“Wait up!” Jade yelled as she raced toward Mercedes, her thickness weighed down with multiple rings, bracelets, and necklaces. Everything about jiggling Jade made Mercedes smile.
Cheryl gently poked Mercedes’s side. Mercedes had been elbowed so many times on the court that her taut stomach absorbed the blow. “Jade’s so all about you,” Cheryl said in words barely audible through her laughter. The rest of the Wildcat starting five agreed. They were gathered around Mercedes’s locker as they were every school morning.
“I don’t have time for Jade during the season.” Mercedes checked the schedule on her cell. School. Practice. Study. Family. Mercedes knew she’d only be able to give Jade the time she deserved if a genius invented a longer day, but that didn’t seem possible.
“You lie,” Halle said. Mercedes’s embarrassed face didn’t deny it.
When Mercedes turned to leave, Cheryl latched onto her arm, holding her in place until Jade arrived. Almost a foot shorter than Mercedes, Jade sometimes made Mercedes feel like a giraffe in the hallway, unlike the gazelle she resembled on the court.
“Sorry I’m late,” Jade said, catching her breath. Mercedes waited for her to give a reason, but Jade just removed her backward Barons ball cap and tossed it into the overstuffed locker that they shared. Jade unloaded her bag and took out the books for her morning classes. Both she and Mercedes held AP Calculus texts.
Mercedes tried not to be suspicious as she watched Jade. She loved the silver “Love” necklace that hung around Jade’s neck. Mercedes had given her the necklace on their one-year anniversary. She hated the green “Loyalty” tattoo Jade had inked on her left arm before they’d met—it looked a lot like the one that Callie wore with pride. Mercedes wondered if Lincoln hid one under his long sleeves.
“See you after practice?” Mercedes asked softly, trying not to flinch. Getting a shot blocked on the court was a bad feeling, but having Jade say no to her for any reason was worse.
“Always,” Jade said before she kissed Mercedes on her strawberry-gloss lips. “Forever.”