Page 39 of Buried Treasure
Ryan pushed himself off the counter. "Fine. Just more nachos for me and mom in the team suite then."
He walked over and gave Sydney an unexpected bear hug. She was surprised by his move, but more than willing to lean into it. Sure, he was young and immature. But he was also strong with a tight grip and hard muscles. No woman would mind getting a bear hug from a man like that. Perhaps that's what Sydney needed from him. Just like Sydney needed Andy's warm touch on her this morning. Maybe it wasn't want she expected, but damn was she thankful for it. Of course, Andy's touch was much different — and much less chaste — than Ryan's.
Ryan let go of Sydney and smiled down at her. "I'm leaving at five o'clock. Text me if you change your mind."
"I will," she replied.
"And text me even after that," he said as he started walking towards her front door. "I can meet you at the arena last minute."
"I don't think that's going to happen."
Ryan gave her a genuinely friendly smile. "I'm going to get you out of here at some point."
"At some point," she said quietly. "Keep pushing me to get out though, OK?"
"I will," he said. "Besides, I missed the end ofBirdsso you have to come over and finish it with me."
"I can do that."
Ryan finally headed out, leaving Sydney alone in her apartment again. Even though she told Ryan she wouldn't go, there was still something trying to push her. If she went with Ryan, they would head to the locker room after the game to see his friends and maybe even Andy. He asked her if she was going tonight. He seemed to genuinely want to see her. So why not just go to the game?
But as much as she wanted to see Andy, it wasn't enough for her to go out in public and deal with a large crowd. She just couldn't stand the idea of having to put on a brave face in front of that many people for that long. She figured Andy would understand her explanation. She really didn't need to give him an explanation anyway. They had slept together, sure, and they were good together — really good. But that wasn't enough when it came to 18,000 people in an arena who may recognize her.
Besides, she already got out of her clothes for him once today. She even took a shower after the workout he gave her in the bedroom. She could only do so much in one day for that man. Of course, that man had completely changed the way she looked at him, especially the way he went from being nice Andy to in-charge Andy. She liked it — a lot. There was no denying that. But a clean pair of jeans and a shower were all he was going to make her change about herself today.
Sydney headed into her bedroom and collapsed on her bed, burying her head in the pillow Andy had laid on earlier that morning. It still smelled like him. A little sweaty, a lot of manliness, and some sort of clean-scented nondescript men's shampoo. It was nice and soothing and so Andy. If that man had that kind of effect on her when he wasn't here, she needed to find a way to get him in her bed so she could get more sleep. Worrying about her job would be the last thing on her to-do list with Andy in her bed. Hell, if he were here now, he would be the first thing for her to do.
Sydney woke up from that spot on her bed two hours later after accidentally falling asleep. Ryan was definitely long gone by now. That was a good thing for now. She appreciated what Ryan was trying to do for her, but he needed to be back in that building with his guys. It may have helped to have her there next to him if he got frustrated watching his guys on the ice while he was stuck in the hospitality suite, but he was with his mom. He would be fine.
Sydney would be fine too. Lucy had mentioned that she didn't have any plans so Sydney called her and told her to bring dinner over. Her friend was more than happy to oblige.
"I come with food and drink!" Lucy proclaimed an hour later with her arms raised in triumph when Sydney answered the door.
"What kind of food?"
Lucy's arms fell to her side. "Cheese fries and chili dogs from Coney Island. Cheap wine from the cheap wine store."
Sydney ushered her in. "What kind of wine goes with chili dogs?"
She shrugged. "I figured it's red meat so I got some merlot. Seems like a good match, right?"
"I think calling chili dogs 'red meat' is being generous, but I'll get the corkscrew."
Lucy started laying out the dinner on the coffee table while Sydney headed to the kitchen, bringing back the corkscrew and fancy wine glasses.
"Is there a reason we're watching hockey tonight?" Lucy asked as she started to dig into the fries. "I thought Ryan wasn't back in the line-up yet."
Sydney gave her a surprised look. "How do you know what's going on with Ryan?"
"Proximity makes it necessary."
And so it went for a half hour watching the Pirates play the team from Cleveland, a major conference rival. The camera cut to Ryan in the suite looking antsy. Just as Sydney had predicted, he would be itching to get out on the ice tonight. But also just as predicted, Amelia was sitting in the row of seats behind him to be his moral support while also trying to keep her distance.
As the announcers talked about Ryan's appendix — or lack thereof — during a break in play, the camera turned back to the bench and focused on Andy Mitchell, who, according to the announcers, was tracking the rookie's progress.
"Oh, hey. That's Andy," Lucy mumbled with fries in her mouth. "Have you seen him lately?"
Sydney froze, cheese fry hanging in midair, as she turned to look at Lucy.
