Tris pulls out her phone and hovers over her contacts. Who was the best person to talk about this with? Marlene would be understanding but would try not to hurt her feelings. Christina would be brutally honest but want her to explore all her options and all of the other cliche relationship advice then Lynn would probably ask her to get straight to the point. She looked at the time difference and went with Lynn.

"Prior, you never facetime me so I know something must be up," Lynn says with a laugh as she adjusts her phone.

"Oh yes I do you just don't answer" Tris teases. Lynn wasn't one for long phone conversations but she was always there if you needed to talk.

"I need some advice, is this a good time?" She knew Kima was visiting Lynn in Finland for a week.

"Yeah, Kima and I just got in from going on a walk, she's in the shower"

Tris smiles. She loved Shakima. Lynn and Kima had just decided to get married over the summer. Kima was coordinating with Tris and Lynns's playing schedule trying to squeeze the wedding in the two days Tris would be playing in Seattle against Lynn and the Storm since she, Christina, and Marlene were a part of the wedding party. Kima was carrying their first child after they chose a donor and a few rounds of IVF that winter.

"So I've been kind of seeing someone, a woman and I'm not sure about how people will react"

"Look at you Prior!" Lynn grins at the camera.

"I'm trying to decide how public I should be with this or if I should wait a while…"

Lynn looks at her friend and immediately knows what the problem is.

"Tris, I don't think you are nervous about how people react to you being in a relationship with a woman"

"What would make you think that?" Tris asks, furrowing her eyebrows at Lynn's statement.

"Because I don't think you are questioning this because of who you're dating...I think you're questioning this because you still love Tobias"

Tris chews on her bottom lip. Lynn wasn't one to beat around the bush. She was going to be direct and say how she felt. Tris knew Christina would say the same thing.

"Listen to your heart Tris. You need to sort out your feelings for Tobias. Talk to him"

"I don't know if I can handle it if he doesn't want me" Tris admits quietly feeling tears start to well up in her eyes.

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take Tris, It's time to stop running from how you feel about him"

Tris slides out of bed and grabs her phone before heading into the kitchen. Nita was sleeping soundly but for some reason, she couldn't sleep anymore. She grabbed a pair of discarded shorts and a shirt as she crept into the living room. She grabs a bottle of water out of the fridge and flops on the sofa putting the tv on low. She didn't even bother flipping to Netflix so she settled for a dubbed over version of Modern Family in Italian

She pulls up her Instagram looking at all the likes and comments she had gotten over the afternoon. She had posted a new video that Nita took of her messing around at practice being silly and dancing. She chuckles at Christina's comments, she tells a few fans happy birthday knowing it would make their day. She aimlessly scrolls liking a new picture Marlene posted. She sees a new like pop up as she's scrolling and moves over to see who it was. Tobias.

Tris felt as though her heart was going to beat through her chest. She hadn't talked to him since they slept together at NBA All-Star weekend. She wasn't sure what to expect after that but she hadn't bothered to reach out to him either. She didn't know why she was freaking out. They had refollowed each other on social media her last year at Dauntless, he basically never posted anything. Only a few things from when he was drafted, A Happy Mothers' Day post for his mom every year. She caught glimpses of him on Uriah, Will, and Calebs's pages but she would see posts on gossip blogs from The Shaderoom, YBF, and Lipstick Allie post whichever IG model he was linked to at the moment.

Why now would he decide to like a picture? What the hell did that mean? Even after their encounter with each other at All-Star Weekend, he hadn't liked any of her pics.

Tris looks back toward the bedroom door to make sure Nita was still sleeping and then looks at the time. She did a quick calculation in her head it was 6 am which meant that it was midnight on the east coast in the states. There was no way Christina was up yet. And she didn't want to send a text especially if she was just overreacting. Maybe he liked the picture by mistake.

