Chapter 17

One Year Later (yes another time skip)

The apartment was completely silent.

The kind of deep quiet that only existed after midnight.

Maya was asleep in her room curled around three stuffed animals and one tiny UConn basketball Paige had bought her months ago.

You were asleep too.

Or at least trying to be.

It was almost two in the morning, and despite how exhausted you felt, you still couldn’t fully relax knowing Paige wasn’t home yet.

Tonight mattered too much.

The WNBA Draft.

Paige had tried acting calm before she left earlier that day.

Tried pretending she wasn’t nervous.

But you’d known her too long for that.

You noticed the restless bouncing of her knee.

The way she kept rereading texts.

The way she stared at herself in the mirror for too long before leaving.

And before walking out the door, she’d held you for an extra few seconds.

Long enough for you to understand without words.

This was the moment she’d dreamed about her entire life.

Then somewhere around 2:07 a.m., the apartment door quietly opened.

You stirred slightly in your sleep.

Soft footsteps crossed the apartment carefully.

Then the bedroom door creaked open.

A familiar hand gently brushed against your shoulder.

“Baby.”

Your eyes opened slowly.

The room was dark except for faint moonlight slipping through the curtains.

Paige sat on the edge of the bed still wearing her draft night outfit.

But something about her expression immediately made you sit up.

Her eyes were shining.

Almost emotional.

And suddenly your heart started pounding.

“Paige?”

She smiled.

Not the confident public smile everyone else knew.

This one was softer.

Real.

Almost disbelieving.

“I got drafted.”

Your breath caught instantly.

“What?”

Paige laughed softly.

A shaky emotional sound.

“The Dallas Wings drafted me.”

For half a second you just stared at her.

Then immediately threw your arms around her.

“Oh my God!”

Paige laughed again as you nearly tackled her backward onto the bed.

“You did it.”

Your voice cracked emotionally.

“You actually did it.”

Paige buried her face against your shoulder for a moment.

And for the first time all night, the reality of it fully hit her.

She’d done it.

After injuries.

Pressure.

Years of expectations.

Everything.

She was officially a WNBA player.

You pulled back just enough to kiss her hard.

Paige smiled into it immediately.

Then you grabbed her face again.

“We are throwing the biggest party ever.”

Paige immediately groaned.

“No.”

You blinked.

“What?”

“No giant party.”

“Paige.”

“I’m serious.”

You stared at her in disbelief.

“You just got drafted into the WNBA.”

“I know.”

“And you don’t want a party?”

Paige shook her head gently.

Then her expression softened.

“I just want my family.”

Something in her voice made you pause.

She looked exhausted.

Emotional.

Happy in a way that almost didn’t feel real yet.

Paige leaned closer, resting her forehead against yours.

“You.”

Then quietly:

“Maya.”

Your chest immediately tightened.

“My mom and Bob.”

Her stepdad.

“My dad and Melanie.”

Her stepmom.

“And my siblings.”

She smiled softly.

“That’s enough for me.”

Emotion instantly filled your chest.

Because years ago, maybe Paige would’ve wanted the giant celebration.

The crowded room.

The attention.

The noise.

But now?

Now her priorities looked different.

And honestly?

You knew exactly why.

Paige glanced toward the hallway instinctively.

Toward Maya’s room.

Like even now, part of her heart constantly existed there.

“I spent the whole night thinking about getting home to you guys.”

Your eyes softened immediately.

Paige laughed quietly.

“Everybody else wanted to go out after.”

“And you came home.”

“Obviously.”

Her answer came without hesitation.

Like there was nowhere else she’d ever choose to be.

You brushed your fingers through her hair slowly.

“I’m so proud of you.”

Paige’s expression cracked slightly at that.

Not because she didn’t hear praise often.

She did.

Constantly.

From coaches.

Reporters.

Fans.

But praise from you always hit differently.

Because you’d seen everything.

The injuries.

The frustration.

The fear.

The nights she doubted herself.

You’d been there for all of it.

Paige swallowed hard.

Then smiled softly.

“Can I tell you something?”

“Always.”

She looked almost shy suddenly.

A rare sight.

“When they called my name…”

Her voice grew quieter.

“The first thing I thought about was you and Maya.”

Your throat tightened instantly.

Paige laughed softly at herself.

“I didn’t even think about basketball for a second.”

Her eyes drifted again toward the hallway.

“I just wanted to come home.”

And there it was again.

That quiet certainty Paige carried now whenever she talked about her family.

Like no achievement could ever matter more than the people waiting for her afterward.

You kissed her softly again.

“We can still celebrate.”

Paige smiled immediately.

“Yeah.”

“Just smaller.”

“Much smaller.”

You laughed.

Then suddenly remembered something important.

“Maya is going to lose her mind when she finds out.”

Paige grinned instantly.

Because their daughter was obsessed with basketball.

Mostly because she was obsessed with Paige.

The amount of tiny Dallas Wings gear already sitting in online shopping carts was honestly ridiculous.

Paige leaned back against the headboard finally looking like the exhaustion was catching up to her.

You noticed immediately.

“Tired?”

She laughed quietly.

“I think I stopped feeling my body like three hours ago.”

You smiled softly before curling against her side.

Paige wrapped an arm around you automatically.

And for a while neither of you spoke.

The room stayed quiet.

Peaceful.

Until-

Tiny footsteps.

Both of you looked toward the doorway at the exact same time.

Maya stood there half asleep clutching Bunny against her chest.

Messy curls everywhere.

Tiny sleepy voice.

“Mama?”

Paige immediately melted.

“There she is.”

Maya waddled over toward the bed without another word.

Still mostly asleep.

You lifted the blanket so she could climb between you both.

Paige pulled her close instantly.

Maya curled against her chest comfortably.

And within seconds, Paige was kissing the top of her daughter’s head while smiling so softly it nearly hurt to look at.

WNBA drafted.

Future professional athlete.

One of the biggest moments of her life.

And somehow this right here still mattered most.

Her wife in one arm.

Her daughter in the other.

Home.

Exactly where she wanted to be.