Daylight - Paige Bueckers

she was bold

January 3rd, 2024

Paige's POV:

We had just arrived in Nebraska, and I was already exhausted. The flight wasn't long, but traveling always seemed to drain me in ways I couldn't explain. My mind was on the game tomorrow, the endless list of plays I needed to run through, and how much pressure I felt to perform.

"Paige, hurry up," Nika called from down the hall as she and Aubrey disappeared into their shared room. "We're going to be late for dinner!"

I rolled my eyes but grinned. Nika was always rushing everyone, even though we had at least an hour before we needed to be downstairs.

"Coming!" I shouted back, heading into my room. The door clicked shut behind me, and the familiar smell of the hotel room—fresh linen and a hint of cleaning solution—hit me.

I tossed my bag onto the bed and collapsed next to it, staring up at the ceiling. My mind wandered to Alex, as it always did when I was away. Things between us were better, finally starting to feel like they used to, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that I was on thin ice. Every time I left for an away game, there was a tiny part of me that worried things would fall apart again.

With a sigh, I sat up and unzipped my bag, ready to unpack and settle in before dinner. As I rifled through my clothes, something caught my eye. At first, I thought it was just my sweatshirt bunched up in a weird way, but when I pulled it out, a small object tumbled onto the bed.

It was a Polaroid photo.

"What the—" I muttered to myself, picking it up and turning it over in my hands.

It was a picture of Alex, smiling at the camera, wearing my UConn hoodie. Her hair was tousled, and she had this playful grin on her face like she was teasing me through the photo. I blinked in surprise, my chest tightening as I realized she must've slipped it into my bag before I left.

Attached to the photo was a note, written in her unmistakable handwriting.

Just so you don't forget what you're coming home to. Good luck tomorrow. Love you.

A smile tugged at my lips as I stared down at the picture. God, she was such a dork. But it was the kind of thing that made me love her more. She knew I got anxious on away trips, knew I sometimes felt like the distance between us was bigger than it actually was. This was her way of reminding me that she was still there, still rooting for me.

I pulled out my phone and quickly texted her.

Alex Abrams

You're ridiculous, yk that?

ridiculously cute? 

yeah ik

like the surprise?

I love it 

But I'm gonna make fun of you for that note when I get back