She went to his profile and the last picture he posted had been over six months ago and it was a random photo. She knew he was back in Charlotte after getting traded. Tris took a deep breath. She was just overreacting, maybe he was scrolling and double-tapped by accident. She and Nita were falling into a comfortable vibe. She was here in Italy for the next two months and then she would be back in Chicago with no reason to even think about Tobias. Then she thinks about her conversation earlier in the week with Lynn. She had to stop running from how she felt.

She turns off the tv and goes back into the bedroom. They had practice that afternoon and game the next day so she knew she needed to get some more sleep if she could. She sheds her clothes to climb back into bed with Nita.

"What time is it?" Nita mumbles

"Early, go back to sleep," Tris says as Nita rolls over and pulls her close.

Tris stares at the ceiling for a while before she goes back to sleep but she couldn't get her mind off Tobias for some reason.

Things changed for Tobias in November only a month into his NBA season in Charlotte. He checks into the game. Things are going pretty smoothly when there's a steal and he has the opportunity for a fast break. He hustles to the end of the court and jumps in perfect time to grab the ball as Will fires it at him for a dunk.

The crowd goes wild but when Tobias comes down, the defender is under him still and he tumbles to the ground. Pain shoots through his knee like nothing he had ever felt. He grips his knee, unable to get up off the floor.

"Hang in there T." he hears Will call out as the medical team swarms him. He could feel his knee already swelling.

Tobias is groggy from the anesthesia as he lays in his hospital bed. The tv was on but it was just background noise. He shifted, not able to get comfortable. The last 24 hours had been a blur but the doctor said his surgery had gone well. The doctor had repaired a tear in his ACL. His season was officially done and he hoped his career wasn't done too. He knew his mother hadn't left his side from the moment she arrived at the hospital. She had been at the game and rode with him in the ambulance. Nicole was there being overly dramatic and Evelyn could tell the dramatics were making Tobias irritable so she pushed her to go home and rest which Nicole more than happily agreed to.

Evelyn sighs when she sees Marcus striding up the hallway of the hospital when she steps out to ask the nurse to fill the pitcher of water for Tobias's room. It had been 5 years since Tobias had spoken to his father and she knew he had no interest in doing so right now. Tobias did not need this right now she could tell his spirit was broken. No one had said it out loud but she wasn't sure if he could come back from this knee injury.

"How is he?" Marcus asks Evelyn noticing the look on her face. He hadn't seen her since their divorce proceedings were finalized 3 1/2 years ago.

"Not great…" Evelyn replies carefully.

"Not great, what does that mean?" Marcus asks with his eyebrows furrowed not missing the look on Evelyn's face. After being married for 20 years he knew when she was trying to hold back from saying something.

"He tore his ACL"

Marcus let his shoulders slump. He wanted Tobias to be great and he had so much potential even though he hadn't been playing well. This injury might end his career.

"You look good Evelyn, I almost didn't recognize you with your hair like that" Marcus comments taking in the new short hairstyle his ex-wife was sporting. "How have you been?"

"Happy," She tells him honestly. "And he won't want to see you" She walks away ending the conversation.

Marcus slowly pushes open the door to Tobias's room and he sees the look of shock on his son's face when he enters the room.

"You made Sportscenter, son," Marcus says, trying to lighten the mood knowing how excited Tobias would be whenever he made a highlight reel in high school.

"What do you want?" Tobias asks with an eye roll as he looks at the wall ahead of him. His leg was in a special brace and was elevated on a stack of pillows on his hospital bed. He didn't feel much pain because of the painkillers but his leg felt stiff.

"I came to check on you" Marcus never thought Tobias would be this cold to him. Yes, he made the wrong decision in keeping things from him but he was still his son.

"After five years?" Tobias was not in the mood for this right now. He looks at the wall, refusing to look at his father.

"I don't recall that being all my fault, seems like when your mother and I divorced you divorced me too. I know things don't look good right now but don't get down on yourself" Marcus could see the defeat radiating off Tobias that he might never play again. He had so much hope for Tobias, he could see how his son was struggling on the court and he knew he could be better.

Tobias scoffs "I stopped taking your advice a long time ago, or did you forget that?"

