It was a beautiful day for surfing and Tobin Heath and her friends Ashlyn Harris and Alyssa Naeher thought so as well. Tobin Heath is a professional surfer and a damn good one at that, along with her friend Ashlyn Harris. Alyssa is their trainer/best friend which is a conflict of interest at times but they make it work.
Everything was going great, the waves were ‘sick’ as Ashlyn put it and Tobin was crushing it until the three friends heard the dreaded word in the surfing community, “SHARK!”
“Alright you guys know the drill, let’s go!” Alyssa screamed at the pair of surfers and Ashlyn started paddling in, but Tobin was waiting for ‘the wave’ and did not want to give it up.
“Tobin, you’re gonna get yourself killed!” Ashlyn screamed after she realized that her best friend wasn’t behind her.
“Not on my watch” Alyssa said and attempted to paddle out to her friend but was too late.
Tobin was facing the horizon when it happened. The shark managed to pull Tobin under by her leg but gave up after the surfer had miraculously kicked it in the nose. Tobin had drug herself back onto the board and laid there dumbfounded while Alyssa and Ashlyn paddled around her. Between the two of them they somehow got Tobin to the shore and yelled for help.
.
Alex Morgan is a professional soccer player but not just any professional soccer player she is the face of women’s soccer, which she wore proudly. Her day was going great; she had an early training session with a couple friends, ate breakfast, took a nap, and was now visiting her friend who just had a baby.
“Where the hell am I supposed to go?” Alex asks herself as she tries to navigate through the hospital parking lot. She finally decides to just park somewhere and go inside to ask for directions.
Just as she is walking into the building she sees an ambulance pull up and a woman on a stretcher is being rolled into the door way. The paramedics and doctors are frantically yelling at one another and just as fast as she came through the door she was gone. Alex realizes that everyone has pretty much followed the stretcher and no one is at the front desk to help her.
Not even a second later two women who look like they came from the beach run in and look in all directions for someone, “Hey! Have you seen a woman on a stretcher some through here?”
“Yeah, you just missed her, she went through those doors with pretty much the whole staff” Alex says and the pair spring to the doors but no matter how hard they bang on the doors they don’t open. Deflated, the women both take a seat next to Alex in the hard waiting room chairs.
“Oh man, I hope she’s O.K.” Alex hears one of them say and she can’t help but be a bit nosey.
“Sorry to pry, but what happened?” Alex asks the two women sitting next to her.
"Damn shark bite” She hears the woman with a sleeve of tattoos say and she gasps.
“She is going to be fine, it was just a bite, and nothing was missing or anything” The other woman who is much calmer than the tattooed one says.
“Who are you waiting for?” The calm one asks and Alex can’t help but be a bit embarrassed as to why she is waiting.
“I am actually really lost. I’m looking for the place where they have the babies..” Alex says sheepishly and the tattooed one laughs at her.
“You mean the Labor and Delivery wing?” The tattooed woman says and Alex’s cheeks redden as she nods her head up and down.
“Well I guess you’re stuck here because I have no clue where that is, unless you do, Alyssa?” The tattooed woman asks the other woman, whose name is Alyssa.
“You’re stuck” Alyssa says and they all laugh at this.
“I’m Alex, by the way” Alex says introducing herself.
“I am Ashlyn and this is Alyssa” The tattooed woman says.
“Ashlyn Harris?” Alex questions and receives a nod from the woman. “Oh my gosh my friend has the biggest crush on you!”
“Is it a he or she?” Ashlyn questions trying not to get too excited.
“She” Alex says and Ashlyn thrusts her fist into the air.
“Is she cute?” Ashlyn asks and Alex shrugs and pulls up a picture of her friend.
“Your friend is Ali Krieger?!” Ashlyn yells and Alyssa has to tell her to lower the volume.
“Yeah, how’d you know?” Alex asks with furrowed eye brows.
“Ashlyn has a huge crush on her and also has a thing for soccer players” Alyssa says and receives a punch from Ashlyn.
“I’m helping you out, idiot” Alyssa says as she leans back in her chair.
“I have an idea, how about we take a selfie and I can send it to her” Alex suggests and Ashlyn nods her head furiously. The picture is taken and Alex sends it to Ali.
