I whistle and adjust the fox’s head under my arm. “Lying to the coach?” I say. Her defiance of her father makes her even more charming.
“Part of me keeping my job this year was going to a matchmaker, and I don’t plan on doing that. So if I’m here earlyto help you guys out and it just so happens my parents think I’m at the matchmaker instead, then so be it.”
Max and I just stare at her for a moment, and she huffs out a breath.
“So do we have a deal?”
“I’m in,” I reply immediately.
“I’m in, but if you get caught by your dad, we had no idea about your little matchmaker problem,” Max says, clearly way smarter with terms and conditions than I am.
“Yeah, what he said.”
“Fine,” Sloane says, giving us a once over, and I swear something flashes behind her pretty, green eyes. “I already have a plan for you, Ethan. I’ll have to think about what I’m going to do with you,” Sloane says, looking Max up and down like he’s a problem she has to solve.
“What do you need from me?” I ask her, and she sighs.
“Finnegan the Fox is getting a makeover first and foremost.”
“Don’t we need approval?”
“Already in the works,” she says simply. “I watched you last season, and I went online to see what other mascots are doing. I don’t think you’re fully embracing your personality. You need to be uniquely you while also taking a page from other mascots’ playbooks.”
“What does that mean?” I ask, and Max scoffs next to me.
“Do you know how many people love that fucking freak, Gritty, but hate the Flyers? You gotta be more than just part of the team. You’ve got to be someone everyone can root for,” Max says simply.
Sloane nods her head. “He’s right. While you’re a part of the Foxes, your mascot persona can be something that makes you famous and hard to emulate. Plus, the more popular you get, the more money you can ask for. Make yourself irreplaceable. Show me some moves,” Sloane says.
“Yeah, show us some moves,” Max says, skating over next to Sloane as I put the mascot head on, facing it so it won’t fall off.
It’s dangerous, but I’ve been doing this shit my whole life as I do a couple of flips and land on a split on the ice. I take off the head and look over at Sloane and Max who are both tilting their heads.
“Doesn’t that hurt your dick?” Max asks, and Sloane smacks him on the chest, wincing when her hand hits his padding. “Sorry,” he mumbles to her.
“Where did you learn how to do all that?” she asks.
“Male cheerleader,” I reply sheepishly.
“Huh,” Sloane says, tapping her chin. “I definitely think we can use that, especially when we’re at events, but it’s too dangerous on the ice, and you spend a lot of time in the stands anyway. Finnegan needs a personality.”
“You seem pretty sly in real life,” Max suggests, and I scoff at him.
“He’s not wrong. What if being a prankster and sneaky like a real fox is the angle to go? Maybe we can do a post where it’s like you’re sneaking up on Max. That way, you both can get some publicity. Introducing Finnegan’s personality and making Max more likable?”
“I’m down for anything,” I tell her honestly.
One, I don’t want to lose this side job. It kind of reminds me of being a part of a team, and a few times a week, I get to hide and be this stupid big fox. It also wouldn’t hurt if I could cut back my shifts at the diner either.
“Tell me where you want me.” I tell her, and she smiles, grabbing her phone and placing us on different parts of the ice and telling us what we need to lip-sync and what to do.
She smiles behind the camera, skating backwards at some points and pointing and directing us where we need to go. Iactually have a good time, and now and then I glance over at Max and realize he’s having a good time himself.
I just wonder if it’s because we’re doing something productive or because Sloane is making everything so fun and easy.
“Okay, I think we got it,” she says while looking at her phone, her thumbs moving at a rapid speed. “Here, you guys can come watch,” she says.
I walk over cautiously and stand behind her shoulder while Max does the same thing. It’s fucked up, but being this close to them, I should be able to scent them. Obviously, I don’t have an Alpha’s sense of smell, but even with both of them this close, I don’t scent anything, and I wonder if that's normal.
