FORTY

Some of you may have noticed I changed the title. I picked 'Falling' when I first decided to write this, but it doesn't really fit with the story anymore. The new title, Such Great Heights, is inspiried by this song by the same name by an excellent band called the Postal Service. Sorry if this caused any confusion. Let me know what you think of the title change, and if you have ideas for a better one leave a comment!

***

The bright winter sun blasted through the drapeless windows and stung my eyes unpleasantly as I woke up the next morning. Although I was still wrapped up in Sidney, I was completely frozen. I pulled on my clothes and coat and kissed his forehead lightly. "Wake up, mon cher," I whispered.

He didn't open his eyes, but a wide smile spread across his face. "This is the best morning I've had in a long time," he muttered.

I laughed. "Sidney, we spent the night on the floor without blankets or pillows."

He sat up and wrapped his arms around me. "It doesn't matter," he whispered into my hair. "You're here."

I smiled and tangled my hands in his hair as he kissed the curve where my neck and shoulder meet. "You're such a charmer."

"Mmhmm," he muttered, his lips never leaving my neck. "I charmed the pants right off you." We both started laughing, killing the moment, but neither of us minded. Sid redressed and then stretched his arms over his head. "We're going to need some heavy drapes for those windows," he said, squinting from the bright sun.

I didn't reply; I just smiled. I liked hearing him talk about drapes, as stupid as it sounded. I was excited to buy things for the house together—our house.

"My car is still at Marc's," I said as we walked downstairs.

"Oh, yeah, I'll take you back there." He paused for a second, looking thoughtful. "Do you think Sylvie will make us breakfast?"

I laughed and followed him out of the house and followed him to the Range Rover. "I don't want to see Sylvie. I'm terrified for her to start firing questions at me. I'm surprised she didn't call when she realized my car was in the driveway but I wasn't in the house."

"What are you going to tell her?" he asked as he pulled out of the driveway.

"The truth," I replied with a shrug.

"The whole truth?"

"We tell each other pretty much everything."

"Yikes," Sid muttered. I smirked, wondering if he was trying to guess how much Sylvie knew about him. He looked at me, a wide smile spreading across his face. "So what dirt do you have on Flower?"

"Oh no." I shook my head and crossed my arms across my chest. "We have girl-to-girl confidentiality. I'm not telling you stuff about Marc just so you can tease the poor guy."

"Karine," he said, feigning a shocked expression, "I would not make fun of him!"

I rolled my eyes. "Right."

The drive to Marc and Sylvie's house took less than ten minutes. Sid pulled into their driveway and got out of the Range Rover to tell me goodbye. "I'll call you after practice," he promised, planting a kiss on my lips.

"Okay," I replied, returning the kiss. "We can go furniture shopping!" Sid unintentionally grimaced and I laughed. "Fine, I'll ask Sylvie if she wants to come."

"Alright. I'll see you later." Sid kissed me again, lingering this time. I placed my hands on the back of his neck, hungry for me. "Okay. I really need to go," he said reluctantly as he pulled away. He kissed me one last time before jumping into his Range Rover and driving away.
I patted my pockets, looking for my car keys, and then realized they were in my jeans—the jeans that Lauren had puked on and I had changed out of. I groaned and looked at the front door. Either I had to face Sylvie or walk home. I reluctantly walked to the front door, rang the doorbell, and prayed Marc and Sylvie were awake.

Sylvie opened the door almost instantly—she had probably been standing at the window, watching Sid and I since the moment she heard him pull in.

"What. The. Hell." She tried to maintain a serious expression, but failed. "Where did you two go last night?"

"To his house."

"Why did you go all the way to Mario's? Your place is closer."

I shook my head. "No, we went to his house."

"He bought a house?"

"Yep. By the way, we're going furniture shopping today. Now, where are my pants? I need my keys." I was trying to get out of the house as quickly as possible, because I wasn't feeling up to rehashing the events of last night in extreme detail to my best friend.

"Is that Karine?" Marc called from the kitchen.

"Yeah!" Sylvie called back. "Sidney bought a house!"

"What?!" Marc came limping into the foyer. If he wouldn't have been in a walking cast from his ankle sprain, he probably would have ran. "Sid bought a house?"

"Girl, you have some explaining to do," Sylvie said.

I laughed and rolled my eyes. "Get me some coffee."

