Chapter 4
“Oh my god, I can’t believe you waited. I’m so sorry, I got caught up at work.” Hope looks up to meet panicked hazel eyes. The shorter woman places her purse down across from the goalkeeper and takes off her jacket, before sitting. “It’s okay.” Hope says, easily, giving the woman a smile. Kelley lets out a long breath and puts her hands over her face, clearly embarrassed by her lateness. “I probably would have left by now, if I were you.” Kelley mentions, looking across the table into blue eyes. Hope shrugs. “I didn’t wanna have to tell my friends I got stood up.” She chuckles, amusedly. Kelley rolls her eyes, but she cracks a smile. She sighs. “Well I’m glad you’re still here.” She says, giving Hope an appreciative smile.
The waitress comes by and both of them stick with water. “So you’re 32, right?” Kelley asks, starting the conversation. Hope looks at her, skeptically. “What’d you do? Google me?” She asks, an amused smile making its way onto her face. Kelley shrugs. “Of course I did. Needed to make sure you aren’t crazy.” She fires back. Hope shakes her head, rolling her eyes a little bit. “And did I pass your test?” She asks, curiously. Kelley shrugs. “I’m not sure yet. What’s the deal with the ’07 world cup?” Hope stiffens, subconsciously at the mention of the event. She gives Kelley a tight smile. “That’s a story for another time.” She says, simply.
Kelley gives her an understanding smile. “Maybe you can tell me on the second date?” She says, questioningly. Hope tilts her head at the forwardness that the shorter woman is showing. “Second date.” Hope agrees with a nod. The waitress brings them their drinks and takes their food order, to Kelley’s delight. She had mentioned to Hope how she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast because things got so crazy at work. The two discuss lighter topics, rather than delving right into the deep secrets on their first date.
Hope learns that Kelley’s 25 years old and she’s from Georgia, where most of her family still lives. She has a brother and a sister and her parents are pretty religious. She moved to Seattle after getting in a pretty heated argument with them (Kelley didn’t want to get into what they argued about). She lives on her own in an apartment downtown and she’s doing pretty well for herself. Hope tells Kelley about herself too. She tells her about where she grew up, in Richland. She talks about her parents, especially her dad. She talks about her brother Marcus and her long road to making it to the national team. Kelley listened to everything she said and seemed genuinely interested. The conversation was easy and Hope felt strangely comfortable talking to the woman.
When the bill came, Hope snatched it before Kelley could. “No, seriously let me at least pay my half.” Kelley says, looking at her seriously. Hope gauges her reaction for a few seconds, before shaking her head. “You can pay next time.” Hope says, giving her a smile. Kelley sighs, in defeat, but nods her head. “Okay.” She says, softly. Hope smiles, in victory, and hands the waitress the bill. Kelley takes out her phone and goes to her contacts, creating a new one. “Here, type in your information. That way if one of us is every running late again, we can let the other know.” She says. Hope takes the phone and types in her name and number.
“There. Text me so I have yours.” Kelley nods and types out a text before hitting ‘send’. Hope looks at her phone, reading the text. You look really pretty tonight. Hope smiles and looks across the table at the woman, who’s confidently looking back at her. She sets up the contact before sending a text back to her. So do you. Kelley reads the text and smirks at the goalkeeper. “So when can we do this again?” Kelley asks, as Hope signs the receipt. Hope looks at her and purses her lips, in thought. “Whenever you’re free. We’re in the off-season so I just have to do individual training. I’m free pretty much any night.” She explains, placing the bill on the edge of the table for the waitress to take.
“Tomorrow night?” Kelley asks, hopefully. Hope smiles. “Can’t even wait a day to see me again?” She winks, letting the shorter woman know she’s joking. “Nope.” Kelley fires back, easily. Hope rolls her eyes, but nods. “Tomorrow’s good. What do you wanna do?” The goalkeeper asks. “I don’t know.” Kelley replies, thoughtfully. “I could make us dinner at my place.” Hope mentions, casually. Kelley raises her eye brows and looks at the taller woman, pointedly. “Just dinner?” She gets a nod, in response. “Just dinner.”
