Joel couldn’t sleep. He had a lot of trouble sleeping as of late and he wasn’t all that sure why. He slipped out of bed and the warmth radiating off of his boyfriend as he pulled on a pair of jogger pants and a Palmetto hoodie before pulling on a pair of socks and his sneakers. He grabbed his phone and wallet and started off toward the court. He usually ran but tonight he walked. The fresh air helped to clear his head and that’s what he needed.
He thought about going to the court itself to throw a ball at the wall but instead he went to his office and sat on the couch going over the tapes Wymack had given him of potential players for the team. He was so immersed in them that he never heard someone come in.
Sometimes it still feels a little thrilling, having access to the court at all hours of the night. He’d done his fair share of extra practices as a Fox, spent time on the court just because it was the court and he could—because Exy had finally stopped being something that he only watched on a screen and something he claimed for himself. Something he could keep.
He tries to keep a regular sleep schedule—Betsy’s recommendation, besides being up and alone in the middle of the night reminds him of the worst days of his injury, when he’d find himself sleeping all day and awake all night, nothing scheduled and nothing to wake up for to keep him in line. But with every game it’s gotten a little harder to turn his thoughts off at the end of the day, leave the game on the court when he goes. Some nights, Wymack’s pullout couch just seems more uncomfortable than other nights. And, when he can’t sleep, it seems better to leave Wymack’s apartment than pace around and potentially wake Wymack up.
And, if he’s going to leave Wymack’s apartment, he’s going to go to the court. He doesn’t expect to see any lights on—but maybe he should, it seems every time Brandon thinks he’s alone at the court, he isn’t, and so he can’t help but poke his head in on Joel. “I realize that it’s hypocritical for me to be saying anything, but I’m gonna say it anyway—what’re you doing here so late?”










