Good Luck Kiss
The remainder of the week was a breeze compared to Wednesday. Thursday morning was rough, what with Christen and Tobin suffering from sleep deprivation and Kelley complaining that ‘her liver hated her’ every ten minutes. But with the help of some coffee and breakfast sandwiches from the dining hall, the three were able to survive the day. Friday was encouraging for a few reasons. Kelley and Kling were able to squash the tension between them after Kelley agreed to wash Kling’s car for a month. Which in reality, Kelley wasn’t that opposed to to begin with because, you know, ‘bubbles are fun.’ Their agreement, in turn, allowed the two to bond, which in effect strengthened the chemistry of the backline on the pitch. Saturday and Sunday, the soccer team had an away tournament, so Christen was left to her lonesome. She told herself that it was an opportunity to finally get some school work done, but instead, she spent the majority of her time watching Netflix and checking the score of each game on her phone with practically every passing minute.
So now, on a warm and sunny fall morning, Christen sits in the cold and stale confines of her communications lecture hall. Despite the warmth outside, she has a leather jacket draped over her shoulders to protect her from the overcompensating chilly gusts of air wafting through the air ducts and into the room. A certain leather jacket that she’s been reluctant to part with since last Wednesday night. Or was is early Thursday morning? Either way, she’s become really attached to the jacket. Probably unhealthily attached.
She twirls the pen in her hand as she glances up to the clock at the front of the room. 10:03 am. Where’s Tobin? She should be here by now.
Dr. Stevenson welcomes the class and walks to the front of the classroom. Christen looks over each of her shoulders, searching for her missing classmate. Upon Dr. Stevenson’s daily instruction, two students in the back of the class get up and shut the doors, signaling that the class in now underway. Christen can’t help but feel weary. When she talked to Tobin in the hallway last night, she didn’t mention anything about missing class today. Which is something that Christen’s positive that Tobin would be sure to bring up if that were indeed the case.
So in true Christen fashion, she starts to worry and come up with all of the reasons why Tobin may be absent today. Is she sick? Did she get hurt? Maybe there was a family emergency. Yeah, maybe her grandma died or something. Oh shit, I really hope her grandma didn’t die! That would be terrible, Tobin adores her grandma! Or wait, what if she was walking to class and she got abducted. She didn’t text me or anything, so that’s entirely plausible. SHIT, Tobin got herself abducted, didn’t she?! I told her not to walk alone on the long way to class! Dammit, she’s just too trusting, now look where that’s gotten her! Probably in the back of van or in an old abandoned building somewhere. Am I gonna find a ransom note back in the dorm? Christen don’t be ridiculous, of course you are, this is TOBIN we’re talking about here. Fuck. I know, I should text her, that way the abductors will know that I know she’s missing. Maybe she can tell me where she is through some sort of coded message. But what do I say to –
Just then one of the doors in the back of the class swings open and what appears to be a homeless person trudges into the lecture hall. Once the door shuts and the blinding beams of flooding sunlight are ushered out, Christen recognizes the figure. Is – Is that Tobin?
Dr. Stevenson sends a less-than-impressed glare Tobin’s way before continuing on with the lecture she just interrupted. Tobin shuffles over to the empty seat beside Christen and plops her exhausted self down while trying to regain control of her breathing. As she does, Christen just stares at her in disbelief. Tobin’s hair is thrown up into a messy bun with half of it already spilling out of the hair tie, she has remnants of dried toothpaste at the corner of her mouth and the edge of her chin, and to top it all off, her shirt is on backwards. This messy, thrown together version of Tobin is a sight that Christen’s never seen before. It’s three parts funny, surprising, and a little off-putting. Even on Tobin’s ‘bad days’ she’s never looked this pitiful. So all Christen can do is ask what’s going on.
“Hey” Christen finally offers as the initial shock of Tobin’s current appearance wanes, “Are you alright? Because you kinda look – ”
“Like shit?” Tobin interjects as she pulls out her notebook and pen, “Yeah, I know.” Christen raises an eyebrow at Tobin’s bluntness.
“So… what’s up?” Christen tentatively questions, awaiting a further explanation from her usually calm, cool, and collected neighbor. Tobin releases a heavy sigh as she finally allows herself to settle into her seat. She looks over to Christen with a much softer expression than the one she wore just moments ago.
