Chapter 18

The first WNBA game of Paige’s career felt unreal.

Even after all the interviews.

The jersey reveal.

Media day.

Training camp.

It still didn’t fully feel real until you walked into the arena and saw her name hanging inside a professional stadium.

Dallas Wings.

Paige Bueckers.

Your chest tightened instantly.

Because she’d actually done it.

Beside you, Maya gasped dramatically the second she entered the arena.

At two years old, she already loved basketball.

Mostly because she loved Paige.

Anything involving her mama immediately became the greatest thing in the world.

“Mama game!” Maya yelled excitedly from your arms.

Several nearby fans laughed softly.

You smiled while adjusting the tiny pair of headphones over Maya’s ears.

“Yep.”

Paige had insisted on courtside seats for both of you.

Not just good seats.

The seats.

Right beside the court.

“You and Maya are not sitting anywhere else,” she’d said firmly.

So now Maya sat proudly in a tiny Dallas Wings shirt kicking her feet excitedly every time players ran past.

And the second Paige came onto the court for warmups?

Maya lost her mind.

“MAMA!”

Paige immediately turned toward the sound.

And despite the thousands of people in the arena, her face instantly softened the second she spotted you both.

She jogged over almost immediately.

Still holding a basketball.

Maya bounced excitedly in her seat.

Paige crouched in front of her.

“Hey, baby girl.”

Maya grabbed Paige’s face with both tiny hands immediately.

“Mama basketball!”

Paige laughed.

“Yeah.”

Then she looked at you.

Emotion flickering briefly across her face.

Because no matter how big this moment was-

Having you both there mattered most.

She leaned over and kissed you quickly before the game started.

Then kissed Maya’s forehead.

And just like that, she was back on the court.

—

The game itself was chaos.

Loud.

Fast.

Emotional.

Every time Paige scored, Maya screamed like she’d personally won the championship herself.

Every single person sitting nearby quickly became aware that the tiny toddler courtside was deeply emotionally invested in number five.

“MAMA!”

You laughed every single time.

Because Paige tried so hard not to smile every time she heard it from the sidelines.

Tried.

Failed horribly.

The cameras definitely noticed too.

Especially when Paige glanced courtside after hitting a three-pointer and Maya immediately stood up clapping wildly.

By the fourth quarter, social media was probably already obsessed with the mystery toddler screaming for Paige Bueckers.

Not that either of you knew that yet.

The Wings won.

And the arena erupted.

Paige looked exhausted and emotional all at once during the final buzzer.

Her first professional win.

You felt proud enough to cry watching her.

Meanwhile Maya was basically vibrating with excitement in your lap.

“Mama win!”

“She did.”

“Mama good basketball!”

“Very good basketball.”

Unfortunately, Maya had now reached the dangerous combination of overtired and overexcited.

Which meant holding onto her became increasingly difficult.

Especially while people around you started moving around after the game ended.

Players hugged family.

Media crowded the court.

Reporters rushed everywhere.

And while you were distracted adjusting Maya’s headphones and gathering your bag-

Maya escaped.

Completely escaped.

One second she was beside you.

The next-

Gone.

Your heart stopped instantly.

“Maya?”

Panic shot through your chest immediately as you looked around frantically.

Then you saw her.

Halfway across the court.

Tiny little legs running as fast as possible straight toward Paige.

“Oh my God.”

You immediately took off after her.

But it was too late.

Because at center court, Paige was already mid-interview with ESPN.

Sweaty.

Out of breath.

Still emotional from the win.

The reporter smiled toward the camera.

“Paige, how did it feel stepping onto a WNBA court for the first time tonight?”

Paige smiled slightly.

“It honestly felt surreal-“

Then suddenly-

Tiny hands grabbed her shorts.

“Mama! Mama!”

Paige froze.

Completely froze.

The entire arena seemed to pause with her.

Paige slowly looked down.

And there was Maya.

Tiny curls a mess.

Little Dallas Wings shirt slightly crooked.

Looking unbelievably proud of herself.

Paige’s eyes widened instantly.

Pure panic.

Because for exactly five seconds, her brain completely short-circuited.

Nobody publicly knew.

Not officially.

Not about the marriage.

Not about Maya.

The reporter blinked.

The cameras definitely zoomed in.

Somewhere courtside, you nearly died from embarrassment while still hurrying across the court.

Paige looked absolutely stunned.

“Maya?”

Your daughter immediately reached both arms upward.

“Mama up!”

And just like that-

Paige melted instantly.

The panic disappeared from her face almost immediately as instinct took over.

She bent down and scooped Maya into her arms effortlessly.

“There she is.”

Maya wrapped herself around Paige immediately like a tiny koala.

Completely unbothered by the cameras.

Meanwhile the reporter looked like she was trying very hard to process what was happening.

The arena crowd had started reacting too.

A mixture of confused cheering and collective emotional devastation.

Because apparently America’s newest favorite basketball moment was watching Paige Bueckers unexpectedly get tackled by a toddler calling her mama.

Paige adjusted Maya carefully on her hip.

Still looking slightly shocked.

Then Maya patted her cheek proudly.

“Mama basketball.”

The entire interview crew laughed softly.

Paige couldn’t stop smiling now even if she tried.

“Yeah, baby.”

The reporter finally recovered enough to speak again.

“Well…”

She laughed.

“I think we may have just learned something new about you tonight.”

Paige immediately laughed too.

A slightly embarrassed sound.

“Yeah.”

Her eyes briefly found yours across the court.

You had finally caught up.

Still slightly horrified.

Paige smiled reassuringly at you instantly.

Like it was okay.

And honestly?

The second she looked down at Maya smiling happily in her arms, she realized it was.

Completely okay.

The reporter smiled warmly.

“So this is your daughter?”

Paige looked down at Maya.

The pride in her expression impossible to miss.

“Yeah.”

Her voice softened immediately.

“This is Maya.”

Maya waved proudly at absolutely nobody in particular.

The crowd melted instantly.

“And apparently,” the reporter teased lightly, “she’s your biggest fan.”

Paige laughed.

“No apparently about it.”

She kissed Maya’s temple gently.

“She’s definitely my biggest fan.”

Maya grinned.

Then loudly announced into the microphone:

“Mama win!”

The entire arena erupted into laughter and applause.

Paige buried her face briefly against Maya’s curls while laughing too.

And somewhere in the middle of the noise, the cameras, the attention, and the unexpected public reveal of her family-

Paige realized she didn’t actually care anymore.

Because her daughter was in her arms.

Her wife was smiling at her from the sidelines.

And for the second time in her life, basketball suddenly felt secondary compared to the people waiting for her after the game.