“Take me home?”
* * *
By 10.30pm, they were snuggled up in bed. Caroline was glad for it. She wanted to be at her best. Nothing was going to stand in the way of her being that solid #2 keeper going forwards. Especially not a night on the town.
“I’m sorry if I came on too strong back there,” she mumbled into the darkness. She was sure that she hadn’t. Rhetta had all but asked her to and she hadn’t even let Caroline unzip her dress before she had pushed her onto the bed.
Rhetta shifted slightly, turning her head so that her words weren’t spoken directly against Caroline’s neck. “Don’t be. I liked it. I’ve never gotten to see that side of you in public before. Not since we were first dating.”
Caroline thought back to her old cocky self. She really didn’t know why Rhetta had ever agreed to go out with her.
“You were so sexy with that swagger of yours. It still makes me weak,” Rhetta smiled.
Caroline snorted. “I was a pain in the ass kid who thought she knew everything.”
“And I was a shy little thing who never thought that someone like you would ever look at her twice.”
“You’re kidding me, right?” Caroline scoffed. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, R. Everyone looks at you at least twice. And you have never exactly been shy.”
“I guess we see ourselves differently to how other people see us, huh?”
The distant sound of shouting carried on the still night air. Caroline lifted her head and tightened her grip reflexively on Rhetta. After half a minute everything went quiet.
“Do you really think that I might get another start?” Caroline asked hopefully.
Rhetta propped herself up on one hand and looked down at her beautiful fiancée. “They’d be stupid not to give you one. No one is infallible, Caro, and you’re a great keeper. I might be lucky enough to know what it feels like to play in front of you and follow your orders, but the rest of the backline don’t. It makes sense to give you a start.”
Caroline sighed. “When has what coaches think ever made sense.”
Rhetta laughed. “I’ll tell Mark that you said that.”
“Don’t you dare, Princess.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The next few days were a whirlwind.
Caroline’s happy bubble had burst the morning after their night out. The moment that she had steeped into breakfast, the hushed chatter stopped and every eye in the room turned to her. For a moment she had feared, absurdly, that something had happened to Rhetta. But Rhetta was still in their room, drying her hair from her morning shower. Denise had risen quickly from the nearest table and had pulled Caroline aside. Whispers broke out again in the room and Denise gave her a sympathetic smile before breaking the news. There had been an incident with Megara. She had been suspended. They didn’t know yet for how long.
“What does that mean?” Caroline had asked, her eyes flicking to her fiancée who had just entered the breakfast room and was looking at her strangely.
Not one of them knew the specifics at that point, or at least those who did were keeping it to themselves. Carli wasn’t at breakfast and Charlie’s glare alone was enough to keep anyone from questioning Natalie. The whole room was off and Rhetta just stood there by the breakfast bar, holding Caroline’s gaze until Denise snapped her from her trance.
“It means you’re in, Caro. You got this. And we’ve got you,” Denise told her, slapping her shoulder once before murmuring something about Gillian wanting to see her.
Practice was cancelled that morning. Gillian and the rest of the coaches met with Caroline and Yana to inform them about their positions going forward. For the next 30 days at least, Caroline would be their starting keeper and Yana would be their number 2. After that, a team meeting had been called. Gillian had stood in front of them and detailed the events of the night before. She was clearly annoyed at Megara, but concerned too. Her voice was clipped and her eyes were red from lack of sleep.
The team sat there in silence. Natalie fidgeting nervously at Caroline’s right whilst Rhetta sat in quiet shock to her left. Everyone looked to Carli when Gillian was done, hoping for some insight into their sometimes enigmatic teammate. Carli shrugged her shoulders, telling them either that she knew nothing or that she was keeping schtum.
Two of their media consultants took the meeting for another half an hour, going over and over the party line. They were to keep their mouths shut about Megara and talk about the team’s high spirits and determination to focus on the World Cup. As if any of them would throw Megara under the bus.
