"So which team am I interviewing today?" Erin said from the driver's seat. She was driving the duo to the stadium.

"You have the Steelers and I have the Pats." Zack says, reading off the producer's sheet.

"Oh good luck." Erin said. The Pats coaches normally did not like to give interviews, really the only person you could interview was Tom Brady, but that would soon change.

"No worries. I got it covered." Zack said, confidently, as Erin parked next to the ESPN truck. The duo got out of the car and was met by the other producer and the director.

"Hey guys." Erin and Zack say together.

"Hey." Stacy, the director, said. "You guys made it just in time. Both teams will be arriving soon."

"Alright." Zack starts. "Is there anything we need to know? Any questions you want answered."

"No, just hype up the fact that many people believe that these teams are two of the greatest in the NFL today when you two are solo. Then just go about the interviews like you guys always do." Stacy said. "This is why I requested you two, you guys know what you're doing." Stacy winked and turned to the rest of the crew. "Ok, lets get everything set up, get the head sets on Erin and Zack and make sure their microphones work."

Everyone started scrambling about, getting everything ready for tonight. The hair and make up ladies came over and checked Zack and Erin to make sure they looked flawless.

"Looking good as always you two." The make up lady says.

"Thank you."

"Nice scarf Zack." She comments before walking away.

"Ok, the show will go live in." Stacy checks her watch. "thirty minutes which means you two will go live in fifty, we'll shoot Zack first since you will be talking about the home team, then we will switch to Erin."

"OK, cool." Zack answers.

"No problem." Erin says. "Oh look, the Pats are arriving."

Zack turned around and watched as the bus pulled into arena parking lot. "Here they are. Let me see if I can persuade them to talk to me."

"No need Zack." Zack turned to Stacy. "The head coach and head defense coach said they would talk to us pre and post game, and of course Brady will talk to us. So just worry about getting one more player but if you can't its OK."

"What made them want to talk? Normally, the coach runs away from us." Zack asked.

"They said some one persuaded them to finally 'treat the media right,'" Stacy said, throwing up air quotes on the last part of the sentence.

Zack chuckled. "I thin-."

"Zack!" Zack turned around when he heard his name being called. Zack turned to see John Cena waving at him. Zack waved back before turning to Stacy.

"5 minutes." Zack say, holding up his hand and showing five fingers.

"Go ahead." Stacy said.

"Thanks." Zack said before jogging over to Cena, who met him half way.

"Hey Zack, nice to meet you in person." John said before hugging him. Zack was a little shocked by he hugged him back.

"Nice to see you too." Zack said before, reluctantly, pulling away from John. "Ready for your game today?"

"Always ready."

"So your coaches are going to willingly talk to me today, I was wondering if you had anything to do with that?" Zack asks, with a smug look on his face.

"Maybe, maybe not." John starts. "So when do I get my close up?"

Zack laughs. "One of the producers will come get you."

"Good." John said and grabbed Zack's hand. "So, what are we doing after the game?"

"It depends on how you feel after the game." Zack pauses. "if you take some hard hits, I do have a degree in massage therapy so I can make you feel better."

John smiled, showing off his trademark dimples. "Hmm, maybe I'll let them tackle me on purpose."

"Oh God please don't." Zack starts. "I don't want your teammates pissed off at me."

"ZACK! I need you now." Stacy yelled.

"Duty calls." John stated.

"Yeah. I'll see you later." John let go of Zack's hand and Zack ran beck over to his team while John ran to his.

"OK. I'm here." Zack states. Stacy gives him a look then smirks. "What?" Zack turns to Erin and she has the same look on her face. "What?"

"Places everyone." Stacy says and Zack shakes his head. He just didn't understand woman. That's problem why he was gay.

"Ok, Zack you're coming up in 5, 4, 3, 2." Stacy points and Zack starts his set.

Meanwhile in the Pats locker room, John was watching Zack do his live shot on ESPN. Zack's words were so clear and smooth; he wasn't talking to fast or slow. John had to admit, he was great at what he did.