“But I was supposed to pay for our second date.” Kelley remembers, speaking almost petulantly. Hope shrugs. “You can get the third date.” Kelley gives her a small smile. “Okay.” She says, begrudgingly. Kelley’s phone lights up and Hope looks at the screen, instinctively. ‘Donna’ reads out and Hope looks at Kelley curiously. “Sorry. I have to take this.” She says, picking up the phone.
“Hello?” She says, in greeting. “Yes, we’re finished. Why?” Hope watches as Kelley furrows her eye brows and almost looks annoyed at whomever she’s speaking to. “I know. I’ll be home in like 20 minutes.” She says. “Okay. Bye.” She finishes, before hanging up the phone. “Sorry. My friend is in town and was seeing where I am.” She says to Hope, rolling her eyes a little bit. Hope nods, in understanding. “Okay, well let’s get you home.” The brunette says, kindly. The pair stand up and walk outside. Hope walks with Kelley to her car, her hands placed in the front pockets of her jeans. “I’ll text you my address so you know where you’re going. Does 7 work again?” Hope asks, as they reach Kelley’s sedan. The freckled woman nods. “That works.” She says, smiling up at the woman. Hope nods, feeling the air change, slightly. ‘Do I kiss her? Do I not kiss her? The date went well, I should kiss her, right?’ She thinks. “Okay, well I’ll see you tomorrow.” Kelley says, smiling at the keeper, before opening her door and getting in. Hope takes that as a no-go for tonight and says ‘goodbye’ to Kelley before walking back to her own car.
Hope shoots Carli a text once she’s home letting her know what happened, including the fact that there was no goodnight kiss. She immediately gets ready for bed, exhausted from a long day. By the time she makes it into her bed, she sees her phone is lit up with a text from Kelley. I had a great time tonight. It reads, pulling a smile out of the keeper. I did too. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow. Hope types back, boldly. She stares at the screen and waits for a response from the other woman. Goodnight, Hope. She gets, in reply. Hope scoffs at the response, smiling amusedly. Goodnight. She sends the text, before plugging in her phone and rolling over in bed.
After a long afternoon of training, the last thing Hope wants to do is go food shopping. The only thing that keeps her from ditching the errand is the thought of Kelley. She knows she needs to be rather impressive with whatever it is she cooks. Kelley needs to like whatever she decides to make. She picks out something easy. Spaghetti with a homemade red sauce. It’s nothing special, but perhaps she can impress the bartender, at least a little bit. Hope grunts as she picks up the multiple bags of groceries that she bought and trudges them into the kitchen.
She quickly puts all of the items away, before jumping in the shower. She shoots Kelley a text, giving her the address. By the time Hope is ready, it’s just past 6:30. She makes her way around the house, cleaning up as best she can with the little time she has left. When she finally sees it as suitable, she allows herself to relax a little bit. She’s dressed casually, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt. She puts on a pair of sneakers, before beginning to prepare the food. Just as put the sauce on the stove, she hears the doorbell ring. She walks quickly to the front door, checking herself in the mirror as she walks by it.
Hope opens the door and is met with Kelley holding a bouquet of flowers. Hope’s heart melts a little bit at the gesture. “Hey.” She says, softly. “You didn’t have to bring anything.” She mentions, motioning the shorter woman inside. Kelley smiles and hands the flowers to the brunette anyway, as she steps through the front door. “I couldn’t come empty handed.” She replies with a small smile. “I love lilies.” Hope says, as she shuts the door softly behind her. Kelley’s face darkens to a place that Hope can’t quite decipher. She decides to ignore it, for now. “Come to the kitchen, I just put the sauce on.” Hope says, as she walks past the shorter woman, leading her into the kitchen. “It smells so good.”, Kelley mentions, taking her jacket off as she walks over to the stove and looks at the sauce.