Natalie’s nervous twitching intensified until Janine put a hand on her arm to stop her. They all knew that Natalie found it hard when Megara’s personal life got complicated. Megara had been her mentor and her inspiration in the 2012 Olympics when she had been switched to defence, and the two shared a deep bond that no one quite understood. Carli knew more about Megara’s life and Fallon had known her longer, but Megara and Natalie had the kind of uncomplicated friendship that Megara sometimes needed the most.
“Alright,” Gillian clapped her hands to get their attention. “That’s it for this morning. Go get some lunch and then we’ll split up for some targeted training. Caroline, Yana, Rhetta, Fallon, Farah, Becky, Lavender, Lori and Natalie, I want you to meet me on the field. The rest of you will go with Dawn and work on some endurance exercises. We have to see this as an opportunity to work on the parts of our game that need tightening up. The Federation will be talking to the media soon. In the meantime, we need to keep our heads down and our eyes focused on that World Cup trophy.”
Gillian’s words were meant to be reassuring but Natalie just seemed pissed. As soon as Gillian was done, she jumped up from her seat and headed for the door, her phone already at her ear.
“You are under no circumstances to contact Megara!” Gillian bellowed over the crowd. I had been Megara’s request, not hers, and at that moment Gillian was willing to do anything she could to get Megara back before the World Cup.
“I’m not!” Natalie yelled back before disappearing down the hall.
Janine winced and apologised to Gillian on Natalie’s behalf. “She didn’t mean to shout. We’re all just a little shell shocked.”
“Don’t worry,” Gillian said. “I’ve had to deal with worse than a pissed off Natalie Geralt. Notably a teenage angst-ridden Vanessa Leroux and her fondness for slamming doors.”
The comment had the desired effect and everyone in the room relaxed, some even chuckling a little.
“Hey, coach! You promised never to bring that up!” Vanessa called from the back row. She was sulking comically and Caroline felt the tightness in her chest lessen a little as everyone got to their feet.
She had thrust into a position that no one had expected. Once the news was out that Megara had been suspended for 30 days, it wasn’t only the team’s eyes that Caroline felt watching her, it was the eyes of a nation. All of them scrutinising her, judging her. Judging Rhetta too.
“You might want to change your mind about admitting to being my girlfriend after France and England,” Caroline had whispered dejectedly after reading yet another scathing article. She knew that she shouldn’t read them. R had forbidden her. But she had a kind of morbid curiosity and once the google search began, she couldn’t stop.
“You’re not my girlfriend, you’re my fiancée,” Rhetta had reminded her sternly. “And before the year is over, you’re going to be my wife.”
Caroline smiled sheepishly. Her heart fluttered when Rhetta said the word ‘wife’ and for a moment everything was alright again. “Sorry.”
“I don’t care what the critics say. They’re so far up certain people’s asses that they can’t see beyond the old guard. You’re the future of this team, Caro. You’re the player that those little girls screaming at our games deserve to look up to. We’ve got 27 days to show the doubters what you’re made of. You telling me that you’re going to let me down?” Rhetta challenged, her hands o
n her hips.
The intensity of Rhetta’s conviction made Caroline shiver. “No, mam.”
“Then let’s show them why you should be number 1.”
To escape from the pressure, Caroline threw herself into training. A new purpose and determination pushed her to be faster, quicker and smarter than ever before. Rhetta was strong by her side. She was her shelter in the storm and the fire in her belly, and when everyone else went home for the night, Rhetta, Charlie and Perinnel shot penalty after penalty at her. She loved them so much for it that her breath caught in her throat when Charlie and Perinnel quietly stayed behind with her and Rhetta, never needing to be asked.
Around her, the team was as solid as ever on the pitch, but emotionally, they were at a loss. With Megara gone, their dynamic was thrown. It felt wrong. Though she knew that her teammates were behind her, Caroline couldn’t help but feel like the world was against her.
