3.Finally alone
1336 Words
Ethan's gaze was enough to pierce my soul. One of his teammates slapped him to get him back into the game, and only then did he stop watching me. Throughout practice, his playing style began to change.
He was more aggressive.
“What could have happened to him?” Josiah muttered calmly. “He's still playing well, but it looks like he wants to play alone.”
“Who knows.” I calmly took another photo.
Ethan ended up scoring the most goals in practice. Although good players stood out in hockey, it was essential to trust your team, but at that moment, it seemed like Ethan was playing alone. Josiah and I got up to talk to him, but it was impossible because the photographers and other journalists surrounded him like the other team members didn't exist.
“Mr. Ice, is it true that you changed teams because of your rivalry with Jackson?”
"Here! Are you going to the championship despite your injury?"
An ankle injury left Ethan out of play for a few months. Rumors suggested that one of his former teammates, Jackson, had caused it. Neither of them confirmed or denied anything, which only fueled the gossip.
“No comment.” Ethan moved among the reporters surrounding him in a circle. “Can you let me go? I really need to get changed.” He replied with slight anger as the questions seemed like bombs being fired at him.
The camera flashes were extremely uncomfortable, even for me on the other side. His gaze continued to search for something until it landed on me. His gaze seemed to calm down, but then turned into contained anger when he looked at me... or so I thought. I discreetly followed his gaze, which was on Josiah, who seemed to have noticed the murderous look but didn’t back down.
The air between them shifted thick, charged, as if I’d just stepped into a room mid-fight, only the punches hadn’t been thrown yet.
They looked like two beasts about to attack, with Josiah being the calmer of the two. He lifted his chin, letting out a subtle smile and an enigmatic look, which Ethan responded to with his lips turning stiff. Between the two of them there was a bubble of tension that only the three of us were caught up in.
“Mr. Ice, is it true that you're going to ask Miss Universe Conner to marry you? Or are you just dating?”
The question broke the hostile atmosphere between them. The question seemed to offend Ethan, who, with a slight sound of anger as he clenched his teeth, turned away from the reporters and headed for the dressing rooms.
“Wow... that was interesting,” Josiah said calmly, looking at me. "Now I understand why he doesn't give exclusives. This is going to be more complicated than I thought.”
“Yeah, I couldn't even get any good photos.”
“Don't worry, Abigail. How about we interview the captain? That way, we won't feel like we wasted our time, and you have photos of everyone.”
I nodded slightly as we approached Michael Jones. He had been the captain for a few years and the reporters adored him. He was the typical charming and friendly athlete who was always available to everyone. The reporters loved him, and it was understandable. Even when he didn't want to answer a question, he said it in a kind way. We approached him while he was answering some questions, and after the reporters left, we approached him.
“Hi Mr. Jones, I'm Josiah McGain from Sport Magazine. I'd like to ask you a few questions if it's not too much trouble.”
“Sure, ask me anything you want.”
I took some pictures while Josiah asked the questions. It was easy to see why he was a star reporter; his questions were concise and always got straight to what readers wanted to know. He kept looking at me for a while without stopping to answer the questions until Josiah finally thanked him for his time. As we said goodbye, Michael made a slight sound that made us both turn to look at him.
“Excuse me, I've been staring at you for a while because you look familiar. What's your name?”
Noticing that he was looking at me intently, I tilted my head slightly. “My name is Abigail Russell.”
“Redhead... Abigail... Abi.” His eyes looked at me with astonishing intensity. “Did you study at Columbia?”
I was slightly surprised that he knew that, since I was just a journalist. How would he know that I studied at Columbia? The only thing I could think was that he had guessed, since that university was known for producing good journalists.
“That's right.”
As if my answer had opened up a floodgate of questions and answers, I saw a playful smile on his lips, followed by a loud whistle.
“Oh...That was the reason...” He muttered. “Hey, are you guys busy after this?”
“No, why?” Josiah replied calmly.
“I'd like to invite you to lunch with the team. That way you can get to know them, since I imagine you're in charge of us this season.”
Although Josiah seemed a little hesitant, my slight jumps of excitement convinced him. This was a golden opportunity. Josiah smiled in surrender as if I had won this fight. After coordinating with Michael, we ended up at a nearby restaurant. All the players expressed their joy as questions flew our way. Being so used to being surrounded by men, the noise at that table was nothing new to me.
“Abi, so why did you come today? Did you just come to take pictures of our practice?”
With Michael's simple question, he seemed to control all the men at the table. Ethan, who had been watching me from the minute we arrived, remained silent.
“Yes, I've also been commissioned for an exclusive.”
“An exclusive?” He looked at me closely. “For whom?”
“Ethan Ice.”
I tried to make my voice sound as neutral as possible, without any hint of disdain. I wanted to sound professional and be a good journalist, which is why I had avoided all their glances since we sat down at the table. Michael let out a slight whistle with a smile full of secrets.
“This is going to be a very interesting season,” he murmured barely audibly, bringing the glass of water next to him to his lips as he drank.
The whole conversation flowed smoothly. Josiah had asked Ethan about an exclusive for me, but he simply ignored him. The testosterone and sweaty bodies at that table were too much for me, so at one point I retired to the restroom just to clear my head.
From whom?
From Ethan.
I washed my face, looking at myself in the mirror. His gaze was enough to still make me melt. I bit my lip hard, staring at my reflection.
“Abigail, you're here to mingle and get an exclusive, nothing more... You don't have to be his friend.” I muttered to myself. "Just ignore him, be professional, forget the past and move on. You're an independent adult, this doesn't affect you. If he acted like none of this was important to him, why should it be important to me? Just be professional, you need this exclusive. You're a good journalist, you just have to get this exclusive and the job will be yours.“
I gave myself a motivational speech because I knew I was playing with fire. I left the bathroom totally focused on going to the table where everyone was, but what I didn't expect was to see Ethan at the door. His gaze searched mine, and a slow smile spread across his face.
"Finally alone, my little cherry."
- Writer
