38

Angel Reese

Los Angeles mornings always hit different — bright, loud, and soft all at once. I dropped Ray off at her private daycare, her curls bouncing as she sang "Wheels on the Bus" the whole ride there.

"Alright, mama," I said as we pulled up. "Remember, no taking toys from your friends today, okay?"

Arayah folded her little arms. "But it's mine mommy?"

I laughed, unbuckling her car seat. "Then you tell Ms. Tasha, not swing on somebody. Be kind and share, Arayah Lee, you hear me?"

She giggled, wrapping her tiny arms around my neck. " 'kay, Mommy."

Watching her run toward the door never got easier, but I smiled anyway. My world was safe, stable, and mine again.

Now it was time to get back to work.

⸻

The Sparks facility was quiet when I got there. Empty courts, echoing squeaks, that familiar smell of polish and rubber. I put my headphones in and got straight to it — jumpers, footwork, free throws. By the time I stopped, sweat was dripping down my back and my arms were on fire.

"Damn, A," a voice called from behind. "You look good girl."

I turned and grinned. "Look who finally came to see me."

Rae stood in the doorway with her duffel bag slung low, shaking her head, making her curls follow with each shake. "Girl, the season ain't even start yet."

"Gotta stay sharp," I said, grabbing my water. "My life don't exactly leave room for rust." I said referring to the amount of dumb scrutiny I receive.

"Mmhm," she nodded. "I'm glad tho. Make my life easier."

I smirked. "Girl bye."

Rae laughed, shooting a few warmups before glancing over. "So how was it going back to lsu? I saw the pictures. Ray was killing me in her lil sweater."

I shook my head, smiling. "Girl she stole the whole show, per usual."

"You miss it?" she asked, meaning LSU.

I hesitated. "Parts of it, yeah."

Rae grinned. "C'mon, let's get food. I'll text Rickea."

⸻

Later — Venice Café Patio

We snagged a table outside, the air salty and warm. Rickea stirred her iced latte while Rae attacked her fries like she hadn't eaten since morning shootaround. I leaned back, letting the sun hit my skin.

Rickea looked over her shades. "Alright, spill. Baton Rouge looked fun as hell,  did you enjoy yourself?"

I sighed. "You're  messy."

"Correct," Rae said through a mouthful of fries.

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, fine. After the game, everybody came up to meet Arayah. Aneesah, Amani, Flau'jae... it was a whole reunion."

Rickea raised an eyebrow. "Oh, Flau'jae too?"

"Yeah," I said, half-smiling. "We ended up talking after the game."

Rae leaned forward, sensing the shift. "Okay, yall back cool now?"

"Yeah. Funny thing, She actually told me she's always been in love with me."

Rae nearly choked. "What?! You serious?"

Rickea just sipped her latte slow, all calm. "I could see that."

I looked at her, laughing. "What you mean you could see that?"

Rickea shrugged. "Introvert or not, she was ready to fight me back when we played against each other."

Rae blinked. "Wait, hold up — why?"

That made both me and Rickea laugh.

I leaned in, grinning. "Okay, long story short — back in my junior year at LSU, me and Rickea weren't cool at all."

Rickea held up her hand. "At all," she confirmed. "We were damn near enemies for like a semester."

Rae's eyes widened. "Over what?"

I groaned. "My raggedy-ass baby daddy," I said flatly.

Rae sat back, looking between us. "You lying."

Rickea raised her brows. "I wish she was. Turns out ol' boy was in my messages, talking about he was single, I barely entertained it, but she saw my name in his phone, and vide versa."

I laughed, shaking my head. "We found out during the SEC tournament, mind you and we were all staying in the same hotel. You could've cut the tension with a knife."

"Flau'jae was heated," Rickea said, grinning. "Swore up and down I fouled Angel on purpose."

"Because you did," I shot back with a laugh. "Bro, you shoved me so hard I twisted my ankle."

Rickea gasped dramatically. "That was good defense!"

"Defense?!" I laughed. "You tackled me, Rickea. You lucky Flau'jae didn't swing."

Rae was crying laughing now. "Not y'all fighting over the same dude and an ankle sprain."