“Could you stop thinking about girls for one second and focus on our best friend?” Alyssa says and Ashlyn sits back down in her seat.
“Who is your friend back there?” Alex asks as she points to the double doors.
“Tobin Heath” Alyssa says and Alex’s eyes go wide.
“Like Tobin Heath the surfer?” Alex asks with still wide eyes.
“Yeah, you know her?” Ashlyn asks with a confused look on her face.
“Yes! I can’t believe I didn’t recognize her when she was being wheeled in” Alex says more to herself than two the other women.
“How do you know her?” Alyssa asks.
“We had Chem Lab together my junior year of college, she was my lab partner, and then we kind went on a date and she never called me back” Alex says with a taste of bitterness in her voice.
“You went on a date with Tobin?” Alyssa and Ashlyn ask at the same time and Alex slowly nods her head.
“Was it a good date?” Ashlyn asks. “Well apparently it was good enough to get into my pants” Alex says and both of the women gasp.
“Oh man you are so going back there with us when she wakes up” Ashlyn says and Alex is still in shock.
“No I certainly am not” Alex says matter of factly. “In fact, I am going to go find my friend and see the baby. It was very nice to meet you guys and I hope Tobin recovers” Alex says as she stands and walks away only to get lost again.
After forty minutes of wandering around the massive hospital she calls her friend Sydney and asks where her room is, and it turns out that Alex is at the wrong hospital. After a lot of laughing from Sydney, Alex decides to just visit her tomorrow.
After more wandering Alex finds herself in the familiar waiting room of the emergency center and sees Ashlyn waiting on the same seats as before.
“Still no news on Tobin?” Alex asks as she approaches Ashlyn.
“Not yet, Alyssa went to get some food from the vending machines. How was the baby?” Ashlyn asks and Alex lets out a big breath of air and plops down next to Ashlyn.
“I am at the wrong hospital” Alex says and Ashlyn busts out laughing.
“You know what, this is destiny” Ashlyn says and Alex looks at her like she has three heads.
“Why would you say that?” Alex asks.
“You are meant to speak to Tobin and I am meant to marry Ali, by the way has she texted you back?” Ashlyn asks trying to take a peek at Alex’s phone.
“She did actually. She said and I quote ‘AHHHHHHH BRING HER TO ME’” Alex says as she shows Ashlyn the message.
“Can I have her number?” Ashlyn asks and Alex laughs and gives it to her.
“You are the best stranger I have ever met” Ashlyn says as she leans over and hugs Alex.
“We aren’t strangers though, we have a mutual friend” Alex says pointing to the double doors Tobin went through not too long ago.
“Will you please come back and see her?” Ashlyn asks again and Alex rolls her eyes and decides to give in, “Sure, what the hell.”
“Hey Alex! O.K. so I got a bunch of processed crap, which you will be running off later” Alyssa says as she laid down a bunch of sugary pastries in front of Ashlyn.
“Did she finally talk you into seeing Tobin?” Alyssa asks as she pats a choking Ashlyn on the back. “You have to actually chew, Ash.”
“Yeah, I thought ‘what the hell’ so here I am” Alex says as she throws her hands up and lets them land loudly on her thighs.
“Friends of Tobin Heath?” A guy dressed in a white coat says and the three women stand up and walk over to him.
“Is she alive?” Ashlyn asks and receives a slap in the stomach from Alyssa.
“She is doing perfectly fine. The shark did some damage but we stitched her back up and she will be good as new in no time” He says and they all sigh in relief.
“Can we see her?” Alyssa asks and the man nods his head and escorts them to Tobin’s room.
“Tobin, you have some visitors” The man says and then steps aside to let the women enter.
Tobin is sitting up in bed with three empty cups of pudding and the fourth in her hand when the trio walks in.
“I waited for over an hour for you and you decide to not share your pudding with your best friend?” Ashlyn asks as she snatches the cup on pudding from Tobin.
“What Ashlyn is trying to say is that we are glad that you’re O.K.” Alyssa says while glaring at her pudding eating best friend.
“Yep, I am all good. I have 120 stiches though” Tobin says as she looks for more pudding under her covers.
