It's Never too Late to Try ~ Sidney Crosby

Chapter 4- Dinner

"Mommy, look at me!" Eli yelled at me while he skated around with his camp friends. He has become a lot more confident in himself the past couple of days. The proud look on his face made everything worthwhile. "I can see you! You're doing great, bud!" I called out to him, causing him to give me a thumbs up. I took my phone out to take videos and pictures of Eli so I can cherish the moment. I looked over briefly and saw Sidney skating around, goofing around with Nathan MacKinnon. I caught myself staring when Eli yelled at me to watch him again. I sighed and continued taking pictures of him.

While Eli had a scrimmage, I decided to go to the bathroom quickly and do my makeup. I probably looked awful with my wonderful 'yesterday's makeup' look. I grabbed my purse and walked over to the women's bathroom that was basically deserted due to the lack of mom's. I walked inside and quickly did my business. When I was done, I attempted to do a full face of makeup in 15 minutes.

I stood in front of the dirty mirror and applied my foundation, blending it in with my pink beauty blender. I quickly put on concealer and setting powder. I decided to just put on bronzer and blush instead of contouring today. I looked at my phone to see a text message from Darcy. I looked at it while I pulled out of my mascara.

From Darcy: Hey Scarlet! Have you spoken to him yet?
To Darcy: No, not yet. I'm going to try though.

I finished putting on my eye makeup and I put my products back into my bag. I headed back out to the rink and sat on the bench. As I sat down, Darcy texted me again.

From Darcy: Do it before I do! Get yourself out there, Girl

I smirked and put my phone back into my purse. I watched Eli scrimmage with the other kids and drank my tea that was now room temperature, gross. As soon as I looked up, Eli scored a goal and he was off the wall. Sid even skated over him to give him a high five. I couldn't help but smile at them.

When the camp was over, Eli ran over to me in his gear still and hugged me. "Did you see me play, I scored a goal!" He cheered looking at me while the biggest smile I have ever seen. "I did! You're gonna be a future hall of fame player, bud!" I kissed his cheek softly and he looked over at Sidney. "That's what Sidney said!" Eli pointed over at him and I chuckled a little bit. "Oh really?" I turned around and looked at him. "I told him that he can come over for dinner since you're making Lasagna." Eli ran away to go change and I walked over to Sidney.

"Hey," I smiled at him. "You don't have to come over if you don't want to," I assured him, pulling my hair back. "I'd love to come over. Eli said that he wanted me to help him with his shot. I'm always up for anything." Sid replied, zipping up his sweatshirt. "You live in Halifax, right?" He pried. I nodded and looked over to see Nathan with a shit-eating grin on his face. "I'll text you my address in a little bit. I have to go home and take a nap before I collapse." I told him while I adjusted the strap on my bag. He gave me a thumbs up and I felt myself blushing.

On the way home, Eli sat in the back sucking on a lollipop while he babbled about his goal and camp. When he's happy about something, he doesn't stop talking about it -- it's adorable. "So, I wanted to ask you. Why did you invite Sidney over?" I questioned as I turned on the radio."I heard you talking last night with your friend. I want to be your wingman." Eli admitted to me and my eyes went wide. "My wingman?" I chuckled and looked back to him. "I can get my own dates, Eli." I laughed and he rolled his eyes. "You're terrible at dating, mommy." He sucked on his lollipop and I couldn't stop laughing. "So you're an expert at dating now?" I couldn't believe that my son set up a date for me before I could even do it. "I googled it, mom. You seem lonely lately, so I want you to be happy." He smiled at me and I felt myself getting choked up. "Are you okay?" He asked me. "Yes, you really are the best son anyone could have." I looked at him and he beamed at me.

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I looked at the clock. 5:34 PM. Sid would be here any minute for dinner and to play with Eli. I stood in the kitchen in my apron cooking my vegetarian lasagna. I learned to cook last year so I could make proper dinners for myself and Eli. As soon as I put the lasagna in the oven, I heard the doorbell ring. Before I could even get to the door, Eli sprinted to open the door.

"Hey, Eli," Sidney said as he walked in. "You ready to practice?" he added putting his keys in his pocket. Eli nodded his head and ran outside to the patio. Before he headed outside, he walked into the kitchen and gave me a smile. "Hey Scarlet, thank you for having me over." He stuck his hand out and I gladly shook it. "It's not a problem, I was making a big dinner anyway." I smiled at him and I heard Eli yelling from outside. "It looks like Eli is ready," I told him, leading Sid to the patio. When we got outside, Eli handed him one of his sticks.

I sat down on the lounge chair and watched them play around. I felt my phone vibrate and I already knew that it was Darcy. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw a text from her, as expected.

From Darcy: What are you up to? I'm stuck at work and I'm bored
To Darcy: Sidney is over for dinner. Eli invited him over because he heard us talking last night. He said that he's my wingman...
From Darcy: Oh my god! That's so sweet though. I hope you have a great time

We sat at the dinner table eating dinner and Eli kept talking about his new Pokemon cards that I bought him yesterday. Sidney sat there amused while he ate his food. "I was never into Pokemon as a kid, maybe you can show them to." He looked at Eli and he nodded. "I would love to!" He stood up and looked at me. "May I be excused?" He asked me politely. I nodded and he bolted over to his room. "He's a great kid." Sidney drank some of his water and I smirked. "He's the best, honestly."

After dinner, Eli and Sidney sat in his room while he showed him his cards. I sat in the living room and looked at my phone for a little bit until Sidney walked in. "He fell asleep." He chuckled sitting down next to me. "He's been excited all day so he must be exhausted now." I giggled and put my phone down. "Eli told me that he's my wingman." Sidney leaned back on the couch. I started laughing and looked at him, smiling. "He told me that he was MY wingman." I giggled and played with my fingers. "He told me to come over and hang out with you," Sidney told me while he pushed my hair behind my ears. "Oh really?" My heart was racing and my face was a light shade of pink. "Yes, do you wanna go out to lunch after camp tomorrow. I have to repay you for making me dinner. No one has made me dinner in a really long time." His low voice made me melt and I couldn't get any words out, so I just nodded. "Now I wanna do something that I've been wanting to do since I saw you on Monday." He growled at me, leaning in. I leaned in and he pressed his lips to mine, kissing me softly. I kissed back before I pulled away. "You're so beautiful," Sid whispered to me, softly before kissing me again.