I’m not flustered.
I’m alert.
And I don’t like that I noticed the part without cameras first.
I peel off toward the locker room before anyone can say anything else.
The door shuts behind me with a familiar thud, the kind that usually means tape jobs and postgame noise and guys arguing over music. Tonight it’s quiet. Too quiet. Just the hum of ventilation and the faint echo of whatever song is still bleeding through the walls from the event space.
I drop onto the bench and rest my forearms on my thighs, staring at the floor like it’s going to offer commentary.
This is the part where adrenaline usually burns off clean. You replay a shift. You break down a mistake. You move on.
Instead, my brain keeps circling one thing.
Her voice.
Not the words; those were polished, careful, exactly what they were supposed to be. It’s the way she asked the questions. Like she was actually listening to the answers. Like she wasn’t trying to steer me toward anything. Just… gathering information.
Most people don’t do that.
They wait for their turn to talk.
She didn’t.
I scrub a hand over my face and let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
This wasn’t a win.
It wasn’t a loss.
It wasn’t even a moment I need to explain to anyone.
It just… stuck.
I think about the way she stood on that stage. Straight-backed. Calm. Like she knew exactly how much space she was allowed to take and refused to shrink an inch of it. No nerves. No reaching for approval. No performance.
That’s rare.
And unsettling.
I’m used to reading people quickly. You have to be, wearing a letter. Teammates, media, coaches… everyone wants something from you. You learn the tells. You learn who’s playing a role.
Sloane Carter didn’t feel like she was playing anything.
Which means the date tomorrow isn’t about whatever headline they’re hoping for.
It’s about sitting across from someone who might actually see me.
That shouldn’t matter.
I straighten, roll my shoulders, remind myself this is controlled. Approved. Timed down to the minute.
Two hours.
Dinner. Conversation. Cameras gone.
I’ve handled harder situations with less prep.