"Why do you have that goofy smile on your face?" Brady asked John.

"I'm not smiling." John retorted.

"Yes you are, and its goofy."

"That's because he's watching his boyfriend." Chad Ochocinco said, coming around the corner. "Yep, I saw you hugging him all tight and stuff."

"Shut up Ocho. I was not hugging him that hard." John pushed Chad playfully.

"Yes you were. I felt sorry for the guy, you were hugging him so tight I though you had suffocated him." Chad managed to get out while laughing.

"And now I'm going to hand things over to Erin. Erin take it away." They heard Zack say and now the camera was on Erin.

"Now, that's something I would like to hug." Tom Brady commented.

"Wait, aren't you married?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, so?"

John sighed and shook his head. What was he going to do with his friends?

"And we are out. Great job you two." Stacy said to Zack and Erin. "They are going to get the head coaches as well as the defensive coaches and we will be back up in forty-five minutes."

"OK." Erin and Zack answered.

"So Zack."

"Yeah Erin."

"What was up with that hug?"

Zack paused. "John and I are friends."

"We've been interviewing them for years and he's never hugged you before."

"We just recently became friends." Zack answered in a hurry.

"Yeah Friends…more like boyfriends."

"Shut up Erin."

Forty-five minutes later, Zack was back in front of the cameras with Pats head coach to his left and the Pats head defensive coach to his right and John was watching him on the TV screen.

"I don't know why they don't use him more on screen." Chad says between munching on a Twizzler. "He's actually better than Erin."

"Yeah I know." John started. "But they have to appeal to their demographic: Males between the ages of eighteen to forty-nine. He is good isn't he?"

"Yeah."

"Hey." Tom Brady yells. "Are you guys going to practice with us or not."

"Umm how about no."

"Yeah. What John said." Chad interjects.

"Get your lazy asses up and come on."

"And we are out." Stacy starts. "Now lets go in and enjoy the game."

The first to quarters of the game went by pretty quick. About ten minutes till half time, Zack and Erin started setting up for their shots.

"Can you hear them in your ear piece?" Stacy asks. Zack nods.

"OK. When they go to you just fire away." The reporters in the studio were almost most finished so Stacy switched the camera over to Zack.

"So, give us the rundown on the Pats, Zack."

"Thanks Rick." Zack started. "So far in the first half, the Patriots have been dominating the gridiron. With the score at 28-3 the Pats look unstoppable and are determined to keep their undefeated streak going. Early on in the game Tom Brady would throw two touchdowns to star running back John Cena and a third to newcomer Chad Ochocinco. The Steelers defense hasn't been looking so great today. As you know, Troy Polamalu will be out for the next two weeks with an ankle injury and Polamalu is really the glue that holds this defense together. I talk to head defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau earlier today and he told me that it wouldn't make a difference if Polamalu was here or not but that doesn't look like the case but the Steelers have two more quarters to turn this around. Now I'll hand it over to my colleague Erin Andrews. Erin."

"We're out Zack, great job." Stacy commented.

"Thanks."

Soon half time was over and the game was starting again. The last two quarters would go by in a flash and the score would be 44-7 Pats over Steelers. The two coaches would shake hands and their would be a celebration on the field but Zack had to find John so he could get his second live shot with a player.

"Looking for me." Zack turned around to see John still in his sports gear. He had a light layer of sweat on him and his hair was messy and Zack found this unbelievably sexy.

"Yeah come on. I have to get this shot. Erin is almost done interviewing." John and Zack jogged back to where the camera was set up.

"I'm here Stacy."

"Thank God." Stacy started. "You're ear piece working?"

"Yeah. Erin's almost finished."

"Good." Stacy said.

"So what should I do?" John asked Zack.

"Just be cool. I ask the questions. You just answer them the best you can."

"Switching." Stacy yelled. The couple looked at the camera. "Now."