Hope places the flowers into a vase, before walking to the stove and stirring the sauce. Kelley leans against the counter next to the stove, looking at the taller woman. “You wanna see the rest of the house?” Hope asks, casually. Kelley nods, taking out her phone to check it, before placing it back in her pocket. Hope places the lid on the pot and takes Kelley’s hand with a shy smile. “It’s really nothing too special. This is the living room, obviously.” She says, as they walk in. Kelley glances around, dropping Hope’s hand and approaching the mantel. “Who’s that?” Kelley asks, pointing to a picture. “Oh, that’s Carli’s family.”
“Oh, right. Your roommate.” Kelley mentions. “You said she’s in New Jersey?” She asks, turning to face Hope, who’s leaning against the back of the couch. Hope nods. “She’s visiting her boyfriend until the end of the week.” Kelley nods, in understanding. Hope leads her around the house, answering any questions Kelley asks. They finally make it to Hope’s room and Kelley immediately goes to look at the pictures of Hope that are hanging on the walls. “You were so cute.” Kelley says with a smile, pointing to a picture of Hope and her dad. Hope scoffs. “Were?” She asks, jokingly. Kelley rolls her eyes.
“I was only like 5 when that was taken.” Hope mentions, approaching Kelley from behind and looking at the picture over her shoulder. Kelley turns to face her. She smiles up at her and reaches out to give her hand a squeeze. “You’re still cute.” She quips while walking past the older woman. Hope freezes for a few seconds, before following after Kelley, who’d made her way back to the kitchen. “You want anything to drink? I have water, juice, milk, I think I have some soda in here…” The goalkeeper trails off, looking through the fridge. Kelley takes a seat. “Water? If you don’t mind.” She responds, politely. Hope quietly gets two bottles of water and places one in front of the bartender, before tending to the food.
“When do you start playing games again?” Kelley asks as she watches Hope makes her way around the kitchen. Hope glances at her. “Not until March. We have a camp in February though.” She replies. Kelley nods, in response. The two make small talk as Hope finishes up with dinner, both of them not willing to delve into heavier topics when their focus isn’t solely on each other. Kelley lets out a groan of approval as Hope places a plate in front of her. “Thank you.” She says, softly, looking up at the goalkeeper through her lashes. Hope gives her a smile, in response, before sitting down across from her. “This is perfect.” Kelley says, looking at Hope appreciatively. “It’s okay?” Hope asks, apprehensively. “It’s probably the best sauce I’ve had. Don’t tell my mom.” Kelley jokes.
“Do you even watch soccer?” Hope asks, curiously. The pair moved into the living room, where they’re both nursing a glass of red wine. Kelley grimaces a little bit at the question. “I don’t watch it regularly. I watched the final in 2011.” She replies. Hope scoffs and places a palm on her cheek, in disapproval. “That’s probably the worst game you could have chosen to watch. You didn’t watch the quarterfinal?” She asks, exasperatedly. Kelley makes a face, before shaking her head. “Maybe if I had known your team was filled with a bunch of hotties, I would have been more apt to watch.” Hope rolls her eyes.
“There’s no hotties.” Hope states matter-of-factly, unable to hide the small grin on her face. Kelley scoffs. “Are you kidding? I looked at the roster after the first night we met. Alex Morgan, Ali Krieger, Tobin Heath, some lady named Hope Solo. She’s the hottest.” She jokes, smiling at the goalkeeper, who stiffens slightly at the mention of a certain defender. Kelley notices and the smile drops from her face. “What? Why’d you do that?” She asks, pointing to the taller woman. Hope shakes her head, shooting her a kind smile. “I didn’t do anything.” She shrugs. Kelley rolls her eyes, unwilling to let the keeper drop the topic. “Yes you did. You got all weird when I starting talking about your teammates. You jealous?” The bartender asks, curiously. Hope shakes her head, quickly.
