CHAPTER NINETEEN ââ Girls Talk
â â pairing: paige bueckers x oc (jo jacobson)
â â warnings: tiny makeout nothing else i dont think
â â links: my masterlist, nobody gets me masterlist
â â authorâs note: only a few more chapters left thank god. also i promise celeste actually is going to serve a purpose lol
JO FEELS THE WEIGHT of everything ahead more in her chest than anywhere else.
Itâs not nerves. Not exactly. Sheâs not nervous heading into the Big East Tournament, not in the way people probably expect her to be. UConnâs handled conference play like a machine, and even when games have been scrappyâwhen shots havenât fallen or players have gone down, when the rotationâs been thin and legs have been heavyâthereâs never been real doubt. Not about their record, not about their identity. Theyâve come out of it undefeated. And even if itâs just the Big East, theyâve done it by work, by belief, by toughness.
Still, Jo doesnât let herself take anything for granted. Itâs not really in her nature to. And itâs definitely not in Genoâs.
He drills it into them constantlyâtreat every game like itâs the national championship. Doesnât matter if itâs Xavier on a Wednesday or South Carolina in the tournament. Doesnât matter if theyâre up thirty or down two. They play like itâs for a title. They prepare like itâs for a title. They think like champions. And Joâs bought into it completely. Maybe even more than she realizes sometimes. But, hereâs the thing: sheâs doing all this to become a champion. She wants it more than anything.
So todayâlast practice at Werth before they leave for the tournamentâitâs not just another walkthrough. Not to Jo. The gym smells like sweat and floor polish and memory, and everything feels a little more important. Sheâs locked in from the moment it starts. Not because sheâs worried about their chances. Not because this is where it all begins. The push, the run, the stakes.
She loves practice. Loves the rhythm of it, the detail, the way film sessions bleed into reps and everything is purposeful. She loves Genoâs voice barking at them, loves when CD yells to calm down, loves the exhaustion that builds behind her knees after three hours of movement. She loves feeling the shape of her own improvement.
Itâs not just a line, not just some press conference thing to say. Itâs real and rooted. She loves these people. The way Nika talks shit and throws no-look passes. The way Aaliyahâs always catches Joâs dimes, her post work smooth as butter. The way Lou and Dorka have formed this weird, wordless connection like theyâve been playing together their whole lives. The way Aubrey quite literally defies gravity and nobody can box her out no matter how many times opponents try.
And Paige. Of course Paige. Always Paige.
She hasnât played a second this year and somehow she still feels like the center of everything. That voice. That presence. The way she pulls Jo aside mid or post practice and says something small that can change her perspective on everything. Paige could be the best coach in the country if she wanted to be (well, maybe after Geno), and sheâs only twenty-one. Of course, Jo misses the on-court Paige, the one she watched drain dagger threes in clutch time and argue with the refs like no oneâs business. But thereâs something even scarierâsomething even more Paigeâabout the way sheâs taken this season and owned it anyway. No self-pity. Just effort. Energy. Leadership.
Her rehabâs going well, too. Jo knows it; sheâs with her for a lot of it, actually. Paige moves different now. The bounce is back. The ease. And even if Paige downplays it, Jo watches. Sheâs always watching. Because she knows next season, Paige is gonna be back out there. And them with that Paige? Itâll be a whole different monster.
But for now, the Big East Tournament is up next, and theyâre getting healthy just in time.
Carolineâs back. Everyoneâs relieved about it. What sheâs been throughâthe concussion stuff, the weird limbo of recovery, the way sheâs had to just sit and wait and not knowâitâs brutal. Jo saw it wear on her. The silence in the locker room, the way her laugh dulled, how sheâd have to hole herself up in a dark and quiet room because of the pain. But sheâs smiling again. Shooting again. And her release looks like it always hasâclean and confident.
Azziâs close, too. Her kneeâs held her out for a while now, but the teamâs been careful. Not rushing. Playing the long game. Joâs missed playing with her, missed the gravity she brings, the way defenses panic when Azzi even glances at the arc. Having her back is huge.
And the timing couldnât be better.
Because after this weekend, the NCAA Tournament is right there. And at UConn, under Geno Auriemma, itâs not about getting there. Itâs not even about Final Fours. Itâs not about anything less than winning the whole damn thing. Natty or bust. Always. Jo grew up watching that standard. Sheâs living it now.
They announced the Big East awards this morning. Joâs still sort of processing it. Not because she doesnât think sheâs earned them. She knows what sheâs done. She knows what sheâs poured into this season. But to win both Big East Player and Freshman of the Year is rare. Paige was the last to do it.
And she beat out Maddy Siegrist for conference Player of the Year, too, which is slightly insane when she really thinks about it. Siegristâs been crazy all year. If Joâs not mistaken sheâs actually led the nation in scoring this season. Jo guesses the committee mustâve seen something else in herâsomething broader. Leadership, maybe. Defense. Playmaking. The little things. The winning. Because UConnâs record is better. The numbers back it up.
First-team All-Big East. Thatâs her, Aaliyah, and Lou. Dorka and Nika made Second-team, and Nika got Defensive Player of the Year. Aaliyah is Most Improved.
Even with the team being so injured, itâs a sweep. And Joâs proud of all of it. She really is. But sheâs not floating. Not celebrating. Not letting it really settle in her head at all.
Because the jobâs not done.
None of the awards matter if they lose in the Big East championship (they wonât). None of it means anything if they flame out in the Sweet Sixteen. No one remembers the accolades of you donât back them up when it counts. Jo knows that.
Which is why she went so hard in practice today. And then, afterwards, when she stayed with Paige in the gym for extra work like theyâve done for months now. Shooting, handles, that kinda thing.
Which is why Jo is now dying.