"Thanks Erin." Zack began. "I'm standing next to New England Patriot's running back number 54 John Cena." Zack turned to John. "John, I've talked to some of the fans in the audience, both Steeler and Patriot fans, and there is a clear agreement between the two, that the only reason yourself, Tom Brady and the other players were able to run through the Steeler defense like you did was because of the fact that Troy Polamalu was out with an injury. What do you have to say about that?" Zack placed the mic closer to John's mouth.

"I can see why people would think that. I give credit where credit is due Troy Polamalu is a great defensive player, one of the best, and a future hall of famer but it doesn't matter if he's here or not. We just had a better night than they did."

"The Pats are on a roll, you guys are undefeated this season. Next Sunday you face a rival in the New York Jets. Was this night a little message to the Jets and Rex Ryan?"

"Of course. Every time we hit the gridiron we play our hardest and send out a message to all the other teams not just the Jets."

"Well thank you John." Zack turned back to the camera. "Well, you heard it The Pats are still undefeated here and we'll see if they can keep the momentum rolling into their battle next week with the Jets. Back to you guys in the studio."

"OK, we're out. Great Job Zack, nice chemistry with John."

Zack fakes a laugh.

"Zack." Zack turns to John. "I need to take a shower and get dressed and then we can go. I'm kind hungry so do you want to get something to eat?"

"Yeah and take your time I have to help Stacy and the lot arrange and put everything back together."

"Ok, see you in a minute." John said and ran off to the locker room.

"See you guys." John said to his teammates as he walked out of the locker room. He looked around and spotted Zack leaned up against the ESPN truck with Erin and the other lady from earlier. They were all laughing about something. John walked over to the truck and approached Zack.

"Hey Zack." Zack looked up at John. A smile appeared on his face. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah." Zack turned to Erin and Stacy. "See you guys later." Zack took John's hand and walked with him.

"Wait, where are we going?" Zack asked. "Didn't you come in the bus?"

"No, I drove my own car. Didn't you see the black SUV driving behind the bus? That was me."

Zack thought back. "Oh yeah, the windows were so dark I couldn't see in though."

"I know but the come in hand when the paparazzi is following you."

The duo reached the car. John got in the drivers seat while Zack slipped into the passengers seat.

"So where are we going."

"I don't know about you but I need a big steak."

"Seriously, I so hungry I could eat the whole cow." Zack said as he rubbed his stomach.

"Steak house it is."

The couple walked into the steak house laughing. "I'm serious." John said. "That will be the last time I get drunk around Ben."

John and Zack walked to the Hostess.

"How many?" She asked.

"Two."

"OK, follow me." The couple followed her to a table for two in front of a window. "Is this fine?"

"Yes." The both said and sat down.

"Here are your menus, your server will be here soon. Have a great dinner." She said and walked away.

"She was really nice." Zack said. "Normally, they take their day out on you."

"Yeah but it's late at night so she's probably happy its almost the end of the day."

"Hello, I'm Mike. I'll be your server today. Can I get you something to drink?"

"I'll just have a sprite."

"Same for me." John said and the waiter left to get the drinks while the couple looked over the menu.

"So tell me about yourself." John said.

"What do you want to know?" Zack asked.

"As much as you can fit into one night, the rest we'll talk about later."

Zack smiled. "Well, I'm originally from Long Island, move to Connecticut for work. I've been with ESPN for 5 years now. I work mostly behind the scenes."

"Why? You have an amazing voice and great mic skills."

"Yeah but I like knowing that the show you or anybody just watched on ESPN was made possible by my direction. It makes me feel good, like how you feel after you score a touch down."

John smiled. "OK now I get it." The waiter came back and took their orders. John order a Porterhouse steak with rice and steamed veggies and Zack ordered a New York Strip with a baked potato and steamed veggies.

"So what about your family?" John asked.

"Technically, I'm an only child but after my mother's sister left, she took in her twins. I was two when se took them in so I was raised around them all my life so I call them my older sisters."

"Your aunt left?" John questioned.