“Hey Tobs, we brought an old friend of yours” Ashlyn says trying to hide the smirk on her face.
“Oh yeah, who?” Tobin asks and they both point to the doorway Alex was occupying.
“Alex Morgan?” Tobin says and Alex waves shyly and walks closer to the bed. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, long story short my friend Sydney had a baby but I am at the wrong hospital, then I met your wonderful friends” Alex says bitterly and Tobin gulps because she knows that Alex remembers.
“Hey could you guys give us a minute?” Tobin asks never taking her eyes off of Alex. Ashlyn and Alyssa laugh but leave the room nonetheless.
“So, I guess you still remember our date..” Tobin says and Alex just nods her head.
“Wow, you have really good memory, that was like 4 years ago” Tobin says and Alex rolls her eyes.
“I knew this was a bad idea. Look, I’m glad you’re O.K. but I am going to go” Alex says as she points to the door and walks backwards.
“You don’t have to do that” Tobin says and Alex stops and turns around.
“I have no excuse as to why I did what I did-“ Tobin starts but is cut off by Alex. “You mean when you ‘hit it and quit it’?”
“Yeah, that…but I am really sorry that I didn’t call you” Tobin says as she suddenly becomes more interested in her hands than Alex.
“Do you at least have an excuse?” Alex asks with anger lacing her voice.
“I was scared” Tobin says as she shrugs her shoulders.
“Of what? And please don’t give me that ‘I was scared of what you meant to me’ bullshit because I am not buying it” Alex says as she crosses her arms and gives Tobin a pointed look.
“I was scared because you were a superstar soccer player destined to go big and I couldn’t handle that” Tobin says and Alex’s scowl softens but not entirely.
“What do you mean by that?” Alex asks as she uncrosses her arms and approaches Tobin’s bed.
“You were always amazing, Alex. You are a superstar athlete and model, you were wicked smart in chemistry and I was just a surfer bum, still am. I could never compare to you” Tobin says as she fiddles with the sheets that are splayed over her torso.
“You obviously aren’t a surfer bum because you’re ranked like top 10 in the world, and as for the ‘I could never compare to you’ bullshit, did you ever think that maybe I didn’t want you to? Maybe I just wanted someone to treat me normal and all I got was a one night stand with a girl I really liked” Alex says as she turns around and makes her way out the door and out of Tobin’s life.
Alyssa and Ashlyn come in with shocked expressions after seeing Alex bolt out the door. “What happened, man?” Ashlyn asks and Tobin shrugged her shoulders.
“She left, end of story” Tobin says and Alyssa decides to push a little more.
“Why did she leave, because you had sex with her and never called her?” Alyssa asks and Tobin feels the words go right through her.
“I was such a bad date” Tobin says and Alyssa and Ashlyn nod their heads in agreement.
“Well buddy, lucky for you I got her number. Ask her out again” Ashlyn says taking Tobin’s phone and entering Alex’s number.
“She doesn’t want anything to do with me, guys” Tobin says as she leans her head back on her many pillows that cover her bed.
“If she didn’t want anything to do with you then she wouldn’t have come to see you” Alyssa says and Ashlyn nods her head, “Spitting some serious knowledge, Lys” Ashlyn says as she throws her arm over Alyssa’s shoulders.
“Maybe I’ll call her then” Tobin says and Ashlyn rejoices by singing ‘hallelujah’ over and over again.
.
Two weeks have passed since Tobin’s shark incident and she is healing quite well. She just got her stiches out and notices that she has a ‘gnarly scar’ on her calf. Two weeks have also passed since she last saw Alex, but she hasn’t stopped thinking about her.
The gang is currently at the beach, Ashlyn is surfing and Alyssa watching her while Tobin sits in the sand and thinks about a blue eyed girl by the name of Alex.
“I should just call her. What’s the worst that could happen?” Tobin says to herself as she fishes her phone out of her hoodie pocket. She clicks Alex contact and waits for the other woman to answer.
“Hello?” Alex answers from the other side and something is off about her voice. It’s raspier than normal.
“Hey Alex, its Tobin” Tobin says as she lays back in the sand.
“Yeah, hey, can I ask why you are calling me a six in the morning?” Alex asks and Tobin looks at her watch and realizes that it is in fact six in the morning.