"You want me to step off?" Marcus asks frustrated with the conversation and the attitude coming off of his son.

"Yeah, I do actually" Tobias retorts with just as much arrogance in his tone that his father has in his. His eyes are filled with tears. He wanted his father to care to be there for him but he couldn't trust him.

"You're a better ballplayer than I ever was but that's not the only thing you got going for you Tobias, don't forget that. I always knew you could do anything you ever wanted to. You want to play ball, play ball. Just know that when you step on that court, you are better than everybody else out there. You aren't like I was. "

"Why couldn't you be the man you tried to make me be?" Tobias chokes out letting the tears roll freely down his face as he finally looks his father in the eye.

'I just couldn't, Son," Marcus answers honestly. He'd messed up with his family and his children. It was shitty he knew it but he couldn't give them what they wanted. He doesn't say another word and quietly walks out of the room.

Tobias wipes the tears from his eyes. He still had so much anger toward his father but he realizes that it wasn't just anger. He was let down. He knew his brothers and sister deserved more than what Marcus gave any of them and Tobias was sad none of them would have the father they all deserved. He'd had it all growing up, money a stable household with two parents but now he sees that it was just a house of lies.

Tris scrolls through her phone to check out ESPN. She hated that American ESPN was blocked in Italy so she couldn't even watch it on her laptop. Everything was in Italian and soccer was the most popular sport so she missed out on all the American sports analysis. She usually got her best highlights from Twitter or Instagram. She wanted to see how Uriah and the Bulls did in their last game. She had an intense game the day before so she missed catching up on highlights. She and Uriah usually texted at least once a week keeping up with each other's performance. She almost stops breathing when she sees Tobias's name and a video of him crashing to the ground on the court. She hated the algorithms on Instagram, this was already three days old and she was just seeing it on her timeline.

Tris: What happened to Tobias?

Uriah: Tore his ACL

Tris: Oh no….

Uriah: Yeah he had surgery on Monday

Tris thinks about it for a minute but she dials Tobias and leaves a voicemail.

Hey T. Sorry about your knee. You're tough, you'll be back on your feet soon. Don't be too macho though, take it easy. Listen to the doctors and Ms. Evelyn. Get better soon.

A week after his surgery Tobias is released home. Nicole is the worst nursemaid in the history of the world. Evelyn fusses when she comes over to the condo and finds Tobias playing video games with his leg not elevated and take out boxes everywhere while Nicole is gone shopping. Tobias was actually happy for the time with his mother, Nicole had been so dramatic about everything and complaining about having to help Tobias do everything.

Evelyn sits down after she picks up the mess around the living room and gets Tobias to sit up and elevate his knee.

"Baby I know I wasn't the best homemaker like Natalie Prior but are you sure this girl is what you want? This place is a mess. Did she run the maid off again?"

"Um yeah, she's supposed to be interviewing for a new housekeeper. It's not that big a deal Ma"

Tobias pauses and decides to tell his mother what he's been thinking. "I think I might be ready to settle down" he admits. Even though Nicole got on his nerves when she was being dramatic, she wasn't that awful. Wasn't this what you were supposed to do?

"Tobias you need to really think about this, a woman who shops and doesn't take care of the house and who only focuses on her image? That's what you want? Not someone who pushes you to be a better you?" Evelyn pushes. She still believed that Tris and Tobias belonged together. She had no idea how to get him to see it since Nicole got her hooks in him. She knew Nicole's game, it had been her game, but the difference was she loved Marcus and fought for him. Nicole didn't love her son, she could feel it.

"Ma….I don't want you to feel…. Well, what's wrong with someone like Nicole?" Tobias asks, sitting up. He knew one of the reasons he had stuck with Nicole was she reminded him of his mother in some ways. He loved his mother, they were close, and he hadn't wished that he had anything different in a mother growing up. He didn't need someone to cook and clean, that wasn't important to him.

