Page 72 of Half-Court Heat

I mostly kept to myself for the better part of the day. No one was clamoring to approach me, however, as if Eva’s season-ending injury might be contagious. They’d paused their routines to acknowledge that another player had gotten hurt, but now it was time to get back to the grind.

Team Embers, one player down, shot around the practice court while we waited for Coach Demarios’s arrival.

Dez dribbled between her legs before taking a mid-range shot from the elbow. “Well, more playing time for everyone, I guess.”

The 3-on-3 format already demanded elevated conditioning with its fast pace and wide open court. With our numbers dwindled due to Eva’s absence, it was going to put our fitness tothe test. My stomach still soured at the thought of her stuck at home while the rest of us carried on without her.

We all turned when the double doors to the gymnasium popped open and Briana walked in. “Hey, Embers,” she called out. “I found you a new teammate.”

A second figure walked through the practice gym’s doors. I squinted beyond Briana to identify the newcomer.

Arika nudged Rayah beside her. “Dude.” Her voice brimmed with awe. “That’s Mya Brown.”

My former Shamrocks teammate walked across the hardcourt with a slight hitch in her step, not from a lingering injury, but with the swagger of an athlete who’d done and seen it all. Her aura was almost too big for the gym.

Mya walked directly towards me. A smile slowly stretched across her face—the same face that had stared down at me from the posters that had covered my childhood bedroom walls.

“What do ya think, Bennet? One more rodeo before I ride off into the sunset?”

I heardBriana call out to me as I left the gymnasium at the end of practice. “Hey, Lex—you got a second?”

I took a long pull from my water bottle and waited for her to jog down the hallway to me. “Sure. What’s up?”

“How’s Eva doing?”

I shrugged. “As good as can be expected. Her mom just got into town, so that’s a whole other layer of stress.”

Briana nodded, but it didn’t seem like she’d actually heard me. She closed her eyes and rubbed at her temples.

“This is awkward,” she started, “and I don’t even know how to frame it, so I’m just going to ask. Is Eva going to sue us?”

I arched an eyebrow. “Huh?”

“It’s just—I didn’t think to have anyone sign any waivers beforehand, and we didn’t have a doctor on site, which necessitated the ER visit instead of her being treated here.” She sucked in a deep breath. Heading up the league was running her ragged. “Would it be a conflict of interest if I asked you to talk to her about it? Kind of feel out where she’s at, or if she’s considering a lawsuit?”

I stared at her. “I’m not sure how that would come up organically in a conversation.”

What I really wanted to say was,Are you kidding me?

“I wouldn’t ask otherwise, but the investors are getting nervous,” she said. “She could bankrupt the league before we even get started.”

I blew out a breath. “Yeah, okay,” I finally agreed. “I’ll ask.”

I wasn’t sure which would blow up first—Eva at the suggestion she’d turn litigious, or the league itself.

The apartment lookedthe same when I first walked in, but only for a second. I stood in the foyer and scanned the parts I could see. Everything gleamed. The counters shone, the throw blankets were folded into precise rectangles, the air even smelled faintly lemony.

We didn’t keep a messy household, but Eva’s mom had deep-cleaned everything while I was at practice. She’d practically detailed our shared space like it was a luxury car. I had a sinking feeling that if I went into the bathroom, I wouldn’t be able to find my toothbrush.

“How was practice?” Eva asked from her place on the couch.

I dropped my bag by the door and slipped off my sandals, suddenly self-conscious that they might scuff the freshly scrubbed floor. I crossed the room and lowered myself beside her, careful not to disturb the tidy folds of the blanket at her side.

“Practice was … eventful,” I said. “Team Embers got a new addition.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Briana convinced Mya Brown to come out of retirement.”