“No, it’s not that.” She says, simply. “Do you want another glass?” She asks, standing up and motioning to Kelley’s empty wine glass. She nods and holds the glass up for Hope to take. By the time the brunette returns, Kelley is texting someone on her phone. “Talking to your girlfriend?” Hope jokes, placing the filled glass on the coffee table in front of Kelley, who rolls her eyes. “More like my friend, who very much has a penis.” Hope shrugs. “You could be into guys too. I don’t know.” She states. Kelley hesitates, thinking about her response before speaking. “I am. But not this guy.” She says. Hope tilts her head, slightly shocked at the revelation. She’s only gotten the ‘gay’ vibe from Kelley. “Oh.” She responds.
Kelley shrugs. “So ’07? What happened? You as crazy as they made you out to be?” Hope stiffens, once again. She was honestly hoping Kelley had forgotten about that. She sighs. “Do you really want to talk about this?” The brunette asks. Kelley leans back against the couch. “Why not?” She shrugs. Hope takes a long sip of her wine. “What do you want to know about it?” Kelley shrugs. “I don’t know. Google has a lot to say about it, but I wanna hear it from you.” Hope sighs, once again, not looking forward to talking about something like this when she’s still getting to know the other woman. “Well what do you already know about it?” Hope asks, not wanting to give Kelley information she already knows.
“You got benched and bitched about it to the media.” Kelley states, simply. Hope scoffs. “That’s it? You didn’t look into it?” Kelley shakes her head. Hope takes a deep breath before delving into it. She tells Kelley about her father’s death and how she dedicated the tournament to him only to be replaced by a keeper who hadn’t seen minutes in months. She watched the biggest tournament she’d ever played in go down the drain from the sideline all because the vets wanted to have it their way and their coach didn’t have the balls to go against them. She also tells the woman about the backlash she received from her teammates and the isolation tactics they had used against her. Kelley listens closely to what she has to say and by the time Hope finishes, the bartender almost feels badly for making assumptions. “Wow.” She says, simply. “I didn’t realize it was that big of a deal. They really wouldn’t even ride an elevator with you? That doesn’t seem very professional.” She mentions. Hope smiles, a little bit. “It’s fine. It’s over now. I just don’t really like talking about it. Not one of my prouder moments.” Kelley nods, in understanding.
They move to lighter topics, talking about Kelley’s job, Hope’s training schedule, their friends. Hope tells Kelley a little bit about Carli and Pinoe and how they’ve supported her. The subject slowly switches to Kelley’s family and the woman is clearly hesitant to talk about it. “I love them, but my parents have their beliefs and I have mine. I mostly just talk to Jerry and Erin.” She states. Hope nods. “What could you have argued about that put such a wedge between you and your parents?” She asks, carefully. Kelley shakes her head and looks away from the brunette. “I just don’t want to talk about that.” She says, glancing at the goalkeeper. Hope almost pushes, but decides to let it go. “Okay.” She whispers. Kelley feels guilty for hiding something so important, but she needs to see where this goes and if Hope finds out, she’ll be gone before she can even get to know her properly.
As the night winds down, Hope calls a cab for Kelley, who’s had one too many glasses of wine to drive. “I can drive. I’m fine.” She says. Hope looks at her skeptically. The woman truly does seem like she would be okay to drive. The wine hasn’t impacted her motor skills, but Hope refuses to take the chance. “Just humor me. I can pick you up in the morning and bring you back here to get your car.” Kelley opens her mouth to argue, but sighs instead. “Fine.” She concedes. She gives Hope a small smile, secretly appreciative that Hope cares so much about her safety. Hope helps Kelley into her jacket. “Thank you for tonight.” She says, placing her hands in her jacket pockets.
