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“For you to stay here after practice for an interview,” she mumbles.
I’m off for the next three days, and I want to spend them with Nikki, not sucking up to an interviewer for good press. She thinks I’m off but that I have to stay here for team bonding. But I’m flying out tonight because I like surprising her. But this job comes with things like this, and sometimes, it’s hard to complain about it because of the amazing pros I do have.
“What’s the interview about? Did Kos already say no?”
Usually, he is the one to do most of the one-on-one interviews. Everyone wants to talk to the captain of the Nighthawks.
She sighs. “This interviewer requested you personally. Have you not seen the article about you yet?”
“What article?” I ask with hesitancy. “I haven’t seen anything.”
She holds her finger in the air as she unlocks her phone and searches for it. “This one.” She hands her phone to me.
I read the headline on the screen. “Has This Nighthawks Bachelor Settled Down?”
What the fuck?
“This is news?” I laugh. “That’s why the interviewer requested me?”
It was inevitable that pictures of Nikki and me would get posted and shared, but I’m still surprised at the uproar from it.
She takes her phone back. “Everyone wants to know who the mystery girl is that stole your heart. So, will you do it? If not, I need to let them know.”
“Yeah, I’ll do it. I gotta go though. It’s here after practice?” I ask, stepping onto the ice.
“Yes,” she says, smiling, and answers a call on her phone. “Hello?”
I skate away and make a lap to warm up. The girl who stole my heart, huh?
I wonder if she’s seen the article yet and what she thinks of it. The public eye is daunting and invasive at times. I’ll call her after practice and the interview.
Coach blows the whistle and divides us into teams to scrimmage. A lot of our practices are straight scrimmage because it’s one of the best ways to improve our skills and prepare us for games.
We scrimmage for an hour before Coach calls it and releases us for the night. I have no hope left to escape before the interview because Laura is already waiting with a strange woman and a cameraman on our benches. Laura waves at me, and I lift a glove, waving back.
“Good luck, Costy. Don’t forget to show off those pearly whites.” Brett smacks my back as he skates past me.
“Sure you don’t want to do it?” I jokingly but not jokingly ask him.
He laughs. “Absolutely not. Besides, I’m not the one with a new girlfriend or a new scandal or a new injury. They don’t care about me right now. Thank God.”
I skate over to the waiting vultures with a big, flashy smile. “Where would you like me?”
“Hi. I’m Natalie. Please, have a seat here, and we’ll set up around you. It will just be you on camera today. I’ll be asking you questions off-screen.” She beams.
Sitting down on the bleachers, I pull off my helmet and set it down beside me, shaking my hair out.
Natalie and the unnamed cameraman set up their equipment and clip a mic on my jersey. Laura is sitting down, typing away on her laptop. She should have at least told me what questions would be asked.
“Are you ready?” Natalie enthusiastically asks.
“As I’ll ever be.” I smile.
She positions herself to the right, behind the camera. “Don’t stress. We can redo as many takes as we need. Just look at me the whole time and pretend the camera isn’t there.”
Yeah, I know how interviews work. I’ve done a handful already. But I know she’s going to ask about Nikki, and that alone has me nervous in a different way.
I nod, and she fires the first question at me. “This season has been incredible for the Nighthawks. You guys are undefeated so far. What are you all doing to keep your streak?”
