blame it on the alcohol
When the sun slipped through the louver shutters, Christen had already hopped in the shower and the sound of the water stream woke Tobin up. She was the one who had had trouble sleeping this time. She didn't want to disappoint Christen and she had thought about everything that could potentially happen and how she had to behave around her friend to me it look believable. Christen's girlfriend - that was her identity for the weekend, nothing else. She plunged her face into her pillow and deeply sighted in the fabric that muffled her voice. When she heard the water stopped for a few seconds, Tobin got up from her bed and got closer to the bathroom door.
"I'm getting us breakfast," she announced, knocking lightly on the wooden door.
"Thank you," Christen said loudly.
Tobin heard some noise followed by a loud bang and a muttered "fuck".
"What do you wa-"
The water cut her off, echoing against the walls. Tobin sighed and went back to her bed to slip sweatpants on. She grabbed the car keys on the desk, in a movement that made them scratch the surface. The door didn't close behind her and it took her four attempts to finally shut it. It sets the tone of the day, Tobin thought as she dragged her feet to the car. She drove back to the bakery and if she was being honest it was looking for trouble since there was a chance for her to run into Megan again. So she stopped a little before the building and bought bagels and cream cheese on the street. Since they hadn't really ate the night before, she had to make an effort not to take a bite on the spot. On her way back to the motel, she stopped at a Starbucks to get them coffee.
It was still early and it was quiet somehow so Tobin took her time driving back. She opened the windows and let the fresh morning air brush her face while a song she had never heard played on the radio. Children, she thought, that's what they were. Adults wouldn't be here and certainly not faking a relationship because of a women they, or at least Tobin, barely knew. Lost in her thoughts, Tobin arrived at the motel quicker that she had expected. She got out of the car and got back to the room, the coffees, her keys and the bagels in the same hand and the fact that she opened the door with all the items still in her hand was miraculous.
"Hey," Christen said cheerfully. She quickly rose from her bed when she saw the wobbling pile Tobin was holding. "Wow, let me help you with that."
She rushed towards the midfielder and hold the coffee cups, waiting for Tobin to have a free hand. They both took a bagel out of the paper bag and Tobin hoped on the small desk while Christen leaned against the door.
"When's the wedding exactly?" Tobin asked, taking a bite.
Christen wiped the bit of cream cheese at the corner of her mouth. "At four."
When Tobin realized they had time to kill, she asked, "Do you wanna go to the beach?"
Christen squealed and Tobin thought she was going to spit her food as the noise took her by surprise and made her laugh.
"I was hoping you'd say that," Christen explained. "It's been a while since I've been there."
She finished her bagel in one last mouthful and opened the suitcase at the foot of her bed.
"You brought a swimsuit?"
"Always," Christen punctuated, showing the pieces of clothing to the other girl.
"Well," Tobin said, putting the now empty cup of coffee on the desk, "I'm ready when you are."
They took turn in the bathroom to get dressed and left a few minutes later, swimsuits, shorts and tank tops on. Tobin quickly drove them to the nearest beach which ended being relatively empty at that time in the morning. They walked in the sand, barefoot, until Christen stopped and laid the towel down. She let the bag they had brought fall next to it. She stripped out of her shorts and tank top under Tobin's unconscious appreciative gaze. Christen's insistent cough brought Tobin back to her senses.
Her cheeks a deep shade of pink, she scratched the back of her neck and pointed at Christen's swimsuit. "It looks good on you," she tried.
Truth is, Tobin wasn't even sure what color it was.
"Sure," Christen smirked.
They lay on the towel and stayed silent, Christen breathing in the sea breeze, a slight blush warming her cheeks. Tobin put her arm under her head and took a deep breath. She moved on the towel and tried to stay still and relax but the sound and the smell of the sea only made her want to do one thing.
"I kinda want to surf."
"Then what are you waiting for?" Christen asked, eyes closed.
"You really don't mind?"
Christen lifted herself up on her elbow to face Tobin. "Of course not! Go," she said.
Tobin stood up, a bright smile on her lips. She squeezed Christen's shoulder as she left and walked away to the rental stores near the beach. The shop was empty and she asked for a board and a wetsuit. She didn't care about paying the full-day price even if she was going to use them for a good hour at most. She was too excited for that. The board tucked under her arm and the wetsuit thrown on her shoulder, she almost ran back to the beach. She slipped into the wetsuit and dragged the board to the water. Once she was far enough, she sat on the board and waited for some good waves to start paddling. When she pushed herself up on the board to feel it glide on the sea, she couldn't stop the beaming smile stretching her lips. Nothing bothered her at that moment. She forgot about everything and focused on the drops of water crashing on her cheeks, on the feeling of her legs guiding the board.
