Sway

Returning to the states was not in the least bit the restful vacation that everyone wanted. First, there was the rally in LA. Half the team still had hangovers. Pinoe was still quite drunk. Then there was the ticker tape parade in New York — something that a women’s team had never had before. By that point, Pinoe had sobered up somewhat, but after the ticker tape parade was over, they’d all gotten drunk again.

They lived out of suitcases and hotels, but instead of moving from city to city to play soccer, they were lugging around bags of nice dresses and suits. This time, their sacrifice was being rewarded with parties and red carpets and celebrities.

“Heidi Klum!” Ashlyn exclaimed again as she and Ali shut the door to their hotel room. She knew she had been talking about meeting Heidi Klum all night (and Taylor Swift was pretty cool too, she supposed), but she couldn’t find the will to shut up about her. That woman was something else.

“She’s something else,” Ashlyn commented as she took off her hat and placed it on top of her bag. “She’s absolutely gorgeous.”

“Well why don’t you marry her,” Ali shot back snidely. Ashlyn cringed a little. Behind her, Ali was kicking off her shoes, running a hand through her hair.

“Aw, babe,” Ashlyn said, trying to appease her. “You’re obviously much more gorgeous than she is.” Ali stuck her lip out, continuing to pout. Ashlyn pulled her close by her hips and pressed a kiss to her extended bottom lip. “You’re a hundred times the woman she is.”

Ali sighed. “If you’re sure,” she said in return, drawing out the last word teasingly. “But mention her again tonight and you’re sleeping on the floor.”

“Yes, my queen,” Ashlyn replied, a wide grin spreading on her face.

“Alright,” Ali said with a quick peck on Ashlyn’s lips. “I’m going to get ready for bed.” She headed towards the bathroom.

“Wait!” Ashlyn called out before she closed the door. Ali stuck her head back out. “You can’t wash your hand. Taylor Swift touched it.”

Ali rolled her eyes. “You know I love her, and you know I was rocking out to her tonight, and you know I nearly died when she grabbed my hand, but you have got to stop channeling Kyle.” Ali shook her head and turned to go back into the bathroom. “I swear,” she muttered. “The two of you are too much.”

Ashlyn had started off strong. Their celebration party had been absolutely rocking. She danced with Ali and Alex and Syd and even got the chance to be the DJ for the night which Ali, who was tipsy on champagne, laughed about extensively. As event after event added up, though, it all started to wear on her a little. Ashlyn went from partying harder than everyone except Pinoe and Kling to simply existing in whatever suit she’d picked out.

And she had to go to a lot of events. Well, technically she wasn’t obligated to attend any of them, but Ali wanted her to be there as her date, and how was she supposed to pass that opportunity up.

“If you don’t, I’m sure I can find another date there,” Ali threatened teasingly before she was due to appear at the Kid’s Choice Sports Awards. Ashlyn had rolled her eyes in return.

“What? A ten year old?” But she had put on her outfit and sunglasses to hide how her exhaustion was beginning to show. Ali wasn’t faring much better, but she had nothing to hide behind except for her well-trained press smile.

“You okay?” Ali murmured to her as they lined up with Abby, Kelley, and Christie on yet another red carpet. Ashlyn kept her gaze on the hoard of cameras in front of them.

“Fine,” she replied, equally as quietly. Ali faced front again and put on a smile, and the flashbulbs shone bright in Ashlyn’s eyes. She was glad to get inside the venue, away from the cameras, back where the sound of the crowd was a dull roar. She let out a deep breath and let herself slump a little. Ali’s hand found its way to her back, rubbing gently.

“I know we’ve been doing this a lot, but just think. This is the last one, and then we’re back in DC — back to our own stuff and soccer, too.” Ali brushed her hand along the waistband of her pants and a shiver went up her spine.

Ashlyn leaned in towards Ali to whisper in her ear. “I am looking forward to getting back to our own bed.” She loved watching the flush creep up Ali’s neck.

“Well, I promise we’ll have a lot of fun when that happens,” she whispered in return. “Just a couple more days.”