“Shit, I’m so sorry. I guess I didn’t realize the time” Tobin says and she hears a hum on the other end.
“Are you surfing?” Alex asks. “No but I am at the beach watching Ashlyn” Tobin responds as she sees her friend wipeout.
“Oh O.K. Did you need something?” Alex asks through a yawn and Tobin can’t help but think about how it would feel to wake up next to Alex.
“Yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to get breakfast today or any other time” Tobin says as she scratches the back of her neck.
“I can do today. I have training at eight but I should be done by ten if you want to meet?” Alex asks and Tobin can’t fight the smile that crosses her face.
“That’s perfect. I will be at your house around ten to pick you up, just shoot me your address” Tobin says as she gets a bit more confident.
“I will but Tobin, this is not a date. This is a preliminary and if you fail then you don’t get the real date” Alex says and Tobin gulps audibly and stays silent.
“I will see you at ten then!” Alex says fake cheerily in the phone and then hangs up.
.
Alex hangs up the phone and lets out an exasperated sigh, “Why did I agree to this?”
She sends Tobin a quick text with her address attached and gets up out of her California King sized bed. Alex doesn’t have training until eight but she knew she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep after her conversation with Tobin.
Alex walks into her kitchen with her phone in her hand and takes a seat on her counter. She decides to send a text to her best friend and teammate, Kelley O’Hara.
Alex: Hey Kell, wanna come over for breakfast?
Alex presses send as she hops off her counter and looks through her pantry for some breakfast foods. She hears the familiar chime of her phone and leans over to look at her lock screen.
Kelley: I hate you, no.
Kelley responds back and Alex laughs and walks to her front door to unlock it. Not much time later a very tired looking Kelley walks through the door and face plants on the couch.
“Good morning Kelley!” Alex sings to her best friend.
“Shut your mouth” Kelley says back and Alex laughs and walks into the kitchen. “What do want to eat?”
“Anything that you didn’t make” Kelley says as she gets up from the couch and walks into the kitchen. “I will take care of breakfast you just sit there and touch nothing” Kelley says as she pushes Alex out of the kitchen.
“You got sick ONE time, Kelley!” Alex yells.
“I am not taking that chance again” Kelley says as she begins to crack eggs over a bowl.
“What’s new in the life of Alex Morgan?”
“I have a date today” Alex says casually and Kelley spins around and looks at her with wide eyes.
“YOU have a date? Like with a person?” Kelley asks and Alex rolls her eyes.
“Yes a person, it’s a breakfast date. I’m meeting her after practice” Alex explains and Kelley looks at her confused.
“Breakfast? Then why am I making us breakfast?” Kelley asks and Alex shrugs.
“I’ll eat again after practice” Alex explains and Kelley nods her head.
“You do eat a lot… Who is your date?” Kelley asks.
“A girl I used to know from college, her name is Tobin Heath” Alex says hoping Kelley doesn’t pick up on the name.
“Tobin ‘hit it and quit it’ Heath?” Kelley asks and Alex nods her head yes.
“Yep, that’s her” Alex says and Kelley pick up on the tone of Alex’s voice.
“O.K. so obviously you don’t want to go, so why are you?” Kelley asks as she looks around Alex’s kitchen for some bread.
“It’s on top of the fridge, Kell” Alex says knowing what her friend was looking for, “She is buying me food, I can’t say no to that, plus we were friends before all this happened and maybe we can work that out” Alex explains trying to convince herself and Kelley as to why she is doing this.
“Well, I bid you good luck my friend” Kelley says as she continues to cook for the two of them.
.
After the early morning surfing session Tobin went back to her place to get ready for her ‘date’ with Alex. The surfer is having a very hard time finding something to wear but after almost an hour she throws on some Nike shorts and one of her many Billabong shirts. ‘Hopefully Alex goes casual’ Tobin thinks to herself as she walks out her door and gets into her car.
It’s a short drive to Alex’s place and before she knows it she is knocking on Alex’s front door. The door opens and a very casual looking Alex is standing in front of a very nervous Tobin.
“You ready?” Tobin asks and Alex nods her head and they both make their way to Tobin’s car.
