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Chris
Though he spared some attention for playing around, Chris was so focused on the practice that he didn’t notice their audience of one until they had nearly finished. He only vaguely recognized the dark-haired man sitting in the stands – but after a moment’s thought, he at least recognized him enough to put a name to him.
This was Matt Tucker, the journalist who’d be profiling him for Sports Illustrated.
He was taller than he looked in pictures. Even from here, Chris could see his long legs stretching out in the stands and the gangly shape of his limbs as he tried to take notes on his lap. He was a smart writer, and incisive; Chris couldn’t pretend to read much by way of serious journalism, but the few pieces of Chris’s that he had read in sports magazines were good. He wrote like a player, not a jumped-up observer. He really understood the game.
“Ah, shit,” said Darren, skating up beside him. “Is that your shadow, up there?”
“Looks like it,” said Chris, raising a hand to wave at Tucker as he glanced up. He was met with a light friendly waggle of the fingers – a twitch in the corner of Matt’s lips.
Darren shook his head. “Christ. He doesn’t even wave like a man.”
“Huh?”
Darren led Chris away, turning so that Matt couldn’t read their lips. “First of all, I can’t believe you haven’t already heard. Second, I can’t believe you can’t just see it. The guy’s as queer as Christmas.”
Chris supposed that made sense. He knew you weren’t supposed to subscribe to stereotypes, but the guy did look pretty gay. He dressed well, and his hair was cut in a pretty fashionable style, for aesthetic purposes. It wasn’t cut short and practical, and it probably took time on a morning.
Was it a bad thing? Well... no, probably not. Chris didn’t have a problem with gay guys in general. He knew some of his teammates did – but personally, he’d just never come into contact with one before. At least, not that he knew of.
As such, he didn’t really know why Darren’s tone of voice was so ‘doom-and-gloom’. “Yeah? So?”
Darren gave him a strange look. “So... do you really want him hanging around asking you questions in the locker room? Guaranteed, he comes and sits by you while you’re changing right now.”
“Huh.”
Wasn’t that standard practice for interviewers? He was pretty convinced they’d had female journalists in the changing rooms before – but then, Darren was never going to have a problem with that. He shrugged, pulling off his helmet as they stepped off the ice. “Well... I’m sure it’ll be fine. He’s with Sports Illustrated. It’s not like he’s going to try anything.”
“That’s what you think,” Darren scoffed, slapping his shoulder. “I’ll leave you two to it. Good luck.”
He watched Darren head off into the showers, then turned to watch Matt approach him instead. Chris knew almost nothing about him other than his career choice and what Darren had just told him. Was that latter part true, then? Would he be some kind of pervert, using his stadium pass to creep on Chris and his teammates? Would he just be a friendly guy, trying to do his job?
He was about to find out.
Matt approached with his hand outstretched, and Chris took it to give a firm, strong handshake.
“Mr. Tucker, I’m assuming.”
“Matt’s fine. Can I call you Chris?”
Chris shrugged one shoulder. “Sure. Nice to meet you, Matt. You catch much of the practice?”
“The tail end,” Matt confirmed, slipping his notebook back into his shoulder bag. “I was early, so I figured I’d sit in and see you in action. It’s nice to see my subjects actually working, especially without the furor of the crowd to distract them.”
“Yeah?” Chris asked. “How’d I do?”
Matt wrinkled his nose, tipping his head playfully from side to side. “You’re okay, I guess. Room for improvement. I guess that’s why you got voted MVP last year.”
Chris grinned, beginning to lead him in the direction of the changing room. However afraid Darren was of Matt’s roaming gay eyes, Chris got the impression that he wasn’t predatory at all – and he always trusted his instincts. “Pretty big honor. Looks good on my shelf at home.”
“I’m sure. I’m looking forward to hearing more about that.”
Chris swept his hair out of his eyes, turning again to get another look at the journalist. He was tall, as he’d judged from a distance – just not quite as tall as Chris himself. He had light brown skin, and deep chocolate-colored eyes that seemed as devious as any Chris had seen recently. His hands were thin and wiry; he seemed to fidget with his pen constantly. Did he have a lot of energy – was that it? After all, he didn’t appear to be nervous.
“You have a good journey here?” he asked. “Like... getting to the stadium?”
“Don’t worry,” Matt said, deadpan. “I know what ‘here’ means.”
His sense of humor was dry enough that it took Chris a moment to realize that he was joking. The lightness was all in the eyes. Chris would have to look out for that. “Alright, smart-ass. So...?”
“Yes, I did have a good journey – thank you,” said Matt, glancing around with passing interest as they moved into the locker area. “It’s a fairly long flight from San Francisco, but... that’s nothing I’m not used to. Will it be alright for me to look around while you’re getting ready?”
Aha – so Darren was wrong after all.
“Sure,” said Chris, slinging a towel around his neck. “Absolutely. You’ve got, uh... lockers in here. Obviously. And then if you head out that way,” he pointed, “then you’ll get to the rec. room, and the manager’s office. Um. That’s about it.”
“Great. Thanks. According to the assistant who brought me here, you’re due in the gym next...?”
“That’s right.”
“Excellent. Shall I meet you there?”
Chris nodded, picking up his bag. “Fine by me. I’ll be quick.”
With that, the journalist was off to look around. Hoping that he hadn’t just given Matt more free access than was really allowed, Chris made his way into the showers. He couldn’t help but feel relieved that Darren didn’t know what he was talking about – or that Darren was overcautious, he supposed. Plenty of his fellow team members felt similar to that about gay people. It wouldn’t have been the first time he’d heard something homophobic in the locker room.
Well, he figured – it didn’t have to bother him. Soon enough, Matt would be gone. So long as nobody was rude to him in the meantime, there wouldn’t be a problem. It wasn’t like Chris was gay.
Just ask the redhead. What was her name again?