“I overslept” Tobin numbly clarifies, using one hand to rub her bloodshot eyes. “I woke up like fifteen minutes ago and ran over here.” She overslept? Why the hell didn’t I think of that as a possibility? Wow, alright, maybe I need to work on preventing my mind from wandering to the extremes. Or maybe Kelley and I need to cut down on the amount of Law and Order *DUN DUN* we’ve been watching lately.
“That would explain your, uh, ‘get up’” Christen alludes while letting her eyes graze over Tobin once again. A small amused smile creeps on Tobin’s face.
“It’s alright, Christen, you can say I look like shit” Tobin states, owning up to her own subpar appearance.
“I wasn’t going to say that” Christen feebly denies, although guilt is littered all across her face. Tobin’s smile grows smug as she studies Christen some more.
“Maybe not” she begins, “But you definitely thought it.” Damn, she got me on that one.
Christen remains quiet and redirects her attention back to the front of the class. Tobin continues to smile playfully at her from her side.
“So it’s true, you did think that” Tobin points out, seemingly proud of herself for being able to read Christen. Tobin is only met with more silence. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’ then.” Unwilling to accept defeat, Christen turns to Tobin again in an attempt to defend herself.
“Hey! I never said that” she deflects, even though she knows her argument is a lost cause.
“You didn’t have to” Tobin dismisses, “Can you at least tell me that my face looks alright?” A small chuckle escapes Christen.
“I could tell you that” she acknowledges, “But that would make me a liar.” Tobin’s eyebrows knit together in confusion.
“What? What’s wrong with my face?” Tobin asks, seemingly a little thrown off by Christen’s bold answer. Well, nothing usually.
“It’s just” Christen starts slowly, causing Tobin to hang on to each word, “You have a little toothpaste…” Christen gestures to the region on her own face that is spattered with toothpaste on Tobin’s. Tobin’s hand immediately shoots up to cover her mouth and chin.
“No way” Tobin says in a sheepish tone as a wave of crimson spreads across her cheeks, “That’s so embarrassing.” Christen giggles humoredly. She’s not used to seeing Tobin embarrassed, but witnessing it now, it’s actually pretty endearing. And kind of cute. Not that Christen will admit that. At least, not right now anyway.
“It’s alright, Tobin” Christen warmly tries to reassure the soccer player.
“No it’s not” Tobin disagrees, the hand covering her mouth causing her words to mumble together, “I said hi to like ten people on my way in here.” Christen grins entertained as she continues to take in Tobin’s unexpected shyness. Ok, yeah, that’s definitely cute.
“Tobin” Christen tenderly initiates as she reaches for Tobin’s hand and lowers it from her face, “Here, let me get it and then everything will be fine, ok?” Tobin looks down to her hand still in Christen’s and nods as a response.
Christen moves her free hand to Tobin’s face. She gently wipes away the toothpaste from the afflicted areas. Tobin’s skin is soft and warm to the touch. Almost like a puppy’s belly. And Christen’s touched a lot of puppy bellies, so she would know. Far sooner than Christen would’ve liked, she finishes the job and pulls her hand away from Tobin’s face. Tobin smiles gratefully at her.
“Thanks, Chris, I feel better now” Tobin admits with a fond sparkle in her eye.
“No problem” Christen shrugs, “I know you would do the same for me.”
“Have” Tobin points out.
“What?” Christen questions, unsure of what Tobin is referring to.
“I have done the same for you” she affirms, “Remember last Wednesday? You know, ‘Pizza Sauce ‘Pocalypse 2k16’?”
“Oh, so it has a name now?”
“How could it not? It was such a momentous event.”
“So what’s this then? ‘The Great Toothpaste Travesty’?”
“How about we leave the naming to me” Tobin suggests, leaning over in her chair, remembering that the two of them are actually in class right now. “So, what notes did I miss while I was gone?” Tobin glances down to Christen’s notes only to find that the open page in front of her is empty. Christen follows Tobin’s eyes and moves her arm to block Tobin’s view of her notebook. “Why don’t you have anything written down?” Tobin probes, smugly suspicious of the reason.
“No reason” Christen airily replies, looking back to Dr. Stevenson’s power point. Shit, I really hope I didn’t miss anything important.