Christen had observed her since the first wave she had taken and she hesitated whether to join Tobin or to leave her alone. She was radiating happiness and fun and Christen wanted to have fun too. She left everything next to the towel - there was no one near them anyway - and she walked to the water. It was cold but nothing was worse than ice baths and it ended up not being as hard as she had thought it would be. She swam a little until Tobin saw her and came closer.
"Hop on," Tobin said, tapping the board.
"I don't know how to surf."
Tobin shrugged. "Doesn't matter, we don't have to." Christen shot her a questioning look. "Come on, Press."
Tobin steadied the board the best that she could with her legs and held out her hand to Christen. She helped her as she sat in front of her.
"I'm taking you on a tour," Tobin announced in Christen's ear, with a beaming smile.
The forward laughed and leaned back against Tobin, almost throwing them off balance. She let Tobin paddle through the waves, sometimes letting the board glide by itself. Tobin tried her best but with Christen laughing and constantly moving on the board, it eventually turned over and both of them fell into the salty water. It took them so much time to get back on the board that Tobin only paddled a few more minutes before helping Christen getting down. The younger woman walked back the the towel on the beach and wrapped herself in another one.
Once her feet touched the sand, Tobin untied the leash at her ankle. She opened the suit and let it fall on her hips. Dragging the board with her, she joined Christen and sat down on the towel, letting her fingers run through her damp hair. Christen moved closer to her. She pushed away the strands of hair covering her shoulder and let her head rest there. They listened to the waves crashing on the sand until Christen spoke.
"Thank you." She kissed Tobin's shoulder. "For everything."
Tobin smiled, "You're welcome."
Christen sighed with content and checked the time on her phone. It was already past noon.
"Come on," she said, tapping on Tobin's arm, "let's go."
"Already?" Tobin pouted.
Christen gave her an apologetic smile and put her shirt and her shorts back on. She picked up the surfboard while Tobin did the same. Tobin quickly folded the towels and threw them into the bag they had brought. They went back to the rental store and paid for the surf gear. Along the street boarding the beach were a lot of different shops and restaurants. They decided it would be simpler to eat here and go back to the motel to get ready afterwards.
"Let's get salads, it'll be quick." Christen pointed at a restaurant close to them.
Tobin groaned, "Salads?"
"We've been eating nothing but bagels and muffins for the past twenty-four hours. This needs to stop," she warned.
"Chris..." Tobin trailed off, dragging her feet.
"No, there's no 'Chris'. Stop acting like a child." She grabbed Tobin's hand and the older woman had no other choice but to follow her to the small restaurant.
Before Tobin knew it, Christen had asked a table for two and she found herself with the menu in her hands. She had to admit some dishes seemed really good and partially forgave Christen but she still crossed her arms for good measure under Christen's amused eyes. She even let Christen choose for her but that was mostly because she trusted Christen's taste more than hers.
"We should do that again sometimes," Christen said. "It was fun."
"I'll teach you how to surf."
"Actually, I know the basics," Christen admitted.
"But you told me- You lied."
Christen rolled her eyes. "I didn't feel like surfing, today. Or at least trying to."
Tobin leaned back in her chair and smirked. "You just wanted to go on a tour."
"You paddled through the sea, Tobin. That's all."
"It's the 'Tobin's special'."
Christen laughed heartily. "I don't know if I should feel flattered. Are you doing that for all the girls?"
"Only for you," Tobin said with an exaggerated wink.
They finished their meals talking about everything, from college stories about Megan to the upcoming NWSL season. When the time came to leave and pay for their lunch, Christen strictly forbade Tobin to pay but she faked going to the restroom and paid anyway. It earned her a slap at the back of her head followed by a quick kiss on the cheek when Christen realized what she had done, her hand covering her mouth.
They went back to the hotel and Christen left the bathroom to Tobin. She could feel the stress coming back, after it had disappeared during their time on the beach. She hold her breath while letting hot water run on her face and only took refilled her lungs with air when she felt her heart pound in her ears. She got out of the shower and wrapped her body in a towel before taking the time to dry her hair. Knowing they had a limited amount of time before going to the wedding, she decided to dress and do her makeup in the room and left the bathroom to Christen. She took her time and switch the TV on while getting ready.
When Christen got out of the bathroom the first time, in nothing but a towel, she asked Tobin to choose between two dresses she had picked.
When she got out of the bathroom the second time, hair in loose curls, a light makeup on and in a cream-colored dress, Tobin gulped and stared at her for too long without saying anything.
