Ryan stepped up to her and grabbed her hand. "I have, and you can blame me if this all gets messed up. But you won't know if it's going to get messed up unless you try. I promise you that Andy is someone you should try for."
She looked at him and realized this may have been the most sincere thing Ryan had ever said to her, and he was saying it about a man he wanted her to date. That had to have some merit, right? Having a friend who was that adamant about making sure you were going to give happiness a chance?
Sydney turned to look at the white envelope she had put on the counter then looked back to her neighbor in his fancy suit who was staring hopefully at her.
"Barton, you have to come to the game and the lounge afterward," he said to her in a fake stern voice. "There are tickets in there and a friends and family pass and I even got you VIP parking."
She gave him a wicked smile. "A parking pass?"
Ryan groaned in response. "I said all that crap about Andy and giving him a chance when all I really had to do was tell you there was a parking pass in there?"
"Well, I really was on the fence until you told me about the parking."
He dramatically pulled his hand away from her. "You are the worst friend ever. I'm not even going to tell you about the 20 bucks I threw in for the nachos that Lucy likes for some oddball reason."
"How do you know what Lucy likes?" she asked teasingly.
"I'm leaving, Barton!" he announced as he opened the door. Then he turned, his face quickly becoming serious again. "I meant it all. You need to come to the game so you can see Andy, and I will do what I can to help you fix this."
"Well, no matter what happens, I do have to give you credit for your effort."
"You're welcome," he said quietly. "Have a good time at the game. I'll see you afterward."
Sydney nodded and watched as he walked out of her apartment. Poor Ryan. She had a sneaking suspicion that if things didn't work out between her and Andy, it was actually Ryan who was going to be the most heartbroken about it.
Chapter 21
When they went to the arena, Lucy insisted on driving so she could use the parking pass Ryan had given them. Plus, it would make it harder for Sydney to back out of the plan to actually talk to Andy. It once again proved why Lucy was such a good lawyer, and how she could negotiate anyone to think her way. It was annoying to be her friend sometimes, but it set Sydney's mind at ease knowing that Lucy was her lawyer. A lawyer who could successfully argue in favor of a Pirates VIP parking pass was a lawyer you wanted by your side.
So with the game over, Lucy left Sydney to wander through the underworld of the arena before she finally found the friends and family lounge. The room had a few leather sofas and some tables set up with food and pop. Kids were running around chasing after each other while family and girlfriends sat around talking. Sydney recognized Andy's ex-girlfriend from the bar. She scowled when she noticed the woman was once again wearing the Tiffany's bracelet that Andy had pointed out. Seriously, what kind of ex-girlfriend does that?
The players started filing in, their hair still wet from their showers after the game as they greeted their significant others. A few of them also had kids run up to give their fathers big hugs. Sydney figured the room was probably so jovial tonight since the Pirates easily won their game against Chicago. She grabbed a cookie from the hospitality table and sat down in a corner away from everyone while she waited for Ryan. He was a little late coming in compared to the rest of the team and by the time he finally showed up, there were only a handful of people left in the room.
She started walking over to him before he finally turned and smiled at her.
"Hey," he said, giving her a quick half hug.
"Hi," she replied. "Good game out there."
He pulled away and shrugged. "I've been better. I still feel like I'm not 100 percent after my surgery."
"You'll get there," she said with a smile.
Ryan looked over her head and scanned the room again. "No Lucy?"
"She took off already, but she did want me to say thank you for the nachos and free parking."
He looked a little disappointed but quickly recovered with a smile. "Well, I'm glad she was entertained by the nachos."
"They're damn good nachos."
"Of course," he replied. "So how are you getting home?"
Sydney started to aimlessly look around so she could avoid Ryan's eyes. "Lucy said I had to find my own way home."
"Gotcha," he said.
Sydney really hoped he got the hint she was trying to give him. She either had to go home with him or go home with someone else. And if things didn't work out, she would go home alone.
Ryan told her to follow him and the two of them walked out of the room into the hall where the rookie did a quick scan before discreetly leading her back towards the locker room. The room was nearly deserted except for someone she assumed was the equipment manager cleaning up the jerseys, and two players who were talking in a corner. They all looked up at her, perhaps a bit confused about why there was a woman in their locker room, until she saw Ryan give them all a slight nod and they went back to what they were doing.
But while none of them seemed to care that she was there, Sydney did care. A lot. She was becoming more and more nervous as she followed Ryan down a small hallway. He slowed down and turned to make sure she was still there, then quietly pointed to an open door just a few feet away from them.
"Good luck," he whispered in her ear.
He walked away, leaving her alone in the quiet hallway. The only thing she could hear was the rustling of someone moving around in the room with the door. All she had to do was walk in. Sydney took a deep breath, cleared her mind and stepped forward.
As soon as she got in the training room, she saw Andy right in the middle of it. He was moving around quietly but with a determined look on his face as he picked up some leftover papers and trash, cleaning up after having to deal with a team of hockey players. He was so focused that he didn't even notice she was there.
