Black Widow

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

Jade's POV

"Hey! That's a tech, ref!"

Liz, who was sitting to my left, shot up so fast her seat bounced back. She had both arms in the air like she was signaling a plane to land. What that meant in basketball terms? Absolutely no clue.

To my right, Victoria threw her hands up too. "Honestly, man, get your eyesight checked!"

I was a hundred percent regretting my decision to show up at the game now. The whole thing looked like chaos with extra squeaky shoes. I leaned back in my seat, exhaling slowly, prepared to ride out the rest of the fourth quarter in mild confusion, when Liz made me jump by suddenly launching up again.

"Corner, corner, corner!" she screamed. "He's open in the corner!"

Of course he was. Whoever he was.

There were only a few seconds left and it was our ball. Both teams were tied, which meant almost every person in that gym was now on their feet, completely sucked into the game like their lives depended on teenage boys throwing an orange ball around.

With two seconds left on the shot clock, the pass flew across the court and landed in the hands of the open guy on the three-point line. He didn't even hesitate—just rose up for the buzzer beater like he'd been born for that exact frame of time.

I hate to admit it, but even with my non-existent interest in the sport, it was impossible not to feel something when the buzzer sounded and, a beat later, the ball swished clean through the net. For a moment, the whole place went weightless and then it exploded. People screamed, jumped, shoved each other around like human pinballs. Our team sprinted to mid-court and crashed into each other in one giant huddle of sweat and pure teenage ego.

A faint smile tugged at my lips as I slowly got to my feet and started clapping. Even I could recognize that what just happened was... pretty epic.

Fine. Whatever. Sports had one cool moment. I'd allow it.

That's when I noticed Troy look up from the court. He flashed a victorious grin then shot me a quick wink. I couldn't help letting out a quiet chuckle, giving him a small nod in recognition. All of that was cut short when Liz's erratic energy hit me like a truck. She practically tackled me into a bear hug.

"We won!" she yelled in my ear.

I rolled my eyes, but the smile didn't leave my face. My arms wrapped around her anyway, matching her over-the-top display of affection.

"Yeah, yeah," I said. "Go off, ESPN."

***

The chaos eventually thinned out. People poured out of the gym in noisy clusters, still replaying the last shot like anyone cared about their expert analysis.

Liz and Victoria were still buzzing.

"Okay, but did you see that screen?" Victoria said, shoving her phone into Liz's face like the replay was going to change their lives.

Liz gasped. "This is why you date athletes. They create serotonin."

I snorted. "Pretty sure that's not how that works."

We were hovering near the hallway that led down to the locker rooms, waiting for Troy to finish his post-game whatever. Liz insisted. Something about "victory photos" and "capturing memories." Personally, I thought the only memory worth capturing was me in bed, asleep.

I was halfway scrolling through my phone when movement caught my eye.

Jesse.

He was standing a little further down, near the double doors, talking to Tyler. He looked... tired. The kind of tired that lived behind the eyes. For a second, our gazes almost crossed, but I dropped mine back to my screen before that could happen.