Page 131 of Puck with Karma
“Oh my gosh, this is the sweetest,” Janie whispers from my cell phone. “I can’t believe this is my brother on there. I never imagined he could be like this.”
“No kidding,” Mallory agrees incredulously. “Whoisthat even?”
I can’t contain the laughter when I see my brother rolling his eyes from where he stands right next to the table where Xander is sitting.
“I would also like to say hello to everyone else watching,” Xander continues. “I know you’re not a fan of mine, but I hope to make you one.”
He reaches out and pulls on the stack of papers sitting in front of him. It shows a lot less paper than what they emailed me, but I think they only have the signature pages on there since they wouldn’t want everyone to see his contract anyway.
The other players standing around the room start chanting.
“Sliders! Sliders! Sliders!”
Xander puts the pen on paper and, even though I can’t see that close, I can feel every push of the pen as he scribbles his signature in ink.
My eyes are blurry from the unshed tears, but when he looks up at the camera again, they start falling freely. He winks, and I know it’s just for me. He stands up from the table and comes closer to where Van is standing.
“The good part’s about to start, folks.” Van rubs his hands together in anticipation.
“Part of my initiation with the Sliders is to sing karaoke,” Xander speaks into the camera.
“Yeah, baby,” Van cracks up, making everyone else laugh as well. “This should be epic.” He turns and high fives someone in the background.
Xander clears his throat, suddenly nervous.
“Making a fool of myself is not my style. Never has been. But…”
The guitar strings of a song start playing softly in the background.
“Abby, I sure hope you’re watching.”
Chapter 37
Xander
I have never been this nervous in my life. In fact, I might pass out, live on social media. That should get the ratings for my new team skyrocket.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Van stops me just as I am about to look like an idiot in front of everyone.
Leyla, who is standing to the side, throws something at him, smacking him right in the face.
“Whoa, who turned the lights off?”
He makes a spectacle of himself as he pretends not to know what hit him in the face and why.
“Oh, lookie here,” he finally says once he pulls it off. “This must be for our newest recruit here.” He shakes the piece of cloth, only to reveal a New York Sliders jersey that has my name on the back.
There are so many emotions rushing at me from every which way, overwhelming in the force with which they slam into my brain.
After all the years I spent playing for one team, I will now be the newcomer on a different team. It’s going to be brutal, especially when the team in question is the biggest rival. But this is my chance to take control of my life. And be with the woman who made it all possible for me.
I grab the jersey from Van and pull it over my head, sleeves through the holes in no time.
“There ya go, dude!” Van pats me forcefully on the back. “You’re a Slider now. No more meowing, you hear?”
A grin breaks over my face at hearing that. I hate to show it to the world, but I am so fucking happy right now. I wish Abby was here with me to share in my excitement. And speaking of.
I point at Jared. “Restart that.” He jumps in place like he’s startled before looking down at his phone.