Likeânot metaphorically, not in the dramatic, attention-seeking way she sometimes jokingly pulls after sprints when Nikaâs yelling at her to stop flopping around. No, this feels different. This is the kind of dying where her legs are jelly, her lungs are still catching up from the extra shooting drills, and thereâs an honest, sincere moment where she thinks, Okay, maybe I shouldâve stopped twenty minutes ago before Paige made me do that third round of one-dribble pull-ups.
But itâs not like she couldâve said no. She never says no. Not when itâs Paige asking. Not when itâs just the two of them, the gum quiet except for sneakers squeaking, rebounding for each other the way theyâve done all season. It doesnât even feel like extra work anymore. It feels like something else. Just something they do.
But now Jo is laid flat across the locker room bench like a corpse, one arm flopped dramatically over her stomach, the other curled at her side. Sheâs still sweating through her practice tee, her face damp, chest rising and falling with shallow, almost theatrical breaths. Paige sits next to her, with Joâs head is pillowed in her lap. Her fingers are dragging gently through Joâs hair, smoothing it back behind her ears. The locker room is empty but for the two of them.
Jo doesnât open her eyes, but she knows Paige is staring down at her. She feels it. The weighted, blue gaze that makes the air buzz against her cheekbones. Her whole body feels heavy and sort of floaty at the same time, like her bones are dissolving right into Paigeâs lap.
âYou did good today,â Paige murmurs, voice quiet and warm and a little scratchy. âReal proud.â
Jo groans immediately, a low, pained sound that comes straight from her gut. âNo. It killed me. Iâm dying.â
She doesnât even try to sound tough. Whatâs the point? Paige saw her gasping for air after the last few shooting sets. Saw her grimacing through the last of the sprints, hands on her knees, dripping sweat. Joâs not entirely above playing it up a little with Paige, eitherâjust for sympathy, a little attention. It earns her more of Paigeâs hand in her hair, fingers dragging down to scratch lightly at her scalp. It feels good.
Paige laughs softly. Itâs more of a huff through her nose, but itâs affectionate and Jo hears the smile in it.
âWell,â Paige replies, clearly amused, âat least you look good dying.â
That gets Jo to crack one eye open. Just barely. The locker room is blurry at first, but Paigeâs face is sharp and glowing in the center of it. That stupid little grin on her lips. The teasing glint in her eyes. And sheâs looking at Jo like she always doesâlike Jo is hers and Paige is still not sure how it happened but sheâs not complaining about it.
Jo swallows and reaches up without thinking, hand curling around the back of Paigeâs neck. Her palm is clammy, but Paige doesnât flinch. Doesnât pull away.
âCâmere,â Jo mutters, voice hoarse and low, tugging gently.
She means it. Sheâs trying to pull Paige down for a kiss, make some kind of reward out of this moment, because sheâs certainly earned it after all the buckets and the defense and the sprinting and the dying.
Paige leans forward with it but doesnât get close enough at all. She laughs again. âBaby,â she says, âmy back doesnât bend that way.â
Itâs such a small word. Barely there. Tossed out like nothing. But it explodes in Joâs chest like a firework. She doesnât show it, but she feels it.
Paige doesnât call her that often. Usually itâs Joey in that fond voice, or the God-awful JoJo nickname in a teasing way. But when she does call her thatâwhen she says it in that low, almost lazy voice, like Jo is some kind of secret sheâs been keeping closeâit makes Jo feel warm. Claimed. Like theyâre more than something without a name.
They havenât talked about it. Not officially. Not really. They act like a couple. They kiss and fuck like one, too. But they donât say what it all means. Joâs been too scared to ask. Paige has never been in an actual relationship and Joâs last one ended in the worst way they can. So, sheâs got no spine about it, and she knows it.
She keeps telling herself sheâs fine with it. That it doesnât matter. That it feels real, and thatâs enough.
Instead of thinking anymore about it, Jo just groans again and shifts, using what little strength she has left to sit up slightly, just enough to reach Paige properly this time. Her face is close now. Close enough to kiss.
And so she doesnât show.
No words, just action. Just Jo leaning in and pressing her mouth against Paigeâs like itâs the most obvious next step. Because it is. Because Paige called her baby, and Joâs brain short-circuited, and now sheâs just following instinct.
The kiss deepens, and Jo chases itâleans into it like sheâs leaning into a cut to the rim, like thereâs no stopping, no pivoting away. Paige opens her mouth a little and Jo takes full advantage, tongue slipping in. Thereâs this noise that Paige makes thenâtiny, caught in the back of her throatâthat makes Joâs stomach flip violently.
Joâs still sort of half on the bench, half off it, one knee digging into the vinyl cushion. But then Paige shifts, her hands sliding down Joâs ribs. Jo moves with them, body rearranging in the space. She ends up straddling Paigeâs lap, her arms around her neck, their chests pressed together. The sweat cooling on her skin makes her shirt cling awkwardly in places, but she doesnât care. Doesnât even notice.
All she notices is Paigeâs hands splayed on her back, fingers warm and patient, one curling into the hem of Joâs shirt, brushing soft over bare skin. She notices the way Paige kisses her like she means it, tongue licking into Joâs mouth.
Jo tilts her head, parting her lips wider, pushing deeper. Paige tastes like minty gum and the Gatorade she had at the end of practice and something thatâs just Paige. Itâs addicting. She doesnât even care if her legs are still trembling or if her heartâs beating like itâs trying to hammer through her ribs.
She lets out a breath against Paigeâs cheek, nuzzling into the edge of her jaw for just a second. âJesus,â she whispers.
âMm?â Paige murmurs, eyes fluttering half open.
âYou trying to kill me?â Paige asks, voice teasing, but not entirely joking.
Paige smirks, pulling her even closer. âThought you were already dying.â
Jo huffs a breath that turns into a laugh and kisses her again, harder now, hand tangling in Paigeâs hoodie collar as if she could disappear into her if she just pulled hard enough.