"Close you mouth, Heath. You're drooling," Christen joked, a blush creeping up her cheeks.
"You.. uh- wow." Tobin laughed at her loss of words. "You look terrible, obviously," she shrugged nonchalantly and Christen punched her arm, laughing. "Seriously, you look beautiful. You always do, don't get me wrong, but this is something else."
Christen smiled. "Thank you. You look pretty nice yourself."
"I'm delighted to know my girlfriend thinks I look okay," Tobin chuckled.
Christen groaned and put her shoes on. She waited for Tobin to be all set to go and opened the door. "Come on, let's get this over with."
Tobin locked the door behind them and brought back the key to the front desk before joining Christen next to the car. She entered the address in the GPS and started the car. Christen spent the ride trying to find the worse radio stations to sing old bad songs and Tobin quickly joined her, making them both laugh. When the device announced they had arrived to their destination, Tobin entered the courtyard of a huge mansion with dozens of cars already parked. She found a spot next to a black SUV. She leaned back in her seat and looked at the mansion.
"It's bigger than Portland."
Christen rolled her eyes at Tobin's words and stopped the low voice of some bad country singer mid-song.
"What were you expecting? Didn't the gilded arabesques on the invitation give anything away?"
"I had golden arabesques on my invitation cards for my eleventh birthday," Tobin said, mindlessly.
"And your point is?"
"There's no point. I'm just trying to think about something else than this upcoming disaster."
Tobin opened the door and stepped out of the car. The only thing she saw was a wave of pastel silky dresses and black suits. She sighed and waited for Christen to join her and offered her her arm. "Ready?"
Christen nodded and accepted her arm. They had just made it on time so they followed the flood of people through the mansion. The house was imposing with large rooms and corridors, filled with people exchanging friendly words. They ended up in the backyard where some guests had already took place on the benches, placed there for the occasion. It didn't take long for all seats to be taken and for a soft music to be played, silencing everyone right away.
Even Christen had to admit the ceremony was beautiful. Quite unexpectedly, they had kept it pretty simple. Tobin and Christen had chosen to sit at the back but they could clearly see what was going on. Even the vows were simple and touching and Tobin was surprised to see a hint of a smile forming on Christen's lips.
The couple's families and their closest friends went to congratulate them while the rest of the guests went back inside, in the main room where a buffet had been set up with food and drinks. Christen greeted a few acquaintances, keeping the conversations short and basic. She then left Tobin in the corner of the room and told her she would go get them drinks. Tobin just stood there, dangling arms, with nothing to do. Until a blonde woman walked up to her, provoking a bunch of swears to form at the back of Tobin's throat. She tried to look away but the woman didn't stop until she was in front of Tobin.
"Tobin, right?" Megan asked with a bright smile and Tobin nodded. "Good to see you again."
"Same here," Tobin said, looking around for Christen but she was nowhere to be seen. "We didn't really have time to properly meet the other day."
Megan chuckled. "You guys seemed to be in a rush."
"Eventful week."
"I can imagine. You're a professional player too, right? Your face seems familiar." Tobin nodded. "National team as well?"
"Yes, it's been a few years now."
She glanced above Megan's shoulder but still no sign of Christen.
"Is that where you met Christen?"
"We crossed paths before but that's where we really met, yeah."
"Have you been together for a long time?"
Tobin tried to stay calm when she realized they hadn't talked about this before coming here. A bunch of amateurs, she thought. When the bride looked at her funny, she wondered if she had said it out loud and mentally slapped herself. Tobin tried to guess what Christen would have said but she quickly gave up. Megan wouldn't take the time to do a cross-examination anyway. This was ridiculous.
"We've uh..." Tobin started after taking a deep breath.
She didn't get the chance to continue as Christen's voice came from behind. "Hey babe."
Tobin didn't have time to reply when she felt Christen's lips on her own. She forced herself to keep her eyes closed despite her surprise. The kiss was gentle but firm and if Tobin was sure of one thing - apart from the fact that Christen was great at what she was doing - it was that if the kiss looked as real as it felt then no one would question their relationship after that.
When she opened her eyes, she had a cold glass of champagne in her hand and Christen's arm around her own.
"What were you guys talking about?" Christen inquired as if everything was completely normal.
"I just asked Tobin when your relationship had started."
"A few months ago. We were already good friends but there was something more to it, I guess," the younger woman shrugged.
Tobin tried to find Christen's eyes but she looked everywhere but at her.
"Aren't you afraid of the damage that dating a teammate could cause? I mean, I know we haven't seen each other in a while, Christen, but you were more into meaningless flings than relationships. I hope you don't get your heart crushed too easily," Megan laughed, looking at Tobin.
