The Date
Tobin and Christen walk outside in silence, each basking in the presence of the other. When they reach the curb, Tobin opens the passenger door of her black Audi sedan for Christen and walks around the front of the car to get into the driver’s seat. Tobin starts the car, puts on some soft acoustic music, and turns to face her date.
“I’m excited for this,” Tobin admits with a grin, placing a hand on Christen’s thigh.
“Me too,” Christen answers, covering Tobin’s hand with her own, “Whatever ‘this’ is.”
Tobin smirks and drives out onto the street, toward Mt. Tabor.
“So, how do you like living in Portland so far?” Tobin asks Christen as they drive through downtown.
“Honestly, I love it,” Christen replies enthusiastically. “The environment here is something I’ve never seen before. It seems like the whole city comes out to watch us play. And the team is great.”
“I’m glad you’re happy here,” Tobin says with a smile. “When you first told me you were going to be playing on the Thorns, I didn’t stop smiling for like fifteen minutes.”
Christen gives Tobin a doubtful glance.
“I’m serious!” Tobin exclaims with a chuckle, “Just ask Allie. She was there when you called. She gave me crap about it for days.”
Christen smiles to herself and then says, “You know, you were the first person I called. What’s funny is that I didn’t even think about it. Right after I got off the phone with my coach I immediately dialed your number.”
Tobin stares ahead with a crooked smile, desperately wishing she could take her eyes off the road to gaze at the woman sitting next to her.
The two footballers sit in silence for the remainder of the car ride, listening to a mixture of Jack Johnson, Sara Bareilles, and Gavin DeGraw.
“Alright, we’re here,” Tobin proclaims as she pulls over to the side of the road at the entrance to Mt. Tabor Park.
“Leave it to Tobin to choose a hike as a first date,” Christen teases with a laugh.
“It’s not just a hike,” Tobin retorts with a proud smile, grabbing her backpack. “I have something else up my sleeve.”
“Well I look forward to finding out what that is,” Christen responds flirtatiously.
Tobin and Christen get out of the car and start walking up a dirt trail.
After a few minutes of hiking, Tobin mutters, “Hey Chris, did you know I liked you before the other night?”
Christen’s lips curl upwards as she replies. “I wouldn’t say I knew. It was more like hoping you liked me.”
“Really?” Tobin asks, surprised.
“Yeah,” Christen shakes her head. “I’ve kind of had a crush on you since the World Cup.”
“Well damn,” Tobin sighs. “That’s a lot of time wasted considering I’ve been into you for almost as long.” The two of them laugh and continue their hike.
When they reach the top of the trail, Christen’s jaw drops as she realizes the view in front of her.
“Wow, this is beautiful,” the forward gasps, scanning the city scape in front of her.
“It really is,” Tobin agrees, her eyes on a certain person rather than the horizon.
Noticing the direction of Tobin’s gaze out of the corner of her eye, Christen blushes and takes Tobin’s hand in hers.
“Thank you for bringing me here, Tobin,” she says earnestly.
“Of course,” Tobin says softly. “I hope you’re okay with staying here for awhile, because I brought wine.” Tobin grins and carefully removes the contents of her backpack and sets the blanket down on the grass, overlooking the Portland sunset.
Christen tilts her head back and smiles. “Thank god, wine sounds amazing right now.”
Tobin lets out a laugh and takes a seat on the blanket, motioning for Christen to join her.
Christen sits down next to Tobin and leans her head on the midfielder’s shoulder. Tobin smiles and pours a glass of wine for each of them, careful not to move too much.
“How does this feel so right and so comfortable when it’s only our first date?” Christen thinks aloud, sipping her wine.
“Because we were best friends first,” Tobin says contentedly. “All those nights we spent with the national team, watching movies till 3am in our hotel rooms, cuddling on the bus rides—it feels like we’ve been together for longer.”
They both reminisce for a moment, just happy to be in the company of the other.