She settles her weight fully in Paigeâs lap, thighs bracketing her hips, breath catching a little when Paigeâs hands shift lower, palming at her ass through her basketball shorts.
Itâs perfect. Itâs theirs. Other than right before bed, they hardly ever get thisânot really. Not with time and space and no one around to ruin it. Itâs rare, this kind of peace and quiet.
Which is, of course, when the door swings open.
They jump apart like theyâve been tasered.
Joâs whole body jolts, heart plummeting as her eyes fly to the door. Paige curses under her breath, her hands leaving Joâs ass like it burned her. Jo scrambles to move, to shift off Paigeâs lap and find something approaching decency, even though itâs so fucking obvious what was happening.
And standing in the doorway is Celeste Sinclair. Red hair tied into a low ponytail, camera bag slung over one shoulder, UConn hoodie riding up a little on one side like sheâs been rushing. She freezes when she sees them. Her eyebrows lift. Her eyes do this weird, flicking double-take that makes Jo want to crawl out of her skin.
Itâs only a second. Maybe two.
But Jo can feel itâfeel the calculus happening behind Celesteâs eyes. The math of it. Jo sitting in Paigeâs lap. Lips probably still pink and swollen. Paigeâs hands still halfway in the air.
âSorry,â Celeste says, voice clipped and a little too sharp. Then, slower, eyes lingeringâjust for a second too longâon Paige, âUm. Sorry. Iâll just⌠go.â
She doesnât look at Jo again. Just turns and walks back out the door, the sound of it clicking shut behind her deafening.
Jo exhales, breath rattling in her chest. Sheâs still kneeling on the bench, one foot on the floor, legs shaking a little from effort and adrenaline. Her hands are braces on her thighs like she needs to steady herself.
She shifts off Paigeâs lap entirely now, settling next to her on the bench. Not touching. Her skin suddenly feels too warm, like her body hasnât caught up to the fact that theyâre not making out anymore. Her heart wonât slow down.
Paige groans beside her, dragging a hand down her face. âGod,â she mutters. âOf all people.â
Jo glances sideways. âYou think sheâll say anything?â
Paigeâs jaw tenses. She shakes her head like sheâs not sure. âI should goâtalk to her. Make sure she doesnât.â
Jo just nods. Because, yeah, that needs to happen. No one knows about them. Not Azzi. Not Ice. Not Aubrey. Not Caroline. Not Geno. Not CD. Not anyone. And theyâve liked it that way. Itâs been theirs, in the quiet between games and the sweat between practices. It hasnât gotten messy because itâs been private.
Sheâs about to say something when Paige leans in, gentle again, a hand lifting to Joâs cheek. She kisses her once, quick, a quiet reassurance.
âBe right back,â she murmurs, then stands and walks out, hoodie sleeves pushed up, bun slightly messed up because of Joâs hands.
Jo stays there, alone on the bench.
And all she can think is: Well, shit. Coverâs blown.
Not running, but almost. Her sneakers are too loud against the hallway tile, the slap of rubber echoing in the quiet post-practice stillness of the facility. Itâs always like this when theyâre the last ones in the gymâquiet in a way that feels peaceful. But not now. Now, her stomach is doing somersaults and her chest is tight like she just did suicides.
She doesnât even fully know what sheâs about to say. She just knows she has to catch Celeste before she leaves, has to do something to shut it down before it becomes a thing. Before anyone else finds out. Because as much as she doesnât want to hide Jo, itâs not like theyâve really had a conversation about any of this. What they are, what theyâre doing. Itâs just been⌠them. In pieces. In stolen time. Quiet. Private. Safe.
So, when she sees that familiar red ponytail swaying down the hallway ahead of her, her voice cuts through before she even decides what to say.
The girl stopsâslowly. Turns around even slower. Thereâs something in her eyes, sharp and tired at the same time.
âWhat?â she asks flatly. Like sheâs bored. Like Paige has already wasted her time.
Paige blanches. Her body keeps moving, but her brain just stalls out. She wasnât expecting that tone. That edge. Celeste has always been a little cocky, yeah, a little smug, but never cold. Never even really annoyed.
Paige stops a few feet away, mouth opening and closing once, then again. Her hands twitch awkwardly at her sides. She doesnât know if she should smile, be casual, be direct, be defensive. All of it feels wrong.
âUm,â she starts. âIâabout what you sawâŚâ
Celeste tilts her head, lips pressing into a thin line. âWhat, you and Jo Jacobsonâyour puppy-eyed freshman teammateâabout to fuck in the locker room?â
Paigeâs brows lift like sheâs been physically smacked. âJesus, bro,â she says automatically, startled and stumbling. âWe were not about to fuck in there.â
And that part is true. They werenât. That wasnât the point of it. They were justâwell, okay, they were definitely making out, but it wasnât like that. But Celeste is staring her down with something curled and bitter in her bright green eyes, like she doesnât believe a single word coming out of Paigeâs mouth.
âSure looked like it,â Celeste mutters.
Paige sighs hard and runs a hand down her face, dragging it along her jaw. Thereâs sweat still crusted under her nails from the extra reps with Jo. Despite hardly practicing, just doing the little things she can, her body is tired. Her heart is loud. Her patience is frayed.
âOkay,â she says, âI justâcan you please keep whatever you thought you saw to yourself? Please?â
Celeste stares at her for a beat. Then she laughsâbut itâs not a real laugh. Itâs short and humorless, more of a bark than anything else. Her eyes flick to the floor, then back up, and she nods slowly. Mockingly.
âOh, you wanna keep her a secret?â she concludes, mouth twitching at the corners. âLike you kept me a secret?â
Paigeâs stomach lurches, becauseâwhat?
