Chapter 16
“Kelley!” Hope yelled as Kelley ran from the doorway.
“Is that-“ Christen asked, a look of shock on her face.
Hope stared for a moment, trying to comprehend what was happening. Then she said, “I’m sorry, Christen”, and took off after Kelley. Kelley was running down the street. Hope caught up to her and grabbed her arm. “Kelley, please!” Kelley whirled around, tears running down her face.
“Why!?” Kelley yelled. Hope just stood there, staring at her. “Why did you tell me to stay?”
“Because I want to be with you!” Hope yelled back.
“But you’re with Christen.”
“We’re not together.”
“It sure looks like you’re together. She’s here, with you, in your cabin.”
“She’s only here because I thought you left, on your world tour with Christina. I thought it was over between us.”
“But I’m here now. I gave up that tour to be with you.”
Hope stared at Kelley for a moment and then said, “Why didn’t you text me back? Or call me? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming here? And how did you find me anyway?”
“I texted Carli, and then I spoke with her. She told me where you were, and she told me that you and Christen weren’t together, so I came up here.” She paused for a moment and then said, “I realized I made a mistake, leaving you. I should have stayed with you, on your tour. And I wanted to call you, but then I saw you and Christen on TV together. Then Christina offered me the job on her tour, and then I texted you to see what you would say before I took the job, but then didn't hear from you, then I saw you and Christen on Yahoo, so I took the job", Kelley said, rambling. She sniffled and then said, “And then you texted me back and told me you wanted me to stay, so I bailed on Christina's tour, and here I am. And then she opens the door, and I see you and her, lights out, candles, fireplace…And it's all for nothing...", Kelley drifted off, dejected.
“Kelley, please, listen. I want to be with you. Christen and I are not together”, Hope said, again.
“Well it sure looks like it”, Kelley mumbled through sniffles.
“We were never together, Kelley”, Hope said. “We just so happened to be in Hawaii at the same time, and Carli knew that I was broken up over you.” Hope saw Kelley’s face register that, so she said, “Yes, Kelley. Over you. So Carli thought it would be a good idea for me to go out on a date with Christen, to take my mind off of you. The media saw us and blew it out of proportion. You know how the media works, Kelley”, Hope said. She stared at Kelley for a moment, then reached out and took Kelley’s hands. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you ever since you left my tour, Kelley.”
“I wish you would have called me and told me”, Kelley said.
“I wanted to give you some time to think. I didn’t want you to feel like I was pressuring you.” Hope squeezed Kelley’s hands and then said, “I was pretty clear on what I wanted. I wanted you to stay.” Then she smiled slightly and said, “It was you who left my tour, remember?”
At that Kelley smiled back slightly. “And I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you ever since”, Kelley said. This time it was she who saw the registration in Hope’s eyes, and she said, “Yes, Hope. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. And I’m sorry I left. I made a mistake. I should have stayed.”
Hope stared at Kelley for a moment longer, and then she took Kelley’s cheeks in her hands. She wiped at Kelley’s tears with her thumbs and then wrapped her arms around Kelley’s waist. “Kelley…”, she breathed out. “Please, stay…” she let it hang.
Kelley stared into Hope’s eyes, then wrapper her arms around Hope’s neck. “Okay”, she said. She and Hope stared at each other for another moment and then Hope bent down and captured Kelley’s lips with her own. They stood locked like that for a moment, in the sweetest kiss of both of their lives, and then Hope broke the kiss. She looked at Kelley for a moment and then laughed lightly.
“What’s so funny?” Kelley asked with a shy smile.
“I just realized that I ran out after you without putting any shoes on", Hope said, as she looked down at her feet, which she had suddenly realized were going numb, standing on the snow-covered street. "Can we go inside? My feet are freezing.”
Kelley looked down at Hope’s feet, naked in the snow. She looked up at Hope and smiled slightly, and then nodded her head. Hope pulled her arms from Kelley’s waist, then took Kelley’s hand and led her back to the cabin.
********
“How are your feet?” Kelley asked. She and Hope were snuggled on the couch underneath a furry blanket. Hope had her arms wrapped around Kelley, who was nestled into Hope’s chest, Kelley head resting in the crook of Hope’s neck. When they had arrived back at the cabin Christen was gone. Hope had sent her a quick text apologizing and promising to chat in the near future. Then she had thrown another log onto the fire and relit some candles. She had asked Kelley if Kelley was hungry, since food was still on its way, but Kelley had declined, and after everything that had just happened, Hope figured it would be best to cancel the order that she had placed for her and another woman, so she called the restaurant and cancelled the order, playing for it twice over as a courtesy.
