Chapter Fifteen
Bee
“Everyone does realize we’re grown adults, right?” I announced, a ticking time bomb in the hallway while Nina rushed to unlock the apartment I was to share with Nola.
“We’ve been pretty patient with everything today Nina, but you’ve absolutely lost your mind,” Daya reprimanded with a familiarity I had still yet to piece together. But my nosy observance could wait, because, for once, I agreed with someone associated with Nola.
The apartment Nina led us into was more like a townhome with a set of stairs set by the back wall, and more floor to ceiling windows that had a stellar view of the ocean.
Everything here was beautiful—sleek, light floors, amazing appliances—but Nola Young was in every view, my peripheral, my front, my back; in the way of every perspective.
There was no way I had to live with her.
“We’re already playing together, what’s the point in living together, too?” Nola demanded.
“Would you like me to read the texts from the owners group? There was a live feed during the press conference.” Nina stood.
She cleared her throat. “Is this the first time they’ve ever spoken to each other? Are their elbows fighting for space on the table? Did Brittney just roll her eyes in front of everyone? I can’t tell if they want to eat each other up or bite each other’s heads off.”
Oh dear God.
“Well that last one was obviously Allison,” Nola mumbled, from where she stood at the windows.
I didn’t know what I was thinking when I’d told Allison what I said to Nola that caused her turnover.
I’d never explicitly told anyone about our draft night.
Insinuated, yes, because at the end of the day I could never keep my own secrets.
But that night was something I wanted to keep close to my chest so no one ever got the whole story. Sacred, spiritual, only mine to have.
And then I went and told someone who has a bigger mouth than me. Amazing!
“What exactly is stopping us from leasing our own apartments? Free will exists,” I interrupted.
“There was an explicit team bonding clause in your contract. Unfortunately, for you, living together is the bonding.”
“Of course it is.” I nodded as if I understood.
“For how long?” Daya inquired, and I glanced over quick enough to see her and Nola making eyes at each other.
There’s no way they were actually considering this, right?
We hadn’t hit the deadline yet for trades so Nola still had time to high tail it out of here and go to another team who would pay her the big bucks.
So why the hell would she stay here?
I looked over at my siblings who were already watching me, Aaliyah eyeing me like I was a flight risk.
Amir had his shoulders squared and his jaw clenched like he’d ask how high?
the moment I asked him to jump. My family knew me to be impulsive and unpredictable, even though those were the last two words I’d ever use to describe myself.
The Brittney that my family knew me as was not the Brittney my teammates experienced.
I was sturdy, reliable, and patient. My gut had led me to Miami, and whether anyone else understood me or not, that was going to be my driving force this season.
My gut, however, did not account for Nola.
Our own relationship—or lack thereof—had given me whiplash.
From the outside looking in, we’re just two people who would always be at odds; always seeing each other as competition.
Thirty years from now, our dynamic to the outside world would be described as a lifelong rivalry, driven by power and bragging rights.
Meanwhile, I was just a girl who felt betrayed by someone she’d thought was her friend who could’ve been more.
After Spain, I realized I hadn’t clicked with someone as fast as I had with Nola.
It was easy for me to make friends anywhere I went, but that draw to her, the desire to make her uncomfortable, or give her shit had felt natural.
The weeks leading up to our first collegiate game against each other gave me butterflies and made me giddy with excitement.
We didn’t have each other’s phone numbers but we followed each other on socials.
We occasionally interacted in the DMs, commenting on each other’s siblings and putting each other in our close friends circles.
We chatted and lightly flirted, and it had felt like the universe wanted us to be star-crossed friends.
In hindsight, I was naive. I had an unspoken crush on someone I, in theory, could never be with.
Which became crystal clear after every March Madness.
Who knew a total of twelve days over four years could impact me more than the four year friendships I had in college?
And then she betrayed me, showed my dirty laundry to everyone, and made people doubt my standings on the Jaguars and in the league in general.
So I made it my business to always remind her of how much she’d hurt me.
I embraced my nickname as the league’s crash out queen.
All the emotions I’d bottled up inside me over the years spilled out and over with no release during games.
I fought for myself and my teammates. I made it every official’s problem when their calls were skewed, biased, or just downright wrong.
I was always going to defend anyone wearing the same jersey as me.
But now this meant I’d have to fight for Nola.
In the time I’d been lost in my thoughts, Daya and Nola were whispering to each other in a far corner near a dining table, and my siblings were standing by the couch. They waved me over to join their conversation when Nola yelled from across the room.
“I’m in.”
I didn’t know what my siblings had to say, nor did I care, but I refused to let her appear to be the bigger person. I was going to redeem myself from today’s press conference and forget I only slightly, kind of, acted like a child in front of everyone.
“Me too!”
I heard my siblings stifle noises behind me, saw Nola’s bug eyes get wider, and a small smile spread across Nina’s face. All the while, Marcello was getting the footage of a lifetime. Yeah, this was definitely going to do numbers on socials.
It just better be worth it.