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But I refused to give up momentum or write my team off.

I kept us pushing ahead, trying riskier shots and bigger plays to get around Point Brook’s defense.

We were catching rebounds where they weren’t and, after long enough, were able to get a handle on blocking Point Brook’s shots.

Cam was still difficult to slow down, but everyone else we were keeping locked down.

I kept the ball moving as much as possible, keeping it out of the hands of Point Brook and passing it to my teammates in whatever way possible. The difference in our scores suddenly went from twelve to two .

When GJ sank the ball that brought us to tying with them, the arena went wild. The quarter wrapped up, leaving us with only ten minutes of playing time between us and winning. After huddling and getting a supportive, tough love pep talk from Coach Darlene, we prepared to head back out to the court.

“Let’s fucking go!” GJ shouted, clapping her hands. “Close this bitch out!”

I turned to the crowd, waving for them to get louder as we moved into the last part of the game. I loved having home court advantage—there wasn’t a better fanbase in the world than mine.

The fourth quarter stayed significantly closer in scoring than the third. As the clock ticked on, time rapidly disappearing, neither team allowed more than a four point difference. I’d never played so hard or thoughtfully in my life.

When we were down to single digit minutes, I knew we’d have to play smart. This was where dumb mistakes would hurt us. The larger the gap in our scores, the more difficult it would be to make up for lost points.

With only two minutes left, Point Brook was maintaining a lead. They wanted it just as badly as we did and they were making it obvious. We hadn’t been able to get any decent shooting in.

Needing points on the board, our approach became obvious—get me the ball and get me to score.

Despite Point Brook having decent defense, they’d still been having a hard time stopping my shots.

I was hitting an even higher percentage of good threes than I normally did, having them land one after another with ease.

I just needed a few more decent ones, and we’d be in the clear. Just one more point than Point Brook was enough.

For a moment, I didn’t even hear the crowd. I was so focused on getting the ball where it needed to go. I could see plays before they happened, predicting how to spin away from defense and where I needed to shoot from on the court to make it.

It barely registered that the game was almost over.

When I dropped another three, the crowd went to their feet, and the cheerleaders waved their pom-poms. The entire bench started shouting and cheering, too; even Ellie was red in the face with how loud she was getting, and she never raised her voice above speaking level.

“ Three -o, three -o,” the crowd sang out, cupping their hands to their mouths to make sure I could hear them.

I kept my reaction to a minimum so I wouldn’t get a tech, but it was exactly what I needed to close out the game.

With the crowd behind us, we were quick to rebound, sprint, shoot. We kept the ball between each other, doing everything we could to keep it out of the hands of the Point Brook players. The score was 85-78—a gap that Point Brook could close if they had enough time.

But when I glanced over to the clock, I realized that was it—we were down to seconds left, long enough for us to hold onto the ball and close it out. No more blood, sweat, and tears. An entire season of prepping for this game, all for it to be over just like that.

I dribbled, keeping my face neutral and surveying the court as if I were planning my next shot.

The crowd was on their feet, cheering louder and louder as the time ticked on.

Our bench got to their feet again as the Point Brook players dropped their game faces, the realization that they lost hitting them.

The second the buzzer sounded and the game was over, my facade dropped. The entire Lakeside Green team—bench and all—ran to meet each other, hugging and celebrating.

“We did it! We fucking did it!” Mags shouted.

“We’re getting a fucking natty this year!” Nia said, jumping up and down.

Coach Darlene wrapped her arms around as many of us as she could, her clipboard brushing our backs. “I’m so proud of you, ladies. This was really something special.”

The team continued celebrating, laughing and jumping into each other’s arms. A massive weight lifted from my chest—and genuine hope replaced it.

This was the push we needed to get through the tournament.

There was no chance we weren’t making the cut to play in the Round of 64—not with our ranking and a win against Point Brook under our belt.

We lined up to high five the other team, a couple of the other players doing the best they could to avoid eye contact with me. When I made it to Cam, she held my hand for a second.

“Good game, McCall. I’ll see you in the finals, I’m sure,” she said.

“I’ll see you at the draft either way,” I said and Cam winked, the two of us exchanging a small smile of understanding .

“Don’t befriend the enemy,” GJ whispered behind me.

“She’s not the enemy. She’s a few weeks away from being a rookie, just like me,” I said.

And it was true—Cam might’ve been annoying to deal with throughout the season, but she wasn’t a villain.

If anything, I kind of appreciated the hustle of using my name and shit talking to bring attention to her game.

We were both good, but a rivalry sold tickets and pulled in even non-basketball fans. It was clever, more than anything.

I looked up toward the crowd, waving my hands to get them loud again. The crowd cheered back, waving their posters and swinging their t-shirts. People were clearing out more slowly than usual, taking their time before leaving so they could get pictures and wait for autographs.

As I scanned the crowd, realizing I only had more game here and I wanted to enjoy every second I could, my eyes drifted over toward Iris again.

Danny was sitting next to her now and I smiled to myself, glad he took my advice.

When Iris and I locked eyes, she waved at me with a decent amount of urgency and then pointed down to the guardrail.

