Page 13 of Sliding Into Love
Ivy nodded at Jase, and the boy grinned for the first time since arriving at the stadium. The tension lurking in Ethan’s chest loosened the tiniest fraction.
They finished the tour and went into the shop, where Ethan showed them the racks of gloves and helped Jase try on a few to find his size. Jase also chose a hat and a Hawks jersey and immediately pulled them on over his clothes. The hat was several sizes too large, but it was the same kind the players wore for home games, and he’d insisted.
When they left, the boy’s steps were considerably lighter, but they slowed as Ethan led them to the field house. Derek poked his head out and called for Jase to join him. Ivy watched Jase jog over to Derek, who promptly took the kid’s hat off, ruffled his hair, and put the hat back on his head backward. Jase and Derek pushed through the field house doors, and suddenly, Ethan found himself unable to take a breath. He looked down to find Ivy with her arms wrapped tightly around him, squeezing surprisingly fiercely for someone so much smaller than him.
It was…nice. Unusual, but nice. How long had it been since someone hugged him?
And because he was some kind of colossal idiot with a single brain cell, he froze beneath her touch. She backed away quickly, and he bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from telling her to come back or reaching out for her. Brushing tears away, she turned back toward the doors where Derek and Jase disappeared, and her shoulders slumped before she looked back at him.
He should’ve wrapped his arms around her. Comforted her.
“Thank you for this,” she said, brows pinching. “He’s been having a hard time.”
“I’m glad I can help.” Ethan willed more softness into his voice than he’d probably ever possessed.
Maybe it worked because she peered back up at him, eyes still shining with tears, and offered him a watery smile.
“Is there…anything else I can do?” God, he wanted her to stop crying. Wanted to reach out and brush the tears away, wipe away the hurt that haunted her eyes. “To help, I mean.”
“This means so much. More than you know.” Her arm disappeared up to the shoulder in her enormous bag, and after a few seconds of digging, she’d fished out a tissue. “Jase…” A deep, exhausted exhale left her lips as she blotted beneath her eyes. “Jase is having a hard time adjusting to a new environment, I think. I mean, he’s a perfect kid, almost too perfect, you know?”
Ethan wondered what his story was. He knew Ivy was fostering him but not much else.
“But I think this is going to be good for him. He’s had so much fun at these games, and I know he doesn’t look it, but he’s so excited to be here.”
“I’m glad. I loved stuff like this at his age.” Shit, he shouldn’t have shared that tidbit. Now she’d probably ask personal questions he didn’t want to answer.
Or…maybe he did?
To his surprise and disappointment, she didn’t pry.
During the tour, he’d noticed her checking her phone a few times, scowling at it each time. Again, she tugged it from her back pocket, deftly scrolling for a few seconds before locking it with a frown.
Ethan hesitated. She seemed upset, but it wasn’t his business. In the few seconds it took him to have this internal debate, she pulled it out again.
“Is everything okay?”
“What?” Ivy looked up from her phone in confusion. “Oh. Yeah, just waiting on an email.” She made a point to lock her phone and drop it in her bag. “I guess I should…” With her thumb, she gestured to the door Derek and Jase went through and gave him a blistering smile that sent shockwaves from the top of his hat to the bottom of his shoes, keeping him rooted to the spot.
Once Ethan recovered enough to follow, he found Jase shyly showing Derek the glove and jersey he’d bought. Derek glanced at Ethan with a rare serious expression on his face, but then he grinned and raised his brows as though he knew something Ethan didn’t. Then the catcher shook his head and helped Jase put on his glove, telling him how stiff the leather would be at first and how to break it in to make it more flexible. While they talked, Ethan found his bag and hunted out his glove and dark glasses, unsure if he should interrupt Derek to take Jase to the practice area.
Down the hallway, Ivy wandered back and forth, looking up at the photos and memorabilia of past teams. She was so pretty wearing that look of fascination, and he watched as her nose scrunched up in concentration. So pretty and so sweet, and it was so wrong for him to even look at her.
But he did anyway.
He couldn’t help it. He’d tried to give all of his attention to Jase, but now he was with Derek, Ethan wasn’t able to keep his eyes away from Ivy.
Long, tanned legs with a few constellations of freckles dotting her skin. Wavy brown hair in a ponytail that swished when she walked. An oversized black Hawks tee tied in a knot at her waist accentuated the stark contrast between the shirt and shorts. The white shorts pulled taut over her rear as she leaned forward to look at a plaque beneath a photo, and shit, he shouldn’t be looking at her that way, but he wanted—
A tug on his sleeve broke his attention, and Ethan saw Jase standing there looking up at him.
“Ready to go, kid?” The voice coming from Ethan's mouth was his father’s, and for a moment, Ethan was frozen, transported back in time.
“Mr. Ford?”
“You can call me Ethan.” He shoved his hands in his pockets to stifle the urge to ruffle Jase’s hair. “Let’s go.” He already sounded like his father; he might implode if he started acting like him too.
Most of the team hadn’t found their way out of the locker room, which was how Ethan preferred to warm up. Outside, it was quiet save for the sounds filtering out from the stadium, and the near silence was usually a balm for the constant roaring in his head. Now, though, he heard too much silence and wondered if maybe he should play music or something.