“Well then” Tobin breathes, matching Christen’s sudden aloofness, “I guess you’re just bad at taking notes.”
“I guess you’re just bad at dressing yourself” Christen instantly retorts. Tobin opens her mouth to protest, but then she glances down to see that her shirt tag is currently tickling the base of her neck. She slumps in her seat as Christen subtly snickers from her side.
When Tuesday night rolls around, a bunch of the residents of the third floor gather at the dining hall for their weekly floor dinner. Among them is Christen, Tobin, Alex, Kling, Sarah, Ali, Kelley, Becky, and a bunch of other randos that Christen still doesn’t know the names of. Even though she was once opposed to the idea, Christen has grown to love floor dinner. So much so that she even convinced Kelley that it was a good idea to attend. That’s right, Kelley ‘floor dinner is stupid’ O’Hara, has decided to grace the group with her presence.
Along with a plate full of grilled chicken and mixed vegetables, Kelley places a mouth-watering slice of chocolate cake in front of her place at the table as she settles into the seat next to Christen. The other soccer players look on in horror as Christen absentmindedly studies the face of the generic looking guy at the end of the table. I feel like his name is Chad, but I’m not actually sure…
“O’Hara, what are you planning to do with that?” Ali cautiously asks as she determinedly stares down the frosting-covered delicacy in front of her fellow defender. Kelley looks confusedly down at her cake and back to Ali.
“I plan to eat it?” she returns innocently. The table lets out a round of groans which effectively snaps Christen out of her state of contemplation. Wait, what’s going on? Did I miss something?
“You can’t eat that!” Kling reprimands from across the table, “We have a huge game tomorrow, junk food cut-off was at three-o-clock.”
“What? Seriously?” Kelley protests as picks up her fork and aims it at the cake. “It’s only a little after five, it should be fine if I just have a little –”
“NO!” every soccer player at the table exclaims in unison.
“But – ” Kelley tries again.
“Hey Christen, do you like chocolate cake?” Sarah interrupts, looking expectantly at Christen as she waits for an answer. Christen shrugs.
“Yeah, sure, all cake is delicious. Why do you –”
“Here, have Kelley’s” Sarah insists as she reaches over Christen from her opposite side and snatches Kelley’s piece of cake before she even has a moment to process that her desert is being stolen out from under her. Sarah then places the cake directly in front of Christen and Kelley pouts.
“Oh, um, thanks” Christen murmurs, not quite expecting events to unfold that way, but not questioning it either because you never question free cake. That’s just the unspoken rule.
“You guys are the worst” Kelley grumbles under her breath as she folds her arms over her chest and dejectedly slouches in her chair.
“Hey, you signed up for this” Kling reminds as she points her fork at Kelley, “You knew everything that you were getting yourself into.”
“Apparently not everything” Kelley passive-aggressively corrects as she now busies herself with repeatedly tearing small pieces from her napkin.
“So what’s the big deal about tomorrow’s game? You guys aren’t usually this strict the night before” Christen questions, still confused about the serious tone that has settled over the table.
“We play Lyon Tech tomorrow” Tobin explains from across from Christen, though Christen still finds herself unable to understand the situation.
“So? Why are you all so concerned about Lyon Tech?” Christen asks, her curiosity peaked and her need to be in the know demanding to be satisfied.
“Can we please not talk about Lyon Tech right now? I’m actually trying to enjoy my dinner” Alex snaps from the seat beside Tobin. Whoa, what has Alex so high-strung? Tobin seems to read Christen’s mind as she answers Christen’s next question before she even has a chance to ask it.
“Lyon Tech is one of our biggest rivals” Tobin informs as Alex fumes from her side.
“They’re persistent and annoying as shit” Alex immediately adds, obviously very passionate about the statement for a reason unknown to Christen.
“They’ve also been trying to recruit Alex since the beginning of time” Tobin throws in, chuckling a little as she can see Alex visibly tense up from her seat beside her. “They offered to put her face on a billboard and everything.” A billboard? Sounds desperate. Ok, the pieces are starting to come together now.
“Really? They offered you a billboard spot and you still didn’t go there?” Sarah tries to clarify, seemingly astounded by this new information.
