IMGONNAGETYOUBACK - NIKA MÜHL

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Violet | November 9th, 2024

Nika went straight to the kitchen upon entering her suite, claiming she was hungry. I had eaten dinner before the game, because it only started around seven. It was now nearing ten and although not extremely hungry, I was feeling like a snack. Nika was digging around in a cabinet before finding what she was looking for, spinning around with a small brown package in her hand.

"You want some popcorn?"

She was stood on one side of the island, next to the cabinets and appliances. I was on the other side, sitting at one of the stools.

I agreed, still feeling mad but gradually calming down as the awkwardness overtook my fury. Three minutes later, the microwave beeped and Nika pulled out a full bag of popcorn. As she approached me, I had a moment of deja vu, a flash of our almost-kiss blinding me. She placed a bowl in front of me which lifted my trance, and then she poured the popcorn into it.

I grabbed a handful and ate it slowly, looking down at my hand the whole time. Nika ate it much faster, watching me as if I was some movie. The way she had been studying me since the game, as if trying to figure out some discovery that actually mattered, was making me extremely uncomfortable.

When I'd finally had enough, I locked eyes with her. "What?" I asked aggressively, dropping my arms by my sides.

She swallowed her popcorn before responding: "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm just great," I said sarcastically.

"So you're still upset?" She asked.

"Upset?" I responded incredulously, looking her up and down; "I'm furious! That was my first game back after I tore my ACL, as a UConn senior, and I didn't even play half of the game!" I exclaimed.

Nika nodded, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth. She chewed it slowly. "Come on, Vi, it wasn't personal; Geno was rotating the lineup because we were up by so much."

"I'm sure that's easy for you to say! How many minutes did you play, again? Thirty-two?"

"I don't know exactly—"

"It doesn't matter, because you still played more than me! You dragged me off that court and I never got to come back out, why? Because I defended my teammate's name on the court? That's fucking bullshit!"

She sighed deeply: "Violet, Geno pulled you off so you didn't get kicked out, and then he just didn't need you back out there. Do you have any idea how it would have looked if—"

"Stop playing the devil's advocate, Nika!"

"I'm not playing the devil's advocate!" She yelled back, moving to the other side of the island so that she could get in my face: "I'm telling you how things work around here. I know that you're new, but if you're not going to listen, I don't know what you want me to do because this is not Virginia."

"I just want you to stop talking!" I shouted, getting up so she didn't tower over me quite as bad.

"I'm literally just trying to help—" she began, but I cut her off before she could finish

"I thought I told you to shut up!"

"Make me!" She shrieked. So I grabbed the back of her neck, smashing my lips against hers, because no one made me as furious as Nika Mühl. Sitting the last half of the game was nothing compared to sitting next to Nika, knowing I couldn't have her.

She kissed back almost immediately, longing for me in the same way that I longed for her all over. I missed her hands and her lips all over me and I missed hearing her say my name. Her hands immediately moved under my shirt and all I could think was yes, yes, yes.