Page 51

THEO

I could tell something was up with Maya, but I didn’t push it.

I was going to ask. Eventually. If it really seemed like I needed to.

But for now, I didn’t want to come across like I was badgering her. I knew she’d talk to me when she was ready, just like she always did. Anything beyond the occasional, Are you doing okay? would’ve annoyed me, so I could only think it’d also annoy her.

It had also become hard to find the time to schedule seeing her to even ask her what was going on. After a few days of a break from playing and being on the road, we were back in the swing of things—and twice as hard as before.

The last few games of the season were coming, and our record was still holding up. If everything went as planned, we’d make it into the championship no problem. But that was barring any injuries or players who crumbled under the pressure. And avoiding those pitfalls was easier said than done.

After wrapping up a morning practice and then classes for the day, GJ and I jogged through campus, keeping pace with each other the entire time. She’s been a good distraction during all of this.

Not to say that Maya wasn’t also a distraction—Maya just couldn’t really be a distraction from herself and me wondering what was going on with her.

I couldn’t help but think maybe the Bendr thing had upset her more than she’d let on.

Or maybe Valentine’s Day—we’d just done a modest homemade dinner and a movie together at home—had made everything feel way too serious.

I’d even held off on buying her flowers and a card because I was nervous she’d get overwhelmed, something I regretted and planned to make right if Maya would let me.

“You ready to take over next year?” I asked.

“It’s not guaranteed that I’ll be captain,” GJ said, mocking my voice. She chuckled to herself.

“Funny.”

The air was cold, making my lungs feel tight as we ran. My cheeks stung from the wind. We cut down into one of the wooded trails just off of campus where students usually went to smoke weed and continued on our way.

“Unlike someone here, I can admit when I know I’ll be on top,” she said. “And I personally can’t wait. I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you but you’re fucking hard to compete with, dude. You’re taking all of the attention off of me and my mad skills.”

“You’re still getting plenty of attention. You’re always referred to as my right hand,” I said and GJ made a face. “It’s making you look good. People know your name. You’re definitely on people’s list to keep an eye on next year.”

“First round or nothing,” GJ said, referring to the draft.

“Yeah, since you’ve had me as your captain. You better be,” I said lightly.

I put very little pressure on my team when it came to next steps.

I knew that not everyone was going to make the cut to go pro—and not everyone wanted to.

It was usually pretty evident who had the talent and drive to keep playing and I tended to latch onto those people.

Most of the starters on my team were aspiring to go pro eventually, which I had to assume was a big part of the reason why we’d been playing so well and why they were able to keep pace with me.

Without them, I would’ve been a Danny, struggling to keep a team alive.

But I meant it when I told them it didn’t matter if they decided not to go pro. Any of them could change their minds at any point; Coach Darlene and I weren’t going to be upset with them because of that.

“Have you thought much about April?” GJ asked. “You thinking you’ll end up with the Blizzards?”

There was a list of reasons why the Blizzards was a great fit for me, beyond them just having the first pick and me most likely ending up with them whether we were actually a good fit or not.

They had a young team and a young coach with a lot of energy. They’d struggled for most of the season and obviously came out the worst team in the league, hence getting the first pick, but there was promise there.

Based on what I’d seen, they needed someone who could be their glue, something I felt confident I could do. Objectively, I knew that I had the star power that they would need.

And they were also close to here, which I wouldn’t mind. I’d come to like Colorado, and I hoped I’d be able to buy a house big enough for my parents to stay with me whenever they wanted so I wouldn’t have to go so long without seeing them.

But the downsides were also pretty obvious—they were a young team with no veteran players.

Most of their players had been drafted in the past couple of years, a lot of them I’d played against already at a college level.

They fell behind the other teams who were more experienced, which could also end up being my weak spot.

I was used to playing people who played at a college level and were college age; I wasn’t used to people who’d been playing professionally for over a decade, the people whose posters I used to keep up on my wall as a kid.

“It’s not really up to me,” I admitted. “I can think about it all I want but it won’t change anything. I’ll probably end up with them, but one bad game and I could end up anywhere.”

GJ and I kept moving down the trail, hitting a part with a slight incline. We were gentle on our ankles, careful not to accidentally trip over anything. That was the most delicate part of being an athlete—we needed to train to get better, but there was always a chance of us getting hurt.

“If I wasn’t your teammate, I’d be praying for that bad game sooner rather than later,” GJ said. “I know people are sick of hearing you breaking records left and right. My ego would never be bruised by something like that, personally. But I feel for them. ”

I snorted. “I’m sure Cam Kerr is putting in the work, doing some kind of, like, manifestation ritual or something. She’s out there praying on my downfall.”

