𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 • Paige Bueckers

𝐈𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞?

IT WAS THE night before the team was all set to leave for March Madness, and Nailea and Nika were lounging in their apartment, controllers in hand, battling it out in NBA 2K. Despite the on-screen excitement, Nailea's gameplay was lackluster; her mind was elsewhere, tangled in thoughts of her complicated relationship with Paige and the daunting return to the basketball crowds.

Nika, with a keen sense for her friend's mood, hit pause on the game and turned to Nailea. "Nai, you okay?" she asked, concern shaping her voice as she gave Nailea her full attention.

Nailea managed a smile, albeit a distracted one, and avoided Nika's gaze. "Hmm?— yeah, I'm good," she lied.

"Nai, come onnn," Nika whined, her patience waning. "I can't play 2K with you if your mind's on another planet."

"Okay, fine but if I tell you this promise you won't tell anyone?" Nailea hedged, biting her lip.

"Nai—" Nika began, but Nailea cut her off.

"—OK ok... me and Paige kissed," she blurted out. Nika's eyes went wide with shock, then morphed into an all-knowing smirk.

Nailea's words started to stumble out in a rush. "And we've kissed more than once, and she asked to take me out on a date, which I totally forgot about because I was wrapped up in practice, and now I don't know what to do, and everything is so—"

She didn't finish her thought, instead collapsing back into the couch with a groan.

"Awkward?" Nika offered, trying to fill in the blanks of Nailea's rant.

"Yes! It's like, around her I'm just... I can't function or even hold a proper conversation, my palms get all sweaty and I just sit there and UGH —It's not my fault she's really pretty and has these... these really blue eyes, Nika what's wrong with me, am I going crazy?!" Nailea confessed, a whirlwind of words spilling from her.

Nika listened, a soft smile on her face, letting Nailea vent, which was a rare occurrence. Once the floodgates had closed, Nika ventured a question. "Nai, has it ever crossed your mind that you may be in love with Paige?"

That question hit Nailea like a brick. She fell silent, her mind racing. "I don't— huh, i Paige...love what?"

Nika chuckled shaking her head. "Did I just break you? Okay, think about this: when something happens, who's the first person you wanna tell?"

"Paige," Nailea said without hesitation.

"And In a room full of people who would you look for first?"

"Paige," she answered again, still not connecting the dots.

Nika shook her head, amused and a bit exasperated. "You and Nick really do share one brain cell, don't you?"

"Bitch. Stop, I'm confused," Nailea grumbled, her frustration clear.

"Okay, what if you saw Paige talking to someone else? How would that make you feel?" Nika pressed.

"I wouldn't like it," Nailea admitted, and after a brief pause, she pictured Paige with someone else. The image made her grimace. That was her Paige

"Why wouldn't you like it?" Nika pushed, seizing the moment.

"Because..." Nailea's voice trailed off, and then it hit her. "Shit.. I'm in love with Paige," she whispered, her own realization dawning on her face.

"YES! FINALLY! THANK YOU FOR ADMITTING IT! Azzi and KK owe me fifty bucks!" Nika exclaimed, leaping from the couch in triumph.

Nailea spun around almost giving herself whiplash. "You guys did bet on us?!" She asked in disbelief

"Best believe we did. I was this close to losing fifty dollars," Nika said, thumb and forefinger a hair's breadth apart. "I bet you'd confess before March Madness, which is, by the way, tomorrow. You nearly cost me big time."