Chapter 7
Courtney
Pizza’s here,” I said, closing the door with my foot.
“Cool. Shae and Dijah are on the way,” Tina yelled from her kitchen. “Should be here in about fifteen.”
It had been a day. A good day, but also a long one. The city had thrown us a parade so that was exciting, and Tina was like
a kid the whole time, enjoying every minute. Though to be honest we all were. It was nice to see folks come out in celebration
of us and have recognition of our hard work. Then there was lunch at the governor’s mansion, and that of course had meant
photos and more interviews.
The fact that we’d won and were the WNBA national champions was still a bit surreal and, all things considered, a little bittersweet.
I was crashing at my friend’s house and hadn’t spoken to or even celebrated this historic achievement with the one person
who mattered the most.
When I entered the kitchen, I set the boxes onto the counter. Tina was pulling plates down from the cabinet. The smell of
pepperoni, sausage, peppers, and onions made my stomach growl. I lifted the lid of the top box and inhaled deeply. “Not sure
I can wait ’til they get here.”
Tina laughed as she handed me a plate. “I thought I was the greedy one.”
I slid two slices onto my plate, Tina did the same then grabbed two beers from the fridge, handing me one.
“What do I owe ya?” she asked, then took a bite.
I shook my head. “I got it, don’t worry about it.”
She wiped her mouth and hands with her napkin, and I already knew what she was going to say before she spoke. “You don’t have
to keep covering all the food.”
“Yeah, I do.”
She sighed, but didn’t argue. We’d discussed it a few times, and I told her each time it was the least I could do since she
was letting me crash at her place.
We stood at her small island, eating. Her two-bedroom apartment was comfortable. Not too big, but enough space for her needs.
It reminded me of where I lived before Sasha convinced me to buy out in Johns Creek, though Tina’s place was nicer. It was
Midtown after all, instead of the south side where I’d been. But I’d liked my old apartment, and being close to the arena
was a major reason I’d picked it.
However, relationships took compromise, and I’d wanted to make Sasha happy. I enjoyed making her happy. Seeing the way her
face would light up, or hearing her squeals of delight, or how she would overall glow and be at ease and relaxed. Like she
hadn’t a care in the world. That’s all I ever tried to do, keep her in that state, and yet it never seemed to be enough.
I popped the top on my beer, taking a long swig in hopes of washing away any negative thoughts before they had a chance to
fully settle in. After a long and hard-fought season, tonight was about just chilling with my friends and finally decompressing
from it all. Especially since I only had a couple weeks before I’d be packing up and heading overseas to play.
“When do you head to Tennessee?”
Tina grabbed another slice. “Next week. Momma said she has a cookout planned to celebrate. Which means the whole damn neighborhood
’bout to be there.” She rolled her eyes, but smiled.
Like Shae, at the end of the season Tina went to see her family, most of which remained in Tennessee. Her mom came to home
games when she could. But for the most part, Tina went months without seeing her, which was hard since she was an only child.
And she played overseas, too, so her family time was even more limited.
I never made such trips. My folks barely cared to see me and Mya when we were kids. As an adult, well, while we seemed to
be more interesting to them, it still didn’t compare to how interested they were in each other. At best I’d take a weekend
to visit Mya at school or accompany Sasha to Fort Valley to visit with Big Mama. Mostly, I’d rather be at home and relaxing
as much as I could before the next packed schedule kicked off.
Home . . . where I should have been.
I still couldn’t believe I’d packed up and left the house I worked my ass off to pay for. But after Sasha’s last stunt . . .
I’d graduated from the College of Letdowns and Disappointments thanks to my parents. I honestly thought my shell was hardened,
but fuck . . . she’d proven me wrong. Her slight had gutted me more than any other bullshit I’d dealt with over the years.
Normally, I would just move on and typically I’d give in; nothing we’d disagreed over was ever super egregious, and it was
easier to let it go to keep the peace. Plus, she would usually show her forgiveness in her own way, which would involve excellent
makeup sex and some gift. I had to admit my sneaker collection had grown since Sasha.
I couldn’t move this time. Couldn’t let it go.
“So—” Whatever Tina was about to say was interrupted by the buzzing of her phone on the countertop. She wiped her hands then snatched up the device. “They’re here. I’ll be back.” A low buzz emitted from her phone as she gave them access to the building.