"Yeah. I don't even know the whole story. All my mother told me was that he got into drugs and ran off with some big time drug lord and left the twins."

John nodded.

"So what about your family?"

"Well, I have one older brother and three younger brothers, a mom and a dad. Stereotypical white American family. I had a good childhood. I started playing football at a very young age. I was in the pee-wee football team."

"Oh, I can image it. So cute." Zack said.

"I'll show you pictures." John said. The waiter came and set their plates down in front of them and started to eat.

"Oh, I'm so full." Zack said.

"Me too."

"You guys want so dessert?" The waiter asked.

"Yes." They both said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed.

"Wanna share some Boston Crème pie?" John asked.

"Sure."

"I'll get that for you guys." The waiter said and walked off.

"You got a sweet tooth?" John asked.

"I can't say no to sugar." Zack said and John laughed.

The waiter came back with the pie and two forks before leaving again. The duo picked up there forks and started eating.

"So massage therapy?"

"Yeah." Zack laughed. "It was my back up in case I didn't make it into the journalism field. When I was in school, many sports teams needed sports therapist who had massage therapy degrees, so I got one just in case. You know they make a lot of money."

Zack continued to tell John about his degree and John was paying attention until he saw something flash behind Zack. He looked passed Zack.

"Oh my God." John said.

"What?" Zack asked, a worried look on his face.

"There are paparazzi outside taking pictures, someone tipped them off about us being here."

"Really?"

"Yeah, don't look just at like you don't notice them. Its better that way." John said to Zack. "Mike." John called to the waiter. "Can you bring our check please."

"Sure." Mike brought over the check and John paid for everything.

"Keep the change Mike."

"Thank you, have a great night."

"Ready to face the cameras?" John said.

"Lets do this."

The couple walked outside and was pounced on by the paparazzi.

"Hey John, who is this?"

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"Are you two dating or is he a business partner?"

John and Zack hurried to the car and jumped in. John started the car and drove off.

"Oh my God." Zack said. "Would it be weird for me to say that, that was kind of fun?"

"No, I do it every few months, you keep my name out there."

"So that's why E! news catches you outside of a gay club every so often."

"Yeah, just doing my own PR…You wanna do it again."

"What do you have planned?" Zack asks with a smirk. John pulls over to the side of the road. John pulled out his phone and dialed a number. He put the phone on speaker.

"What are you doing?" Zack says.

"Ssshh, just listen."

"This is Tom, go ahead."

"A-YO, Tom this is Jay." John said with a deeper voice. It took all of Zack's strength to keep from laughing out loud.

"Hey Jay, haven't heard from you in a while."

"Got some news for you about John Cena." John said. "He's heading to The Ruby Room with some guy."

"A guy?" Tom says. "His boyfriend."

"I don't know. I know they've been out on a few dates but I don't know if they are exclusive yet. "

"What time will he and his boy be there?"

"In about thirty minutes."

"Alright Jay, thanks."

"No, problem." John said and hung up the phone. Zack started to laugh.

"Hahaha, who does time work for?"

"People magazine."

"So we off to that club?"

"Lets go."

John pulled up in front of the club. "You ready?" Zack nodded and the couple got out of the car.

"Hey John, John. Who is this guy?" Camera flash.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"Are you going to talk?"

"Come on John."

The couple ran inside of the club. Zack laughed. "That was fun."

"I know." John looked around. "While we're here, you wanna shake something?"

Zack didn't say anything he just grabbed John's hand and led him to the dance floor.

"I had a great time tonight with you." Zack told John from outside his hotel room.

"Me too. When you going back home?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Mmm, then maybe I'll have to come visit you at home."

"Maybe." Zack said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." John lean down and kissed Zack. "Goodnight." He said again

"Nite." Zack said again and went into his suite.

John walked down the hall and pressed the elevator button. He took out his phone and texted to someone before getting on the elevator and leaving the hotel.

Zack checked his phone when he heard it ding. Zack read the text and smiled.

Nite!

THANKS 4 READING

YOOMINC16