“So what’s it like living with Kling?” Tobin asks with a smirk after a minute or so.
Christen grins and replies, “It’s really fun. She’s been such a great friend to me ever since we played for Tyresö together. I can’t believe I get to play on a club team with you two, Allie, Lindsey, and Sonnett.”
“We’re pretty stacked,” Tobin declares with a smile. “And yeah, I love Kling. Ever since she joined the Thorns last season we’ve been really close.”
“Do you think her and Brittany are ever gonna get together?” Christen inquires.
“Who knows? But they would be cute as hell if they did,” Tobin exclaims. “Soccer players make good girlfriends for each other.”
At that last part, Christen raises an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? You think so?”
“Absolutely,” Tobin replies confidently.
“Hmm” Christen hums with a smile.
For the next half hour or so, Tobin and Christen eat and talk about soccer, friends, and funny memories they’ve shared on the USWNT.
“Want to lie down and watch the stars for a bit?” Christen asks once it’s gotten pretty dark.
“Yeah,” Tobin says with a smile.
The two women lie down next to each other on the blanket and stare up at the starry sky in silence. After a moment, Tobin readjusts herself so that she lies perpendicular to Christen, with her head resting on the younger woman’s stomach. Christen smiles and slowly runs her hand through Tobin’s soft, light brown hair. Tobin lets out a deep breath.
“That feels so good.”
Christen smiles and continues massaging Tobin’s hair.
“Can we stay like this forever?” Tobin asks rhetorically.
“Fine by me,” Christen chimes in approval.
After hours of lying in the grass gazing at the stars, Christen sits up and nudges Tobin.
“Tobs, we should probably head back.” Tobin grumbles and sits up as well.
“Yeah okay, just one more thing,” Tobin says softly, leaning in toward Christen. The midfielder slowly kisses the forward and rocks their lips back and forth. Christen kisses back once and then hesitates before pulling away. Tobin gives her a slightly confused expression.
“I want to, Tobin. I just think we should take things slow at first,” Christen assures her date with an attempted smile.
Tobin nods her head in understanding and then stands up and offers her hand to Christen. “Ready to go?”
“Sure,” Christen replies, using Tobin’s hand to help herself up.
The walk back to the car is fairly quiet as both women mull the night over in their heads. Once they reach the car, Tobin again opens the passenger door for Christen and walks around to the driver’s seat. Christen smiles at this subtle but kind act that Tobin does without even thinking.
Tobin drives them through the city, blasting music with the windows rolled down. As they pass over the Willamette River, both women sing along to Party in the USA, a USWNT classic. While Tobin watches the road, Christen watches Tobin, wondering how she got lucky enough to end up on a date with the most beautiful girl in the world.
“Thank you for asking me out!” Christen shouts over the music. “I had a really nice night!”
Tobin glances at Christen for a moment and smiles. “Thank you for saying yes!”
The rest of the drive is lighthearted and simple, filled with off-key singing and laughter.
They finally arrive back at their apartment building in NW Portland a few minutes after midnight. Christen steps out of the car and waits for Tobin, who locks the car and casually walks up next to Christen and takes her hand in her own, interlocking their fingers.
“Let’s do this again sometime,” Tobin says with a smile as she leads Christen up the stairs to her and Kling’s apartment.
When the two reach Christen’s apartment, Christen turns to face Tobin.
“You know what you said about soccer players making good girlfriends?” Christen asks with a raised eyebrow and crooked smile.
“Uh huh,” Tobin nods, a smile creeping across her own lips.
“Well, I was thinking,” Christen says as she takes Tobin’s hands in her own, “Will you be my girlfriend, Tobin?”
“I would love to,” Tobin answers with a toothy grin.
Christen smiles and leans in to kiss Tobin’s lips, but Tobin turns and kisses Christen softly on the cheek instead. Christen gives a confused smile.
“We’re taking it slow, right?” Tobin says with a wink.