She blinks, feels her throat close up. That doesnât even make sense. Thatâs not even close to how it went. But Celesteâs expression doesnât shiftâsheâs still got that sharpness to her face, like sheâs trying to see how deep she can twist the knife. Like she means to get under Paigeâs skin.
âBro,â Paige says again, brows pulling together. Her voice is still calm, but thereâs disbelief under it now. âIt wasnât even like that with us.â
Because it wasnât. They were never anything even remotely close to real. They hooked up a good amount, yes. There were a couple times when they were so drunk it would result in a sleepover. And, over the summer, sometimes Paige would flirt with her during her media duties. But they never even went on a date. Never saw each other outside of necessity with basketball or in bed. Celeste flirted all the time, yeah, still sort of does, but Paige never encouraged anything beyond physical. She made that line clear.
Celeste scoffsâloud, exaggeratedâand looks away like sheâs trying not to roll her eyes straight into the back of her skull. âRight.â
Paige takes a breath. Itâs one of those sharp, tight ones that hits her ribs in the way down and doesnât quite go all the way. Like her body wonât let her breathe easy until she figures out how the fuck this whole thing went from âwhoops, we got caught kissingâ to blackmail threat from a bitter ex situationship. Which is just great. Wonderful. Just what she needed on top of an aching knee, exhausting rehab, and a tournament sheâs not even playing in yet beyond anxious for.
Tentatively, she tries, âAre you mad because I told you to stop texting me?â
Itâs not accusatory, just curious. It makes senseâthis being less about what Celeste saw and more about how she felt when Paige fully pulled the plug on them (which, for the record, they never even were a them). Last month, the texts had started up againâsome related to media shit, yeah( but some that were just⌠kinda obvious. âWhatâre you up to tonight?â âWant to come over?â âMiss your face.â Stuff that had Iâm still thinking about you naked as the entrĂŠe but also with a side order of maybe I want to hang out and talk, too.
And Paige had shut it down. Nicely. But firmly. Because even if she and Jo arenât official, even if they havenât labeled anything or had the talkâPaige knows exactly where her headâs at. She doesnât want anyone else. Not even a little bit. Not ever.
Celeste narrows her eyes. âYou are so smart, Paige,â she says sarcastically, before sighing. âI thought we were friends outside of the fucking. You made it seem like you liked me. Like you saw more than just one of the teamâs Instagram admins.â
That hits Paige in a way she wasnât exactly prepared for. Because Celeste sounds genuinely hurt now, not just defensive. Itâs different. Real. And, yeah, okayâmaybe there was a time where she leaned in too much. Maybe her being nice looks a lot like flirting if you donât know her well enough. Paige has always been told she gives confusing signals. Too much eye contact. Too much laughing. Too much attention.
But it was never intentional. And it definitely wasnât a promise.
Still, she softens, just a little. âIâm sorry âbout that,â Paige says, and she means it.
Celeste scoffs again and repeats, âRight.â
And then she adds, tossing it out like a rock through a window, âI wonder what the coaching staff would think about two of their players fucking around this late in the season. Hm.â
Paigeâs stomach drops. She hears her own heartbeat in her ears and her mind immediately starts running worse-case scenarios.
What would Geno say? Or CD? Or Jamelle?
Would they be pissed? Would they make them stop? Would it be a whole thing? Would the narrative become that theyâre distractions to each other? Would Jo get blamed for it, even though Jo has literally never done a selfish thing in her life? Would there be whispers about the team dynamic being thrown off, even if itâs not true? Would the postseason get tainted by this?
She doesnât know the answer to any of those questions. And she doesnât want to.
âCeleste, câmon,â Paige says, and thereâs an edge of urgency to her voice now. She drops the posture, the tension in her jaw. Just puts it out there, raw and real. âDonât say anything. Please.â
Celeste takes a step forward. âWhy should I do anything for you?â she asks, voice cold. âOr, for that matter,â she adds, gesturing toward the locker room with a flick of her fingers, âyour little bitch in there? I donât owe either of you anything.â
There it is. The moment something shifts in Paige, a snap.
Because Jo is not a bitch.
Jo is all soft t-shirts and messy buns and shy smiles. Jo is late-night ice cream runs and twirling her pen in her mouth while she takes film notes. Jo is bright pink lip gloss and knee pads and unrelenting kindness, even when sheâs bone-tired. Jo is the person Paige reaches for without even realizing it. The person who laughs at all her jokes and hums when sheâs thinking and flushes when Paige calls her baby.
Jo is everything. Jo is hers. Not exactly in a claiming, possessive way. More in a Iâll protect this girl with my entire fucking chest If I have to way.
And Celeste Sinclair doesnât get to talk about her like that.
Paige steps forward, looks down at the redhead steadily, showers set. âDonât,â she says, low and controlled.
The word hangs there between them. Itâs not loud, not even really forceful. Just steady. It lands like a stone dropped into waterâclean, deep, no ripple.
For a second, something in Celesteâs expression flickers. Her mouth parts just slightly, like maybe sheâs going to double down, say something cruel again, make this even messier. Paige holds her ground, doesnât move a muscle. Her jaw is tight and she kisses her teeth.
Celeste shifts a little on her feet. Her shoulders relax just slightly, eyes sliding down Paigeâs frame slowly. Almost like sheâs assessing. Thereâs more behind it than just annoyance. Her lips curveânot all the way into a smile, but something close.
âYou know,â she says, voice low now. Different tone entirely, like she flipped a switch. She leans closer. âI gotta say⌠youâre kinda hot when youâre pissed, Paige.â
Paige blinks. She genuinely almost laughs in the girlâs face at how utterly ridiculous it is. Are they not adults now? Sure, Paige can be childish sometimes but this is insane. Thereâs no wayâno wayâCeleste is actually doing this right now. Not after threatening to rat her out. Not after calling Jo a bitch. Not when Paige is standing here one wrong move away from a full-blown crash-out.
