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“Langston is doing all her planning for next season,” Rosa said, turning to me. “Which includes reaching out to different media outlets, like Stadium Statements, to do Dastard-focused specials. So Kodi was reading through Ava’s articles on our way here.”

“Is it possible Brooker upset her? Like never called her back? He’s got a bit of a reputation back in the clubs in New York,” Emily said, voice going extra quiet.

“Nah,” Kodi dismissed quickly. “I mean, he’s absolutely a flirt, but from what I can tell he’s upfront with every woman he brings home.”

“Maybe she’s the reason he’s upfront now?” The table went quiet for a long moment before Kodi groaned and reached back for her phone.

“Let me text Brooker. If we’re working with this woman next year, I need to know what we’re dealing with.”

Rosa raised an eyebrow before typing something on Kodi’s phone, most likely deleting a comment, before handing it back.

“Anyway,” Rosa dragged out the word before looking at me. “What’s up?”

“Okay, so this is gonna make me sound like an egotistical bitch, but I took the loss really hard. Like, I know Niall is an amazing player—well, I guess I don’t know, but I trust y’all’s opinion—so him losing, not working as hard as he usually does, it feels like my fault. If hadn’t been so emotionally needy, he would’ve won, everyone would’ve won. He says it’s just a matter of finding our balance and me going to therapy, but … I feel like I should do more for him than I have, to support him. I just … don’t know how to do that. I’ve spent my entire adult life alone, I barely know how to be a friend, let alone a partner.” I slumped into the booth, staring down at the menu so I didn’t have to see my new friends’ reactions. It was embarrassing to admit that I didn’t know how to "do" relationships. Especially to people I now considered friends. It felt like handing over a jar of pickles to a dude after spending several minutes trying to open it.

“I’d say that’s an easy thing to practice, but that’d require the person in question to be able to ask for help and that’s not Christenson’s thing,” Rosa said with a little huff.

“He’s getting better,” Kodi added, perking up. “Or at least he’s trying. He delegated some stuff to the rest of the team the other day.”

“He did?” Something in me went soft, knowing Niall was doing exactly what he said he would and hearing it from someone else. It’s not that I didn’t trust him to make changes, honestly I was worried he’d go overboard. But his friends seeing good changes, probably encouraging them, was something else.

“Yeah. But maybe you can do the note taking thing he does? Like if he mumbles about foot pain, write it down and research solutions later. At least I think that’s what his notes are for.”

“Notes?”

“Mmm,” Rosa hummed. “It’s something Carmen taught him. He’s always had the worst memory, so he’s got dozens of notes in his phone about my favorite flavors and sizes and shit.”

“That’s the sweetest thing,” Emily gushed and I was swooning right there beside her. Because seriously, what group of men would know to and encourage each other to keep details about their partners' likes?

“Okay,” I murmured, trying to fight back tears. “Do y’all know anything about him for me to start with?”

The Holiday Play

Niall

The Monday after the loss, I did a few hours of drills and workouts, which was a third less than my usual routine. I still had that feeling like I was leaving work undone, but it was fainter than before, easing each time I took a deep breath and reminded myself that after the work, I had better, more fulfilling things to do, like hang out with Leah.

Unfortunately she made plans with Rosa, Kodi, and Emily that evening, so I went home, happy Leah had opened up to more people, even if that meant I spent the night alone.

Except I didn’t actually spend it alone. I texted Ricci and Taylor to ask if they were nervous about any particular players in the tournament and instead of giving me any answers, they came over and we watched some game footage together. It was weird to have them over, to do my research with others, but it was also fun. All those nights I’d spent taking notes while rewatching games were boring in comparison. Why had I ever thought I needed to do that alone?

“Ah, the girls are heading back home,” Ricci said as he looked down at his phone. We’d reviewed roughly three games, fast forwarding through a good chunk of them, and had a full sheet of notes. It’d been less work and involved more laughs than usual, but I felt more prepared for the tournament than I had the for championship game.

“You gonna spend the night with Leah?” Taylor asked as he picked up the plates and cups and took them to the kitchen. I looked behind him at the oven clock and winced.

“No. This is already pretty late for her and she’s got school tomorrow. She’ll wanna go straight to bed when she gets home.”

“So weird to hear an adult say they have school tomorrow.” Taylor chuckled as he rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher, waving me away when I said thanks.

“But don’t you need to help her pack? This is her first international trip, no?”

“Ricci,” I chastised, though there was no energy in my voice.

“I know, I know, I keep bringing it up. This’ll be the last time.”

“I would hope so, our flight out is in two days,” Taylor joked and Ricci nudged him.

“I just think it’s possible that Leah said something like, ‘We’re struggling to balance all these things, I won’t go to Italy and distract you from work.’ And you, not wanting to put pressure on her, just agreed. So she thinks she’s made the right decision, not knowing you actually really want her there.”