She was more thankful than ever that she could close her hotel door and sleep in the comfort of Rhetta’s arms. When she fell into bed feeling defeated after reading yet another belittling article, Rhetta pressed herself up against her back, holding her close and safe.
“You’ve always been my number one, baby,” Rhetta breathed into the skin of Caroline’s neck. “It doesn’t matter why you’ve been given this opportunity. The important thing is that you have. I want Megara back and mentally healthy as much as anyone, but we don’t know how long that will take. Everyone says that she’s better – the best – and that’s true, but only because she has experience that no other keeper has. It gives her the edge. This is your chance to claw a little of that back. It’s your chance to show them what you can do.”
“But what if we lose?” Caroline whispered fearfully, her eyes glassy as she stared at her unsatisfactory reflection in the mirrored closet doors.
“There are ten players in front of you, baby. We all know that we’re not where want to be, but that’s okay. We have time. If we lose in Europe, then that’s not down to you. We lost to Brazil with Megara in goal. France is better than them.” Rhetta’s voice was slow and soothing. She spoke the way that Denise did, breaking down the game, and Caroline was reminded of how lucky the Spirit were to have Rhetta as their captain. “It’s the experience we need, not the win. You get to be in goal and have France go all out against you. Even if we do our jobs right, you’ll probably have to face more shots on target than you’ve ever had in an international. No money can buy that kind of training. Come June, you’ll have that and Megara won’t. If we come up against France or England, you’re the one who will have the experience. You’ll be the one able to feel which way their forwards will go.”
Caroline listened and let Rhetta’s words calm her. She was right. France was an opportunity. But England… England was a different beast. One that was traditionally tamer but recently... different. They were an unknown quantity to the US and they all knew that they had to fix that before the World Cup.
“We can’t afford to let England win. I can’t afford to let England win.”
Rhetta let out a breath. “How many times has Jodie shot a ball at you in training?”
“Hundreds.”
“Then that’s one less forward to worry about. You know how she plays. Use that to your advantage.”
* * *
Landing in France made it real. They were at camp. A real camp. One with two games and a world of expectation.
“It’s so beautiful,” Rhetta whispered as she watched the lush green scenery pass by their coach window. Everyone else was asleep but Rhetta was far too excited to be back in Europe for that. “I’ve missed Europe.”
Caroline knew that she would have to spoil Rhetta a little this trip. Towards the end of their last camp, Caroline had been a little intense. She had insisted on sticking to the rules and had spent nearly all of her free time putting in extra training sessions and watching back old France and England games. After camp was over, things had only gotten worse. They hadn’t seen each other nearly enough between work and family. It made Caroline long for a time in the future when their families would be tied together and obligations would never tear them apart. A time when Skype dates would be a thing of the past. They weren’t quite there yet.
Usually Caroline was the one who felt the distance the most, or was at least the one who showed it, but this last time Rhetta had been the one whose smiles had been less frequent than her texts. Sam had phoned to tell Caroline how miserable Rhetta was and Caroline had felt the guilt like a lead weight in her stomach.
“You’re beautiful.” Caroline pressed a kiss to Rhetta’s shoulder, her eyes fluttering closed at the feel of warm skin against her lips. This was what she had missed the most. The easy intimacy. How Rhetta’s body was almost always touching hers. How the heady mix of Rhetta’s shampoo, body butter and perfume smelt like home.
Rhetta giggled and turned around to kiss her, closing her eyes and savouring the sweet moment. “Charmer.”
When she opened her eyes, she looked at Caroline as if she were the sun.
“I love you,” Rhetta smiled, waking up all the sleeping butterflies in Caroline’s stomach.
Yes, she was definitely going to have to spoil her. “I love you more.”
There was that giggle again. Bright and carefree. “Not possible.”
“You know, we’re kind of going to be travelling on Valentine’s Day this year,” Caroline pointed out. All the girls were grumbling about it. Especially Charlie and Vanessa. Not that they would ever let the coaches hear them complain.