“I’m not going to Lyon Tech, so can we all just drop it?” Alex huffs as she angrily stuffs a bit of her gluten-free waffle into her mouth.
“Aye aye, Captain Morgan” Sarah concedes as she refocuses her attention on using her fork to round up all of the stray peas on her plate.
As another light-hearted, soccer oriented conversation starts up, Christen begins to enjoy her cake. The first bite is loaded with frosting, so a little bit gets left behind on her upper lip. Across from her, Tobin starts to take a drink of water. Their eyes connect as Christen thoughtlessly licks the frosting away from her lip. Tobin witnesses the entire action and instantly finds herself choking on the water that she’s trying, and failing, to ingest. She sputters and launches into a merciless fit of coughs. She nearly does a spit take. All eyes at the table land on her with concern. Kling claps her on the back a few times before Tobin finally gains some control of her convulsing lungs.
“Yo Tobs, are you alright, buddy?” Kling gently asks as Tobin brings a napkin to her mouth to wipe away any leftover droplets of water.
“Yeah, I’m fine” Tobin confirms as she clears her throat and briefly glances to Christen, “It just went down the wrong way.”
“Seriously, Tobin. You’re having one hell of a week. Are you sure you’re fit to face off against Lyon Tech tomorrow?” Ali states, alluding to something that Christen thinks she has an idea about, but isn’t quite sure yet. Is this about the thing that happened yesterday?
“What do you guys mean? What’s wrong with Tobin?” Kelley asks, now a little less grumpy since she’s started eating her grilled chicken.
“Tobs here has been the world’s unluckiest duck all week” Kling tells, placing a supportive hand on Tobin’s shoulder.
“It’s true” Alex chimes in while she places her hand on Tobin’s other shoulder, “She mixed up some chemicals today and nearly blew up the Chem Lab.” Ok, why is everyone touching her right now? I mean, aww, poor Tobin.
“Guys, it’s fine” Tobin reassures the group of concerned teammates, “These things happen. I’ll get past it.”
“Just be sure to get past it before tomorrow’s game, I don’t want any of your bad mojo out on the pitch” Sarah jokes, causing Tobin and everyone else at the table to laugh.
“Yeah, mom, I’ll be sure to tell her” Christen speaks into her phone as she and Tobin make their way up the stairs of their dorm after floor dinner. Tobin leads the way as she takes the stairs two steps at a time for Christen’s every one. “Alright, I love you, too. Yep. Bye” Christen finally utters as she ends the call and slides her phone back into her back pocket. “Sorry about that” she apologizes, “My mom has a knack for calling at the worst times.”
“It’s ok” Tobin casually dismisses as she waits at the top of the current flight for Christen to catch up, “You’re mom just misses you. I get that.”
“Thanks, and you’re right, I should probably call her more often” Christen admits once she and Tobin are side-by-side again. “She wishes you good luck in the game tomorrow by the way.”
“Good” Tobin exhales, taking another two steps up to gain a lead on Christen again, “I could use all the luck that I can get.”
“Rough week, huh?” Christen asks, already knowing the answer to the question but still wanting Tobin to know that she cares.
“Yeah” Tobin simply agrees, “Rough week.” The two complete another flight of stairs before Christen speaks again.
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, my mom wishing you luck is probably a good thing” Christen offers as she and her neighbor round the railing and continue up the next flight.
“What do you mean by that?” Tobin asks as she surges ahead yet again.
“There’s this little story in my family” Christen begins, a little hesitant about Tobin’s reaction. But when she looks up she sees that the girl seems genuinely interested in what she has to say next. “Alright so, when my grandfather was in the military and he would leave for a short deployment to a new station, my grandmother would give him a ‘good luck kiss’, and he always came back ok.” Christen looks to Tobin again, and she just nods along, waiting for the remainder of the story. So Christen continues. “When my mom and my dad got married, my mom would always give him a ‘good luck kiss’ before work every day. Dad hasn’t screwed up a form or been late to work in his career. Not once. He has the perfect record.” Tobin hums as she processes Christen’s story.
“So what you’re saying is” Tobin muses, “A Press wishing me luck is some sort of magical gift? Are you superstitious, Christen?” Tobin makes it to the top again, and again, Christen gradually catches up.
“I don’t know if I’d say that” she admits, “but I will say that the evidence plays into my family’s favor.”
