lunch, caitlin clark

12 | tackled on the court

unedited so point out my mistakes pls

Things have been better between Caitlin and I. We didn't end up seeing that movie together, or at all, but we've started to get back to how we were. I still have the fattest crush on her but those words pop up every time I see her face.

I'm currently getting off a plane to surprise my UConn girls at one of their games. Really I'm just here for Paige since she did this for me but seeing everyone else is a plus. They're my family too and have still been here for me despite the transfer.

I see Geno waiting for me outside and I run up to him and pull him into a hug.

"Hey, kid. How's life at Iowa?" He understood why I had to leave and was never upset at me for it. Which was really appreciated.

"It's pretty good. A little rocky but what can you expect when you go to a whole different state." We walk to his car and he throws my luggage in the back. "Thank you for letting me do this. Paige thought I would never be able to see her and I know she'll be surprised."

"No worries. She's had a great start back and is helping me out so why not help her too."

The girls are already at the gym warming up. Geno told them he had a family thing and would be a little late. They all respect him enough to not act crazy about it.

I'm wearing Paige's Jersey and her sweats from my line of clothes. I have a secret about our numbers. I wanted a double digit number and she wanted a single. One that she's had before. So, my first number is 4, her only number is 5, and my last number is 6. So we're kind of connected while we play. Which is why transferring never felt like we were separated.

I've got on our matching bracelet and I start fiddling with it from nerves.

"Kid. You don't need to be nervous. She adores you. Actually she won't shut up during practices because she misses you so much." I smile at that thought. "She also brags on you after you guys play. It's kind of annoying because she's rubbing in how we lost you. I never have the heart to tell her to stop though. Those updates are good to hear too." He glances over at me and smiles. He's so nice.

"Thank you for telling me that. I brag on her during our practices too. Everyone definitely hates it but Paige is my girl, you know?" He nods and we sit in silence.

We pull up to the gym and I tell him to go ahead and go inside. We talked about how I'd walk in after warmups in 3 minutes. I can't believe my coach let me off for this but they said that this team is my family too. I've been blessed with good coaches my whole career this far.

The minutes go by fast and I double check that I look alright. There's no one in the parking lot because the games about to start so that helps.

My feet carry me inside and on the way in a few people stop me to ask for an autograph. I do it but it's kind of rushed because I'm afraid I'll walk in too late. With a wave I push the gym doors open and my eyes land on Paige right away. She's laughing with Nika about something that's definitely stupid.

I make my way over to the bench and I'm probably 20 feet away before Paige sees me. I stop walking and wait for her to process what's happening.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" So maybe she shouldn't be yelling that. It's probably too loud in here for anyone to notice anyways. I look towards the crowd for a split second and a few phones are being pulled out to record us.