knocked me down

chapter seven

nash POV

It's been 5 days since I talked to Myra and she is all I have been able to think about. I don't know if it's because I know I'll have to see her twice a week or what, but this isn't normal for me. It's not usual for me to think this much about a girl after one interaction - I don't think it's ever happened. Whatever the reason is, this isn't healthy.

It's game day once more and for the first time I'm actually worried. Not about the team. No, no. I'm worried about myself. If my whole entire being has been consumed by just the thought of this girl, I don't know how I'm supposed to play well knowing she's sitting on the side-lines. This is pathetic. I can't name one thing about Myra and yet here I am.

Owen was the first to pick up on my unusual behaviour. Which isn't strange considering he is my best friend. And I'm just going to assume that he told Kody and Jadyn because as a trio they have made sure to make my life a living hell.

I slowly make my way down the stairs as I have been dreading this moment all morning, which is why I went out of my way to shower before I ate breakfast - something I never do. I needed to clear my head before all the kissing noises and the extremely childish adults I live with start being themselves. Surprisingly, when I walked into the kitchen, no one said anything apart from a 'good morning'. I spooned some of the scrambled eggs and bacon onto my plate that Jadyn had made, still not hearing anything but regular conversation between them. I grab a fork and sit on a stool next to Kody.

"How'd you sleep?" Owen asks as I take a bite of my eggs. I look up at him, finally willing to participate in a conversation that isn't about a certain girl I've been "obsessed" with, according to Kody. "Good, I guess." I take a bite of my bacon. "Cause you were dreaming about Myra or?" Owen laughs as he speaks, the other two cracking up around me. I knew it was too good to be true. I was stupid to think they had given this up. I don't bother talking to them and just continue eating my breakfast.

"Okay but on a serious note, are you going to be okay today?" Jadyn asks as he cleans off his plate in the sink. I look around at the three of them currently eye-balling me. "Yeah. Why would I not be okay?" I ask even though I've already thought out every possible answer to that question. "You've been non-stop thinking about Myra since Tuesday. Don't you think her sitting there courtside the whole game will distract you?" Kody adds. He isn't wrong, that's all I've been thinking about but I'm not going to let them be right about it. "No. Because she's not a distraction. She's our manager and even if she wasn't, I'm way too terrified of Coach." And with that, they drop it.

Getting ready for the game? No talking about Myra. Driving to the arena? No talking about Myra. It's the best thing to be going about my day and not overhearing them scheme about how to torture me tomorrow.

We all collectively put on our shoes and get to our pre-game practice. We aren't the first ones here because Michael is always here before us, but quite a few of the guys haven't arrived yet. As I'm rebounding for Owen, I spot a figure walking out into the main area of the arena. I let my eyes travel towards her, watching as she makes her way over to her dad, some sort of paperwork in her hand. Her back is facing me, which is lucky because I wouldn't have wanted her to see a basketball flying and hitting me straight in the face. Which is exactly what did happen and according to Owen, 'I was too busy staring at her ass that he could've thrown himself at me and I still wouldn't have noticed'.

Half way through my pre-game practice I hear Coach call me over to him. I was silently hoping that Myra wouldn't be there but of course when I turned my head, she was the first thing my eyes were drawn to. She's not looking at me though, she's glancing between a piece of paper and her phone. "Hey Coach, what's up?" I say as calm as possible. He begins to start talking about the team we're versing today and how they play, even though I know how their team plays. As he's talking, I keep spotting Myra in my peripherals. She's sitting with one leg over the other, her phone in her hand as she taps away on her keyboard. The piece of paper she once was holding has now been abandoned to her side and now I can sort of see it. The writing across the top reads; PLAYER STATS. What I'm not expecting though is seeing the name 'Owen Kizta' written right underneath it. For some reason that makes me angry and I don't know why.