Page 24 of Full Court Crush

Eventually, a shower cubical became free. Keira picked up her own towel and shampoo and ducked into it, quickly shutting the door behind her. The cascade of hot water instantly soothed her aching arms, and she closed her eyes and tilted her head back, letting the water run over her face.

Without any distractions, flashes of the game and all her mistakes flew across her brain like a sped-up projection. A missed layup. Getting sat down in defence. The shower clicked off just as Keira picked up her shampoo to start washing herself. Two voices drifted over the top of the shower cubicle.

“You don’t think anything is going on between them, do you?” half whispered a voice Keira was pretty sure was Lucy.

“I don’t know,” replied another voice. Evie most likely.

“I know I was joking earlier, but it really isn’t like Amelia to batter someone like that.”

“Maybe she pissed her off,” Evie said.

Their voices faded back into the main changing room.

Keira finished her shower quickly, overtaken by a sudden, desperate need to get out of there. She grabbed her things and opened the cubicle door. After taking two steps, she looked up and made direct eye contact with Amelia, who had also just finished her shower. She had wrapped her purple towel around herself, and her dark brown hair sent water droplets trailing down her arms. Her eyes were wide with panic.

I guess she heard them, too.

Keira tried to smile at her, but Amelia averted her gaze and returned to the main changing room. The acrid sting of rejection settled in her stomach.

Keira sighed and shook herself. She was here to play ball. To keep food on the table for herself and her dad. Nothing else. But as she re-entered the main changing room, she couldn’t stop her gaze drifting towards Amelia in the opposite corner. Everyone else was already on their way out the door, and before long, only Amelia and Keira remained. The changing room fell silent, other than the shuffle of clothes. The sound of a zip being done up echoed around the room. Keira felt it as if someone had traced their fingertips up her spine.

Not someone. Amelia.

Keira shuddered.

Residual heat from the hot water made the air stuffy and suffocating, and her efforts to dress herself became more frantic. She flung her used kit into her bag and turned to leave, nearly bumping into Amelia. They faced each other in the small archway that led out of the changing room. Keira became acutely aware of her every breath, her mouth suddenly dry. She could see each individual eyelash that framed Amelia’s aquamarine eyes.

Amelia still wouldn’t look at her.

“Are you okay?” Keira asked, not sure she wanted an honest answer.

“I’m fine,” Amelia said, tone clipped as she looked anywhere but at Keira. Keira sighed. As much as she knew she had to nip this attraction in the bud, she didn’t want that fantasy bubble burst too violently. Still, she pressed on.

“…Are we okay?”

Amelia’s gaze finally met her own, and Keira’s breath caught in her throat. Amelia’s eyes darkened. So many emotions flashed across them that Keira couldn’t keep up. Her whole body buzzed as she tried to persuade her diaphragm to move. Seconds became hours. Her gaze flicked down to Amelia’s lips, which parted with a tiny inhale. Keira’s hands twitched. It wouldn’t take much to close the gap between them. It wouldn’t take much to pin Amelia up against the wall, to discover what those lips tasted like. She could just imaging taking control of the situation like that. Commanding the captain. Finding out exactly what made her tick, and what buttons to push. Keira took a deep breath.

“I gotta go.” Amelia abruptly darted away and out the door.

Keira exhaled, her head spinning. She leant her head back on the wall behind her and closed her eyes, whole body tingling with an undeniable heat. Amelia had run away like a scared animal. Keira couldn’t believe she had come that close to embarrassing herself like that. She gently tapped her head on the rough wall behind her, took a few more deep breaths, and hopefully gave herself enough time to not bump into anyone else.

Chapter 9

Amelia

Ameliacarriedtwoshoppingbags full of crisps, pretzels, and popcorn over the threshold of Coach Grant’s house, following Evie’s dad, Michael, as he led her into the spacious living room.

“You didn’t have to bring all this,” Michael said as he helped Amelia empty the bags onto the solid oak coffee table. “We picked up a bunch of snacks yesterday.”

“You know how much this lot can eat, though,” she pointed out. Entering the room behind them, Evie laughed, arms laden with various dips, hummus, and salsa.

“You need to include yourself in that, Preston,” Evie joked, carefully putting down the glass condiment containers.

One end of the spacious living room was almost fully glazed, overlooking the sizeable garden where the sun was just beginning its descent towards the horizon. She’d witnessed many illustrious sunsets from one of the two large cream sofas, or the single soft chair. The seating was centred around a large wall-mounted flat screen television currently displaying a sports channel. The rich, dark scarlet rug under the coffee table matched the accent art pieces on the walls, and every thread felt as familiar as her own living room carpet. Except for today. Today the room felt disjointed, as if someone had moved all the furniture two inches to the left.

“What time is everyone arriving?” Amelia asked.

“The game starts at seven, so I told them all half six, but who knows.”