“So you do believe in it” Tobin challenges, starting to ascend the next set of steps.
“Maybe a little” Christen shrugs, allowing herself to buy into her family’s little myth just a teeny bit.
“Alright, well in that case I’ll – Oh, shit!” At that moment, Tobin’s foot snags on one of the steps and she trips up the stairs. Thankfully, she uses her hands to catch herself on the top step to avoid serious injury, but her heart races and she slowly picks herself up, more frazzled now than moments before. She turns to Christen who only looks at her with worry. “Yeah, rough week.”
It’s finally game day and Christen stands in front of her mirror as she readjusts the custom made shirt that Tobin gave her the morning of the initiation. She looks over her reflection one last time before deeming her outfit acceptable for the game. Kelley and the team left over an hour ago to go warm up and prepare on the practice fields, so Christen will have to walk to the game by herself. Which is alright with her since she’s made plans to sit with Emily again when she gets there.
Christen grabs her purse and ‘the leather jacket’ because it’s a 7:00 game and it can get pretty drafty at night when she has to sit still in the stands. After she finishes collecting all of her things, she reaches for her phone on her bed and realizes that she has a few missed calls and a text from Tobin. As Christen inspects her phone, she realizes that it’s still on silent from when she had class earlier in the day. She quickly unlocks her screen and reads Tobin’s text.
Thunder Shirt: Hey, you haven’t answered any of my calls, so if you get this, can you please text me back right away?
The urgency laced in Tobin’s message begins to fill Christen with worry, so immediately, her thumbs hastily tap out a reply.
Pizza Thief: I’m sorry, my phone was on silent. What’s up? Did something happen?
Not even a minute later, Tobin shoots her a response.
Thunder Shirt: Thank goodness you’re alive! Please tell me you haven’t left the dorm yet.
Pizza Thief: No, but I was just about to. Why?
Thunder Shirt: I left my boots in the room, can you bring them to the game for me?
Pizza Thief: Sure, but how am I supposed to get into your room? Is it unlocked? Are you telling me that you and Kling don’t lock your door?
Thunder Shirt: Thank you so much! And… no comment.
Pizza Thief: Tobin! Do you know how unsafe that is? You’re just asking for all of your stuff to be stolen!
Thunder Shirt: Sorry, gotta go, coach is calling me. Meet me by the locker room entrance to the left of the front gate. Don’t forget to bring the stuff.
Pizza Thief: Alright, fine. Why do you have to make this sound like a sketchy drug deal?
Thunder Shirt: Because it’s fun. :)
Thunder Shirt: And because Breaking Bad is one hell of an addicting show.
Thunder Shirt: Ok, I’m not lying this time when I say that coach is actually calling me. See you soon!
Christen rolls her eyes as she reads the last text, but then briskly grabs her things and exits the room. After stopping in room 317, which was very much unlocked, Christen walks with Tobin’s soccer boots in hand, and leaves the dorm to meet Tobin at the stadium.
Upon walking through the front gate, Christen heads in the direction of the locker room and spots Tobin standing eagerly outside. She looks nervous and anxious, but when she notices Christen walking her way, a wave of relief washes over her face. It’s the kind of wordless greeting that Christen wasn’t expecting, but finds herself enjoying every second of.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Tobin opens up once Christen arrives in front of her.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah” Christen returns as she hands over the sunset orange, grass-stained boots like it’s no big deal.
“Really Christen, I mean that” Tobin reiterates as she looks Christen square in the eye. “This has been the week from hell for me. I’ve had the worst luck and now I almost couldn’t play because I left my boots in the room. You’re kind of a life saver.” Life Saver? Christen can’t tell why, but she likes the way that nickname sounds when Tobin calls her that.
“It really wasn’t a problem, I was still in the room when you sent that text anyway” Christen reveals, though now her slightly shyer demeanor hints at how she really feels when Tobin pays her a compliment.
Tobin plops down on the ground to secure her boots to her feet. In the meantime, several players trickle out of the locker room. Kelley, Kling, and Sarah walk in one group and seem to be trying to hype each other up. Next, Ali and Ashlynn pass as they seem to be going over some defensive strategies. Then, Alex reluctantly makes her way to the pitch, muttering how she just wants ‘to get this damn game over with’ under her breath as she travels. None of the girls acknowledge Christen, but that much is to be expected when a rivalry game is on the line. Christen remembers those types of games quite well.