âAre you serious?â Paige asks in disbelief. âYou just went from threatening me toâwhat? Hitting on me again?â ďżź
Celeste shrugs, all fake nonchalance. âI mean⌠I can still want you and be mad at you. Those things arenât mutually exclusive.â
Paige makes a faceâis this girl bipolar or something? Sure seems like it.
The blonde shakes her head slowly. âYou donât get to flirt your way outta this.â
âIâm not trying to flirt my way out of anything,â Celeste replies, stepping back half a foot, but her tone still has that same slanted heat to it. âJust saying⌠maybe if youâd handled things differently, we wouldnât be out here right now.â
That pisses Paige off in a different way. The insinuation that Celeste is the victim here just because Paige didnât fall into some situationship she never wanted in the first place.
âI handled it the way I had to,â Paige says, firm. âI wasnât tryna be a dick, âkay? I thought I was clear. I didnât want more with you. Thatâs not personal. But Iâm not gonna apologize for not wantinâ something I didnât want.â
Celeste watches her for a long second, fiery green eyes flicking across Paigeâs face. Then, her arms drop to her sides, some of the tension leaving her. Like the mask has been peeled off, or at least tilted.
âYou really like her, huh?â she asks, quieter now.
âYeah,â Paige says immediately, simply. Because thereâs no question to it. âI do.â
Celeste nods once. Looks away, then back. Her mouth is a tight line now.
âIâm not gonna say anything,â she mutters. âAlright?â
Paige exhales. Itâs not fully relief, but itâs close. âThank you,â she says, cautious but real.
âDonât thank me,â Celeste mutters, already turning. âIâm not doing it for you.â
She walks away without another word.
Paige watches her go, heart still beating a little too fast. She doesnât move for a moment. Just stands there, staring at the spot where Celeste disappears around the corner. She doesnât trust her. Not all the way. Not even mostly. Thereâs a chance this could still blow up later, or get messy, or turn into a headache down the line. But for now, itâs done. It has to be.
She scrubs a hand down her face. Turns on her heel.
And heads back toward the locker room.
THE ROOM SMELLS like garlic bread and takeout containers and the lingering sharpness of victory, all tangled into one heady mix that buzzes around Paigeâs ears. The TVâs on lowâsome menâs game theyâre hardly even watchingâand everyoneâs talking over each other anyway. The hotel roomâs packed, the way it always gets when they congregate after a win, girls half-sitting, half-sprawled across mismatched furniture and the carpet, containers of different pastas balanced on paper plates and knees.
Itâs warm. Not from the heat, but from the closeness, the full-body kind that comes after a weekend of playing your heart out and winning, again, like they always do. Big East Tournament champs. Shocker.
Still. Itâs step toward the real goal, and Paige is proud of her girls.
Paige sits on the bed sheâs claimed as hers (her and Aubrey are sharing a room in Uncasville this weekend), her back against the headboard, legs stretched out in front of her. Joâs right beside her, cross-legged, the hem of her shorts brushing Paigeâs thigh when she shifts to dig around in her pasta container. Paige can feel the heat of her through the thin cotton of her sweats. She fights the urge to just look over at the brunette and stare.
Their teammates still donât know. Celeste has been quiet since that day outside the locker room. No threats, no passive-aggressive commentary tossed into conversation. Paige is grateful for it, but the anxiety hasnât completely dulled. Sheâs still not convinced the redhead wonât change her mind, especially if something rubs her the wrong way. So for now, Paige is doing her best to act normal. No brushing hands under tables, no lingering glances across shootaround, no reasons for anyone to ask questions.
But then she glances at Jo, and thereâs a tiny bit of gold confetti tangled in her hairâcaught behind her ear, near the roots. Leftover from the trophy ceremony earlier, when they were throwing confetti all over each other. Paige blinks at it. Doesnât even think, really. She just reaches.
Her fingers brush against Joâs hair, slow, tugging the shiny piece free. Jo doesnât move. Doesnât flinch or ask what sheâs doing or turn her head. She just keeps twirling her plastic fork around a bite of pasta, like Paigeâs hand in her hair is the most natural thing in the world. She tucks the confetti between her fingers and lets her hand fall back into her lap.
âTry this,â Jo says, out of nowhere, holding her fork up with a twist of unfamiliar pasta on the end âYouâre gonna like it.â
Paige raises an eyebrow. âThatâs what you said about the gnocchi balls last week.â
Jo says, âThose were good.â
âNo, they werenât,â Paige argues, grinning a little.
Jo gives her a look. âCâmon, just take the bite.â She leans over, offers her the fork. Paigeâs brain doesnât even think aboutâoh, maybe itâs a little incriminating for a teammate to be feeding another teammate food if youâre trying to lay low about said teammate and yours relationshipâinstead, she just opens her mouth, lets Jo feed her the pasta. Clearly, sheâs not very good at acting normal with Jo.
âOh,â Paige says, chewing. Itâs good, like really fucking good. âYeah, okay.â
Jo grins and goes back to her container, satisfied.
Paige glances at her againâat her cheeks a little flushed from the heat of the crowded room, at the soft curve of her mouth when she bites into her next forkful. Joâs in her warm-up jacket, sleeves pushed up to her elbows, hair in a messy bun thatâs mostly falling out. She smells faintly like hotel soap and that strawberry body spray she keeps in her locker.
Paige swallows hard, looking back down at her own food.
And misses the way Nika and Azzi are both watching her.
Across the room, Nika leans in close to Azzi and whispers something behind her hand. Azzi raises her eyebrows, very slightly, and then presses her lips together in the worldâs most obvious attempt at acting normal. Paige doesnât notice it. Sheâs too busy stabbing a piece of chicken parm and pretending her mouth isnât still warm from the fork Jo fed her with.
