Page 32 of Full Court Crush
Keira put her stuff next to her bag and grabbed her phone charger, plugging it into the socket by the bed and climbed in. A few moments later, she felt the bed dip as Amelia got in behind her. They were about to share a bed, having barely spoken.
This is ridiculous.
Keira turned to face her.
Her breath caught in her chest. She hadn’t prepared herself for how it would feel to look over in bed and see Amelia’s beauty on the pillow next to her. Her dark brown hair fanned out a little under her, and the angle highlighted the soft contours of her face. It took her breath away, just for a moment. Amelia was on her phone and hadn’t registered Keira’s attention, which was probably a good thing. Keira shook herself, reminding herself she had followed Amelia back to their room for a reason.
“Have I done something wrong?” Keira asked sharply. Amelia jumped.
“What? No, why?” she said, looking up at her from the pillow.
“You’ve barely said two words to me since we got here.” Keira sighed. “Look, I get it, if I took things too far at the team social…” admitting it out loud felt dangerous, but she ploughed on. “But, tell me that, don’t just give me the cold shoulder, okay?”
Amelia blushed, and Keira tried not to think about how adorable she looked. Her dark hair contrasted with the white pillow and her rouge cheeks. Keira chastised herself for thinking like that. Amelia had made her feelings on teammates dating clear. She needed to respect those boundaries. Not that the current roommate situation was helping.
Maybe I did take it too far.
“Oh, I…sorry,” Amelia looked crestfallen, and Keira felt bad for snapping at her. “I just normally room with Evie.” Amelia glossed over any discussion of any less than professional behaviour from Keira. “I guess with TJ assistant coaching now that’s going to change….” Her shoulders sagged. “I just like the routine of it, you know? It’s almost our ritual for away games and that’s going to be different now.”
Oh. It’s got nothing to do with me.
Keira felt like a fool. A love sick fool.
“I’m sorry,” Keira said earnestly.
“No, I’m sorry, for making you think you’d done anything wrong.” Amelia played with the infinity necklace around her neck. “I know it’s childish. It just would have been nice to have had a heads-up. Though I guess it’s a fairly obvious thing…”
“Hey, it’s not childish. You can’t help how you feel.”
Amelia smiled. It made her eyes sparkle like sun glinting off a cool lake.
“Also, for the record…” Amelia blushed, her voice quiet, “you didn’t take anything too far. We’re teammates, right? We’re supposed to wind each other up.” The corner of her mouth twitched playfully.
Is that what we’re calling it?
Keira’s pulse quickened. Memories of Amelia’s thigh pressed into hers flooded her mind. Keira gave her a polite smile, ignoring the sparks of desire flaring inside her. Amelia was still running her fingers over the gemstones on her necklace. “That’s a pretty necklace,” she said, changing the topic onto safer, more impersonal ground.
Amelia immediately dropped her hand from it, and Keira wished she hadn’t drawn attention to it at all.
“Thanks, it…my sister gave it to me,” Amelia said shyly. She held the necklace further forward for Keira to see. “This stone,” she said, tapping the stone on the right, “is my birthstone. And this one,” she said, tapping the left stone, “is hers.”
So much for impersonal.
“You and your sister must be really close.”
“We were,” Amelia said sadly. “We haven’t spoken in years.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” Amelia suddenly looked so much smaller. Keira’s resolve to keep emotional distance broke instantly. She wanted to reach out and hold Amelia’s hand. She wanted to protect her from whatever pain was making the powerful captain shrink. Keira wished she knew the right thing to say, but her silence seemed to give Amelia the space she needed to speak.
“My parents pitted us against each other a lot growing up and…” Amelia didn’t finish her sentence. The words caught in her throat as her eyes shimmered under the bedside lamps. Keira instinctively shuffled closer to Amelia and pulled her into a tight embrace.
Sod professionalism.
Amelia stiffened at first, and Keira wondered if she’d overstepped. She started to pull back. But Amelia relaxed and nestled her head under Keira’s chin. Something inside Keira broke. Even the voice that screamed at her to keep her distance for the sake of her basketball career quietened. Keira wrapped her arms more tightly around her, and cursed people she didn’t even know that could hurt Amelia like this. Keira inhaled slowly, breathing Amelia in, relishing their closeness. She ran her fingertips in gentle circles on Amelia’s back as her entire body yearned to somehow hold the other woman closer, and never let go.
After a few minutes, Amelia pulled back and wiped her eyes.
“We should probably get some sleep.” Amelia smiled, before turning onto her side, away from Keira. Keira immediately missed her warmth.