Ali never could fall asleep easily in hotel rooms. Ashlyn had previously made fun of her for it, but now it was mostly just an inconvenience for the both of them. Even with their busy schedules, all the moving around caused Ashlyn a lot of sleepless nights as well as, beside her, Ali tossed and turned for hours.

“Finally home,” Ali exclaimed with a deep groan as she flopped down on the bed she shared with Ashlyn. “Finally we have our bed back!” Ashlyn chuckled, watching as she spread her arms out over the covers, her eyes shut with bliss. She looked down towards the end of the bed at Ashlyn. “Come here,” she said.

Ashlyn gladly did as she was told, lowering down on her side of the bed, sighing at the feeling of the cool duvet on her skin. Sometimes, a bed was just a bed, but it was always nice to be back home with their own things. It was comforting. She reached out a hand to lace her fingers with Ali’s and felt herself begin to really relax.

“It’s good to be back,” Ashlyn said.

“So nice,” Ali agreed. She rolled on her side to get closer to Ashlyn. Face to face, Ali leaned forward to capture Ashlyn’s lips with hers. Ashlyn sighed against her, relishing in her warmth and her taste. They’d been on the go so much, moments of intimacy between just the two of them were few and far between. Ashlyn did realize just how much she had really missed Ali, despite the fact that they were together much of the time since the World Cup.

Ashlyn’s heart beat faster as she shifted closer to Ali, reaching out to press their bodies together. Their entire lengths touched. Warmth spread through her body. She deepened the kiss, nudging Ali’s mouth open gently, running her hands down the plane’s of Ali’s back. Even after so long, kissing Ali made her head hazy and her stomach flutter. She hoped it would always be that way.

Ali rolled onto her back and Ashlyn followed her motion, laying halfway on top of her. She let her kisses travel down the arch of Ali’s neck, grinning against her skin as Ali sighed. She could feel Ali shifting under her a little, but didn’t pay that much mind. She was too focused on pushing Ali’s shirt up so that she could trail kisses along her stomach.

Ali let out a loud yawn before Ashlyn’s breath could even ghost her stomach and Ashlyn paused, looking up to see that Ali had grabbed a pillow to hold on to, burying her face half in it, eyes closed in what Ashlyn knew was not an expression of pleasure.

“Am I boring you?” she teased a little. Ali shook her head, her movement cut off by the fluffy pillow her cheek was resting on. Ashlyn moved back up to press a kiss to Ali’s jaw.

“I’m actually so tired,” Ali said with another yawn. She opened her eyes infinitesimally. “Hey, you wanna just take a nice nap together? That would be heaven right now.”

Ashlyn blinked back at her, propping herself up off of her body. “No,” she whined, sticking her bottom lip out. She still felt so warm inside and her hands itched to feel Ali’s skin again. Her entire body itched to feel hers. She shifted so that her thighs brushed together, but it only made things worse.

“Al, don’t you wanna…you know…” Ashlyn wiggled her eyebrows at Ali. “I mean, we haven’t gotten a chance to in a while.”

Ali blinked back at her in return. “Yeah…” Ashlyn perked up. “But I’m so tired. I kind of just want to sleep.” Ashlyn slumped again.

“Ali,” she whined again. She leaned in close to Ali’s ear. “Don’t you want to feel me inside you?”

“That sounds great, baby,” Ali hummed, “But some other time. Tomorrow.” She reached out to pull the edge of the duvet down further and stretched her legs out under it. Ashlyn watched as Ali literally curled up and tucked herself in. She let out a frustrated groan, but pulled back her side of the covers and grabbed her own pillow and arranged herself so that they could cuddle a little.

“I cannot believe this,” she muttered. Glancing up, she noted that Ali was already out.

For a little while, at least, they could slip back into their old routines, before they’d gone to Canada, before they’d won the World Cup, before the media had descended upon them and, with them, thousands of new fans who recognized them everywhere they went.

It was nice, waking up with Ali by her side in a familiar place where they had all of their stuff. It was nice going out and taking a walk to their favorite brunch place or up to M Street for a day of shopping. It was nice to finally start playing again — to walk out just behind Ali and stand next to her as names and numbers were called out. It was especially nice because they both knew that it wouldn’t be like that for much longer.

