Kiwi among the Cardinals
"Alright, that's enough, everyone," Ali Riley said as she wound up her post-match talk, what should have led into a victory celebration if all had gone well. Instead...
"Jess, grab yourself a beer on the way out. Hell, take the whole case."
"I don't want it, Cap," Jess McDonald looked back over her shoulder as she headed for the door. She settled for a can of flavored sparkling water instead. "Thanks anyway."
I'll buy her something nice later, Ali told herself. Scoring their team's only goal meant something in this loss, and she wasn't going to have Jess go unrewarded. "Alright, the rest of you get back to your rooms. O'Hara, Press, stay."
Kelley had been ready to run out with the rest of the team, but Ali's words brought her to a screeching halt. Christen, Kelley and Ali both noticed, hadn't moved from where she'd been sat on the bench all through Ali's post-match talk, even when Ali had wrapped it up. She just leaned back against the wall of lockers, letting out a long sigh.
"Sit, O'Hara."
"I'm not a dog," Kelley growled under her breath, dropping back down onto the bench at the far end from Christen nevertheless. Ali's air of command was that persuasive.
"Could have fooled me, the way you were charging into other players like you didn't even see them." Ali kept her eyes on Kelley, though in her peripheral vision she could see how Christen was shrinking back into herself.
"Tell me what happens to players on my team who get red carded, O'Hara."
"Technically, it was a couple of yellow cards, so--"
"Kelley Maureen O'Hara, don't you argue semantics with me."
Kelley snapped her mouth shut.
"Answer me properly." Ali folded her arms, eyes narrowing.
Kelley's power of speech seemed to have vanished. She shook her head helplessly under Ali's withering gaze, and the Cardinals captain softened her tone just the tiniest bit. "Press, would you like to help her?"
"Captain?" Christen's voice trembled.
"What happens to players on my team who get red carded?"
"Oh, uh...players who foul get spanked, ma'am," Christen offered.
"I think you can do better than that little one."
"Um...players who get carded get spanked on their bare bottoms, ma'am." Christen stared at her lap, fidgeting. Ali nodded, able to tell Christen wasn't being difficult on purpose. She'd classify answers like this from Kelley as sass, but from Christen - well.
"You're a smart girl, Press, I know you can give me the answer. You've almost got it."
Christen hunched into herself. "Players who get red carded get paddled on their bare bottoms, ma'am," she offered, barely above a whisper.
"That's right Press. I knew you could tell me," Ali said in an encouraging, soothing tone. "You see O'Hara? That wasn't so hard, was it? I'm sure you could have said it. So let's try again shall we?"
"Players who get red carded get paddled on their bare bottoms, ma'am," Kelley ground out, tense, every part of her body on edge. Ali thought Kelley would quite like to hit her, but luckily didn't dare.
"Can you bring me the paddle, Press? You know where it is, don't you?" Ali prompted.
"Yes ma'am," Christen said, licking her lips nervously. She didn't really think she'd earned a real paddling, even if it wasn't bare, but Ali might be inclined to give her a smack or two over her shorts if she didn't obey. Best not to test Ali too far in this atmosphere. "Kelley?"
"Do it," Kelley said, not meeting Christen or Ali's eyes. "You heard Riley."
Christen nodded and got to her feet, going to fetch the implement hanging up on the wall. She supposed Ali would normally have sent Kelley for it, but in Kelley's current state perhaps it was best not to.
"Thank you, Press. You're listening so well," Ali praised her when she returned for it. "Can you do me a favour then?"
"Yes, ma'am," Christen said cautiously.
"I'd like you to go stand over there, face to the wall, until I call you back to me," Ali pointed, and Christen felt her face heat a bit at the direction. "Can you do that for me little one?"
"May I please sit, ma'am?" Christen ventured. They had just played a whole final after all, and Ali had called it a favour, not a punishment.
"Take the top cushion from the pile over there, and kneel on that, if you can," Ali prompted.
Christen nodded, feeling a wash of relief. "Yes ma'am, I can kneel for you."
"Good girl."
"I doubt Christen even realizes what that just sounded like," Kelley muttered to Ali as soon as Christen had gone to obey the directive.
"I'd be surprised that you did, given your background, if I didn't know you so well by now, O'Hara," Ali said dryly. "And she probably understands more than you realise or give her credit for. She's a smart girl."
"Not arguing that," Kelley admitted. She was rapidly cooling down, her fists unclenching, her muscles relaxing, though she still eyed the paddle Ali held with more than a little trepidation. "Cap, I--"
"Not yet, Kell."
Kelley exhaled in relief at the fond nickname, however sternly spoken. She nodded in response.
Ali set the implement down and picked up one of the cans of sparkling water, opening it and offering Kelley a drink. "Slow sips, you've been straining yourself. Just a little bit now, you can finish the rest off when we're done, but I don't want you fainting on me."
