Daylight - Paige Bueckers

can you blame me?

August 29th, 2023

Paige's POV:

The weekend flew by in a blur, and before I know it, it's Monday morning. The first thing I do when I wake up is check my phone. Alex sent me a good morning text, along with a picture from last night that makes me smile. It's one of us with the girls at Ted's, all crammed together and laughing. I send her a quick reply, promising to catch up after practice.

I drag myself out of bed, feeling the weight of the weekend still hanging on me. But practice is practice, and there's no way I'm going to let a little exhaustion keep me from giving it my all. I quickly get dressed and grab my bag, heading out the door with just enough time to grab a coffee on the way.

When I get to the practice facility, it's the usual routine: a few of the girls are already there, getting in some extra shots or stretching out. I spot Ines and Azzi messing around at one end of the court, and Aubrey is sitting on the bench, tying her shoes.

"Morning," I call out, waving at them as I drop my bag near the bench.

"Morning, superstar," Ines teases, glancing over at me with a smirk. "How was your weekend?"

"Pretty good. You?" I ask, stretching my arms overhead.

"Not as eventful as yours, apparently," she says, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

I raise an eyebrow, not sure what she's getting at. Before I can ask, Azzi pulls out her phone and shoves it in my face.

"Seen this yet?" she asks, barely containing her laughter.

I take the phone and immediately recognize the scene. It's a video from Ted's, clearly from the night we all went out. The footage is shaky, but it's obvious enough: me and Alex, standing close together, her arm around my waist, laughing and talking. It's nothing too crazy, but the way we're looking at each other is what's got everyone talking. The video ends with us leaving Ted's, still side by side, almost leaning into each other.

I groan, handing the phone back to Azzi. "Seriously?"

"Yep. It's all over social media," Azzi says, grinning. "People are speculating again. Are you guys finally going public or what?"

"We're just hanging out," I say, trying to play it cool, but the heat rising in my cheeks gives me away.

"Sure, just hanging out," Ines echoes, not buying it for a second.

I roll my eyes, but before I can respond, Aubrey speaks up. "Paige, Coach wants to see you in his office before practice."

That catches my attention. Geno usually doesn't pull anyone aside unless it's something important. My heart sinks a little as I wonder if he's seen the video too.

"Alright," I say, trying to keep my voice steady. "Thanks, Aubrey."

I head down the hallway to Coach Geno's office, my mind racing with all the possible reasons he might want to talk to me. As much as I'd like to believe it's just a routine check-in, I can't shake the feeling that it's about that video.

When I reach his office, I knock lightly on the door.