This was torture.


Lisa watched the first pre-season game while at work, mortified. There the Demons were, continuing without her. As they should. Why would they stop? She paced the floor as they played, gnawing at her thumb nail. With patience, Alex watched. He knew that everything he was saying was falling on deaf ears. But eventually he felt the need to do something. He made his way across the office and turned the TV off, snapping Lisa out of her trance.


“Hey!” she shouted, snapping towards Alex


“Mon amour,” he started. “I knew this would happen once games started up again… You need to get your mind off of basketball. It is in the past now.” Lisa stomped across the floor and turned the TV back on. “Eliza, dear…” Alex sighed. But it was no use. He made for the large swivel chair and sat down at the desk.


It was bright. The walls were mostly ceiling-high windows of the same office Lisa met her father in. It was still strange to her that ITCW was now hers, even if she did start back in September. That summer was particularly hard on her as well. Graduation was just a reminder that one chapter was ending. One very meaningful chapter.


Alex leaned back in his swivel chair and sighed again. “Eliza… How are you going to make it through this? You have retired from basketball and have an important job now.” Lisa snapped at Alex.


“’Important job now?’” she repeated. “Basketball was important! Is important!” Alex scoffed.


“You know what I mean, dear. This job is what is in front of you, now.” Alex’s demeaner said it all. He knew he wasn’t getting through to her. The game had ended, and Lisa was still fixed to the TV.


“You know what they’ve all been saying?” she asked without facing Alex. “That I made a mistake. That retiring now was too soon.”


“I told you to stay off social media…”


“What would it matter?” she continued, finally turning around to face Alex. “Michelle’s been calling me…” Alex tilted his head and stammered.


“W-who?”


“Who do you think!” Lisa shouted. Alex knew. He was sure Lisa was getting calls from her, but now he had proof.


“She… make you any offers?”


“I mean…” Lisa flopped in the other chair on the other side of the desk where Alex was sitting. “She doesn’t really have to…”


“Eliza. No.” Alex spoke up. “It is over. You made a promise.”


“This isn’t fair!” Lisa was standing again. “You know I don’t give a damn about ITCW! I don’t! What I want is-“


“What about me?!” Alex interrupted. At first, he spoke with anger. But he took a moment and spoke again softly. “What about me…? What about us? I do not… I do not want to lose you…” Lisa’s posture equally softened. “I was so happy when you decided to work with me… It was going to be you and me against the world.”


“Alex… I’m not breaking up with you…” she reassured.


“You were gone, though… Every day. All the time. And now… we work together. I get to see you when I wake up. I get to see you at work. I get to see you when we go to bed. Do you know how wonderful that is?”


“But it’s not me…” Lisa walked over to Alex and held his hands, standing him to his feet. “This… isn’t me…”


“Eliza. You have barely given it a chance. The work you have done since taking over is nothing short of amazing! You have made the merger seamless. You have already started an upward trend in profits. It’s like ITCW was made for you.” He forced her to look at him with the knuckle of his index finger. “And you are good at it,” he emphasized. “Can you truly deny that you have enjoyed your time here? That is, when you are not thinking about basketball?” Lisa looked down at the ground. “You are a force. In meetings, you stamp your foot down and they listen. And it only gets better from here… Mon amour…” He brushed her hair out of her face and looked her in the eyes. “Everything… has been alright… has it not?” Lisa closed her eyes and took a deep breath.


“I know… I know, I know. It’s just… hard, y’know?” She gave a timid chuckle.


“I do,” he answered back. “But you are not alone.” He leaned in and kissed her, allowing her to fall into him and calm down. He seemed to always have that effect on her. But he was right. She was actually good at what she did. Basketball was in the past. She knew it would eventually be. It just felt sooner than she thought. But all of this was for the best. She was older now. Getting too old. She did great while in the league. There were no real regrets when it came to playing for the FBA. And Alex was right about another thing. It was all in the past now. She had made the announcement, making it official. And more importantly, Alex was there now. Her future. Future… Yeah. This was right. Afterall, she did want to settle down, get married, have a family, all of it. Maybe Alex was the one to fulfill that dream for her. He was a mouse after all, and not another cat or some other species. They were… compatible. So, for the first time, she started to truly accept her retirement.


She looked at Alex and started thinking about the future. She smiled to herself, blushing ever so slightly.


“You think…” she started. “You think you and I could…” She stopped.


“Could what?” he asked gently.


“Never mind,” she eventually relented. “I just… I want to look to the future from this point on.” Alex nodded in agreement. “No more looking back… I promise.” Alex smirked. “No, I mean it!” she laughed. He gave her a knowing look and then held up his pinky. Lisa looked down, confused at first, then rolled her eyes. “Really?”


“Swear it,” he demanded.


“Seriously?” she laughed.


“If you are going to make a promise, do it right.” He stood waiting for Lisa’s response. She took a breath. This was serious. She knew what one promise had led to. Would she really make another like that again? But then there was that word: future. And Alex was looking more and more like the embodiment of that word. Future. With Alex. With basketball in the past. And everything yet to come. It had a nice ring to it. After what felt like a whole minute, she grabbed his pinky with her own.


“I swear… I will only look to the future. No more looking back.” Alex gave a genuine smile.


“Then it is settled. To our future,” he declared. “And all that it WILL bring.” It took a moment, but Lisa could tell what he meant by this. She blushed and Alex leaned into kiss her again.


From then on, she had stopped watching the pre-season games. Her outlook on her work improved, she had gotten even closer with Alex. ITCW’s future as well as Lisa’s was looking bright. And that was okay.

.

.

.

But Arizona lost their first game of the season.

.

.

.

So, Lisa made a phone call…