"Yes ma'am," Kelley said habitually, drinking about a quarter of the can before she set it down.
Kelley had showered and dressed along with the rest of the team before Ali had even broken out the post-team talk, so she was wearing one of her favorite pairs of cotton shorts - December it might be, but they were playing in Texas after all. So T-shirt and shorts it was.
She was silently thankful the knee-length shorts were red, especially when she remembered something else.
"Is Barnhart still--"
"She's got your things for you," Ali affirmed. "She'll be waiting to take you as soon as we've finished up, so we better not linger over it too long."
Kelley groaned. Trust US Soccer to plan an international camp, in California, that fell right after the Stanford-UNC final was hosted in Texas. She supposed the only thing worse would be if UNC had hosted it.
Faced with Ali's raised eyebrow, Kelley quietly draped herself over Ali's thigh. The captain had propped one foot up on the bench, and now she pulled Kelley well over, beginning her teammate's spanking with her hand over her shorts.
By the tenth spank, Kelley was squirming. Then Ali looked up. "Press, I think O'Hara needs a bit of help here."
Christen turned from her corner, blinking in surprise. "Ma'am?"
Kelley's face flushed as she realized what Ali was asking Christen to do.
"Take those down for her, will you?" Ali prompted after Christen had walked over.
"Sorry, Kelley," Christen mumbled.
"Not your fault, Chris," Kelley sighed. "Just do as she says please."
Christen nodded, tugging Kelley's shorts and underwear down below her bottom. Ali gave Kelley eight more spanks with her hand, starting real tears, before switching to the paddle.
These, Ali didn't bother counting. The objective was to turn Kelley's bottom red card red, and she was an expert at the process.
Kelley wished Ali wasn't quite so practiced. Not that most of it wasn't her fault.
Christen took hold of Kelley's hands without being asked once the paddle was brought into play, and held tight to her friend, looking into Kelley's eyes as the older girl squirmed over Ali's knee. "I have you Kell," she whispered. "It's gonna be alright, just breathe through it."
Kelley nodded, doing her best not to bite her lips or the inside of her mouth (she knew how much Ali hated that) and so it didn't take long for Ali to reduce her to tears. She hated that Ali had made her cry, worse, right in front of Christen, but by the time Ali was finished, Kelley was past caring about that. She slid to her knees when Christen let her go, scrambling to right her clothes over her punished bottom with a hiss of pain.
"S-sorry, Cap, sorry Ali, I'm sorry I fucked up so bad--"
"Kell." Ali put the paddle down and held out her arms. Kelley threw herself into the waiting embrace, accepting her captain's forgiveness as Ali murmured soothingly to her. "It's gonna be alright, you're forgiven, clean slate, yeah this fucking sucked but you're gonna come back stronger from it. You have your whole National future ahead of you. We're behind you all the way. You can do it, Kell, you've done it already and you'll just keep getting better."
"Thanks Ali," Kelley whispered. She snuggled into Ali's embrace, feeling Christen's arms around them both a moment later. Ali moved her arm to enfold Christen, too, making it a three-way hug, and they stood like that for a long moment.
"Okay kiddo, I'd love to keep you but I can't, Barnhart would murder me if I made you miss your flight to Carson."
"All the way to California," Kelley groaned. "Can't I take one of the cushions with me?"
"No can do, Kell, sorry."
Christen squeezed Kelley's hand as the older girl broke apart from them, reluctantly scooping up the rest of the sparkling water, plus her bag, and making her way to meet Nicole Barnhart, the assistant coach and goalkeeper. She tossed a wave back in Christen and Ali's direction before disappearing back down the tunnel.
"I guess I should send the rest of this beer on to the National Team, too," Ali mused. "Or else UNC. We don't need it."
"I'm so sorry, Cap," Christen whispered, eyes brimming with tears. "Are you going to..."
"Shh, Chris," Ali soothed her. "No. You've been punished enough, you served your cornertime like a good girl, and helped me with Kelley so well."
"You said that was a favor," Christen sputtered.
"Would you have obeyed so quickly if I hadn't?" Ali asked. "You were already punishing yourself enough, lost in your own head."
Christen nodded. "I guess you're right."
"I usually am," Ali said, winking at the younger girl, who felt a laugh startled out of her.
Once Christen and Ali had left, Christen found her way back to her accommodation - she'd normally be sharing with Kelley, but for now she was alone.
Thoughts of a certain UNC player soon started to occupy her mind, and Christen curled up in a ball, trying not to panic.
What would mom or dad say if they knew I was thinking...thoughts like this? Would they think I was good enough, still?
And what would the girl think if she knew Christen was thinking of her?
When thoughts of that beautiful girl, that incredible player filled her mind, Christen almost didn't mind losing. Almost.
She needed to know her better. She wanted to know Tobin Heath.