Chapter 13
The sound of crashing waves woke Hope from her nap. She raised her head and stared out onto the beach. She had arrived in Kauai four days ago, two days after the tour had finished. It had gone well, but it just hadn’t been the same without Kelley. Hope had done what she had always done – played the shows, did the interviews, signed the autographs. She had even gone out more with the girls in the band, out for meals and drinks, but it just wasn’t the same. She missed Kelley – their incognito lunches, their dinners, their ice cream trips, snuggling in bed watching movies, the way Kelley’s tongue had felt as it glided across her stomach… Hope had spent the first night after Kelley had left crying in her bed. Over a month had passed since she and Kelley had last seen each other, and she missed her just as much as the day she had left the tour. Plenty of times she had picked up the phone to call Kelley, but then she stopped herself. She had told Kelley to figure out what she wanted, and much as she wanted to talk with her, to hear her voice, she didn’t want Kelley to feel like she was pressuring her. Plus, a part of Hope, the stubborn part of her, wanted Kelley to be the one to call her. The ball was in her court, and in Hope’s mind, it was up to her to make the next move.
Hope got up off of the beach chair and headed into her bungalow. She grabbed a glass of water and was about to flip on the TV when her phone rang. It was Carli.
“Aloha!” Carli sung out when Hope answered the phone.
“Hey Car”, Hope said.
“How’s Hawaii treating you?”
“Good. I always love coming here.”
“I know you do”, Carli said. “Are you unwinding? Relaxing? Figuring out what’s next?”
“The first two”, Hope said. “I haven’t gotten around to figuring out what’s next. And, to be honest, I’m not really in a hurry to.”
“Have you spoken with Kelley yet?”
“No, I haven’t heard from her”, Hope said. “In fact, I’m trying not to think about her, but that’s not working out very well. I think about her all the time.”
“And let me guess – the stubborn part of you doesn’t want to be the one to call her, right?” Carli dug.
“Well, I mean, she knows what I want. The ball’s in her court. She should call me. Plus, I don’t want her to feel like I’m pressuring her or anything.”
“But it’s been like over a month since you last saw her, right?” Carli said. “I don’t think that you’d be pressuring her if you called her at this point.”
“Well, even still, she should call me”, Hope said.
“Okay, I get it”, Carli said. “Well, get this. On a somewhat related note, I just spoke with a friend of mine, Jim Turnbach. He’s Christen Press’ agent. You know who she is?”
“Yeah, Car, everyone does. She’s like the most famous soccer player in the world.”
“Right. Well, Christen is on vacation in Hawaii right now. She just finished up the season with The Chicago Red Stars, who won the championship last month, and the national team doesn’t start training for another month. So, I thought that-“
“Car, no”, Hope groaned. Please don’t set me up on a date.”
“What’s wrong with a date, Solo? She’s hot, and I’ve never met her, but Jim tells me she’s really nice.”
“I didn’t come out here to be set up on dates, Car. I came out here to relax and try to figure out what I’m going to do with my life now that I’m not going to be touring anymore. And I’m already trying to sort out how I feel about one girl. I don’t need to throw another one into the mix.”
“But that’s where it’s perfect, see? It’s just a vacation date. There's nothing to sort out. You’re out there, she’s out there, it’ll be fun. Look – she’s in Honolulu, staying at the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki. You hop a puddle jumper over there in the early evening, you get to watch the sunset as you land, you have dinner at Roy’s, you get some drinks at Duke’s and you see where it goes. If dinner sucks, then you skip the drinks and fly back to your bungalow. If dinner goes well then you get drinks, and if it’s too late to get a flight back then you grab a hotel room in Waikiki for the night. Now, if things go really well…
“Don’t, Car", Hope said, hearing the suggestive tone in Carli's voice, "Don’t even go there…”
“Look, Solo, all I’m saying is that maybe a little social interaction would be a good thing. I mean, Christ, I’m not saying you need to marry Christen. I’m just saying that maybe getting out for a nice dinner and some drinks will be better than sitting around moping about some girl who you are waiting on to call you back.”
“I’m not sitting around moping, Car. I’m relaxing and thinking about what I’m going to do with the rest of my life.”
“You’re moping, Solo. I can tell-“
“Fine”, Hope said, exasperated.
“Fine? As in, do you want me to call Jim and set it up?”
“I’ll think about it”, Hope said.
“There we go”, Carli said enthusiastically. “That’s all I was asking.”
********
“Okay guys, great show tonight”, Kelley said. She waved goodbye to the band as they ducked into their hotel rooms and then popped into her own hotel room and laid down on the bed.
After she had spoken with Erin she had talked with Abby. Abby was still upset with Kelley, but she wanted to give Kelley another chance, so she had Kelley prep and then manage a three week tour for a mid-level dance-rock band called Pokerface. They were supporting Christina Aguilera on the west coast and mountain states leg of her nationwide tour. The band was two weeks in, with one more week to go, which would take them through early December. After that they would break for the holidays. The tour was going well, but as much as she tried to fight it, Kelley felt empty. It just wasn’t the same, not being around Hope. She missed their meals together, their walks, their talks, the way Hope’s arms felt when they wrapped themselves around Kelley’s stomach. She tried to tell herself that this was for the best, that she was making the right choice, to be independent, pursue her career and make her own mark on this world, rather than be the girlfriend of a famous rock star, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt like she hadn’t made the right choice.
Kelley laid in bed for a few more minutes, then got up and went to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, then took off her suit and put on her pajamas. She grabbed her phone, plugged in the charger and then put it on the nightstand. Then she grabbed the remote and climbed back into her bed. She turned on the TV for some background noise and put the volume low. Then she laid back down on the bed. She turned on her side, facing the nightstand, and her eyes fell on her phone. She stared at it for a minute and then thought, I’m going to call her. I’m going to call Hope. She picked up the phone and started scrolling through her contacts for Hope’s name. She grabbed the remote and turned towards the TV and was about to turn it off when she looked at the screen and froze.
The TV was on TMZ. On the screen was Hope. At her side was Christen Press, the U.S. soccer star. Both were dressed to the nines. Kelley’s mouth fell open, and try as she might, she couldn’t help but turn up the volume.
“Sexy rock n’ roll heartthrob Hope Solo and U.S. soccer superstar Christen Press were spotted having dinner together in Waikiki”, the announcer’s voice came. “Afterwards, the beautiful couple hit the town in style.” Cameras snapped shots of the duo, both smiling, Christen holding onto Hope’s arm as they walked.
Kelley turned the TV off, heart aching in her chest. She put her phone back down on the nightstand and then slumped into bed. I definitely didn’t make the right choice, she thought. A tear formed in her eye as she laid her head down on her pillow, stomach churning as she thought about Hope and Christen having a romantic getaway on a beautiful tropical island. She blinked the tear away, and another one came. She blinked that one away, and then the dam burst open and the tears rushed down her face like a waterfall.