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Harper's laugh echoed in my memory, bright and genuine and devastating. Her voice calling me Captain with that mixture of mockery and affection. Her eyes meeting mine across the basketball court, seeing through every carefully constructed wall I'd ever built.

I was in trouble.

Deep, complicated, catastrophic trouble.

And the worst part was that some traitorous part of me, buried deep, locked away, supposedly safe—wanted to be in trouble. Wanted to stop fighting this pull. Wanted to see where it could go if I was brave enough to let it.

But I wasn't brave. I'd proven that three years ago with Karlie. Proven it every day since, choosing privacy over honesty, choosing fear over freedom, choosing the safety of my closet over the risk of being seen.

Harper deserved someone brave. Someone who could claim her publicly, love her openly, be the kind of partner she'd clearly decided she needed after her ex’s betrayal.

I was not that person.

I could never be that person.

My career, my endorsements, my carefully managed reputation, my entire identity—all of it built on the foundation of staying hidden, staying safe, staying in control.

Except control was failing me. Had been failing me since the moment Harper looked up from her phone in that tunnel and met my judgment with fury.

I rolled onto my back, stared at the ceiling in the dark.

Two more seasons. That's all I had left. Two more seasons of being Captain Russo, of playing at the highest level, of proving I belonged among the best. After that, retirement would come whether I was ready or not. My body would give out, my performance would decline, and I'd have to figure out who Cameron Russo was when she wasn't on a basketball court.

The thought terrified me more than any game, any opponent, any championship pressure I'd ever faced.

Because I didn't know. Didn't know who I was without basketball, without the structure and discipline and clear objectives. Didn't know what I wanted beyond the next practice, the next game, the next season.

Except now I did.

I wanted Harper's laugh. Her sharp wit. Her fearless authenticity. Her body against mine, under mine, over mine, any configuration where I got to touch her and taste her and hear her say my name.

I wanted impossible things.

I was so thoroughly, completely fucked.

And my heart? That supposedly locked-up, safe, protected heart? It was already starting to crack.

I felt the fissures forming, felt the walls beginning to crumble, felt the terror of wanting someone bad enough to risk everything.

Tomorrow I'd rebuild them. Tomorrow I'd be strong enough to resist this pull, smart enough to remember all the reasons this couldn't work, disciplined enough to keep my distance.

Tomorrow.

Tonight, I let myself want.

Just for tonight.

Just this once.

7

Nobody Panic

Harper

"I need you to promise me we're leaving by nine," I said, buckling myself into Mia's passenger seat like I was preparing for a hostage situation. "Nine PM. That's my limit. After nine, I turn into a pumpkin, except instead of a pumpkin, I turn into a person who says what she's really thinking, and nobody wants that."

Mia pulled out of my apartment complex, grinning in that way that meant she was absolutely not going to honor my request. "It's just game night. It'll be fun."