The midfielder glanced at her friend's clenched jaw. "I don't."
Megan sighed, smiling. "This is so weird to see you like this, Christen. I guess some people change."
"And I guess some people don't," she bit back. "There are some friends I want you to meet, Tobin. You coming?"
With that, she led Tobin as far away from the other woman as possible. She hadn't seen anyone in particular but that wasn't the case of another women who came up to them and quickly hugged Christen. From what Tobin understood, she had played on the soccer team with Christen back in the day and they were sitting at the same table for dinner. It seemed that everything about their previous encounter with Megan had been forgotten. They walked to their table and sat down along with a few other people Tobin had never seen. It turned out that the woman, named Kendall, was pretty funny and entertaining. She included Tobin in the conversation and didn't ask any questions about their so-called relationship. Christen stayed close to Tobin the whole time, always seeking some sort of physical contact. Was it because she wanted to be prepared in case Megan was watching or was it simply unconscious? That would remain a mystery.
Dinner went by rapidly, despite all expectations. A few speeches were made during desert but they barely paid attention. Their glasses were refilled and the music started to echo against the walls as people stood up to dance.
Everything went well but Tobin couldn't focus on anything since that kiss. She was aware of every single touch, of Christen's fingertips brushing against hers, of the feeling of Christen's skin under the palm of her hand when she put her arm around her shoulder. Things she had never noticed before and they had been around each other for a while now. Tobin shook her head and blamed it on the champagne. Sure, she had always found Christen pretty, attractive even, and the girl was a pleasure to be around. But it wasn't like that. She panicked for a second and finished her drink in one go. She excused herself from the table and found an empty room. The only thing she needed right know was someone to reassure her and tell her she was imagining things.
She dialed Kelley's number without really thinking about it twice. Her teammate was the reason she was here and was also one of Christen's best friends. Two reasons why she was the right person to call - or not. After the third ring, a voice that was definitely not Kelley's answered, "Hey, Tobin."
"Hi," she said, hesitantly. "Who's this?"
"Emily."
"Oh, right," Tobin sighed, somehow comforted it was someone she was familiar with. "What's up? Can you put Kelley on the phone?"
She cringed at the words leaving her mouth. She didn't want to sound rude but she had a limited amount of time.
"Can't."
"Why? Where is she?"
No answers were coming from Emily and Tobin was about to add something when the younger woman finally talked.
"Shower."
Tobin furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait, where are you guys?"
"In Atlanta."
"Yeah but where? At Kelley's?" Emily hummed in response. "Is her family coming over?"
"No, not that I know of."
Tobin barely held in her offended huff at Emily's confession. If Kelley had lied all along about her family reunion and was the reason Tobin found herself stuck in the awkward situation, she wasn't about to hear the end of it.
"Can you just tell her that I called?"
"Sure."
"Thanks. I'm sorry, I don't have much time. Talk to you later?" Tobin asked, apologetically.
Emily chuckled on the other end, "Don't sweat it, Tobs. I'll see you soon."
Tobin hung up and let out a deep sigh. She let her head fall against the door, her forehead meeting cold wood. She groaned and exited the room. She didn't want Christen to worry. When she returned to the main room and to their table, Christen quickly got to her feet and walked up to her.
"Hey, where were you?" Tobin tried to stutter an answer. "Wanna dance?"
"Um... sure, yeah," she said as Christen dragged her in the middle of the crowd.
Christen put her arms around Tobin's neck while the older woman let her hands rest on her hips. If she had doubt Christen's ability to make their romance believable, she realized she had been very wrong.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah."
"You sure?" Christen asked, searching for her eyes. "Tell me if you're too uncomfortable and we'll stop right away."
"I'm fine."
They kept dancing for a while until Christen started to chew on lips while playing with the hair at the back of Tobin's neck. Before talking and so that no one around them could hear her, she got closer to Tobin's face until their foreheads almost touched.
"I'm sorry about the kiss," she whispered in her ear, her voice filled with honesty. "I should've asked you. I crossed a line."
Tobin shook her head and smiled. "It's fine."
"No, it's not. You're acting weird."
"I'm fine," Tobin said with a chuckle.
"Do you think she actually believes this?" Christen asked, moving her finger between their bodies.
"We're fine."
"Can you say anything else than "fine" preceded by every pronoun you can think of?"
The remark made Tobin chuckled. She wondered how Christen had managed to turn her into another version of Sonnett, unable to string three words together.
Then it hit her.
She told Christen she'd go get them drinks and rushed to the same empty room as before. She dialed Kelley's number for the second time that day but for an entirely different conversation.