Page 80 of Ice Devil

It was possible I was making too much of their reactions that were shaping mine, but again, I didn’t like not having a grasp on exactly what I was to expect.

“Mr. Kendrick. Welcome to the show.” Kyle started the introductions, lifting his eyebrows when I also stuck out my hand, forced to lean way over the table to do so.

As if planned.

If the bastard wanted to taunt me about a romance, he could think twice.

“Your save at the end was amazing. Now I can see why people call you the Devil,” I told Beck as we locked eyes. I could tell instantly he realized we should play the situation cool.

“It seemed as if you had something to do with it, Sloane,” Jesse piped in.

Beck and I turned our heads. “Pardon?” I threw out.

He laughed. “I think you managed to soothe the beast after the horrific fight. What an asshole that guy was.”

Beck chuckled. “A typical tactic and nothing to worry about. However, boys will be boys with extreme testosterone. Right?”

All three of them laughed while I pointed to the chair at the end of the table. The way we were seated allowed for an almost semi-circle effect for the cameras and people watching. Still, with Jesse on one side and by the way he was leaning forward, I had a difficult time making eye contact with Beck. I knew the style of seating well. A way to try to make the interview friendly, as if a bunch of people were enjoying a beer at a Sunday barbeque.

Why did I have a terrible fear this was more about a ‘gotcha’ moment?

“Nothing to be worried about, Beck. We’re just going to ask you a few questions including about how you got started playing hockey. And you know we can’t pass up mentioning your brother Ford.” Jesse laughed like they were old friends.

“Everyone wants to talk about Ford,” Beck chimed in, planting a perfect smile on his face. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’d been trained for show business. “Especially the ladies.”

“But he’s already taken, right?” Kyle asked.

“He is. Happily.”

While they were chatting, members of a fake audience were allowed in. I assumed fake since it was apparent there were two sides of fans. One side who obviously adored the ground Beck walked on. And side two… the others.

I leaned over to Jesse, getting in his face. “What the hell is this?”

“What are you talking about?”

With a single nod toward the audience, I did my best to keep my cool.

“I don’t know. We don’t pick who is allowed in. They have a random pool the producers choose from. Don’t worry about it. Just ambient noise.”

Just ambient noise, my ass. I knew better.

The interview began with no real fanfare, the questions relatively benign. Maybe ten minutes into it, I was starting to relax, but only to a point. Long ago, I’d learned to follow my instincts and right now, the knots in my stomach were the size of bowling balls.

“Now, let’s get a little bit more personal. Do you have a girlfriend?” When Kyle asked the question, of course he hyped up the audience. At least so far, they were playing nice.

I managed to keep a straight face, even leaning toward him. “I’m curious as well.” Why not sever whatever insinuation Kyle might be making?

Beck was damn good at dealing with the press, with no sign of nervousness as he leaned forward so our faces were only inches away. “Not at this time, but I should ask, are you interested?”

Instead of pulling away, I dared created a moment that would be immortalized on camera for some time. Our lips were mere centimeters apart. With both hands, I cupped his face, bringing our lips together. The kiss was much more chaste than our usual.

However, there was a collective gasp in the audience, which was what I was going for. I didn’t kiss Beck for long, pulling away and staring at the ceiling for a full ten seconds.

“Ladies, I deem him worthy, but unfortunately, Devil man, you’re not my type.”

The audience cheered, the sound bite likely excellent for the ratings.

“Now that we have that covered, let’s talk about the remainder of the playoffs.” Jesse laughed and threw out a volley of questions, not too technical since they weren’t hockey aficionados. However, they were excellent questions for their audience and would keep listeners engaged when the interview was turned into a podcast.