Seventeen Months

On Monday morning, the team is on a plane headed to Orlando for their game against the Pride on Wednesday. Allie and Christen are sitting next to each other two rows behind Tobin and Kling.

“I heard your date went well Friday,” Allie says, nudging Christen lightly in the arm.

“Yeah, it did,” Christen replies with a smile. “It was really nice just being together away from practice and the team.”

“Tobin couldn’t stop smiling when she got back to our apartment. Honestly, it was kind of annoying,” Allie admits with a laugh. Christen smiles at this.

“So, are you two going to keep things private or tell the team what’s going on?” Allie inquires curiously.

“We haven’t really talked about it much,” Christen responds, “But I assume we’ll tell people. I don’t really think we need to act like we aren’t dating.”

Allie nods in understanding.

Meanwhile, a couple rows ahead, Kling and Tobin are twenty minutes deep into an intense game of Speed.

“Ahh, not again!” Tobin whines as Kling wins her third straight round. “This deck is rigged.”

“Yeah right!” Kling retorts with a grin. “You just can’t handle losing.”

“Whatever,” Tobin concedes with an eye roll. “I’m still better at lip syncing than you are.”

Kling’s smile quickly fades. “That’s a low blow, Toby. We agreed to never talk about that again.”

“Sorry, man. Had to hit you where it hurts,” Tobin says with a smirk.

The team arrives at their hotel in Orlando at 8:30pm after stopping for dinner downtown.

“Okay everyone,” Mark addresses the players once they are all in the hotel lobby. “Get some rest. Meet here in the lobby at 10am. We’ll do some light training and then I want you all to take the afternoon and evening off to rest for the game.”

The players are assigned their rooms and make their way to them. Tobin and Allie are together, as usual. Kling is paired with Amandine, and Christen with Lindsey.

When she enters her and Lindsey’s room, Christen collapses onto the nearest bed.

“Tired?” Lindsey says with a chuckle.

Christen nods with a smile and spreads herself over the bed, face up.

“Not to disturb your peace, but word on the street is that you and Heath are a thing now. Is that true?” Lindsey asks with a grin while setting down her duffel bag.

“Uh,” Christen thinks for a moment, debating whether or not to disclose. “Yeah, we went out for the first time a few days ago.”

Lindsey’s grin widens. “Ahh, Press has got herself a girlfriend,” she teases, poking Christen in the ribcage.

Christen laughs and rolls her eyes.

The next day after practice, Tobin and Christen are walking back to the hotel from the field when Tobin gets a text.

Ash:Hey Baller. You and Chris down for a double date tonight? 7 @ this new Tapas place downtown?

Tobin reads the text and smiles.

“Who’s it from?” Christen asks curiously.

“Ash,” Tobin replies, turning toward the forward. “She invited us on a double date with her and Ali tonight.”

“Oh,” Christen says, surprised. “Do you want to go? It would be nice to see them before the game.”

“Yeah, let’s do it,” Tobin confirms. “Although I don’t know how they found out we were dating. You didn’t say anything, did you?” the midfielder asks hesitantly.

“No, but they probably just heard from Kling or Allie,” Christen offers with a shrug.

Tobin nods and texts Ash back.

Tobin: Sounds good. Just send the address.

Ash: Al and I can just pick you guys up from the hotel around 6:45.

Tobin: Oh ok. Thanks

Ash: You got it. Excited to see you two :)

Tobin: Me too

Later that evening, Tobin and Allie are sitting on Tobin’s bed watching a match between Arsenal and Chelsea on the TV when there’s a knock at the door. Allie gets up to answer it and opens the door to find Christen in a form-fitting white dress and black heels.

“Hey Al, is Tobin here? We’re supposed to be downstairs to meet Ali and Ash in 5 minutes,” Christen says with a grin upon seeing Allie’s impressed expression.

“Yeah. We were just watching some football. You look hot!” Allie exclaims. “Tobin! Your girlfriend’s here!” Allie yells back into the room.

