The sound of light chatter and forks scraping against dinner plates fills the dining room the team has designated for this camp. It is the first time that they have been called back together since the team found out about Tobin and Christen, so the couple are taking full advantage of their new freedom. It's nice to finally be able to be affectionate around the team.
Christen smiles as she leans into the warm body of her girlfriend, who has her arm draped over the back of Christen’s chair. The grin on the striker’s face widens when she feels Tobin press a kiss onto her temple. Unable to resist, Christen turns her head and connects their lips.
“Ugh, gross. Could you two be anymore nauseating? Some people are trying to enjoy their dinner,” Kling gags. Her face is scrunched up in mock disgust, but her smirk lets both of them know she's just joking. She, along with the rest of the team, are incredibly happy for the two women.
Christen pulls away, blushing and bites her lip, “Sorry. We’ll try and tone it down.”
“Woah, speak for yourself, babe. We’re finally able to kiss in front of these idiots. They can deal with watching us because we have to make up for the last couple of camps,” Tobin disagrees.
“I still can’t believe it took us that long. Six months and we weren’t even getting suspicious. If Hope hadn’t seen you, we probably still wouldn’t know,” Kelley admits bitterly.
“Yeah, you’d think with all the episodes of Scooby Doo that you’ve watched in your lifetime, you’d have been able to figure it out with all the clues we were dropping,” Tobin says dryly.
“That’s what I’m saying!” Kelley exclaims. “I’m so disappointed in myself.”
“Just let it go Kell, you know now and that’s all that matters,” Christen comforts her.
“Fine, so what are you guys doing once we’re done with She Believes? Going back to L.A. to get some loving in?” Kelley asks, wiggling her eyebrows.
“No, actually we’re going to Jersey to stay with some of my family and then we’re going to NYC because I have a few business meetings there. Plus Tobin wants to see her sisters,” Christen explains.
“Oooohhh, already meeting the families...or extended family. We’ve all met each other’s families already. Just remember to be safe! We don’t need any more people to get pregnant.”
“Kell, that’s not even possible,” Christen tells her, as the entire table looks at the outside back in confusion.
“Yeah, I mean I’m good, but even I’m not that good,” Tobin smirks, but it quickly turns into a grimace when she feels Christen kick her shin. “Hey! That’s my moneymaker!”
“Keep it up and you won’t be seeing my moneymaker for a long time,” Christen retorts so only Tobin can hear, but the threat is clear in her tone.
“Okay, I’m sorry! I’ll stop,” Tobin appeases, giving Christen a kiss. She cracks herself up with her jokes, but she knows it’s not worth it if that’s the consequence. They’re broken apart when a handful of lettuce is tossed at their faces.
“Alright! We’re done, geez,” Christen says, picking lettuce out of her hair. Tobin just laughs and helps her girlfriend. Once the last piece is removed, Tobin tucks Christen’s hair behind her ear and absentmindedly brushes it all to one side.
Suddenly, the sound of a fork dropping and crashing loudly onto a plate makes the entire table turn their heads. All the women are looking at Kelley, slightly worried as she just stares at Christen.
“You okay, Kell?” Christen asks, leaning forward so her hair falls back into place.
“Yeah, sorry. I just had a brilliant idea and was imagining all the fun we could have,” she replies, but there’s a mischievous glint in her eye that makes Christen uneasy.
“What’s your idea?” Christen’s tone is cautious because she’s been apart of one too many of Kelley’s ‘brilliant’ plans and they never turn out well. The rest of the girls are curious though, so she figures she’ll let Kelley humor herself.
“Well, I think the team should go paintballing,” Kelley smirks, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms.
“Hell yeah!” Meghan shouts, loving the idea. The rest of the table nods in agreement and even Christen is surprised by how legal Kelley’s idea is.
“Cool, so we just have to find a place,” Kelley’s smile is secretive and her eyes don’t move from Christen. “Has anyone gone before?”
There’s a collective shaking of heads, so Kelley pretends to act surprised when she speaks to Christen, “Are you sure you’ve never been paintballing, Chris?”
“No, that’s not really my thing,” Christen admits, but adds, “I wouldn’t mind doing it as a team bonding experience. I just wouldn’t do it on my own. Plus, I probably wouldn’t be good at it.”
“Oh, so you and Tobin haven’t gone?” Kelley presses, a cheeky smile directed at the striker.