"Tobias, I want you to be happy. Don't feel like you are proving something by picking a woman that was like me. You need to be honest with yourself if you really love her. Marriage isn't easy and it's not going to work if you get into it for the wrong reasons"

Tobias nods. Was Nicole the one for him? He knew his mother loved Tris and they still kept in touch. Tris was still a touchy subject for him. His mother, Uriah, Caleb, they all confused him. He didn't know if they really didn't like Nicole or was it just because she wasn't Tris.

When his mother leaves he pulls out his phone. He had what seemed like a million voice messages and texts. He'd only talked to Will, Caleb, Zeke, and Uriah since he got home from the hospital. He wasn't exactly surprised Tris had called but he had still hesitated to listen to the message. His fingers hover over the message from Tris but when he finally presses play, he listens to it twice.

He threw his head back against the sofa, just listening to her voice made him question everything. Even after all these years, she wasn't even here and she knew he was being stubborn and insisting he could do things himself. Is she what he wanted? Just then Nicole comes through the door with an arm full of shopping bags chattering about what she found at Gucci and Prada drawing him out of his thoughts.

A few months later Tobias is moving around better, slowly working his way through rehab and physical therapy with his knee. He still had a long way to go if he wanted play again.

Nicole had been complaining about being cooped up in the house so Tobias gives in for them to go out to dinner.

"I have to admit it does feel good to get out of the house," Tobias says as he sips his drink. It was still awkward to move around in his brace but he didn't feel as constricted.

"See I told you it would be good to get out. Now you just need to work your way back to the court" She edges

Tobias sighs. This had been her song the past two weeks. It irritated him, he just wanted to recover in peace right now without all the pressure.

"Give it a rest Nicole" Tobias warns.

"Your contract is over at the end of this season Tobias, you need to do something to give the Hornets a reason to resign you"

"I said give it a rest" Tobias replies a little more forcefully.

Nicole rolls her eyes and goes back to her meal.

After dinner while they wait for the valet Tobias hears a deep voice from the sidewalk.

"Well if it isn't Nicole and her man on the month" the large man taunts.

Tobias leaned on his crutches and hopped to turn around. He was in no position to fight but he sure wasn't about to let anyone disrespect him or his woman. The man looked familiar to him but he couldn't place him.

"Jealous DJ?" Nicole says with an eye roll as she rolls her tongue over the back of her teeth.

"Hell no, he can keep your trifling ass" DJ laughs.

"You got a problem?" Tobias asks standing up a little straighter.

Tobias realizes that the man looks familiar to him because he was DJ Moore. Wide Reciever for the Carolina Panthers. He didn't know him personally but had seen him at a few charity events around town that all the Hornets and Pathers' teams supported.

"Look T Money, you seem like a good dude, get out while you can, this one ain't no good," DJ Moore tells him.

Just then the valet pulls up with Tobias' Range Rover and Nicole looked as if her head would explode.

Before Tobias can say anything DJ and his entourage enter the restaurant. The entire ride home Nicole tries to play off the encounter about how he just wanted to ruin her after their nasty break up before she met Tobias. He knew she had dated another professional athlete before, he just didn't know who. He's quiet as she talks not in the mood to argue but it for sure made him wonder.

Tobias sighs as he slowly moves off the bed trying not to wake Nicole. He reached down and found a pair of basketball shorts to cover his naked body. It had been four months since his surgery to repair his torn ACL. He was finally free of the bulky knee brace to move around every day even though as he increased his movement in the gym he had graduated to a smaller knee brace.

His knee was starting to feel better but in the months he had been injured had been hard for him to deal with. He was already starting to feel his draw to the game was waning before his injury but now since he hadn't been on the courts since November, he's not sure if he missed it. Nicole kept pushing him, to see if he could play again. Their encounter with her ex earlier still played in his mind but he let it go. His name wasn't the greatest in the streets, especially in Dallas. He'd had a few groupies he'd slept with upset when he didn't keep them around longer than a month or two. And even after 5 years with no one knowing the specifics folks still painted him out to be the bad guy in his break-up with Tris.

