Page 6
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
I shrug to show it’s not a big deal because it isn’t. I mean, I’ve never seen a teammate on the floor of the locker room, curled into a ball, having a full panic attack before, but I don’t care. It happens. Much crazier things occur in a locker room all the time.
“I, uh…” He stops for a second to catch his breath, and then continues. “I’m getting a lot of mail.” He points his finger at the pile of correspondence surrounding him.
“I see that.”
“It’s not the good kind of mail.”
I pick up a letter, and a picture of a woman in her birthday suit falls out. “I don’t know about that,” I deadpan.
“It’s been a shitstorm this past week, and I’m getting double the mail I used to. Well, way more than double since I never really received mail or attention before.” He takes a deep breath.
“I don’t really get mail either,” I admit. “I didn’t know that was a thing anymore.” Who still sends actual letters to players, especially when there’s the internet?
“I’m not on social media, well, not really. I created this fake account today to spy on things. I think since they can’t find me online, I’m getting all these messages here. I have no idea what’s going on.”
Me neither. “So what happened? You have a good dick?” I cringe as I say the words that I immediately want to take back. Other guys’ penises and personal business are their own, and I’d rather not have this conversation. Ever.
Sebastian’s face turns red, which is even more noticeable behind his gigantic blond beard.
“Uh…” He clears his throat. I’m glad I’m not the only one uncomfortable with this exchange. “Well, my last name is Goodick,” Sebastian Goodick utters.
“Yup.” That I know. I am following so far.
“I dated a woman, well, kind of, my rookie year. She was a realtor that the team recommended to help get me settled into the new city.” He pauses and then adds, “She was terrible.”
“Athena?” I ask, remembering the information sheet the team gave me a week ago.
“That’s the one. Anyway, in short, we saw each other briefly, she moved on to another player, and then this week, after years of no contact, she wrote that very annoying social media post that went mega-viral.”
“Wow.” That’s all I can say. That social media post has so many likes and shares, and that doesn’t even take into account all the physical mail he’s getting, and who knows what else.
“It’s just annoying. It’s been a bad few weeks, and then this is just the cherry on top of this terrible fucking month. I thought to myself, well, at least it can’t get any worse, and then Hyena showed up in my life again, just looking for attention.” He takes a deep breath at the end.
“Hyena?”
“Yeah. She’s a hunter and a scavenger. She also has a terrible laugh.”
“Athena the Hyena?” I question again.
“Yeah,” he affirms.
Huh.
A thought pops in my brain. “Do you think we can get one?”
“What?”
“A hyena,” I repeat.
He blinks. “Why?”
“You know, as a thank-you gift to Athena. Just trying to be polite.” I shrug my shoulders at the end.
Sebastian grabs his phone, unlocks it, and then starts furiously typing on it. His fingers are heavy on his keyboard, and he mumbles something that sounds like fucking fat fingers getting in the way.
“Highly restricted in the US,” Sebastian says, waving his phone in the air, the bright screen facing me.
