Page 77 of Full Court Love
He plays tomorrow in the conference championship, and they’re the underdogs. Win or lose, he’s having the conversation with his dad after the game. With our schedules, I don’t even know if I’ll get to see him before that point.
I head out to watch our future opponent, and then our whole team heads back to the hotel. As I lay on my bed, icing my ankle and watching a baking show with Jacey, I keep writing and deleting messages to Jordan.
I want to tell him…well, pretty much everything. I want to relay my conversation with Sasha and tell him how much I’m going to be cheering for him tomorrow and wish him luck in both the game and his conversation with his dad. I also want to tell him what kind of smoothie I had and how good my pasta was tonight. He’s the person I want to tell everything to.
But tonight the words feel really important, and I can’t seem to find the right ones.
Then I hear a knock.
Jacey is dozing off, so I limp to my feet and check the peephole.
It’s the exact person I was hoping to see. Jordan runs his hands through his hair, not knowing that I’m watching him looking incredibly adorable as he waits.
I open the door and without a word, he steps toward me and wraps his arms around my waist. I reach up, pulling his head into my neck. I hold him close to me as he exhales. His whole body relaxes into me.
When he speaks, the words are soft. “I just needed to see you.”
I can’t help but smile, nuzzling my face into his hair.
“We could still run away to Europe if you want. Let’s just make sure we get an exit row.”
He lets out a full, bellowing laugh. “Check back with me tomorrow and I might take you up on that.” He pulls back and gently kisses my lips. “Okay, I have to get to bed. You make my life so much better. I hope you know that. Sleep well.”
He holds on to me a split second longer, like he can’t get himself to let go. Then with a kiss on my forehead, he walks back in the direction of the elevator. I lean against the door frame, unapologetically checking him out. I give a wolf whistle and call out, “Good luck tomorrow, cutie.”
He turns and gives me a wink.
CHAPTER 32
JORDAN
It’s the fourth quarter of the Conference Tournament Championship. The cheers are deafening, with thousands of fans packing the arena. But there’s only one face I keep finding in the crowd. One voice I listen for.
Lucy is only a couple rows behind our bench. Every time I meet her eyes, my heart rate slows and my nerves ease back. She’s wearing my jersey again, and my heart swells seeing my last name on her back.
Man, I hope I can someday make that a reality. Although, she’s more famous than I am, so maybe I’ll take her name. In all sincerity, I don’t care about any of those details as long as she’s mine.
She catches me staring and beams. Even in the most pressure-filled moment, her happiness brings me peace.
I can’t help but crack a smile every time I hear one of her sassy remarks. And they are relentless, so I’ve been smiling a lot.
“Hey #10, you have a nice butt!”
“Jordan, I have a crush on you!!”
“Hey, Mitchell, will you eat some ice cream with me tonight?”
The first time I told her about listening for my dad’s voice and feeling the weight of his negativity from the court, she asked if she could replace it. She told me to start listening for her instead. But because it’s Lucy, she knew that yelling out generic encouraging phrases wouldn’t actually ease the tension that causes me to play tight.
I needed to hear something slightly more unique.
So, she asked if she could yell dumb stuff, stuff she knew would make me smile and remind me that she’s there for me–win, lose, or draw. I’ve always been cutthroat and hyper-focused, but her strategy has worked wonders. It has allowed me to loosen up.
Lucy has brought me the peace I’ve been craving.
I give her a wink before diving back into the final minutes of the game. She blows me a kiss and I bite down a smile as we initiate the play Coach Daniels drew up during the timeout.
Thankfully, I rise to meet the moment. Hitting back-to-back threes in the final two minutes seals it for us. The final buzzer sounds, and we have officially pulled off the upset. I hug my teammates and coaches as the fans begin to storm the court.