“She definitely is. I hope you run circles around her at that game. I want to see you beat her smug ass,” GJ said. “I’ll be helping but I’m handing the reins to you. This is my personal Super Bowl.”

“We’ll see what happens,” I said.

“I know that’s Theo speak for I’m going to kick her ass ,” GJ said. “I believe it.”

GJ and I followed the trail back toward one of the basketball courts in the area.

It was a different court than the one I’d taken Maya to, the one that was on campus near the freshman dorms. This one was further out and technically a residential one that didn’t belong to Lakeside Green, but a public hoop was a public hoop.

This was where the basketball players on campus liked to mess around—it was a good place to clear our heads, somewhere we didn’t risk people coming up to us while we were just trying to have a good time.

“Danny!” I shouted and waved to get his attention.

He was out shooting by himself, wearing basketball shorts and a sweatshirt.

As I got closer, I could see the sweat pooling at his temples.

It was cold in Colorado, but the sun combined with the elevation could be unforgiving.

Now that GJ and I were out of the woods and in full sun, I knew some layers would be coming off .

“Hey,” he shouted back and then sank an easy fadeaway. We walked over to him and he hugged the ball to his hip. “Glad you could make it. I needed a break.”

“I’d need a break from your imbecile teammates, too,” GJ agreed and snatched the ball from Danny’s hand.

She shot it up, sending it cleanly through.

Our shooting percentages were high on the court, so shooting like this—no one blocking us, no game time pressure—was comparatively a breeze.

We’d all average nearly one-hundred percent if this was how the game was played on the court.

Danny jogged to get the ball and GJ attempted to block. He sidestepped her and shot it in from the two-point range. It landed so cleanly that the metal hoop barely even made a sound.

GJ waved him off. “You got a couple of inches on me.”

“Over here,” I said, waving my hand to get Danny’s attention. He bounced the ball to me and we easily fell into the rhythm of a pick up game. There was no real structure—there were times it was all three of us playing each other, other times I assisted Danny and then GJ. No one was keeping score.

Playing exactly like this reminded me of how much I loved the sport and how lucky I was to get to play at all.

I was worried that as I continued moving up in basketball, I’d feel less inclined to play recreationally.

But instead, it was impossible to take myself off of a court—any court, whether it was for a real college game or just playing on a random court outside.

“You ready for next week, McCall?” Danny asked .

“Trying my best to be,” I said and hit a jumper. GJ caught the ball and dribbled it back to the equivalent of mid-court to keep the ball away from Danny.

“I’ll be there to watch,” he said. “I’m glad our schedules worked out. I’d be pissed to miss what is going to be, like, game of the century.”

“Everyone keeps talking about it as if odds aren’t high we’ll face off again in the championship,” I said.

“But this is what’ll set the tone ,” GJ said. “Someone’s gotta win, someone’s gotta lose. It’s going to be a fucking battlefield out there, bro. Whoever loses will get their revenge, possibly in the finals. This is, like, movie-level shit.”

“I don’t know if it’s that serious,” I said.

GJ passed the ball to me and I passed it to Danny, who was further up the court. “Cam Kerr definitely seems to think it is,” GJ said.

“She’s talking out of her ass,” Danny said.

“She is good,” I admitted. “I think she just likes the circus.”

GJ stepped in, stealing the ball from under Danny’s hand. She sprinted away. “Gotta be quicker than that, Danny boy!”

Danny was unaffected; he played through the rhythm of the game, turning on his heel and attempting to block GJ from shooting. “And how’s your girl?”

I smiled, unable to help myself every time I thought about Maya.

Even in the midst of the moment she was having where she was a little harder to reach and a little more emotionally distant, I felt confident that she’d come back around.

The last couple of months hadn’t been made up.

The feelings were real—even someone who struggled with commitment had to admit that much.

“She’s good,” I said as I chased GJ and Danny up the court so they could pass the ball to me. “The schedule has been a lot but we find the time. She’ll be there to cheer me on at the Point Brook game.”

“That’s sweet,” Danny said as GJ pretended to gag.

We kept playing until we were all sweaty and tired. None of us wanted to go too hard because we had workouts later in the evening, but it still felt good.

As GJ and I gathered our phones and the sweatshirts we’d abandoned while we were playing, I turned to Danny. “Do you remember meeting a blonde at a party, by the way?” “That’s specific,” he said.

“Iris.”

He thought about it for a second and then I could see a flash of recognition cross his face. “Yeah. Cute, small? She ran out on me at a party,” he said. “Is she going around telling everyone I’m the worst now?” he chuckled.

“No, actually. Kind of the opposite,” I said. “She’s Maya’s best friend. She’ll definitely be at my game, too. You should look for her.”

Danny smiled and slowly nodded. “Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.”