Finally, with her laces properly tied, Tobin rises to her feet and looks at Christen again as if she has a question playing at her lips.
“What?” Christen asks, sensing that Tobin has something that she really wants to say.
“Hey Chris” Tobin begins in a bit of a reserved voice.
“Yeah?” Christen grants, patiently waiting for Tobin to get on with it.
“Do you… Do you think…” Tobin continues. Christen narrows her eyes as she is slightly perplexed. Why is she having so much trouble saying what she has to say?
“Tobin, just say it” Christen encourages, well aware that the game will start soon and that Tobin should really join her team out on the pitch. Tobin shifts her weight but nods in agreement.
“Do you think you could give me a ‘good luck kiss’?” she gently asks, her eyes resembling those of a begging puppy or a toddler in dire need of a cookie. She looks so innocent and pure that Christen answers before she even has a second to think about it.
“Sure.”
“It’s just, you may not be superstitious, but I sure as hell am. And after everything that’s happened this week I just thought that – Wait, did you just say ‘Sure’?” Tobin rambles until she finally registers Christen’s quick response. Christen nods, confirming her approval of Tobin’s request. Why did I agree to that so quickly? But how could I not? I mean, look at her. She looks like she needs this. Maybe just a kiss on the cheek. That should do, right? Yeah, that should work.
So Christen leans in and delivers the softest kiss to Tobin’s right cheek. She can feel the heat of Tobin’s skin underneath her lips, and it’s a feeling like nothing she’s ever imagined. She can feel Tobin’s facial muscles move as her expression changes into a smile. And she’s not sure, but she thinks she can feel Tobin’s heartbeat settling within her, almost as if the small amount of intimacy with Christen is enough to put her nerves at ease and expel any bad luck that still remains within her. As Christen pulls away, she smile sheepishly back at Tobin.
“Thank you” Tobin offers for the countless time in the past few days. But this time seems a tad different from all the other times. This time seems special in its own right.
“You’re welcome” Christen simply returns, matching the tone and feel of Tobin. They smile wordlessly at each other for a few beats before they hear an air horn in the distance, signaling that’s it’s time to leave their own little word. “You should probably get going.”
“Yeah” Tobin agrees, “I probably should.” Christen nods and begins slowly walking backwards, gradually creating more and more space between her and Tobin. They maintain eye contact until Christen unexpectedly bumps into the Lyon Tech equipment manager. Christen quickly apologizes and turns to make a hasty retreat when she hears her name being called. “Christen, wait!”
Christen reluctantly turns around to face Tobin, who has jogged over so that she now stands directly in front of her. Before Christen can say anything, Tobin leans forward and plants a tender kiss on Christen’s cheek, grazing the corner of her mouth. Christen feels both exhilarated, and that she might melt in that very spot. A small voice in the back of her head tells her to turn her head, to let her lips have a chance to connect with Tobin’s, but before she can do that, Tobin leans back.
“I thought you could use a little luck, too” she whispers before giving Christen’s shoulder a slight squeeze and turning to jog over to the pitch. Only when Tobin is out of sight does Christen allow herself to move. Her cheeks are burning a deep shade of lobster red as she regains feeling in her limbs.
Eventually she finds her way to the stands and takes her seat next to Emily. They exchange a few pleasantries before the game begins. Just before the whistle blows, Christen hears faint thunder in the distance. She looks down to the pitch and sees Tobin staring at her with a look of concern. Christen inspects the clouds and determines that the storm will pass. When she looks back to Tobin again, she feels her nerves settle. She gives the girl a thumbs up to let her know that everything is ok, and Tobin smiles approvingly. As the game gets underway, Christen feels the rumble of her phone in her pocket. She pulls it out to discover a text from her mom.
Mom: Remember to send Tobin some luck!
Christen quickly pockets her phone and watches as Tobin effortlessly dribbles the ball through countless defenders. Christen touches the corner of her mouth as a result. It almost feel like the lingering energy there is what she’s seeing from Tobin out on the field right now. It’s almost like they both share that same invincible feeling.
Christen feels the same way for the remainder of the match.
Tobin scores three goals.