Sydney knocked lightly against the open door to get his attention, and his head immediately snapped up with a smile to see who was there. His face faltered a bit when he realized it was her.
"Hey."
She could tell he was trying to keep his emotions guarded, and she frankly figured she deserved a bit of that.
"Hi," she said quietly. "I hope you don't mind me barging in. I was at the game and thought it might be cool to come down and visit."
"Yeah," he said. "Did you get a pass from uh…."
"Ryan got us in," she replied nervously.
"Us?"
"Lucy and I," she said. "He even gave her a little spending cash so she could buy some nachos. I have no idea why she likes eating them at games."
He gave her a small smile and went back to work. "Well, we won so you chose a good night to be here."
"I guess."
She stared as Andy continued to move around, almost occupying himself with busy work so he didn't have to acknowledge her presence anymore. The silence was starting to engulf them and it was becoming more and more obvious that she was getting blown off. Andy finally turned and gave her a tight smile.
"So, um, I'm sorry I can't talk more, but…"
He gestured towards the counter that he had completely cleaned off, acting as if there was still more that he had to do before it was finished.
"Oh, right," she said quickly. "Yeah, I should probably get going anyway. Get home and all."
There was a tension that seemed to disappear when Andy realized she was leaving.
"It was good to see you."
"Yeah, you too," she said. "Good night."
"Night."
And with that, Andy turned back to his counter so he could straighten out the stocked cotton ball containers.
Sydney figured that was her cue to walk away so she did. It was obvious that not only did he not want her there, but he was happy with the idea that she was leaving. She was walking away from sweet and
sexy and caring Andy. He was the man who apologized after their first kiss because he had dreamed of it being better than that. He was the man who told her she could trust him when her trust in men has disappeared. The man who kept checking in on her when other people distanced themselves from her toxic former job with her crook of a boss.
He was the man who consoled her when she started crying over a dead goldfish.
Sydney stopped in the middle of the hallway and took a breath, trying to push down whatever emotion was threatening to burst out of her. Once again, she was a failure. That seemed to be the theme of her entire year so far and it wasn't even March. Failure after failure.
She looked up, trying to assess her surroundings and make sure no one was watching her. But someone was. Ryan was standing at the other end of the hall, shoulders hunched over, a sad look on his face. He seemed to be the most heartbroken of all of them. But mixed in with that was a look that started to piss Sydney off. He felt sorry for her. Poor Sydney, he must be thinking. Her work life sucked and now her personal life was a complete disaster. Her only friends were her lawyer, an immature rookie and his mom. Her parents couldn't even be bothered to call her and when they did, it was just to tell her that she had made a mistake and it was time to give up and move home.
Screw that. Screw all of that. Screw having to remember which conversations were and were not covered by attorney-client privilege when she was talking to her best friend. Screw Ryan for feeling sorry for her like she was some broken cause. Screw Gretzky for being a stupid dead goldfish. Most important, screw Andy for trying to get her out of there quietly.
Sydney could feel her heart beat faster and her blood begin to boil. She was not broken, she was not weak, and she sure as hell was not walking out of this arena without saying what she had to say.
She looked Ryan in the eye and quietly said, "Go home."
He flashed her a wicked smile that she only saw for a split second before she turned around and headed back to the trainers' room. Andy was still there, leaning against the counter with his arms folded across his chest and his head ducked down, staring at his feet. But this time, Sydney was anything but quiet with her entrance and his eyes immediately looked up at her as she stopped to stare at him.
"You can't get rid of me that easily," she told him.
He pushed himself off the counter and stood up taller to face her. "Listen, Sydney—"
"No, you listen!"
His eyes snapped up to her face in surprise, and to be fair, she was pretty surprised herself at the tone of her voice. Screw it, she was going to go with it.
"The past month has been the worst of my life. The worst!" she yelled. "My boss stole a lot of money from some very nice people, and I didn't stop him because I didn't know what was going on. It was obvious that things were messed up, and yet I didn't notice any of it. One of my best friends had an emergency appendectomy that took me almost a whole day to find out about because I was mad about the work thing. And apparently it's my fault he went to the hospital because, according to him, I gave him a bagel instead of a donut that morning. Oh, and his dead fish made me cry."
She was on a roll, and she didn't care. She took two steps forward, watching Andy's eyes widen as she got closer.
"And then there was you. Andy Mitchell. You said I could trust you, and I did, and that's what led me to get hurt. Because after all I had been though, I still decided that maybe, perhaps, I should trust you. Now of course, I did some things wrong. Really wrong. I know that now. It doesn't help if I know that I trust you without actually picking up the phone and saying to you, 'I trust you.' That was my mistake. But you?"
She pointed straight at him, making him stand straighter.
"I told you to trust me. I told you that I wasn't interested in hockey players, that there is no way any hockey player could impress me. But you saw one moment completely out of context and immediately jumped to not trusting me."
"I know."
Her eyes widened as she stared at him. That wasn't the answer she was expecting.