Her head buzzes a little. From the food, maybe. From the win. From the feeling of Joâs knee against her thigh again. From how careful sheâs trying to be, and how hard it is to not look at Jo the way she wants to, the way that comes natural to her. Itâs always easier when itâs just the two of them. But out here, with the whole team packed into the room, she has to be a little more carefulâsheâs determined to be.
(Sheâs not very good at it.)
She bites into a cold breadstick. Forces herself to pay attention to Liliâs rant about the lack of sleep she got last night due to Yanna snoring like a man in their room.
Eventually, Paige finishes the last bite of her chicken parmesan, plastic fork scraping softly against the bottom of the takeout container. She lets out a sigh as she leans over and sets the empty box on the hotel nightstand. She glances to her right, where Joâs listening to Ines yap about God knows what, her accent sharper than usual. Joâs not eating anymore, her container of pasta sitting untouched in her lap, her fork abandoned to the side, fully focused on Ines, mouth curled up slightly in the corners in that soft way she gets when sheâs genuinely amused.
Paige nudges her with her elbow. âYou done?â she asks, nodding toward the food.
Jo doesnât say anything. She doesnât need to. She just hands the container over wordlessly, knowing Paige well enough by now to read the question for what it really is: Can I finish it?
Paige grins. This pasta is goodâcreamy and buttery and wildly overpriced, but still.
At the end of the bed, Ice notices the hand-off and snorts. âFatass.â
Paige doesnât even look up. She just stretches her leg out, kicking Ice square in the shin, still grinning as she shovels another bite into her mouth. âShut up,â she says around a mouthful of pasta, completely unbothered.
Paige keeps eating wordlessly, occasionally listening to the several different conversations around her and thinking about the weekend. Three games in three days. Lili was incredible in the post, Nika her normal defensive menace. Jo, per usual, balled out, dropping three twenty-plus point games easy. She was named MVP.
Paige played her role, tooâCoach P, hyping the girls up, arguing with the refs for them, the usual agenda for her bench role.
Sheâs really proud of the whole team. Back in August, when she tore her ACL, so many people doubted them, thought they wouldnât be able to get by without her. But theyâve done it, and theyâve done it well. Itâs all building toward the real thing they all want. And, tonight, they get to feel it a little. The calm before the madness of March truly hits.
She takes another bite of pasta, leaning back into the headboard, letting herself enjoy it. This is one of those rare little pockets of peace. Warm, crowded hotel room. Her people. Good food. And Jo right beside her.
As Ines tells her story, half the room engaged, half the room sprawled and tired, Paige notices Jo moving. She scoots just a bit closer, like gravityâs pulling her in, her head tilting before dropping right into Paigeâs shoulder.
Paige tenses a little, even though it could be passed off as an entirely friendly gesture. Best friends do stuff like this.
She glances down, eyes flicking toward Joâs face. Joâs not looking back. Sheâs just resting there, body soft and still, eyes focused on Ines. But the closer Paige looks, the more she sees the little tellsâhow her eyelids are lower than usual, her whole body loose in that way that only happens when sheâs too tired to keep herself upright. Her hand rests lightly on her stomach, and her breathingâs already slowing. Sheâs exhausted.
Which makes sense. Paige saw the numbers after the gameâJo led the team in minutes, barely came off the floor all weekend. She was everywhere, doing everything. And Paige is proud. She wants to wrap her arms around her and say it straight into her neck. Wants to say, you were the best player in the building all weekend and Iâm sort-of in love with you for it. But, obviously, she canât here and now.
Quickly, though, the room starts to thin out. Everyoneâs full, sleepy, the kind of tired that settles into your bones after a weekend of adrenaline and back-to-back games and nonstop noise. Caroline stands first, stretching with a groan.
âOkay, time for bed,â she says, rubbing at her face and grabbing her phone off the edge of Aubreyâs bed.
âYup,â Aaliyah immediately says from her spot on the couch, already halfway out of the blanket cocoon she made. âI need my eight hours tonight.â
âBro, you never get eight hours,â Yanna mumbles as she pulls herself off the floor, and Ines nods in solidarity, reaching for her shoes.
âFacts,â Ice adds, unplugging her phone charger from the wall.
Itâs a chorus of tired bodies and half-laughs and sleepy groans as everyone starts collecting their things. Paigeâs eyes flick over them out of habit, but mostly they stay locked on Jo. Not even on purpose, really. Itâs just automatic at this point, how her gaze always finds her. Like her body notices the space Jo takes up in a room before her brain does.
Jo sits up with a quiet sigh, and Paige watches her rub her eyes with the heel of her palm like a little kid. Her voice comes out low, a little croaky with fatigue. âYeah, I need sleep.â
Paige doesnât say anything, just watches her move. Watches the way Jo pulls her sweatshirt over her head, stretching just enough to make her shirt lift up a little. The movement is barely anything, completely unremarkable, but Paige still tracks itâeyes dragging slowly, lazily, like she doesnât even mean to.
Jo turns toward her. She gives her a smileâtiny, barely-there, softâand pinches her right on the underside of her arm. Not hard, but not gentle either. Just enough to make her flinch.
âOw,â Paige says, squinting and rubbing the spot.
Jo grins, standing and reaching down to grab her phone and its charger where theyâre laying on the floor. âNight,â she says, before leaning into Azziâs side hug, wrapping an arm briefly around her shoulders.
And then sheâs walking out with the rest of the girls, slipping into the hallway with a quiet goodnight.
And Paige is a little bothered about it. She wants to sleep next to Jo tonight. Sheâs used to it by now, the nights at home default because they live together, and the schemes for away games when they switch with Dorka and Ice.
But they have new hotel roommates for the post season, random room assignments they didnât even get to rig. And theyâre supposed to be acting lowkey right now, so they didnât try to switch.