Tobin immediately jumps up from the bed wide-eyed and frazzled.

“Oh shit! I didn’t realize what time it is,” she stammers as she frantically changes out of her Nike training pants and t shirt into a pair of blue jean shorts, flip flops, and a white flannel over a grey tank top.

While Tobin changes, Christen can’t help but smile to herself. She thinks it’s cute when Tobin gets frazzled because she’s been so caught up in the moment.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Tobin says with a sigh as she runs a hand through her light brown hair and looks forward at Christen.

“Have fun you two,” Allie says with a smile.

“Thanks, have a good night, Al,” Tobin says as she gives her best friend a squeeze on the shoulder.

“Bye Allie,” Christen adds as she and Tobin head out the door.

At 7:15, Ali, Ashlyn, Tobin, and Christen are led by a hostess to a booth inside the restaurant.

“It’s so nice to see you guys,” Christen says as she slides into the booth next to Tobin.

“Yeah, I’m glad this worked out,” Ali responds with a smile.

“So when did this start?” Ash asks bluntly, indicating the two women seated across from her.

Tobin and Christen look at each other with grins on their faces.

“Just a few days ago,” Tobin answers while scratching the back of her neck. “We went out Friday night for the first time.”

“I’m so happy for you guys!” Ali exclaims excitedly.

Christen smiles shyly. “So, it must be nice for you two to finally be in the same city again, huh?” she asks, partly out of interest and partly to get the attention away from herself.

“Definitely,” Ash says earnestly. “Living with this girl is a dream come true,” she says as she leans over and kisses Ali on the cheek.

Tobin turns toward Christen and mutters, loud enough for Ali and Ash to hear, “We gotta up our game. They’re way too cute.”

All three of them laugh at this and Christen subtly places her hand on Tobin’s thigh, rubbing it lightly. Tobin blushes and covers Christen’s hand with her own.

After dinner, Ali and Ash drop Tobin and Christen back at their hotel.

“Thanks for the ride!” Tobin shouts as the car pulls away. 

“See you tomorrow!” Ali yells back.

“That was nice,” Christen says as she and Tobin walk through the hotel lobby.

“Yeah, it was,” Tobin agrees with a smile, reaching for Christen’s hand and interweaving their fingers.

Christen grins at this small gesture and squeezes Tobin’s hand. She can already feel their relationship developing into something special.

“Are you headed back to your room?” Tobin asks casually as they step into an elevator.

“I was planning on it. I’m pretty tired,” Christen replies with a yawn. “You can come over if you want, though. Linds texted and said she’s in Sonnett’s room right now.”

“That’s okay, I’ll let you get some rest,” Tobin says with a half smile as they reach their floor.

Christen tries to hide a look of dejection by returning the half smile. They reach Tobin’s room first and both stop outside the door. There’s silence for a moment, and then Tobin looks into Christen’s green eyes and softly brushes the forward’s hair behind her ear, keeping her hand on her face. Christen closes her eyes and leans into Tobin’s touch. Then Tobin leans in and kisses Christen, placing her lower lip between her girlfriend’s lips. Christen kisses back slowly but passionately, fully opening herself up to the woman in front of her.

After a few moments, they break the kiss and slowly pull away from each other.

“Whoa,” Tobin mutters in a raspy tone with a smile.

“I know,” Christen replies in awe.

“Well, goodnight, Chris,” Tobin whispers as she opens her door.

“Night, Tobin,” Christen returns with a sparkle in her eye.     

It’s the sixtieth minute in the match between Orlando and Portland the next day. Tobin and Allie had each scored early in the first half, but a goal by Steph Catley in the 47th minute and now potential for a dangerous free kick for the Pride has the Thorns on their toes. Tobin just got called for a foul against Alex Morgan just outside the 18.

“Aw, come on ref! You know that was a clean tackle,” Tobin shouts, throwing her arm in the air.

