Chapter one
Elsie
"Great game, ladies! You are now National Champions!" Coach Walters yells as she walks into the locker room, and a round of applause with a burst of cheers rings throughout the room.
I can't help but grin, because the coach is right, we kicked ass tonight. I've never seen us play the way we did, connected as a team. Closing my eyes, I breathe out, silently wishing that we can stay like this forever when I hear her shout, "And congratulations to Elsie for the most points tonight! Our MVP!"
A grin spreads across my face. While my teammates cheer out once again, many of them pat me on the back as they congratulate me. My face hurts from the permanent smile on my face. Tonight was an amazing game. Not only did we win the game, but we just secured ourselves as the best WNBA team of the season.
This is it. What I've been striving for my whole life. I'm at the height of my career and I can't wait to see what happens next.The idea that it gets better is just not possible. I'm in multiple commercials, I just won the National Championship, and the MVP. My teammates have become more than friends, they have become family. Especially Jade, Leanne, and Jessica. I'm also close to Diana who retired last year, due to her knee not being the same. Besides, it didn't hurt that she had met her soul mate in Mexico.
A small part of me wishes I had that too. Sometimes I wish for someone to share this amazing feeling, but when I look around, that feeling fades. Still, I miss her. She was like a big sister, and one of my only friends before the other girls came.
Opening up my locker, I pull out my bag and check my phone. I have a ton of missed messages and phone calls, many of them from my family and friends outside of the team. Settling down on the bench behind me, I scroll through them, responding to each one. The hustle and bustle of the locker room moves around me, congratulating each other, changing and packing up, to either go home or out to celebrate even further.
"Hey, Elsie, are you coming out tonight with us?" Leanne calls from a few lockers down.
Though I'm tired from the game, I'm still amped with adrenaline. "Yeah, I'm coming out. Text me where you're going, I'll meet you there."
"Got it." She says, pulling her phone out she types something and a second later mine buzzes in my hand. I look down and see that they're heading to a bar not far from my apartment. The Raven's Nest.
Shoving my phone back into my bag, I grab my clothes and hit the showers. Twenty minutes later, I'm cleaned up and heading toward the bar. I walk in and am greeted with a shout.
Raven's Nest is a bar that is close to the arena and is owned by one of the best friends of the owner of the L.A. Stars, the team I play for. Which means the bar is closed after every game,allowing us a place to go without having fans bothering us. Most nights meeting with fans doesn't really bother me, but it can be exhausting. Tonight, I'm thankful for the peace.
I walk over to the table that Jessica and Leanne are sitting at, plopping down on one of the stools, I ask, "Hey, what's everyone drinking?"
"Hey," they both say in unison, making me laugh.
"We're drinking beer." Jessica says, pushing a full glass toward me.
These two know me so well. I'm a very laid-back person. Simple. I like a good beer, a place to rest, and friends to talk with. I glance around the bar when I don't see the fourth of our group. I look back at my friends, "Where is Jade?"
Leanne rolls his eyes. "You know where she is, she went home with Cliff."
Jessica waggles her brows at me, "She said they had a specific way they wanted to celebrate."
I gag at the innuendo. "Eww… gross." Making Jessica laugh.
"So how does it feel to achieve all of your dreams in one night?" Leanne asks me.
Taking a sip of my beer, I just give her a smirk, before replying, "Amazing."
Pretending to hold out a microphone as if she was a journalist, she asks me, "So what's next for the number one woman basketball player in the league?"
I contemplate it for a moment, because honestly, I have no idea what is next. Do I keep going? Should I just retire while I'm at the height of my career? I'm only twenty-six, that seems a little young. Looking around at my teammates, the staff, and their families, I know exactly what is next.
Leaning forward as if what I'm about to say is a secret, I yell at her, "We're going back to back!"
"Hell, yeah, we are!" Leanne shouts, fist pumping the air, making the people around us cheer too. We're all so ridiculous.
Finishing my beer, I place it down on the table as I'm hit with a wave of exhaustion. Time to get out of here.
"Alright, ladies. It's been a long night. Time for me to head back to my sanctuary." I say, getting up from the bar stool.
"Good night, Elsie. See you in a week." Leanne says, giving me a wink.
"You know I'll be at the gym tomorrow." I tell her, giving her a knowing look.
