Page 12 of Sliding Into Love
Thoughts of Ivy made Ethan notice his surroundings as if through someone else’s eyes. For the first time, he saw the frayed ends of the towel he’d wrapped around his hips. The ones on the shelves were threadbare, too. Ethan made a note to order new ones and wondered what other details he’d missed in his own life. Swiping his hand through the gathered steam revealed his reflection. When he finished, the face staring back at him was his own, and yet, it wasn’t. It was the face he’d seen before the split from his family and joining the Hawks. Younger, less worn, and less angry.
It made him want to smash the mirror.
He didn’t do it.
This time.
A month ago, he would have. He’d rather the pain of split knuckles than see what might have been. What he used to be.
When he arrived at the stadium, he bypassed the locker room and went straight to the gift shop to purchase a gift card. Maybe he’d want a hat or a jersey; at ten years old, Ethan had loved everything he could get his hands on from his favorite teams. He wasn’t sure if Jase would want any of those things, but the gift card worked at concessions if he didn’t want souvenirs. Ethan tucked the plastic card in his pocket and shoved a hand through his hair, holding his hat under his arm. From several yards away, a wolf whistle shrieked through the air. Jen strode toward him with raised eyebrows.
“What’s with the face?” Jen said, gesturing to her own, miming the shape of a beard.
Of all his teammates, Jen was the only one who bothered speaking to him. Her snark had enough bite to it that Marshall let her get away with it. Derek was okay, but the rookie was happy all the time, and Ethan was suspicious of anyone sohappyall the time. Besides, he was still new. He’d learn soon enough to leave Ethan alone. Jen dished out shit, but she took it as well as she gave it, and her brand of cynical humor went well with his, well,lackof humor.
“Shut it, Jen,” he snapped, but his words weren’t venomous. With as little inflection as possible, he told her about Jase and Ivy coming for pre-game, trying to keep a lid on his simmering excitement so she wouldn’t catch on.
She smirked. “You gave a kid tickets? That’s… different.”
Ethan shrugged her off like it was no big deal. Like he wasn’t excited to see Jase.
And Ivy.
“He’s a foster kid from the rookie’s old foster home. Derek said he likes baseball, and he’s having a hard time adjusting.”
“You going soft on me, Ford?”
“Fuck off, Jennifer.”
Jen laughed at him as he walked away. She probably saw right through him.
As Ethan passed beneath the overhanging upper seats, he paid new attention to the stadium itself. The slap of his running shoes was loud, even in the general noisiness of employees readying the stadium for the coming game. Oil hissed in the fryers as frozen chicken strips and French fries were dropped in, and Ethan heard the sounds as if it were the first time. As a kid, he’d loved the emptiness of the stadium seats and the flurry of people making food and prepping the field.
Ivy and Jase waited near the closed entrance gate, and he took the time to observe them from a distance. She stood on her toes peering between the bars, but Jase stood with his hands jammed in his pockets, head down, shoulders jacked up to his ears. With Jase’s dark hair and tanned skin, Ethan jolted at yet another version of his younger self, and another rush of memories threatened to overtake him. But Ivy’s golden, freckled face turned toward him, and she waved excitedly. He had to resist the urge to respond in kind.
“Hi!” Ivy called out and reached out to hold Jase’s hand as Ethan approached, swiping a keycard on the reader to let them in. Jase held Ivy’s hand tightly as they passed through the security gate. “Thank you so much for this!” she gushed at Ethan, giving him an enormous smile.
“You’re welcome.” Ethan’s voice came out rougher than he’d intended, and Ivy looked up at him, all big hazel eyes and dimples. He cleared his throat and looked at Jase instead. “Hi, Jase, good to see you again.” Ethan stuck out his hand for the boy to shake.
Ivy had to nudge Jase forward, but after a moment, he looked up and shook Ethan’s hand. Poor kid’s hands were sweating and shaking. Ethan hoped he hadn’t scared him.
“Hi,” Jase whispered and turned beet red.
An awkward silence stretched between them.
“Oh, um, let's take a tour before we go down to the field.”
Jase nodded quickly, but he remained tense.
The stadium was still mostly empty, and Ethan took his time showing them the various concession stands and taking them up the stairs to the tiers of boxes above the regular seats. The announcer’s box was empty except for Ryan, one of the announcers, who introduced himself and showed Jase a few of the sound effects and musical cues used during the games. Jase’s eyes went wide, and he quietly thanked Ryan as they left. Ivy remained silent throughout the tour, mostly hanging behind Jase and Ethan, and Ethan wondered if she was avoiding him. As they neared the end of the tiered rows of seats where the gift shop was tucked in a corner, Ethan reached into his pocket and fished out the gift card.
“Umm. I don’t know if you want this, but I thought you might like to get a hat or a jersey or something at the shop.”
The kid’s eyes went round and his mouth fell open as he looked up at Ivy, his arms twitching at his sides as if he wanted to take the card but didn’t think he should.
“Is it all right?” Jase whispered to Ivy. “Can I keep it?”
Ethan shot a look at Ivy, and her cheeks were stained pink too, her eyes tear-bright as she glanced between Jase and Ethan.