“I had fun.” Hope replies, leaning against the wall near the front door. Kelley smiles, in response. “Me too.” They hear the sound of a horn and make eye contact. “Text me when you’re home?” Hope asks. Kelley nods, before checking her pockets, making sure she has everything. “Okay. Well, I guess I’ll talk to you soon.” The shorter woman states. Hope nods and watches as the woman starts moving past her. She makes a split second decision and reaches out for her, grabbing the arm of her jacket, gently. Kelley looks at her, clearly confused. Hope tugs on her until the freckled woman gets the point and stands in front of her. Kelley tilts her head, questioningly, while Hope gives her a soft smile.
“What are you doing?” Kelley whispers. Hope reaches up and brushes a stray hair out of Kelley’s face, before leaning in. She moves slowly, hoping Kelley will cover the remainder of the distance. When she finally closes the gap, her lips meet the skin of Kelley’s cheek. Kelley had turned her face. She pulls back, her eye brows furrowed at the clear rejection. ‘Have I been reading the wrong signals?’ Hope thinks to herself. “I have to go. I’ll text you.” Kelley states, awkwardly, before making her way to the front door. Hope doesn’t say anything, instead just watching, confusedly, as the woman walks away from her. She waits until she hears the taxi drive away, before she makes her way into the kitchen. She does the dishes, while thinking about the date. Hope was convinced that it went well. Kelley had been sending her flirty glances all night. So why did she turn away the goalkeeper? It’s just a kiss, after all. Hope sighs, as she places the dishes into the dishwasher.
I’m home. Hope reads the text as she makes her way upstairs to her room. Glad you’re safe. The keeper responds, simply. She refuses to try and make conversation if Kelley isn’t interested. Had the bartender been leading her on? Did she just want to be able to say she went on a couple dates with Hope Solo? Hope sighs, trying to convince herself to ignore the part of her brain that’s telling her to ask Kelley about it. Are you not interested in me? Hope presses send before she can stop herself and she sits, tensely, on her bed as she waits for a reply. Of course I am. Is this about the kiss? Kelley asks, in response. Hope rolls her eyes and types back. Do you not want to kiss me? Kelley sighs, as she reads Hope’s response. If she’s being honest with herself, she completely freaked out when she saw the goalkeeper leaning in.
Obviously I want to kiss you. I got nervous. Hope rolls her eyes at the lame excuse. I was nervous too. She states, unwilling to allow that as reasoning. I know. Next time. Hope shakes her head and puts her phone down. She doesn’t respond to the text and decides to just let it settle for the night. When she wakes up in the morning, she’s immediately met with a text. I need my car. When can you come get me? Kelley asks. Hope sighs and checks the time. 8:30. Whenever you’re ready for me to come. I just need your address.
When Hope pulls up to the apartment building, she sends Kelley a text, letting her know that she’s here. She watches as Kelley makes her way to her car. “Hey.” She says, softly, as Kelley gets in. “Hi.” She replies, easily. She puts on her seatbelt while Hope pulls out of the complex. “You have work today?” She asks, curiously. Kelley scrunches her nose. “Unfortunately.” Hope gives her a sympathetic glance. Neither of them mention the rather awkward ending to their night. Luckily, the ride from Kelley’s apartment to Hope and Carli’s house isn’t long and after only a few minutes, Hope pulls into the driveway. She parks to the right of Kelley car and Hope sighs, before getting out. “Thanks for the ride.” Kelley says, as she walks around Hope’s SUV. The keeper nods, in response. “It’s the least I could do considering I forced you to take a cab last night.” Kelley smiles. “You were looking out for me. Plus, I probably shouldn’t have been driving anyway.” She states.
“You should come by the bar later. I work the night shift.” Hope purses her lips, contemplating her schedule, before nodding. “Okay. I’ll be there at some point.” She replies, looking down at Kelley, who’s leaning against the hood of her car. She sighs and looks at her phone, checking the time. “Ugh, I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you tonight.” She says, as she pushes herself off of the car. She walks to Hope, before leaning up and placing a lingering kiss to her cheek. She pulls away with a shy smile. “Drive safely.” Hope says, trying to hide the faint blush that’s covering her cheeks. “I will.” Kelley replies, easily, while getting into her car.