Love for the Game- Paige Bueckers

C H A P T E R 6

Later in the evening, you were walking in the basketball facility for practice, even more nervous then the first time you did. You knew you would see Paige, and you were dreading it.

Walking into the locker rooms, you were almost immediately swarmed by the whole team, all of them asking you where you went. You assured them that you just went out for the day and were completely fine, which luckily all of them believed. Of course, except for Paige. Who was intensely staring at you from across the room, not losing sight of you for a second. You pretended not to see her as you changed into your practice clothes. Ignoring how she watched every move you made.

Walking into the gym, Geno addressed the plan for the evening, starting with partner drills. The team was paired up in twos, and of course, you were partnered with Paige. The tension between you two could've been cut with a knife as you awkwardly stood next to each other.

As you were grabbing a ball and getting ready to begin the drill, Paige tried to get your attention by placing a hand on your shoulder, and with a bit of force, turned you around to face her. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she asked, obviously frustrated, "You good?"

You gave her a small nod before stepping back and passing her the ball. You had to do a passing drill, and you kept your eyes glued to the floor, only watching the ball. Paige however, was strictly staring at you, not even glancing at the basketball.

The rest of the practice was tortuous, Paige keeping her eyes on you the whole time.

Afterwards, you stayed a little later than everyone else to shoot around. Basketball had always been comforting to you, something that always stayed the same, and was always there for you. Usually, when you were just shooting around, you used the time to think, which was exactly what you were doing.

After a while, you headed to the locker room, deciding to take a shower before getting changed. You had just put on your shorts and sports bra before someone abruptly came in. And it was just the person you wanted to see the least.

Paige stopped in her tracks, her eyes immediately going down to your exposed stomach. She was in a sports bra and shorts as well, looking really sweaty.

"What are you doing here?" You asked without thinking, not realizing how rude you sounded.

She scowled, answering your question as if you should've already known. "I was working out," she replied darkly, before taking her hair down and going to her locker.

"Oh," you mumbled, feeling stupid for not expecting her to be here too.

You turned your back to her, finishing getting changed as she did the same. However, just as you were about to leave, Paige suddenly turned around, slamming her locker door shut. Your head snapped up to the loud noise, and saw Paige standing still, anger very present on her face.

"Ok, so, what the fuck?"

You matched her scowl, standing up to your full height, crossing your arms, and furrowing your eyebrows. "What?" You snapped back.

"What do you mean what?" Paige exclaimed, uncrossing her arms and throwing them out in front of her. You stayed silent, watching her walk closer and closer to you. "So we're just gonna hook up and pretend nothing ever happened?" She was now only inches away from you, towering over you as she backed you up into the lockers.

Everything seemed to slow down in that moment, and all you could focus on was how close her pretty face was too yours, how you could feel the warmth of her body, and about how maybe this could work. Maybe you could kiss her, and maybe you wouldn't run away this time.

So you did, and in one swift movement your hands smoothed across her cheeks and you were kissing her. She reciprocated your actions, quickly making the interaction intense. But before you knew it, she pulled away, a panicked look in her eyes. She grabbed her bags, sparing you one last look before she stormed out of the room.

You just stood there, pure shock and hurt written all over your face as you watched the door slam.