"Ughhh." Jo groans, landing flat on her face in the bed, feeling far more tired than she should be. Staying there a moment to orient herself slightly, she eventually rolls to her back, opening her phone to see Michael's text requesting a FaceTime call as soon as she has time.
Sighing, she shoots him a message back saying she'll call in about twenty minutes, needing a shower first. They'd flown to Seattle from LA this morning and gone straight to the arena for some walkthroughs the coaching staff felt were necessary. Walkthroughs that somehow ended up feeling much more like practice than a simple shoot-around and guidance for tomorrow's game. Stripping as she walks across the room she grabs her toiletry bag from her suitcase and heads for the bathroom. She has to fiddle with the shower for a moment before she can figure out exactly how to get it the right temperature, eventually stepping in and leaning into the warm water, willing it to release some of the pain and tension building up in her body.
Taking longer than she'd planned she eventually pulls herself from the scalding stream, knowing Michael will eventually need sleep and she'd like to talk to him first. Wrapping herself in a towel she picks up her phone and wanders back to the bed, letting her hair hang around her shoulders to air dry. Once comfortable she hits call on his contact, hoping he isn't asleep quite yet.
"There she is." Michael looks tired, but happy, as he answers, clearly laid out in his own hotel bed in Nashville.
"Sorry, it's been a very long day, and the shower was very enticing." She chuckles, "If I hadn't wanted to talk to you so badly I'd still be in there."
"I'm really glad I top the shower on your list of importance." He chuckles, "What happened today that was so bad?"
"It wasn't really bad, just long." She shrugs, "We played last night in LA, and flew to Seattle this morning for our game tomorrow and basically had a full practice today when it was just supposed to be a shoot-around. I'm just tired, and my shoulder is bugging me a little bit, but I think it's just tweaked slightly from the game last night. I think mostly though it's that I'm tired, and when I'm tired I miss you extra, and we're getting so close to being together again, but that only seems to be making time go slower."
"I miss you too, Jo. But it's so close now, I'll be holding you in my arms in less than two weeks, baby."
"I am so looking forward to that day." She hums, her eyes closing for a second as she leans back against the headboard.
"When will you know if you made All Star? The voting ended a couple days ago."
"They'll announce it officially tomorrow, but they told the players and teams who made it today." She sighs, her eyes opening again to see his sage colored irises studying her through the screen. "I made it." She practically whispers the words, as if it's a monumental secret she's sharing.
"You did?" The grin that splits his face sets off a swarm of butterflies in her stomach.
"Ya, I made my first All Star game, and on top of that, I'm a starter for the game. I can't believe it honestly. I have been working so hard for this, and I made it happen."
"I'm so proud of you, baby. You deserve this so much for all the work you've put in to make sure you're the best you can possibly be. I cannot wait to celebrate you in New York, my girl, the All Star."
"I'm so proud of myself, Michael." She half laughs, "It's probably stupid, but when they announced it at practice today I couldn't help but feel accomplished, like I earned this with blood sweat and tears."
"Because you did, Jo. You earned it, you deserve it, and it's amazing to see your hard work being recognized like this."
"Thanks." She chuckles, "I can't wait for everything that weekend. Being able to participate in All Star Weekend, and then immediately fly to New York to be with you for a few days. July can't come soon enough."
"July is in two days." Michael points out with a laugh.
"Ya, but the first weekend of July will be spent in Minnesota to round out this week-long road trip."
"How many more games until you're with me?" Michael asks with a smile.
"Seattle tomorrow, fly to Minnesota Thursday, games there Friday and Sunday, then back to Vegas for one game next Wednesday, and then packing and off to Chicago on Thursday to be there through Sunday, and then flying to you Monday morning. So four games plus the All Star."
"Five games for you, and eight shows for me. That's all that stands between us, Jo... that's not too much."
"Thirteen days." She nods.
"That's way better than the forty-seven or whatever it was when you had to let me walk away in the Vegas airport."
"Ya, it's a lot better." She nods.
"Speaking of airports, and flights..." Michael smirks slightly, "I hear that you helped get Margaret to Texas to be with Ashton after Sunday."
"She was panicking, he was hurt, and I could help." Jo shrugs, "It wasn't a big deal. Between points on my credit card, all the flights I take for basketball, and my parents living most of the year half a country away from me, I have a lot of miles saved up. Booking one flight to Houston cost me nothing and her a lot of mental strain."
"It is a big deal, Jo. It's a big deal to me, and to Ashton. Thank you." Michael sighs.
"You're welcome, I didn't do it for thanks though, I did it because it was the right thing to do."
"It was more than the right thing, it was the kindest thing you probably could have done in that moment, and it isn't going to just slip under the radar, we are all very grateful. Plus, it might have softened Luke to the idea of us, he's been so pessimistic about this working out, until Marg told us what you did, and then suddenly he was almost on board for us."
"I was just lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to help. And to meet some people from your life finally." She laughs.
"You'll get the chance to meet a bunch of them in just a couple weeks."
"Ya, I can't wait to be immersed in your world for a day, to really get to see you thrive in your environment."
"I can't wait to attend another one of your games and see you be all sexy and badass again on the court." Michael grins.
"Wishing the next couple weeks away as we speak." She nods, adjusting the towel still wrapped around her.
"It will go by fast enough, or at least we can hope it will." Michael says around a yawn.
"You should sleep, baby." Jo smiles softly, "You start up work again tomorrow."
"It's just a radio interview and a small acoustic show. You have a full fledged game to play. You should sleep."
"I'm a few hours behind you, it's not quite as late here." She shrugs, "And I'm not dressed yet, and haven't done anything with my hair since washing it. I have a few things to do before I can sleep."
"Well maybe just set your phone up in the bathroom while you get ready for bed, and I'll lay here and enjoy watching you as I fall asleep. I don't want to lose sight of you yet, Jo. I miss you too much."
"You're going to make me end the call after you've fallen asleep on me?" She laughs, but does move to get up, wandering to her suitcase to find something to sleep in.
"Ya, I do it all the time, tonight it's your turn to end the call." He chuckles.
"I'll do it imagining the time in just a couple weeks when I get to crawl into your arms after getting ready for bed."
"I'm going to fall asleep imagining you're here too, baby." Michael nods, smiling softly as he sees her pull his hoodie over her head. "You've washed that right?" He jokes.
"Probably more than you've washed the one with my name on it." She rolls her eyes at him.
"I wash it!" He counters.
"Good. Now go to sleep." She laughs, heading to the bathroom to do her skincare routine and twist her hair into some sort of braid since she doesn't have the energy to blow dry it tonight.
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Filler? Or no..?
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ČTEŠ
End Game
Fanfikce"Everything in my life has always been a game, a goal, or a distraction. So which one are you?" "A game." Michael answers confidently. "So the truth comes out..." Her tone quite clearly tells him how hurtful she found his response. "Let me finish...