Theyâre doing a terrible job at it apparently.
Because the door clicks shut behind Ice, and now itâs just Paige and Aubreyâsince itâs their roomâand Azzi and Nika, who havenât moved. Paige glances over, confused when she catches the way theyâre both looking at her: expectant, suspicious. Like they know something.
âWhat?â she asks, standing up, stretching slightly before she bends to gather her and Joâs takeout containers into one stack.
She walks over, tosses them into the little trash can. They watch her the whole time. And then Nika snorts. Paige hears it before she sees the grin. That little smirk of hers always gives her away.
âBro,â the Croatian girl says, âhow long have you and Jo been a thing?â
Paige chokes. Literally. On nothing. Just inhales wrong on pure panic and starts coughing like she swallowed her own tongue.
Aubrey bursts out laughing immediately, leaning over from her bed to smack Paige on the back. âYou got it,â she says between giggles, like this is the funniest thing sheâs ever seen.
Paige pulls away from her, still coughing, face warm now for a completely different reason. âIâwhatâwhatâre you even talking about?â she asks, voice rough.
Nika raises both her eyebrows, unimpressed. Azzi leans forward now, too, arms crossed, expression unreadable in that calm way she gets when sheâs not buying your shit.
âJo and I arenât a thing,â Paige says, more weakly this time, and she hears it in her own voiceâhow flimsy it sounds. How not believable. She wants to crawl inside herself and disappear.
Azzi doesnât blink. âPaige, please. Weâre not stupid.â
âWeâre your best friends,â Nika adds, like itâs the simplest fact in the world. âWe know you.â
âMhm,â Aubrey hums from her bed, not even looking up from the text sheâs typing.
Paige stands there, trying to figure out how the hell sheâs supposed to lie her way out of this right now. Because the three of them are looking at her like they already knowânot like theyâre guessing. Like theyâre just waiting for her to stop denying.
She opens her mouth again. âWeâre notââ she says. And then stops.
Because, with the way theyâre staring at her, she already knows this will be a losing battle. So, whatâs the point?
She sinks into the bed like her bones have been replaced with sandbags, back hitting the headboard. Her stomachâs full, but her chest feels like itâs slowly caving in. Like someone cracked it open and left the door swinging.
Sheâs never been good at hiding things from her friendsâor anyone, reallyâbut she thought she was doing better than this. Apparently not.
She stares at the wall across the room for a second, then drops her eyes to her lap, the edge of the blanket twisted in her fingers.
âHowâd you know?â she asks finally. âDid Celeste tell you?â
Nika makes a face, wrinkling her nose. âWhy would Celeste Sinclair tell us?â
Thereâs a pause, and then Azzi, always fast, always surgical with her intuition, cuts in, âDoes Celeste know?â
Paigeâs head snaps up. âIâno,â she denies fast, shaking her head before Azzi can press it. âShe doesnât. Justâjust tell me. Howâd you figure it out?â
Azzi gives her this look, like sheâs almost insulted it wasnât obvious to Paige herself. Then she says, flatly, âWell, for starters, you literally told Aubrey and I that you liked her in October.â
That makes Paige groan, head titling back against the headboard, eyes closed.
âCanât believe you didnât tell me,â Nika mutters.
âYou werenât there that night for the crash out,â Paige says, waving a hand at her, like that explains everythingâwhich, to her, it definitely does.
That night is seared into her brain like a tattoo. She remembers everythingâthe quiet guilt, the post-sex clarity, how fast her chest filled with panic. Celesteâs skin still warm under her hands when she realized she didnât want this, didnât want her. That sheâd been trying to outrun a feeling that had already caught her. Jo. Sheâd left quickly, rushing to Aubreyâs apartment at two in the fucking morning, still smelling like Celeste and half-hating herself. Azzi had been there, too. Sheâd confessed like she was throwing up.
It was a mess. She was a mess.
(Sheâs better now. Mostly. Not spiraling as much. Not fucking people just to forget she wants someone else.)
âYou were so miserable after you realized and told us,â Azzi says now, her tone gentler, doe eyes soft. âEspecially when her ex was in town. And then, once they broke up, you, like⌠stopped being your miserable mopey self youâd been.â
âExactly,â Nika says, nodding. âSo, how longâs it been goinâ on?â
Paige hesitates. She glances between the three of them. Azziâs sitting across from Paigeâs bed on one of the chairs, fingers curls around one of her socks like sheâs waiting to pull it off but got distracted by drama. Aubreyâs stretched out on her bed, knees bent, brows raised, very much amused. Nikaâs on the floor, leant back against the dresser, legs sprawled out like sheâs ready to stay as long as it takes.
Theyâre her people. They always have been. Even if she wanted to lie, she wouldnât be able to. They already know.
She exhales hard through her nose, mouth twitching, and says, âOkay, uhâwe kissed for the first time when I went on that ski trip with her family for Christmasââ
âBro, that was, like, right after her and that guy broke up!â Nika exclaims, sitting up straighter like sheâs caught a scandal.
âStop,â Paige says quickly, not even looking at her. âDonâtâdonât bring him up.â
Because it stings. Still. Not in the way it used to, not in that sharp, jealous way that kept her up at nightâbut in a deeper, quieter way now. Because it makes her wonder sometimes if she was just the warm body next to Asher. If Jo kisses her because she was close and safe and already there. But Jo never made her feel like that. Not once. And that was months ago now.
Paige shakes her head a little and keeps going. âAnyways. We kissed there. And then we talked âbout it. And then it kinda became a âbest friends who make out and cuddle but arenât datingâ typa situation.â
Aubreyâs expression says obviously.
Paige scratches the back of her neck. âAnd then we fucked for the first time after the Tennessee game.â
Azzi blinks. âWaitâafter she hurt her ankle?â
Aubrey makes a noise of disbelief, eyebrows shooting up.