“No? That’s not exactly what I think of as an ideal date nor does it sound relaxing,” Christen says, unsure where this conversation is going.
“Hmm, interesting. I just assumed you guys went because of that bruise on your neck. I mean I’ve been paintballing before and it leaves some nasty ones. That one really had to hurt, I mean that area is so sensitive ,” Kelley exaggerates, trying not to laugh.
All the women turn their attention to the brunette woman, but Christen’s too busy glaring at Tobin, who at least has the decency to look somewhat sheepish. There’s definitely some pride underneath it, but she’s doing her best to appear ashamed for what she’s done.
“You didn’t,” Christen warns through gritted teeth.
Tobin swallows and she feels even worse because the only thing she can think in that moment is how good her girlfriend looks when she’s mad. Her cheeks are slightly flushed and Tobin can see the vein sticking out of Christen’s neck. It takes of Tobin’s willpower not to lean forward and kiss the area because that’s the reason she’s in this situation in the first place.
Kelley answers for her, “Oh she did and it’s a nice one too. It’s a good thing she did it in an area where your hair covers it most of the time.”
Christen hasn’t moved her heated gaze from the culprit, “I’m going to kill you.”
“But it’s not even that bad and like Kelley said, you hair covers it!” Tobin protests, trying to dig herself out of the hole she’s found herself in.
“Oh that’s as good of a hickey as I’ve ever seen. Who knew Tobs was sucker? Or are you a bitter? Or both?” Kling adds, wiggling her eyebrows.
Before Tobin can respond, Christen says, “If you know what’s good for you, don’t answer that.”
Tobin obeys and tries to think of how she can get out of the mess she’s in. She decides the best thing to do is apologize, “Sorry babe, I was going to tell you but then you would’ve covered it up.”
“I still am going to cover it up! Do you know how bad things could have been? What if Kelley hadn’t noticed and I played without covering it up? My hair would have been up and all the fans would’ve seen. That’s not exactly the look the team is going for,” Christen rants. She’s embarrassed at the teasing from her teammates, but she’s more upset at the consequences that could have been a problem. She’s pretty sure playing with a hickey on her neck wouldn't be great for the young demographic the team has.
“But Kelley did find out and I would have told you before the game if she hadn’t,” Tobin informs her, still trying to help her cause.
“Yeah, well you should have told me right away. You’re on probation until I say otherwise,” Christen says, not wanting to talk about this in front of their teammates any longer.
“OOOOHHHHH!!!!” The table choruses and Tobin wants to slap every single one of them on the back of their heads.
“Shut up,” she says weakly because she’s too defeated to think of anything else. She just sits there pouting for the rest of the dinner while the girls tease both of them. They have way too much fun bringing up Christen’s hickey and Tobin’s dog-house status, so for them it’s a good time.
Tobin gets Crystal to switch rooms with her for the night so she can try and get back into Christen’s good graces. It’s harder than she thought it would be though because Christen makes a point of keeping her distance. She hasn’t really said much to Tobin other than a few short answers to some of Tobin’s attempts of starting a conversation.
It’s incredibly frustrating and Tobin is losing her cool. Hours have passed and Tobin thought for sure Christen would be over the hickey by now, but her girlfriend is stubborn.
“Christen,” Tobin tries to gain her girlfriend's attention.
She gets no response as Christen just stares at the TV. Tobin knows she’s not really watching whatever stupid reality tv show is on and is just purposefully ignoring her.
“Chris.”
Again, nothing.
“Babe,” Tobin reverts to the term of endearment.
Silence.
“Baaaabbbbeeee,” she whines and Christen almost gives in because she sounds adorable. But she remembers why she’s mad and remains stoic.
Realizing she’s not getting anything from her girlfriend, Tobin decides it’s time to pull out the big guns. She crawls over to Christen’s bed and snuggles into her chest. Looking up at the striker with eyes full of sadness, Tobin makes the most pitiful face Christen’s ever seen. It’s heart wrenching and she has to look away before she falls for the trap. Tobin, seeing Christen’s struggle, takes it a step further and places a kiss right where she left the hickey.
“Babe, don’t be mad. I was going to tell you, I swear! I just didn’t know how,” Tobin admits in a soft voice.
Christen sighs, still not looking at the midfielder because she knows all her willpower will disintegrate and she’ll turn to putty.
“You could have just said, ‘Hey babe, I left a hickey on your neck. You might wanna cover it up.’”
