AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 1: Grayson Nash
Right On Cue
“Are you sure?” my brother presses.
“Fuck,” I murmur in wonder. I’ve been sure for the last year. I can’t believe it’s finally happening. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“Then we’ll have the contract to your agent today, and I’ll expect you here in Vegas tomorrow for a press conference. I’ve got other calls to make.”
“Yes, sir,” I say, and I practically salute my phone. We’ve been in talks for the last two days, plus the entire year before that, but we couldn’t make anything official until four o’clock today. And now…it’ll be official.
Is this the right decision? Time will tell.
It’s time for me to pack my shit and get the fuck out of Los Angeles. I’ve loved playing for the Chargers. I’ve been here most of my career, in fact, except for my first two seasons when I played for the Bills.
But I’m ready for a new challenge with a new team. I’ve been contemplating retirement since before last season got underway, and it’s still at the forefront of my mind. But this is a one-year contract that comes with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play on the team my older brother coaches and my youngest brother plays for.
I can’t pass that up.
I’m a free agent, and if it’s my last year…I want to play it on my own terms. And if I retire after the end of this year, I want the chance to join the coaching staff with a team I’ve played on.
And Vegas sounds pretty fucking attractive, too.
Two of my three brothers are in town. My dad is there, though we’re not as close as I am with my mom, who’s back in New York at her goat farm. And it’s fucking Vegas. The lights, the entertainment, the gambling, the sports…the women.
Hell motherfucking yeah, I’m sure.
I unwrap a Tootsie Roll and chew on it, and I debate opening another one while I wait. It takes almost a full two minutes before my phone rings again, and I see my agent’s name flash across the screen.
“Right on cue,” I answer, tossing my wrapper in the trash.
“I just sent you the document to sign,” Isaac says.
I open the email he sent, glance through it, and issue my signature online.
“Congratulations to the newest member of the Vegas Aces,” he says when he sees the document come through.
“Thanks, man,” I say, a strange sense of emotion washing over me. It’s somewhere between excitement and nervousness, I think. “And thanks for everything. You got me a bigger contract with the Chargers than I ever thought I’d have, and you’ve become more than just an agent to me over the years.”
“I think of you as a friend, too. We won’t be in the same city anymore, but that doesn’t mean I won’t come out to Vegas to hit up all the hot spots with you.”
“I look forward to it.” I cut the call, and I draw in a deep breath as I stare at the figure on the bottom line.
One year in Vegas with an eighteen-million-dollar price tag. The Pro Bowl appearances along with my proven record certainly helped, but my agent and my brother took care of me.
I can’t wait to get to Vegas and get started on the next chapter of my career. It might be the final chapter where playing is concerned, or maybe I’ll love the new team so much I won’t want to hang it up at the end of the season.
There’s a lot up in the air right now, and it all hinges on this fresh start.
I should call my current coach and let him know. I should call the front office. I should do about a million things, but instead, I twist the top off a new bottle of Hendricks and take a celebratory swig.
I scroll through my phone, looking for a number to call.
Someone to celebrate with.
My brother already knows, and I’ll call the rest of the family later.
Maybe I should call Daphne and let her know, but then I’d have to call her, and we’ll get into a whole thing, and I’m not really interested in any of that right now.