Sylvie and I moved into the kitchen and I gave her a play-by-play of last night's events.
"It was the outfit, wasn't it?" Sylvie said once I had finished. "He saw you in those jeans and that top and couldn't keep his hands off of you."

I rolled my eyes. "Your slutty clothes had nothing to do with this," I joked. "Although, I might have to get a pair of Seven jeans. My butt looks amazing."

Sylvie chuckled and shook her head. "So, let me get this straight. Last Friday, Sid moves out of your place because he can't stand to be around you. Then you run off to Montreal, and the night you come back you two get back together. And now you have a house together?"

I laughed. It sounded ridiculous when she said it, but that was basically my week in a nutshell. "Yeah, that's about right."

"How does that even happen?!" Sylvie asked, sounding exasperated and stunned. "You're either both insane or totally meant for each other. Nothing else could explain how you two are even speaking to each other, let alone moving in together."

"I like to think we're meant for each other," I said, taking a sip of coffee.

Sylvie smirked. "So you're staying in Pittsburgh for him."

"I'm going to try. If I can find a new job, I won't go to Paris. But if I can't…"

"You will," Sylvie replied confidently. "You two are meant to be together. The universe is on your side."

***

Around noon, Sylvie and I visited a local furniture store. "What exactly do you need?" she asked as we looked at the selection of beds.

"Well, I have a bedroom suit that we can use in one of the guest rooms, but that's about it…my kitchen table is way too small for the dining room and Sid hates my living room furniture."

"I love spending money," Sylvie said with a contented sigh.

I laughed. "We're not buying anything today. I'm just going to take a picture of everything I like, and then show it to Sid later so he can make a decision."

"Woah, look at you being a good girlfriend."

"I try," I replied with a smile. "So, how's Marc coming along?" I asked as we looked at a classic, king sized sleigh bed.

Sylvie looked slightly pained as she sighed and ran her hand along the edge of the bed. "I don't know. He's going to be out for a while yet…we're more worried about what's going to happen after he's healthy."

"What do you mean?"

"He isn't Sidney, Karine," Sylvie replied with a bitter smile. "Marc isn't a superstar. The team has two decent backup goalies in Sabourin and Conklin…they can survive without him."
"Sylvie, don't say that! They won't trade Marc."

"But they can send him to Wilkes-Barre," she said quietly.

I tried to think of things I could say to reassure my friend, but my mind was blank. Although I hadn't been playing close attention to the Penguins lately, they were playing well and winning games. They hadn't had Marc in the goal since early December, but that didn't seem to have much of an effect on their record. Chances were very good that Marc would be sent down to play for the Penguin's AHL team, and, worst case scenario, he wouldn't be called back up.

"That won't happen." I tried to sound confident, but there was a hint of doubt in my voice. I really hoped Marc wouldn't be sent to Wilkes-Barre, but who knew what could happen?

Sylvie looked somewhat uncomfortable as we moved to the next bed. "I'm just torn, you know?" She paused, but I didn't say anything. I knew she just needed me to listen. "I want the team to do well, and for that to happen they need a good goalie. But at the same time, I want Conklin and Sabourin to suck so Marc can be guaranteed his job."

"I wish I knew what to say, Syl," I replied sympathetically.

She shook her head. "I hope I'm worrying about nothing. It's just…there have been some rumors. Some of the guys have mentioned that Shero wants to trade some people for a couple wingers. And with Marc injured…we're worried he might be one of those people."

"No way," I replied firmly. "Marc means a lot to the team. They're not going to trade him."
Sylvie arched her eyebrows. I knew she thought I was only saying what she wanted to hear, but I really believed that Marc would be a Pittsburgh Penguin for a long time. He had amazing chemistry with the other guys, and even though he might not be a 'superstar' he was still a great goalie.

"Hey, check out this chair!" Sylvie said with a laugh. She plopped down in a chair that was shaped like a hand and spread out on it seductively. "I bet Sidney would love this!"

"Oh, yeah," I replied sarcastically. "That isn't tacky at all." I was glad Sylvie changed the subject; she obviously didn't want to talk about Marc's status with the team anymore, and I was glad about that. I didn't know how to assure my friend that her boyfriend would still be wearing black and gold by this time next month. Even worse, I wasn't sure if my assurances would turn out to be empty promises.