He goes to get a drink of water. He pulls out his phone and looks back at the door to the bedroom. He clicks on the voicemail from Tris again and listens to it. Even though it had been four months since his injury, he couldn't delete her message.

He had started seeing the team psychologist when he started physical therapy. Teams were worried about the mental health of their players with an injury especially if it threatened to end their career. For the past six weeks, Tobias had been talking with David twice a week. At first, he spoke about his father some, but now he found that he was talking more and more about Tris and his decision to drop out of Dauntless. He thinks back to his last session the day before and sighs.

Tobias, you say you love your girlfriend but you seem to still have feelings for your ex.

Do you think that your love for the game has dwindled as a result of your failed relationship?

He was frustrated, he needed to get Tris out of his head for good, figure out if he was going to play again, decide if he was going to go the distance with Nicole. It was all so overwhelming. The only thing he knew for sure was he needed to get his shit together.

Tris grinned as Nita let out a high-pitched moan as Tris leaned back in to circle her clit with her tongue. Tris and Nita just won another championship for the Italian team and they decided to enjoy one of their last days before heading back to the States in bed. Tris liked that she had mastered over the last few months how to please Nita. She had felt selfish those first few weeks of letting Nita go down on her without returning the favor. After the first time, she realized she likes it much like she did when she went down on Zeke or Tobias.

"Oh My God" Nita screams out as her orgasm rolls over her and she clutches the sheets on the bed as Tris pushes her legs further back to give her better access as she pleases her. This was Nita's third one and her body is trembling but Tris keeps going, drawing out the pleasure until Nita was spewing gibberish.

Tris pulls her head from between Nita's legs with a grin as she sits up and rubs her hands over Nita's inner thighs watching her intently as she continues to shake and breathe heavily.

"You good?" she asks after a moment as Nita seems to calm down.

"Fuck, yeah but I need a break" Nita lets out with a laugh.

Tris laughs too as she flops on the bed next to Nita.

"So what are you going to do before you head to Chicago?" Nita asks after a few minutes as she rolls onto her side.

Tris had been dreading this conversation. Now that the season was over and they were going back to the states, Tris to Chicago to play her season with the Sky and Nita to LA to play with the Sparks. Tris wasn't sure where they were going in their relationship and they only had two more days in Rome.

"I'm going to Charlotte for two weeks before training camp. I haven't seen my sister's new baby. I need to spend some time with my family."

Nita is quiet for a moment but decides to put her feelings out there.

"Tris, I've had a good time here with you and I don't want this to end if you don't"

Tris bites her lip trying to think of the best way to respond. She sits up and pulls the bedsheet around her.

"Nita, I'm sorry it's not that I haven't had a great time with you this season and the sex was fucking amazing… but I don't think I..." Tris stumbles over her words.

She knew it in her heart how she felt. She and Nita were good friends now who had great sex but she didn't see anything more between them. It was her relationship with Zeke all over again.

"You don't love me…." Nita finishes rolling on her back.

"How did you know?" Tris asks curiously.

"I can feel it, Tris, I know you're still in love with Tobias"

Tris can feel her mouth fall open. Was it that obvious?

"Why haven't you said anything before now?"

"Because the sex was fucking amazing" Nita teases and Tris laughs throwing her head back.

"Seriously though, I thought that if I gave us time, maybe you would be ready to move on and this could grow into something"

"Ugh this is so frustrating" Tris whines and she puts her head in her hands. "Why does this have to be so complicated?" She wanted to move on from Tobias, but she just couldn't let him go.

"Because love is complicated," Nita says with a shrug.

"Nita I never meant to hurt you, really and I don't think I would have made it this season without you here. I even talked to Lynn and Christina about us making our relationship public when we got to the states, I was really going to try and make it work"

Nita smiled, she knew Tris had a good heart and she knew she really was conflicted about how she felt.