"Exactly," Rickea said. "And then we both realized he wasn't worth it and apologized. Been cool ever since."

I nodded. "She right. We realized we were more alike than we thought. Both passionate, both protective... just took us a while to get there."

Rae smirked, shaking her head. "Man, y'all wild. I'm glad y'all worked that out though. That's crazy."

"Tell me about it, now I couldn't do life without this bitch," I said, smiling.

Rickea leaned back, laughing softly. "So now you see why Flau'jae was ready to swing first and ask questions later. That girl love for you go deep."

I didn't respond right away — just toyed with my straw, replaying that night in Baton Rouge in my head.

Rae caught the shift in my face. "You good?"

"Yeah," I said after a beat, smiling faintly. "Just... thinking."

Rickea nudged me. "Hey, don't overthink it. You handled it right. You always do."

I nodded, though deep down, that guilt still sat heavy in my chest — the kind that lingered even when you knew you'd done the right thing.

Jackie Young

"Jackie take the phone real quick," KB said as I rolled my eyes, taking the device, and of course she was on live.

"What's up yall?" I greeted them before looking back to KB who was sneaking off to Kianna. I shook my head, pointing at her before turning back to the phone.

"I don't know why they keep giving me this phone. Yall know I don't talk too much," I said as I read some of the comments.

Wnbaluvr22: Jackie don't talk too us but let it be Angel 💀

"Haha, yall funny. That's different, that's my lady man," I laughed. I read a few more before I got a text, causing me to look away from the live and to my personal phone.

Angel: get off that live, and face time me

I couldn't gelpnbtt ur laugh at how serious she was. Angel was stingy when it came to me and I can't lie, I love it. I pressed the video call icon, and within two rings she answered.

"I said get off then call me. Yorke heard headed," she mumbled making me smile.

"Hi A, say hi to our friends on live," I said as I flipped my phone around to show the live the screen. She hurriedly covered her face but the comments heard her voice and began fooodibg the sections about how much they love her.

"They love you super star. Alright yall I'm finna end this. I'm sure kb will go live again when she finished doing whatever she doing. Bye yall," I said as I pressed the end button, and turned my attention to Angel.

"Why you just sitting on live?" She asked as she proper up the camera and I could see her fully. She was so freaking beautiful man.

"Well," I said, angling the camera from the sun's glare. "KB gave me her phone so she could go kiss on Kianna," I said, purposely being loud on the second part .

As if on cue, KB yelled from across the pool, "Fuck you. Tell Angel to stop being mean and bring her ass next time!"

Angel laughed through the phone. "KB better chill before I pull up for real."

"Don't threaten us with a good time," I said, smirking.

The sun hit the water just right, and for a second I wished she was here — hair up in that messy bun she always wore, Ray playing in the sand, Angel finally relaxed for once.

She must've caught the look on my face because her voice softened. "Y'all look happy, Jack."

"We are," I said quietly. "But it'd be better if you were here."

Her smile faltered for a second, eyes dropping. "You know I can't just up and go. I got Ray, training, everything else. Plus you need to spend time with your teammates, soak it all in."

"I know," I said gently. "Just saying — when you get a break, I got a spot saved for you."

She laughed softly. "You always got a line ready, huh?"

"You love it," I shot back.

"Maybe I do," she said, and there was that pause — that warm silence that always hung between us when neither of us wanted to hang up.

Then KB jumped in the pool behind me, splashing water everywhere.

"Jackie! Get off the phone and come take this shot!" she yelled.

Angel laughed so hard she had to cover her mouth. "Go ahead, superstar. I'll call you later."

I smiled, tucking my bottom lip between my teeth. "You better."

"Bye, Jack."

"Bye, A."

I ended the call, staring at my reflection in the black screen for a second before KB tossed a lime wedge at me.

"Girl, stop smiling at your phone and come drink!" she hollered.

I rolled my eyes but couldn't hide the grin as I stood, pocketing my phone. "Man, y'all nosy. I'm coming!"

The music picked up, laughter echoed over the water, and I let myself get lost in it — the waves, the sun, the sound of people I loved. But even through all of it, my mind kept drifting back to her.

Excuse all errorsAjah