The official shakes her head and shows Tobin a yellow card. There’s a mixture of boos and cheers from the crowd. Tobin stomps away as Krieger sets herself up to take the free kick.

Tobin positions herself in the penalty area in front of Alex, who, right before the whistle initiating the free kick is blown, whispers in Tobin’s ear:

“Sorry, Tobs. That was clean.”

The whistle blows and Ali takes a chance on the free kick and fires it straight at the goal, noticing a tiny gap in the defense. Michelle Betos leaps up and to her left but her gloves only graze the ball as it sinks into the back of the net by the near post. Ali makes a fist and runs to her teammates as the crowd erupts.

Tobin tosses her head back and runs her hands over her head in frustration while the rest of her team reacts in a similar fashion. On her way to midfield, Christen gives Tobin a sympathetic smile and a short squeeze on the shoulder. At her girlfriend’s touch, Tobin eases up a bit and trots behind Christen to her position.

Play continues, and for the next thirty minutes, the Thorns lead possession by a narrow margin, but are unlucky with the results of their many shots. Alex gets a good look in the 85th minute and almost seals the deal for Orlando, but a beautiful stop from Betos maintains the score.

In the second minute of stoppage time, Orlando turns the ball over to Horan near midfield, who sees an open space in front of her and sprints forward. On her left, Tobin is sprinting with her. On her right, Christen is doing the same. Lindsey makes eye contact with Tobin who slows her run and signals to Christen. Then Lindsey beats two defenders and slides a through ball to Christen who takes two touches and fires a shot past Ashlyn into the bottom right corner of the net, securing the 3-2 win for Portland. Christen beams and runs over to hug Lindsey. Tobin and the rest of the team join in as the final whistle blows.

As she walks off the field with her teammates, Tobin is stopped by a reporter.

“Tobin, do you mind answering a few questions about the match?” the reporter asks.

“Uh yeah, sure. Make it quick, though,” Tobin responds with a nod, glancing at the rest of her team as they head to the locker room.

“Sure thing. So, were you expecting that outcome today?” the woman asks.

“I definitely wanted to win, but that was a little close for comfort,” Tobin answers with a subdued laugh.

“What’s it like to have Christen Press on your team this season? She’s already scored twice in two games with Portland, that must be nice to have” the reporter prompts with a grin.

“It’s great to have Press on the Thorns,” Tobin says with a contained smile. “She basically won our last two games for us, and she is a super hard worker.”

“That’s great, Tobin. Just one more fun question,” the reporter declares with an exaggerated smile. “It’s hard for me to believe that someone like you is single, so I have to ask. Is there anyone special in your life right now? Are you seeing anybody?”

Tobin groans internally and sighs. “Well, uh, I don’t really get what that has to do with soccer…No, there’s no one else right now. Just me.”

“Well okay, thank you so much for your time, Tobin,” the reporter says, slightly disappointed.

“You’re welcome,” Tobin says, clenching her jaw.

Back at the hotel later that night, Tobin is lying in bed reading and Allie is in the shower when a someone bangs on the door. Startled, Tobin pops out of bed and walks to the door and opens it.

“Oh, hey Chris,” Tobin starts before Christen barges into the room and sits down on Tobin’s bed.

“Babe, what’s wrong?” Tobin asks, concerned.

“I heard your post-game interview today,” Christen mentions coldly.

Tobin takes a deep breath and lowers her gaze to the floor.

“There’s no one else right now? Really?” Christen says with a raised voice, standing up and pacing the room.

“No, no, of course there is. I’m sorry Chris, I just froze up when she asked. I mean, how the hell was I supposed to see that coming from a sports reporter?” Tobin stammers half apologetically, half annoyed at the reporter.

“I know. I just wish you had been honest. You could’ve just said yes. You didn’t need to say anything about us,” Christen says in a slightly calmer tone, more hurt than angry.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I promise I’ll make it up to you,” Tobin whispers as she approaches Christen from behind and wraps her arms around the forward’s waist, softly kissing her neck.