My heart went double-time. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but it was impossible not to. There was only one person Iris could be pointing at. And there was only one reason why Maya would be here.

Maya stood by the metal barricade, trying her best to hold her position even though there were people pushing to get the attention of players down on the court .

I jogged over to her, not hesitating for even a second. I wasn’t interested in being coy with her or protecting my feelings. I wanted to hear her out. I told her I’d wait for her and I was. I wasn’t going to go back on my word until she told me to back off.

As I got closer, I realized she was wearing a creased t-shirt with my number on it. She held another shirt in her hands.

I couldn’t help it; I jogged the rest of the way. Maya leaned toward me and I reached up for her, pulling her into a kiss. It was the most impulsive thing I’d maybe ever done but I didn’t care. I wasn’t missing my chance with her.

People around us cheered like something out of a movie. I could see a few confused faces and even more people going, Wait, is that the girl she keeps getting seen with?

I didn’t care. They could look all they wanted.

When we separated, I took a closer look at her shirt. “Did you just buy that and change in the bathroom?” I asked, laughing.

“What gave it away?” Maya asked sheepishly and it felt like no time at all had passed between us.

There was no stiffness, no rebuilding. Just two people who genuinely wanted to be together.

Maybe we weren’t going to have the easiest time with our schedules and the changes to come, but we were going to do everything we could to make it work.

She smiled at me and seeing it felt like taking the first deep breath I’d taken in a long time. My body flooded with joy, every muscle relaxing. I couldn’t take the smile off my face, even when I tried. “Good game. Congrats on the win,” she said.

“I’m glad you came.”

“I’m glad I did, too.” She was quiet for a beat, a thought clearly passing over her. “Fuck it,” she said and leaned down, grabbing me by the jersey so she could kiss me again.

Our second kiss was somehow even more perfect than the first. It said everything I knew it was hard for Maya to say—that she also wanted to try and make this work, that she didn’t want to lose me.

It was gentle and modest, and with full awareness that everyone around us was looking at us, but it didn’t matter.

The entire crowd melted away, and it was just the two of us.

None of this was for them, and none of it was under the guise of being some kind of inside joke between me and Maya. It was a real kiss.

“I missed you,” she said when we broke apart. We leaned toward each other, the magnetic pull still there.

“I missed you.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t know how to say what I wanted. I was just so scared,” she admitted.

I locked my fingers with hers, wishing I could pull her over the metal bar to be closer to me. “It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re here.”

“Is now an embarrassing time to tell you I leaned into the whole fake dating thing because I was hoping it’d help me get over my crush on you?”

I threw my head back and laughed. “No, that makes a lot of sense. I agreed to it because I was hoping you’d realize you wanted me if you got to know me more. Under any other circumstances, I would’ve run screaming from someone who wanted to create more press about me.”

Maya smiled knowingly, as if she’d had the same thought at one point. “I didn’t have to get to know you more—I already wanted you.” She leaned further into the railing, closer to me .

“Good, because I already wanted you, too,” I said. “I’ve wanted you since I first laid eyes on you at that house party.”

“Me too,” Maya admitted.

Behind Maya, I could see Iris and Danny staring down our way, talking to each other. They were still up in the stands, but the arena was clearing out now, making it obvious they were definitely talking about us.

“Danny and Iris?” I asked.

Maya shrugged. “I actually don’t know what happened there. He saw her and came over to sit with her. They were together by the time I got here.”

I smiled a little bit. I knew exactly why they were sitting together, but that wasn’t my business to share. The truth would probably come out eventually.

“You almost skipped the game?” I teased. “What changed your mind?”

“Stop.” She snorted and then smiled shyly. “Do you still want to be my date to Iris’s birthday party?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

“And you don’t regret asking me to be your Valentine?”

I fought off a smile. “Never, in a million years. I’m already planning our itinerary for next Valentine’s Day.”

“You still love me even though commitment is hard for me and it took me a minute to realize you’re everything I’ve ever wanted?”

My chest filled with light. I wasn’t going to pretend everything was perfect —we probably both needed to work on our communication, and we still had to actually talk about Maya icing me out.

But I also knew that something was different.

She was here and present. She really wanted this.

I could see it in the way she was looking at me, talking to me.

This was a woman who really meant it when she said she wanted to try. “Yes, absolutely,” I said.

I glanced back to see my team leaving the court. I knew I didn’t have much time with Maya—there was never enough time with her. But I would take what I could get.

“I’ll see you after this? Come out with me and the team?” I asked.

“Yes, please. I’d love that,” Maya said. “Don’t be gone too long.”

“You know I’ll try not to be,” I said and then snuck in a kiss, then another, before running to meet the last of my teammates who were waving me over to catch up with them.

As I walked toward the tunnel, I turned to look back at Maya, who’d been watching me walk away. A smile spread across her face when she realized I was looking at her.

That sight—Maya standing by the court while wearing my number, a smile on her face, her hand poised for a small wave—was exactly what I wanted to see at every game for the rest of my career.

And I felt like the luckiest person alive to know I’d have it.