Her head had drifted to Lou's shoulder somewhere over Ohio, blonde hair spilling across Lou's arm like a silk curtain. Her breath was slow and even, her face relaxed in ways it never was when she was awake. Without the constant performance of public persona, Camille looked younger. Softer. Unbearably beautiful.
Lou turned her head, breathing in the scent of Camille's shampoo—something expensive and floral that probably cost more than Lou's monthly grocery budget. The intimacy of it made her chest tight. This close, she could count Camille's eyelashes, could trace the faintfreckles across the bridge of her nose that makeup usually hid.
Last night had changed something. Not just the sex—though the memory of Camille's body beneath hers still sent heat pooling through Lou's belly—but everything that came with it. The confessions. The tears. The raw honesty of two people finally showing each other who they really were.
I'm falling in love with you.
Camille's words echoed through Lou's memory, and something warm and terrifying bloomed in response. She'd spent her whole life keeping people at arm's length. Protecting herself from exactly this kind of vulnerability. And now here she was, on a chartered flight surrounded by teammates, with her heart laid open for a woman who could destroy it without even trying.
Camille's hand had migrated to Lou's thigh at some point during the flight. The weight of it was warm through the thin material of Lou's joggers, fingers curled loosely against muscle. An unconscious gesture of possession that made Lou want to cover it with her own hand. Keep it there. Never let go.
But she couldn't. Not here. Not with the whole team scattered through the cabin, any one of them able to glance over and see.
Lou forced herself to sit perfectly still. To keep her breathing even. To not do anything that might draw attention to the sleeping woman beside her or the feelings that were writing themselves across Lou's face no matter how hard she tried to hide them.
The cabin was quiet—most of the team sleeping off the post-game exhaustion and the late-night celebration that had followed. Frankie snored softly three rows back. Elise had headphones in, eyes closed, lost in whatever podcasthelped her decompress. Rowan sat by herself near the front, reading something on her tablet with the particular focus of someone who didn't want to be disturbed.
Safe, Lou told herself. They were safe. No one was watching. No one cared.
The thought lasted exactly seventeen seconds.
Mara Ellison emerged from the cockpit area, where she'd been talking to the flight crew about their arrival time. She walked down the narrow aisle with the confident stride of someone who owned every space she entered, her sharp eyes scanning the cabin with a coach's instinctive assessment.
Those eyes landed on Lou and Camille.
On the blonde head resting against Lou's shoulder. On the hand draped across Lou's thigh. On the particular intimacy of their position that spoke to something far more than teammates sharing space on a flight.
Lou's stomach dropped.
Mara's expression didn't change. That was almost worse than a reaction would have been—the careful blankness that meant she was processing, filing away information for later use. She held Lou's gaze for a long moment, something flickering in her eyes that might have been understanding or disappointment or both.
Then she continued down the aisle, disappearing toward the back of the plane without a word.
Lou sat frozen, her chest tight with sudden dread. Her palms had gone damp, and the comfortable cabin air suddenly felt stifling. Camille slept on, oblivious to the earthquake that had just shifted the ground beneath them. Her breath remained even, her face peaceful, completely unaware that their careful secret had just been exposed.
Mara knew.
The weight of it pressed down on Lou's chest like a physical thing. Nine years she'd played for Phoenix Ridge, nine years of keeping her head down and her personal life invisible. And in one careless moment, one flight where she'd let herself feel safe, she'd undone all of it.
The words cycled through Lou's mind on an endless loop as the plane began its descent into Phoenix Ridge. Mara knew. Mara, who had been hired to turn this team into winners. Mara, who valued discipline above everything. Mara, who had the power to make their lives very difficult if she decided this relationship was a distraction.
Lou gently shifted, easing Camille's head off her shoulder as the captain announced their approach. Camille woke slowly, blinking against the cabin light, her blue eyes finding Lou's with a sleepy smile that made Lou's chest ache.
"We're almost home," Lou said quietly.
"Mm." Camille stretched, her hand sliding off Lou's thigh. "I slept the whole flight. You should have woken me."
"You needed the rest."
Camille's smile faded slightly, reading something in Lou's expression. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." The lie tasted bitter on Lou's tongue. "Just tired."
The landing was smooth, the deplaning efficient. Lou moved through the motions on autopilot—gathering her carry-on, filing down the aisle with her teammates, squinting against the bright Phoenix Ridgesunshine as they crossed the tarmac toward the terminal.
The contrast between New York and Phoenix Ridge was jarring. Here, the air smelled like sage and dust instead of car exhaust and pizza. The sky stretched endlessly blue, unmarred by skyscrapers, and the mountains in thedistance rose brown and solid against the horizon. Phoenix Ridge's airport was small, regional, nothing like the chaos of JFK or LaGuardia. The dry heat wrapped around them like a familiar embrace after the bitter cold of New York.
Lou inhaled deeply, trying to ground herself in the familiar landscape. This was home. This was where she'd built her life, her career, her carefully constructed world. And now that world was cracking at the seams.
