Chapter 4
All the smiling and questions with the local reporters after the game made my head ache. I wanted nothing more than to go to the media room and get that clip of Cy and the catch. I didn't get a good look at the girl that almost got hit and the thought that she's our mate was driving me wild.
The guys and I had talked about settling down and starting a sports bar. Willow Lake had grown since that little bookstore opened after going viral, what better place to open a new business? It would create more jobs for those in the area and it wasn’t too far from where we play ball.
Maybe we could offer some sort of ‘booze and books’ night or something. Could be worth meeting the owners.
After what seemed like hours we were done, showering quickly and heading to the media room.
"My cheeks hurt and I think that my face is frozen like this," Jackson complained as he massaged his face and made weird faces as he tried to get the muscles to relax.
"You should be used to it by now," I remind him, "and stop that, you look ridiculous."
"You're just jealous of my good looks," he mused, flashing me a sparkling smile. The same one that always won over the press. It was a skill I definitely didn’t possess.
"Jackson, you're always too full of yourself," Cy stated, playfully punching him as he moved past him to open the door.
We must have startled the poor guy that was working, because he let out a girly shriek. It took everything in me not to laugh at that sound but I held it in before speaking.
"Sorry, sir," I started in a serious tone, trying to keep some semblance of professionalism. "We were just wondering if you could get us some footage from the game tonight?"
"Anything for you three. I'm a big fan," he gushed, stuttering over his words. If the lights were on, I'd bet that there was a blush on his cheeks because he became really quiet after that.
"Could we just get the clip of the catch Cy made near the stands?" Jackson asked in an attempt to break up the awkward silence.
"What? Oh yes, of course. How would you like it sent to you?" he asked as he clicked away on his station, sorting through the multiple feeds with practiced ease.
"Email is fine. Do you need my Knockouts email?" I asked. There were so many screens and buttons, there was no way the guys or I could have figured this out on our own. Cy would have definitely put a foot through one of the monitors.
"Nope, I have a list. Do all three of you want a copy?" he questioned, never taking his eyes off what he was doing. The guy was locked in now.
"Please," Cy answered, "and thank you for your time."
"Anytime," he muttered and continued clicking. For a man that was fanboying moments ago, he dismissed us easily now which honestly made it a whole lot less awkward.
We made a silent retreat out and let the man do his thing. There wasn't anything that we could do to help, so there was no reason to stay.
"How are we going to find her?" I asked with a sigh. It felt impossible. “Even with a picture, people come into town from all over.”
"Tomorrow, I'm going to talk to Jose in ticket sales and see if we can get a name on who bought the tickets," Jackson said. "Best to go home and obsess in the privacy of our apartment for tonight."
"Good idea. We can grab some food on the way home," Cy added as his stomach rumbled. “I’m fucking starving.”
"Dude, I swear you’re a bottomless pit," I sighed. “I hope our mate likes to cook. I might need someone to help in the kitchen.”
"It takes a lot of calories to keep these muscles fed," he laughed, flexing like a dork.
"Yeah, I thought that your pants were getting a little tight," I joked.
"Fuck off," Cy laughed, shoving me as we walked out.
"I'm down for food," Jackson added, ignoring our bickering like he always does.
I rubbed my eyes and groaned. Staring at my laptop and phone for hours on end had dried them out.
Yet, we still had nothing.
Too bad we didn't have a best friend that was a girl. She'd have every little detail about our mate and her family by now. I swear they’re better than the FBI about tracking people down.
Maybe someone on the team would help.
Then again, this secret was better off with just us for now. I wanted a chance to get to know her before the crazy hit.
"How can we not find anything on her?" Jackson asked in frustration.
"She’s on video, so she's not a ghost," I joked. Cy threw a balled up napkin at me, but it was just as half-hearted as my comment.
"I bet she's right under our noses,” Cy sighed. “I say we call it a night and pick it up with the ticket sales team tomorrow. If they were bought online, there has to be a record." I don’t know if he was trying to convince us or himself, but we didn’t call him on it.
"I agree. Fresh eyes will be the best thing and we’ll have time before practice to talk to Jose," Jackson said as he rose from the couch to stretch.
"Night, guys," Cy said and he closed his laptop before heading to his room. I swear it looked like a funeral march. I don’t think I’d ever seen him so down.
I was the last to get up, so I turned off all the lights and made sure that we locked up. I picked up the last remnants of trash and washed a few dishes… anything to tire myself out.
By the time I trudged to my room, I was exhausted, but the moment my head hit the pillow my brain refused to shut off. I ended up doom scrolling for a few more hours.
I was going to be dragging ass at practice in the morning.
Just as I clicked the button to turn off my screen, there was a knock on my door. Before I said anything, Jackson poked his head in and said, "Breakfast?"