I wasn’t sure whose building was more tedious to get into: Shae’s, with a doorman you had to show ID to and get permission
from to be let up, or Tina’s, where you needed a key fob to operate the elevator, which meant she had to go downstairs to
meet guests to bring them up. Not that my town home was any better, with it being gated.
A few minutes later, the voices of my friends filtered in from the hall. Shae stopped short when she rounded the corner and
saw me. She looked at my plate with the three leftover crusts and back to me. “Damn, y’all got started without us?”
I took another pull from my bottle and shrugged. “Thought my stomach was about to eat my back, so yeah. Ya girl was hungry.”
“You sounding like Tina’s greedy ass.”
“Hey, now why am I in it?”
Shae pointed at the other plate on the counter. “Because.”
Tina could only laugh. I picked up my plate and beer, then moved out of the way to allow Shae and Doc easier access to the
food.
“So, I brought cheesecake and brownies,” Doc said, setting the bag she carried down. “Also have wine and more beer.”
“You talkin’ shit about us eating already, at least Dijah brought stuff to contribute,” Tina said, giving Shae a playful shove.
“Bitch, what? We came from the same house. We,” Shae stressed, gesturing between her and Dijah. “Brought stuff.”
“Whatever,” Tina shot back with an eye roll.
I laughed at their antics. This was exactly what I needed.
To be around people who lifted my spirits with their nonsense, and gave me the space to let loose without worries or responsibilities.
After Doc and Shae loaded up their plates, both Tina and I got seconds, and we took our food and drinks to the living room.
We’d thought about going out somewhere, but it’d been a lot of out and about and people’ing, so I wasn’t mad when Doc suggested we do something at someone’s house.
Especially since we had more appearances and obligations over the next few days.
Doc frowned and settled her attention back on me. “Where’s Sasha?”
I shot a look at Tina, who dropped her gaze to her drink. When I’d texted her and asked to crash at her place for a few days,
she’d said yes without question. They all saw what went down with Sasha when we got to the arena, but thankfully hadn’t questioned
me much.
“Whoa, what was that?” Shae asked. She put her plate down and slid forward in her seat. “What’s happened?”
I rubbed at the tension creeping into my neck. “I . . . um . . . I don’t know where she is. I’ve been . . . I’ve been staying
here the last couple of days.” I’d honestly thought it would be two or three days tops, but I was closing in on almost a week.
A stunned silence fell over them, and I could feel the vibe in the room dropping like a cinderblock in water. I wanted to
get this shit off my chest, because it had been eating me up. Every time I tried to understand her viewpoint, to consider
how she was feeling, her complete lack of acknowledgment overshadowed it like a dense fog. That shit hurt more than I could
accurately put into words.
But this wasn’t the time. “Look, it’s not a big deal. Sash and I are havin’ a moment. It’s nothin’ we won’t figure out.”
“Um . . . unless you’ve done this before—staying with Tina—whatever the ‘moment’ is, it’s different.” Shae shot a look at Tina, who shook her head in answer to the implied question. “Exactly, so, what the hell?”
I glanced at Doc, who said nothing, then shifted my gaze to my other two friends. “Y’all, this is supposed to be a ‘bitch,
we champions’ dinner, not ‘let’s analyze Courtney’s occasionally rocky relationship.’”
Doc set down her plate and reached over to squeeze my arm. “I know I’m the newest member of the group, but I don’t think it’s
analyzing, but more like friends checking in because we’re concerned and care.”
“What Doc said,” Tina chimed in. “When you texted asking if you could stay, I was like yeah, no problem. Didn’t pry because
I figured you’d say when you were ready, but either way I got you, no question.”
“Exactly,” Shae said again. “Look, we knew the vibe was off when we got back. The tension between y’all was on another level.”
I blew out a long breath. “I know. I know. But not tonight.” I drained the last of my beer, then got up to get something a
little stronger from Tina’s liquor cabinet.
I knew they meant well, and the whole thing sat like heavy stones around my neck, but this hangout wasn’t about me. I needed
to figure out all the conflicting shit going on in my head, and I didn’t want to say anything in my frustration that would
paint Sasha in a negative light.
Pulling out my phone, I scrolled to our last text exchange. She’d actually reached out. She hadn’t apologized, but she had
said she missed me. That was something, but not enough.
But something.
Because she never made the first move. And that . . . that meant a lot.