“You look good” Alex says as they both get into the car. “I mean like your leg, it looks better than it did” Alex says nervously and Tobin laughs.
“Yeah, I got my stitches out a couple days ago and I have a sweet scar” Tobin says trying to show Alex her calf without crashing her car. “You can show me when you aren’t driving” Alex says as she pats Tobin’s thigh.
The ride to the bistro is filled with casual conversation. Alex asked when Tobin will get to surf again and Tobin asked how training was this morning. Before they know it Tobin is pulling into a parking space at ‘Beachside Bistro’.
“I love this place!” Alex says excitedly as she quickly jumps out of Tobin’s car. “Come on slow poke” Alex says as she motions for Tobin to hurry up.
“So I made a good decision, then?” Tobin asks as they both take a seat at a booth in the back.
“You made a very good decision” Alex says as she begins to scan the menu.
“So, what have you been up to these past four years? Besides being a big soccer superstar” Tobin asks.
“Well, my whole life is soccer so pretty much soccer” Alex says laughing and Tobin joins. “What about you? Last I heard you were going to be a doctor and now you’re a professional surfer?” Alex asks.
“Well I graduated and then started medical school but it just wasn’t for me so I started to get serious about surfing and here I am” Tobin says gesturing to herself.
“Well it worked out pretty good for you” Alex says and Tobin nods her head in agreement.
“Yeah, it’s been pretty chill” Tobin says real nonchalantly and Alex shakes her head.
“You’re just the same as I remember” Alex says and Tobin gives her a questioning look.
“Is that a good thing or bad?” Tobin asks.
“I’m not sure yet” Alex says.
“I think we should talk about what happened four years ago” Tobin says and Alex is surprised she even brought it up.
“Go ahead, I’ve said all that I can” Alex says as she leans back in the booth and crosses her arms.
Tobin takes a deep breath and then begins talking, “I never properly apologized to you so I am going to try my best to do it now.”
“Maybe I am too late in doing this but the moment I left your place four years ago I knew I made a huge mistake. I knew that I had destroyed something special and I knew that you were never going to forgive me” Tobin says and this makes Alex a bit angry.
“If you knew I would be so pissed off then why did you do it? Why did you leave, Tobin?” Alex asks as tears of frustration spring to her eyes. “And don’t tell me the same bullshit excuse you did at the hospital.”
“That wasn’t an excuse, Alex. You scared the shit out of me! I knew that you were special the first time I saw you play soccer, and I knew you were going to go places. I couldn’t hold you back” Tobin says.
“How dare you think that you could hold me back!” Alex yells with tears brimming her eyes.
“Don’t be stupid Alex. I saw the way you would look at me! I knew that if we had started something then you would have wanted to stay close to me and I couldn’t let you do that” Tobin explains. “And I’m not trying to be big headed because I looked at you the same way. I was head over heels in love with you”
“So, you let me go” Alex says quietly.
“And here we are” Tobin says and Alex nods her head.
“What do we do now?” Alex asks and Tobin shrugs her shoulders yet again. “Stop shrugging your shoulders. You used to do that all the time” Alex says smiling.
“Old habits die hard, huh?” Tobin says and Alex nods her head in agreement.
“So, did I pass the preliminary?”
“Barely but yes, you did pass” Alex says and Tobin laughs.
“Will you go on an actual date with me tomorrow?” Tobin asks and Alex pretends to think about it but says yes anyway.
“I am not sleeping with you though” Alex says sternly.
“I will not try to sleep with you, I promise” Tobin says seriously.
“Good because if we continue to date I will not give it up for several several months” Alex says and Tobin smirks. “Like you could go that long, Morgan” Tobin responds back.
“Is that a bet, Heath?” Alex asks.
“You bet your ass it is” Tobin says and leans in to shake Alex’s outstretched hand.
And thus began the strangest bet either of them has ever been involved in. The outcome was one that Alex would never live down. After the ‘first’ date the couple began to see each other regularly. It was difficult at first with all the traveling both of them do but they made it work. Two months of dating came and went and that’s when the pair decided to make things official. That is also the day Alex lost the best, but she wasn’t mad about it when she woke up the next morning with Tobin by her side.