Chapter 24: Chef Sid

"She's going..." Jordan spoke under his breath as he skated behind me. She's going to what? Who's she? I turned back to glance at him in complete confusion. I took the puck on my stick trying to ignore Jordan. That boy sure had his quirks... I looked around the surface, reading where people were and where they could possibly go to. I threw the puck off my stick towards Bill as I glanced over at Jordan and he mouthed one word Harley. Harley was going? To the wedding? She said yes?! I could feel a stupid grin begin to form on my lips just as I was throw hard against the boards.

I sat there for a second, letting the world come back to me, rolling all my joints effected. Head... ok. Neck... ok. Shoulder... a bit sore... nothing that can't be played through. Wrist? I twisted my wrist to test it and hissed at the pain that shot up my arm. Not good....

"Sorry, Sidney..." Gonch's voice called down to me as he offered me help. I rose easily, still rolling my wrist, and waving his apology off. "I didn't think I hit you that hard."

"Eehh... Kid's got a hard head!" Max called from across the ice. "He'll be fine!" Everyone, including myself, chuckled at Max's comment as Coach blew the whistle to start a new drill.





The rest of practice flew by with out anymore incidents and I was finally able to call Harley in peace.

"Hey Sid." She answered brightly.

"Hey Har, I was just calling to see if you were still up for tonight." I grinned into the phone, remembering how warn out and tired she looked a couple of days ago. "You weren't feeling well last night so we don't have to do anything..." I really wanted her to stay home and rest if she wasn't feeling well. I mean you only get one body right?

"No, I want to see you. What did you want to do?" My smile grew just a little as I ran threw the evening I had planned for her... if she was up for it.

“Natalie, Mario and the kids our in Montreal for the weekend... I could make dinner?” Dinner shouldn't be too hard. I mean... A bit of pasta.. Some chicken... A jar of sauce... Done!

"Sounds perfect," she breathed into the phone making my mind go a little bit fuzzy.

"Great... Seven at my place?" She agreed quickly and I hung up the phone. Now groceries so I could make dinner.

Dinner... Chicken Parmigiana. Easy... Just Chicken, bacon, sauce, spaghetti and cheese. Simple... I stared at the ingredients in front of me, and then the cookbook sitting next to them. Maybe it's not as easy as I thought it was....

Spread sauce in dish... Done... Sauce in dish.

Cut chicken into cutlets... What the hell's a cutlet? I looked closely at the picture on the top of the page... Looks like a thin chicken... I grabbed the chicken a checked it's thinness. Good enough.

Beat an egg in one dish, pour breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan in a second for coating mixture. Well at least that parts easy.

Coat chicken in egg and then the breadcrumb and cheese mixture to coat chicken. Another easy step.

Heat oil on medium heat. Ok... oil, saucepan, medium heat.... done. Saute chicken in pan. Saute? I shrugged tossing the chicken in the pan. Can someone remind me why I said I'd cook?

I watched the chicken for a minute, checking to make sure it didn't burn as the doorbell rang. She's here! I washed my hands quickly before going to the front door and pulling it open.

There she was looking more beautiful than ever in a simple pair of light washed jeans and a tight fitting t-shirt.

"Hey.." I smiled down at her as I ushered her inside.

"Hey," she grinned.

"Dinner's just cooking.. It'll be a couple of minutes." She nodded as I lead her over to the couch, sitting down next to her so our thighs brushed. I sighed loudly, trying to build up enough courage to kiss her again. Damn it, Sid! You make $9M a year playing a competitive sport because you're confident! And you can't kiss a girl!? I shook the thought out of my head as I turned her face to mine and captured her lips in a searing kiss.

She had the best lips ever! Tasted like cherries and soft as pillows! I swear I could've lived off of her kisses. I smiled into the kiss as I dragged my hand down her neck and around to her back, pulling her tighter against me. My smile grew as her hand found my chest. But, it was short lived as she softly pushed me away from her.

"Do you smell something burning?" She question, scrunching her nose in disgust.

Shit.

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Tonight's recipe can be found here.