Starting Over

23. Press Conference

(Nicole’s POV)

January passed quickly. Johnny and I had started going out more openly. Public relations was having a field day between Johnny and me and with the All Star break coming up.

Before I knew it, it was the morning of the news conference – Johnny and I had arrived early to go over some of the pre-selected questions. Jim had called a small group together to interview us which I was glad for; I hated press conferences. The whole team and most of the wives and girlfriends had come to show support.

“This looks like fun,” Andy bumped my arm before sitting in the dressing room.
I gave him a look, “Just what I wanted to do today.”

Patrick sits next to us, “At least you can get this over with before the break.”
“But it’s so early!” I groan.

The guys’ chuckle.

“What’s wrong Nic? Johnny boy keep you up all night?” Corey chirped.
Jonathan laughs, “Don’t blame me; I have nothing to do with this.”

I lay my head on the table and pull the hood of my sweater over my head instead of answering.
“Guys, lay off,” Duncan chastise the others.

The door of the room clicks open but I ignore it as the guys continue chirping one another.

“Miss Green?” an unfamiliar female voice calls out.
I look up to see a well-dressed woman standing in the door, “Yes?”

All eyes turn toward the woman but she doesn’t flinch; instead, she walks over and offers her hand, “Miss Green, my name is Melody Walker; I’m the stylist the Blackhawks have hired for the interview.”
Confusion crosses my face, “Why did they hire a stylist?”

Melody gives me a kind smile, “Jim asked that I come and dress both you and Mr. Toews. I’m sure you both understand that this isn’t a normal media day and Jim wants to be sure that everyone sees how serious you both are.”

“Serious? Johnny? Nooo,” Andy says, “Owe!” Seabs slapped him across the back of his head.

“So if you would follow me,” Melody says before directing her attention to Johnny, “Cale will be with you in a moment.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Johnny’s POV)

“She was hot,” Shawzie is the first to speak after Nicole and the stylist leave.
“Don’t you have a girlfriend?” Corey asks.

Shaw turns back to the goalie, “Yeah, but she was still hot.”
“Your way with words must really be a turn on with the ladies,” Sharpie chirps.
Andrew gives him a lopsided grin, “No, it’s my stunning good looks.”

The two men start arguing back and forth as the door opens again; a tall man, dressed in a charcoal suit, entered with a dressing rack.

“Looks like you’re up Captain,” Crow says, giving me a nudge.

I slip on the pin-striped button-up shirt, light grey vest and dress pants, and tie. A low whistle causes me to turn.
“Looking good, Babe,” Nicole says, I watch as her eyes roam over me with appreciation.

Nicole had been dressed in a two part chiffon dress – the top was black laced and long sleeved, skirt was a burgundy red. Black booties and a couple of staple jewelry pieces completed the look.

I walk over and pull her into my chest, “Not nearly as great as you though.”
“Get a room!” Shawzie’s voice rings across the room.

Sharpie walks over to give Nicole a hug, “Stay calm, smile, you’ve got this,” he says the last part to the bot of us.

Nicole gives him a smile, “Thanks, Sharpie.”
Crow claims her next followed by Shaw.

The remaining players filter out, giving Nicole and me a couple minutes alone. I pull her close again; needing to share her warmth.

We stand in silence before the door opens to reveal Jim, “The press is nearly ready for you guys,” he says before disappearing again.

I gives Jim a curt nod, “Thanks,” I says before taking Nicole’s hand, “Are you ready?”
Nicole give my hand a squeeze, “As I’ll ever be.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Nicole’s POV)

Lights were flashing as we sat behind the table. Mikes had been set in three places for Johnny, Coach Q and myself.

Coach led the way, sitting at the end; Johnny allowed me to go next before taking the remaining end chair.

“Good morning, everyone. Hope you are doing well. We all know what this conference is for so let’s get this show on the road,” Coach Q said as the greeting before continuing, “Many have been wondering if having a female on the team would affect the team dynamic. I would like to let everyone know that the team is playing better than ever and that Nicole has brought a new level of grit to the room – our stats are proof enough.
Rumors have been circulating for a while now about the chemistry of the locker room; particularly with regards to Johnny and Nicole’s relationship outside of these walls. I want everyone to know and understand that the Blackhawk organization, the Staff, Coaches, and team all support them, both as players and as a couple.”

“First Question,” a slim, middle aged woman called, gaining our attention, “Coach are there any concerns about potential difficulties on the ice?”

“Such as?” Coach asked.

The woman rephrased her question, “Couple’s fight; is there any chance of a disagreement spilling over onto the ice?”

Coach cleared his throat, “Players are good at checking their emotions at the door – you see this when friends on other teams come into town; Johnny and Nicole have been doing just this for several months now and have had no problem.”

The next question came from a dark haired guy that looked like he was right out of college, “How long have the two of you been in a relationship?”

“Early October; so nearly four months,” I answer; Johnny squeezes my hand under the table and I can see a smile tug at the corner of his mouth.

“Four months seem like a short amount of time – why are you being so open about your relationship so early on?” an older gentleman asks.

Johnny answers this one, “Nicole and I aren’t trying to hide our relationship – we never had. You could pull up a number of fan sites and see photos of the two of us out on dates or simply together; it’s how we’ve been living and how we will continue to live.”

“Jonathan,” the young guy calls out, “Rumor has it, you will be one of the captains during the All Star Break – have you thought about who will be your team mates?”

A chuckle goes through the room.

“Oh, wow, um….I’m not sure. That’s a decision that I will have to make with the alternate captains if I’m lucky enough to be chosen as a captain,” Johnny answers, slightly flustered.

“He’ll choose the best player,” I say with a wink.