “Me too,” They stood there for a few minutes in silence, no one really wanting to start off.

After a few minutes they pulled away and started talking. Riley had explained to Sidney that four years ago she couldn’t wait around for him to graduate – she had to start a life of her own. Sidney had explained to Riley that he was heartbroken when she left and how he would’ve liked to have known about her applying to the university. They talked for an hour and a half when Sidney asked, “So what was with you and my dad today?” This shocked Riley, she wasn’t expecting this question. “Oh we were just talking,” she answered simply. He looked at her with uncertainty then said, “No I mean he usually doesn’t approve of anyone so why would he trust you? No offence.” Riley smiled at this and thought quickly about her answer then replied, “Maybe I’m just special,”

Chapter Eight

Coasting Down Memory Lane;
Chapter Eight.

Riley made her way to the stands as the practice began. Even though she and Sidney were not on the best of terms, he still captivated her attention. It is pretty hard not to watch him anyway, but Riley could not take her eyes off of him. A part of her wanted to just tell Sidney what she had tried telling him years ago, but another part of her wanted to never talk to him again, not after the way he had talked to her.

Ten minutes before practice ended Cooper called and since Riley had already written enough down she answered. “Hey Coop!” She said cheerfully. “Hey Rye!” he said with the same cheerfulness. They talked about random things; they even got onto a topic of toast. Cooper had Riley laughing the whole time; Sidney had glanced over at Riley a few times. And every time he looked Riley was laughing at something crazy he had said. This angered Sidney, a lot. But Riley was not trying to make him jealous and he knew that—making it even more aggravating.

After practice Riley went down to the locker room to interview the guys and all that stuff. She eventually made her was over to Sidney and she was very professional about it. “Look can we talk?” Sidney asked after Riley finished asking him about the practice and thoughts for the upcoming season. “No,” Riley replied simply. “What?” Sidney asked as he stood up. Most of the guys and the media had left a few minutes ago. “No,” Riley repeated as she closed her notebook and put away her microphone that the company gave her. “What do you mean no?” Sidney asked, his voice getting louder by the second. “No as in no I do not want to talk,” Riley replied with a smirk to finish off her smart-aleck remark. “Why?” he asked now getting frustrated. “I’m on my lunch break... now,” Riley replied looking at her watch. “So then we’ll have lunch,” Sidney said, obviously wanting to talk badly. “Can’t, I’m already having lunch with someone,” Riley replied as she was walking out of the locker room. “Tell Kay that you have other plans,” “I’m not having lunch with Kay,” Riley replied as she walked away and left the Mellon Arena.

Riley and Cooper had agreed that they would meet at the new restaurant that had recently opened near the Mellon. As soon as Riley pulled up she saw Cooper and walked over to him. “Waiting for someone?” she asked from behind him. He turned around with a huge grin on his face and enveloped her in a big hug.

They were seated off to the side, near a window that had a nice view of the city. They made small talk until the waitress asked for their orders. After that they continued to talk, Riley’s back was to the door so she couldn’t see who was coming in. In the middle of their conversation Cooper said, “Oh my god, it’s Sidney Crosby!” Riley’s eyes widened and her heart started beating faster. ‘What is he doing here?’ Riley kept asking inside her head. “Oh what a coincidence,” Riley said trying to act astonished. “Not a fan, huh?” Cooper asked with an eyebrow raised. “Not at this moment in time,” Riley said as she looked away. “Alright, well to be honest, I don’t like him either,” Cooper said with a smile.

They continued to talk about god knows what for another hour when they decided to leave. Riley had left to use the restroom while Cooper still sat at the table talking to the people around him. As Riley was making her way back to the table she felt a hand grip her arm tightly.

“Where do you think you’re going?” an all too familiar voice said from behind her.

“What are you doing?” Riley asked as she turned around to face Sidney.

“Me? What are you doing?” he asked looking slightly angry.

“What are you talking about?” Riley whispered quickly.

“Who is that guy?”

“Why does it matter? Are you jealous?” Riley asked with an eyebrow raised.

“No, I’m just curious of who you are having lunch with,” Sidney replied with a smirk.

“You’re jealous,” Riley replied with a smile.

“Whatever, so who is he?”

“That’s none of your business, but if you’ll excuse me I have to get back to my table,” Riley said as she pushed past Sidney and walked over to Cooper.

Riley walked back over to the table and soon left with Cooper. Well they went their separate ways, Cooper had to go back to work and Riley had to go back to the rink—practice was extended because of the cancellation that happened previously in the week.

When Riley arrived back at the arena she was met instantly by Jordan Staal. They had become close since the beginning of training camp. He enveloped her in a huge bear hug that lifted her off the ground.

“So, what’s up?” Jordan asked with a goofy smile.

“Nothing, how about you what have you gotten your bad self into lately?” Riley asked returning the goofy smile.

“I haven’t done anything bad,” he said looking hurt and putting his hand over his heart.

“Ha! Sure you haven’t,” Riley said as they walked inside the Mellon Arena.

They continued to talk until coach Therrien told him to get on the ice. It was clear that Riley was the most liked reporter. Mainly because of her bubbly personality and that she was close in age with the majority of the guys. There were some other reporters who were young, not many but some. Over the past few days Riley began talking to one of the younger reporters, Jennifer Nolan. She was twenty-four years of age and was a tall, about five-foot eight, she had blonde hair dyed black underneath. She had beautiful green eyes and was quite intelligent.

“Hey Jenny,” Riley said as she walked over to where Jennifer was sitting. “Hey Rye,” she replied quickly glancing at Riley than directing her attention to the ice that no one was on. Even though Jennifer was one of the reporters she had a huge crush on Max Talbot. She always got a little giddy when she got to interview him. “You know, he’s not on the ice right now, he’s in the locker room,” Riley said with a smirk. “Yeah I know,” she said as she widened her eyes, almost as if she was saying Duh.

The both of them got along really well, they had similar interests. It also helped that they were close in age. Jennifer was born in Denver, Colorado and moved to Pittsburgh at the age of seven.

The two continued to talk until Jennifer had to take an important call. Riley took this as an opportunity to get a good look at the Penguins dressing room, when it was not full of penguins. She was sitting on the bench writing down the description of the dressing room when the door opened. Riley was too deep in her writing to even hear the door open and the person walk in, she was on a roll describing everything perfectly. She was calm until the other person spoke up.

“Put the book down,” the man said in a flat voice.