Page 125 of Puck with Karma
I let out a snort of laughter. “That it?”
He turns wild eyes my way. “Actually, no. I need you to come with me. Right now.”
I look down at my bare feet, unsure of what he’s asking of me. I don’t have time to question him, because Noah is racing around the room and brings my shoes to me.
“He got a sweatshirt around here somewhere?” he looks at Abby. “It’s a little chilly out. Not too bad.”
“It’s thirty degrees out,” Abby says in disbelief.
“Yeah, but still. That’s warm for back home, right?” Noah laughs.
I pull over my head the sweatshirt Abby brings me. I guess the time for asking any questions has passed. Besides, if Noah made such an effort to track me down here, I might as well do this one thing for him. Whatever it is.
He grabs me by the arm and pulls me with him. We are close to walking out the door when he stops.
“Abby,” he calls to my girlfriend. “I’m supposed to give you this.” He pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket and hands it to her. “Read the instructions and follow them,” he points at her, making her laugh.
Just as abruptly, he marches back to me. Before I know it, we are in the elevator, on our way downstairs.
“I just want you to know that I’m going along with this,” I warn, “because I sort of like you in my own weird way. However, I’m also ready to beat your ass if you don’t tell me what’s going on. I was busy up there.”
The thoughts of a naked Abby, spread out and waiting for me, are invading my brain, and now I really want to kill Noah.
“No, dude,” he jumps up and down in the elevator. “This will be good. But I can’t tell you anything yet. I promised.”
I don’t say anything as we walk out of the building, and I blindly follow him to a car that’s waiting for us.
“Wow, I didn’t take you for the kind who splurges on a chauffeur driven car,” I tease him.
“That’s cause I’m not,” he cracks up. “I’m not paying for it.”
The drive through the city of New York feels chaotic. I’m not sure how I am going to deal with this part of life while living here. For a brief moment, I miss my quiet life in Minnesota. I lived across from the arena for so many years, everything feels like a commute now.
I have no idea how long the drive lasts. Noah is quiet, so I decide not to instigate a conversation with him. I’m scared of what might come out of his mouth.
When the car stops, I look out the window and frown in confusion.
“What are we doing here?”
We are parked in front of the New York Sliders arena. Not much happening here today, so the parking lot is mostly empty.
“This is…” Noah sounds incredibly nervous. “I just need to take you inside.”
Rolling my eyes toward the ceiling of the car, I pop my door open and get out. I walk to the other side where I meet my newly found best friend who I cannot shake off no matter what.
I follow his lead when he turns and walks inside the building. He takes me down various corridors until I recognize where we are.
“What the fuck are we doing in the Sliders’ locker room, Noah?”
Without another word, he pushes the door open.
“Fuckin’ finally,” a voice I recognize calls from inside the room. “Why did it take you this damn long, man? The hotel he’sstaying in is much closer than where me and Bran live. And we got here in no time.”
Van Boyd is standing in the middle of the locker room, with a few other players around him. One of them is Brandon Karlsberg. This is the first time I see him from all those days ago when I punched him and broke his two front teeth. He smirks as he eyeballs the fainting bruises I’m sporting from the broken nose he gifted me with.
“He was almost naked and ready for some fun,” Noah shrugs and grins. Apparently, he’s made some friends in New York already. “No offense, man,” he tells Brandon Karlsberg when the guy just stares at him. After all, I was about to shag his sister, so he has reason to not smile.
“Friends,” Van claps his hands together. “We have gathered here today…”