“Yeah, but I didn’t want you to cover it up,” Tobin confesses guiltily.
Now, Christen’s intrigued, “Why not?”
“Cause I like knowing that I did that. That I’m the one that gets to do that to you. I know it’s kind of territorial, but I like that other people can see that you’re mine,” Tobin explains.
“You’re a cavewoman,” Christen reprimands, shaking her head. “But it’s kind of hot.” She’s not sure how to feel, but she’s definitely turned on by Tobin’s reasoning.
“But you still love me,” Tobin smiles, sensing that Christen is giving in.
“Debatable,” Christen smirks but when their lips press together, Tobin knows that she’s right.
When they pull away, Tobin says, “I love you and I don’t mind other people knowing. I don’t care that Kelley and Kling are gonna make fun of us until the end of time. I mean I know the fans are another story, but I want people we care about to know how much I love you.”
Christen’s heart melts because she knows that Tobin isn’t really much of a PDA person, so this is pretty big. She does the only thing she can think of and leans forward for another kiss.
“I love you, too. Just warn me next time, please?” Christen bargains because who is she to refuse if her girlfriend wants to show her some affection and claim her for the world to see?
“Deal,” Tobin agrees and seals it with a kiss. This time, it’s longer and she tangles her hands into Christen’s hair. Satisfied that Christen has forgiven her, Tobin knows it’s safe for her hands to roam. So that night she leaves another hickey on her girlfriend’s neck and it’s blissful for both of them because Christen leaves her own mark on Tobin.
Needless to say, they proudly rock their dark red marks in front of their teammates the next day. Kelley, of course, is the first to notice, “I see you two went paintballing again. I can’t believe you went without me! You guys have a thing for aiming at necks? Because I told you that was very dangerous, it’s super sensitive.”
“Sorry, Kell, we’ll invite you next time,” Tobin replies smoothly.
“Wait, you better be talking about actual paintball because if you’re talking about the paintballing I’m talking about, I’ll pass. As hot as you two are, I’m not exactly down for that,” Kelley says.
“Ewwww, yeah I was talking about real paintballing. Don’t worry, I’m don’t like sharing so that is out of the question,” Tobin wrinkles her nose in disgust.
Kelley is by far the one that makes it the most uncomfortable though, the rest just mildly poke fun at them.
“So that’s why I was kicked out of my room?” Crystal teases. “Y’all wanted to trade bruises?”
“Hey! It was for a good cause. Did you really want me to mope around like a puppy with it’s tail between it’s legs?” Tobin defends herself.
“Good point. You were on fire in practice today. Should we throw in a second fruit basket for Christen?” Crystal asks the team, who are all hamming it up.
“Probably, I’m pretty sure she nutmegged everyone at least twice and she even pulled out an elastico,” Alex joins in on the fun. “We better get Presi the chocolate covered fruit in a gold plated basket or something because we all know how difficult Tobs is to deal with.”
“You’re just bitter because I nutmegged you four times,” Tobin sticks her tongue out like a child.
“Yeah, well Christen isn’t the only one who deserves a fruit basket. Presi’s been tearing it up on the field lately too,” Ali chimes in.
“You’re right,” Kelley says. She turns to Tobin, “Where should we send it? It’s kind of hard to keep track of where you are because you know, you’re homeless and all that.”
“Wherever Christen is. She’s my home,” Tobin states simply.
The team groans at the cheesiness and it only gets louder when Christen kisses her girlfriend because she’s a sucker for that type of stuff, especially when it comes from Tobin. A slice of pizza hits Tobin and forces them to pull away.
“You guys are annoying,” Tobin says, trying to wipe the grease off of her skin. “Gross. Is it gone?” She asks Christen.
The striker nods, but Kling leans over and starts rubbing the hickey on Tobin’s neck, “Wait, you missed a spot! You got some pizza sauce right here.”
Tobin rolls her eyes and slaps her hand away, but she can’t help the smile that forms on her face, “Haha, you’re so funny.”
“I know,” Kling smirks, pleased with herself.
And as annoyed as the couple pretends to be with their teammates, neither really cares. When camp is over and they start to go back to their NWSL teams, the bruises are starting to fade. Christen covers her’s up because it’s still pretty dark, but Tobin doesn’t even bother. She thinks it’s healed enough that it won’t be noticeable and she’s not worried if people see it anyway.
It’s obviously from an intense game of paintball.