since i left: paige bueckers

5. i don't trust myself

monday august 28 2023 (three months since last chapter)
taylor's perspective

I softly grunt as I lug my boxes of clothes into the elevator. I'm really hoping my roommate is in a helping mood because there's no way I have the will to go get all of the other boxes from my car alone. I finally am met with door 403 and I struggle trying to get my key from the carabiner on my jeans. Once I unlock the door, I'm met with a girl with dark, tanned skin and enviable curly hair.

"Hey! You're Taylor?"

"Yep." I shoot her a warm smile. "You must be Sienna."

She nods her head and her hair bounces as she does. "I took the room on the left, I hope that's okay."

"Sounds good. Would you help me with a couple more boxes? I did not realize how much clothes I had until now."

"Yeah sure. Are they in your car?"

"Yeah. I parked real close though."

"You're a Spanish major, right?"

"With a minor in education, yeah. What about you?"

"Communications. I have a minor in ASL, too."

"Ugh, that's so cool." Sienna exclaims as she pushes the button to the elevator. "I always wanted to learn sign language."

"Not to sound like a stalker, but I was looking at your Instagram and saw that you were friends with Caitlin Clark. Um, that's insane."

"Don't worry, I sort of stalked you too. I roomed with another girl on their team and ended up being friends with a lot of them."

"Dude, that's crazy. I'm a huge women's basketball fan, which is honestly part of the reason I came here."

The elevator dings, signifying we're at ground floor and we walk out to my white Audi.

"Did you ever play?"

"I was a volleyball player in highschool but never good enough to even consider college. What about you?"

"I did cheerleading and was friends with a basketball player or two, but never played." I explain, careful not to go too deep.

"Where are you from?"

"Minnesota for the second half of high school, but New York originally. Are you from Texas? I hear a little accent." I joke.

"Tennessee, but my dad's from Austin. You wanna get two boxes and I'll get the other and the backpack?"

"Got it."

"My girlfriend never makes me carry stuff, so I'm a little out of shape."

"Girlfriend?" I ask, to make sure I heard her right.

"Yeah, her name's Dylan. She's on the hockey team."

"Dylan Reed? I think I've heard of her. She's a forward?"

"Yeah, that's her. I am the furthest from a hockey connoisseur, but I think so." Sienna explains with a hesitant tone in her voice.

"Are you dating anyone?" She adds.

"I dated one guy in high school, but that didn't exactly work out once I realized I was gay." I laugh.

"You haven't dated anyone since?"

"The dating game's been pretty dry lately. Or at least in Iowa."

"Iowa's pretty dry in just about everything. Aren't they the land of corn, or something?"