Change on the Fly ➸ Sidney Crosby [ON HOLD]

Twelve | Raleigh

≫ Everly - Saturday, January 9, 2016 ≪

I could not stop bouncing around and I think it was beginning to embarrass Sidney.

"Would you please knock it off?" He looked exhausted, bags beginning to form under his eyes, but he was still halfway smiling at me.

I shook my head, a stupid grin on my face. "I can't!" He rolled his eyes so dramatically that I thought, for a split-second, that they may fall right of their sockets. "Do you know how much I've missed Raleigh?"

He nodded, offering a sleepy smile as he tossed an arm over my shoulders. "I do." He kissed my temple before dropping his head to rest his cheek on the top of my head.

"Boys, we're boarding now," Coach Sullivan's voice called, suddenly, making me jump just slightly.

I sighed. I hated this part of his job, the traveling part. I wasn't ever ready to let him go, but knowing that my plane to Raleigh was boarding less than an hour after his took off, took away a large part of the empty feeling I felt every time he left.

I reached up to straighten his tie, tugging it to the left just slightly as he straightened out his suit jacket and readjusted the carry-on bag hanging from his shoulder.

I patted his shoulder before stepping up on my tippy-toes to kiss his cheek. "Play well, score a couple of goals, but most importantly, come home safe to me, please."

"Of course," His hands grabbed the sides of my face as he leaned down to kiss me gently. I wrapped my fingers around his wrists, wanting to keep his hands on my body and his lips on mine, but alas he dropped his hands and stepped half-a-step back. "Text me when you land, okay?"

I was biting down on my lip, trying to keep tears in my eyes. "You do the same," He nodded, before pressing another kiss to my forehead. "I love you, Sid."

"I love you, Everly Grace." I grinned up at him, taking his hand loosely in mine, as he began to turn his body towards the line of his teammates waiting to board their plane. "I'll see you next week, beauty."

"Bye, bubba." He smiled, dropping my hand once he got an arm's distance away.

I watched him, arms crossed over my stomach until he was the second to last one to board the plane. He turned, his eyes meeting mine, offering a small smile. I giggled, moving one hand to blow him a kiss and wave goodbye. He dorkily acted as if he caught the kiss and stuffed it in his pocket before turning his back to me and making his way down the tunnel to his plane.

⊳

There were two things I noticed when the taxi pulled up to Jeff and I's-Jeff's house.

1) The flowers I had placed on the porch steps back in October, orange mums, were still in the same places I had left them, making me wonder if he had even put up Christmas decorations this year considering he couldn't be bothered to throw out dead flowers.

2) There were three flags hanging from the house: one American, one Canadian, and one Swedish. The first two were obvious choices considering that we were in America and that Jeff was Canadian, but the Swedish flag had me stumped.

"Are you planning on being in town for long, Miss Everly?" I shook my head as Thom pulled my suitcases from the trunk of the black car. Thom was someone I met shortly after I began flying on my own, around 17 or so. After my third or fourth ride with him, he gave me his card, telling me to call him whenever I would need a ride and since then, every time I was in Raleigh, he was there, waiting for me.

"Unfortunately no, I'll only be here until the 16th." Thom smiled as he handed me my laptop bag.

"That's barely short of two weeks," I nodded, adjusting my bag to sit just right on my shoulder. "Would you like some help getting inside?"