Ever The Same

Week 22 - Living

Some days you just breathe in
Just try to break even
Sometimes your heart's pounding out of your chest
Sometimes it's just beatin'
Some days you just forget what all you've been given
Some days you just get back
And some days you're just alive
Some days you're living
——Living, Dierks Bentley

Week Twenty-Two
Your baby is the size of a red bell pepper

January 8, 2022

"You busy?"

Grayson answered the knock on the door of his hotel room to find Brandon Clarke standing there. "Not really," he shrugged. "Just watching TV." There was a commercial on the television.

"I'm bored," Brandon sighed.

Grayson let him in the room. "No more video games with the J's?" he asked.

"Eh," Brandon sank down on the couch that was in Grayson's room. "What're you watchin' anyhow?"

"Um, skiing," Grayson admitted. And the broadcast resumed.

"Wait, that's Cait," Brandon said quickly, leaning forward in his seat.

"Yeah," Grayson admitted. "She's doing a little of the coverage leading up to the Olympics."

"That's so cool," Brandon grinned. "Why didn't you tell us?" He pulled out his phone and sent a text.

"You really wanna watch skiing?" Grayson asked.

"She looks great on TV, G," Brandon smiled at him.

"She does," Grayson nodded. "She was afraid she'd look like a blimp, with that baby bump."

Brandon studied his teammate. He and Grayson were a lot alike, both on the quieter side. It was one of the reasons that Brandon liked to hang out with Grayson. Jaren and Ja were sometimes too much. And they were inseparable.

Tyus was cool and Brandon knew he and Grayson were tight because of the Duke connection.  But Grayson and Brandon also shared a connection of their own, having actually played for four years in college and having their degrees. Unlike their one and done teammates, they'd been older when they were drafted.

"What's that like?" Brandon asked quietly.

"Huh?" Grayson asked, looking over at him.

"Seeing her like that," Brandon clarified. "That's your woman, bro. And she's got your children in her. That must be wild."

"It's amazing," Grayson whispered. "I mean, I've known for a long time that she loves me. But this," he shook his head, "having my children, that's like love on a whole other plane."

Brandon smiled at him. "The feeling's gotta be really something."

Grayson thought about that for a minute.  He didn't open up often, but he and Brandon were pretty tight. "D'ya know the feeling you get on the court when you just absolutely posterize someone. Or do something amazing like that. That primal rush of, I don't know, adrenaline, testosterone, whatever it is?  Like your heart is beating out of your chest?"