The offer from Orlando didn’t come as any surprise to Ashlyn. She hadn’t known who would be hired as the coach for that side, then only words on a paper when she’d first been contacted, but she and her agent both knew that she’d be contacted to play down there. She was the hometown girl, after all, and a desirable keeper.

“And you’re sure they’re putting this team together?” Ashlyn paced in circles in the kitchen as she heard the news for the first time. “Well, yeah, of course it’s exciting. Of course I’d like to play there.” She had glanced over to Ali, who was curled up on the couch on her MacBook looking as though she was trying hard not to listen in. “Um…I’ve gotta just sort out some things…But I’d like to play there.”
“Hey, Alex?” she called softly as she hung up the phone. She padded into the living room and stood by the end of the couch. She and Ali were separated by that little square of a couch cushion.

“What’s up?” Ali replied. She closed the top of her MacBook.

“So my agent called,” Ashlyn started. “He was talking about those rumors we’ve heard — about the league expanding again.” She paused. Ali blinked at her. “They’re really going for it, he thinks. Like, it’s pretty much set it’s going to happen.”

“Well, that’s great,” Ali replied. “It’ll be nice to have a tenth team.” Ashlyn sighed.

“Yeah, but, Alex,” she said, “It’s the Orlando team.” Ali blinked at her again. “And…well, he was asking me if I’d like to play there…And I said yes?”

“Okay,” Ali replied after a beat. Ashlyn drew back a bit.

“Okay?” she asked. “Is that it?” Ali looked at her with confusion.

“What else do you want me to say? Do you want me to fight you to stay here?” Ashlyn bit the inside of her cheek.

“Well, no,” she replied, imagining just how divisive such a fight would be.

“Good,” Ali replied. She stood and placed her laptop on the coffee table, reaching out for Ashlyn. “We’ve talked about this possibility before,” she reminded Ashlyn as she wrapped her arms around her neck, pulling her close. “And I know you want to play near home. Anyone would want to. And I don’t want to take that away from you, especially since I’ve been lucky enough to have that for the past three years.”

Playing at home was the ultimate dream for an athlete who had to travel constantly, wasn’t it? Ashlyn hadn’t truly lived in Florida, though she still considered it Home, since 2012. She was a wanderer passing through, most of the time. She flew in one day and surfed and said hello to everyone and then flew out again. Florida had been a layover stop for so long that she found herself missing it intensely at times. But the opportunity to play at home also meant that she wouldn’t be with Ali, the person who always made her feel like she was home no matter where they were. This time, there would be no real way to get around that. And if she couldn’t have Ali, too, was it really worth it?

“Yeah, but I also don’t want to leave you,” Ashlyn said. She frowned. Ali did the same.

“I don’t want you to either,” she agreed. “But you shouldn’t give up this opportunity. Take it. We’ll only be a short flight away, and we’ll see each other a lot.” She looked like she was reaching for more positives. “There’s no crazy time difference.”

Ashlyn laughed a little. “Yeah, then I won’t have to do math to figure out when it’s an okay time to call you.” Ali laughed, too, reaching up to run her painted fingers through Ashlyn’s hair. Her eyes were bright.

“We’ll be okay,” she stated so firmly Ashlyn had to smile at that.

As it got more real — the new coach was settled, Ashlyn was given more details, Alex Morgan started negotiating to be sent down there — Ali got less okay with it all. After games, she was always incredibly nostalgic. She was moody after Ashlyn got off the phone with her agent or anyone associated with the new Orlando team. She got clingy at night, which Ashlyn wasn’t really complaining about. She wanted to be held tighter, too. Maybe then then her touch would stay with her through all those nights they’d have to spend alone.

“What if I moved down there, too,” Ali said one day. Ashlyn was busy packing to head down to Orlando for an event with Alex, Servando, and the other boys from the MLS team.

“What? How would that work? I mean, I’d love to have you down there with me, babe,” Ashlyn said, “but no way would the Spirit let you leave, too. It’s nice enough that they’re just letting them take me without any fancy, complicated trading.”

“Well, not this season, of course,” Ali said, “But maybe next season I could get traded somehow.”

