Page 22 of Sliding Into Love
Upon their arrival at the hotel, Ethan dumped his bag in the hotel room he would be sharing with Derek and headed straight to the hotel gym. Chlorine and detergent filled the air of the tiny space, and the mirrored walls reflected far too many versions of himself for his liking. The pounding of his shoes on the treadmill helped him lose a little of the tension that settled in after he’d seen Isaac the night before, and for the hundredth time, Ethan willed himself to avoid checking his phone to see if Isaac had reached out. Or do a Google search for his parents. And, no, he didn’t wonder if Ivy had texted him back. Definitely not. Breathing hard, he upped the speed on the treadmill and ran until his legs were jelly. When he stopped, he saw Marshall reflected in the mirror, glaring at him. Ethan ignored him and chugged his water.
“Something is off about you. Get your head on straight andfocus,”Marshall snapped before storming away. “Meeting in ten. Don’t be late.
Ethan didn’t bother to keep a scowl from twisting his features as he watched Marshall walk away. When had he ever been late? When had he ever done anything but what he was told?
“They didn’t even giveusgravy?” Derek looked down, dejected, splatting the potatoes on his plate with his spoon.
Ethan snorted; he was used to it. “Got to eat healthy before the game tomorrow,” he said sardonically around an unpleasant bite of overcooked chicken.
“I bet your snacks are sounding pretty good right about now, huh?” Jen quipped.
Ethan noticed her pushing the food around on her plate but not eating it.
“Shouldn’t you eat?” Ethan stabbed the air between them with his fork.
Jen just grinned.
“Come to my room later, and you’ll see why I didn’t,” she said, lifting one eyebrow mischievously.
Derek and Ethan eyed her.
“I’m getting Thai food delivered once we’re released fromhell,” she said in a low voice. “There’s still time to add to my order. You guys want in?”
The answer from both Ethan and Derek was an emphatic, if quiet,yes as they listened to Marshall’s droning speech.
When they returned to their room, Derek immediately changed from his suit into a matching pajama set with rubber ducks printed on a royal blue background.
“Nice ducks, dude.” Ethan’s laugh was a bark, hoarse and rough from disuse, but he got it out without dying or spontaneously combusting, which was a surprise.
Derek shoved his hands in his pockets making wings and spun around quacking and waddling before strutting down the hall like it was a runway. “Thanks! The kids gave them to me for Christmas.” Derek’s perpetually smiling face lit up even more.
“You really love them.” A statement, not a question.
“Yeah, I do.” Derek shrugged. “When you don’t have a blood family, the family you build for yourself means that much more. Those kids are like nieces and nephews to me. Ivy’s like a sister.” He gave Ethan a side-eye when he mentioned Ivy. “Come on, let’s go eat somegoodfood.”
When the delivery arrived, Jen placed it in the middle of the small hotel table to share it family style. It was unusual to have a meal with his teammates. Or were they friends? But it was nice not to eat alone, Ethan realized, as he swiped one of Jen’s chicken satay skewers. Ethan had just opened the container of the mango sticky rice and was avoiding Jen and Derek’s duel over the last dumpling when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He ignored it, probably just an automated message reminding the team about the wake-up call for the next morning.
It buzzed again.
Ethan’s brows furrowed as he reached into his pocket for his phone, and it vibrated a third time. He was going to send a strongly worded email to whoever oversaw the technical stuff toget their shit together. Annoyed, he shoved a spoonful of mango and rice into his mouth and checked the screen.
Chunks of the food went flying as he saw who the texts were from, and he immediately choked.
Ethan! Sorry it took so damn long to text back, my phone died again, and I couldn’t find a functional charger. Mine are all broken. Anyway hi!
Thanks again for all the stuff for Jase and for agreeing to work with him! He’s so damn excited he can’t stop talking about it.
When I told him you messaged me, he freaked the fuck out.
In a good way!
He says hi, btw.
Ethan looked up from his phone to find Derek and Jen staring. They simultaneously jumped up and scrambled around the table, reaching for his phone. Ethan was a lot taller than Derek, but Jen was Ethan’s height, so they ganged up on him, with Derek tackling him around the waist and Jen reaching high where the phone dangled out of reach.
“Got it!” Jen sang triumphantly and started reading the messages aloud. “Ethan Ford here? What, are you a scarred fire-bender prince who saw the error of his fiery ways?” She rolled her eyes at Ethan but kept reading. “You texted her seven times but managed to say nothing at all? Damn, dude, you’ve got it bad.”
“Who is it? It’s Ivy, isn’t it?” Derek was much too excited about the new development.
