Page 12 of Fast Break

Twelve

Palmer

"Palmer, girl, you are on fire!"

Tishawraps her arms around me and nearly squeezes the life out of me."Oof, Tish. I need at least one lung to keepplaying."

"A shutout!"she shouts."It's been two years since my last shutout."

"It's the defense,"I demur, stripping off my jersey and unsnapping my pads.

I hang them on the hook in my locker and toss my jersey in the hamper by the lockers.

The equipment managers will sanitize and pack everything up before they leavetonight.

"They did a great job keeping them out of the arc and avoiding shooting space calls.

I only had a handful of shots I needed to block. "

"Yeah, our defense rocks,"Tishaconcedes."But you did more than block a few shots. You called out thefieldto them, you put them in the right place to make a strong defense. You led out there on thefieldlike you should and that's what got us the win."

"That and Jewel's fast breaks,"Andi, one of the defenders, speaks up."She was a rocket after face-off. You'd think by the second quarter they'd have figured it out."

"They did,"I say."Their defense stepped it up and held us to single digits for the rest of thegame. But they're not as good as our defense."

I fist bump Andi. The excited chatter in the locker room grows quiet whenCoachArkhady walks in to give her post-gamespeech. As she begins,Tishaleans over and whispers in my ear,"Orgasms helping yourgame, huh?"

I side-eye her and she laughs quietly."Don't make me regret telling you,"I grumble.

After Coach's speech and a refreshing shower, I gather my things and follow myteammatesout to the bus that will take us back to the hotel. Our flight home was early in the morning.Tishawalks out with me, trying to hide her wince. I nod at her knee brace."Bothering you again?"

"You mean 'still'?"She sighs."Don't tell anyone, but the last time I met with the docs and we went over the latest imaging, the prognosis is replacement surgery in my future. I've done more than tear a ligament, apparently. Doesn't look like I'll see thefieldat all thisseason."

"Damn,Tisha. I'm so sorry."

She shrugs, thenpullsme away from the crowd while we wait for the rest of theteamto come out.

"It's a good thing I was planning an early retirement, or I'd be more upset.

But theteamis in good hands with you in the crease and, frankly, I'm ready.

I've had astickin my hand since I was four.

I love it. But Manny and I have been thinking about moving.

A great opportunity for him came up, but it means relocating to Wyoming. "

Manny andTishamarried a few years ago. He's a defense contractor in the communicationsfieldworking out of Fort Meade. My mouth drops."So you're not onlyleavingtheteam, you'releavingthe area?"

Tishahoists her bag further up on her shoulder."Looks like it. We've been thinking about having a family. But let's face it. Maryland is freakin' expensive. With a bump in pay and a lower cost of living, we could own a house, two cars, and if I wanted to stay home with a baby I could."

"Your mother won't like it,"I tease.

"I've dropped hints, but she's ignoring them. I may need to find a place that will allow us to move her in with us."

I giggle."Bet Manny would love it."

Tisharolls her eyes."I swear, he should be her child and I should be the in-law. She's probably more upset about him moving than her only daughter."

"Don't say anything to the rest of theteam, though,"Tishareminds me, unnecessarily.

Of course, I won't share her news."Hey, maybe we can double with you andCharliethis weekend.

After our Saturday homegame, we don't play again until Thursday, soCoachwill give us the weekend off. Want to do something Saturday night?"

"I don't think that'd be a good idea,"I said with a grimace."This thing withCharlieand me isn't supposed to involve double dating. That's what couples do and we are not a couple."

"You don't have to be committed to join your friends fordinner.Charlie'smy friend, too. It doesn't have to be weird. I promise not to bring up how he took you glass-smashing, then you did some smashing against the wall."

My insides heat as they do whenever I replay that night in my mind.

It was only a few days ago, but it feels like both eons and only hours.

I haven't seenCharliesince we left for thegame.

He didn't travel with us this time. Imisshim, but I'm not supposed to.

You missed yourboyfriend, not your hookup.

I'm determined to remind myself he is firmly in the latter category, not the former. I shake my head."It's too intimate."

"All right, I get it,"Tisha's look tells me she doesn't really. But she doesn't press."If you change your mind, let me know."

My phone vibrates as I find a seat on the bus, and I can't help the way my heart kicks thinking it'sCharlie.

He'd texted me before thegameto wish me luck, a text I ignored only for the fact I wanted to reply so desperately.

I shouldn't be so eager to reply to someone I'm only sleeping with.

But I'll reply to him now, because whatever else, he is still my friend. It makes sense in my head.

Unfortunately, it isn'tCharlie. It's my father.

He hates talking on the phone, while my mother hates texting.

Sometimes, if they were both mad at me for something—a common occurrence—I would get calls from Mom followed by a barrage of texts from Dad.

I've been avoiding my mother, so I'm not surprised to hear from him.

Dad

Come fordinnertonight. We need to talk to you and your mother hasn't been able to reach you.

Me

Can't. I'm in Iowa. I'll be backtomorrow.

Dad

Fine.Tomorrowthen. 5:00. Don't be late.

I don't bother replying, since it isn't a question. It's a command. I mute notifications and put in my earbuds so I can ignore my life for the nexttwenty hours.