"I know you don't want to hurt me, Tris, and trust me as we kept this going, I knew what I was setting myself up for. I was willing to take a chance. If you and Tobias don't work out, you know where to find me"

Tris sighs "I'm not so sure that we are, everything just ended so fucked up and it's been a year since we've even spoken to each other"

"He'd be crazy to still not be in love with you too"

"Thanks, I hate when people say can we still be friends, but I really mean it, Nita,"

Nita grins, she'd get over Tris, she knew she would.

"So tell me who was bigger, Zeke or Tobias,?" Nita asks as she waggles her eyebrows suggestively as she props herself up on her elbow.

Tris raises her eyebrows in question as she sits up against the headboard and brings the bed sheet up over her breasts. "You really want to know?"

"Yes, I want to know" They had talked about exes months ago before they started sleeping together. Nita had revealed she had a short-lived relationship with Devin Booker from the Phoenix Suns the year before, She had dated a softball player at Dauntless her sophomore and junior year and had hooked up with Will secretly her senior year at Dauntless.

"Isn't that awkward? Seeing how I literally just had my head between your legs" Tris had come to learn Nita was almost as bad as Christina and Marlene with asking questions.

"Seeing as how you were screaming my name a little while ago I'm feeling confident in my own skills" Nita gives her a wink.

Tris laughed as she reached over to the bedside to grab a bottle of water. She was actually happy she and Nita could talk like this now that they had cleared the air between them. Being with Nita for the past six months had been adventurous. Tris had only had one vibrator that Christina had gifted her for her birthday Sophomore year. Nita had opened her up to using all kinds of different toys and trying new things in the bedroom. She had learned her body more with Zeke but Nita had definitely opened her up to be more confident, more vocal, and take the lead more.

"Ummm Zeke was" Tris giggles as Nita drops her mouth in shock.

Nita had seen Zeke around her last year at Dauntless. She talked to him on video chat when he and Tris talked, and she was impressed by the deals he had brokered for her. They were going to have a meeting when she got back to LA since her deal with her current agent was going to end in a few months. He was for sure handsome. She had to give it to Tris, she had good taste.

"No way, I just assumed… T Money is …the BDE is just evident, He's so..." She pauses looking for the right word. Zeke was a handsome guy but Tobias had a vibe to him that was undeniable.

"Cocky" Tris finishes for her with a smirk.

"Well yeah. I just would have thought he would be in the big dick club"

"Oh he's definitely in the club and he's big, you asked who was bigger" Tris grins.

"Who would you want us to have a threesome with?"

"Jaunita!" Tris laughs as throws a pillow at her.

Nita grabs it and laughs as she repositions herself.

"What a girl can dream, I really want to know! Beatrice" Nita teases as Tris makes a face at hearing her full name.

"Well... probably Tobias" Tris laughs and covers her face with her hands.

"Interesting" Nita says leaning in. "Was the sex with Zeke bad even though he's hung?"

"Oh no, not at all. It was amazing. Zeke is very umm how do I put it… tantric but I don't think he would be up for sharing"

"Tantric, really?" Nita raises her eyebrows up in curiosity.

Tris nods and bites her lip. Sex with Zeke was very sensual, the orgasms were earth-shattering but when she was with Tobias she felt like something she didn't feel with anyone else when they looked into each other eyes. They would both feel it and it just felt like he was a part of her.

"Tobias and I just have this thing, that I can't explain and it makes the sex vibrate on another level when we are connected. I literally cried a few times, It's like I could feel him in my soul"

"Wow…" Nita whispers.

She saw the look on Tris's face as she seemed lost in thought for a minute "He's your soulmate"

Tris raises an amused eyebrow at Nita. "I didn't think you were one to believe in soul mates"

"Hearing about you and Tobias makes me think different, like all the stuff you read in books or see in the movies there might be a chance it's true"

When Nita gets up to go shower Tris lays in the bed and thinks about Tobias and Nita's observations. She wanted him, even after all the time that had passed and how things ended. She had 10 days in Charlotte before leaving for Chicago. Now the question was what was she going to do about Tobias in those 10 days? He was stubborn, just like she was but she had to make a move. It was now or never.