Ashlyn crawled over to her from where she’d been sitting amongst piles of her clothes and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

“Well, you know I would love that,” she said.

Ashlyn’s 30th birthday was approaching and she new that Ali was putting together something big. She hadn’t been able to get anything out of Alex, who was obviously quite a large conspirator in the birthday plot, but that didn’t stop her from snooping around and trying to guess what surprises they had in store for her.

“Is it a puppy?” Ashlyn asked Ali after she’d flown in from LAX. Ali rolled her eyes and turned over onto her back.

“It’s not a puppy,” she replied.

“I don’t understand why we can’t get one,” Ashlyn pouted.

“Because we’re never home,” Ali said sensibly. Ashlyn knew she was being sensible, but that didn’t stop her from wanting that dog. “Who would take care of it?”

“Press has two dogs.”

“We’ve had this conversation before. You’re not going to win.”

And Ali was right. They’d had the “Can we get a dog?” conversation many, many times before and Ashlyn had obviously lost each and every one of those because they were still without a four-legged, wrinkly, little Frenchie puppy to call their own. A glint came into Ashlyn’s eye as she remembered one of their more recent puppy conversations.

“Right,” she said, “We’re getting a puppy when we have a baby.” She grinned widely at Ali as she threw an arm around Ali’s waist, cuddling her close. Ali let out a breathy gasp and her eyes darkened. She hummed a sound of contentedness as Ashlyn nuzzled her, pressing kisses to the smooth column of her neck.

“Right,” Ali agreed. Her hands found the hair as the nape of Ashlyn’s neck. “After the Olympics.”

Ashlyn shot up, pulling away from Ali completely. “After the Olympics? Like right after the Olympics?”

Ali raised an eyebrow at her. “That’s how the cycle goes,” Ali stated. “And I’m not getting any younger.”

Ashlyn let out a breath. That was soon. That was very, very soon. That was basically only a year away. They could be parents in two, with any luck. She looked down at Ali, who was watching her contemplatively, looking so beautiful against the sheets of her bed. Ashlyn lowered herself on top of Ali again and pressed a hard, wanting kiss to her mouth.

“After the Olympics,” she agreed.

Before the big birthday weekend started — and Ali assured her that it was a Big birthday weekend she and Alex and the Harris’s had planned — Ashlyn and Ali had time just for themselves. Ali took Ashlyn out to a nice seafood place by the sea, where they had a delicious dinner before they went on a walk on the beach as the sun began to droop in the sky.

Back to the beach again, and Ashlyn wouldn’t have it any other way. She held her shoes in one hand, Ali’s hand in the other, and they simply walked in comfortable silence. Ashlyn let herself and her mind drift as she breathed in the sea air and paid special attention to the way the sand felt between her toes.

They stopped to sit, the both of them laying back on their elbows, shoulders brushing, not much caring about how much sand was finding its way into their clothes. They watched the sun go down, making the sky turn dark orange and pink. The water before them was oh so calm, the waves seeming almost lazy, as though there wasn’t a care out there, if only for that moment.

This is going to be one of the good things I write about, Ashlyn decided. Lately, there had been a lot of those taking up the pages of her journal. Her present was so good and she found herself so content that the past hardly mattered. She could look to the future and see her goals and what she wanted out of life — with Ali a sure fixture by her side — but she would always return back to the moment, because it was too good not to.

She turned to Ali, whose eyes were unfocused staring out at the horizon. She only had to lean in a little to murmur in her ear. “What are you thinking about?” She ran her fingers absentmindedly through Ali’s hair.

“What our kids would be like,” Ali answered quietly. Ashlyn stilled, shocked. Her heart thumped erratically. Then she began to move her hand again, slowly, thoughtfully. A small smile crept across her face.

“And what do you think?” she asked, her voice just a low hush.

“They’re perfect,” Ali replied, and Ashlyn felt like her heart would explode. There was a pain in her chest that she welcomed with open arms. She could feel her eyes grow wet. She leaned over and pressed a firm kiss to the top of Ali’s head, rocking her gently in her arms and joining Ali’s daydreams.