“Kind of? You mean are,” Rhetta giggled. She loved the way that Caroline sometimes talked around what she meant. Never using definites unless it was ‘I love you’ or ‘I need you’ or ‘we can do this’.
Caroline frowned and Rhetta giggled again. “Go on, stud.”
Caroline rolled her eyes. “Well, I thought that maybe we could do Valentine’s Day on another day. Maybe before the game with France. What do you think?”
“Does that mean that you’ve already bought my presents?” Rhetta asked eagerly. She knew that she could be a bit of a princess, but only because Caroline treated her like one. It made her feel like she was special, like they were special.
“What makes you so sure that there will be more than one?” Caroline asked with a raised brow. They both knew that there would be. Even before Caroline had the extra money coming in from her national team wages, she had always spoiled Rhetta rotten.
“Because I’m your princess and you’re my knight in shining armour,” Rhetta grinned, booping their noses together and kissing her again.
“Damn, I knew that you would guess about the jousting trip.”
“Ha ha,” Rhetta deadpanned. She tried to keep a straight face, but she couldn’t suppress her grin. It felt so damned good to be back by Caroline’s side.
“But really, princess, are you up for moving Valentine’s up a few days?”
Rhetta tapped her chin and pretended to be thinking it over. “I don’t know, Caro. Maybe I already have something else planned for when we get back stateside.”
Caroline’s eyes went wide with excitement. It wasn’t that Rhetta never did romantic things for her, but she was definitely the one who led Valentine’s Day and big romantic gestures. “Really?”
Rhetta bit her lip and nodded, grinning. “I sure do, stud. After that perfect proposal of yours, I had to make sure that our first – and only – Valentine’s Day as fiancées will be one that you’ll never forget.” She reached up to brush some of the loose hair from Caroline’s forehead. “You have to let me spoil you sometimes, baby. Especially with how much pressure you’ve been under.”
Caroline melts under her touch and she’s pretty sure that she can do anything with Rhetta by her side.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Caroline planned their first fake Valentine’s Day for their one and only day off in France. She had tried hard to keep the day a surprise, even going so far as to set herself a vibrating alarm on her
phone and slipping it into her pillowcase whilst Rhetta was getting ready for bed. The alarm would buzz twice at 8am, giving her plenty of time to slip away and gather breakfast before Rhetta woke up. At least that was the plan. Right up until Rhetta decided that she had had enough of celibacy.
“R! What about the rules?” Caroline hissed when Rhetta’s hand slipped beneath her tank top. They – or, more accurately, Caroline – had stuck religiously to the ‘no sex at camp rule’ ever since Megara had been suspended. They had been together once in their time off, but now that that they were back in camp, Caroline had reinstated the ban. She didn’t want to risk anything that might make Gillian think that she wasn’t taking this opportunity seriously. “Come on baby, I can’t break the rules. Not when I’m starting. I promise that I’ll take care of you when we get home.”
Rhetta’s eyes closed at the feel of Caroline’s stomach muscles trembling at her touch, telling her that Caroline needed this just as much as Rhetta needed her. When she opened them, her dark eyes were almost black. “Fuck the rules. I want to take care of you right now.”
Caroline shivered. The look Rhetta was giving her was too much for her to resist.
“R,” she breathed, her voice a weak protest.
“Just because we don’t have training tomorrow doesn’t mean that I don’t want a work out,” Rhetta purred, her fingers stroking feather-light over Caroline’s stomach. She bit her bottom lip and Caroline moaned. After so long together, Rhetta knew exactly how to push every one of Rhetta’s buttons. “I need you, Caro. Let me show you just how much. Please.”
The hand beneath Caroline’s shirt slid up to her breastbone and pressed her down into her pillow. Caroline’s eyes widened when the back of her head struck the hard case of her phone and she panicked. If she didn’t do something quick, she would have to answer to why it was there. The element of surprise would be completely blown.
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