“They’re unthawing, I think. I still can’t feel my pinky toes, though”, Hope said, and Kelley giggled lightly.
They sat in silence for a moment and then Kelley said, “It killed me to see you two together. You and Christen.”
Hope put a finger under Kelley’s chin and tilted it up, then planted a kiss on her lips. “Just so you know, nothing ever happened between us. We just went out to dinner twice, and then she came up here today, just a couple of hours before you arrived.” She gave Kelley a reassuring smile.
Kelley smiled back and then settled back into position, head buried in Hope’s neck. She exhaled deeply as a wave of relief washed over her. Then she looked up a Hope again. “You were really broken up over me?” Kelley asked, and then cracked a small smile. “Rock superstar Hope Solo, broken up over little ol’ me?”
“Hey”, Hope said. “I’m just a regular girl…looking for love.” she smiled. "Plus, I may not be a rock star for long.”
Kelley turned in Hope’s arms to face Hope. “What do you mean?” she asked, and Hope proceeded to tell her about the diagnosis that she had been given after her blackout in Philadelphia.
“Wow”, Kelley said. “So, what are you going to do?”
“I’m not sure”, Hope answered. “Maybe take a break from performing and focus on songwriting and recording. Or maybe just work on songwriting for other artists. Or, maybe just play for fun”, Hope said. She gave Kelley a little squeeze and asked, “What about you?”
“I’m not sure, either”, Kelley said. “I mean, I’m not doing the Christina tour, and if you and I are going to give it a shot together, then I probably won’t be touring much at all, which means I’ll be leaving The Firm.”
Hope stroked Kelley’s hair and then tilted her head down to look Kelley in the eye. “You would do that for us?”
Kelley looked down and then looked back up. “I’m here, aren’t I?” She paused for a moment and then said, “I guess I realized that being with you is more important than having the career I originally envisioned.”
Hope smiled, then planted a light kiss on Kelley’s lips. “Well, it means the world to me that you would alter your career to give our relationship a shot, so I will support you financially if you need it.”
Kelley smiled back. “Thank you”, she said, and then nestled back down into Hope. “I don’t want to think about any of that right now, though”, she said, burrowing her face into Hope’s neck.
“Me neither”, Hope said.
“I mean, I do want a career. But I want you too. So if I have to alter my career to make our relationship work, then so be it”, Kelley said. She kissed Hope’s neck and then tilted her head to look Hope in the eyes. “Just don’t leave me, okay?”
Hope stared at Kelley for a moment and then smiled softly. “Do you really think that is going to happen, Kelley? I mean, I've never been so broken up over anything than when you left my tour.”
“And I’ve never been so broken up over anything than when I saw you and Christen together."
“So, you won’t leave me either?” Hope asked with a smile.
“Nope. I’m not going anywhere”, Kelley said. “I gave up a world tour to be with you.”
“And I’m kind of retired, so I’m not going anywhere either”, Hope said.
“Except for when a hot superstar soccer player calls you for a date?” Kelley said and then smirked.
“Shut it, junior”, Hope said, squinting her eyes at Kelley.
Kelley continued to smirk for a moment and then burrowed into Hope. “Old lady", she said into Hope’s neck. They were silent for a moment, and then Kelley said, “Anyway, I do still want to work. Unlike you, I’m too young to be retired.”
“Well, we’ll figure it out”, Hope said. Then she put one finger beneath Kelley’s chin and tilted Kelley’s head up once again. “And we’ll figure it out together, okay?”
Kelley looked into Hope’s eyes for a moment and then smiled. “Okay”, she said, then planted a kiss onto Hope’s lips. They stayed like that for a minute, and then the kiss grew deeper. Hope took Kelley’s bottom lip between her own, and Kelley moaned. She continued to nibble on Kelley’s lip for a moment and then she pulled back.
“So, what are doing doing for Christmas? Going home to see your family in Fayetteville?” Hope asked.
Kelley looked into Hope’s eyes and said, “I thought I’d stay right here.” She paused for a moment and then turned in Hope’s arms so she was straddling Hope under the blanket. “I want a white Christmas. With you.”
Hope stared back at Kelley and then smiled. “I’d like nothing better”, she said, and then pulled Kelley down into a long kiss.