Shit, I scrolled all night? Fuck my life.
I yawned. "Yeah, man, give me a few and I'll be out."
First stop for me would be to load up on energy drinks. Lack of sleep wasn't going to stop me from finding our mate.
Once I dragged my ass from my bed, I did a few jumping jacks to get my heart pumping then got dressed. Today wouldn't be a long practice, and we had another game tonight, so I was hoping to get a nap in between.
When I got to the kitchen Cy was manning the eggs and Jackson was chewing on some bacon.
"Did you get any sleep?" Cy asked as he plated the eggs.
"Not a wink," I admitted.
"Shit, maybe you should skip practice and sleep. Coach is going to drill your ass if you start yawning," Jackson said.
"Yeah, I know, but you two will get that if I don't show," I reminded them.
"Guess you'll just have to play harder tonight so you can get some rest," Cy smirked.
"Well, if you two do your jobs, I won't have anything to do besides dance," I told them as I grabbed a plate and held it out for Cy to scrape some eggs onto it.
I was a zombie the entire way through breakfast. Thankfully, Cy drove us to practice and I dozed in and out on the way.
Of course, I was rudely torn from sleep when something icy cold was pressed against my cheek.
“What the fuck, man?” I growled, sliding away and blinking my eyes open. Cy was looking down with a grin on his face. “Asshole.”
“Rise and shine, Griff. Coach is already out front,” Jackson said. I nodded in thanks as I popped open the cold energy drink they’d, apparently, stopped to grab on the way.
The crisp, bubbly drink burned in the best way as I chugged it all in one go before tossing the can in the bag and climbing out.
Coach would be all over me if he saw me carry that crap in. He was always going on about taking care of our bodies. They even catered in lunch during practice. Though, it was always healthy and lacked any actual flavor.
As we walked up to the front, Coach eyed us. “You’re being summoned to the media team’s office first. They have you for twenty minutes, don’t waste it.”
“Yes, sir,” I offered, giving him a nod and heading for the locker room. We tucked our things away since we were already dressed in our workout gear.
“That means more choreo. Today is not a good day for this,” Jackson groaned before it turned into a yawn. “I barely slept as well. Though, far more than Griff, I’d wager.”
“I slept great. Dreams of my redhead omega and those biteable curves,” Cy said in a tone that was faraway. Asshole probably did dream about her. He was the only one to see her face up close and I kind of wanted to dick punch him for it.
We headed over to the media room. It was part office, part open dance studio.
We had a team that ran our socials, followed trends, and they made us do videos fairly often.
But we’d just done a big round at the end of last week and usually they had at least two weeks in between unless they called us in for something quick.
Seeing every team member in here didn’t give me the warm fuzzies.
“There’s a new trend, boys. We have to hit it while it’s hot,” Mandy sang out. I swear the girl must eat cotton candy for every meal. Not only did the omega smell like it, a cloying sweetness that was a bit much, but she exuded a hyper happiness that never waned.
Not even when we dragged our feet.
Though, in truth, not one of us truly hated the entertainment side. Hyping up the crowd and dancing on field was fun and the energy it gave us for games was unmatched.
“This one isn’t too hard, just a few steps and we only have twenty minutes, so warm up, boys!” she cheered. Even her team winced at the high pitched squeal. This girl loved her job. Which was exactly why she had our videos going viral.
We stretched while Mandy and her team huddled together, working out how to break down the trend for us.
When we were done, she started the music. No part of me thought she would break out Thriller by Michael Jackson.
“We’re a few months early, aren’t we?” Henry called out in a huff. It wasn’t playful, he was just being a dick.
She completely missed the annoyance and let out a musical laugh she truly had to practice to make that melodic.
“No, silly. It’s almost Summerween. A bunch of businesses in town are going to be decorating and, apparently, it’s a thing all across the country. Some big companies are throwing out their own versions and we were directly challenged to participate by some persistent fans.”
The last thing I wanted to do was learn the choreo but I dutifully followed along. Thankfully, it was just the first portion of the song.
“Even better, we will be performing it at the game this weekend. A dance battle of sorts against the Batty Batters,” she said with a flurry of clapping.
Of course, the half goth team would be all over this trend.
The moment she mentioned it was a competition, the mood changed. If there was anything our team thrived on, it was a challenge. We would work our asses off to rise above the other teams.
Once I got the hang of the moves, I found myself singing along like I always did. There was something to be said for the way dance warmed up your muscles and the music calmed your nerves. I’d at least lost a good chunk of tension, so I’d call that a win.
By the time we made it to actual practice I was more than exhausted, but it was only the beginning.
Tonight we had a t-shirt giveaway and even more dances and hype sessions to perform.
If I survived.