Page 1 of The Marriage Rebound

Chapter 1

Courtney

I collapsed onto the floor after the buzzer sounded. We’d done it—against all odds, we’d done it. We’d held off Arizona just as we’d held off Seattle to force a game five.

Bodies fell on top of me, screaming and shaking me in their joy.

“We did it!” Tina yelled, her embrace tight.

The adrenaline continued to burn through my veins. My heart hammered so fast, every beat was like a drum solo coursing through me. The energy in the arena was on a hundred. Fans on their feet, chanting “Cannons” and continuing to cheer and celebrate this momentous occasion instead of clearing out to head to their cars. It’d been a hell of a year, our “Cinderella story” as it were. The fans who’d stuck with us season after losing season, this was for them too. One more game and we could be champions.

Winning a title was something that had always remained just out of my reach. Never got close in high school or college, and my WNBA career had been the same so far. Yet every year I’d hoped for this. Longed for it, and now we were so close I could taste the victory. All the hard work. The determination to succeed despite the roadblocks. The payoff was within reach.

I was tugged to my feet and immediately engulfed in excited embraces from my teammates as I searched the crowd until my eyes landed on my beautiful wife. Sasha stood, arms linked with Doc, both of them all smiles. I disentangled myself and made my way to her, a vision in an all-cream outfit. Her hair, which was in a high ponytail that hung to her waist, was the only real color to complete the look. When we’d advanced in the playoffs, she’d surprised me by having her hairstylist dye a wig in Cannons blue. Sasha changed up her hair often, and I was probably biased, but the current style was my favorite.

Overall, it was an understated ensemble, down to the wedge tennis shoes, but knowing her tastes, it’d probably cost more than I wanted to know about. She prided herself on looking her best and it made her happy to shop and have the finer things in life, so I did what I needed to do to make that happen.

As I got closer, Sasha whispered something to Doc that made her laugh before Sasha cast a brilliant smile in my direction, which made me all the more eager to have her in my arms. However, my forward progression was impeded when one of the courtside reporters stepped into my path. By the time I finished answering her questions on “how did I feel about the win,” “what could the team do to keep the momentum going,” and a few more of the usual, the spot where Sasha had been standing was empty. As the team left the court, heading toward the tunnel, I laid eyes on her again, standing just outside the entrance.

She moved forward, a large smile on her full lips, which were tinted a dark brown. The rest of her makeup was also done in earth tones. The shimmering in her eyeshadow brought out the golden hues of her light brown eyes. “Congrats, baby.” She slipped her arms around my neck, stretching up on her toes to give me a quick kiss.

I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me, inhaling deep to take in her soft, spicy scent, and grabbed a handful of her plush ass before picking her up and spinning her around. “Can you believe it? We have a real chance at the chip!”

She let out a squeal followed by a delightful laugh as I set her back on her feet. Her chestnut eyes sparkled as she looked up at me. “Absolutely. Y’all have been in the fucking zone these last few games.”

Sasha had been more of a football fan when we’d met, but she’d fully committed to being a basketball wife, which had included learning about the game. Something I truly appreciated, her effort to care about the job and sport that meant so much to me. And being courtside at every home game. The fans were great, and their support meant so much, but there was something about having someone in the crowd just for me . . . it soothed an ache.

“Oh, and Mya sent me several all-caps text messages. She organized a watch party at her dorm and was damn near giving me a play-by-play as if I wasn’t here,” Sasha said with a slight smile and shake of her head. “I’m sure you’ll have a screaming voice message or two waiting.”

Mention of my baby sister made me smile harder. We’d had to rely on each other growing up, and she’d always been my biggest fan. I knew she’d be as excited about the win as I was. Sasha and I linked fingers and continued toward the locker room. The energy around us was alive, and it electrified the air. I left Sasha in the coaches’ briefing room with the other family members of the team, since Coach Smith only wanted players and staff in the training or locker spaces because she was big on keeping what was said to us as a team away from outside ears, even if those ears were family.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Coach Smith spoke loudly, and the animated conversations died down to give her our full attention. “Alright, y’all, we did the damn thing. Each of you showed up and showed out on the court tonight.”

She paused as we again all clapped and cheered her words.

“We’ve held our own, but don’t think for a minute we still don’t have to fight to the bitter end. Getting complacent, getting too full of ourselves is how we lose sight of the goal. But win or lose, I am proud of each and every one of you ladies. Believe that.”

Coach Smith’s words reverberated through me. I had the utmost respect for her. She’d taken over at a time when we’d been falling apart. Despite all my years as a Cannon, I never quite felt like we were a cohesive team until Coach Smith’s leadership. She had no problem calling us on our shit, but also lifted us up when needed. Hearing her say she was proud—given my relationship with my parents—those words hit me a bit harder.

Pulling the towel from around my neck, I scrubbed it down my face and took a few deep breaths. Someone bumped my shoulder, and I turned to my right to see Shae.

“You good?” She asked the question low, so as to not interrupt Vickers, who was giving us his quick recap of things.

I nodded. “The high is wearing off is all, and the tired is setting in.”

It wasn’t a total lie, but I also didn’t want to get into the poorly timed thoughts of my rather indifferent parents. Shae knew what was up with them, but there were too many extra ears around even if they didn’t seem to be paying attention, and as much as I loved my teammates, I didn’t need or want all of them up in my business.

After our assistant coaches, Vickers and Adams, said their piece, Coach assigned the players who would have to do the postgame interviews. Those who needed treatments went to see Doc; the rest of us headed to the showers.

“You know Tina’s gonna want to grab food after she finishes post,” Shae said as she zipped up her duffel bag.

I nodded while smiling at the series of gifs my sister had sent as a congrats on the win. I darkened the screen then gave my friend my attention. “I’mma have to take a rain check. Sash has been on my ass again about us not spending enough time together.”

Shae laughed and shook her head. “You say it like you don’t want to spend time with your wife.”

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. “It’s not that I don’t. I do. We don’t actually get a lot of quiet time.”

“You should take her with you when you go do the Euro League.”