"I'm sorry," she stammered. "You what?"
His eyes were full of passion as he stared at her. "I said, 'I know.'"
Sydney's head started spinning. His answer had seemed to take all the air out of the room. He knew? He knew what? "I know," still leaves so many questions unanswered.
Andy started walking towards her, determined and passionate and fiery. Sydney actually wondered what the hell was going on. This was definitely not any kind of Andy that she recognized, and she wasn't sure if it was supposed to turn her on or turn her off. But it didn't seem like he was slowing down, and Sydney started walking backwards to get out of his way, finally coming to a stop as her back hit the wall next to the open door. Andy grabbed the door with his hand and slammed it shut, his body invading her personal space, his eyes fiery and hot.
Then he kissed her. It was a solid kiss that pushed her against the wall even more, Andy's weight up against her body as his hands cupped her cheeks. His tongue teased her lips and made her audibly groan. He was determined to practically be a part of her, even as he started to slow down and kiss her with less force. Less force was still plenty of force for Sydney. He pulled away slightly, his breath hot and bothered against her lips as his heart beat fast under her fingers on his chest. He was still so close she could feel him smile against her mouth.
"I missed that," he said quietly.
"Me too."
Sydney reached up, letting her hand tease his jawline as her other fingers continued their trail down his chest. She looked up into his eyes and couldn't help but smile back at him. After all the drama that engulfed them for the past few weeks, it was this quiet moment right now between the two of them that was the best moment she had had in a long time.
Andy's hand covered hers on his chest and he pulled away from her, entwining his fingers in hers.
"Can we talk for a minute?"
She nodded and let him lead her to the high benches in the room usually reserved for the players. He helped her get up on the one closest to them and then jumped up on a second one across from her. She watched as he nervously rubbed his hands on his Pirates-issued track pants.
"I actually don't know where to begin," he said with a nervous smile.
"I…"
Sydney trailed off, not sure really where she wanted to begin either. Andy stared at her with an expectant look, which probably looked like hers. She took a deep breath, figuring she had to start somewhere.
"Ryan gave me a pass to the friends and family lounge thing. I was waiting in there for him when I saw Aubrey?" That didn't sound right. What was that girl's name? "Ashleigh, I mean."
Andy's face went from a curious look to one of disdain, and he quickly ducked his head to avoid Sydney's gaze. But Sydney decided to press on and get this all out.
"Anyway, she was waiting there and her boyfriend came over and I just… I got it. He was standing there with some stitches on his face from the game that I'm assuming you took care of."
"I had to clean them up."
She nodded and gave him a tight smile. "That must suck for you."
He gave her a slight laugh. "That's one way of putting it."
"So the thing is, Ryan is my friend, and that's not going to change. But I understand now why that would bother you so I'll try and be more mindful of that in the future."
"The future?" he asked.
"I mean, if you want there to be a future with us, I guess."
"I do," he said quietly with a smile. "And I know you're dealing with your own things—"
"You don't have to worry about those."
"I worry about those, because you worry about those." He took a breath and shook his head in annoyance. "I have no idea how you're getting through this. I didn't want to tell you this, but I've been reading about what's going on with your job, or former job or whatever, and there seems to be a lot of crap that you're getting dragged into when it's not your fault."
Sydney's hands balled u
p into fists on the table, and she had to clench her jaw to control her frustration, especially considering she wasn't expecting to have to deal with these feelings here with him.
"You need people who will stand by you. You need Ryan and Lucy." He looked up at her with his piercing blue eyes. "You need me — at least, I hope you need me."
"I do," she replied quietly.
"I'll try and give you whatever you need, Sydney, but you have to actually tell me what that is."
She swallowed down the emotions that were threatening to break through. "I'm finding it hard to trust people right now so what I need from you is patience."
Andy took a deep breath and jumped down from his bench. Then he walked over, standing with his body between her legs as they dangled over the edge, his hands on her hips.
"I know both of us have some work to do, but I want to do that work so I can be the man who trusts you, and I want you to know that you can always trust me."
She nodded, no longer able to keep the tears in her eyes from falling. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, her hands balled up in the back of his t-shirt as if she would collapse onto the floor right there if she didn't have him to anchor her.
Then she cried.
The first time she cried in front of Andy, it felt awkward and weird. Although some of that was because she had just met him and he thought she was crying about a dead goldfish. But this time, he understood her. He knew her story. She didn't have to lie or cover it up or pretend it didn't exist with him, because he knew that there was turmoil in her.
Andy also knew how to comfort her in all of that. He slowly pulled away from her and kissed the wet spots on her cheeks, not afraid of showing her some compassion when she needed it. Then he swept his thumbs over the spots he had kissed and held her face in his hands.
"You OK?"
She nodded. "I'm better."
He kissed her gently, his lips more of a soft embrace than the heat he had shown her before. But again, he pulled away and smiled at her.
"I don't know what your plans are now, but would you like me to take you home?"
Buried Treasure (The Detroit Pirates Book 2) Page 14