40. Xander
When I walk into the arena before tonight’s game, I don’t miss the way the staff and maintenance crew stare at me.
My shoulders tense with the urge to shrink into myself. I pull my hoodie farther over my head and walk faster to the locker room.
It’s been two days since the sex tape was leaked. Everything is a fucking mess.
My agent is getting constant calls from reporters and gossip sites, trying to get an interview with me. I’ve got paparazzi tailing me whenever I leave my condo, snapping pictures of me every chance they get.
I met with Alanna to talk about what I should do to handle this mess, but she advised me to stay quiet and not make any public statements. She thinks this will all blow over in a few weeks, whenever some other athlete or celebrity does the next salacious thing.
But I don’t want to just let it go. I want to figure out how this happened. And I want people to know it wasn’t me who leaked the tape.
I tried contacting Makenna to get to the bottom of this, but that was a lost cause. Her agent’s assistant or whoever it was that I managed to get ahold of said she was vacationing on some remote tropical island with no cell service. She doesn’t even know that the leak happened.
At least I know that she’s not the one who leaked it. It must have been some hacker.
As I head toward the elevator, I spot a group of people already standing around waiting. The last thing I want to do is share a confined space with a bunch of strangers who have watched my sex tape, so I head for the stairwell.
The one comfort through all this has been Sophie.
My Sophie.
My body relaxes just thinking about how she’s supported me since the second I broke the news to her. How she held me when I couldn’t stop shaking, I was in such a state of shock. How she reassured me that none of this is my fault, how I’m the victim in all this, how I didn’t do anything wrong. How upset and angry she was for me.
I close my eyes and focus on the warmth that settles in my chest when I think about Sophie and how amazing she’s been.
I wouldn’t be able to get through any of this without her.
My phone buzzes with a text. It’s a message from Theo.
Just wanted you to know that me and the whole team have your back.
The warmth inside of me intensifies. After the video leaked the other night, my teammates reached out to me to offer their support. I told them thanks and that I was planning to lay low at my place with Sophie to get away from it all. They all understood and gave me the space I asked for.
When I make it to the locker room entrance, my nerves are still on edge. I don’t want this sex tape bullshit to affect our team dynamic for tonight’s game.
The chatter dies down the second I walk in. Everyone is looking at me and I fucking hate it.
“Hey.” Theo nods at me. “We’re here for you, man.”
“Yeah, we are,” Dylan says. Everyone on the team nods.
“Once you find out who leaked that video, we’ll beat their ass,” Blomdahl says. They all respond with “hell yeah” and “fuck yeah, we will.”
I chuckle. That’s the first time I’ve done that since the sex tape came out. “Thanks, guys.”
And just like that, they all continue chatting with each other and gearing up. I drop my bag at my locker, feeling grateful for the way my teammates responded. They let me know that they’re here to support me, but they didn’t make a fuss. That’s exactly what I needed.
Coach Porter walks in. I hold my breath as he scans the room and gears up to give us a talking-to before we take on the Nashville Wolves.
He hasn’t said anything to me since the video leaked, even though I’m sure he’s got his own opinions. I know we had a breakthrough the night of the charity fundraiser, but I’m sure he’s not thrilled that the guy dating his daughter has a sex tape circulating online with another woman.
When he finishes his pre-game remarks, we all head out to the ice.
“Williams, hang back for a sec,” he says to me.
I do what he says. Soon the locker room is empty except for Porter and me.
He looks at me, eyebrows furrowed like he’s upset.
“I’m sorry for what you’re going through. It’s not right,” he says.
I’m quiet for a second. “Thanks, Coach.”
He nods. “A lesser player wouldn’t have shown up tonight with all that you’re dealing with. You did though. You have my respect for that.”
Emotion wells up inside of me. “Thank you.”
He pats me on the shoulder. “Give ‘em hell, okay?”
I start to smile. “I will.”
He motions for me to to walk out first. As I make my way through the tunnel toward the ice, I see Sophie standing off to the side in her usual spot.
She smiles at me. That tightness in my chest loosens.
My girl is here for me. Like always.
I walk up to her. “Hey, gorgeous.”
“Hey.” She tiptoes up and kisses me. “I wanted to give you a good-luck kiss before the game.”
I grin. “That’s exactly what I need.”
She reaches up and cups my face, emotion shining bright in her eyes. “Kick ass tonight, okay?”
I chuckle. “Your dad said something similar to me a minute ago.”
She laughs. “Really?”
I nod. “I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
She pulls me down for another kiss before letting me go. I wink at her and hit the ice, determined to make my girl proud.