Page 110 of Courtside

The walk out of the building was a blur. It was oppressively hot outside; the heavy, humid air immediately brought sweat beading on the surface of her skin.

When she got to her car, she peeled off her jacket and threw it into the back seat.

She couldn’t go home. Not yet.

She drove to the Humphrey Center. It was mid-afternoon on a Tuesday, and rather than make the familiar trek to the practice gym, she walked into the main gymnasium. She took in the golden wood of the floors as she kicked off her heels and unbuttoned the cuffs of the blouse she’d put so much thought into. She rolled up her sleeves as she walked over to the supply closet tucked beneath the bleachers. Punching in the familiar code, she grabbed a ball and slowly padded on bare feet out to the main basket.

She started to shoot. Within a minute she was lost in the familiar movements, and with her body occupied and in motion everything that boiled inside of her began to rise to the surface. Anger, frustration, and betrayal all channeled into the bend of her knees and the flick of the ball off of her fingertips.

She didn’t name her thoughts. She didn’t try to understand what raged inside of her. She wasn’t ready to put words to the disappointment that threatened to carve out her insides and leave her empty.

When her bare feet began to ache, she stopped. She put the ball into the closet and grabbed her things, sliding her feet back into the heels that had seemed like a good idea earlier.

Her phone buzzed inside of her bag. She ignored it.

She wasn’t surprised to see David pacing in front of her apartment with Daisy tucked under one arm and his phone gripped tightly in his hand. She remembered that his flight was due to get in early that afternoon and they’d made plans to hang out as soon as he was back.

He rushed toward her the second he saw her. “Where have you been?” He did that ridiculous thing where he looked her body over like he was going to find some sort of injury on her. When he didn’t find anything, he looked her directly in the eye, his brow furrowed with concern. “I was worried.”

Sage unlocked the door to her apartment. “I went to shoot.”

She pushed the door open, walking inside and flicking on the light. David followed her.

“Did the interview go okay?”

Dropping her stuff onto the couch, Sage turned around to face him. “I don’t know, David. Has Michael given you an update yet?”

She watched his expression shift. Watched the pained twist to his mouth as his chin dropped down. Watched his eyes fall shut, his dark lashes curling against his skin as he shook his head. “Sage, I —”

“I told you no.” There was no point in pretending. She let all of it pour into her voice, refusing to hold anything back from him. “I told you no andstillyou went behind my back and did what you thought was best for me.”

David opened his eyes and looked directly at her. “I wanted to help.”

“But you didn’t listen! I’ve told you over and over again that I’m the kind of person who wants — no,needs— to figure things out on my own, but you just had to butt in, didn’t you?”

“Sage,” he ground her name out like it was painful. “You deserve to get a chance to do the thing you love in the place where you want to do it, and sure, I’m a selfish bastard who doesn’t want you to move halfway across the country. But you’re it for me.” He took a step toward her. “You’re my person, and I don’t want to imagine what it would be like to not have you here.”

Tears burned her eyes. “You asshole. You absolute fucking asshole.” She had to turn away from him, looking instead at the philodendron that had grown long enough that she’d had to pin it up against the wall. Now it made a green chain that extended up and over the arched opening between the living room and little dining area. Before she’d moved in, it had barely been a foot long.

“If you actually cared about me, like really and truly cared about me, you never would’ve done this.” She didn’t fight the way her voice broke. “I thought you knew me better than that, David. I thought you were my person too, but if you can’t see that what you did was completely fucked up and out of line, then I guess I was wrong.”

“What are you talking about? I know you, Sage.”

She looked up at him, at the panic that widened his eyes and how his hair stuck up on one side. It was only then that she noticed his t-shirt. Neon green with large letters proclaimingKale Yeah!Hershirt.

Another something inside of her crumpled.

“You know, that’s what Evan used to say.”

Devastation crumpled his face. “Sage,” he started, shaking his head.

“What? That’s what he used to tell me. ‘Trust me, Sage. I’m looking out for you. I wouldn’t lead you astray. I know you, Sage.’ That’s what he would tell me when he gave me a meal plan that left me weak and underweight. The same thing he’d say when I asked him if he was inviting college coaches to my games. And guess what? He quietly sabotaged my career, all while assuring me that he knew best, until I’d burned every bridge except for the one that connected me to him.” She wiped at her wet cheeks. “So excuse me if I have no tolerance for men I’m fucking who think they know what’s best for me.”

She watched the words hit. She watched David cover his mouth with one hand as he blinked against the moisture that gathered in the inner corners of his dark eyes.

Let them out, she wanted to tell him.It’ll feel so much better if you let them out.

But she didn’t.

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