you were engaged in a conversation with azzi and sarah, laughing at something one of them had said. well- you weren’t really engaged in said conversation. your eyes kept roaming, finding paige who was across the table. she probably could feel your gaze coming back to her but you didn’t care. she looked so good, and she knew it. that’s what you hated about her, she had so much confidence and it made you want to scream. how could a woman be so perfect?

you were at a team dinner, celebrating a recent win over a rival. you and your team were dressed nice, at some fancy restaurant.

your time at UCONN had been.. interesting to say the least. you transferred from miami your sophomore year, fitting right in as soon as you arrived. you made many friends, and gained whatever you had going on with paige. a friendship? no. situationship? maybe. a friends-with-benefits-but-not-really type of thing. yeah, you hooked up. a lot. it was originally a no-strings type of thing, but subtle glances and touches were exchanged more than usual and you both knew there was something there. it was weird.

as you snapped back to reality, you could feel paige’s sneaker gently kick your heel-clad foot. your phone went off when you looked over at her.

u okay mama?

i see you staring but you look out of it

she texted you. you thanked god you had a privacy screen protector, or one of your teammates could have easily leaned over and spotted the pet name, or the pink heart next to her contact name.