Chapter 24
Maren
The past few days have been a whirlwind, and today is no less insane. Not only do I have to meet with the guys to go over the parade dance for tonight’s game, but Sloan Barrett reached out wanting to do an exclusive interview with me about my choreography.
Her exact words: “You deserve more attention for the amazing shit you have accomplished with these guys.”
Sloan is a sports legend, and not just in Mango Bay—everywhere. An exclusive with her is career changing for anyone, so the anxiety induced insomnia last night was expected.
Thankfully, she brought coffee for both of us when she met me in my makeshift office off the locker room for our interview.
“Are you sure you want to do the interview here? It’s a little cramped,” I asked as I looked around the small space with a concerned look.
“Oh, we’re not doing the interview in here,” she giggled. “I just wanted to go over the questions ahead of time. We’ll do the interview in the stands with the guys practicing behind us. It sets a better stage, so to speak.”
“Oh good,” I breathe out.
She smiles and hands me a cup of coffee.
“Ok, so we are going to be talking about the walkup you choreographed for tonight’s game.
What goes into the choreography, the song choice, and social media spoilers the fans can look forward to just before the game starts, and what your plans are for the future. ”
“Well, this is going to be a lot easier than I thought.” I smile back at her.
“So… which player did you choreograph for tonight?”
“It’s a two for one—Jax and Orbit.”
The way her cheeks heat and she looks down at her notes, I can tell one of them stirs something inside her, and I’m positive it’s not Orbit.
When we finally get to the stands, all of the things for the interview are in order.
It’s clear that exclusives with players and staff in the stadium are a regular occurrence for them.
They set it all up in no time and everything is meticulous, from the director style chairs, lights, camera, and even the testing of the mics they placed on each of our tops.
Sloan oozes confidence and attention to detail, which doesn’t surprise me, but it does impress me.
Just after the guy from behind the camera signals her, she begins speaking, and I feel like my insides are looping around themselves, ready to reject any notion of confidence I held prior to sitting in this chair.
My palms get sweaty, my vision starts to blur, and my tongue feels like sandpaper. I look over at Sloan and realize I have a second to gulp down some of the water her camera guy handed me when I sat down.
Fuck a tit, I’m going to have to pee if I keep drinking this fast.
“Welcome to Boss Kicker Chronicles, where we are going to chat with Maren McCrae, the pretty face behind all of your favorite dances.”
The camera pans to me, and my eyes bug out of my head, I’m sure of it.
She mouths, “We’re not live today, relax.”
I give her a questioning look, and panic radiates from my face.
“Give us a second,” she says to the guy behind the camera.
“Mare, the exclusives are not live anymore—after the disaster with Ozzie.” She cringes at the memory.
“We film early from the stands so we don’t risk unexpected situations, and so we have time to get final edits in order before it posts.
” She moves her hand to my knee to calm my nerves.
“Anything you don’t like we can reshoot, but it’s literally just you and I having a conversation, babe.
Just like we’ve done plenty of times. Pretend we’re at a get-together at the guys’ apartment. ”
For some reason that suggestion calms my nerves. Ozzie’s apartment has become a soothing place for me.
“Ok,” I smile, feeling more confident.
“I’m going to pan to you again, just say hi and wave and then I’ll pull back so I can see both of you,” the guy tells me, peeking around the camera.
I do as he says, and this time it feels a hell of a lot more natural.
“So, Maren, what do you have planned for us at tonight’s game?”
“Each week, the fans vote on players they want a walk up performance for, and this week Jax secured it by a landslide. The fans love when he dances as he takes the mound. Plus, it usually involves other players, but tonight he’s going to be joined by someone extra special— But I don’t want to spoil it.
” My voice sounds surprisingly confident and calm.
“Can you tell us the song?”
“‘You Get What You Give’ by New Radicals, and it’s going to be amazing. It’s one of my favorite routines so far this year.”
The two of us talked for almost an hour about all things Mango Bay, until the conversation moved to me.
My future, and what I want out of my career.
By the time I left I was floating on cloud 9, because Sloan Barrett made me feel like a superstar, like everything I want in my life, my career, my future as a whole was completely within reach.
This is probably why her show is so popular. People can’t help but fall in love with the tall blonde who used to be an NFL kicker.
What a badass!
When the time came for Orbit and Jax to take the mound, my heart nearly exploded out of my chest. They nailed their routine, and Orbit of course, stole the show. I love how much the crowd loves him, but Jax was right there with him.
All of the players have special talents that helped them make the team that are not baseball related, and Jax can juggle like no one I have ever seen. Combine that with Orbit’s ability to tumble, and it was like a live circus on the field and the crowd ate it up.
I literally can’t think of a better job in the world!