“He better not be sleeping with the contestant who’s a single mom. Or even trying to. I said that was a non-starter during the contract negotiations.”
Alex waves a hand dismissively. “No, we’ve got someone else picked out for Hailey. That was just a bad joke on my part since he’s a hockey player.” He claps his hands together. “Have a seat,Dalton. I’m staying on schedule today if it kills me, so let’s get started.”
I sit in the chair next to Alex’s. He has a habit of clicking the top of his pen on repeat, and he does it as he asks me, “How are you feeling about things so far, Dalton?”
I shrug. “Fine. We’re just getting started, so I don’t have much to base an opinion on.”
Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. “Right, sure. So tonight, we’ll be kicking things up a notch. The men will play a game of beach volleyball, four on four, and the winning four players each get to choose one woman to take out for a one-on-one date.”
“How are you at beach volleyball?” Rita asks me.
Is she serious? I play fucking ice hockey and I live in Minneapolis. “Uh...it’s been a while.”
“With two pro athletes on the same volleyball team, I’m confident they’ll have no trouble,” Alex says.
“And who are the options for his date?” Rita asks.
“June would be my preference.”
“No way. She’s only twenty and she was arrested last year for disorderly conduct. The league doesn’t want one of our players associated with her.”
Click. Click. Alex considers. “Well, I wanted to wait longer to ramp up to you and JP both vying for Farrah, but if you get to pick before he does, you could go for her.”
I open my mouth to respond, but Rita beats me to it. “How will you decide who picks first?”
“It’ll all be worked out beforehand, and then we’ll meet with those four men again before the selection ceremony to confirm we’re all on the same page. In the event two players want to choose the same woman, we’ll give first choice to whoever scored more points in the volleyball game.”
I focus my gaze on the rows of hardback books lining the shelves of the open two-story library. Hockey seasons are longand grueling. How did I end up spending a big chunk of my short offseason on a reality show where I’m playing beach volleyball to compete over a date?
This would be a lot more fun if my teammates were here. Even one or two of them. I’m not used to being on my own this much without my trusted friends at my back. Even in our offseason, we still spend a lot of time together.
“If you can’t get Farrah, you need to choose Misty,” Rita says.
“I’ll consider it.”
She drops her brows, her mouth falling open. “Consider it? Dalton, you are a reflection of the league. You don’t want to know how many hours I spent in meetings with the higher-ups,beggingthem to let me pick a player to be on this show. And I picked you. If you make the league look bad, it’s my neck on the line. My job. I’m fifty-three years old, if I get fired--”
“Rita.” I lean forward in my seat, resting my elbows on my knees. “I’m twenty-nine years old, which makes me an adult. I’m a representative of the league all the time, and I haven’t blown it yet.”
“Oh really? How about the viral video of you beating your stick against the ground in a rage after a loss?”
“That was more...passion than rage.”
“This show is a huge opportunity for the league. I don’t want you to just get through it without incident. I want you to become the most recognized player we have. The one people are rooting for to find love. We have to bring real numbers to the league to justify this. Higher social media views, higher merch sales--”
I look down at the ground and then back up at her. “I never agreed to any of that. I didn’t ask you to risk your job for me.”
“Okay, if I could just intervene,” Alex says. “I think we’re all on the same page here. Dalton, you like Farrah Reed, right? I mean, what straight man doesn’t?”
“Yeah, I like her.”
“Is there some other contestant you’re burning for that I don’t know about?”
“I don’t know anyone very well yet, but...no.”
He smiles and puts his hands out. “Then we’re okay! Rita, Farrah is your first choice for Dalton, right?”
“Absolutely.”