âHer ankle was fine!â Paige defends. âShe said it was fine, I didnâtâlikeâI didnât pressure her or anything. It was a mutual, fully healed-up, consensual ankle situation.â
The other three start laughing. Paige lets them. Because whatever. It was fine. Sheâs not explaining the post-game hotel room events. No one needs to know Jo had ice on her ankle while they were fucking. Not relevant.
Azzi recovers first, her tone shifting a little, more curious than teasing now. âSo⌠what are you guys now?â
That stops Paige. She looks down at her hands, fingers curling over the blanket again. Itâs the question sheâs been dodging in her own head.
âNothing official,â she finally answers. âBut weâre not seeinâ anyone else. And itâit feels real.â
The word hangs there. Real.
Because it does. Itâs not some high school fling or college situationship. Itâs not an impulsive rebound or a secret thing they pretend doesnât matter. Itâs brushing teeth next to each other. Itâs cooking together (or, well, usually DoorDashing, actually). Itâs wearing each otherâs clothes. Itâs looking at each other like theyâre already theirs.
âAnd weâre always together,â Paige says, softer now. âAnd IâIâve never been in an actual relationship, but it⌠seems to be goinâ in that direction. If we ever actually talk about it.â
She lets that hang in the air, watching how the three of them take it in.
Azzi nods thoughtfully before locking eyes with Paige. âDâyou want her to be your girlfriend?â she asks, voice soft like sheâs being careful not to spook her.
With this answer, Paige doesnât hesitate. âYes.â
The word is out of her mouth before she has a chance to second guess it, and the moment itâs hanging in the room, she kind of wants to pull it back, like sheâs said too much, like it cracked something open inside her she wasnât ready for.
Because of course she wants that. Of course she wants Jo. Wants to walk into practice without pretending that she didnât fall asleep the night before with Joâs hand under her shirt and her leg slung across Paigeâs thigh. Wants to kiss her in public. Wants to hold her hand when sheâs anxious. Wants to introduce her to people as her girlfriend and not have to glance at her first, like is that okay? are we okay?
But even saying itâyesâfeels like walking a tightrope. Like admitting too much too soon. Like if she gets too close to the truth of how much she feels, itâll all unravel.
Azzi tilts her head, studying her. âAre you gonna ask her?â
Paige blows out a breath and scrubs a palm down her face. âIâIâmma figure it out, okay?â she says, voice quieter now. âAfter the tournament.â
And thatâs the truth. Thatâs the only way she can even frame it in her mind without worrying. Thereâs a wall around this time of yearâMarch is sacred, locked inâand they all know it. Itâs tunnel vision now. Thereâs no space for messiness or what-ifs or fragile beginnings that might fall apart if they get poked too hard.
This is what theyâve worked all season for. This is what everythingâs about. And as much as Jo mattersâmore than anythingâPaige canât risk letting her head drift too far from the game.
Azzi, Nika, and Aubrey all nod at that, agreeing. Itâs better to leave the big emotional swings for later. Win first. Figure it out after. Priorities.
But then Nika turns her head, eyes narrowing a little, not harshâjust quiet. Just a little hurt. âWhy didnât you tell us?â
Paigeâs stomach twists. That question hits lower than the others. Itâs not accusing, exactly, but it lands heavily. Because these are her best friends, and she kept it from them.
She sighs again, her body sagging forward slightly as she leans her forearms on her knees, staring at the comforter. She doesnât know how to make them understand without sounding like sheâs trying to justify hiding it. That was never the point.
âIt wasnât about not telling you,â Paige says finally. âIt was about us figurinâ things out firstâwhich, we havenât. Not really.â
She looks up at them, trying to keep her voice even, steady, like she means it all and wants them to believe her.
âWeâre in the most important part of the season,â she says. âAnd we were scared that if something happened, it might mess with the team. Like, the vibe, the chemistryâall of it. And I donât even wanna know what Coach or CD or the rest of the staff would say or think. We just wanted everyone to focus on March. Focus on what weâre all here for. And figure everything else out after.â
The last word ends with a kind of finality. After. Like thereâs a promised world waiting for them just past the edge of April. Where they can breathe. Where they donât have to hide.
Azzi nods slowly. Aubrey crosses her arms over her stomach and leans her head back against the wall. Nika drops her gaze to the carpet, thoughtful, chewing at the inside of her cheek.
They get it. They donât have to say they doâPaige can tell. Theyâre not pushing her anymore. Because, at the end of the way, theyâre ball players before anything else. They know what the stakes are.
Paige shifts a little on the bed and looks at them again, voice softer. âCan you guys not tell Jo that you know?â she asks.
Azzi furrows her brows. âWhy? Why more secrets?â
Paige shakes her head, quick, already hearing how it soundsâparanoid, dramatic, unnecessary. But itâs not. Not to her.
âBecause I think sheâll freak out if she knows,â she says honestly. âAt least, right now. You know how anxious she gets. And itâs not likeâsheâs not ashamed or anything. Itâs just⌠itâs already been hard enough figuring this out, the two of us. She didnât even know she liked girls before this. I just wanna figure things out forreal between the two of us before she really has to worry. Yâknow?â
She pauses, fingers messing with the blanket again. âI donât want her overthinking it. Or shutting down. I just⌠I want to keep this safe. Just for us. Until weâre ready.â
Thereâs silence for a second. And then Nika, in a voice a whole lot gentler than usual, says, âOkay, P. We wonât tell.â
Relief floods her body faster than she expected. Her shoulders drop. Her hands unclench. She nods once, a quiet thank you, and lets her head fall back again.
Sheâs not used to sharing stuff like this. Because sheâs never really had this to share. But, for Jo, sheâs gonna try.
